Prompt 35-Stress

What is the biggest trigger for stress in your life?

“The recruitment efforts in the southern continent are being met with challenges, highne-, er, ma’am.”

The young woman waved the slip away, urging her counsel to continue. Years of exile on the surface had not been enough to rid them of their ancient habit, regardless how much she had tried to quell it. She was certain the counsel and her other advisors still referred to her in private as The High One, Princess Faelurion Amadestia and a string of titles she neither wanted nor deserved.

“The terrain there is not unlike the vast forests of the Homeworld, but the people there, the local Terrans called, as I understand it, Amazons, have built up quite a resistance.” They snorted in disgust. “It has proven effective against your sister’s armies, but it is also troublesome for ours, as these Earthlings do not know the difference between an enemy and a potential ally.”

Fae nodded. “Well that’s to be expected. There isn’t anything different between us except which of us wields the full power of the stars.”

“But High-, miss, that power belongs to you. You alone could end this war if we could only gather the forces to press your sister to step down.”

“I wonder,” Fae replied wistfully. She smiled and placed a reassuring hand on the counsel’s arm. Awe and consternation warred on their face at being touched so by one of such high blood. They clearly wanted to rebuke her for sullying her hands, but were simultaneously blessed she had deigned to do so. Fae had worked so hard to eliminate as much of the old ways as possible and yet this one stood obstinate even after all this time. “Jarel, I know you would see me on the throne back on the Homeworld, but Veralis will never step aside for me.”

“All the more reason for us to keep stealing her weapons,” Jarel insisted. “We can turn them against her!”

Fae patted the old arm and released it, striding gracefully ahead of them. “Speaking of weapons acquisition, any word on how my little project is coming along?”

“Well, about that,” Jarel grumbled. It was a sore subject. They did not like her giving the Terran almost unilateral freedom, coming and going on her orders alone. “It seems he has eliminated a recon group.”

Fae spun to face them. “Alone? A whole squad?”

“It would seem so.”

She gritted her teeth and buried her face in her hands. That fool. That idiot Terran. She ran her hands through her long, pale hair. Todd Price was her biggest headache. Carefully laid plans were bound to start unraveling now. He would never see his brother again at this rate.

Fae sighed. “Call him back. They’ll be down in full force in a couple of days. I am sure Ral knows exactly who is responsible and I will not give her any opportunity to rob me of my slightest advantage.”

Jarel nodded and scurried off toward the ship’s control room. Fae watched him go with growing unease. She knew she would have to tell Todd the truth. It was much sooner than she had anticipated, but if she didn’t do it now, she would lose him forever.

Notes: This is taking on a life of its own. I can’t say I envisioned this when I set out to write this week, but after Wednesday’s prompt, these last two seemed to follow logically. I have a lot of questions about who these characters are and what this new world looks like and maybe I’ll get around to answering them. I’ve got enough on my plate without new stories clamoring to be told. My stress and relief are certainly two sides of the same coin.

What sort of thing stresses you out? Is it just one thing? Do you encounter it daily like at work? Or is it more like an actual trigger that you avoid? What sort of stressors do your characters have? Write them down!

Monday’s prompt: What was the last thing you read, heard, or saw that inspired you?

I get inspiration from everywhere. Even texts from my mother about the weather. Yeah, maybe I’ll do that one for Monday. Have a great weekend!