Author: vicorva

The Present Revealed

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‘That can’t be right,’ she said.

‘It is the truth,’ the fortune-teller replied. ‘See for yourself.’ He gestured with a hand laden with many rings to the crystal ball that sat between them.

She glanced at the ball, then jerked her gaze away as if stung. ‘All I see is me. You’re just telling me what you think I want to hear, but I fail at everything. I’ll never succeed. I never have.’ She stood up scurried from the room, head down, shoulders raised in tension.

The fortune-teller watched her go, eyes dark and unreadable through the veil he wore.

‘You will,’ he whispered.… Read more

The Rose-girl

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Someone pushed her from the boat, the sudden plunge into icy blackness muting their laughter.

She floundered in the cold and dark, the surface an ever more distant gleam of gold. She kicked hard, but it grew no nearer.

Fear gripped her. Then: a girl with dark skin that glittered pink at the edges. Tentacles swirled around her — from her hair, like rosy locks, around her legs like a trailing skirt.

She took the hands of the drowning girl.

–It’ll be okay–

The words were a whisper, mind to mind. Her smile bared sharp teeth, but kindly.

They stared at each other, one human and one other.… Read more

On Her Watch

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‘Ellie, nooo …’ She crouched to sweep up the shards of glass and soak the red wine splattered across her floor like a crime scene.

She narrowed her eyes at the watching cat. ‘You never used to push things off counters.’

The queen prrted hopefully, and boffed the human’s hand when she was done. Tension melted from the human.

The queen eyed the wine bottle. She had seen another human slip something into that bottle, and nobody would hurt HER human on her watch.

—

Another microfiction. Image by WenPhotos / Wendy Corniquet, used under Pixabay License.… Read more

Cry for help

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She heard howling in the night: desperate, ragged calls that faded into brokenness. The neighbours’ dogs were silent.

She put on coat and boots and stepped out into chill air under a hazy moon. Her footsteps squelched along a pavement still moist from the memory of rain.

She followed the howls away from her house and up the hill to the old churchyard. No foxes or rabbits skittered past; no bats hunted above.

A hulking figure crouched on the churchyard wall.

It was a misshapen thing of fur and fangs and bulging muscles. A twisted wolf-creature, man-like only in the broadest strokes.… Read more

Non Player Character (Chapter 10: The Bedroom Monster)

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Non Player Character is a work-in-progress but I wanted to share it while I work on the first draft. Please bear in mind that this is an unedited work, but hopefully you will still enjoy it!

(Beginning)

(Previous Chapter)

(Next Chapter)

 

Chapter Ten: The Bedroom Monster

Impossible though it had seemed when I first stood on Pauline’s doorstep, D&D became part of my routine. My days became more than a blur of tourists and canned lines while I waited to play ARO. Every Friday or Saturday at 7pm, I would inhabit Astara of the Silver Grove, who was gradually becoming accepted into the notorious Ninth Rain.… Read more

Non Player Character (Chapter 9: Late Notice)

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Non Player Character is a work-in-progress but I wanted to share it while I work on the first draft. Please bear in mind that this is an unedited work, but hopefully you will still enjoy it!

(Beginning)

(Previous Chapter)

(Next Chapter)

 

Chapter Nine: Late Notice

The next afternoon, as I headed to the kitchen to make up some lunch, I found Saanvi pacing by the front door. Her hair was unusually frazzled, and she was dressed for work in a rumpled worksuit. ‘I know it’s late notice,’ she said into her phone. ‘But I really … no … no, I understand.… Read more

Non Player Character (Chapter 8: Still Strangers)

vicorvaLeave a comment

Non Player Character is a work-in-progress but I wanted to share it while I work on the first draft. Please bear in mind that this is an unedited work, but hopefully you will still enjoy it!

(Beginning)

(Previous Chapter)

(Next Chapter)

 

Chapter Eight: Still Strangers

‘And as blood gurgles from the courier’s mouth, he looks down to see an arrowhead protruding from his chest … and that’s where we’ll leave it tonight.’ Pauline’s lips quirked as everyone started talking at once.

‘Nooo!’ Arries put his hands on his face. ‘You can’t stop there! What does the note say?… Read more

Non Player Character (Chapter 7: Storytellers)

vicorvaLeave a comment

Non Player Character is a work-in-progress but I wanted to share it while I work on the first draft. Please bear in mind that this is an unedited work, but hopefully you will still enjoy it!

(Beginning)

(Previous Chapter)

(Next Chapter)

 

Chapter Seven: Storytellers

‘All right.’ The hulking man in blood-spattered plate armour braced his foot against the still twitching body of the manticore. ‘We’ve killed your abomination — fine waste of a good man-eater, I’d say — so take us to the nearest city and we’ll be out of your weird, feather-filled hair.’

This was a bit rich coming from a man who appeared to never clean his armour, crusty as it was with blood and gore, but nonetheless I touched my hair self-consciously.… Read more

Non Player Character (Chapter 6: Point of Honour)

vicorvaLeave a comment

Non Player Character is a work-in-progress but I wanted to share it while I work on the first draft. Please bear in mind that this is an unedited work, but hopefully you will still enjoy it!

(Beginning)

(Previous Chapter)

(Next Chapter)

 

Chapter Six: Point of Honour

After a week of chatting on and off on the chatroom with the others, I was standing on my dungeon master’s doorstep and still resisting the urge to run. I don’t know what it is about my brain that puts me in a constant state of fleeing for my life, but my heart was beating way too fast and my chest was tight and I was pretty sure I’d forgotten everyone’s names and also my own.… Read more

Non Player Character (Chapter 5: Missing Dialogue Options)

vicorvaLeave a comment

Non Player Character is a work-in-progress but I wanted to share it while I work on the first draft. Please bear in mind that this is an unedited work, but hopefully you will still enjoy it!

(Beginning)

(Previous Chapter)

(Next Chapter)

 

Chapter Five: Missing Dialogue Options

‘Welcome to the Elfred Bevin Museum, commemorating Goosey’s most famous mayor, Elfred Hywel Ieuan Bevin. Please, allow me to guide you on a journey into Goosey’s past.’ I bared my teeth at the small huddle of poncho-wearing tourists waiting at reception. I hated this moment, when I had to introduce myself to the unsuspecting customers and give them the most boring tour of their lives.… Read more