What has made you angry this week?
The viewscreen muted the light of the small yellow star at the center of the planetary system. Veralis’s scowling face reflected back at her, hovering ominously above the blue and green planet where her troubles had begun. The primitive humanoids were irritatingly resilient.
She chewed on the nail of her thumb. It was all Fae’s fault. Veralis’s generals had confirmed the renegade princess was indeed on the surface of the planet they orbited. Her generals. The thought did not bring her comfort.
She turned away from the alluring blue rock below and paced behind her desk. She did not want to look over the stacks of reports. She would have to, eventually, if her people were to stand any chance of surviving the resistance from the ground, but her feet carried her to and fro as her mind raced.
The Empress leads the Empire. The Empire is strong. The Empire cannot fail. Mosarix cannot fail. The galaxy is secure because Mosarix is secure. Mosarix is secure because the Empress leads the Empire. The Empire is strong. The Empire cannot fail.
Heat began to flow through her arms and Veralis balled her fists, nails digging into her palms hard enough to draw blood. Not now. She took several deep breaths. The Empress leads the Empire. The Empress leads. She needed to be a leader. A long exhale. The fire in her blood dissipated.
Gingerly, Veralis opened her hands. The dark, viscous liquid trickled down her forearm and dripped to the floor. Four shallow puncture marks in each hand marred the pale brand that marked her as Empress. The ancient symbol of the stars through which every Empress has been gifted the ability to channel the power of the stars to defend her home. A duty she was not meant to inherit.
A different fire lit in her stomach. This was Fae’s destiny, not hers. How dare she abandon her responsibility? How dare she betray her own sister and flee the people she had sworn to protect?
Veralis wiped her palms on her skirts and marched toward her wardrobe. She flung it open and shed her dress. It was not a suitable uniform for a wartime commander. Like it or not, that was what Fae had left her. Her people needed a leader, and she was the Empress. The Empress leads. The Empress commands.
Notes: I haven’t yet written this character from my space opera, though she has been mentioned in several of the other posts my galactic empire appears in. I figured she must be pretty frustrated by the resistance to her invasion so she seemed a good POV to write about anger. Plus, it gave me a chance to meet her and get inside her head a little, see what makes her tick.
She is really mad about her sister leaving. Interesting. I had thought Fae was banished/exiled, but from Veralis’s POV, Fae went awol. There is a lot more to explore here with the Mosari royalty and why they are invading Earth in the first place. Also, I really want to come up with a neat symbol for the Empress’s Mark. I spent too much time doodling in my notebook tonight without coming up with anything concrete that I liked.
Anger is an interesting emotion to explore with your characters. What sorts of things make them angry? Do they get mad easily or does it take a lot? Is theirs a quiet anger or is it more explosive? What about you? What makes you angry and how do you deal with it?
Have a great night! I’ll see you tomorrow with another prompt!
Closet Full of Notebooks 