TBC Publishing Pride Month Flash Fiction Challenge, 19 of 30

TBC Publishing Pride Month Flash Fiction Challenge, 19 of 30

Title: Soulmark

Author: R. Scott Tyler

Genre: Fantasy

Word count (500 max): 495

Prince Kael rode through the forest in a foul mood. Today, his best friend, Galadriel, found her soulmark partner. Kael had been with her when she met Mavern for the first time. “Why do I have to keep traveling around the kingdom meeting all these random people?” she asked him as they trotted ahead of the royal company.

“You know why, Galadriel,” he answered for the umpteenth time. “Your father wants you to find your soulmark partner before you turn eighteen.”

“Yes, but why can’t we just keep on like this? Friends with benefits?” she smiled slyly to him.

“What benefits?” Kael laughed. “You know I’m not interested in your royal breasts. I think that’s why your father has no issue with us being together constantly.”

When they entered the city of Ratfern, they were greeted by a lineup of the most eligible men…and women. No one knew how the soulmark chose, so no one took chances. As it happened, Mavern, the city’s best baker, was at the well getting water to prepare the evening’s bread for the planned feast, and Galadriel was dumbfounded when her soulmark burned brightly in his direction. 

After the celebratory meal and before the ale began to affect everyone present, Prince Kael set off, deciding to ride through the forbidden forest to return home. In a kingdom where everyone is born with a magical soulmark that glows only when they’re near their destined partner, Prince Kael has grown up watching the marks of those around him light up—all except his own. 

On this evening, Kael felt despondent because Galadriel had been his best friend since they were toddlers. He had accompanied her everywhere, and now she was with her soulmate while his mark remained as dull as a mud smudge. When Kael and his horse entered the darkest part of the forest, where not even the moon shone through the branches, Kael’s chest began to itch.

It bothered him so much that he finally dismounted to see if he’d picked up a spider or maybe a wood tick. When he opened his shirt, he noticed his soul mark was faintly glowing. At that moment, he heard a slight rustling in the undergrowth and realized a little too late that a rogue elven thief was about to rob him under a darkened sky. He twisted just in time to miss the knife being waved at him and swung the elf to the ground, pinning him there with his superior weight and strength.

The elf looked up at his glowing chest and said, “Oh shit, come on, be real!”

“You’re telling me, elf. Aren’t our kingdoms in negotiations with each other to avoid a dispute over the White High Mountains? Why are you here, anyway?” Kael said

 As war brews between the two kingdoms, Kael must choose between duty and the truth revealed by his soulmark. What secrets does the thief carry, and can love rewrite a prophecy written in magic?

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