FFfAW: The Lady’s Flight

Posted on by Louise Bunting

This post is for the Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers (FFfAW) Challenge, run by Priceless Joy. This week’s photo prompt was provided by Sonya O. Thank you Sonya!  The challenge is that you write a story of 75-175 words inspired by the photo prompt below. I hope you like it.

Photo Prompt: © Sonya O.
Photo Prompt: © Sonya O.

The Lady’s Flight

Isabella dashed up the spiral staircase with a desperation born of terror. She could hear them behind her, their loud voices echoing. She needed help – surely someone still fought! Each arrow slit she passed was empty of defenders; no familiar faces appeared to offer aid.

Sir Gilbert’s betrayal had surprised them all.

The attackers had streamed into the castle before dawn, bypassing their defences through treachery and deceit. She’d hidden, as Father commanded, huddling in the cubbyhole while the clamour of battle filled the air. But she couldn’t hide forever. Leering grins sent her fleeing – she knew her fate if captured.

Finally reaching the top of the tower, Isabella burst out into bright sunlight. Her heart sank. Strangers’ faces stared, wide-eyed.

“-and it’s said that sometimes you can see Lady Isabella’s ghost, repeating her final frantic flight.”

Isabella backed away, her heart racing as a hand rose to point.

“Is that her?”

Her back pressed against the battlement’s stone. She would not be taken! With no other options available, she turned.

And jumped.

Word Count: 174spiral staircase

This week’s photo prompt was perfectly timed for me (thank you, Sonya) as yesterday I was visiting Warwick Castle and clambering up and down towers very similar to the one in the picture – as my calf muscles keep reminding me today! This story was inspired by the trip and by the many stories of sieges and ghosts which you find linked to most of the castles in Britain. The second picture above is one taken yesterday. Hopefully I’ll be sharing a gallery of others over the weekend – if my internet decides to stay on!

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37 thoughts on “FFfAW: The Lady’s Flight”

  1. Oh boy, what a tragedy! I have heard of war victims like her choosing to end their lives than the horro of being a prisoner. Great job writing this 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Ameena. The treatment of any prisoner in the medieval period was horrific. For a gently raised young lady like Isabella it would have been far more than she could have stood.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Wow! Great story and cool photo! The ending is so sad, Lady Isabella had to jump to her death. How wonderful that you went to a castle the other day! This prompt is perfect timing. 🙂 It would be wonderful to have castles close to explore. Thank you for participating in the FFfAW challenge! I appreciate you!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, PJ. I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂 I love castles and visit them whenever I can – which these days is unfortunately not as often as I’d like. Medieval history was one of my university subjects and my love of castles was the main reason for choosing it! And thank you for hosting such a great challenge. 😀

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      1. Thank you so much for your kind words! Sounds like you had a very interesting and exciting major in college! I have never been to a castle, but maybe someday. However, I will probably have to go outside of the US for that! I really enjoyed your story. You are such an excellent writer! I hate that she had to kill herself at the end but I know that was how things were years and years ago.

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      2. It was interesting – though I probably would have enjoyed it more if I could have written stories about what I was learning rather than essays! England is great for castles, as is mainland Europe. No matter how many we visit there are always more to see. 🙂

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      3. How exciting that would be to have so many castles to go visit. In the US we have some mansions but we don’t have “castles” like in England. It would be wonderful to have so many to go visit. I went to Louisiana once and we went to a mansion that was there. The owners had owned slaves so we got to see the slave quarters. SO SAD! I know, that isn’t like visiting a castle, but it sure was interesting!

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      4. There are so many places, all around the world, that would be interesting to visit. They all have there own merit – it’s just a matter of finding the cash to visit them!

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  7. Wow! Fantastic twist, with her being a ghost and all. I could almost feel the fear she was feeling. Really enjoyed this.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. sad yet beautiful how she is still convincing herself to jump to the last seconds what people had and still have to endure during war time heartbreaking. thank you so much for this beautiful story.

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  13. I can imagine there were many situations like this in the past. A very fast paced and engaging take on the picture!

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  15. I know I’m echoing others, but I also liked the mix of past and present — great idea, not just to have the woman jump, not just for her to become a ghost, but to combine them and have her see both scenes at once.

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