Post by gypsy on May 26, 2004 12:36:38 GMT -5
Title: A Cloistered Mind
Rating: I'd say PG-13
Spoilers: This is an entirely book-fic, so if you haven't read the book then you shouldn't read this. If you haven't seen the musical, don't worry, since that is very different from the book.
P.S.: Thanks so much to Cate for the title!
A Cloistered Mind: Chapter 1
One Lurlinemas eve, the outside world was still; In the mauntery of Saint Glinda, below the evening holiday services, the inside was just as still. Beneath the hymns, chants and prayers sat a world undisturbed on it’s own, inhabited by those who were too old and senile to care for themselves. The maunts cared for the elderly, since doing good was their duties. Below the main floor, the elderly slept and dreamt of younger days; some could even remember an almost mythical time before the Wizard’s arrival.
When three chimes rang out from the tower bell, that year’s Lurlinemas holiday service was due to close. The organist ended with a few simple chords played on the old, nearly dysfunctional instrument that sat in a corner of the hall. Each maunt left at their own speed, taking time to send individual prayers up to Lurline above with hopes that She would hear and answer them all. Each year they prayed and each year they hoped, and each year brought the same dissapointment.
While the maunts dispersed down different halls, two novices made their way to the stairs to see that none of the elderly had passed on to Lurline herself during the service. The older girl started on the left of the room while the younger maunt headed towards a funny looking figure slumped in a chair, appearing lifeless. From far away, she couldn’t quite make out the figure’s oddity, so she moved closer, and let out a horrible screech, shocked and terrified.
“Sweet Lurline, she’s dead! And her skin! Something has happened to her skin!!”
Her feet glued themselves to the ground, panic planting them in the middle of the decision to flee and pretend she never saw the sight or check for a pulse; she was paralyzed by fear.
Upon hearing the noise, many old crones suddenly jolted awake with lesser yells of their own before shrugging and nodding off once more. The scream suddenly reminded her of the bizarre green guest she had found at the door before the service, and the way a beating from one of the Senior maunts would burn on her back.
“Silence, you old fool! Hush!” She hissed, running over to the other girl with nothing but her own well-being in mind. “You wretch, Mother Maunt will hear and we’ll never get the end of it.”
She clapped her hand over the girl’s mouth to silence her screams, her own eyes darting to the stairway, fearing another to have heard. The young maunt tensed and struggled beneath her hand. With a sudden burst of strength, she freed herself and scrambled to the far side of the room.
“She’s dead, she’s died and has been taken over by devils! Devils come to kill us.”
“If they are devils then pray they find their way to the Wizard’s palace, but be silent, you fool!” She took hold of her companion’s shoulders and gave her a good, hard shake. “The woman came in before, she had already come in. She looked about to die and now she’s died and gone away.”
The sight of the green corpse sent a jolt up her spine. The younger novice shook like a leaf, as if making way to fall from a branch in the cold days of autumn. “How…how has she died?” she asked with what sounded like disbelief. And old, withered man sitting in a chair at the far side of the room chuckled and kept his knowledge to himself.
The first girl shook her head. “She was all bloody and terrified, could barely walk.”
“Just another of the poor?”
“Aye.”
Out of habit and respect for the dead, the two girls gathered by the chair that bore the green woman and recited a prayer. “May her spirit fly free beyond the world of life; may her soul be taken in by the good-”
The green body twisted, and the mouth opened and released an anguished sob.
Both girls nearly jumped out of their skins, having believed that they had brought this woman back to life. “Dear, sweet Lurline!” The younger girl gasped and clapped her hands together.
Rating: I'd say PG-13
Spoilers: This is an entirely book-fic, so if you haven't read the book then you shouldn't read this. If you haven't seen the musical, don't worry, since that is very different from the book.
P.S.: Thanks so much to Cate for the title!
A Cloistered Mind: Chapter 1
One Lurlinemas eve, the outside world was still; In the mauntery of Saint Glinda, below the evening holiday services, the inside was just as still. Beneath the hymns, chants and prayers sat a world undisturbed on it’s own, inhabited by those who were too old and senile to care for themselves. The maunts cared for the elderly, since doing good was their duties. Below the main floor, the elderly slept and dreamt of younger days; some could even remember an almost mythical time before the Wizard’s arrival.
When three chimes rang out from the tower bell, that year’s Lurlinemas holiday service was due to close. The organist ended with a few simple chords played on the old, nearly dysfunctional instrument that sat in a corner of the hall. Each maunt left at their own speed, taking time to send individual prayers up to Lurline above with hopes that She would hear and answer them all. Each year they prayed and each year they hoped, and each year brought the same dissapointment.
While the maunts dispersed down different halls, two novices made their way to the stairs to see that none of the elderly had passed on to Lurline herself during the service. The older girl started on the left of the room while the younger maunt headed towards a funny looking figure slumped in a chair, appearing lifeless. From far away, she couldn’t quite make out the figure’s oddity, so she moved closer, and let out a horrible screech, shocked and terrified.
“Sweet Lurline, she’s dead! And her skin! Something has happened to her skin!!”
Her feet glued themselves to the ground, panic planting them in the middle of the decision to flee and pretend she never saw the sight or check for a pulse; she was paralyzed by fear.
Upon hearing the noise, many old crones suddenly jolted awake with lesser yells of their own before shrugging and nodding off once more. The scream suddenly reminded her of the bizarre green guest she had found at the door before the service, and the way a beating from one of the Senior maunts would burn on her back.
“Silence, you old fool! Hush!” She hissed, running over to the other girl with nothing but her own well-being in mind. “You wretch, Mother Maunt will hear and we’ll never get the end of it.”
She clapped her hand over the girl’s mouth to silence her screams, her own eyes darting to the stairway, fearing another to have heard. The young maunt tensed and struggled beneath her hand. With a sudden burst of strength, she freed herself and scrambled to the far side of the room.
“She’s dead, she’s died and has been taken over by devils! Devils come to kill us.”
“If they are devils then pray they find their way to the Wizard’s palace, but be silent, you fool!” She took hold of her companion’s shoulders and gave her a good, hard shake. “The woman came in before, she had already come in. She looked about to die and now she’s died and gone away.”
The sight of the green corpse sent a jolt up her spine. The younger novice shook like a leaf, as if making way to fall from a branch in the cold days of autumn. “How…how has she died?” she asked with what sounded like disbelief. And old, withered man sitting in a chair at the far side of the room chuckled and kept his knowledge to himself.
The first girl shook her head. “She was all bloody and terrified, could barely walk.”
“Just another of the poor?”
“Aye.”
Out of habit and respect for the dead, the two girls gathered by the chair that bore the green woman and recited a prayer. “May her spirit fly free beyond the world of life; may her soul be taken in by the good-”
The green body twisted, and the mouth opened and released an anguished sob.
Both girls nearly jumped out of their skins, having believed that they had brought this woman back to life. “Dear, sweet Lurline!” The younger girl gasped and clapped her hands together.
