For this weeks Flash! Friday we had to incorporate the theme of Freedom into a story about the following prompt:
Miranda — The Tempest. Painting by John William Waterhouse, 1916. Public domain photo.
An awful lot of kindling
The Lord wobbled on his feet as the boat rocked, “I tell you, my wife is a witch and must be dealt with accordingly!”
His trusted advisor nodded carefully, “Sire, regardless, I don’t think it wise to leave your wife locked up in the dungeons. Are you sure this has nothing to do with the attractive new servant that seems to be spending most nights vigorously cleaning your chambers?”
“Don’t be ridiculous! I have genuine reasons to suspect witchcraft.”
The advisor held his hat onto his head as the winds increased. He shouted, “Such as?”
“She likes cats…”
“And?”
“What do you mean, that’s a perfectly valid reason!”
“Sire, if we were to burn all the women that like cats at the stake we’d need an awful lot of kindling.”
“Whatever, just make it happen. What’s with this awful weather?”
Over on the shore, Miranda completed her spell. If her husband wanted kindling, then she would give it to him.
