Here’s my last of the Seven Virtues Flash Fiction challenge, which was a total blast! This is goes along with my fill for “Humility.”
…
“Released”
“Break the rebel,” her father had told her, but as Alaia stared at the powerfully-built man chained to her bedpost, her heart ached with compassion. Pierce’s eyes were filled with loss and emptiness, his face hollow from malnutrition. The thought of punishing him left her nauseous.
This was bitter vengeance on her father’s part, a way to humiliate the man who led the rebellion against him, but she wanted no part of such punishment. With deft fingers, she freed him from his bonds, ignoring his noise of shock.
“I’ll find a way to free you,” she promised. “For now, sleep.”
August 14, 2011 at 12:46 am
Ooo! Love this one! I really like getting to see Alaia again and make a connection in this fascinating world of Strange Bedfellows. Do I smell a love triangle?
“The thought of punishing him left her nauseous.” Is my favorite line here, because I get the sense that she’s the sort who can really punish someone–and her heart just isn’t in it against this man who’s already been destroyed.
Interesting that he’s still powerfully built if his face is showing malnutrition, but I like the emptiness in his eyes.
August 14, 2011 at 12:54 am
Yes, your instincts are correct: there is indeed a love triangle in this tale. I haven’t gotten a chance to write up a synopsis for it, but the basic storyline is that Alaia is torn between Pierce, the rebel she has been charged with breaking, and Lucius, her advisor, chief steward of her household, and the man she’s been in a pretty intense on-again, off-again relationship with for years.
Alaia is another interesting character because she is, as you noticed, capable of punishing someone. However, she’s willing to defy her father, a powerful emperor, and do what she can to protect Pierce.
August 14, 2011 at 4:44 am
I agree with David. This is so visual. I’m left to anticipate what happens next.
August 14, 2011 at 1:08 pm
I love that you have set these up as a matched pair. The different facets of Alaia are fascinating and I really like the way you’ve played them out here. What comes next?!