Hello and welcome to my story! This is the story of Boots and how his path crosses (eventually) with a wizard. Several years ago, I took an oral storytelling course and I told this story as a short, classic fairy tale. At the time, I …
Boots drew the bowstring back with controlled precision. He didn’t move a muscle more than he had to. As he sighted along the arrow’s shaft, little beads of sweat gathered at the roots of his shaggy hair, but his arm held steady. Crouched next to …
It was with a giddy swirl of emotions that Boots set off along the path, pushing his handcart towards his actual fields. He was barely aware of the ground beneath his feet as he relived every word, look and gesture that had passed. He had …
Boots awoke with the first glimmer of grey light filtering in through the window. Having sobered up a few hours into his captivity, he had passed a restless remainder of the evening, unable to ignore the cramped and uncomfortable quarters. With the light came the …
Boots awoke late the next morning after a night of fitful sleep. Despite the brewed potions his mother had eased down his throat, nightmares and pain had plagued his rest. Over and over the axe fell and the pain sliced through him. A jumble of …
Boots spent two days lying abed and wandering the confines of the cottage. The day he had spoken to Burig, Boots had been burning too hot with anger and resentment for the shock of his injury to settle in. Now, in the calm after the …
The morning was grey and chill. Boots settled close to the fire as he ate his morning meal. It was a time of the year for change; sun, rain and sometimes snow, chased each other through the days; the sky above delighting in confounding those bound …
The days of spring lengthened and warmed into those of summer. The villagers of Holding stretched the work hours in the field to fit the extra time the sun spent wheeling across the sky. It was common at this time of the year to see …
Riding through the storm on Shanksey’s back was a thrilling experience. The water hit more fully at the quick pace, and when the wind changed direction, the water sluiced over them with sudden force from the side. With every crack of thunder and lightning he …
As he sat, resting his eyes between sips of warm water, Boots felt the trembling in his arms and legs slow as the surges of panic wore off. Beside him Colin let a mighty sneeze and surreptitiously wiped his nose on his borrowed cloak. Below …
Boots went on for the next few days in an easy enough routine. He would wake, peek outside for signs of his mother, eat, go off to work, return, eat and endeavour to shoot his bow. At some point Bridda would stop by – usually …
Boots’ leg had a cramp and he was desperate to shift and ease the feeling, but he dared not move in the strange and sudden quiet of the night. Not with Burig and Chandra both staring so intently, just past where he was hiding, as …
All the ride home, Boots swayed with the movement of the wagon and watched the shadows with heavy eyes. He did not close them, whenever he did, he pictured a nikka crawling up the back of the wagon to reach out and grasp his foot …
Boots dreamed. He was being chased through the woods, he could hear horses and heavy feet crashing through the trees. Slashes at the undergrowth told him there was cold steel glinting behind him in the night. “He’s up ahead, don’t let him escape.” Burig’s voice …
As Boots had listened to Luthi’s story, the light from the rising sun had pierced through the trees and was now cresting the tops. He could tell by the how the rays arrowed sharply across the garden and fields that it was going to be another …
In the days following the storm, the weather had gone from hot and humid to hot and dry, and though the air was not as unbearably close, the sun remained unbearably bright. As the soggy ground dried up and plants began to mend there was …