Member-only story
Responses to Grim’s weekly drabble a day words | Stubbornly clinging on to Medium as a place to share fiction | Shadow Kingdoms | April writing prompt response
Vehicle Doll
A double drabble
Mere chance. She almost hadn’t picked up that tiny wooden doll. It was a broken looking thing, anyway, though it soon became clear that the damage was superficial. That night, in her apprentice lodgings above the inn’s coachhouse, Mariana painted the little thing. And sang to it.
And in her dreams, it sang back to her.
The following morning, the inn’s staff were quiet. Something was going unspoken, and Mariana was sure she knew what it was. She was finished. Too many mistakes, too many complaints. She’d never had talent, that was clear, but she’d worked hard.
It wasn’t enough.
But customers were waiting — a nobleman and his son who had arrived in the Imperial city from distant Jhorn. Mariana put the tiny painted doll at the front of her carriage. Somehow, its gentle face calmed her as she drove.
Usually, the bumpy ride under her novice’s hands had customers cursing quietly within minutes; nobles didn’t trouble to keep their voices low. Today was different. The horses responded…
