vignettes

[marycatelli]

This week's prompt is:
inverted

Anyone can join, with a 50-word creative fiction vignette in the comments. Your vignette does not have to include the prompt term.

Comments

[marycatelli]

The old woman put down her teacup and said, "Come in. Ava, is it not?" Her voice was soft, musical, and young, and Ava hesitated. What sort of magic could make so old a woman sound so young?
She edged into the room, since she had to be a teacher.

[marycatelli]

The music fell silent, and the woman started to dance forward. "How inhospitable," she said. "Will no one greet me? Well, then, I will greet myself, and make myself welcome at this dance! Best for you all, for you have no desire for me to take offense at my reception!"

[marycatelli]

If you could call them gifts. Her gaze tried to track all the guests, but someone used magic to obscure the scene. And they had not invited her.
Someone had machinations in play. They were likely to be perilous for Moutreafal and its subjects, and might be for the princess.

[jbellinger]

“But if several different messages encrypt to the same string, couldn’t “Advance” and “Retreat” wind up the same?”

The professor waved the question away. “Vanishingly improbable. It’s less likely than the tech having a heart attack halfway through. Against that faint mischance, think: there is no possible algorithm your adversary can use to invert the encryption!”

[marycatelli]

Important point!