Essy Dean

“The Desert Labyrinth” by Essy Dean

Submitted to Contest #124

Note: This story also includes emotional abuse Marenith swirled the sword in a circle around her head. She had lived here her whole life. She had never known anything different than the walls of stone and hedges. She knew every pattern they made. She had traced them over and over and over with her eyes, with her fingers. She had made her own patterns in the dirt with her toes. Boredom often set in. Aside from the Witch, it was Marenith and the Minotaur. She didn't know if the Witch was truly a witch, but the woman who had given birth to...

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“And This is the Royalty of Albion” by Essy Dean

Submitted to Contest #123

It wasn't that Chloe was nervous - or maybe she was and she was trying to convince herself that she wasn't so she could get through this. She should be focusing on Queen Margaret. Margaret. She-Wolf of France and leader of the Lancastrian cause in England. Margaret had always been a figure from history Chloe had looked up to. If you cared to look, history was full of women who fought through their menfolk to get what they wanted or waited in the darkness pretending to be someone they weren't until the opportunity presented itself. Margaret...

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“The Lost That Can't Be Found” by Essy Dean

Note: This story is about the impact the death of a parent can have Heather had always known there was going to be a moment where she wanted to know her mother's story. Dad had given as much as he could, and she could see that it had cost him emotionally to tell her the bits he had. She had seen his grief painted on his face with every word he said. She had wanted to stretch out her hand and touch him, but she knew Dad had an equal chance of balking as he did sinking into her touch. She hated that their grief was forcing them apart, but ...

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“A World Under Leaves” by Essy Dean

Natalie walked through the forest, the leaves crunching under her feet. She had need to get away from her friends. Recently, they'd been fighting more and more and she didn't want to be involved with the insults that were being thrown back and forth. She was so lost in her thoughts that she tripped. She twisted around at the offending branch in the middle of the path. "Of course there is," she muttered. "Why can't people respect nature like our ancestors?" Because people don't care about history or the climate anymore, whispered a nasty l...

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“The Fixer; or The Reason Rysa Whitethorn Hates Samhain... and Humans - but Mostly Humans” by Essy Dean

Rysa Whitethorn hid herself behind a tree and blasted power at the fire that was starting to lick at a bale of hay. She lowered her hand and shook her head. This was why she had always hated Samhain. The stupid things humans got up to. She had been taking care of their problems for years, correcting the mistakes that would destroy everything her coven held dear. Truthfully, she would like nothing more than to let the humans correct their own mistakes. Let them learn something for a change, she thought, but she wasn't the one who made the ru...

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“Collapsed Into the Fog of Destitution” by Essy Dean

Submitted to Contest #85

That's the thing about this city. Everyone always tries to do the right thing, but every move they makes seems to make it worse. They try, I know they do, but I can see the way it's going to collapse. It's like a premonition. It's always there at the back of my mind and I know it's going to go. It's a creeping tickle that has always been there, some days it's easier to ignore than others. It's going to go bad. For all of us. Not just the street sleepers and the ones who scrap out a meager living doing whatever they can. Even the rich rich ...

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“Buried by the Mind” by Essy Dean

Submitted to Contest #84

  She was tired. That's what it was, what Ava chalked it up to. She had never experienced anything like this before. No one had. That's why the world had been full of fear a year ago. She had read about it, read about the quarantines of the past, but she'd never thought she was going to end up in a situation where she was in it, where every day bled into the next and the only reason she knew what day it was was because of her laptop and phone. Even still she was constantly getting her days confused, waking up early, waking up late, forg...

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“Leave-Taking” by Essy Dean

Submitted to Contest #83

Gaia knew it was the best thing for her, knew this was the only way she was ever going to leave. She knew it was for the best, but she couldn't help the fear that curled in her belly. She didn't want to do this all the time. She didn't think it could possibly end well. But where would she be if she didn't try something. She knew this could be her chance. Her chance to leave the island, see the world her father had hidden from her.Her father had done it out of love. She knew it. It didn't make it any easier, though, knowing he had kept her tr...

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“Hockey Pucks and Wool Wastelands” by Essy Dean

Submitted to Contest #78

Crocheting. Knitting. Bread making. She had tried it all, but nothing was fitting, nothing was working and she knew she had to. She needed something to relax. She kept feeling like she was getting sick. She knew it was just the pandemic getting to her. This was going to be her moment, her year.  She was finally going to get that promotion she wanted. She was going to be successful and her parents wouldn’t have an excuse to come out here and argue that she should go back to the private sector. She didn’t want to. She liked her job ...

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“The Monster of the Cotswolds” by Essy Dean

Submitted to Contest #65

She had picked the cottage for the beauty of the area and the memories of her uncle. Talia felt the burning eyes of the old woman down the street when she was moving in her bags and boxes. She knew she was falling into a common trap. The new person in town meeting the meddling old woman. Long ago Talia's mother had told her to be kind and introduce herself. So Talia put down the box with a deep breath and held out a hand. "I'm Talia Haywood. I've just moved in." "Amelia Moorland," the woman said. Talia backed away. There was something ab...

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“Burning Down” by Essy Dean

Submitted to Contest #63

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire and all I could do was panic. That hadn't been how the day started. It had started normally with coffee and talking to my friend, Natalie. But when I looked away from my laptop screen, the trees in the backyard were on fire, throwing sparks and smoke into the air. They all seemed to land somewhere, spreading the fire. It blended with the leaves, turning to red, gold, orange. The heat from the fire rushed toward the door when I opened it to these how hot it was and it seared through eve...

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“Lurking in the Dark Beyond the Street Light” by Essy Dean

Submitted to Contest #52

Niomi walked down the street on her way home. She had always enjoyed walking home at night after a show. It was her time to unwind. Tonight she had taken a loop around her block, trying to rid of the adrenaline rush that always cascaded over her when she got to the end of a performance. There was something about the role of Queen Margaret in Henry VI that had always invigorated her - even in high school, before she thought theatre was a viable career. "Niomi." She thought she recognized the voice coming from behind her. She turned. The hai...

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“Haunted From Another City” by Essy Dean

Submitted to Contest #51

Lauren leaned against a tree. The forest was a little scrubby and she could feel the blood from where her brother Jason had cut her with the kitchen knife. She felt the tree bark prickling the back of her head and she knew she was going to have to keep running. She glanced over her shoulder and got the feeling someone was following her. It prickled under her hairline and burrowed into her brain, not letting her go. She ran into the forest. This wasn't the first time she had run into the forest out of fear. It wasn't the first time Jason had...

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“A Bird of My Tongue is Better Than a Beast of Yours” by Essy Dean

Submitted to Contest #50

Kelly felt the panic rising in her chest. She leaned again the wall and tried to push it down, push it out of her head. She was not going to have a panic attack where everyone would be able to see it and make fun of her. She refused to let it happen or have it be a consideration. She refused that she was going to have something like this defeat her. She thought about the fear Beatrice felt for Benedick in the first scene, that she hid behind jabs and casual talk. She tried to force all her fear into that spot. She felt her breath quicken and...

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“Kylie Silvia” by Essy Dean

Submitted to Contest #43

Ann wasn't expecting anything when she walked into the layers of dust. The attic was always a place her mother said she shouldn't go. She was never sure how Christmas decorations or winter sweaters and coats appeared. Her mother had never gone up there, of that she was certain. There was always something akin to fear in her in her mother's eyes whenever Ann mentioned the attic. Other people she went to school with played in their attics or they had been turned into bedroom or playrooms. At play dates, friends found it strange when Ann led th...

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