Wednesday has come around again and I’m happy to present this week’s flash fiction.
The floor groaned as Enryn’s thudded one end of the wooden lid on the ground. She rested the other against the oblong box overhanging both ends of the table. Looking down, Enryn brushed her hands against each other.
Prince Thamas twisted within and beneath the ropes she’d bound him with. They held tightly, as did the gag silencing him.
Enryn breathed deeply. Air filled her lungs stretching her back. Rolling her shoulders, she shook the strain away. “Now.” She leaned against the lid, draping her wrist over the top. “I need you to understand something before I kill you.”
Thamas whined, scooting away, but the box halted his progress. He jerked his shoulder angrily, striking its side. Enryn sighed. If he wanted to give himself a sore shoulder. She’d built his coffin soundly. He wouldn’t break it.
“This isn’t from malice. The rage I’d felt.” She breathed out loudly. “Consumed me once. But it’s embers now. Just as my castle. Just as my Kingdom.”
She hefted the lid, laying it crosswise over the box. Thamas’ gurgled protests sharpened in intensity.
“No, this isn’t anger.” She shoved the lid into place, leaving a sliver open. Even in the shadowed box, his eyes caught the light and shone. He watched her helpless. Just as they’d been helpless. She stared at the ethereal forms darting about the room’s edge.
“Or revenge.” She shoved the lid into place. “The ghosts demand one to silence their rage.” Enryn reached for the hammer.
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