Elizabeth Inkim

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2020

Stories (25)

25 Stories

937 karma pts

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“Cain’s Heresy” by Elizabeth Inkim

Submitted to Contest #103

The hospital room was cold, and the smell of antiseptic was far too strong for the small space. Electricity pulsed through the air. Pulling the rough cotton sheets off, I slid my legs over the side of my bed, the bones of my feet snapping and popping under my weight. I had been stuck in Arcānum public hospital for the better part of a year. The doctors said it had been a miracle that I had woken up so soon and that people who took half a dozen bullets into their chest didn't just walk out of the hospital, but I guess I've always been lucky l...

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“Guardian of The Deep” by Elizabeth Inkim

Submitted to Contest #100

Standing at the ship’s bow, Carina flung her arms out into the open embrace of the sea breeze. She breathed in the scent of salt and sweat and dust that clung to her―the taste of war staining her tongue. War drums sounded behind her, drowning out the waves that crashed against the Pratyush’s hull. Named for sunshine and the promise of better days, the battleship was made out of a Telkhines alloy, the colour so dark that it swallowed up the afternoon sunlight. Soon, she told herself, soon she would be home again. It had been almost a year sin...

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“Winter’s Promise” by Elizabeth Inkim

Submitted to Contest #99

Nothing burns like the cold; not summer night bonfires, or muggy spring afternoons, or even the calefaction of autumn―no nothing burns quite like the kiss of winter. A fowl wind gnawed at the sentinels stationed at the alabaster walls of the Winter Court, and despite the fire crackling in the stone hearth of the drawing-room, the space felt cold. From the satin and silk pillows embroidered with tiny stars to the carved writing desk in the corner, Tsaritsa Roksana’s private salon was lined with treasures from across the globe. Tucking a stray...

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“A Beast of The Mirabella” by Elizabeth Inkim

Submitted to Contest #98

Silver starlight leaked through the old wrought iron window of the Odhran Estate. Sitting at the old piano, wrapped in her thick woollen blankets, Lady Odette Lécuyer watched wide-eyed at the snow flurries that fell against the solarium windows. In the forgotten wing of the estate house, the only sounds to be heard were her uneven prodding of the piano keys and the chips of ice hailing against the window. The solarium was rarely ever used, and to Odette's delight, it held a small grand piano, a few old armchairs perfect for napping, and a fi...

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“Sweet Boys, Bitter Girls” by Elizabeth Inkim

Submitted to Contest #94

Peals of laughter and the soft clink of glass filled the small townhouse. It was the end of the first day of summer. In the dim light of the living room, tiny metal figures and miniature plastic houses lay scattered about. The old board game was dogeared in places, but that didn't matter because my friends and I were all in one place for the first time in months. Together the five of us lay sprawled out around the coffee table, in our mismatched pyjamas, laughing like fools. Taking a sip of rum, a giggle escaped me as Seraphina jumped on the...

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“Scion of the Sea” by Elizabeth Inkim

In the noontime sun, waves crashed softly against the limestone cliff face. With nothing but bright blue skies above, and the sea of soft grass around her, Carina could have lain there for hours. On her back, she stared at a flock of birds passing by, migrating home for the winter months, probably to somewhere warm and tempting; anyway, but here. She'd been human for almost six months, and still, she couldn't get warm, not really.In the beginning, she had sat in the sun, before a coal stove, by fires, in an effort to let the heat leach her l...

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“Hide and Seek” by Elizabeth Inkim

Submitted to Contest #91

Roslyn knew she shouldn’t have been in the Library of Atlantis after hours, and yet there she was, strolling down the hallowed halls of Atlantica’s most treasured archive, with nothing but lockpicks and her wits.Shadows flickered against the walls; their flames had burned low in the midnight hour. Enchanted to illuminated rather than burn, the firelight licked hungrily up the towering shelves as if they were Tantalus himself, yearning to devour. The Hellfire hearth in the centre of the library had been put out for the day as most of the scho...

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“An Heir of Shadow” by Elizabeth Inkim

Submitted to Contest #88

Long ago, in a kingdom that the sea had swallowed, there lived a girl named Carina. A princess of Mu, she was beloved by her people and all who met her, for she was gentle; a trait that the merfolk we not known for. Singing in a forest of kelp, she wondered what it would be like to ordinary, to not have everyone stare at her whenever she entered a room or opened her mouth. Surrounded by a bloom of jellyfish, she giggled softly to herself, watching them shrink away from her touch. In the bleak abyss of the forest, she lay sprawled on a rock, ...

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“Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Elizabeth Inkim

Submitted to Contest #86

In a field of poppies, I lie in wait. Blinking the warm afternoon sun out of my eyes, a stray breeze kisses a shiver into my skin. In the dawning of spring, I twirl a leaf between my fingers, one of many; it is emerald and bold. Nature's first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold. From my leatherbound notebook, I pull out a pressed carnation. Its pink petals are sun-soaked and radiant. There is no place else in the world I would rather be―only there is, with her.I am a child dancing in the greenhouse. My father, one of the Mavis Country Es...

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“Ouroboros ” by Elizabeth Inkim

Submitted to Contest #83

Of all the things Beom thought she would be doing on harvest day, sitting on her heels before the village chief and the council of elders was definitely not one of them. After hours of listening to him ramble on about nothing, the urge to interrupt was overwhelming. Looking past the Chief, she could see the endless stretch of blue through a crack in the woven wall. Tuning out the grumble of voices, she could hear faint sounds of drums and smell the spiced rum in the air.Fiddling with her bracelets, she could still feel the salt on her skin f...

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“Lighting in a Bottle” by Elizabeth Inkim

Submitted to Contest #81

In the pale light of dawn, streaks of ochre and orange cut through the black veil of night, clearing the mist away from the snow-blanketed valley below. From my spot on the balcony, I stared at the snow-covered hills, studying its sparkle and the eerie way the iron-wood trees seemed to be reaching for the sky; the moss-covered bows gnarled with time. Nestled in the heart of the valley, the palace was surrounded by a boiling lake. The steam curling off its surface did little to warm the air, but at least the thermal currents below supplied he...

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“A Hollow Home” by Elizabeth Inkim

Submitted to Contest #79

There is no solace in silence, only a never-ending ache.Standing in the empty hallway, Boris looked for any sign of love, for any hint of a reason to stay, but he was met with only a stinging stillness. The mid-century style house was empty as it had always been, as it probably always would be. With bare ivory-coloured walls and slate grey floors, he often wondered why his parents never bothered to redecorate, or at the very least hang paintings. Instead, they settled for a handful of framed photographs, one from his parents’ wedding, anothe...

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“Tables Turn, Bridges Burn” by Elizabeth Inkim

Submitted to Contest #76

Descending the polished marble steps of the castle ballroom, Lady Cynthia Zahava could feel the eyes of the aristocracy dig into her. Beloved by all she encountered, Lady Cynthia’s charm was renowned, and if she had been born into any other life, she could have conquered kingdoms, but it was her unfortunate fate to be highborn; her hand in marriage promised before she could even walk. Brushing a stray lock of her pale blonde hair, she smiled bashfully at her shoes. Cynthia knew she shouldn’t have worn the backless emerald grown in a room of ...

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“A Kaleidoscope of Memories” by Elizabeth Inkim

Submitted to Contest #75

Whoever decided that cleaning was therapeutic was a liar, and nothing could convince Roslyn to think otherwise. At best, it was a mild form of torture. For the last few years, she had promised her mother that she would clean her room, donate some of her clothes, and file away her paperwork, and for the past few years, she simply could not find the time. Not that she did not tidy up here and there, because she did, she just simply hadn’t done a deep cleaning in a long while even though her mother reminded her about it often. Although if...

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“The Savage Truth of Fear” by Elizabeth Inkim

Submitted to Contest #70

Once upon a time, there lived a girl who was once kind, if only she knew that the path to hell was paved with good intentions. There was once a time where she believed in fairy tales and love, but those frivolities had long since died in her chest. If only she had known the raw, savage truth of existence. Mortified by the taste of blood in her mouth, Nadine had not let the curling fingers of grief wrap itself around her heart since she had drowned in the lake. If only she had died that day, if only they had lived. With ...

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Author bio

Elizabeth Inkim is a graphic designer, who’s an artist at heart and has a passion for storytelling. She is currently working towards writing a fantasy series; but is still in the planning and outlining stage, and probably won’t be drafting for a while. Although... a few pages have already been written, so progress over perfection is the name of the game right now. “Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Not necessarily in that order.” -Tim Burton --- Socials: instagram.com/inkim.me twitter.com/inkimme behance.net/inkim Shop: society6.com/inkim Website: www.inkim.me/stories ---- Feel free to leave a comment, she loves to discuss ideas, and chat in the comments section. Series: A labyrinth of broken truths -A Rose By Any Other Name -Dum Spiro, Spero Occāsus -An Heir of Shadow -Scion of the Sea -Guardian of The Deep My Favourites (I highly recommend reading): -And I am a creator at heart -Auditorium Antics -A Kaleidoscope of Memories -Lighting in a Bottle -Nothing Gold Can Stay -Winter’s Promise Author’s Note: All characters and locations belong to the same fictional universe; everything’s interconnected, just not told chronologically. --- Currently putting together a newsletter; see inkim.me/newsletter to subscribe.