The Silver Lady

The Silver Lady KARPOV KINRADE EVAN GAUSTAD http://KarpovKinrade.com Copyright © 2023 Karpov Kinrade and Evan Gaustad Cover Art Copyright © 2023 Karpov Kinrade ~~~~~ Published by Daring Books ~~~~~ First Edition ~~~~~ eBook License Notes You may not use, reproduce or transmit in any manner, any part of this book without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations used in critical articles and reviews, or in accordance with federal Fair Use laws. All rights are reserved. This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only; it may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to your eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. Disclaimer This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination, or the author has used them fictitiously. Contents Read FIRST! Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 About the Author Also by Karpov Kinrade About Evan Gaustad Also by Evan Gaustad Read FIRST! The Silver Lady started as a short fantasy film script. In addition to being authors, we are also filmmakers, and we have been wanting to make a fantasy film for quite some time. We have two other short films under our belt, but none fantasy. We finally came up with a story idea that felt compelling and important but also small enough in scale and scope to be fundable on a bare minimum indie budget. Thus this tale was born. We wrote it to be filmed entirely outdoors, thus saving cost on medieval/fantasy set design. We wrote it to be a small cast for just the people we knew could participate in the film. And we wrote it with the idea that we would write a feature version of this film or something similar and use the short film to try to gain funding for that feature. Once we wrote it, we planned a Kickstarter to help with funding the film. That Kickstarter is how and why we ended up writing this novelette. Lux and Dmytry wrote the script. And Lux and Evan turned it into the story you’re about to read. Lux and Dmytry are directing the movie. And Evan is starring in it. We are offering this story for free (hopefully the Zon price matches) everywhere, only for the duration of this Kickstarter campaign. Then you have to have backed the campaign to get a copy, as we will be pulling it from publication by the end of April 2023. This only exists as a tribute to the script, but we wanted to give our readers something special from this project as a thank you for all your support. This story is written in third person in an allegorical style that is not our typical narrative, but it worked for this story. We hope you enjoy this heart-touching magical adventure. And we hope you’ll check out the Kickstarter where you can see a teaser trailer of the film which includes an original fantasy soundtrack composed and produced by Dmytry. You can also learn more about the film, our cast and crew and our plans. Thank you! Lux, Dmytry & Evan Part 1 THE MAN The man makes no sound as the shovel hits the dirt, scoops a pile of the dark, damp earth to the side, hits the dirt again. Over and over he moves the earth, his hands numb from the cold, his heart too heavy to feel numb. Thunder rumbles in the distance, though no rain falls. He doesn’t pause in his monotonous labors. With one final thrust, he plunges the shovel into the ground and his body reverberates as metal hits stone, a loud clunk ringing in the silence of the early evening. Once his work is complete, he rests the shovel against a tree, his callused hands raw and red. It is time to feel. To face it all. He hesitates, shivering not from the cold, but from the weight of what he must do. At his feet, a stone marker freshly laid, and below that, a grave. He reaches into his cloak and removes a small wooden carving from the hidden pocket his wife had sewn for him many moons ago, when they were both still young and full of dreams. He rubs his thumb over the smooth familiar shape. A crescent moon that seems formed to the pad of his thumb. Always in the pocket by his breast; always with him. Until now. He kneels in the fresh mound of dirt, kisses the cherished crescent and places it by the monument. He whispers a private prayer, one only he knows and only he can hear. He is lost to the outside sounds until he isn’t. With a sudden rush, he hears it. Yelling. Shouting. The man turns with a honed instinct. His eyes like daggers. All thoughts of the past vanish as he focuses instantly on the present. On what–or rather who–is before him. A hooded figure rushes into the clearing. A slight frame in a green cloak that barely brushes her ankles. The hood has fallen from her head and wild ringlets of curls dance around her face. Her large brown eyes are wide with fear, but they widen even further when she sees him and realizes he’s noticed her. She’s just a young girl. Covered in dirt and sweat, and on her last breath. She stares at him. There is fear in her eyes. And something more. A plea. The man blinks and another woman takes the place of this girl. His wife. A silhouette in the forest, men with swords surrounding her. He blinks again and focuses himself. Again. On the girl. On the armed soldier approaching her from behind. “Your little