50 Word Thursday — Up to No Good

“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”
by J.K. Rowling, The Prisoner of Azkaban

Being ruler of my realm hasn’t been easy. I solemnly swear that I am up to no good, but good never got anyone anywhere important with any speed. I wanted my power and wanted it while young enough to enjoy it for many years. There were only a few concessions that I needed to make in order to get here; many less than others have to give. There is no such thing as a vacuum of a free ride.

Every full moon, I say the spell that transports me to the middle of The Dark Sea, where a park bench waits for me. There I sit, patient as a rock, until the tendrils rise from the water.

The tendrils affix themselves to my temporal lobes painlessly – at least until they begin to glow. Extracting the month’s data from my head feels like a million suns burning. I scream but there is no one to hear. Once data is extracted, suggestions from Cthulu are implanted.

I say another spell and return to the White Palace and my throne — until the next full moon.

Thoughts of an escape from my glorified prison are out of the question. Cthulu sees all.

 

 

 

Teresa is the host of this Thursday’s 50 Word Thursday.  Teresa’s rules:
Rules: 

  • Find the muse within the photo or line provided and follow where it leads. It can be a story, anecdote, poem. Anything!
  • Story must be between 50 and 250 words, in 50 word increments.
  • Link back to this post with the tag 50WordThurs so that everyone can find it, or post your response in the comments below.
    HAVE FUN!

23 Comments Add yours

  1. Sadje's avatar Sadje says:

    A very unique story.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Sadje's avatar Sadje says:

        My pleasure 😇

        Liked by 1 person

  2. memadtwo's avatar memadtwo says:

    This creates a whole world in a few words. Could be the outline for something longer, for sure. (K)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Thanks, K, and perhaps it will be!

      Liked by 1 person

  3. You are a master storyteller, Li!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      :) Your kind words are appreciated, thank you.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Always a pleasure! ❤️

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Fandango's avatar Fandango says:

    Very good tale, Li. You are so imaginative.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Thank you, Fandango.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. hanspostcard's avatar hanspostcard says:

    When I saw the quote that started it off – I knew a good story was coming…. thinking about that quote. Do you think say Hitler when he was in power ever thought to himself “I am up to no good?”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Good question, Hans. One of my old mentors said, “People do what they want to do. People don’t do what they don’t want to do.” If you start from that premise, each person develops intricate rationalizations to do what they want to do or to not do what they don’t want to do.

      Like

  6. The world you created could be a full length novel with no problem.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Michele, thank you! Maybe one day it will be :)

      Like

  7. ghostmmnc's avatar ghostmmnc says:

    Well, that took a strange turn! I like it! Those glowing tendrils though…creepy! :)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Have you seen the movie, “Pacific Rim”? There is a scene in there where the “Kaiju” puts its tentacles on a man’s head. It was a cool scene but horrific at the same time. I imagined that when I wrote the story :)

      Liked by 1 person

  8. ghostmmnc's avatar ghostmmnc says:

    No, I didn’t see that movie. Sounds pretty awful, too. :)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      :) If you like Godzilla movies, this is one of those with souped-up special effects.

      Like

  9. Badfinger (Max)'s avatar badfinger20 says:

    I always liked that quote…Marauders Map… good story Lisa

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Thanks Max glad you liked it.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Astrid's avatar Astrid says:

    Wow, this is such a great tale. It has me longing for more and I’m not normally into sci-fi.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      So glad you enjoyed it, Astrid, thank you.

      Liked by 1 person

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