Banner photo by Irene Yu
Don't Walk Alone
by Heidi Elder
There was a girl who lived in a small rural town. While she was walking to her house one night, she was met with the shadow of a man in the street. She kept her eyes low and one of her hands twitched at her side. She was hoping that neither of them would have to start anything that night. Thankfully, she passed him without a word and he didn’t even acknowledge her presence. Once she was far enough away from him, she let out a sigh; relief flooding through her blood as her unjustified fear subsided.
But as she walked underneath the glow of the next lamppost, she heard footsteps behind her. She looked back quickly but saw nothing. She switched up her pace, just in case it wasn’t her mind playing tricks with her. The echoey footsteps sped up with her. She stopped walking completely and she was only surrounded by the crickets and cicadas. No shady men and definitely no one following her; she was just scaring herself. Still, the uneasy feeling stuck to her and persuaded her to take a different way home that night.
She turned off the main road and onto a concealed path through the forest. The sudden canopy of leaves above her dimmed the moon but she could still see; she could thank the cloudless sky for that. To people who grew up in the city, the forest might seem like a worse option to the artificially-lit streets that snaked through the town, but she grew up in this town, she knew where the real danger lay. She, unlike most people, could see the beauty in the dark wood, usually. That night, however, there was something off, as if something bad was going to happen.
Her fingers found their way to her neck, where her locket hung. It was a golden chain and at the end was a heart pendant that could be pried open. Inside it was a picture of her and her family: her mom, her dad, and her sister. Her sister had been given an identical necklace, one with a silver chain instead of gold. That was much like their relation to each other, she was always the golden child, her sister was just silver. It wasn’t a harsh thought, just a fact that they both knew well.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as the chilling feeling returned. She glanced behind her but something hard connected with the back of her head. The girl’s legs collapsed from underneath her and she crumpled to the ground. For a moment, it seemed the entire forest went silent, all except for the heavy breathing of the figure standing over the girl’s corpse.
It was only a few weeks before her funeral was held. Once her family heard the news, they were heartbroken. It was only a half-hour before the ceremony and the dead girl’s mother cried as she straightened the silver chain around the corpse’s neck. She had given it to her as a birthday present. In fact, she had given an identical one to her twin on the same birthday. She backed away from the coffin, into the arms of her other daughter. Absentmindedly, she rubbed her thumb over her daughter’s golden locket. She couldn’t bear it anymore and broke down, crying.
Her daughter soothed her in a hushed tone but no one else seemed to catch the smile on her face before her focus returned and she tried her best to look sad, even without tears in her eyes. She wished a bitter farewell to the corpse in the coffin. Her sister had had enough time to be ‘the golden girl’, it was her turn now.
But as she walked underneath the glow of the next lamppost, she heard footsteps behind her. She looked back quickly but saw nothing. She switched up her pace, just in case it wasn’t her mind playing tricks with her. The echoey footsteps sped up with her. She stopped walking completely and she was only surrounded by the crickets and cicadas. No shady men and definitely no one following her; she was just scaring herself. Still, the uneasy feeling stuck to her and persuaded her to take a different way home that night.
She turned off the main road and onto a concealed path through the forest. The sudden canopy of leaves above her dimmed the moon but she could still see; she could thank the cloudless sky for that. To people who grew up in the city, the forest might seem like a worse option to the artificially-lit streets that snaked through the town, but she grew up in this town, she knew where the real danger lay. She, unlike most people, could see the beauty in the dark wood, usually. That night, however, there was something off, as if something bad was going to happen.
Her fingers found their way to her neck, where her locket hung. It was a golden chain and at the end was a heart pendant that could be pried open. Inside it was a picture of her and her family: her mom, her dad, and her sister. Her sister had been given an identical necklace, one with a silver chain instead of gold. That was much like their relation to each other, she was always the golden child, her sister was just silver. It wasn’t a harsh thought, just a fact that they both knew well.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as the chilling feeling returned. She glanced behind her but something hard connected with the back of her head. The girl’s legs collapsed from underneath her and she crumpled to the ground. For a moment, it seemed the entire forest went silent, all except for the heavy breathing of the figure standing over the girl’s corpse.
It was only a few weeks before her funeral was held. Once her family heard the news, they were heartbroken. It was only a half-hour before the ceremony and the dead girl’s mother cried as she straightened the silver chain around the corpse’s neck. She had given it to her as a birthday present. In fact, she had given an identical one to her twin on the same birthday. She backed away from the coffin, into the arms of her other daughter. Absentmindedly, she rubbed her thumb over her daughter’s golden locket. She couldn’t bear it anymore and broke down, crying.
Her daughter soothed her in a hushed tone but no one else seemed to catch the smile on her face before her focus returned and she tried her best to look sad, even without tears in her eyes. She wished a bitter farewell to the corpse in the coffin. Her sister had had enough time to be ‘the golden girl’, it was her turn now.
Rosemary: Queen of Umbrel
By Logan Webster
Fanfare flooded the throne room. Ornate purple and yellow banners cascaded from the indoor balconies above. Granite pillars, white as a dove’s cloak stood every ten feet were tethered together with regal red drapes. Throngs of commoners crowded the hall. A minister in flowing alabaster robes stood crooked in age at the altar at the end of the hall. The murals on the ceiling reflected rainbow light from the candelabras suspended from the balconies. My coronation couldn’t have been more perfect. No less than I deserved of course. Nothing but the best for the one and only, Rosemary: Queen to be of Umbrel!
Walking up the minister, I was the only person in the world that mattered. I had a crown worth millions. Twenty servants held up my train. At my command, knights would throw themselves on their swords. My nail clippings were worth more than the common farmer’s life! The best part was that I hadn’t even peaked yet! Queenly majesty is so much better than the princess kind. It’s even worth watching your parents succumb to gangrene and receiving a letter that your brothers weren’t coming back from the war. Oh yes, I was the center of attention.
“Ladies and gentlemen, knaves and noblemen. We are gathered here today to celebrate the coronation of Queen Rosemary. May she live long, prosperously, and rule the kingdom of Umbrel with an iron fist!” cried the old minister.
“Long live the Queen! Long live the Queen!” A chant rose from the crowd. I pumped my fist with them. They were all mine! I ruled them! I could never let this power escape me. If I led them to war, they would fight. If I hoarded tax money, they would starve. They would all obey me and only me. It was a feeling like no other.
After I had left the ceremony, some guards beckoned me to follow them. Being in an excellent mood, I did so without hassle. At the peak of highest chamber was a chest. One of the guards opened it and pulled out a scroll and handed it to me.
“It is under strict order of the previous queen that the contents of this chest be given to her daughter in the event of her late Majesty's death. They are for your Majesty’s eyes only and secret the highest degree. We will leave you alone to consider the items left for you.” and they did. I read the decrepit parchment.
For Rosemary Umbrel,
As you know, the women of our family have always been ones of great power. However, you do not know why: Our family did not found this village turned city turned kingdom with manpower alone. We used the help of witchcraft. Generations ago, the very moon bestowed us the power to control nature. This gift has been kept secret ever since the beginning. You are now the only person alive to know of this power. You may have noticed that you feel stronger at night. This is because the moon is shining on you, giving you the power of Mother Earth herself need you only try to control her. This strength possessed only by you is to be kept under strict confidence. You know the people’s disposition towards witches. They would turn on you in an instant. Always remember I love you more than life itself.
~XOXO Vanessa Umbrel
Shocked. Flabbergasted. Completely frozen. I dropped the letter back into the box. It took a good minute to completely regain myself. Peering back down into the chest, I saw a dying flower in a pot. Taking it out, I retired for the night, being exhausted from the day’s unbelievable events. Placing the ghastly flower on my windowsill, I noticed the full moon, shining its benevolent power onto me. Its wonderful, horrible, life-altering power. Turning back to the plant now on the brink of death, I focused all my energy and did the first thing that popped into my head. I stared at it with the intent of transforming it into a fully blossoming flower. This is stupid! I was telling myself. I’m only human! A wonderfully glamorous human, but still… when suddenly the decaying plant started to shift. Slowly it started to rise up and collect its petals. Very, very slowly. At first I was amazed, but then again, why would my dying mother lie about something so huge. Nevertheless…
Thirty seconds later, the flower was still gathering up its act. My God, this is taking forever. Faster, faster you stupid plant! Slower and slower, the stupid plant went. FASTER!! The plant stopped immediately. I flew into a rage and the most incredible thing happened. The plant froze, encased in ice. It shattered.
Sitting down on my bed to process what happened, I decided it was best just to sleep. And sleep I did. If the morning ever came, I wouldn’t be ready for it. My life had been changed forever. For better or for worse, that was to be decided.
Ding! Ding! Ding! went the sound of the morning bell. Rubbing my eyes, I called in the nurses to dress me. Quick and reliable as always, I was eating alone at my giant dining table in mere minutes. Oatmeal. the perfect meal for quiet contemplation. I took full advantage. Eating neatly and efficiently as I always did, I was as ready for the day as I was going to get. A squire burst into the sombre-mooded dining hall
“Your majesty, the ambassador of our sister kingdom Luxhaven is here to discuss legal agreements with you.” he announced.
“Yes, yes, send him in!” While I acted aloof and sure footed, I was nervous as the day is long about my first queenly duty. Though I was tense, I was sure I could make it through without a hitch. That was until he entered the room.
Well kept, jet black hair, sparkling blue eyes, perfect pearly whites in a smile just the right amount of fake, and beautiful breeches, oh how the breeches shook when he walked. Marvelous.
“Madam highness? Are you quite alright?” Oh the voice on this specimen. So professional…
“If I may madam, this is a matter of kingdomwide importance.” he reminded me in his darling voice.
I shook myself, “Of course, of course… shall we go somewhere more private location to discuss this matter, issue… whatever it is?” I asked with my usual wonderful personality and legend-worthy smoothness.
“The joint centurion training initiative, milady.” he said.
“...Uh huh… now how about that date, uh private location I mentioned earlier, huh? Yes let’s go!” I was doing it! I was taking courting into female hands! And I think it was working. He certainly seemed wooed. He was stuttering and looked amazed. That’s what you want right? I grabbed his burly arm and dragged him up into one of the high chambers of the castle. We talked and talked about various things for hours. Again and again he tried to lead the conversation back into politics, but I stopped him at every turn. His name was Thatcher. He loved moonlight carriage rides and pumpkin pie. He had two brothers and a sister. His favourite animal was the hawk and his hobbies included horseback riding and skipping stones on the bay separating our two kingdoms. Into the night we talked until finally, he roped me back into the agreement and he was on his way.
Confident that I had made a good impression, I strutted to my chambers, picking up a morning glory seed just because I was so happy. When I got back to my flower pot on the windowsill, I planted my new seed and gave my best shot at making it grow. Incredibly (or maybe not, considering my natural talent), the plant grew rapidly! In seconds I had a fully blooming gorgeous new splash of colour in my life.
The months flew by and I was an amazing queen. I was also making great progress with my magical ability and so did relationship with Thatcher. While we had yet to sleep together or even kiss, I knew that those firsts were coming… soon… I could make plants grow, shrivel up, and even bend small fireplace logs. I had not summoned any more ice since the very first day. I was getting stronger. I could feel it.
One day, I was eating lunch alone, when a servant knocking at my door. He opened it and spoke,
“Your Stateliness, I have been sent to remind you about the castle ball tonight for all the neighbouring kingdoms. Have you picked out a gown for the evening?” he questioned gingerly.
“Of course I haven’t! Who do you take me for? Some common slob?” I had completely forgotten. “I think it quite rude to suggest so!”
“Right your Illustriousness. You are the queen after all.”
“That is correct. Will master Thatcher be there tonight?” I wondered aloud tentatively.
“He should be, your Magnanimousness.” he answered.
“Thank you then, that will be all.” I beckoned for him to leave.
“Anything, your Magnificenceness” he left, guards the huge doors behind him with a bang. I had to get ready! I couldn’t wait for Thatcher to get his act together! I had to make a move on him tonight!
Eight hours later, I was the most frivolously dressed any Queen had ever been. In a luscious flamingo gown laced with lace and ribboned with ribbons, my noblest silver and ruby tiara, and shoes made of pure diamond, any woman would have killed to be me. Envy of the ball for sure. Arriving with the sheer dignity of 20 knights, I owned the floor, literally and figuratively. Strangely, Thatcher was nowhere to be seen. After half an hour of no luck finding him in the hall, I started to search elsewhere. Dining room? No. Bathrooms? Also no. Bedroom? Not there either. Then came the coatroom. I opened the door and my eyes saw sights of horror. Shocked. Flabbergasted. Completely frozen. Thatcher! He was, was, was… snogging that woman! A terrible, age-long five seconds passed. Eyes met. Tension skyrocketed. My blood turned cold. I flew into a rage. This was my evening. This man had completely disrespected my feelings. This was my castle! He had passed up my love, given to him, so undeserving!! THIS WAS MY WORLD!!! NO ONE WOULD MAKE A FOOL OF ROSEMARY UMBREL!!!
A cold wind started to blow. I could feel black clouds gathering in the sky above. The bay beside the castle grew restless. Birds cried out! Woodland creatures darted into their trees. I flew into a rage. A frigid explosion shook the kingdom to its roots. Everything for miles was encased in a thin sheet of ice. Perfectly preserved. Entirely dead. I was not finished. The earth started to shake. Ice started to splinter. The quake grew more and more powerful until one moment when the entire kingdom shattered and melted leaving nothing but dust and corpses. Nature possessed me. I was no longer human! I grew even more furious. The forests instantaneously over the once fair kingdom. Trees grew a mile a minute until faint glimmers of moonlight were left. Completely in tune with nature, I could see things no human had ever seen before. The heartbeat of the trees, the natural rhythm of the forest. The souls of my victims clawing their way into heaven. Still enraged, I gathered the energy of the forest and manifested it into chains and anchors. I found the spirit of the traitorous pig Thatcher and wrapped them around his ankle. He would never again be free. Never get to experience heaven. Never know how life would have been had he chosen to give his heart to me. He now and forever would be: chained.
Chainmail
By Rowen Schofield
“If you don't send a copy of this letter to 100 people by midnight tonight, you will be struck down by a deadly curse.”
Three men stood in a room around a table upon which the letter rested. They were three great knights, the king’s finest. And they were under the threat of death from this letter, sent to them by an unknown source.
“We cannot just let this happen, we must find whoever wrote this and wipe them off the face of this earth!” Said the first knight, angry and ready for battle.
“No Brandyn, we will not be able to find them by midnight, we must go through with what this letter demands.” The knight saying this was not mad, he sighed slowly and sat down in his chair, “I do not like the prospect of cursing others for our own sake but this is something that is necessary.”
“Indeed, Wilfred is right, we are the king’s strongest protectors, and we must live so that we can carry on defending him. There is a war going on and there have been many threats to his life already, think of what might be able to kill him if all three of us were out of the picture.” Edmund was the eldest of the three knights and having the most experience, he was well respected by the others. After a few more minutes of argument, Edmund and Wilfred managed to convince Brandyn to help, and they all got to work. Their plan was for Edmund to write out all the letters and then Brandyn and Wilfred would take the letters out and deliver them as fast as possible.
The knights worked hard all throughout the night and it was right after Brandyn and Wilfred had picked up their most recent batch of letters that Edmund finished the last one. There were only five letters left and Edmund knew that it would take a while for the other two to get back. Midnight was fast approaching, so he donned his chainmail armour and left the house to deliver the last few letters. He ran through the streets and began running up to the houses to check if they had letters before dropping his own. With the last letter clutched in his hand, he ran up to the final house, but before he could put it down, the writing on the letter changed. The letter now read:
“Time’s up.”
Edmund felt his chainmail tightening around him. The letter dropped from his hand as he fell to the ground. The next day, screams echoed throughout the streets and warning bells rang in the castle as people found the lifeless bodies of the three greatest knights in the kingdom.
Three men stood in a room around a table upon which the letter rested. They were three great knights, the king’s finest. And they were under the threat of death from this letter, sent to them by an unknown source.
“We cannot just let this happen, we must find whoever wrote this and wipe them off the face of this earth!” Said the first knight, angry and ready for battle.
“No Brandyn, we will not be able to find them by midnight, we must go through with what this letter demands.” The knight saying this was not mad, he sighed slowly and sat down in his chair, “I do not like the prospect of cursing others for our own sake but this is something that is necessary.”
“Indeed, Wilfred is right, we are the king’s strongest protectors, and we must live so that we can carry on defending him. There is a war going on and there have been many threats to his life already, think of what might be able to kill him if all three of us were out of the picture.” Edmund was the eldest of the three knights and having the most experience, he was well respected by the others. After a few more minutes of argument, Edmund and Wilfred managed to convince Brandyn to help, and they all got to work. Their plan was for Edmund to write out all the letters and then Brandyn and Wilfred would take the letters out and deliver them as fast as possible.
The knights worked hard all throughout the night and it was right after Brandyn and Wilfred had picked up their most recent batch of letters that Edmund finished the last one. There were only five letters left and Edmund knew that it would take a while for the other two to get back. Midnight was fast approaching, so he donned his chainmail armour and left the house to deliver the last few letters. He ran through the streets and began running up to the houses to check if they had letters before dropping his own. With the last letter clutched in his hand, he ran up to the final house, but before he could put it down, the writing on the letter changed. The letter now read:
“Time’s up.”
Edmund felt his chainmail tightening around him. The letter dropped from his hand as he fell to the ground. The next day, screams echoed throughout the streets and warning bells rang in the castle as people found the lifeless bodies of the three greatest knights in the kingdom.