Day 275 Writing Short Stories

Dance

It was an intricate dance, demanding more swirls and steps than he could ever learn. It was designed to torture him, to make him feel humiliated after all the effort he had made to become a valiant. And this was what measured him and his deeds in the eyes of the court. In the eyes of his king and queen.

He watched the other knights master their steps with ease. They took the women of the court onto the floor and made their heads spin. His lady frowned at him as he once again stomped on her feet.

“I’m sorry.” He blushed.

She scoffed, but then when he looked into her eyes, she blushed, too.

“It’s okay. Let me guide you. No one will notice,” Lady Margaret said. Her purple dress moved like the wind as she turned them to face the direction the others were facing.

He let her lead, and at the end of the dance, he was half sure that it had gone decent enough for anyone to notice. Her turns, her steps were precise. She was the most elegant thing he had seen.

“It’s like fencing,” she had whispered, and it had released him to follow her steps with more ease.

He bowed deeply, and they parted ways. She let her eyes linger on his, and he felt himself blush. She did too. Lady Margaret by his side would mean a world to him in the courts, and even in his heart. He didn’t dare to dream.

Slaying dragons was so much easier than dancing or any of this court order. There were so many bizarre social rules that made his head spin. Unlike most of the knights, he hadn’t been born to his position. He had earned it through hard work and dedication, and under the tutelage of his patron. A patron who wanted him to become his champion, his weapon in the court. And he would let him use him for his plots; it was better than existing outside the courts, even though he found them bizarre and frightening.

He glanced at Lady Margaret once more. She was still looking at him. He tilted his head. She was the first step in his patron’s plans for the court.

Friends

Two friends compete for the same girl. The girl doesn’t really like either of them. I skipped this one.

Words

Yesterday was the day before the words were spoken. It was a day with all the future intact. Now, there were the words, and they lingered there between the two of them. They could never be unsaid—nothing in the universe could be retracted.

He regretted them as soon as they left his lips. He had regretted so many things, but this was the worst. There was no excuse for why he had spoken so crudely to her, someone whom he loved more than life. Yet, there the words were, uttered out because uncomfortable feelings had bubbled inside him.

Such was the human condition. Such was life. He could only have to look around and witness what uncomfortable bubbling feelings could do. They could make empires rise. They could make empires fall. And here, between him and her, they could end something ever so precious. He was nothing without her. Their connection gave him meaning, gave him purpose.

But there had been that bubbling feeling, and words had leaped out.

The prompts are from the book A Year of Creative Writing Prompts.

I’m not that happy with what I wrote today. Then I wondered why. Why wasn’t the dance story enough, or the one with bubbling emotions? Because they weren’t about monsters. They weren’t dark. And I realized that I have been stuck with horroresque stories. And if I let myself get stuck there with the ghosts and the monsters, I don’t learn. The point of this whole prompt writing was to learn, to have fun, and to experiment. Yet, as I wrote the court dance scene, I felt like I needed to fight where it was going, my thoughts nagging me, I don’t write court drama. Why wouldn’t I? Why would I let my judgments stop me from writing and playing with different genres?

I felt stupid for getting caught with such a notion. Of course, it is normal to play with things you love. And I love monsters. I understand that, even so, the blog and the prompts allow me to learn and experiment, and I let my rigidity and preferences hold me back.

It was the same yesterday. I didn’t behave according to my standards; I let a notion stuck in my head guide me, and I wasn’t the version of myself I wanted to be. Okay, this sounds counterintuitive to the previous statement, but it isn’t. What I mean here is that I value learning, playing, and experimenting when I write. In my relationships with others, I value kindness and consideration. Yet I let my feelings cloud that, as I didn’t act in line with my values when I felt uncomfortable in a social situation I was forced into.

And here I am with the age-old contradiction between values, emotions, and situations. Oh, I don’t plan to punish myself. That’s not really an effective way to modify my behavior. As with writing and the social situation, I plan to make a note, appreciate any insights I get, and try to do better next time. Next time, when there is dancing and courts involved, I should let the drama guide me. It could be fun.

Thank you for reading ❤ Have an exciting day!