Discover Top Posts Tagged with #spelled.12days

pause. ( breathe. think. go. )

day seven: one word drabble prompt “ pause ”

i. two years old.

he remembers a flea market. he remembers his mother’s hands. he remembers the feeling of the sun beating down. he remembers the way she brushed the tears from his chubby cheeks and the stings from his scraped knees and the annoyed looks from the passersby. he remembers making a fist and hurling it toward his mother and his hands being caught by larger, more gentler ones. but mostly, he remembers his mother telling him: “ when you feel upset, or nervous, sad, afraid, or even furious... before you act, first pause. then you breathe. and think about what you’re doing and what you’re about to do. once you do all of those, only then can you go. say it with me. “ pause. breathe. think. go. ” ( two days later, she would leave him on the back of a merchant cart with nothing but a stuffed animal, a basket of food, and a note. not that eli can remember. but looking back, eli wonders how she could pause, and breathe, and think, yet still go ahead with that. )

ii. five years old.

if he hid, then he wouldn’t have to go back. they can’t send back someone that they couldn’t find. so that’s why he was so upset when his dad scooped him into a fireman’s carry and they took off towards mom’s room. eli did everything he possibly could to delay the inevitable. he banged on eugene’s back, he kicked his legs, and mostly screamed bloody murder. it had almost worked. pretty soon, he was being put down and as his short legs lowered towards the ground he got himself ready to sprint only to be trapped by his father’s larger, much stronger arms that he couldn’t escape despite how much squirming he tried. “ don’t you want to go in, bud? ” eugene asked. he was answered by a frantic head shake. this made the older man laugh, “ well you’re going in anyways. might as well compose yourself right now before you upset your mother. ” elijah would never want to upset rapunzel. if he made her upset it would be like the cherry on top and they’d send him away for sure. tears started to well up and threatened to drop. “compose yourself, buddy, ” eugene gently urged, “ just take a breath. ” pause. breathe. think. they wouldn’t replace you. they won’t send you back to the orphanage. you’re being irrational. maybe you’ll like them once you meet them. go. “ i think, ” the young prince hiccuped, “ i think i’m ready. ” eugene grinned widely, “ then let’s go. ” he scooped the five-year-old into his arms and brought him into the room. “ time to meet your new sibling. ”

iii. twelve years old. ( 10 minutes before his thirteenth birthday )

eli’s ankle itched, but if he went to scratch it he knew that his mother would just swat his arm away from the bandages. it was times like these that made eli wish his mother’s haircut didn’t permanently de-magic-ify her hair. not only did his ankle itch literally, but something inside him itched to run away, only his previous attempt to run away is what landed him with his recently-healed broken ankle in the first place. “ why so glum? ” eugene asked, straightening the collar eli’s ceremonial suit. this one was new, not only to fit his rapidly growing body ( god, puberty is a bitch ), but also to reflect his new status. while his past ceremonial wear were mostly simple patterns, this one was created specifically for this event. adorned with delicate golden detailing, elegant and intricate designs of the sun contracted the dark purple of the jacket he wore. and honestly? eli thought he looked like an idiot ( not to mention how stiff the material was ). but his mother designed it herself and thus he would never dare speak his thoughts. the only upside was he would only have to wear is once, then it would go up in some display case somewhere where he could forget about it. “ do i really have to do this, dad? i mean... what if i go out there and everyone’s disappointed? ” eli confided, “ what if people think i’m not good enough? or if my voice cracks during the speech? i don’t want to go out there. ” “ that’s what’s worrying you? ” a nod. “ i don’t want to go out there, ” eli repeated. “ but all of your friends will be there! don’t you want to see them? ” “ but i won’t even get to talk to them! i’ll be too busy at the front with you! ” “ but just think about how quickly it will be over once you get out there! ” “ and we’ll be right there next to you the whole time, ” rapunzel piped in, directing him to stand directly in front of the door. it was 11:58. only two more minutes left. he could feel himself starting to sweat with nerves. sure, he’d had balls thrown in his honor before but none of them were as important as these! 11:59. he could hear the people outside start to quiet down in anticipation. his mother squeezed his shoulder. his father patted him on the back. the announcer cleared his throat. bells rang signifying midnight. the doors dramatically swung open to reveal a grand ballroom, of which the royal family of corona stood at the top of the ornate staircase. he could see some of his friends bowing with the rest of the crowd, but subtly waving or giving a thumbs up. he could see his siblings toward the back, by the thrones, already looking quite bored by the procession. pause. breathe. think. just get it over with. do it for your people and do it for your parents. you’ve rehearsed this for weeks. go. he stepped forward. “ now presenting for the first time as the official crown prince: his royal highness elijah frederic fitzherbert of corona! ”

iv. eighteen years old.

" it’s not working! ” he yelled, slamming the bowl down on the counter in a fit of anger. the few servants milling around the kitchen winced, but after a moment continued with their own tasks. this same outburst had happened multiple times over the past few days. “ why won’t this stupid souffle rise!? ” he untied his apron, threw it forcefully onto the counter top, and stormed out of the room. he’d been trying to make this souffle for three straight days now, but all of his attempts failed in one way or another. one was over baked, the other raw in the middle. and now it refused to rise, even though yesterday it rose just fine. should he just give up? yes. at this point, it will never work so he should just stop trying! he began to walk away. pause. breathe. think. you should really impress this duke ( and his cute son! ). it’s a dumb dessert. how will you lead a kingdom if you let a souffle defeat you? maybe it just needs a different folding technique. go. he pivoted on his heels and headed toward the kitchen. he was going to perfect these motherfucking souffles even if it killed him.

v. twenty seven years old.

panic. people were panicking. and could eli blame them? they’d just found out they were trapped in a castle by evil magic with no way out. he had so many questions. who would want to do this? what exterior motive did they have? were they targeting someone? how would they get out? a small hand poked his thigh. “ yes? ” he managed to choke out, staring at the young child. he recognized the boy from the party the night before — he’d been playing near the desserts table. wide eyes blinked back at him, before the boy quietly asked, “ everyone’s so scared. are we going to die? ” were they? they had no idea what the villain that trapped them here had in store. were they going to attack them now that the whole castle were at their the most vulnerable? oh god, this kid was looking at him expecting him to have an answer. how was he supposed to know? pause. breathe. think. there are plenty of experienced magic users. evil hasn’t won yet, and it wouldn’t this time. go. “ we, ” he smiled softly, picking the boy up and placing him on a table to look at him at eye level, “ are going to be just fine. ” hopefully, if he said it enough he could convince himself, too.

#spelled.12days

Trending Tags

Recently Viewed Tags

#spelled.12days