The alarums were howling. I ignored them. When the smallest one pawed my robe, I gave him a pat and walked through the gate.
Down below the bacchanal continued. It would be impossible to hear the alarums, and I preferred a more private revelry. I trod familiar halls, unlocked your door.
Did they know what they did, down below? How they opened this gate every hundred years or so, held it fast with the beating of drums and the scent of musk? Tangled in your arms, wrapped in the rhythm of your voice, I like to think they do.
This post was made in response to the Trifecta Writing Challenge prompt:
This week we are giving you a page from the Oxford English Dictionary. The ninety-ninth page, to be exact. From this page, you can choose any word, any definition, to use in your post. And instead of our typical 33-333 word limit, we are asking for 99 words exactly. (Visit www.trifectawritingchallenge.com to see the word choices.)
This week’s challenge is community judged!
- For the 14 hours following the close of the challenge, voting will be enabled on links.
- In order to vote, return to this post where stars will appear next to each link. To vote, simply click the star that corresponds with your favorite post.
- You can vote for your top three favorite posts.
- Voting is open to everyone.
- You have 14 hours to vote. It’s not much time, so be diligent!
Christine Hanolsy 
More! I love reading pieces like this that make me wish for more of the story.
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Love it…
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Loved how you captured the atmosphere of revelry-both public and private:-)Made me want to know more.
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I was completely enraptured by your words. Truly a well executed, exquisite piece.
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Your writing is so swoon worthy. 🙂 Thanks for linking up and for all of your social media support during this challenge. Don’t forget to vote.
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Very lush for so few words!
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I agree with all before me – intriguing, potent, mysterious. Loved it.
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Drums and musk…Oh but I could feel my pulse quicken as I read this! Excellent!
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🙂 Awesome – I don’t really do sexy well, but I was trying to put a little sensuality in there, at least. *grin*
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I really enjoyed the environment you created here. The character gained a nice little bit of detail by the pat on the head of the smallest one. Great piece of flash fiction.
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I was googling a lot to get into your story. I so admire your imagination and picturization.
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Such mysterious imagery! Beautiful use of 99 words!
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My gosh, Christine. Your work floors me. The image of giving an alarum a pat… I love that. And the scent of musk, wrapped in the rhythm of a voice.. beautiful. I agree with Sahm’s comment.. your work deserves greater exposure and recognition.
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The last line mad my heart go pitter-patter. I’m with Janna on the privatization of revelry. Great story!
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This is beautiful! I think a private revelry is better, too 🙂
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Every word was just lyrical, we walked down the halls with the character.
The last line stopped my breath, I loved the sensuality in it.
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Wow. Talk about carpe diem. Carpe centenum.
Such a cool write, Christine!
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I can’t come up with a more perfect comment on this than one given above in the comments: a splendid read!! Christine, there is music in this piece. Wonderfully written (as always!)
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Definitely snagged me and pulled me along. There’s potential for a powerful story here!
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Intriguing. What a splendid read! 🙂
-HA
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In a word…Potent. Are you a professional author by chance? There are some few of you floating about WordPress that read as if you have been writing books for years. What I mean is, the execution is impressive.
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*blink blink* *blush* No, not at all! But holy cow, that’s an awesome compliment. Someday, maybe, if I can ever come up with a cohesive plot… 🙂
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