Thursday 14 February 2013

Love . . . The Second Time Around Bloghop

This is a bloghop so please click HERE 
to read the other entries. (:


The Love…The Second Time Around Celebration dovetails with the theme of JL Campbell's soon-to-be-released novel, Retribution. I'm helping her celebrate by submitting a story of people taking another shot at a relationship. There will be voting and prizes, and there is still time to submit, so go HERE for more information. 


(The following is my flash fiction piece that takes place on an alternate Earth. I also have to admit that I exceeded the 500 word count limit and understand if this disqualifies me. I didn't have the time to edit out 100+ words but still hope you enjoy the entry nonetheless.)

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"Eighty-four days," she said with her back still turned to him. "That is how long you have been gone. I didn't think you would ever return."

He closed the heavy wooden door to their bedchamber before speaking. "I'm sorry my love, but it was necessary. I was furious at you and afraid I would destroy the entire castle. I needed time away to think."

"Where did you go?" she prodded.

"To Sherwood for advice." 

"Sherwood!" Heat rose into her cheeks as she spun to look at him for the first time in weeks. "You spent all that time with Robyn Hode and his Merry Men doing . . . I don't even want to imagine what, while I sat here all alone, waiting for you and wondering if you'd ever come back to me?”

“I didn't leave you alone, Guinevere. I made sure Sir Lancelot stayed to keep you safe.” 

“Well Sir Lancelot proved to be a very kind and gentile knight with an enormous heart, more than I can say for his King.”

“Do you still not understand the gravity of the situation? What you did has damaged my reputation and caused tremendous confusion.”

"Oh Arthur, you are so melodramatic. It's just a sword and I'm sure Merlin can fix it.” 

“It’s not just a sword,” he growled. It's Excalibur, and Excalibur is not supposed to be pink!” He slid the weapon from its sheath to demonstrate his point. Not that he needed to. The bright pink glow that engulfed their bedchamber was a painful reminder of a spell gone wrong. Ashamed, Guinevere turned her gaze away from the sword, but the pink glow cast its light onto everything she laid her eyes on. "Tell me how can I possibly be taken seriously by any man, if I am to charge into battle wielding this?”

Guinevere fought the tears that threatened to flee down her face. “I don't know what went wrong,” she admitted. “I followed Merlin's instructions perfectly and then asked the question word for word of what you loved most in the world. The spell was supposed to make the sword reflect your true desires."

"So that explains your odd question that nigh."

"Yes, but that . . . " Guinevere said, gesturing to a weapon that had now lost all prestige and dignity, "was not the surprise I had intended. In my mind, the spell was supposed to garnish the hilt or engrave words of wisdom into the blade. I wanted to make it truly unique to where no man could ever refute the true ownership of the sword."

Shaking his head, King Arthur slid the sword back in its sheath and the room regained its normal color. "Do you know what I thought of when you asked that question?" he said. Guinevere eyes widened. She turned to Arthur and shook her head. "I thought of you the night of my birthday. You surprised me with that little pink, lace-up French corset." Guinevere cupped her hand over her mouth but couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her throat. "I guess I should be grateful the whole damn thing didn't turn into a giant undergarment."

Laughter erupted from both Guinevere and Arthur and they drank in the sound with relief and healing. She ran into his arms and he received her delicate frame with a feeling of joy he hadn't felt in eighty-four days.

Looking up at her King Guinevere said, “Let’s go to Merlin right now, I’m sure he can fix Excalibur.”

King Arthur smiled as he traced the contour of her nose and lips with his finger. "Do you still have that corset?" he asked.

Guinevere bit her lower lip and said, "I do."

"Then I think Merlin can wait until tomorrow."



(;

20 comments:

  1. An interesting take on King Arthur, Genevieve and Excalibur! Nice Entry!

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  2. A pink sword! Every knight's nightmare. Very funny piece, Elise. Heck with the length - hope it's not disqualified.

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  3. Loved it! Clever and interesting interpretation Elise...
    A pink glowing sword + a pink lace-up French corset... very interesting combo of items in your flash piece... love the ending too... maybe the corset also glows...?

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  4. Hahaha, with a pink sword I suppose he can make his enemies laugh to death. Good piece Elise. I hope also you don't get disqualified for the length. Did I tell you I chose you for an award? If not, well, it's yours. The very inspiring blogger award. Congrats. :)

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  5. Agree with other posters, really clever stuff. Thanks for sharing it with us!I'll have to check out the site, and throw a couple votes your way. I've never tried a short story before, but I'm feeling inspired . . . maybe...

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  6. That was awesome! Loved the twist and the merging of the Arthur and Robin Hood legends :)

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  7. lol--totally love this! Hope it's not disqualified because it's way too fun!

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  8. Oh, I love it, Elise! My husband goes to the gym every day, and one day I noticed he was packing a pink towel to take to the showers. I told him he had to get another color...no sense in giving the wrong impression in the men's locker room. ;)

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  9. King Aurthur sexy? I never thought I'd see the day, but you pulled it off.

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  10. Carolyn: Thank you! Glad you liked it! (:

    Alex: Thank you Ninja Captain!

    Michelle: LOL! I didn't think about that . . . :D

    Al: Thank you very much Father Dragon! :D

    Steven: Thanks for the comment and the follow! Glad you enjoyed this and there is still time to sign up! So if you've got an idea, go for it and post! (:

    Lawolf: Merci mon loup! (:

    Mark: Having it take place on an alternate Earth gave me the liberty to do crazy. I like crazy sometimes. (;

    Meradeth: Thanks Meradeth, I had fun writing it. :)

    Linda: LOL! Oh that made me laugh. :D

    Melanie: LOL! Thanks Melanie! :D

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  11. That was pretty funny. Turning a sword pink after a spell gone wrong is exactly something I would do.

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  12. Love the spin you put on this, Elise. Poor guy. Good think for her that love conquers all.

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  13. Great piece. I'm enjoying the variety I'm seeing in this hop.

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  14. What fun :) especially the ending. This would have worked great for our Romantic Friday Writers fan fiction prompt this month too. I really liked that she tried to cast a spell that went wrong by his unguarded thoughts. Cool.

    .......dhole

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  15. Sara! LOL! But it wasn't entirely all her fault . . .

    Matthew: (:

    Joy: Thanks for hosting the bloghop!!! (:

    Medeia: I still have to get around to everyone but from what I've read, there are a lot of great entries!

    Donna: Thanks Donna. I'm not familiar with your Romantic Friday Writers fan fiction, I'll have to check it out. (:

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  16. Very fun story and very creative. Thanks for the giggle!

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  17. I'd never thought about pink corsets and King Arthur in the same story, but you've been letting your imagination run riot Elise. Well done.

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  18. Ha ha ha! That was wonderful! I loved finding out what exactly he was thinking of that made the sword go pink.

    I'm glad I'm not the only one that exceeded the word count limit!

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