Danielle Davis's Blog

Solace: A VillanelleBy Danielle DavisAs it should forever be,making our magic, quelling our qualms,just you and me.As children welicked and linked our palms.As it should forever be.Pacts, fears, promises shared beneath a treemade of ash or oak, singing our psalms,just you and me.Later, long-distanced, I confess, "I'm in the dark, can't break free."I hear her tongue slide across palm,"As it should ever be."You keep trying to banish the darkness," said she,"And yet turn to me when you seek calm;just you and me."But I am your demons. You can't break freeWhile, with conjures and schemes, you I embalm,as it will always be:just you and me."See what thegirl-writes did withthis week's prompt!

It started with a challenge from a writer friend of mine: "how would you feel about exchanging story prompts?" Of course I was all for it, as short stories are my happy place. We decided to do it weekly, alternate who picks the theme, and for both of us to write to the theme chosen. I don't know that I'll be posting every resulting story but I'll definitely be posting some here, as my friend will be doing over on her blog, as well. I won't be telling what the prompt was, though, so if you want to know, you'll have to read both our stories to try and figure it out *insert evil laugh here*If you're looking for some hors d'oeuvres of awesome, you've come to the right place. I'll be tagging all these stories with#weekly promptsin case you want to search all of them (once we accrue more). So read, enjoy, and write on, my ink-loving friends!A King to Rule Them AllBy Danielle DavisArthur fingered the edge of Excalibur, letting his hand slide down the smooth plastic of the shaft to where it lay embedded in his arm. The contents inside were a murky green, brackish even, but he wasn't worried. It had been given to him by the Lady of the Lake, who knew supremo when she made it, and she hadn't steered him wrong yet."This will light your eyes on fire," she'd murmured as she slipped him the bag. Tiny, nearly weightless but full of so many possibilities. "Your ideas will have ideas. They'll ignite parts of your brain you never used before. You'll be floating and falling and conquering everything you land on. You'll see other worlds and you willrule. them.all." It was a seductive promise. But though she'd been the cartel's head chemist for years, he still hesitated. All it would take was a shot of beat skag to put him down forever. One hit to dethrone the king from the empire he'd spent blood, sweat, and bullets maintaining.He'd been fresh out of high school when Gwen came up with the idea. Simple running, to start, under the leadership of the Pendragon clan. But he earned his place real quick. Right place at the right time. Good in a tight spot. He always seemed to know the best places to be and the right moves to make, even when situations went sideways.The Uther liked that about him. Liked Arthur enough to make the inner circle, be a good fella.So he bought himself a bike and moved to the 'burbs, out of the squalid downtown streets the tourists loved. He met up with the guys every Saturday for a ride out to the country, the whole squad of them, roaring down the highway with their thousands of horsepower raining thunder on the blacktop, armored in black leather emblazoned with the family crest: a circular, curving dragon ouroboros above red letters that read, "Knights of the Round."It was everything he'd dreamt, but he had bigger dreams yet to dream.When the Uther was poisoned, it took everyone by surprise. Ask anyone in the business how they're gonna die, they'll tell you, "Shootout, probably, while defending my turf. Maybe in a pool of my own blood." Then they'll give you a sideways smile and the con man's eye and add, "Or maybe with your Mom sitting on my face like last night. And wouldn't it be a way to go!"Nobody expects poison, least not in something you ate, like something out of a noir 1980's mystery. If you don't go out by the gun, you weren't worth the bullet to fix the mistake.But the Uther...he shouldn't have gone out that way. He was better than that.Either way, Arthur and Lance were the next in line. Like brothers, they were, equally skilled with the business, smart on the streets, and able to back any backtalk that came their way. But Arthur won the jump, with everyone gathered around them in the musty, mold-smelling shop, as they kicked and punched and gouged their way to glory.The rules were what they always were: nobody interferes and winner goes to the last man standing. Lancelot was the better fighter but any man'll go down when surprised by a knife in the kidney. Wasn't supposed to be a weapons fight, but that was how Arthur was. He knew the right moves to make when the situation arose.So Arthur becomes the Uther and everyone falls in line. Because Arthur knows how to back his word. And his word quickly became the new goal of the Knights of the Round: to make the baddest, best shit on the market, to corner the market, tocreatethe market. Get these fools hooked from the first hit before they even knew they were hooked.Excalibur would do it for him.Cooked up in a fever dream by the Lady of the Lake, Excalibur promised to win the territory forArthur. To win any territories he took it to.He just had to make sure it was really ready. A good businessman always knows the quality of his products."What the hell," he whispered and took the plunge.His thumb pressed the handle to its hilt and then lights burst behind his eyes and he fell back, against his pillow, and dreamed of galaxies yet left to conquer. Of armor left broken and pierced in his wake. Of sunrises over hills no man had traveled with his knights by his side. Together, bonded, and unbreakable.See what thegirlwrites did withthis week's prompt!

So continues my September Stories project! If you missed any of them, you can find the full list here. Missed Shot By Danielle Davis  In the post-midnight darkness, as Nov. 21 slipped into Nov. 22, a cold front from the southwest approached Dallas-Fort Worth. Before dawn, the moisture in that cold front turned into a misty drizzle. Around 1 am, Lee woke with the hot, sticky feeling that he was going to vomit. He lay in bed a while, hoping the feeling would go away if he waiting long enough. As a

 So continues my September Stories project! If you missed any of them, you can find the full list here. RE:Pro Duction By Danielle Davis  "I am excited," A17 told her husband. "I am made anxious by the wait we are experiencing. I feel butterflies in my stomach."  "Those are called nerves," DAR:IUS responded in a soothing tone. His default settings automatically interpreted the fluxuations in her speech that indicated stress and pitched his response accordingly. It was what he was build for. 

So continues my September Stories project! If you missed any of them, you can find the full list here. Beneath the Blood Roses Little Bones Lie By Danielle Davis  The roses are struggling.  Needy little plants, those roses. Always needing nourishment.   Not sure why they're called Agent Amber when the petals are violently indigo. Probably the guy mixed it up with his weed stash and grabbed the wrong packet to sell on the street corner that afternoon. "I call this one Agent Amber, bro." So stupid

  You may remember my September Stories project that I started back in 2015. Due to injury, events, and general slackitude, that project continues well past September. But it IS still continuing! Excelsior! In the interest of full disclosure, however, I must admit that this story, due to its sheer weight, broke the mold--it took me multiple days to write (whereas the others were done in only one). But I intend for the others to keep to the pattern.   If you missed any of the previous September

 So continues my September Stories project! If you missed any of them, you can find the full list here. Loyalty  By Danielle Davis    Mike stepped lightly over to her side of the bed. For a long time, he watched her sleep, frowning at the small furrow between her eyes. She never slept well the night before the anniversary of her mother’s death. He sighed. Tomorrow was always taxing on both of them. He wished, after five years, she could come to terms with it, but she was never one to let go of

 So continues my September Stories project! If you missed any of them, you can find the full list here. Drifting, to Come Home  By Danielle Davis    She plunged her hands beneath the water--    --the sea the cold sea washing and scrubbing away at her very pores. How to erase these blemishes of time, these cold cold scars that curl themselves into her flesh like worms under the skin, erase the freckles that multiply and the strength that doesn't. Revitalize this damaged shell by wearing away the[image error]

So continues my September Stories project! If you missed any of them, you can find the full list here.  Second Time's the Charm  By Danielle Davis    If it wasn't for Mitch, Tom never would have come to the party--it was too soon after Theresa had left. And he could tell Mitch didn't really expect him to show up anyway and only invited him as a nice gesture. Which was funny, considering that he was currently dressed as David Bowie's character Jareth, the Goblin King from the cult classic hit[image error]

So continues my September Stories project! If you missed any of them, you can find the full list here. Karma's Only a Bitch if You Are  By Danielle Davis    Shea walked quickly down the dry good aisle. She kept one eye on the cashier at the counter and one on Bobby as he paralleled her. At the end of the aisle, he moved to cover the door and she took three large strides to the cashier's counter. In the front pouch of her hoodie, she formed her hand into the shape of a gun, like when she'd play[image error]