Drabble Wednesday: Nasty Things

Today on Drabble Wednesday, take a journey to the darkest underbellies of worlds beyond this realm...

Assassin

The oblique glances, the careful sidestep to avoid me on the street.

I see it. I see it all.

They are afraid. As well they should be, for I could snuff out their pitiful lives with ease. I am the creature society shuns, the thing those supposed upstanding denizens consider undesirable.

Until they need me.

Then they slink into my presence to toss their gold at my feet and give me the names of those they want killed. They hire their assassin and I do my work.

Then I kill the true undesired and drink my fill of their blood.

~*~

Imagined Things

Skitters in the shadows, incoherent whispers lost in the dark wind, thumps that make you walk faster, have you casting glances into the night. You scoff, while shivering. Your pulse races as you scold yourself. Only in your imagination. Not real. Just the mind playing tricks.

What if it isn’t in your head?

What if something truly lurks in the dark?

Because we do.

Bumps, bangs, and bogeymen. Skulking, creeping, coming out to play when the sun goes down.

We are behind you. Following you.

Waiting for the right moment.

And you won’t be going home tonight.

Or ever again.

~*~

The Ruling Elite

Everyone falls from grace. Sooner or later.

Riding high one day and in the gutter the next. I’ve seen them all.

The nature of this cesspool kingdom. Kings and queens think they can hold on to their power, but it don’t last. They lose their grip on the crown and they’re gone. And someone else’s ass is sitting on the throne. Until they get the boot. Or the ax.

Yeah, they all fall out of favour.

Or get pushed.

That’s where I come in. My specialty that.

For the right amount of gold.

A gal’s got to make a living.

© A. F. Stewart 2017 All Rights Reserved

Drabble Wednesday: Underneath the Surface

Today on Drabble Wednesday, come explore the darkness beneath the skin...

Warrior

They fear me.

My enemies. The quake at the fearsome sight of me and my blood-covered axe. They run from me on the battlefield. They tremble at the sound of my name, Gunnar the Bloody. I have slaughtered in the name of my tribe, I have slain thousands and stood on their corpses.

They fear me.

As do my fellow tribesmen. Because they know. They know I love killing. That I cannot quench my yearning for spilled blood.

They know one day I will turn on them.

That one day they will die at my hand.

They should fear me.

~*~

Secret Spot

“I have a secret place I go, a quiet spot on the ocean, past the island reef. Would you like to see it?”

I smile when he nods an enthusiastic yes. He caresses my arm, but I slink away, beckoning him to follow. We climb onto the boat and sail out into the beauty of serene waters and blue sky.

“Not much to see,” he scoffs.

I reply, “Close your eyes.”

He complies and I give a whistle.

A tentacle darts out and snatches him off the boat, dragging him under the sea.

I smile. I love feeding my pet.

~*~

Empire

I stare out the bedchamber window at my city, and beyond it my empire. One I was not born into, but inherited by marriage.

I remember my wedding day well. A lavish affair to Emperor Alphonse IV, Supreme Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. Not a happy union. Both he and his lackeys think me weak, compliant. An Empress without teeth.

Fools.

I’ve been scheming for years, playing the simpering wife, while building allies. Now I will play my final piece for victory. My husband will be dead by nightfall and I will be the sole ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.

 © A. F. Stewart 2016 All Rights Reserved