Revis Saves the Kingdom…. From Matticus

Matticus couldn’t believe his luck. There were signs up all around the castle saying that there were free tacos. And it wasn’t even Tuesday!!!

He had just passed his fifth sign with an arrow pointing him in the direction of the free tacos. The further along he went, the more he started getting a bad feeling about this. Something about it didn’t feel right. The next sign was pointing him towards the dungeon. Something was definitely not right here.

But, he wasn’t about to give up. Not when there could be free tacos at stake.

Right after the last sign, the tacos came into view. He rushed forward to grab them. That’s when he noticed that he’d just ran into a cell. The door slammed shut behind him. His hand reached out for the tacos and, as soon as he touched them, he knew he’d been tricked. He turned around to a faceful of bars and his First Knight, Revis, standing on the outside of the cell.

“Those tacos aren’t real,” Matticus protested. “They’re papier-mache!”

“That’s the part you’re mad at?” Revis answered. “Not the part where I locked you in a cell?”

“You don’t tease someone with tacos! That’s not right!”

“If you want to get technical, those signs were entirely accurate. No matter what they’re made of, they’re still tacos, and they’re yours to keep. So, I didn’t lie to you.”

“I suppose that’s true. Ok, fine you win. You tricked me into a cell. Ha ha. You’ve had your fun, now let me out.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’ve done the people of the Kingdom wrong, and as the First Knight, it is my duty to protect the people of the Kingdom from everyone who would do them harm. Even you.”

“What are you talking about? What have I done to the people of the Kingdom?”

“You put in an automated system to handle the Kingdom’s information hotline instead of having real, live people handle the calls.”

Matticus laughed. “Would you expect anything less from the Jester?!”

“How can you defend this action? It is a horrible, vile thing that puts you on par with some of the world’s most evil villains. I may not be the best person out there, but I would never inflict an automated phone system on anyone. You should be ashamed of yourself…”

“Simple answer: I am an evil person.”

“And this is why I must overthrow you. To save the Kingdom from your evil tyranny.”

“Good luck.”

“What do you mean, ‘Good luck’? I’ve already captured you. You’re already in jail.”

“That is…. a fair point. So, now what?”

“Now, Jester, you are to be punished in a manner that will make evildoers think twice before they commit any misdeeds in the Kingdom again.”

“You don’t mean…”

“Yes. You will be forced to watch the kindergarteners of the Kingdom sing the song ‘Baby Shark’ 55,378,008 times in a row.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“After that, you will be released and, if you commit another crime, you will be forced to watch the animated version of Dragons of Autumn Twilight for two straight weeks.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

save point

They had created a written language all their own to hide messages from prying eyes.  They had a hangout they routinely gathered at to discuss ideas and formulate plots.  They had strict membership requirements to make sure that only the best candidates could join their ranks.  But, for a secret organization, as they styled themselves, they weren’t very secretive or organized.

Frank and Charles bummed rides from their parents and they met in John’s parents’ basement.  Their meetings rarely stayed on topic.  They had yet to agree upon a course of action or attempt a single coup.  Usually they ended up just watching movies and playing video games, their master plans for world domination left strewn across the top of their workbench, which every other night of the week doubled as a washing machine.

Everyone at school knew about their club, too.  The three members thought that because no one had approached with any interest of joining that meant they had managed to keep their existence somewhat quiet.  The truth, however, was that none of the other students wanted anything to do with their madness.  Frank, Charles, and John would have been find with that if they had known.  They’d have liked being thought of as mad.

They were mad.  Mad with a world spiraling out of control.  Mad about their inability to do anything about that.  Mad that they seemed to be standing alone against the bleak future.  As they went round and round trying to come up with something that might work, one brilliant idea for the rest of the world to latch on to and embrace before it was too late, they would eventually become mad at themselves too for not being able to agree on anything.

Their voices would raise, their fists would pump animatedly, and one parent of the other would yell down the stairs to “keep it down” or “knock it off” and then the three would roll their eyes, make truces, and take much needed breaks to clear their thoughts and start over.  The gaming consoles were never out of arms reach.

The fate of the world could wait until they’d reached the next save point.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

I don’t know.  I picked one of the prompts and these were the words that came to me for it.  What would you write about for this week’s InMonster writing challenge?

The Rules

There are none. Read the prompts, get inspired, write something. No word count minimum or maximum. You don’t have to include the exact prompt in your piece, and you can interpret the prompt(s) any way you like.

OR

No really; I need rules!

Okay; write 200-500 words on the prompt of your choice. You may either use the prompt as the title of your piece or work it into the body of your piece. You must complete it before 6 pm CST on the Monday following this post.

The Prompts:

WINDOW LIZARDS

MERCURY POISONING

SECRET ORGANIZATION

TIME STAMP

THE FINAL FRONTIER

Have I mentioned

How awesome the WordPress community is?

Well, you are awesome.  Normally I would have said awesomesauce, and I might have even said awesomesauceh, but commercials have begun using that so I can’t do it anymore.  I’m in the market for a new word, maybe spectacujam…?  I think I should continue thinking on that…

Anyway, back to the point.  Yes, I have a point.  Hey!  It happens sometimes.  I’m not always about silliness.  Just because I’m silly 99.9999999325% of the time doesn’t mean I can’t be serious too.

I think…

I’m not really sure anymore.

And, look, you got me off track again.  Bad kingdomites!  As your punishment, I need you to check out this link: http://www.youcaring.com/help-a-neighbor/help-save-a-home/142484

Can you believe we have already raised over $1,100 dollars to help out Merry and her husband?  That’s outstanding.  I’m floored by the outpouring of support they have received.

There is still a bit to go before they reach the goal that will ensure they can keep their home, though, so if you can, please send a bit of love, or hugs, or money, or flamethrowers to help torch all those pesky feathers, or whatever you can.

I may have gotten off track there, but I think you got the general message, right?

Good.

And, don’t forget to drop by and thank Zoe for setting up the donation site and getting this all rolling.

Hooray for people acting like, well, people.  I knew we still could if we wanted to.  I know we can help Merry save her home.

…..

What’s one thing you’ve done that you are especially proud of?

Please help no amount is too small…

That pesky feather, always knocking Merry over, is threatening to do some damage again. I know we can save her home. I know it!! Please click on through to the YouCaring website and help with whatever you can. A little bit from each of us can add up to enough to make a huge difference for one of the best and brightest among us blogosphere dwellers. We can do this. There is hope.

ripples in the water

As the day drew to a close and the lake guests went their separate ways, Devon and Amber pulled themselves out of the water to rest lazily on the dock and watch the sun set.  It wasn’t often they got to enjoy those quiet moments together as the lake grew busier and the responsibilities of their lives pulled them elsewhere, so they made sure to enjoy the sunsets they could.  They knew life was too short to squander those fleeting moments.

It had been another magical day.  They’d each saved a couple lives as they patrolled the water.  Their assistance had been vital for the young and old alike.  Sometimes all that was required was a push towards shore to get little legs back on solid ground.  Sometimes it was a steadying hand or calming influence for tiring bodies.  Sometimes it was giving someone a boost up from the depths when too much playing had sent them floundering below.  Whatever the need, the couple were their to offer aid.

When not needed elsewhere, Devon and Amber were able to steal moments together to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the cooling kiss of the water, their touch, their companionship.  Then duty would call and they would rush off again to help one of the visitors, one of the many thankless tasks of their daily lives.  Sometimes the youngest ones would know enough to say thank you, but it was a rare occurrence and seemed to be getting even more scarce with each new sunrise.

From their perch on the dock, as they reflected on the day, their arms intertwined, their bodies leaning towards each other, they marveled at the stillness of the lake.  So many people were playing, splashing, rowing, swimming, from sun up until the moments before it set into the horizon that the lake seemed normal only when it was choppy.  It was easy to forget that calm was normal too.

That didn’t deter them from letting their fins dip into the water to create a few tiny ripples swirling away from them as they kissed.  Then they slipped back into the water as the sun disappeared to rest up for the next day.  The ripples in the water were the only evidence they had been there at all.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Since I was a bit late this week, and had already read a couple other responses, I wanted to do something a bit different.  Hopefully, you didn’t catch on that they weren’t human until the very end.  Anyway, this was my response to this week’s Once More with Feeling prompt provided moi.

What do you see when you look at the picture?  Write it, link it, post it!