Well, who knew oranges would come up as “patriotic”? Another fun scene and back story discovery, on another day that I very nearly didn’t bring myself to sit down and write…
Story Instalment: Prompt - “Patriotic”
Her body went ice cold and she felt her muscles go into a spasm. She squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on breathing, and not losing the meagre last meal she’d had on the ship sometime in the last day.
“Oh whoops, sorry about that,” Sir Time exclaimed, and Simone felt the world twist around her again.
When she opened her eyes, a small scream escaped before she could clamp down on her surprise. She was hanging upside down from a… Orange tree? She squinted at the field of white flowers covering her vision, as she was hanging at the same level as most of the tree tops. It was as if her feet were glued to the branch, gravity switched upside down for the time being. Here and there the orange of a ripened fruit peeked through. Simone swallowed again, the memories triggered by the sweet orchard scent threatening to overwhelm her. Sir Time clicked his fingers and without warning, her feet lost their strange upside down grip and she tumbled to the grass below. She braced herself, expecting a rather bruising fall, but it was as if the air cushioned her body, twisting her around so that she landed as soft as a falling feather on her back on the thick layer of grass. She gave a soft sigh as the earth settled beneath her, letting her eyes flutter closed and for a moment remembering only the good things these memories triggered. For a long time, she had been one of the Gardeners in Oasis, a coveted post given that the entire city was surrounded by desert and that only the Palace Royals had access to the underground gardens. Well, the Royals and the Gardeners. It had been a miracle, really - someone had taken pity on her, a small street urchin, or more likely recognised a vulnerable little girl that they could still exploit somehow.
You know they had recognised signs of the Gift in you, she scolded herself, but then shook her head. The true reason didn’t matter - it was all speculation on her part. What did matter was that for a blissful few weeks, she got to be surrounded by the most beautiful gardens. Nestled in the heart of the city, in an underground cavern, nature was allowed to take over. Everything from flowers to ferns and the most wonderful fruit trees. Oranges being the Queen’s favourite, these had been tended to most of all. It had been considered their patriotic duty to relish the tart sweetness as much as she did, all the confections and marmalades and other delicacies the Palace kitchens were able to conjure from this one humble fruit.
Simone opened her eyes, sorely tempted by nostalgia to reach out and pluck an orange from a nearby low-hanging branch, but then the memory turned to ash as she remembered what happened next, what caused her to run—
“No.” Her voice was firm as she pushed herself up onto her elbow and then to her feet, turning around to find Sir Time. She was surprised to see him already some distance away, his strange hat flopping about as he pranced through the rows of orange trees. She took a moment to stare, trying to get an idea of who this strange entity was that had decided to join her on her quest. He was too far away to make out any details, but even at this distance the broken springs from the clock on his hat bounced up and down and glinted in the setting sunlight. His boots flopped up and down too, the split tops flapping about above his overly large feet.
Simone had no idea what Sir Time’s motives was, and she couldn’t let him distract her from her mission. She would be better off to get rid of him as soon as possible. Besides, how was she supposed to find the Flower if strange things like this kept happening to her? Casting one last, nostalgic look at the orange trees, she turned her back on Sir Time and set off on a brisk walk in the opposite direction.
Total words: 686
Author’s Notes
Even though the writing felt really halted (this also being the first session I went back to add / edit a couple of things - such as the mention of “patriotic”), I feel like it actually has some pretty important discoveries to build upon. I love the memory this uncovered from Simone’s past, and the unexpected importance of the orange trees, and how that links to her past in Oasis. Looking forward to discovering and sharing bits and pieces of the city of Oasis from this new perspective and vantage point!
Painting debrief:
Again did the painting only after finishing the writing segment. Quite in love with how this scene turned out. Wasn’t sure at first what I would paint to relate to “patriotic”, but then decided to go with the significant memory uncovered in this instalment instead - Simone underneath the orange trees. Tried to kind of capture it from that vantage point, the overhanging fruits but also the sense of more fruits and trees in the distance. Love the “melting” feeling of where the colours merge wet in wet! And enjoying playing more frequently with reds as the theme of this story.
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Paper: Etchr sketchbook
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Brush: Encode versatile travel brush size 12
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Colours used: Daniel Smith Hansa yellow light and Quinacridone gold mixed with Pyrrol scarlet for variations of oranges, mixes with quinacridone purple to create shadows, adding in turquoise and green gold as well. Loved the mix of quinacridone purple with turquoise and a touch of quinacridone gold for the tree bark colour. And flooding in some green gold for the soft grassy field.
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References: A couple of google thumbnails of “orange tree blossoms” but not much else.