Rough Draft Part 4
Ghost in the machine
Welcome to my little corner of the internet! I’m so glad you’re here. Below you’ll find part four of my fantasy short story Rough Draft. It starts like you might expect: our Hero is on a mission to rescue the Princess. I’m excited to show you where it goes from there.
Want to start at the beginning? Here you go:
Two bodies lay in the snow.
The storm had broken, leaving scattered flakes to drift lazily to the ground. Slowly, the smaller of the two began to move. She turned over and looked at her companion.
“Anaxl?” she asked, pushing his shoulder. The other body stirred, uttering a low groan.
“Anaxl! Are we dead?”
“I don’t... I think not. Although…” Anaxl sat up and gingerly stretched his injured leg. “…it was unwise to provoke the Narrator, your grace.”
“Why?” she asked, standing up and brushing snow from her cloak. “Everything worked out in the end. Where are we, anyway?”
“The bottom of the mountain.” He stood up and took a few steps, then, grimacing, sat down on a rock. “Where we will be for some time, I think.”
“Nonsense,” the princess replied. “We have no time to dally. Make him fix you.”
“Make him… I do not believe you understand how this…”
“No, no, I’m seeing it quite clearly now, actually. If we truly are his creations, if we are a part of a story, then it means that we are important. So it stands to reason that he needs us. Not the other way around.” She stood up, waving her hands around for emphasis. “How could he let you stay here injured? Who would be interested in that?”
“I… I do not have a good response to that, your grace.”
“Royalty is no accident, Anaxl. Now, enough talk. We must be on the move.”
“But my leg, your grace. It is still injured. The Narrator has not granted your request.”
“Oh, he will,” she said. “He just doesn’t know it yet. I wonder…” She walked back to where they had landed and, picking up Anaxl’s pack, began to dump its contents onto the snow. “Ah, there it is.” She grabbed another leaf-wrapped piece of bread and shoved it towards him. Anaxl took her offering and began to eat, staring off in the distance.
“This does not feel right to me…” he said between mouthfuls.
“We decide what is right,” the princess countered. “Now walk.”
He stood, taking a few exploratory steps. His leg did feel better. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were pushing the story in ways it was not meant to go. “Yes,” Anaxl said, nodding, “that is a good way to put it.”
“Stop listening to him,” the princess said. “The only power he has is that which we lend him. Let’s go home.” She took a few steps, then stopped. “Which way is home again?”
The path split in two not far off, both leading into the distance without a discernible difference between them. This close to the mountain they were hardly paths at all, more closely resembling semi-cleared openings between the trees that a person might fit through. Anaxl stepped up beside the princess and narrowed his eyes.
“You do not remember?”
She looked at him from the corner of her eyes. “I have… difficulty,” she said, “thinking about anything from before you found me. Surely it is side effect of what the witch did to me?”
“I do not know, your grace.” He pointed down once of the paths. “You see where the sun is setting?” She nodded. “That will lead us home,” he continued. “Although I am not sure that is where we should head.”
She turned toward him. “Explain.”
“The witch. She will come after us.” He took a deep breath. “Our best move would be to neutralize her as a threat.”
“And how do we do that?”
“The other path,” he said, “will lead us to a weapon of great power. But the journey will be perilous.”
The princess put her hands on her hips. “And why,” she asked, “did you not procure this weapon before rescuing me?”
“I thought to escape with you unnoticed. But nothing about this mission has gone according to plan, if there ever was a plan at all.”
“It sounds too risky to me,” she said. “Besides, how far away could home be? Would we not be safer in my father’s castle, protected by his army?”
“Perhaps, but traditional story structure practically demands that we encounter further trials before returning victorious…”
“I’ve already told you,” she said, “we decide the story now. Sometimes it is perfectly acceptable to live happily ever after.”
“Of course, your grace,” Anaxl said, bowing his head and gesturing in front of him. “Lead the way.”
They had only walked a few steps down the path, however, when the sky darkened. Sheets of rain began to pour down, and within seconds the snow had turned to mush, making their footing treacherous.
“This is his doing!” the princess said, pulling her cloak tight around her and turning her head towards Anaxl to be heard over the storm. “We cannot let him win.” She continued walking as she spoke, not paying attention to the winding path before her.
Anaxl reached out and jerked her backwards just before the first boulder smashed the ground where she had been standing. They both shied back as humungous rocks began to crash down onto the path, blocking their way through. She turned to Anaxl, eyes wild with fear.
“He’s a maniac!” she yelled. “He almost killed me. But… he wouldn’t have really…I mean, he couldn’t… would he?”
Anaxl put an arm around her, gently guiding her back the way they had come. “Might I suggest we try the other path?”
Suggested music for Part 4: Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
You’re so close to Chapter 5! It’s…. different:
Like what you see? Feel free to subscribe to get notified when something new pops out of my brain.
Already subscribed? Like, share, comment, and put on your sunglasses; you’re part of the cool kids club.