Day 32: Cold Comfort

[tanaquiljall]

gwynnyd asked How did the captives feel about the dead coming on board the Corsair ships?

as part of the The Oarsman series.

Day 32

Cold comfort

The river-mist cold had stolen into his bones. Even where his shoulders pressed tightly against the men either side, there was no warmth.

He did not know their names: here it was best to forget name, home, kin – and to what end they rowed. The only thing to remember was how to avoid the sting of the lash, ever-ready in the master's hand.

Hunched over his manacled wrists, he dozed fitfully. The chill increased. Suddenly screams, splashes, leaping flame woke him. He saw pale figures wielding ghostly weapons.

Numbed beyond fear, he grinned mirthlessly at the torment of his tormentors.

***

Blame mooncross for this and her musings after Day 21: The Swan's Nest: Is it very bad of me, that overlaid with your imagery I also imagined two very different brothers in a similar big brother/little brother situation? There must be something you can do with the similarities... *hopes for LotR/SPN crossover drabble*

This didn't come out Tolkien enough to be a Tolkien drabble-a-day drabble, but I thought people might like to see it.

Trading Places

Sometimes, re-reading Lord of the Rings under the bedcovers by torchlight, Sam wished he was Boromir. The one who got to go hunting orcs and then come home and boss his baby brother around. Dad's favorite.

Sure, Boromir was brought low by the ring, but who wanted to be a goody-goody like Faramir? Or – the thirteen-year-old Sam recoiled – get the girl or all that boring responsibility as Steward.

As he grew older, he came round to the idea that maybe being Faramir was cool after all. And then the movies came out – and Boromir not Faramir got all the attention....

Comments

Re: I'm so glad you consider these prompts

[tanaquiljall]

kill me now, or delete the comment: here's my first ever written down to show somebody ficlet.i

Oh wow, I am honoured that in some small way I have been responsible for inspiring to post your first public ficlet!

And I really like this - what a very nice moment between the two of them, and a great way to work them in together. I especially like Haughty enough to remind of Malfoy - that's a comparison I wouldn't have thought of, but it's very apt.

I hope you will keep on writing (and posting) ficlets!