Bump

Deadline in a few more days guys

Another reminder bump

Thank you so much!

Finally done. I decided to try a change, hopefully I can communicate the emotions right.

Beauty of the Beholder

"You are beautiful." Soteris's words were gentle, the words blown away in the wind.

I knew that. Everyone in the Sheotis Kingdom knew that I was a sight to be seen. I rivalled the beauty of Oeus, Goddess of the land we built our home upon. My eyes gleamed like dark pools, sunlight radiating onto the waters, protecting by the oaks and birches. My hair was the colour of rich earth, flowing down my back like a waterfall. I was glorious.

"I know that Soteris. I know that I am brighter than any star, or sun." I glanced back at him, droplets of warm, sweet-scenting water running down my face. I dried my face on a soft hide, speckling with black splotches on the original creature.

"If you have nothing else to comment on, leave my sight."

Soteris nodded, walking out of the room. Like he had arrived, he had vanished. Silently, swiftly. I let out a sigh, glancing out of the window. The sun was high in the sky, glowing down upon us. I grinned, knowing what today would bring. The Crown Royals of Calis were arriving today. I felt excitement course through my veins. Today, I would be wed to Antilochus, youngest child of Theophile.

"Jeone. Come now." I nodded, slipping on my necklace. Gold leaves encrusted with bronze flowers were held together by a thin iron chain. It was given to me by my mother, and her mother, and her mothers mother. It led all the way to the first Queen of Sheotis, Iveqri. I was wearing the same jewellry worn by the founder of this Kingdom. Smiling, I left my room.

My dress brushed again the ground, but I didnt care. It was plain anyway. A pure white with gold leaf veins decorated it, swirling and spiraling like the blood of Cenon pouring onto snow. I looked like a child of the Gods, and everyone knew it.

"Soteris." I greeted him, a small smile on my lips. "Have they arrived yet?"

"Yes." Soteris responded, his ivy-green eyes meeting mine. They showed no emotion but neutrality. Like a good Soldier's should. I turned away.

"Bring them to me, immediately."

He walked through the barren, stone courtyard, Soteris flanking my left side, like a dog following it's master. They were waiting in the middle, three of them. Two of them were older, faces weary and untrusting. They had seen months of war, unlike our men. A younger male stood between them. His face was boyish, and his eyes were brighter, filled with more light. I felt my heart race, thought I didn't show it. This was Antilochus, my future husband.

"Hello." I greeted as I approached. 'I am Jeone, beauty of Sheotis." I smiled politely at Antilochus, and shock filled my eyes when I saw him grimace.

"You? This is the legendary Jeone, priceless jewel of Sheotis?" He scowled, eyes growing stormy. "Me and my most trusted men travel for weeks, for this?"

"You are as ugly as a pig. You deserve the title 'Disgrace of Sheotis', you disgusting slob!"

He could then speak no more. It was not because Soteris had silenced him, nor had his men. It was because of the bleeding, pulsing wound gaping around his stomach. He stared at me in shock, before crumbling to the ground. Sticky, warm red gushed out of him.

I stood over him, carrying Serotis's bloody sword. My eyes were fixed on the milky spreading through them. I could hear the blood roaring in my ears.

"I am Jeone of Sheotis! I will not be disgraced by the son of scum and filth!" I howled, plunging the sword through his belly once again. I was trembling, and I stepped away. He was dead. Antilochus, the son of Theophile, had died by my hand. My hand were flecked by red, and the air reeked of salt. I turned around, staring at Antilochus's blood.

"Kill those men. Kill them!" I screamed, growing hysteric. I heard shouts, and retreating footsteps. "Kill them, Serotis! No one must know!"

Soon, the footsteps were gone, and even more salty scent filled the air. i felt like i was choking on it. I turned to see Serotis. His eyes were dull, though a small frown covered his face, and his eyebrows were furrowed.

"You know this is a declaration of war, Jeone?" He said softly. It was too soft for someone who had witnessed a murder, and killed two men. "You have killed a Crown Royal, beauty of Sheotis."

Tears slipped down my face. "Let them come, Serotis. Let the men of Sheotis bleed out like Antilochus did. Let war ravage this land."

I stared up at the sky. The sun was angry, glaring down at us. "Build a pyre, and bury the ashes here. I will be in my room." I walked away, breathing heavily. I am beautiful. Any man who doesn't view me as glorious...they would be struck down.

Beauty is not the in eye of the beholder. I am eternally beautiful, ever radiant. Those who do not view me as that are blind.

Finally finished! Also, just out of curiosity, how many people are still in the contest?

Yay for the third round!
I hope I make it to the next one, this has been really fun! And has improved my writing skills for other Genres.

This was not meant to be a scary story type of story, but now that I am reading it, it seems like an episode of R.L. Stine's Hauntng Hour.
(Which is on Netflix, just btw.)



The Little glass jar
"Katie! Where are you?" Katie sighed and sadly closed the book she was reading. "I'm upstairs in my room, Elsa!" Katie's grandmother had caught pneumonia and both her parents had gone to Illinois to take care of her, of course leaving Katie in Maine with her old, eccentric, millionaire Aunt Elsa. Elsa owned an enormous estate that was run entirely by hired staff, it was actually extremely annoying. Neither Elsa or her staff let Katie do anything by herself, the maid Elsa assigned to Katie wouldn't even let her dress herself. No matter how much Katie pushed her aunt to just let her be, her aunt insisted that Katie let the staff take care of everything.
Katie trudged downstairs where a rich dinner was waiting for her. Katie could never stomach very much of the rich food, and was very skinny. Fortunately Elsa knew this and often gave Katie simpler food to eat after dinner. Tonight Katie ate a few bites of roast duck and potatoes, and then quietly excused herself from the table. Dinner was one of the very few times that Katie was free to do as she wished without the staff hovering over her every move. She walked over to the big stone steps that went down to the cellar. Her sneakers clapped loudly against each step as she moved into the drafty cellar. Katie ran her hands across the ancient, cobwebby jars. Elsa never seemed to need anything from the cellar, so Katie wasn't surprised at how dusty it was. She peered curiously into a couple of the jars, but it was too dark to really tell what was in them. Katie felt around for a light switch, but then she noticed the chain hanging from the bare bulb. She grasped the chain and pulled, but it seemed to be stuck. "It's probably rusted." She muttered. Katie gave one more hard tug and the chain clicked. But instead of turning on the light, one of the shelf-covered stone walls rumbled and opened into a second room. This time Katie pulled out the flashlight on her phone and stepped warily into the new room. The air felt thick and heavy with dust;as if that door hadn't been opened for a hundred years. There were more jars in this room, but they were filled with dead lizards and eels and other slimy concoctions. The whole room seemed to be watching and listening to her. "What is this place?" She whispered, her words came out of her mouth and fell into the dead air. It felt like the room was sucking her in, drawing her toward the contents of its jars. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a glimmer of silvery light, like moonlight. She turned and saw a tiny little jam jar full of silvery fog-like substance, almost like someone had caught moonbeams in a jar. The next thing Katie noticed about the jar was that there was not a speck of dust on it, like it had been put there earlier that day. She picked up the jar, it felt warm in her hand. Katie left the room and went back up the cellar stairs.
"Miss Katie?" She recognized the voice belonging to Jameson, the butler. She turned to see him and her maid, Aja, standing in the doorway to the parlor.
"Your dinner." Jameson said, offering her a cheese sandwich on a silver tray. She tucked the jar into her pocket and accepted the tray. "Your aunt would like to eat with you." Jameson coninued, steering Katie toward the dining room; where the cooks were finishing up clearing the table.
"Come and sit at the table with me dear." Elsa invited, patting the seat next to her. Katie sat down, then pulled the jar out of her pocket.
"Elsa, what is this?" She asked her aunt. Elsa looked up from her dessert and inhaled sharply.
"Where did you get that!" Elsa snapped.
"From, from the room behind the cellar wall." Katie stuttered, aghast that her aunt had responded with such hostility.
"Give it to me! And never go down there again, you hear! There are dangerous things in that room." Elsa snatched the jar from Katie's hand. Katie lunged for it but missed and knocked it to the floor, where it shattered. The silver mist shot up to the ceiling. Elsa screamed and fell to the floor, and the mist flew out the window that Jameson had flung open.
"Aunt Elsa?" I called timidly. I looked down at the floor, but my aunt was gone. Instead the little jam jar sat innocently on the floor, not a crack to be found. Katie picked it up and gasped; nearly dropping the jar. On the lid of the jar, instead of the picture of a blond woman with the jam name, my aunt was there, frozen on the metal lid of a little glass jar.

You can tell when you have passed by if you get pinged or not

????? Isn't that earlier than the original deadline? I am confuzzled.

Also, on the first post, Yes, I did know that, I was just curious to see how many people were still in the contest (besides me) so that I could get an Idea of how many more rounds there were going to be.

I wanted to know this because I am leaving town again next week (again) and was wondering if the contest might be over before then. (It's a camp where you can't have electronics, and I don't want to miss a round.)

Sorry to bother you. :)