Written for this week’s @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt: “setting heaven on fire” (inspired also by Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II, which I’ve been studying at uni recently)
Word Count: 242
“Why should a king be subject to a priest?
Proud Rome…
I’ll fire thy crazèd buildings, and enforce
The papal towers to kiss the lowly ground!”
- Christopher Marlowe, Edward II(Act I, Scene IV)
The torches blazed in their sconces, casting flickers of flame across the walls of the castle hall where the King paced restlessly. The ghost of a kiss lingered on his lips like the remnants of a bittersweet poison. His favourite, his heart, his everything - banished,cast asunder across an endless grey expanse of sea.That one word, banished,weighed heavier upon him than the loss of a thousand kingdoms ever could.
All this, brought about by hands that claimed to be friends. Treasonous conspirators, all of them, the peers and the clergy both. Worst of all, they were happy. They reveled in his misery, in his loneliness, and for what? So that they might feel less insecure in their own fragile superiority?
The King sank down onto his throne and put his face in his hands. Slowly the crown, that heavy circlet of ruby and gold, slid from his head and clattered to the floor. What did it matter? What was it worth, to be the head of state, when the laws of God denied him the only chance of happiness that could be?
The torches blazed in their sconces, the fire reflected in the anger in his eyes as his despair hardened into resolve. He would have his beloved by his side once more, even if he had to set Heaven itself on fire to do it. Some might have called it sacrilege; others, blasphemy.
For@flashfictionfridayofficial I have a response to this challenge, it’s a bit hard because I’ve written a few stories in this vein before, and so it feels like copying myself, and I don’t think I’d win that lawsuit.
Anyway, it may not be a literal interpretation of the prompt, but I hope it works for people.
I heard them. Every trudging step of the way.
Not one moment of peace. Just their continuous endless noise.
Crying. Moaning. Pleading.
Begging in pitiful voices.
I gave them no response. I walked on and on, knowing I could never look back.
They called my name, made promises, offered treasures.
Trying to tempt me to turn around.
They wanted me to stop. To go no further. To return and stay with them forever.
They didn’t like the path I was taking. They knew where it would lead.
But they were too afraid to show their faces, too weak to grab at me, too selfish to think about what I needed.
That’s why I was leaving them behind.
I came upon a threshold, a door that swung open as I approached, showing a blinding light.
They went silent.
This was the final moment. They wouldn’t dare to follow.
I finally decided to speak to them.
“I will never rest in peace, not among you. I need a life I can be proud of living.”
And then I stepped off the clouds, and fell into the blazing sun.
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[#FFF140 Setting Heaven On Fire]
Embroiled in a war? Is it an act of deliberation, an ignorant mistake? A consequence of bad decisions? Or maybe it is simply a fireworks display being enjoyed by the Gods! Who set heaven on fire? Who gave the orders in the first place? There might be repent involved! Forgiveness? Whether heaven is set on fire or not lies fully in your hand, dear writer. If there is no fire involved, you may still light the world on fire with your words. So, go, go, go!
