I’ve enjoyed our Friday Fantasy Reflections posts, but I thought I might try something new for this summer. This idea has been nagging at the back of my mind for some time lately, but I finally decided to make it happen. So this summer, every Friday, I intend to post the next installment of a serial “short-ish” story for your enjoyment …
Nothing serious. Nothing edited or polished. Just something fun I’m scribbling on as the mood strikes me. A fun mash-up of something reminiscent of the early to mid eighteen hundreds with cannons and firearms, as well as magic and common fairy tale/fantasy tropes.
But that’s not it. Not only do you get to read it, you get to help decide what happens. Yep. You heard right. Feel the power! Curious how it will work? Read Installment One below!
When Destiny comes calling, it’s usually best to open the door.
Promptly.
So Alexander Mitus Scott Beauford III discovered when the passionate ringing of the doorbell disturbed his contemplation of the inner workings of a cannon. With a sigh, he set aside his wrench and pliers and slid out from beneath the twelve pounder, smacking his forehead on the barrel as he tried to sit up. Clutching his head, he stumbled to his feet and nearly tripped over a ramrod. He surveyed the stain damage to his trousers and white shirt, and the cannon parts strewn across the wood floor of the study from the paneled door to the base of Father’s massive desk.
The mess was unavoidable. One could not become a militaristic genius without a considerable amount of chaos and destruction. But that did not mean Mother would be pleased. The Baroness of Midsig could spot a speck of dirt on the floor from a dozen yards away. And to say the study floor was filthy might be putting it mildly.
The doorbell shrilled again. Alexander swiped grimy hands across the knees of his trousers, shoved the flapping ends of his shirt into his belt, and muscled into his waistcoat and jacket. It wouldn’t do for the son of the Baron of Midsig to answer the door in his shirt sleeves. Then again, he shouldn’t be answering the door at all. Good servants might not be hard to come by here in the center of the realm, but they were certainly hard to keep. He denied any part in orchestrating the mass desertions that took place nearly monthly from the servants’ quarters, but truth be told, he was scarce sorry to see the servants go. Most of them simply got in the way of important things like research.
Alexander made it halfway down the front hallway before noticing his stockinged feet and the hole over his right big toe. Shoes … shoes … of course, he would have left them in the study with the cannon. Typical.
The doorbell rang a third time. A long, drawn-out buzz.
Alexander scuffed his stockinged feet against the floor. No time to go back for his shoes now. “I’m coming! I’m coming! Hold your horses!” He flung the door open and poked his head out to see a tall woman in a fitted, steel-gray dress, standing on the stoop with a notebook and pen in hand and a disapproving expression on her face.
“Is this—” she consulted the notebook—“Is this the home of Baron and Barroness Midsig and their son Alexander Mitus Scott Beauford III?
Alexander eased the door closed just a tad to conceal his shoeless state. “It is. Can I help you?”
The woman adjusted her spectacles, staring down her pointed nose at him. “That is the question, isn’t it? Ready or not, chosen or not, incompetent fool or not, I suppose we shall see. Follow me.” She brushed down her already smooth skirts and glided down the manor house steps.
Alexander paused on the stoop. “Wait … what? I don’t understand? What’s this about? Who are you?”
The woman swung back around, graceful as a bird on the wing. “Your kind call me Destiny.”
So of course, Alexander Mitus Scott Beauford III did what any reasonable person would do when confronted with such a statement. He …
* * * * *
What did Alexander do? Help me decide by picking your favorite of the three options below and voting in the comments. Thanks!
1) Smiled politely and slammed the door shut on Miss Destiny’s primly upturned nose.
2) Stammered an incoherent reply and beat a hasty retreat to the study where there were enough firearms on display that he should be able to defend himself against the attacks of any number of insane persons.
3) Swiped his hands on his trousers again, took a deep breath, and pulled his cloak from the hook by the door and his dueling pistols and sword from the umbrella stand. “Right,” he said. “Let’s be off.”
Tune in next Friday to see your vote determine the course of the next installment.
I really like the third one!
Can I just say… I… love… this! : D What a fantastic idea! I have to go with the second choice, since I feel like the first and the last deny you, as the author, a chance to explain just who Miss Destiny is.
Great idea, Gillian! The lady is called Destiny!!! That's so clever.
The first two make sense with his character so far, but the third one would be a surprise and would set up a reveal of an Alexander we didn't know about.
So I like the third one. It has interesting potential.
That is brilliant!
I say three holds the best potential, unless we can go for two and have him try to avoid destiny for a while. but only for a while…..
Three holds the most potential, but with what little we've seen of him so far, I think he'd want to be left alone and would slam the door in her face because he doesn't have time for such nonsense. He has a cannon to deal with!
I vote for either 1 or 3, however upon more thought, 1 is more in character and that is what I would do if I were in his situation…….terrible confession I know! So I say 1
Haha, this is awesome, Gillian! I'm already fascinated by the character of Scott. And, honestly, I almost always pity people stuck with such horrific names! I vote for option 1, because, as others have said, it seems to fit his character, and I'm curious how the story will progress from there. Besides, 2 and 3 seem kind of random for the story so far. :)
One note: Having a doorbell seemed out of place to me. Maybe a bell would fit better? Just a thought. :) Excited to see where this goes!
A doorbell is slightly out place … but then I haven't completely decided what time period it fits into. It's fantasy. And there are cannons and firearms. And magic. So maybe it's a magic doorbell? :)
To be honest, I'm just excited to be writing something goofy and silly and fun purely for the enjoyment of it. No pressure. No polish. Pure, raw, ridiculous creativity! :)
Haha, I can understand! I'm glad you're having fun with it!
This is so cool!! You're brilliant! I think option one, at least at first. As long as this doesn't stall the plot. Can I, as a hopeless romantic, make a request for a love story thread? (Just a thread. Or maybe I'm just being bossy.) :)
Haha! Oh my! I hadn't quite thought that far ahead … that's the beauty of this story. Y'all get to help decide what happens! :)
2, but she should bring reinforcements and follow him.
Love this idea!
I really want to say 3, because it's not the norm.
I think I'm gonna go with that, and not say the other number that I think seems to fit the character better, because, hey, it's your story, and if 3 gets the most votes, you're going to have to make it fit the character. :) :)
I'm really glad y'all are voting, because I don't know if I could decide which option I would want to go with! :) I have very few preconceived notions as to where this story is going. It's an experiment plain and simple. So I'm as eager to see how it turns out as the rest of y'all!
I love this idea, and I'm super-excited to read this story! I like Alexander already, haha. I think that he should do number 2, personally.
This is an awesome idea. :D
I like 1. Number 3 sounds like it'd jump right into the adventure, it'd be fun to see Alexander get frantic to avoid Destiny (who seems really fun, by the way. ^_^ ).
Again, super cool idea. I can't wait to see how this unfolds!
Thanks for stopping by and voting, Olivia! :) Destiny have me quite curious too … I'll be interested to find out just who she is and what she wants! For now, I know no more than y'all do!
I haven't made the official tally yet – and probably won't until later in the week – but I love that all of the options are generating votes! And I'm very glad y'all are actually voting on it, because if I were left to my own devices, I'm not sure I could decide between the three!
I'm voting 2 : )
This is an awesome idea, BTW!
Okay! The votes are counted and tallied up. Stop by on Friday to see which option made it into the story!