Living in Fiction by Alyssa

Living in Fiction by Alyssa - June 2014 Scholarship Essay

Fantasy fiction novels have always been my favorite kind of literature. I love opening a book to fall into a world full of magic or knights or strange creatures. The strangeness of it all pulls me in, and I quickly fully immerse myself in the story. If I were to write a book, it would certainly be within the vast realm of fantasy fiction.

There would be a man and a woman. Raised in different levels of the same society, he would be a mage-in-training, the King-in-Waiting, she a lowly scullery maid in one of the larger Houses. He would be strong and fine, and maybe a little too arrogant, as befitting his station. She would be skinny and outwardly demure, yet her mind would run wild with stories and information. Magic would come to her, unbidden, and she would be shocked to find the power of the great houses within her blood. She would try to hide it; it would be considered treason for a mere cleaning wench to pretend at such an act.

They would meet. She had thought him handsome; he had never noticed her before. He would say something to snub her, maybe accidentally, maybe not, and she would hate his handsome, arrogant face that had initially drew her in. She would vow to train in secret, having found the top mage-in-training of the King House to be rude and not worth the risk to confide in.

She would lose control. Maybe in public, maybe in private, but someone would see. It would be a mage who decided it would be worth it to train this wild thing, this woman full of a powerful magic not seen among the Houses in centuries. Aware that the girl's sweet face hid swift thoughts, the mage would know she could be dangerous, and the mage would take her under her wing to use for her own purposes. The mage would be contending for the throne, and she would turn the girl against the King and his sons, not a hard feat since the public snub the High Prince gave her. Together they would plot against the King, and only at the end would something happen to cause a change of heart in the girl, and she would defeat her mentor with the help of the Prince.

It would not be happily ever after, though. It couldn't be; that would be too easy. This would likely be the first of a series, and the story would continue on.