The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!
Fairy Tale
by A.F. Stewart
Death is infinite and varied, and the first time I experienced it, my husband murdered me.
Marked forever, a nameless victim, one of several wives killed and entombed. Granted only a short, sad life with no meaning.
My second death snatched me from my cradle, devoured by a monster, never having a chance at an existence. My third demise came at the hands of an arrogant prince, who killed me for practicing witchcraft.
And on it went, life after life, memories melding into the span of my tumultuous universe. Reborn infinitely, resurrected in Germany, France, in Italy, England, revived as wife, witch, princess, peasant, playing my part in someone else’s story. Until I reach my violent end. Then I scream, I perish, and begin again.
I walk a fixed fate through eternity serving an iniquitous purpose. Forgotten by most, abused by some and ultimately discarded. I live, yet have no identity and no name.
What am I? Who am I?
I am the wanderer through the narrative, the ghost that haunts the tale…
Now, I lay dying under the Arabian moon, far from where I began.
Wife, child, witch, or princess, I am always fated to die…but where is my happily-ever-after?
Where is my story?
I wish I knew.
.
Fiction © Copyright A.F. Stewart
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
More from A.F. Stewart:

Visions and Nightmares
Tragedy spares no one… and takes no prisoners.
In the twilight shadows, secrets are revealed past the whispers of madness.
Wander into the realm of the old gods with Elenora, where humanity and marriage are a prison.
Step through a looking glass of dark horrors with an Alice you never knew.
Join with Zenna to seek the truth as her death by magic grows closer.
Journey with Olivia as she crosses paths with a monster of the forest and runs for her life.
Watch Isobel summon the faerie to solve her problem of an unwanted husband.
Shiver as Doctor Killbride experiments with corpses to create life from death.
All that and more await within the pages.
Ten stories. Ten women.
Who will survive? Who will fall? And who will succumb to their inner evil?
Find out in Visions and Nightmares.
Warning: This book contains disturbing scenes that may be upsetting to some readers.














Wow! That is powerful and thought-provoking – so much insight in so few words.
Thanks.
Good one! You could easily make it longer too, and detail more!
Thank you.