The Frozen Wild Dnieper River : Curling snow drifts are magnified by the terrain around the 1,400 mile Dnieper River, flowing from Russia to the Black Sea in this image from the International Space Station on Feb. 9th, 2017. (via NASA)
“I have to marry the most powerful mage in the land. I won’t have any legitimacy as queen until I do.”
“But he’s evil!” her haidmaid fretted. “You can’t marry him, you’re supposed to be defeating him!”
“If I must marry evil to subdue it, so be it. I will have my crown no matter the cost. My country demands it.” Her eyes narrowed. “And if he thinks to try and take it from me, I will show him where the true power in our marriage lies.”
It feels good to think about you when I’m warm in bed. I feel as if you’re curled up there beside me, fast asleep. And I think how great it would be if it were true.
I love your work! If you have time, could you do a snippet where a hero ends up in the clutches of a villain who they’d helped/had helped them through an emotional struggle in the past?
“You’re not begging me for mercy,” the villain said. “Or trying to appeal to my better nature.”
The hero opened their eyes, glancing at the villain in something like surprise. “Would it do much good if I did? You don’t need me to tell you right from wrong. You’re just going to have do what you feel is best.”
“And you trust that.”
“I don’t trust that, I just think your will is strong enough that there’s no point trying to change it.” They tilted their head, studying the other. “And I didn’t help you so that I could use it as leverage later, if that’s what you were waiting on here.”
The villain stared at them. “You don’t care what happens to you?”
“Obviously, I’d rather not die or spend the rest of my life suffering horribly.”
“But you wouldn’t ask me for a favour.”
The hero shrugged, a little awkwardly.
“That’s hypocritical,” the villain said, “considering how much you lectured me on the importance of communication and asking for help.”
“…that was completely different.”
“Because you didn’t know who I was?” the villain asked.
“Because the situation was different,” the hero snapped. “You needed help, and you deserved to have it. Regardless of what you’ve done.”
The villain hummed, taking a step closer, hands tucked into their pockets. “And you don’t think you deserve help.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“You don’t think you need help. Or perhaps you think a miraculous rescue is coming for you.”
“That’s not what I said either,” the hero muttered. Heat crept up their cheeks at the way the villain was looking at them. Because…well…“I’m not a hypocrite.”
“Convincing argument, your best so far.”
The hero glared at them. “If you want to help me, by all means. I won’t object.”
“I want you to ask.”
“Excuse me?”
“You need help,” the villain said, coming to a stop in front of them. “I believe the first step is asking for it - those were your words. It’s important to know how to ask.”
The hero looked down at their knees, heart hammering.
“Perhaps you’re scared that you’ll ask and nobody will listen,” the villain suggested.
The hero swallowed and said nothing. Their throat tightened thick.
The villain crouched down with a sigh, putting themselves back in the hero’s line of sight. “Ask me. Just this once.” They met the hero’s gaze. “I’m listening.”
The hero said nothing, for a long moment, for a longer while still. The minutes stretched as the villain waited in a patience and undisturbed silence.
I love your work! If you have time, could you do a snippet where a hero ends up in the clutches of a villain who they’d helped/had helped them through an emotional struggle in the past?
