Morning all and welcome to the Fifteen Minute Novel. Here I take the start of a story idea and work on it for fifteen minutes a day. I started with an old writing prompt that interested me, cleaned it up a bit to fit the basic outline of the story I want to write and then set aside fifteen minutes each week day to see it grow. Each morning’s writing starts with the last sentence of the day before. And so now we have the story of Kasca…
Day 115: The different clothing was also a revelation as even the lower nobility seemed to have sold off garments.
The different clothing was also a revelation as even the lower nobility seemed to have sold off garments. While they were not as hard hit as her home had been, there were a significant amount of deaths. Clothes were inherited as even if the garment was out of date, the cloth was still good and stitches could be picked out, the garment reconstructed to suit. She also knew that some noble houses gifted outgrown garments as gifts to certain staff specifically so the garments, or the cloth could be sold.
Kasca moved through the available options in each of the stores she visited and made certain that what she chose was appropriate to her level of society. ‘No need to go about in cast off aristocrat togs,’ she thought.
It was slow going, but she ended up with three full outfits she could wear. Kasca added them to her basket and deciding that her shopping was done for the day, she headed back to her shop. Once inside, she took the basket upstairs, made certain to cleanse the garments before returning them to the basket and tucking it away. She cleansed herself and every other item she purchased. Kasca then returned downstairs to begin her day.
‘I’ll modify the garments in the evening and then send them out to be laundered,’ Kasca told herself. She was certain she could get that done before the weather turned warm enough that her cloak seemed suspicious. Once downstairs, Kasca took the old notices out of the window and quickly made up a new one advertising for a shop assistant. The sign was similar to the one she took down, but she wanted a fresh sign, placed in a different part of the window since she was certain the old sign had been in place long enough that people stopped seeing it.
‘And if no one answers I suppose I will have to go looking elsewhere.’
Where one looked for a shop assistant, Kasca didn’t know. It had never been something she ever thought she would have to worry about. ‘And once the necessities are settled I will have time to work on that cure.’
Thus far she had the original cure which was good for those in their first affliction. As a preventative it could be taken by those who had never been afflicted. She had a modified one for those in a second affliction but wanted something better. Something that would cure the affliction and prevent it from returning, inoculating the patient.
‘Especially since the second cure would be useless if the disease is contracted a third time.’
Her thoughts turned back to the island Sanctuary. She wondered if they had a third contagion yet or if they planned to remain forever isolated. When she was on the island she could see that the population of the Sanctuary was not what it once was. Given the dust she found in the back rooms she knew their population was dwindling before the disease struck. She was certain the disease was an attempt to give them the freedom to come and go from the island instead of watching their numbers dwindle away to nothing.
It failed miserably, but after listening in to a number of their meetings, she could see their logic. The disease took out additional numbers with the first wave and then hit them hard a second time. Even if they isolated and avoided a third wave, their numbers would continue to dwindle.
‘Especially as there are no occupied towns near enough to bulk up their numbers again.’
The sanctuary would die. Kasca shivered and wanting something else to occupy her thoughts, she unlocked the shop door and turned the sign to open.
