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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of fantasy short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

15100+ Fantasy Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Though fantasy is well known for its epically long sagas, fantasy short stories can deliver all the genre’s best attractions with one punch — or, shall we say, in one fiery dragon breath?

Fantasy Short Stories – Page 4 of 1007

A Dish Best Served Cold... Again.

Submitted to Contest #303

The glitter cannon was primed. Sarah, perched precariously on a stepladder in the school auditorium’s dusty prop room, double-checked the confetti load for the fifteenth time.This wasn't just any confetti; it was biodegradable, multi-colored, and specifically designed to cling to hair and clothing like a lovesick limpet. Her masterpiece. Her final, glorious act of kindergarten-fueled vengeance against a literal deity.Downstairs, the DJ was already spinning some questionable pop anthems, the bass thrumming through the floorboards and vibratin...

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Courtalise Thorn and the Choice of Shadows

Submitted to Contest #303

The palace gardens, once lush with life and laughter, had become a haunted maze of twisted thorns and faded blooms. The grandeur that had once drawn visitors like moths to a flame had wilted into something darker, something broken. The vibrant colors were now muted—petals dulled to ash-gray, leaves curled and brittle beneath the oppressive weight of neglect. Even the sweet scent that once perfumed the air had turned sour, heavy with decay and forgotten promises.Courtalise Thorn moved silently among the curling vines and black roses, their th...

4 likes 0 comments 0
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FAIRYTALES UNTOLD

Submitted to Contest #303

[TW-this story talks of abuse but in a fairy-tale way]THE EULOGYFunerals are supposed to be sad events. People attend these sorts of solemn ceremonies dressed in black, most likely with some crying. I was dressed accordingly for this service, but my inner soul was dancing for joy. Dancing! I did not feel an ounce of grief or sorrow for my step-mother’s passing. She was an evil witch.My husband, the Prince, agreed. But we knew the importance of keeping up appearances at this time. He was actually responsible for the evil woman’s death, and my...

16 likes 10 comments 10
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Courtalise and the Rule of Hearts

Submitted to Contest #303

Courtalise stood at the edge of the Queen’s Court, where the red roses bloomed fiercely beneath a sky of swirling colors that shifted between dawn and twilight in a constant dance. The air hummed with whispers and secrets, every petal a story and every shadow a warning. Here in Wonderland, rules were as sharp and unyielding as the Queen’s gaze—and breaking them was a perilous game.But Courtalise had never been one for careful playing. Especially not when the heart was involved.She tugged her cloak tighter, feeling the weight of the world—or ...

7 likes 0 comments 0
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Courtalise Thorn: The Villain of Another’s Tale

Submitted to Contest #303

The court of Wonderland is a place where stories bloom and twist like wild roses—beautiful, unpredictable, and sometimes full of thorns. I, Courtalise Thorn, grew up beneath those tangled vines, part of a world that spoke in riddles and hid truths beneath painted smiles. I never asked to be a villain. Yet, in someone else’s story, that’s the role I was cast to play. The thorn that pricked, the shadow that darkened their light, the disruption no one dared admit they feared.They say villains have no choice, that evil springs from desire or cru...

4 likes 0 comments 0
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The Artist of Revenge

Submitted to Contest #303

In a city forgotten by time, where streets dissolved into mist and buildings whispered secrets only shadows could hear, lived a woman named Eira. Not by choice—no one ever chose invisibility—but by curse, or perhaps by fate. She was erased, truly erased. Her name had never been spoken aloud, her face never drawn in ink or memory. She was the blank page in the world’s book, the silence between notes of a fading song.The city had no name. Or perhaps it did once, but names eroded quickly here, like paint peeling from old shutters. The river tha...

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Echoes Behind the Door

Submitted to Contest #303

The library clock chimed thirteen times—an impossible hour that only Wonderland would keep. I stood in the center of the reading room, the polished marble floor mirroring rows of leather-bound tomes. Somewhere beyond the arch of vines carved into the walls, teacups tinkled in a perpetual half-empty ritual, and card soldiers shuffled in restless formation. But here, in this quiet sanctuary of words, I felt the final weight of my decision settle onto my shoulders.On the writing desk before me lay a single sheet of parchment, its edges curling ...

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Wonderland Wasn't a Place-It Was Me

Submitted to Contest #303

Moonlight dripped through the hollow oak limbs overhead, pooling in silver puddles across the mossy floor of the Tulgey Wood. I sat cross-legged on a fallen log, flamingo mallet beside me and hedgehog ball half-buried in bracken, feeling the hush settle deep into my bones. All around, Wonderland’s hallmark chaos blinked and shimmered in the outskirts—teacups drifting on phantom breezes, card soldiers marching in tight formation, and the distant tinkle of the Mad Hatter’s off-key laughter.But tonight, I felt nothing of their whimsy.I wiped a ...

5 likes 1 comment 1
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Level of Autonomy

Submitted to Contest #303

This story contains mention of suicide.“You walked right into it, Lance. You did not even have your sword in your hand. You know suicide is a mortal sin! What were you thinking?”“I had no choice,” Sir Lancelot du Lac whispered to his cousin Sir Bors, who was kneeling beside him in the dust of the combat arena.Sir Bors concern for Lancelot was being expressed as an angry tirade. Bors was angry with the circumstances which dictated that he must forever watch his cousin strive against himself, body, soul and heart, to do the right, just, and he...

7 likes 3 comments 3
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Do Something

Submitted to Contest #303

In the crush of the crowded balcony, a harpist plucked her stringy lilt over the sounds of animated conversation. Laughter. It was always laughter, followed by snorts and squeals. The joyful sounds made Etos’ skin crawl. He accepted a glass of champagne from a tray, throwing the drink back in one go. “If you keep that up, you won’t be coherent for the ceremony.” Darian, Etos’ friend and confident, narrowed his dark eyes. “What do I need to be coherent for? I’m not the one marrying.” Etos reached for another glass, draining it in the same ...

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This Is How The World Ends

Submitted to Contest #303

The towers of the citadel towered overhead, black in the light of the noon sun. The people in the crowd pushed against each other, makeshift masks hiding mouths that spit curses and grunts as they jostled for better positions. The only place the crowd hadn’t yet reached was the center of the city, due to the guards in gleaming silver armor that kept them back. Beyond the boundaries of the guards, a wooden platform had been hastily and poorly constructed. It moaned and creaked as it danced with the winds coming down from the mountains. T...

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The Cleansing

Submitted to Contest #303

She is running out of time. The world as she knew it was changing, and there was nothing she could do, so they ran. To where, she didn’t know, but she had to get out of the city. Soren knew when she woke up this morning that something had changed. She could feel it in the way her magic felt under her skin. The usually calm waves of energy now roiled like the waves of Barien Sea. The storm that she kept under control inside was fighting to get out, as if telling her to run. She ran to the small living room of her studio apartment and turned ...

4 likes 1 comment 1
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Sailor's smile

Submitted to Contest #303

"You'll walk for this." The words echoed through Robin's mind since the moment Captain Rochards had said them. He hadn't yelled like she might have imagined; he'd smiled. When news reached him that Aunai had been talking of mutiny behind closed doors, the captain had stomped down from his quarters and dragged her out of bed by her long auburn hair. His crooked gold grin had burned itself into Robin's eyelids, torturing her on every blink. Aunai had been confined to the captain's quarters and stayed there. Robin would never have guessed if...

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A Dish Best Served Cold

Submitted to Contest #303

The sun was high. It hit the kindergarten playground. It was a golden light on Sarah’s sandcastle, Castle Sparklehoof. She saw it as a fortress. It had seashell turrets. A moat, dug with care, held water from the dripping fountain. A popsicle stick made a drawbridge. Sarah, five years old, knelt before it. A queen, watching her kingdom.Her subjects were plastic dinosaurs. A one-eyed teddy, Bartholomew. They stood guard."Here," she told Bartholomew, adjusting his ear, "is where the dragon will fall. Princess Sarah will vanquish it. Her steed,...

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Disquiet on the Vienna Line

Submitted to Contest #303

“Welcome to the palace, your highness.” Karim stands on the other side of bars that hold Estelle inside a cage, her wrists bound, her feet bare, her cloak gone. If Karim had thought her wild before, he would not have known wildness until now. She charges the bars, swiping her hand through the orifice large enough to allow her forearms to reach. Karim was too quick and stepped out of the way of her claws. “How did you find me?” Estelle hissed. “The whisper of the woods, I’m afraid they sold you out.” He tsked, turning to leave her in this col...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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