Saw it last night with some friends from my college's theatre department. After starring in the play as the Woman, I was super excited to find out they were making a film version of it. The whole theatre was going to go in a big group, but in the end it was just about ten of us. Still, I had fun with them. The theatre was actually pretty crowded considering how tiny our town is. Everyone was excited to see the movie. And it was f-ing CREEPY. You could always kind of tell when she was going to come in or appear or when something bad was going to happen, but it still sent shivers up and down my spine and I was NOT the only person who screamed at several points. I didn't sleep hardly at all last night because of it. And yet I'm TOTALLY up for going to see it again with my sorority bit and her suitemates.
Not to mention, the film has actually rather inspired me for writing and stuff. Funny how fear can be channeled into our favorite things, right?
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Something
No one knew who they were. They were tall and strong, carrying themselves the way any warriors would, and yet they did not bear the signs or shields of any leader they were familiar with. Things like this didn’t happen around here. The people of Sabinium were peaceful and quiet. They had ties with other surrounding tribes and lands and they had always maintained good relations with them. War broke out between others, but Sabinium had always managed to avoid it. They had no interest in sacrificing their men, turning their women into widows and their children into orphans. The closest they had ever come to war was sending able-bodied men to their allies to assist in their fights, and they had been fortunate enough that the wars had never been brought to their land as retaliation from the enemy. So to suddenly have these armed but apparently independent warriors come riding into their lands… Even the trees seemed to have gone still with anxiety. The gentle wind that swept over the hills was still. The sheep seemed nervous and jumpy as the shepherds led them out to graze. The children were torn between hiding behind their mothers and going up with wide-eyed wonder to stare at these newcomers. Only a small number of them seemed unafraid, and had anyone seen them standing where they were hidden behind the trees, they would have thought it very odd. Of everyone, they should have been the ones who feared the newcomers the most.
“Who are they?”
“If anyone knew, they wouldn’t be meeting with the council, would they?”
“Don’t talk so loudly, they’ll hear you!”
“Let them, Orva. The one man there with the stubborn jaw, he has nice eyes. I’d like it if he looked this way…”
“Don’t bother being modest, we all know it’s not his eyes you’re interested in!”
The gaggle of young women, all more than old enough to be interested in men, broke into soft laughter that one of their number quickly shushed. She waved a hand at them and then tapped her index finger to her lips commandingly before turning and fixing her eyes back on the men. The others all followed suit, biting their lips and sighing out the last of their giggles as they squeezed closer together to peek out from behind the trees. Most of the men, perhaps thirty in all, were standing in a strong, tightly-knit group. Three of them were sitting down around the smoldering fire, wearing nothing but cloths that wrapped about their waists and sandals that tied about their ankles. These three men were sitting with their hands on their knees and their dark eyes fixed on the council of elders, which consisted of their leader, his brothers, and several other men who had proven themselves either in battle or in some other fashion. From where the girls were hidden behind a cluster of trees, they couldn’t hear what was being said between the men, but every now and then one of them caught something by reading their lips and would whisper it to the others.
“I think they’re talking of some sort of alliance mayhap…?” one girl whispered. Another shook her head.
“If it was talk of joining forces that would mean there’s something to stand against together… I haven’t heard of anything, have you?”
“No, nothing… But then what could they be here for? And why so many of them?”
They were all silent in reply. None of them could think of an answer to it. The more they watched and thought it over, the more questions they all came up with, and the fewer answers they found. And of course, that only heightened their curiosity and caused them to watch and think it over all the more. The wind had started to pick up and their knees were hurting from the crouched positions they were huddled in, but still none of them moved. They only continued to watch, their eyes wide as if hoping to notice something that would be more of a clue, but it backfired on them in the end. The man in the center of the three who were sitting suddenly sprung up onto his feet as if he’d realized his seat was white-hot, and all of the girls jumped and gasped. Fear shot through them all like lightning as they wondered what on earth he had in mind to do, and for a moment they all thought he might draw his sword and charge at the council, which included several of their fathers and brothers. But he did not. Instead, he stood there with his feet shoulder-width apart and his shoulders back, his hands fisted but not moving from his sides as he stared down at the council with a hard, unbending look about his features. Slowly, the leader of the council, the man everyone always turned to, stood as well and faced him head-on. Silence fell over the congregation of men and radiated out to take hold of the spying women as well, wrapping around them all in a tight hold as some sort of inner trembling beat began to flow through them all. None of them could tell what was coming next, until it did.
“You will agree to none of them terms I have offered for an alliance,” the unknown man said in a much louder voice than before, causing all the girls to jump before they started whispering in excitement.
“You were right, Caela, you were right!”
“Levana, shh! I want to hear!”
The girls quickly fell silent again and turned their attention back to what was being said. The man had his hands on his hips now and there was something playing about his features… like a secret was hiding up in the corner of his smile and waiting to be told. “Is there nothing I can say to persuade you? No, I see… Perhaps, then, you might agree to an alliance in some other form. One that will bind us more than trade can. You have the promise of my help, my men, and my defense in any fight.”
“We are a peaceful people, that promise is nothing to us,” the leader of the council countered quickly. Just as quickly, the unknown man went on.
“Conflict will come to your people sooner or later, and you know that to be true. When it comes, you will need trained men, horses, weapons, all things you currently lack. I can give these to you, in exchange for your most precious possessions.” Everyone was silent, unsure what he could be talking about. When he realized none of the council could predict what he wanted from them, he smiled brightly and stretched out one arm in the exact direction the girls were hiding.
“Your daughters.”
“Who are they?”
“If anyone knew, they wouldn’t be meeting with the council, would they?”
“Don’t talk so loudly, they’ll hear you!”
“Let them, Orva. The one man there with the stubborn jaw, he has nice eyes. I’d like it if he looked this way…”
“Don’t bother being modest, we all know it’s not his eyes you’re interested in!”
The gaggle of young women, all more than old enough to be interested in men, broke into soft laughter that one of their number quickly shushed. She waved a hand at them and then tapped her index finger to her lips commandingly before turning and fixing her eyes back on the men. The others all followed suit, biting their lips and sighing out the last of their giggles as they squeezed closer together to peek out from behind the trees. Most of the men, perhaps thirty in all, were standing in a strong, tightly-knit group. Three of them were sitting down around the smoldering fire, wearing nothing but cloths that wrapped about their waists and sandals that tied about their ankles. These three men were sitting with their hands on their knees and their dark eyes fixed on the council of elders, which consisted of their leader, his brothers, and several other men who had proven themselves either in battle or in some other fashion. From where the girls were hidden behind a cluster of trees, they couldn’t hear what was being said between the men, but every now and then one of them caught something by reading their lips and would whisper it to the others.
“I think they’re talking of some sort of alliance mayhap…?” one girl whispered. Another shook her head.
“If it was talk of joining forces that would mean there’s something to stand against together… I haven’t heard of anything, have you?”
“No, nothing… But then what could they be here for? And why so many of them?”
They were all silent in reply. None of them could think of an answer to it. The more they watched and thought it over, the more questions they all came up with, and the fewer answers they found. And of course, that only heightened their curiosity and caused them to watch and think it over all the more. The wind had started to pick up and their knees were hurting from the crouched positions they were huddled in, but still none of them moved. They only continued to watch, their eyes wide as if hoping to notice something that would be more of a clue, but it backfired on them in the end. The man in the center of the three who were sitting suddenly sprung up onto his feet as if he’d realized his seat was white-hot, and all of the girls jumped and gasped. Fear shot through them all like lightning as they wondered what on earth he had in mind to do, and for a moment they all thought he might draw his sword and charge at the council, which included several of their fathers and brothers. But he did not. Instead, he stood there with his feet shoulder-width apart and his shoulders back, his hands fisted but not moving from his sides as he stared down at the council with a hard, unbending look about his features. Slowly, the leader of the council, the man everyone always turned to, stood as well and faced him head-on. Silence fell over the congregation of men and radiated out to take hold of the spying women as well, wrapping around them all in a tight hold as some sort of inner trembling beat began to flow through them all. None of them could tell what was coming next, until it did.
“You will agree to none of them terms I have offered for an alliance,” the unknown man said in a much louder voice than before, causing all the girls to jump before they started whispering in excitement.
“You were right, Caela, you were right!”
“Levana, shh! I want to hear!”
The girls quickly fell silent again and turned their attention back to what was being said. The man had his hands on his hips now and there was something playing about his features… like a secret was hiding up in the corner of his smile and waiting to be told. “Is there nothing I can say to persuade you? No, I see… Perhaps, then, you might agree to an alliance in some other form. One that will bind us more than trade can. You have the promise of my help, my men, and my defense in any fight.”
“We are a peaceful people, that promise is nothing to us,” the leader of the council countered quickly. Just as quickly, the unknown man went on.
“Conflict will come to your people sooner or later, and you know that to be true. When it comes, you will need trained men, horses, weapons, all things you currently lack. I can give these to you, in exchange for your most precious possessions.” Everyone was silent, unsure what he could be talking about. When he realized none of the council could predict what he wanted from them, he smiled brightly and stretched out one arm in the exact direction the girls were hiding.
“Your daughters.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)