Prologue: From a World More Full (FaWMF)

The opening to FaWMF - a dark fantasy and part of the Rillton Cycle, one of a series of books linked by location, characters, and the mysteries of Wymes Forest.

 

Prologue

 

 

 

Karl was tall, slim and blond, and very good looking. And little Rosemary hated him with all her heart. He was here, this German boy, eating and drinking, even doing “things” in the woods with that traitorous land army girl. He was alive and experiencing all the life that Paul should have; feeling, and tasting and living and growing up to be a man. But her big brother was dead, killed in the water before he had even set foot on the Normandy sands while this enemy’s mere existence was an affront to her.

What made it worse was that people liked Karl, until she had made up her big lie. Even PC Shadrack had turned a blind eye when he’d caught him and another German in the Moiled Bull wearing their prisoner of war jacket with the red stripes up each sleeve. Rubin Tregonhawke had given them each a pint of mild ‘on the house.’ Every time someone paid a kindness to a German, Rosemary wrote their name in her secret book. Rubin was there, together with PC Shadrack and a lot of other people. They were all dirty traitors and one day they would pay. But today, only Karl would pay.

It was all planned. She told her big lie and the villagers had chased Karl into the wood. Now there he was, hiding under that big oak, panting and very afraid. But not half as afraid as he would be soon, for she was leading him to “them” and they would take him away until Judgement Day – or perhaps they would just kill him. She would leave it to them to decide. She had watched them kill before. It wasn’t pleasant, but it was no more than Karl deserved, for being German and for being alive.

Author's Note

How does it work as a hook?

Reviews

[Nephil]

It works rather well actually. Its shortness and simpleness comes with just the perfect level of detail to leave you curious for what happens next (and partly what's happened) without the lengthy dullness of the typical history prologue.

I'm not that proud of my novel's prologue. But then again, my novel is still kind of a big tattered mess right now. I'll post an excerpt shortly. I do better with things I read in one sitting.