The Crown #writephoto

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Crown – Image by KL Caley

I will admit, I was very nervous. 

What was I going to find?  More than that, how much of my childhood would be lost to cold truth?

For the first few years of my life, I had spent the summers in the grand old house in the country.  Nana and Papa took care of me while my parents spent the summers on the Continent.

I was eight the last time I had set eyes on the building and landscape.

Was that really 47 years ago?

From the outside it all looked the same, if somewhat smaller.  Yeah, in my imagination it was the house in Downton Abbey.  Well, not that huge, but certainly bigger than the real 14 room house I found.

My Uncle Teddy and my father had a terrible feud that started long before I was born and only ended now that Father was long gone and Theodore gone to join him in the great beyond.

I was shocked that I was his sole heir.

My first stop was the library.

I froze as soon as I entered.  It was exactly as I had last seen it!  There was that old globe.  And over there that special bookcase. 

I turned away immediately, though I could still feel it, as if it were a monster, watching.

I reached out and grabbed the first book of the Narnia series.  Of course it was right there.

Carrying the book, and not daring to glance at the bookshelf that in my dreams pushed back to reveal an entire universe, one where I was made Prince, I walked to the window.

My crown!

But it was just a decorative piece made from ceramics and glass “jewels”. 

I looked down at the book in my hand.

So, was that it?  A fake crown, C. S. Lewis’ fantasy and my grandfather’s stories?

My shoulders slumped.

“So, you’ve dared to return, have you?”

I spun at the familiar voice and watched the bookshelf push itself back.

I took a step forward, knowing and not knowing, where I would go…

***

This was written for the writephoto challenge hosted by KL Caley. She provided the photo at the top as well as the key word, “Crown”. And, hehe, I know I left you hanging, but I hope you enjoyed!

40 thoughts on “The Crown #writephoto”

  1. KL Caley

    Sorry for the late response, Trent. Just catching up on some of those I had missed. What a brilliant story, I loved the open ending and all the little Narnia hints throughout. Don’t you just dream of a house like that (certainly a house with a library – haha). Thank again for a brilliant entry to #writephoto. KL <3

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  2. Pingback: #Writephoto Round-Up – Crown & Descend – New2Writing

    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Isn’t amazing how even referring to a book can cause those feelings? Magic. And I’m sure a lot of spent our childhoods in places like Narnia or Prydain (my favorite place to live as a 9 year old!) or Earthsea or Middle Earth or…

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Thanks, Yvette. I’ll admit that I started the books a little too late so actually only read the first, but know the others. I’m sure if your boys are real fantasy fans they most likely sometimes pretended to be in the stories.

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      1. Prior...

        Hi – they are not that into fantasies at all – but we actually had the whole set that was my husband’s from his childhood – but then the movies came out and that was cool.
        They also liked the Magic Tree House series and my older son liked collecting the books more than reading them – like he read them all once – but was not the type to reread like some do- if that makes sense.
        —

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        1. trentpmcd Post author

          As a kid I used to reread books, sometimes many times over (I read the Lord of the Rings at least once a year from 16 to my late 20s), but since my late 20s/early 30s, I don’t like to reread at all. But I like to keep all of the books that I have read (may years are missing from when I used to do Kindle only…)

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          1. Prior...

            Oh so you had a kindle only season? Sounds fun but also nice to have the actual book
            Like you did with Bleak House
            And by the way
            I am having a tough time getting back into reading it so I am going to get a hard copy!
            Also – I will do an update/reminder post sometime again this month.
            -/
            And wow to the reading of Lord of Rings – probably that kind of reading is what shaped you to be all well rounded as you are!
            In 2005, I forced myself to watch the trilogy and don’t recall much!
            It was the first time I sat to watch TV because never really was into shows or movies -but that opened a new path for me – and glad because TV is not just the Boob Tube or junk – so much good stuff – but a lot of crap too!
            —
            Anyhow – the weekend is going well – we had snow today and that was actually delightful – but cold and windy –
            Brrrre

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            1. trentpmcd Post author

              I bought the very first Kindle (I think, it might have been the second) and loved it. I used a Kindle for several years until, well, I didn’t. At some point I had a hard time even picking it up and read very little for a year or two. Then I started back with “real” books and discovered how much more I enjoy them.
              The movies of the The Lord of the Rings are pretty good in their way, but only the first one really matches the feel of the books at all. There is war and battle and all, but Tolkien was a pacifist and so the battles were not what it was about. There were also a few changes that I totally disagreed with…
              I still watch very little TV.
              Hope your weekend is going well!
              Oh, I forgot, I will most likely do a Bleak House reminder towards the end of the month and another one in early May.

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              1. Prior...

                My husband has an older kindle model and prefers it to the newer ones – and we have gone thru a few different models
                I am getting rid of my kindle fire / hate it! Not sure why I hate it so much – it lags a bit and just don’t like it
                I got it free with a gift card and now someone else will enjoy it (or not)
                —
                I sure am glad to be doing the reading challenge even though I haven’t read much lately – and I watch less and less TV because I feel “done” but still like to unwind with a good show or movie during busier seasons
                –
                Hope your have a nice start to the week
                —

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                1. trentpmcd Post author

                  My progress with Bleak House has been back and forth – I was doing well for a while, but the last two nights… nope. I’m about 480 pages into the 735 page book, so well over half, but… I would like to finish before I do a reminder!
                  Have a great week :)

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