kajsa ㅇㅅㅇ

I place my hands on the table, my posture rigid as I study the patchwork map that rests on it, made from scraps of half-mapped parchment, shreds of finished charts from cartographers, even chunks out of tapestries–anything I could scrape together.

My small, cobbled cavern is dimly lit, though it seems even more so to my eyes as my hood hangs low over my face, blocking the flickering light from coming nearer–almost like a warning.

Danger.

Monster.

Don’t come close.

I trace my fingers over routes that have been drawn in and scribbled out tens–maybe hundreds–of times. Through Tilane, Mynda, Deathhold Gate, Prismora… the icy Crothan Sea…

Lifting my gaze, I let my mind drift as I stare into a drawing of a face I used to trust.

Dangerous.

Monsterous.

A face to kill.

The face I used to love.

The face that killed my brother–the face that will no longer blink or breathe because of what I will do to it. But even now, with all the pieces… why do I hesitate? I tap my fingers against the Relkan-made table, beckoning the answer to come.

Something itches at the back of my mind. It almost seems to whisper to me–assuring me–that I am what I’m terrified to become, that if I kill him, I really will be a murderer. A monster.

The word itself resonates dangerously, settling too comfortably among other terms that have been used to describe me in the past. 

Determined. Hardworking. Stubborn. Monster. 

I shove the map higher up on the table, bending and wrinkling it in the process, and grab a handful of crudely cut, unfinished pencils. Taking a sheet of parchment from one of the drawers built into the wall, I scribble down my puzzle pieces, making sure every detail is there so I know what I’m dealing with before I can create a feasible plan.

Sometimes I really hate being so good at strategy. It makes anyone too easy to catch; too helpless, like a cornered piglet. …Or something. I shake my head, smiling slightly in spite of myself. I’m bad at metaphors.

This is a scene from my book.

If y'all can draw the connection, bravo.

Good luck!