© Ayr/Gray
From Jenne Gray and C.E. Ayr’s photo prompt, The Unicorn Challenge (12/15/23). No more than 250 words in length. Otherwise, let your creative flag fly!
Agribalka had to be stopped. Nepotism at its worst, twenty-one workers on the Silver Road had perished under her leadership. Loren, Mattie, and Grizzle chose the dartboard as arbiter for their final decision on how to end her. Over many flagons of Rusalkan Milk, they generated an unsurprisingly long list; Agribalka was universally hated.
Loren, natural organizer, cobbled together all ideas into five action plans. Mattie, athlete, would throw darts with their non-dominant hand. Grizzle’s fiery gifts figured in all plans.
“It’s so obvious!” Grizzle’s wings trembled impatiently. “Just blow her up the next time she sneaks down to the cellar for a drink with whatever or whomever.” She dashed Milk foam from her lips.
“We’re agreed to that,” sighed Loren. “The dartboard will say how.”
“Grizzle needs a refill, Loren.” Mattie handed over the tiny cup and picked up a dart. “Sit on my shoulder, Grizzle. We’ll throw together.”
“On yer head,” Grizzle crowed, wobbling her way to their topknot.
***
An invitation to an exclusive uncorking of a rare Rusalkan was sent. The cellar was readied with candlelit barrels (filled with gunpowder and strontium), a cleanly swept floor, and music piped in through the ventilation tubes (privacy for Agribalka and her mate of the week, safety for the musicians in the alleyway outside). When the music paused, unicorn breath was subtly mixed through the same pipes. All that remained was a shove by Mattie (and Grizzle) to roll the first barrel and run, toppling all the rest.
Problem solved!
© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2023)
Valley of the Trolls 
If that doesn’t stop Agribalka nothing will! Nice one.
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All it takes is someone saying no, a few friends, a little unicorn dust and explosives, and a tiny spark!
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Ingenious – that should go off like clockwork. Unicorn breath! Great characters.
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Thanks, Margaret!
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All very plausible, but as a mere man I don’t get why they swept the floor before blowing the place to smithereens!
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😂 Sets the mood for the assassin-ee!
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Laughing. Women are weird!
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We are wyrd, for sure! 🧝♀️
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Wonderful flight of fancy, Liz.
I’m still smiling here.
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Mission accomplished, then!😉
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Strontium. Nice touch.
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Hot stuff, eh? 😆
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About that Rusalkan Milk. From A Clockwork Orange ‘There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim, and we sat in the Korova Milkbar trying to make up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening. The Korova milkbar sold milk-plus, milk plus vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom, which is what we were drinking. This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultraviolence.’ :-)
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Definitely drawing on Slavic folklore, but very rare as a Rusalka wouldn’t take kindly to being milked (unless she’d been captured and magically subdued, thus lowering the quality of product). 😲
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:-)
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