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Emilie Conroy

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Oct, 2019

Stories (40)
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40 Stories

607 karma pts

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Canossa

What I shall tell you here is truth in so far as I am able to define "truth" from "fiction". Yes, of course I understand that a writer's main objective is to convince her reader of the authenticity of her words. That is a convention that is a luxury for me, and a luxury I cannot afford. At any rate I am writing to fulfill a promise. This is my Canossa, my place of humiliation. Here I expose my foolishness in humble submission to the wishes of the angel who still loves me, in spite of the pain I have caused him. Azrael came to me in his ...

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I Join The New Avalon

Submitted to Contest #56

"You got that right sister!" Fortune said, and then laughed. Raven and Bast joined in with her. The night of my first spell, our love spell, we passed through the mists of the mundane world. Daneb, Jane, Catherine, and Brandie fell away as the witches Lupa, Raven, Bast, and Fortune rose from those mortal shells. I wore my dark red silk robe, designed to entice and to lure, as I would wear it for you, my love. My sisters were equally splendid, with Raven forgoing her usual black for deep purple, Bast in a midnight blue robe that matched h...

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Back

Submitted to Contest #52

Portia kept running, though her knees ached and her back throbbed.  She didn't look back to count how many were chasing her; by the sound of their footfalls, she reckoned about a dozen pursuants.  She still had a good lead, yet the gap was closing, and she could hear their threats spitting  from between their teeth. Up ahead, she could see the ominous stone form of the Canossa.  The thought of dodging in there seemed almost less appealing than what these thugs had in mind for her.  Then she chastised herself; the C...

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Dancing Among The Stars

Submitted to Contest #51

Over the untamed forests of Verda, the full moon sailed across the starry sky.  Barefoot and wearing a simple tunic, Sergius stood on the balcony.  He raised his eyes to look on the moon, on the goddess Luna.  The night air hung thick with energy and magic.  Sergius felt his blood sing with the force of the celestial orchestra, a voice too loud to let him sleep. Once his people would have gathered to celebrate the ultimate waxing of the moon.  But that was before, in less civilized times.  Now the Romans left ...

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Political Distraction

Submitted to Contest #49

"Though I live a million years, I will never understand this women's mystery business," Ibycus said to Arion over his tankard of wine. The bard hadn't budged from the table, preferring to spout his ideas at the attentive and conversant Iphisiad king. "Why can I not be with out with them now? This is nonsense. Do your women do this, too? Are they as crazy?" Arion looked down at his own tankard, which he had not touched. "Iphisia is a different nation, my friend, and we do different things. Surely if the Amazon women have their myster...

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A Woman Scorned

Serapis awoke from his unpleasant dreams with his head throbbing in pain. "Ophelia!" "Why Serapis, I never thought I would have the pleasure again." In a panic, he struggled with his tight bonds. "Let me go!" Ophelia pursed her lips and shook her head. "Absolutely not." She slowly dropped onto her knees and looked upon his barely clad body. "You are fit as ever, just as delicious as I remember you. Are you still as virile?" "Not for you." "Of course not." Without a bit of tenderness, Ophelia began to rake her fingers over h...

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The Secret Invitation

Submitted to Contest #47

You have been wondering how to bring up the subject with your lover. Now is the time for all truth and a few answers. "I cannot help but be curious," you say. "You have had many women before me." Arion laughs softly, awkwardly. "Dordei, have we not just been married? I do not wish to discuss such things right now. It does not matter who I have had before you." "If you do not want to talk about it, I understand. But I do wonder. I want to know everything about you." "Then know that I am embarrassed that you were not my first a...

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Mighty Quill, Mighty Sword

Submitted to Contest #46

Two instruments.       For all of mankind's might wailing and raging, for all its self-extollations and its ballyhooed ephemeral successes, two of its inventions have been more responsible for the construction and destruction of all that man has conquered and made in its history.       There exists no truth in this world, but the truth that all truth is but perception.  No one, however objective he or she may claim to be, can view the world with more than his own eyes. ...

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Acts of Faith

Submitted to Contest #45

Peony Balefire peeked through the blinds, her long, thin fingers separating the reeds. She saw the woman pull into the driveway, skidding the tires of what looked like a new Chevy. A stout, high-heeled leg popped out of the open door, and the rest of the woman followed. Peony groaned.There was a quick rap on the office door. "Here comes trouble," the blonde Cypress said.Peony turned away from the window, and sighed heavily. "I hate this, Cypress." The assistant nodded. Peony removed her thin-framed glasses and stuck them in her gaping shirt ...

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The Blossom of Arundel

Submitted to Contest #44

     Fayre sauntered into the great hall, her radiance disguising the sickly turmoil within her.     How it aggravated her to see Cloridan meander about the great hall, mingling with the feast guests as if he were home in his own castle.  She wished everyone in the hall could share just a little of her hostility, that Cloridan might not look so arrogant and comfortable.     Fayre moped about the hall, barely acknowledging any greetings offered her.  She knew...

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Smoke and Mirrors

Submitted to Contest #43

This afterlife pressed hot, humid, and overgrown, with who knew what kinds of animals crawling on the sandy ground and insects the size of humans.  Distinct bouquets of jasmine and honeysuckle infused the air.  Somewhere through the low clouds and the thick mist the sun stained the sky a lemon yellow.     Rose turned to the jaguar to speak, but of all things, he was singing.   “In Mexico the god appears; thy banner is unfolded in all directions, and no one weeps.  I, the god, have returned again, I have tur...

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The Karmic Joke

Submitted to Contest #42

With a knot in his throat, Byron dared to eavesdrop on their conversation."Do you believe in karma?" Maxine asked."Sure. It makes a lot of sense.""I think I'm suffering karmic retribution," she sighed.Adam laughed. "How do you figure that?" Maxine sighed again. "I really messed up my ex-boyfriend at Penn. I didn't break it off nicely, and I really broke his heart. He still calls me, and the pain's still in his voice." "We all do it at some time or another," Adam figured. "Maybe. But I think now I'm being gotten back for wha...

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All In The Riddle

Submitted to Contest #41

"Becoming a priestess of Artemis is no simple matter of study," Dordei began. "The lady of the woods demands more from her servants than piety and knowledge. When I arrived in Ephesus, I had my robes as a novice priestess, and that was all. I could have no more. Now not everyone who goes to Ephesus does so to become a priestess of the lady. Many go for the training, the education and the experience. But becoming a priestess begins with pledging the vows, and so I vowed myself to chastity, to eating no flesh food not brought down by my ...

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Windkissed

Submitted to Contest #40

How many years in how many different high schools could she endure? And yet again, she could not fault her father’s logic. In that long ago place, she’d stopped aging at seventeen. In the current century, that meant she would best blend in among high school students. She could stay hidden in reasonable safety. All of it was getting to be too much.    She had come to Grayfall for one essential reason, and that reason was to keep existing. But was there something more? She could almost fool herself into thinking she’d finally walked ...

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Intern Eternal

Submitted to Contest #39

Loki punched a fist into his left hand. His black boots clicked against the marble floor as he turned onto the main hallway of Asgard. Fifty more yards, and he would be in The Presence. And he hated it.The last time the demi-god of doom, chaos, mischief and revenge had been summoned to The Presence, he had been reprimanded severely for going overboard with his power. He'd had to spend a century with Ahriman, in instruction, stripped of his demigod status.Loki continued toward the large double doors. He couldn't imagine what The Presence...

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