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The Casket of Fictional Delights

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Toil and Trouble

by Pauline Yates

Flash Fiction Amusing, Playful

Witch Wandita hurled the Book of Mythology across the dungeon.
“Bah,” she cursed. “Gods? Wizards? Hairy toed Hobbits? Witches should rule the worlds. Without our cunning and intellect, they’re nothing. Nothing.”
She shuffled across the stone floor, reached for her potions bible and flicked through the tattered pages.
“Ah,” she exclaimed. She jabbed her bony finger at a potion then collected bottles from a shelf and poured the contents into a large cauldron. As she sniffed the sulphuric fumes, she checked the ingredients list.
“The key to the universe.” She plucked a brass key from her cloak pocket and dropped it into the bubbling concoction.
“A drop of blood from Snow White’s dear mother.” She cackled manically and tossed the vial into the brew.
She ripped a cord from her neck and rolled a ring between her fingers. “Oh, so precious.” She dropped the ring into the liquid. It sizzled, melted and turned the mixture fire red.
Wandita cackled again.
“A stone to call the ghosts of the dead. The hide of Aslan stirred in with a trident.” She yanked a rug from under her feet and swirled it through the potion with the golden prongs.
“And now. The final ingredient.” She hobbled across the dungeon and stopped at a locked wooden door. “A pinch of knowledge from the universe. Then one sip and I shall be ruler of all the worlds.” She cackled then reached into her cloak pocket.
“Drat,” she muttered. “Now where did I put that key?”

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About Pauline Yates

Pauline writes speculative fiction, is easily led astray by comedy, and seeks stories from the soul. Her fiction can be found with publications including Metaphorosis, Abyss and Apex, Beta Noire,  Story City Creatives and Every Day Fiction. She lives in Australia.

Pauline Tweets @midnightmuser1

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One response to “Toil and Trouble”

  • Elena Hartwell says:
    April 9, 2016 at 2:18 am

    Great short story – I loved the ending.

    Reply

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News

Christmas is Coming

We are gearing up for Christmas here at The Casket.  We have two stories by Morgan Parks  in December

A Bigger Tree Each Year

Lucky Elf

And the Brooch of the Month comes from Estonia.

Don't to forget to let us know what you think of all our stories and our brooches  @casketfiction.

 

Check out other short stories on The Casket of Fictional Delights

The Goldsmiths' Fair

Journeys through Jewellery

Rue Pigalle designs women-only trips around the world, for intimate groups of art, jewellery and culture lovers.  Isabelle describes herself as having three passions; jewellery, art and craftsmanship. She takes her clients on journeys of discovery around the world, destinations include Paris, Barcelona and New York.  There are trips to London planned in 2020 and as a prelude Isabelle asked me to write two pieces on this year’s Goldsmiths’ Fair. Followers of my Brooch of the Month blog will know I regularly visit and shop at the Goldsmiths’ Fair, so I was delighted to take up the challenge and report back all the highlights for readers of Rue Pigalle.

Goldsmiths' Fair Week One

Goldsmiths' Fair Week Two

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  • It is Christmas time here at #TheCasket, this festive #Brooch is from #Estonia https://t.co/BVIWvoxtAY https://t.co/hwDetseGUB, 8 hours ago
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Text & stories © Joanna Sterling 2019
Stories © various authors
Audio by Menna Bonsels
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Brooch photography by Mark Colliton