Ack, I meant this to post at 9AM and scheduled it for 9PM! But oh, are you in for a treat! Master storyteller Teagan Geneviene outdid herself with this one. Enjoy!

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Theatre of Bardic Rumination

The letter came at last.  On the back of the envelope was a blob of green wax, sealed with the royal crest.  Beulah Andraste swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.  Hands shaking, she ripped the paper while trying to open the missive.

“Look at you, woman!” Beulah’s reflection chided her.  “Nervous and weak-kneed as a girl.  You’re teasing yourself.  What foolishness for you to apply to be the Great Drake’s reader.  You already know that envelope contains a rejection.  And worse still to be accepted!  As soon as your dried-up old voice creaks, the old serpent will roast and eat you.”

“Don’t be silly,” she told herself.

“Silly?  You know there is a reason why there are frequent calls for new readers!  And just look at you.  The Great Drake collects more than just books.  It hoards beautiful things.  Shiny new, pretty things.  You are old and disgusting,” came the reflections of her true thoughts.

Turning her back, the old woman walked stiffly to her table.  She glanced at the single bookcase that held her treasures — twenty or so books that she had read dozens of times.

She had not applied in hope of the posh accommodations, or the status and admiration accorded the royal readers.  No, Beulah simply desired to read the books amassed by the Great Drake.  She sat down on the hard chair and perused the letter beneath the royal seal.  She gasped!

“Beulah Andraste, your application has been processed. You have been…

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