As the California descends deeper into the sea, he settles back in the captain's chair and watches the water turning a darker and deeper blue through the porthole in front of him. The effect is soothing to him, an easing of the initial panic he'd felt when the vessel abruptly started it's underwater dive .

At first he'd just stood there, fighting the impulse to flee while wondering how a wooden duck could be watertight, but as the bellows pumped air through the cabin space and no leaks had sprung from any of the walls, he'd gradually come to accept that this ship must be capable of handling the pressures of underwater travel.

After a few moments of rest, he gets up from the chair and makes his way down the ladder from the bridge into the main hold. Maybe there's something to eat down here…

He makes his way amongst the various marvels and treasures in the ship's hold, before stopping short at the sight of a large oil painting.

Depicted on the painting is a woman, and he immediately recognizes her - she is the girl from Nawash; the wife of his dream at the farmhouse. The wife he's supposed to be searching for, whose existence he'd even wondered at, through the fog of his addled memories.

And here in this painting she is portrayed as a queen on her throne. With a deep mournful pull at his heart he can see that to the left of this queen's throne there is a second throne, cut off by the edge of the picture. But there is still enough of the other throne showing to reveal the fact that it sits empty.

Her king has gone.

Twenty Fourth chapter in an ongoing serial based on @mariannewest's daily #freewrite writing prompts. Here are the previous chapters listed below:

Chapter One>Chapter Two>Chapter Three>Chapter Four

Chapter Five>Chapter Six>Chapter Seven>Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine>Chapter Ten>Chapter Eleven>Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen>Chapter Fourteen>Chapter Fifteen>Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen>Chapter Eighteen>Chapter Nineteen>Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty One>Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Three

And here is Chapter Twenty Five.


Written in five minutes from the writing prompt, "Dream" as part of the #freewrite exercise. Image is also by me. You can view the prompt here and check out the other entries; read before bedtime and see if they replicate in your sleep. Thanks to @mariannewest for creating and running this ongoing landscape of the unconscious.

WEEK TWO OF THE "WRITE FROM MY MUSIC" CONTEST IS UP

Check out my new contest where you listen to an instrumental piece of music by yours truly, and then write your own story inspired by that piece. You can join the contest here.