In this series, I will take the Word of the Day from Dictionary.com and craft a short piece of creative writing around it. My goal is to embrace the meaning of the word in some unique way, all the while trying out different styles, rhythms and characterizations. It is as much an exercise in creativity as it is an exploration of grammar. Enjoy!
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By Alex Seise
“Lord Varys,” said the queen regent, her lips pursed upwards in a closed-mouth sneer as she looked out beyond her balcony to the calm seas surrounding the Red Keep. “Do the realm a favor. As you spin your sticky little web, be sure to often refer to the Wildlings as what they actually are: a nuisance. No more trouble than a flaming stag chained in a trap on the Blackwater, or a wolf feasting in the Twins.”
“Your Grace,” replied the eunuch, wringing his hands nervously in his tunic. “I am at the realm’s service, truly, but may I advise strongly against stoking the ire of Mance Rayder? He does, after all, command a vagabond army several times the size of the kingdom’s current retinues…”
Cersei turned, staring the bald man down. In his flowing silk tunic, he almost could have passed for a soft-willed man, not a sexless counselor. She raised her wine glass to her tiny, downturned lips and sipped quickly, her irises never straying from Varys’ own. “That is precisely the point.” She turned again, staring off toward the evening horizon. “Anger the Wildlings enough so that they advance on the Wall, all but extend an invitation to overtake the few brothers left at Castle Black, and then let those snow-frosted savages battle the hoards of tired northerners beyond that. Their armies will thin one another significantly, and before the champions can so much as enter the Vale, the king’s army will snuff the so-called winner out entirely.”
Varys raised the slightest of smiles. “Enemy of my enemy…”
Cersei cut him off. “…loses, regardless.” She tipped the glass, finishing the last drips of sweet summer wine as a cool autumn breeze rose off the water and tickled her thin fabric drapes.
