The Scarlet Letters

By Stephen Couch

Fantasy short story. A young woman finds her life taking a bizarre turn after her pen-pal -- a princess of the realm -- dies under mysterious circumstances.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephen Couch
• Release date: Jan 30, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458096531

Stephen Couch

Stephen Couch is a writer, a computer programmer, a cover band vocalist, an award-winning audio drama producer, and a lifelong Texan. His short fiction has appeared in such venues as Talebones, Mountain Magic: Spellbinding Tales of Appalachia, and the Stoker Award-finalist Horror Library Vol. 3.

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The Scarlet Letters

By Stephen Couch

Published by Mere Moments Publishing at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 Stephen Couch

Cover image 'Warm Vintage Background with Hand Print' copyright 2011 Photos.com

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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The Scarlet Letters

The old man took his time with the woman's papers, tapping the edges of the stack on his desk until they were straightened just so. He wiped sweat from his hands with a red cloth, picked up the top piece of parchment, and gave the woman one last skeptical glance over his pince-nez.

All right, he said, scanning the top line. Let's see what you've brought me.

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Dearest Royal Subject,

Many congratulations! As the courtier who delivered you this message has no doubt explained, you have been selected to participate in a most enlightening exercise!

As I'm certain you are aware, I am soon to celebrate my 25th birthday, at which point I will officially be in line to ascend to the throne of our beloved country. It is traditional during such time for a correspondence to be established between the Royal reaching the Milestone Age and one of his or her subjects, chosen via tax lottery, so that the Royal might gain valuable insight into life as a