An Unfound Door, Chapter Five
Sep. 15th, 2022 08:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingAgnes rises early the next morning in order to attend to the correspondence that has accumulated in her absence. As she dresses herself, she reflects on how her mother’s charm and social graces seemed to slow the kingdom’s decline. Unfortunately, her father has done nothing to alleviate the grim atmosphere of the castle since the late queen’s death. Agnes proceeds to her study, a dilapidated yet still handsome room where she secludes herself to work until interrupted by her cousin Galien. Galien encourages her to open the summer court, and Agnes agrees. She believes that a large and lively party will be an appropriate symbolic marker of her vow to rejuvenate the kingdom.
.
This chapter is all about Agnes’s comfortable existence in the status-quo world. It is indeed a very comfortable and cozy chapter, if I do say so myself. I enjoyed writing it, and I enjoy reading it.
Aside from establishing the scene of the next chapter, which will be the opening of the summer court, not much happens here. As I wrote in my notes for the previous chapter, it’s important for the reader to understand why Agnes is willing to remain in the status quo.
It seems as though Agnes is doing good work and making good plans, but none of this actually means anything. An astute reader should be asking the questions that Agnes is aggressively ignoring: How did she get out in the woods? Where did the demon come from? Who kidnapped her? Was it someone in the castle? Are they still there?
Agnes is going to need to ask herself these questions very soon, because Fhiad is going to come back and start causing trouble. For the time being, though, it’s nice to have a small interlude of peace.
All of these chapters have titles, by the way. I’m not sure if I’ll end up using them, but I especially like the title for this chapter: “A Slow and Silent Decay.”
.
This chapter is all about Agnes’s comfortable existence in the status-quo world. It is indeed a very comfortable and cozy chapter, if I do say so myself. I enjoyed writing it, and I enjoy reading it.
Aside from establishing the scene of the next chapter, which will be the opening of the summer court, not much happens here. As I wrote in my notes for the previous chapter, it’s important for the reader to understand why Agnes is willing to remain in the status quo.
It seems as though Agnes is doing good work and making good plans, but none of this actually means anything. An astute reader should be asking the questions that Agnes is aggressively ignoring: How did she get out in the woods? Where did the demon come from? Who kidnapped her? Was it someone in the castle? Are they still there?
Agnes is going to need to ask herself these questions very soon, because Fhiad is going to come back and start causing trouble. For the time being, though, it’s nice to have a small interlude of peace.
All of these chapters have titles, by the way. I’m not sure if I’ll end up using them, but I especially like the title for this chapter: “A Slow and Silent Decay.”
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Date: 2022-09-16 05:27 pm (UTC)I like the sense of the Gothicness, the aloneness, and the decay in these chapters. Also, I like the emphasis on why Agnes is comfortable yet burying her discomfort. (The idea of the queen's charm slowing the decline is really compelling - but was she truly slowing it, or just really good at wallpaper?)