Leila A. M. Martin

Blog posts & short fiction

  • Quarantine One-Shot #007 // Long Live the Queen

    Quarantine One-Shot #007 // Long Live the Queen

    The queen swallowed her disgusted expression as the hut’s door swung open. An old woman stood there with a face like a dried apple, one huge, dark mole under her left eye. “Yes?” the old woman asked. “I need your services,” the queen said, sweeping off her hood with a dramatic flair. She entered the… Read more

  • Quarantine One-Shot #006 // Hearts Aflame

    Quarantine One-Shot #006 // Hearts Aflame

    The demon grinned. “Anything’s possible,” it said. “For the right price. What do you want?” The man told him: there was a woman he desired, but she hid from him. He wanted to see her, the woman who set him aflame. The demon nodded. “I can help,” it said. “And the price?” the man asked.… Read more

  • Quarantine One-Shot #005 // The Bridge

    Quarantine One-Shot #005 // The Bridge

    The princess waited to hear her guard snoring before she lowered herself from the tower. Thank goodness they didn’t know anything about embroidery, she thought. They’d just brought her all the supplies they’d asked for. They assumed she’d chosen to make the best of her captivity. She’d chosen to make rope. It was slim, but… Read more

  • Quarantine One-Shot #004 // Home

    Quarantine One-Shot #004 // Home

    He came with chrysanthemums and tart-sweet apples red as sunsets. He checked the spell one last time, and laid out his offering while he said the words. Then he waited. At the round edge of evening, she stepped out from behind a tree. The setting sun kissed the wild tumble of her hair, all red… Read more

  • Quarantine One-Shot #003 // Out of the Rain

    Quarantine One-Shot #003 // Out of the Rain

    Callie woke from the same dream again—something huge, unknown and dark following her, getting ever closer. In the dream, she ran and ran, until she came to a door where a little cat sat with a golden key in its mouth. “Help,” Callie said. “When you’re ready,” the cat replied. Callie shook off the dream… Read more

  • Quarantine One-Shot #002 // Wish on a Star

    Quarantine One-Shot #002 // Wish on a Star

    He was sick of being scolded for not wanting to work. He breathed the warm night air outside his family cottage, thinking of all the lazy summer afternoons he’d already lost laboring on his parents’ farm. I wish I never had to work on this farm again, he thought. Above him, a star flashed and… Read more

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