Thank you to all who participated in the first challenge of Project REUTSway 2013!
With your help, we managed to hit 50,000 words in less than three days and collectively “win” NaNoWriMo. BUT WAIT. We’re not going to stop there, oh no. We’re going to keep RIGHT ON running with all of this fabulous creativity, until we’ve got ALL the twisted fairy tales we can handle…and more! (Not to mention the most epic word count in all of NaNoWriMo: 250,000 and climbing!)
Please stay tuned for the second challenge, which will be even JUICIER than the first. Project REUTSway Challenge #2 will be announced Sunday 11/10 at 9:00am EST.
While you wait, you can wet your lips and cut your teeth on this week’s TOP LOOKS:
Project REUTSway Challenge #1 – “Bloody Ever After” Top Looks
(In no particular order, posted in their raw & unedited form)
***
He’d fashion all manner of playthings, his face crinkled in amusement as I tirelessly tore after toys, kicking up clouds of sawdust that coated us from head to toe. Silly jingles filled the air while he tinkered with treasures of his own creation. When night fell, I rested by the hearth near his favorite chair, lulled by the cacophony of clocks. He’d delight me with whimsical tales of wishing stars, high-sea adventures and secret islands, while the scent of burning pine enveloped us in a comforting haze of warmth. As bedtime neared, Papa would pat my head affectionately, ruffle my raven hair, and tell me what a good boy I was.
I remember when I was the only one he loved…
Before the bright-eyed boy came, like a thief in the night, to steal Papa’s affections. Effortlessly, he charmed his way into Papa’s heart and established permanent lodging there. I don’t see the appeal. But to Papa, he’s the sun and the moon.
Resentfully, I watched their playful banter from a distance, restraining myself from snatching the feather right off the boy’s ridiculous cap. The way they rounded our cozy den, legs swinging in a giddy jig, was nauseating.
I tried not to notice the cheerful gleam in Papa’s eyes, just as I tried not to show how wounded I was by his sudden indifference.
Papa would occasionally frown and say something like, “Fig, what’s the matter with you, eh? You’re not jealous are you, ya little rascal?”
I’d glare at him, petulant. Oblivious to his offense, he’d set me down with a hearty chuckle and direct his adorations back to the boy.
Project REUTSway “Bloody Ever After” Top Looks – Excerpt from “A Twist of Conscience” by Samantha Redstreake Geary
***
She stands behind the woman who wants her dead. A hushed whisper escapes her lips. “Murderer.”
The queen turns slowly, eyes narrowing. She opens her mouth to speak, but she doesn’t get the chance. In one swift movement, a hand closes around her neck and forces her against a wall. The queen squirms under the powerful hold of her captor, gasping for breath. Fingernails dig deeper and deeper into her skin. She pries at the fingers, to no avail.
Blood trickles down her neck. The dark angel drops the woman to the floor. She licks the red nectar from her fingers, eyes fluttering from the sweet taste it leaves on her tongue. The dying queen crawls toward me, dragging herself through the trail of blood she leaves behind. The angel is on top of her, drinking the life from her. The queen reaches her hand to me. I cannot save her.
“Mirror…” she gurgles as she chokes up blood. “Who…”
I give my final answer, “Skin snow white, her lips stained red. Beauty eternal, her life undead.”
Project REUTSway “Bloody Ever After” Top Looks – Excerpt from “Beauty Eternal” by Summer Wier
***
“You think you can do better without me? Go ahead and try. I hope you rot here.”
He stormed off, leaving the door open. To Marie’s embarrassment, a neighbor passed just in time to hear the cruel words and see her crying in the kitchen. She’d never seen the man before; surely she’d have remembered his face. It was handsome—perfect, actually—but at the moment, his classic features were twisted with distaste as he witnessed the squalid scene. Marie was deeply ashamed. How had she let herself come to this?
Now, standing in the freezing bathroom, Marie remembered Eric’s parting shot and grimaced. The irony was that she would never rot here. Die, maybe, but not rot. It was cold enough in the apartment to keep a body for weeks. The gas had been shut off days ago, and if she didn’t come up with some extra money soon, the electricity would be next, leaving her to face the winter nights without heat in this old, poorly insulated building.
She chased the thought away and looked in the mirror, satisfied with her camouflage. The bruise was almost invisible. The dark circles under her eyes were masked, and a (hopefully) believable glow hid the pallor of her cheeks.
Thirty minutes to pack up her wares and get to the museum. She hurried to the kitchen, where her sparkling creations cluttered every surface.
They’re not crap, she thought to herself. Somehow Eric’s mockery of her beautiful matchboxes hurt more than her bruised face. She picked up a deep fuchsia one with gold edges and held it up to the light. She had covered this box with satin from one of her great-grandmother’s old gowns and dotted it with tiny gold beads. The fabric was so smooth and lustrous that the box appeared to glow. You could almost believe the matches inside would light themselves.
They were more than matchboxes to Marie. They were bits of beauty in her bleak life, proof that she could make something lovely.
Project REUTSway “Bloody Ever After” Top Looks – “Match Girl” by Meg Faulkner
***
“What did you do,” Crell asked, mortified.
“I behaved like you. I took what I wanted.” Twirling her hair around. “Now I’m pretty, even more then you.”
Crell stalked from the room and into her bed chambers — startled she paused when she ran into a shadow. “Who in blazes are you,” She demanded.
The person took a minute to reply. “My name is Luna.”
It was as if the person was testing it.
“I’m going to kill you for coming into my room.” Crell warned as she stalked forward, but the person didn’t appear to came.
Instead she lifted her hood and stared at Crell, “Impossible, Sadie said-”
“You deserve death.”
Crell backed up, knowing she was at a disadvantage. “I fed you and clothed you.”
“The bare minimum.”
“I-”
“I really don’t care, you’re going to die.”
Luna pulled a sword and chopped her mother apart until her limbs were missing. Because of her blood drinking advantage, she was still alive. Luna leaned down a licked her mother’s cheek. She left a trail of blood behind.
Grabbing a narrow knife made of silver she shoved it into her mother’s chest. This would keep her from moving.
Project REUTSway “Bloody Ever After” Top Looks – “Ugly Duck” by Laura Young
***
Ramona coughed, her breath ragged. Her body shuddered as the infection spread. Sweat matted her salt and pepper hair to her head. “Please, release me from this curse.”
The only thing Victoria could think to use was the wooden bucket. She turned it upside down and stomped on it until it broke. A piece of wood about a foot long splintered off, a suitable stake. Ramona had always been so kind, motherly. She didn’t know if she could do it.
“I…can’t.”
“Yes, you can. Don’t let me become one of them.”
Victoria placed the wooden stake over Ramona’s heart. Tears fell freely as she leaned on it, the wood piercing through to her friend’s heart. “Rest now.”
Ramona’s smile faded. “Thank…you.” Her eyelids closed one final time.
Victoria wept as she prepared the tinderbox. At seventeen she hadn’t seen many horrible things, let alone committed any horrible acts. Even though she knew Ramona would rather be dead than become a vampire, she wished there had been some other way. This was, after all, her father’s fault. The best way of honoring Ramona would be to ensure Reginald didn’t get away with it.
She struck the flint with the dragon shaped striker. It appeared as though the dragon’s eyes momentarily glowed red. Hadn’t they? The char cloth caught and the room went cold. Goosebumps dotted Victoria’s flesh. Once the candle was lit she pricked a finger with a sharpened piece of wood and watched the crimson drip fall toward the wick.
As the blood hit the flame, Victoria did as instructed and called upon the spirits of Sandu, Rica, and Nico. Outside, the sunlight dimmed and it seemed like the world stopped on its axis for a moment. Victoria jumped as the flame flared up a foot and burned the bluest color she had ever seen.
It occurred to Victoria that she didn’t know what to do next. Had the ritual worked? Should she blow out the candle?
Just as she thought about blowing out the candle, a frigid breeze rushed through the bars extinguishing the tiny flame. Victoria looked around but saw no one. With shaky hands she replaced the contents of the tinderbox and waited for another sign.
She didn’t have to wait long.
Project REUTSway “Bloody Ever After” Top Looks – “The Dragon’s Tinder” by Brian W. Taylor
***
Project REUTSway PSA: If you weren’t chosen for this week’s Top Looks, don’t worry! You’re still in the running for the final anthology, provided your story met all of the posted submission guidelines. Likewise, if you were chosen for the TL this week, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be a finalist overall. Keep creating! Keep writing! As they say, it’s still anyone’s game!
