The Ladies of Horror
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The Silenced
by Stacey Turner

I have a tale to tell. Yet, secrets untold cannot spill past lips sewn shut, eternal silence thrust upon me. I did not ask to be the bearer of another’s shame, the keeper of their guilt, unwilling participant in a deception spun of lies and betrayal. I was not a consenting player in their sinner’s game, but an unwitting accomplice, and then accidental observer, embarrassed at my discovery—resented and resentful. Retaliation—punishment for my naiveté—was swift and merciless. Denounced by my Queen, hated by my King, and sentenced by the court of public opinion as much as by any law governing body, my trip from bed chamber to cell to court to execution less than a fortnight encompassed. The evidence against me manufactured to protect the true perpetrators, those who only days before had both proclaimed their love and admiration for me.

Lips sewn shut, hands roughly tied behind my back, I marched stiffly, yet still with dignity, towards my fate. The swift separation of my head and body not as painless as I’d imagined. Fire burned within my heart, even as the blade swung down. Recalling how you’d visited my cell to whisper apologies and shed your tears made my blood boil. I expected such duplicity from my lover, but not my sister, my Queen. And so I held my tongue, even before thread touched the seamstress’s hand.

And now, I wait in darkness and cold, through what feels like centuries, though I have no means of marking time. One day, maybe soon, or so I like to imagine, someone will break the spell, find my bones, and set the story in motion. I will not be silenced forever. History will know my name, and I will tell my tale from beyond the grave.

Fiction © Copyright Stacey Turner
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from author Stacey Turner:

Morbid Metamorphosis: Terrifying Tales of Transformation

Metamorphosis occurs every day as caterpillars become sweet fluttering butterflies, tadpoles become gorgeous frog princes and chameleons become one with the beauty of nature – but you won’t find any of that here.

The transformations you’re about to witness are unnatural, sometimes gruesome and deeply psychological. They will make you question reality and take your mind places it was never meant to go.

Terrifying Tales of Transformation from Greg Chapman * Roy C. Booth & R. Thomas Riley * Terri DelCampo * Dave Gammon * Nancy Kilpatrick * Rod Marsden * Jo-Anne Russell * M.J. Preston * Stacey Turner * Tina Piney * Suzanne Robb * Franklin E. Wales * Donna Marie West * Suzie Lockhart * Cameron Trost * Daniel I. Russell * Simon Dewar * Amanda J. Spedding * Ken MacGregor * Erin Shaw * Gregory L. Norris * Nickolas Furr

Available on Amazon!