Prompt: “Do I look like I’m twelve?”
Staring at herself in the mirror, Bysen can’t help but wonder – do I look like I’m twelve?
Because she certainly feels like she still is. Forever caught between childhood and the beginnings of growing up. But, as Gareth and Canaan remind her every day, she’s no longer a child. At nineteen, she’s long past the freedom of someone with no responsibilities.
She knows she’s not the only one who wishes she were still a child. That she weren’t in line to inherit Canaan’s place in their family. But she is, and no amount of staring at herself in the mirror, wishing otherwise, would change it.
A knock at the door startles her from her train of thought, and she rushes to open it.
“Missed you at breakfast, Sen.” Dessa walks into the room like she owns it – it’s how she walks into every room, and Bysen has always envied her cousin’s confidence. Dessa is only a year older than her, and yet that gap feels like a decade sometimes.
“Time got away from me.”
“That’s been happening a lot lately. Are you okay?” She places a basket – filled with breakfast, no doubt – on the vanity before sitting at the edge of Bysen’s bed.
Bysen scrambles for an excuse. “Just nervous, I think, to meet Canaan’s fiance.”
“I hear she’s lovely, so you shouldn’t be nervous.” But that’s easier said than done.
Bysen has never been great at making friends. Especially with mages as renowned as Layla was supposed to be.
I’m supposed to be fleshing out a fantasy novella into a full length novel this year, so here’s my attempt at giving these characters a little room to breathe and develop a little more.
Be sure to check out the rest of the responses at the prompt.
As always, think happy thoughts 🙂
FictionTrials 