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Kim West's avatar

Hi Julia- I’m working on a longer version of this story for a post- but here’s my 100-word version to share! It’s called The Wrapped Castle.

When Castle Drogo was wrapped in white cloth, villagers called it the Faerie’s Cloak, for anything veiled becomes a doorway. At dawn, two shimmering figures appeared—Watchers of the Veil, guardians of all things becoming. They stood as the castle dreamed beneath its shroud, listening to stone remember itself. Some swore the wrapping glowed; others heard laughter in the wind.

And the elders whispered: Where something becomes, the Fair Folk return—for in those breathless in-between moments, the Otherworld leans close enough to touch, to be felt by the next place that dares to dream itself new.

Thanks for the inspiration! 💛✨

Julia Skinner's avatar

This is fabulous! I love it. Thank you so much for taking the time to join this week.

Kim West's avatar

Thanks so much, Julia! It was fun to join in. 💛✨

Dawn Benedict's avatar

This is fantastic! I would LOVE a longer story set here! 💞

Kim West's avatar

Here’s a link to the longer story: https://spoonsandsprouts.substack.com/p/under-the-faeries-cloak. This is my first post for paid subscribers, but you should be able to read the full story before the paywall hits (there's also an audio version of me reading the story, too- it's part of the Welcome to Linger track). Julia, I also included a link to your 100-word challenge. 💛✨

Kim West's avatar

Thanks so much Dawn - I’ll share a link to the longer story once it’s ready.

Feasts and Fables's avatar

A few moments with my hot water and lemon, getting the grey cells up and running:

Those Bloody Builders (100 words)

It’s never easy finding builders. She’d had to ignore her husband’s complaints about ‘bloody foreigners, over here stealing our jobs’. It’s not like he’d done the work in the fifteen years she’d be asking for a studio. Pale they might have been, but happy to work into the night. Simple branding too, no wasted investment to be added onto her bill. S.P. Ectral, Foreign-sounding but reassuring somehow. “And it is totally soundproofed”. “Of course, madam. We’ll just step next door into your husband’s workroom. He’s already there, of course”. They were right. She couldn’t hear a single word of complaint.

Dawn Benedict's avatar

Oh this is awesome! 💞

Feasts and Fables's avatar

That’s very kind, Dawn. A fun few minutes to warm up my pen for some words I fancy writing later.