Unfinished pieces... from what? I have published barely anything of the million words I have written... give me a random genre and I could find something (seriously, I have a lot of stuff).
But, y’know, why not a spinoff type thing from a series I was working on a while back and still want to complete but have too much work from school to properly continue during term time (I miss GCSE days when I had to do nothing to get good grades).
...
Her eyes were piercing – the sort that could see right through you, yet didn’t care. Brown hair fell around her face, catching the crinkles of the face when she smiled, her eyes lighting up and meeting his. Eyes that always seemed to be shifting, from green to grey to blue and back again. Worlds seemed to be hidden behind them, entire galaxies. If it was ever true that eyes are the window to the soul, hers are the window to the secrets of life. Eternal happiness, immortality, never-ending fame – a treasure trove of hidden delights, all locked away behind an impenetrable fortress.
He gulped, and her mouth curled into a smile.
“Please – I can tell you more – “
Her eyes seemed to glisten as she pushed the knife harder up against his throat, their breath mingling. His quick breaths as sweat dripped down the side of his face, her even breaths.
The knife slashed forward in a flash of silver, and his head rolled down, a line of blood trickling from the wake of the knife.
She discarded the knife into a pile of rubbish, and walked out of the alleyway, removing the mask and shaking free her hair out of the tight ponytail. A couple of streets away and a wardrobe change later her date waited, a beautiful black-haired beauty with a captivating smile and a stunning body.
She greeted her with a kiss and held out her arm.
“Where are we going tonight?” She asked.
“My surprise.” She answered. “No clues.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Very well then. Lead the way.”
Alice smiled. “Glad you’ve finally learnt.”
The night air was cool on her exposed face, an occasional breeze brushing a strand of hair in her face that she continually had to move.
“We can’t be going too far away,” Ray said. “You’ve always hated walking.”
“We also can’t be going to somewhere to high-end, or low-class. You wouldn’t have suggested casual otherwise, and you’d never go to something that didn’t cost more honest money than I see in a year.”
When Alice’s eyes twinkled they didn’t have the same effect as Ray’s, but they tickled Ray’s insides all the same, butterflies flying to the stomach of the thousand year old immortal.
“Actually, I doubt we’re going to eat. Or dining out. You hate being seen in black, despite it looking incredible on you.”
“What are we going to do then?” Alice asked.
“I don’t know. Aside from summoning demons… I have no idea.”
They were the only ones on the usually packed streets, dead in the November chill, and Ray enjoyed being in the presence of one of the few people who had been able to make her feel something. It was as though she was seeing a black and white world in colour again. Alice was bound to be drawing up some scheme… but for now it felt like it didn’t matter, like she was living life again. She wasn’t stuck in some stagnant never changing world, running from life-threatening threats to dangerous beasts and quests and bounties to find the next adrenaline high. Now the world was spinning and everything was just right, and for once she was happy to let life just happen to her.
“We’re here.”
They were in some dark alleyway, littered with broken doors, some on walls and some beneath a couple of begrudging vagrants.
Ray followed Alice as she picked her way through, ignoring the smell, until they reached a door almost at the end of the alley, looking to be in a better condition than the others, although not by much.
“Do you know where we are yet?”
Ray scanned up and down the alleyway. “I had more of a clue outside the alleyway than I do here.”
“Any guesses then?” Alice said. “Before I reveal the big surprise?”
Ray tilted her head. “We are ten minutes away from the opera house.” She said. “I saw the back entrance a few hundred yards down the street.”
Alice uttered nothing as she bent down to pick the lock.
“They are playing one of my favourite shows of all time tonight,” She continued. “And you did say we would be doing something special for my birthday, despite my insistence that we do nothing.”
Ray sighed.
“You know, it would be easier to kick the door down if you want to get in there.”
Alice shrugged as she concealed her pins. “It’s not as fun that way.”
“What are we even doing here?”
“You’ll see.” She said.
Ray followed her, wincing at the screech as she closed the door.
Alice led them through a series of corridors and across various flights of stairs, as their heartbeats raced as they dodged out of sight from anyone coming the opposite way, flush when they separated.
Aside from the occasional interruption, the corridors were so quiet you could hear the mice and rats running in the walls, and the drip of the water from a far-off leak. They rounded a corner, and if Ray strained her ears she could have sworn she heard the faint sound of dull chatter. Her heart flickered and they continued on, each corridor growing more and more busy until it was every other second where they were darting out of sight, growing breathless and thanking the poor lighting for the shadows it cast.
They rounded another corridor, and then they were there – overlooking the stage and crowds.
“This was your master plan?” Ray whispered, despite there being nobody around who could hear them. “Sneak into the opera instead of buying tickets?”
“Thought you would like it more.” Alice shrugged. “So? Opinion?”
Ray looked out again, breathless. “Watching opera off the rafters. Something to tick off my bucket list.”
“Didn’t think you had one.” Alice said.
“Ever since I met you I do now.”
Alice laughed. “Because I’m more deadly than poison or because it feels like your heart might explode from seeing how wonderful I am?”
“A bit of both.” Ray admitted with a laugh, and looked out, before glancing back at her date. “It’s wonderful Alice. It really is.”
“Happy Birthday to you.” Alice said.
“Happy birthday to me.”
...
I wrote this a while ago and literally lifted it from the collection. I have more if you’re interested, literally just give a genre/dynamic and I could give you half a dozen more pieces of work.
(Or not, if you don’t want to, and that would be cool too. My unfinished work is honestly not that great, but most of the stuff I publish on here is first drafts anyway because I don’t have the patience to fully edit it. But meh, it’s always fun seeing how my writing style has progressed ngl.)