Feb 4, 2016 Friday Fictioneers

Word Count: 100 words of text, exactly
Genre: Fantasy Fiction

Among the Water-Hyacinths
©February 4th, 2016By Vijaya Sundaram

The King lay in the arms of his best friend, bleeding to death.

“I wish it hadn’t ended like this,” he rasped, eyes filming, a shroud of regret settling on him.

“It’ll be all right, Sire, you’ll see,” said the First Adviser, his best friend, whose hands and clothes were blood-bespattered.  “The kingdom won’t fall.  I promise.  I’ll see to it.  And I’m sorry.”

Twilight trod the land.  The water-hyacinth-choked river shone strangely bright.

“Will you tell them I did my best, although I failed?  Will you bury me with the knife you plunged into me?

The First Adviser wept.

_________________________________________________

Thanks, once again (for the third time today) to Rochelle Wisoff-Fields, our gracious Fairy Blog-Mother and host of Friday Fictioneers, and to Erin Leary, for that photograph which is so haunting!

Tags: Friendship and death, Original 100-word short story based on a photo-prompt