Release

Welcome to Wednesday’s flash fiction wherein I write, as part of a group, a flash fiction based on the same short prompt and post the story.

“Then it is done.” I leaned forward grasping a rope for balance as the words fell across the room. Heavy and light smothering noise. No more would the Virand impose their will. Our land would be ours again. Giles Bardolf would lead us.

Like a wind released sound filled the room again. Cheers erupted without regard for who might overhear. Let them hear us, I thought. Even the Virand would recoil before this fervor.

I turned grinning, but Alice was gone. Startled, I abruptly released the rope and stumbled for my balance. I glanced around the room through the riot of movement and found her at the doorway, face somber.

She watched the cheering crowd before turning away with a shake of her head. Was she upset?

I pushed my way through the crowd catching a few elbows. How’d she gotten through so fast? I rubbed at a sore cheek.

The heat from the room was swept away by breeze as I stepped outside. Pausing, I searched the darkness. She stood nearby, her back against a wall and head tilted toward the stars. “Alice?” I asked.

“Go back inside, Cecily,” she said without looking down.

Was that a tear on her face? No. Surely that was just the light. Tonight was a night of joy, not sorrow. “Alice, can’t you feel it?” I said stepping toward her and placing a hand on her shoulder. “Everything’s changing?”

Alice rolled her head toward me. “What are we changing to?”

Don’t forget to read the other’s takes on the prompt. More stories go up throughout the day. Be sure to check our page on Facebook for updates as everything becomes available: Wednesday Words.