If you still haven't heard of Emily White's cross-genre twisted fairytale blogging contest over at Stepping Into Fantasy, head on over there for the scoop and links to the other entries. But in the meantime, I hope you enjoy my entry, written by me (obviously):
One prick, and my life stills, given o’er to slumber. But I awake into a strange new world – they call me “goddess”, my body transformed, my limbs, once waiflike, now hard and strong. “They” are my people. A man, Palaemon, is their king, and when he touches me he touches my very soul. We share an enemy. The creatures rain down in strange ships, bug-eyed and buzzing, bearing chains, smelling of death. I drive them from the lands, fighting their razor-sharp light with the fire of a thousand suns. Palaemon drowns them in the waters, prisoners in their metal houses. “My” people become “our” people, and we usher in a new dawn to the sound of my name: “Au-ro-RA!” Their king is my king, his hand sure, his lips soft, and my eyes open to a cold bed, a haggard prince, castle walls crumbling around my ears.
Be sure to check out the other entries, and check back at Emily's site in the next few days for her pick of the top five and your chance to vote for your favorite.
A lovely little tidbit! It doesn't reveal much, but tells enough to really grip the reader! I love how you've turned Aurora into Au-ro-RA, the Egyptian sun god, and give her the power of "a thousand suns". A clever merging of classic fairytale and Egyptian (and Greek? Palaemon sounds Greek) mythology.
ReplyDeleteThis really caught my atention. Its not much but really, really well written! Great job!
ReplyDeleteooh i love a good short. Love the merging of the mythos
ReplyDeleteWow - thanks for the compliments, guys! JC, Palaemon was a Greek god. Aurora was a Greek goddess of the dawn, but I wanted to make her more powerful than that, so I fiddled with her name a bit in the way the crowds chant it. Good catch!
ReplyDeleteClara and Sarah, thanks so much. I'm really glad you liked it!
Awesome blending of Greek myth with Sleeping Beauty. I'd love to see this drawn out into a longer story.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kate! Maybe once I've finished my current projects...
ReplyDeleteThere was so much within so little words. Love the play with Greek myth and Sleeping Beauty. Wonderful! :D
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI loved this because it moves away from standard fairytelling and plays along with Greek myths!
Beautifully done!
best
F
Update: I'm posting finalists tomorrow. Not Wednesday. See you there! :D
ReplyDeleteI love micro-fiction. This was very vivid, with great attention to detail and the individual word choice in each sentence. That was very nice to see.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for participating!
Scribbler to Scribe
Look at you, participating in the blogfest! I've read a lot of these today -- good job!
ReplyDeleteAw, geez - you're making me blush, you guys!
ReplyDeleteBrenda and Francine, I'm really glad you liked the Greek mythology/fairytale blend.
Mesmerix, thanks for the compliment! I've never really tackled anything this short before, so I'm glad you liked it.
Elana, thanks for the kind words. I realized that this is the first time I've posted any of my work someplace other than a crit board. It was scary! But fun. I might do it more often.
Thanks for your comments, everybody!
This was a wonderful piece of flash fiction. You did an amazing job for so few words - I really enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteWow, this was very interesting. So short and yet so good! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Steph! (I have to admit that I embarrassingly have no clear idea of what "flash fiction" is - I've been wishing that I could write it, but feeling like I couldn't write it if I didn't know what it was. Embarrassing to admit that, but it's true. If this is it, then I have an idea of what it is now, so thanks for the insight!)
ReplyDeleteAnd AchingHope, THANK YOU!
All these wonderful comments are so great to hear. You have no idea.
An a very clever fiddling of names it was! Good work!
ReplyDeleteI love "what came after" scenarios.
ReplyDeletethis was different; exciting and weird and gratifying.
.......dhole
I always liked taking the expected and twisting it. I like the Egyptian myth slant you've given us here. Excellent job, Roland
ReplyDeleteI love how you've mixed myth with fable. Very well written, and I would have loved to read a more detailed telling.
ReplyDeleteSorry I wasn't able to visit today!!! Too many things to catch up on, but I'm glad I made a visit today!!!
ReplyDeleteI love this piece, you are very creative and I love this short story!! Excellent re-telling!
Donna, thank you! I'm glad you liked the "weird". ;-)
ReplyDeleteRoland, thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Damyanti, I would have loved to have written a more detailed telling, but this one just wouldn't come out that way. Maybe when I'm done with my current projects and have more time to wrestle it into a different form. Thank you!
Jen, I'm glad you liked this. Thanks for the good feedback!
You guys are so awesome.
So much said in such a short piece. Absolutely fantastic. I'm a bit jealous. Loved it.
ReplyDeleteWow - thanks, Rebecca!
ReplyDelete