Hello and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, a blog hop where writers from a wide variety of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less. A literary smorgasbord, to be sure.
I’ve been sharing from my current work-in-progress and will continue to do so until I run out of words or another project captures my fevered imagination. Snow is a re-imagined fairy tale with a prince in the title role. In this scene, Prince Gabriel and his manservant Webster are traveling home to Castle Rosenthal after a long absence. Webster, neither horseman nor outdoorsman, has been stung by a bee. He’s the first to speak. (You can read last week’s snippet here.)
****
“Are bees poisonous? I feel a little faint.”
“Not usually, though some people puff up and find they can’t breathe after being stung.”
“I, ah, my breathing is a little…” Webster patted his chest and wheezed.
“Nothing to worry about, I suspect.” Gabriel turned to look down the road again. The fog had thickened. Only a flapping black and white flag on top of the tower was visible now. “Though some people do die from bee stings.”
“Rare, though, isn’t it? Death by bee?”
****
I like bees. It was probably a wasp that stung Webster.
Blurb-in-progress:
Following the death of his mother the Queen, Prince Gabriel is called home by his brother, now King. Gabriel hopes for a reconciliation with his estranged brother, but all is not well at Castle Rosenthal. King Tristan has fallen under the sway of a scheming alchemist, the magical denizens of the bordering Black Forest are on the move, and Gabriel begins to fear for his life. Is the handsome huntsman in on a plot to assassinate him, or is there an even darker, more evil force afoot? A forced flight into the Black Forest may expose ancient powers at work, if only Gabriel can survive long enough to uncover them.
****
Weekend Writing Warriors is a blog hop where writers from a wide variety of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less. Click the link to check out the other writers participating today. It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book!
Alexis Duran 
Oh, I can very much hear Webster’s panicking voice. Great snippet!
LikeLike
Gabriel doesn’t seem to be comforting him much, does he? 😀
LikeLike
Webster is a bit of a drama queen, so Gabriel isn’t too worried.
LikeLike
Is Gabriel trying to comfort Webster? He isn’t doing a very good job. LOL
LikeLike
He is going out as mean as he can be!
LikeLike
Poor Webster! His anxiety comes through loud and clear and Gabriel may find himself dealing with an emergency in a few minutes! Enjoyed the snippet, quite unusual…
LikeLike
Hmm, I wonder if Gabriel will lie about the answer… 😉
LikeLike
I really enjoyed this snippet. Brought me right into the moment with them. I don’t think Webster is going to die by bee hehe
LikeLike
This is a great to show without telling that Webster is a hypochondriac.
LikeLike
I hope he isn’t allergic to bees.
LikeLike
The premise of the blog hop and this story are both interesting. I’m going to look for more Weekend Writing Warriors posts.
Snow White stories usually feel shallow and overly used, but I’d grab for this one. The relationships sound fun. Are the character names final or filler?
LikeLike
Thanks for stopping by. The character names are final-ish. Still figuring out which G name I should change.
LikeLiked by 1 person
For whatever it’s worth, I’m gotten so used to seeing “Gabriel” in Urban Fantasy and especially in anything involving angels that the prince’s name threw me.
LikeLike
That’s a good point. I think of him as Snow, but he has to have a dignified, princely name that others can ignore, to his chagrin 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person