FLASH FICTION TUESDAY: The Royal Treatment

 

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Now on Tuesdays…at least for the foreseeable future…welcome to Flash Fiction Tuesday. In case you don’t know what flash fiction is, it is an extremely short story (sometimes created in 100 words or less) with a beginning, middle, and an ending.

But in my case, I write flash fiction with an open ending. I allow my readers to draw their own conclusion as to what happens. This week’s story came to me two years before the idea of LUNADAR: Homeward Bound was even born, but now as I reread it, I can see a bit of Ariana in today’s main character…

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The morning sun slides in through the stained glass window, prisms of color shattering the musty quiet of the throne room. Gilded cloth surrounds the regal chair standing all by itself in the middle of the large room. In mere hours the destiny of a nation will be changed forever, but for now, it is as if the room holds its breath and waits for what is to come.

In the kitchens servants bustle around as they prepare dishes to be served in the Great Hall later that evening as the week’s celebrations begin. The woodsy aroma of roasted boar mingles with the more delicate smell of vegetables, soups, and sweetbreads. Extra tables and chairs are brought in to handle the visiting nobles. Everywhere the sounds of chatter can be heard as excitement rises over the upcoming coronation.

However, down the hall in the royal chambers, there is almost a tomb-like atmosphere as maids and ladies-in-waiting silently help the young girl to dress. She feels suffocated as layer upon layer is added to her royal gown. No one knows of her deepest fears. How she wants to run from this burden about to be placed upon her young shoulders. To stay hidden amongst the moors, never to return to the castle. How betrayed she felt when her father died in battle and left her to this fate.

Somewhere deep in the towers, the loud gonging of bells can be heard announcing it is time. Will she be able to do this? Can she make the sacrifice asked of her for her people and a kingdom ravaged by war? Taking a breath, she squares her shoulders and slowly makes her way towards the doors leading to her future…

***What happens next? Will a nation be saved by one young girl? Share your comments and endings to this story below!***

 

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Week One

 

***DON’T FORGET! It’s week one of THE TWELVE WEEKS OF LUNADAR giveaway and this week you get a chance to win the set of cool bookmarks shown below! Just click on the pile of presents to the right of this post and choose how you would like to enter the FREE giveaway. Winners will be announced every Monday, starting next week, in my INDIE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY post, so check it out and see if you’ve won!***

***ALSO…it’s not too late to tell all your educator or school librarian friends about their chance to pick up a FREE copy of LUNADAR: Homeward Bound during my LUNADAR Pay It Forward FREE giveaway! I’m giving away THOUSANDS of ebook copies between now and Friday, November 2nd, in exchange for an honest review on Amazon. All they have to do is send me a Facebook message or email with their valid email address and I will send them their FREE copy, along with a copy of the Lunadar map I sketched. Hurry and share the good news about this FREE ebook giveaway before time runs out!***

 

donna

 

International best selling, award-winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound (a YA fantasy), ebook edition, is now available from Amazon, with the print edition coming October 15, 2018.

 

 

Donna L

Hybrid award winning author; aspiring sketch artist; and 4th Degree Senior Certified Taekwondo Instructor. Host of BOOK NOOK REVIEWS. Member of SCBWI. Mom to fabulous son and adventurer delving into the tricky world of indie-publishing.

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