Whitney Writes…

Copia stared at the desk. Once his father’s desk, now his desk. And also, for a time in between them, each of his brothers had sat at that desk for a time. He wondered what they would think of him now. Would Primo sneer at him? Would Secondo goad him? Would Terzo encourage him? Would they all laugh at him? Or would they think it was his time? No, he knew they wouldn’t think that last one.

This room had once held great mystery to him, his father’s office; a thing he would never have, never really even wanted, if he was being honest. But now, here he was, it was his. He called to a member of the staff – his staff – and asked for a small card table to be brought in. When it arrived, he set it up in the corner, then rolled the large, imposing leather chair over to it and began setting up his desk. On the card table. He enjoyed watching people entering his new office and staring confusedly at the large desk sitting prominently in the center of the room, empty. It usually took them a good thirty to forty-five seconds to notice him in the corner. He would give a half-smile and wave his fingers slowly at them.

The ministry’s walls had felt like a castle when he was young. Now he saw it for what it was, a cage.

Inktober 2023, Prompt #14: CASTLE