It is Day 3 of Lady Antimony’s Seven Virtues Flash Fiction challenge. The theme for today: Charity. My take on Chastity is here, and my entry for Temperance is here. I’ve also made a handy flash fiction page, so once the challenge is through, all seven of my delightfully virtuous entries will be corralled into one spot.
Swing by the challenge page, or visit #7Virtues on Twitter, to check out the entries from the other writers in the challenge, who have all created some wonderful stories based on each prompt.
Today, the inspiration for Charity comes from my favorite movie of all time, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Enjoy!
-oOo-
“Regret”
The old woman they brought before me was gnarled and grey and stank of urine. I recoiled in disgust, the sight of the thing sullying my hall awakening nothing but contempt within me. The revulsion only grew when she croaked,
“A bed for the night.”
I kicked at the hands stretched in supplication.
“Take this hag from my sight,” I ordered. “Toss her outside the palace gates, where she belongs.”
Before the servants could move, she stood, spine shockingly erect. Her rheumy eyes sparkled like brilliant emeralds. She grinned, and her mouth was luscious; she was melting into youth.
“You will regret this.”
A howl was my only response.
The fourth of the seven virtues is diligence: “A zealous and careful nature in one’s actions and work,” according to Wikipedia. This entry was actually a blast to write, as it involves Tempest, the hard-drinking, rabble-rousing saloon singer of my WIP, tell me no lies, and Adam Davenport, the honorable, fastidious, and meticulous detective that falls for her.
