Her Destiny

By Michael Seese

Two weeks in a row for Flash Friday. The picture, I thought, was really interesting.

The caption identifies it as "Past and Present No 2, by Augustust Leopold Egg, 1858. Public domain photo."

And here is "Her Destiny."

Charlotte lay her head in my lap.

“I don't want to go,” she said between the catches in her throat.

I stroked my daughter's hair.

“I know. But you must. It is your destiny.”

“I'm not ready. I'm too young.”

I tried to be brave, so that she would.

“I know that's how you feel now. But you are far more worldly, more capable than you realize. This... arrangement has been our way for centuries. Without it, there would be no peace. I realize it's a lot of responsibility to place on the shoulders of a 16-year-old. But you will rise to the challenge.”

“I wish it did not have to be this way, Mother.”

I likewise wished it were not so. But for 1,000 years, our family has maintained power by sacrificing the King's eldest daughter to the Beast of the Mountain.

It is Charlotte's turn. It is her destiny.

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