[ OT ] Sunday Free Write : Leave A Story , Leave A Comment - End of Camelot Edition

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 `` Mordnacht, why all this trash?'' 
 
 At *that, * she had to hiss in her approximation of a chuckle, her claws as long as spears scraping over worn granite stone. 
 
 *'' Now then, is n't this a new question. And here I was thinking you were going to ask once more where your dear pet was. `` * 
 
 `` Answer the question, beast, and nothing more,'' Queen Malvina said sternly, throwing her cloak off of one of her shoulders. 
 
 She picked her way through the cavernous space, past the mountains of animal carcasses stripped clean of flesh, the remains of deer long extinct or bison hunted down to the last creature. A pile of elk skulls formed a hedge of bone, their antlers twisted and locked together. The bodies of hundreds of knights lay scattered o'er the cavern floor, empty sockets and lipless mouths wide in endless torment. Skeletal fingers were clenched around the hilts of broken swords or the remains of shattered shields, their surfaces dissolved in caustic dragonfire. In the middle of the cave where the surface was leveled was a nest of faded banners, the once brilliant yellows and blues faded by time and water, the silk tattered and dull. It was there that Mordnacht rested. 
 
 Mordnacht chuckled once more, swishing the fetid air with a swing of her scaly tail, her flat slit nose and ragged ears pointed at her stepdaughter. Her hide was worn in many places where there were n't gaping holes in her side, the fur mangy and caked with filth. She ruffled tattered wings as large as sails before wrapping them about herself, smiling as she did with a maw filled with needle-like fangs, each covered with bits of rotten flesh with gums black as tar. 
 
 *'' Trash? Why my dearest daughter, these are my treasures, my fondest memories. `` * 
 
 Queen Malvina stepped over a small stream, the black waters soaking the hem of her cloak. 
 
 `` All I see are the remains of your prey,'' she said dryly, picking up a dagger rusted beyond repair. `` I see no gold, no sparkling jewels. Nothing but refuse.'' 
 
 *'' Ah... but my dear, you see with your eyes, that cold and calculating part of you. You fail to look with your heart and with all your senses. You fail to remember. `` * 
 
 `` Remember what?'' 
 
 Mordnacht leaned in conspiratorially, long strands of drool dripping from her jaws as her hellish pupils flashed. 
 
 *'' That there are more treasures than just gold and gems, my heart. A sunset, a worthy foe or honorable hunt... a loyal pet or lover. `` * 
 
 Mordnacht swept a blackened claw across the massive cavern and across the fields of dead and debris. 
 
 *'' I am old, daughter, ancient beyond words. I have witnessed much, felt much. These are but a trifle of trophies, the rest lost to time and change and myth. Any emotions you've had in your brief six score years are but mere shadows of mine. My rage has created storms, my tears rivers and lakes, my roar has crumbled the mightiest of mountains. I may be old, my body wracked with illness and age, but I am still the Ancient Law of this isle. I am still She Who Brings the Night. `` * 
 
 
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 Good morning! I hope you are all doing well. As usual, here are links to my subreddit /r/LovableCoward/ and to my [ Hagedorn Series. ] ( https: //www.reddit.com/r/LovableCoward/comments/371v3a/the_hagedorn_series/ ) Please, enjoy and tell me what you think!
