The Inkwell presents: Twice Upon a Time

By The Inkwell

Welcome to an anthology of fairy tales retold. From the subtlest of reinventions to pieces that bear only a passing resemblance to their inspirations, we have it all. And isn’t it how it should be? For these are the stories that help shape young minds, teaching us little lessons disguised as innocent romps. Though, not all are quite so innocent, and definitely do not end in a happily ever after.

Path of the Owl - Even if you have a miracle cure, Death still finds a way.
What Doubt Wrought - An angry mob sets in motion its own destruction.
House vs Home - Sometimes what makes a house a home can make, or break, you.
The Bird in the Starfruit Tree - Sent to bring a wealthy man's daughter home, a private investigator finds a story worth telling.
Eyes of Pestilence - A visit to grandma's ends up in a fight for Roona's life.
Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow - Detectives Hare and Tortoise investigate something not quite right
Deliver You - You never know what's waiting for you when you pull up for delivery.
King of Worms - A silent warrior is tasked with saving a kingdom from a horrible infestation.
The CEO's New Jacket - When all you focus on are the little details, it's harder to see the big picture.
Mistaken Myth - While searching for their missing father, Danny and Cathy discover some stories aren't what they appear to be.
Forbidden Sight - A Faerie prince must prove his love for a mortal before the Queen will release her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Inkwell
• Release date: Feb 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215433720

The Inkwell

We are a writing collective founded on Discord that currently includes 20+ writers all helping each other on the climb to completed works.

Book preview

Copyright © 2023 All rights reserved by their respective authors.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Cover design by LA Harper

Edited by Abigail Winslow, Ian Kitley, and LA Harper

The Inkwell presents

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Twice Upon a Time

February 2023 - Volume XXIV

asherz

abra

lizefaithkruger

leyna

rosriel

Thank you for opening the twenty-fourth edition of The Inkwell’s monthly writing collaboration!

The Inkwell is a Discord community of like-minded writers looking to share the worlds crafted from their imaginations with all. We, those same writers, thank you for taking the time to enter a small collection of those worlds. Each are spawned from a single concept, resulting in a wonderful universe full of possibilities. From blood and gore to mystery and romance, this is a mere window into what we offer – not just singly, but as a whole. We hope you’ll return, continuing to explore the furthest reaches of our minds.

Each month, the community chooses a prompt, and those interested are tasked to write a tale of no more than 2,500 words. This month, we decided to take inspiration from tales as old as time. Bedtime, that is. Yes, we set our authors the task of re-imagining any story falling on the Aarne-Thompson-Uther index, either by adding a twist or setting it within the structure of the modern world. And they rose to the challenge with gusto!

From the subtlest of reinventions to pieces that bear only a passing resemblance to their inspirations, we have it all. And isn’t it how it should be? For these are the stories that help shape young minds, teaching us little lessons disguised as innocent romps. Though, not all are quite so innocent, and definitely do not end in a happily ever after.

And so, there is little left for us, the editors and narrators of the tale, to do but begin this anthology the way all fairy tales should. Are you prepared, dear reader? Well then…

Twice upon a time…

Other Titles from The Inkwell:

A Coat, A Message

What Are You Waiting For?

Early for Eternity

Facing the Consequences

A Literary Mixtape

A Celestial Alignment

Invitation to Attend

My Soul to Keep

Defining Traits

Unreliable Witness

Bonus: Final Call

Why Are We Here?

Skin in the Game

You Never Forget Your First

Floodgates

Blind to the Truth

Parting Words

This is Not an Anthology

Revenants

Night Shift

What Dreams May Come

Unlikely Alliances

Necessary Fare

Bonus: Final Call II

Ouroboros

Table of Contents

Path of the Owl

Written by LA Harper

What Doubt Wrought

Written by Jesse Pollard

House vs. Home

Written by Lize-Faith Kruger

The Bird in the Starfruit Tree

Written by Ros Forbes

Eyes of Pestilence

Written by Asher R. Lorcans

Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow

Written by Ignacio Hervada

Deliver You

Written by Ian Kitley

King of Worms

Written by T.S. Schaefer

The CEO’s New Jacket

Written by Dillon Bricknal-Wallace

Mistaken Myth

Written by Spencer Wadell

Forbidden Sight

Written by Leyna Deyemi

The Path of the Owl

Written by LA Harper

Usually, if you can suddenly see something no one else can, people consider you mad. But that’s only if you tell them.

I hesitated to tell anyone about the owl, even Ambrose, the doctor who raised me from an abandoned babe and taught me everything he knew about medicine. It was a spectral little thing, sometimes here, as solid and real as any creature in the woods, and at others, merely a shade of itself. The only thing I was unsure of was whether Ambrose could see it, too, and I felt like it was time to ask him. I was a man now, after all; I shouldn’t have imaginary friends. Knowing he and I might share a connection with the owl spirit or that he, perhaps, even knew what it was, bolstered my conviction to ask him one night.

Ambrose, may we talk about the owl? I asked, removing my cap and laying it in my lap to regard him better.

The stalwart clock in the front room ticked steadily away as I awaited his answer. Looking at him now, I wondered when he’d begun so old, so spindly. He was always thin, his face lined and haggard, but he seemed more so now than the man of my youthful memories.

Tired springs in the doctor’s armchair creaked as he rose, and I watched over my medical text’s pages as he shambled across the room. He waved a hand, beckoning me up. Well-versed as I was in this silent language, I stood, dutifully following him into his office.

If you have seen Achlys, then it is time, Ambrose said, soft voice delivering a strange power into the room. That was just Ambrose; frail as his patients in stature, but everything else, from his speech to his countenance, was larger than life.

Time for what? I asked, twisting my cap. The tension in the air, oppressive and all-consuming, gave weight to the importance of this conversation, leaving my fingers numb and my breaths quick and shallow. He, however, said nothing, long fingers fishing about his wrinkled neck until catching a delicate chain. Pulling the attached key from under his vest, he removed the necklace and handed it to me, large, pale hands clasping around my own.

Time for you to take my place, my young apprentice. You have learned much as my apprentice, more than enough to venture forth on your own. But, should you choose this route, should you choose to follow the path of the owl, know there is one rule, and one alone.

Pushing aside the large framed painting on the damask wall, he revealed a hidden, metal door. I knew what this was; the safe was no secret to me. It protected his tincture, a remedy decades of experience and trial in the making, and it worked. It was the nearest thing to a miracle I could conceive, healing anyone he gave it to. I’d watched him administer this potion since I was old enough to shadow him, though he never discussed the recipe with me, nor allowed me to handle it.

Now, with this key, I had access to both.

What is the rule? And how does the owl connect to us?

With a soft rustle of wings, the owl appeared once more, perched on the high back of the chair behind the desk. It calmly gazed at me through hooded, bright yellow eyes before glancing to the safe. The owl, the one the old man called Achlys, was insisting I make the choice.

The owl is a messenger of Death himself, he who treats us all—man, woman, and child—equally, regardless of position. Achyls will lead you to patients in desperate need of your help, and in return, you have only to follow its lead. When it sits at the head, the patient should get the tincture. But when sitting at the feet, you must allow them to die. For Death has claimed them for his own, you see. Do you understand?

And what if I don’t? I breathed. I couldn’t abide the thought of someone dying when I had the ability to save them! How cruel was Death to make us complicit in his choices?

"If you do not, Death will punish you, Harlan. We are his chosen ferrymen. That is the price paid to save the ones we can. His elixir is what saves those deemed