Welcome to the final week of the Spring Writing Challenge!
It’s the final week! This has been such a fun challenge. You’ve all done so well with your stories. There are so many interesting and unique ways you have taken the prompt. It’s now time for the final week, so let’s do this one last time! We can’t wait to see what you come up with.
So, without further ado, here’s your final prompt!
Week Six Prompt – The Character Prompt
Write a story about a character that experiences a rebirth
Wait…what’s a character prompt?
A character prompt is a prompt that’s about a specific character. It doesn’t matter where your story takes place or what’s said. What matters is that your story must be about a character who experiences a rebirth.
Before you start writing, we have some important rules for you to follow.
Writing Rules
1. Please keep the content of the stories you post to a PG rating. Please avoid real curse words. Violence/fighting should be limited and purposeful. Please do not include any spice.
2. Your story must be 1,000 words or less, and must contain the prompt to be counted for the challenge. You’re not required to post it in order to “win” the challenge, but if you want it to count for your team, your story must be posted by Sunday at 11:59 PM ET, and you must include your team name.
Remember to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and post your story as an “answer” to this question, not a “comment”. 🙂 You’re all doing such a great job! I’m so proud of all the stories you’ve posted.
Happy Writing!
We’re so glad that you participated Juli! 🙂
Team A
Born From Fire
Written By: Vivienne Maxwell
A blood curdling scream filled the night air followed by the sound of glass breaking. Marin’s eyes darted around in the dark. The hollow thud of running footsteps came down the hall and stopped at her bedroom door. She held her breath. Something was shoved under the door which slid across the floor, and the footsteps resumed down the hall toward the stairs.
Marin threw back the covers and slid off the down filled mattress onto the wooden floor. Below her, the sound of chairs being overturned and men’s voices echoed on the first floor. Her heart raced, and a lump rose in her throat. She had to protect Lady Grey.
She grabbed her dressing gown from the foot of the bed and hurriedly put it on, then rounded the bed and pushed aside a tapestry hanging on the wall. She felt around in the dark for a latch. The yelling below was becoming more intense. After a few seconds of searching, Marin found the latch, pulled it, and pushed her weight into the wall, stumbling into her Lady’s bedroom.
The room was ablaze with fire including the drapery around Lady Grey’s bed. Thick black smoke filled the room and erupted out of an open window. Marin struggled to breathe and pulled the collar of her dressing gown around her nose and mouth. She grabbed the pitcher next to the wash basin and tossed the water on the drapery. The water made very little effect on the blossoming fire but was enough that Marin could push the drapes back to get to the bed.
She reached for Lady Grey’s hand and shook it. “My Lady, wake up! Please wake up!”
Not getting a response, she crawled onto the bed. The bed frame creaked and one of the legs collapsed, listing the entire bed to the side. Lady Grey’s lifeless body rolled toward Marin, a cluster of stab wounds covering her chest.
Marin jumped off the bed and backed into the wall nearest the window. The smoke was making it increasingly more difficult to breathe, and the flames inched toward her. Through the chaos and panic of the moment, Marin remembered what her mistress had instructed her to do in the event that something happened to her. She ran back to the bed and removed the signet ring from the Lady’s finger. With tears streaming down her face, Marin slid the ring onto her own finger and kissed the cold hand of her friend.
She looked toward the passageway through which she had entered the room, but a wall of flames prevented her from going back. The window. She didn’t have any other choice. Grabbing hold of a lattice covered in ivy outside the window, she pulled herself out of the manor, and climbed carefully to the ground. She tried running but instead fell to her knees, coughing and gasping for air. She watched in horror as the estate was overtaken by the fire, the night sky so bright that Marin had to squint.
She looked down at the ring on her hand and held it to her chest. She had one purpose, to protect the Lady at all costs. She failed. It was truly remarkable how closely they resembled one another. No one had ever guessed that it was Marin and not Lady Grey that rode in the lead carriage on their many excursions throughout the kingdom. It was Marin that met with dignitaries and attended public appearances much of the time. Marin had one mission, to be a decoy. Now in the one place that her mistress felt safe to be herself, she was killed.
“Here she is! Over here!” A man holding a rifle followed by several other men ran around to the side of the manor where Marin had collapsed. He passed the rifle to a man behind him and took off his coat, wrapping it around Marin’s shoulders, and helped her to her feet.
“My lady,” the man said with a bow.
The other men followed suit, and Marin nodded her head in response. Only two people in the world knew that Marin existed, and one of them was dead. She now had to become the person she had pretended to be so many times. She was reborn. She was Lady Grey.
Oooh! This is good! Is there more to this story?
Thanks, Michele! The plan is to turn this into a full fledged story. I’m glad you liked it!
When the new prompt arrive, my first thought is, Oh no! What am I going to write to make that work? But the Holy Spirit ALWAYS shows up and I get an idea every time. It amazes me. Thanks for a thought provoking six weeks.