Welcome to Tuesday Tales, a weekly blog featuring diverse authors posting excerpts from their works in progress based on word and picture prompts. I’m pleased you stopped by today. This week we are working from a picture prompt. I have chosen the lovely one above and hereby call it herbal. My snippet is from a fairy tale. Enjoy the other authors of Tuesday Tales.
A bellow sounded from the dinner table. “Get a move on, ye lazy chit!”
Nella rushed in with a platter of venison and savories. She hurriedly began ladling it into trenchers.
The lady of the house placed a hand atop her husband’s, blue veins protruding. “Now, Horace, you know the girl is fair dim-witted.” A snicker belied words that might otherwise be taken as supportive.
Her face frozen, Nella continued serving, as each of the family members joined in the nightly amusement.
One of the older girls let out a long-suffering sigh while cutting her meat. “I do not fathom how Nella can be your blood relative, Father. Her mind is a jumble of what-ifs and whatevers.”
Another one proclaimed, “At least we have someone to dig out the herbals. I detested it.”
He replied to the first between smacking chews. “My brother was ever the fool. It’s my bad luck he went to sleep with the fishes, leaving me the burden of his offspring.”
And a fair amount of glittering gold coin. Nella wanted to shout the truth but didn’t dare. Past beatings had shown her that silence was the best response to the cruelty.
Silence and waiting.
One of the older girls shrieked and rubbed her arm. “Watch it, clumsy! You spilt a drop on my sleeve.”
Before she could offer an apology, Lady Willis issued an order. “We’ll have the sweets. Go along and bring them now. And I trust they are properly seasoned this time!”
Nella had set the sweets near her stash of herbal sachets. Lovingly she ran a hand over the herbals. Sage and rosemary, mugwort and feverfew. So aromatic and healing.
Her lips twitched, as she fought the urge to smile. She lifted the platter of sweets. And her favorites – wolfsbane, hemlock, and belladonna. 
I hope you enjoyed the snippet based on the picture prompt herbal. Thanks for stopping by. Read the other amazing excerpts at Tuesday Tales.
Cheers & Happy Reading!
Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic in Romance
All rights reserved, copyright @ 2020 Flossie Benton Rogers
Oh oh! Those herbals don’t bode well for the health of her relatives. Great post.
Perhaps some slight problems!
Ooh! I love it! Revenge on the mean people who deserve it. Love those deadly herbs…belladonna and friends. Great story of evil getting it’s just desserts…pun intended.
Gotta love the nightshades!
Wonderful snippet!
Thanks!
Intriguing story.
Thank you!