The Bare Boards

The sudden silence in the mud-walled room stretched out, heavy and uncomfortable. Giselle hid a surge of dark, inward satisfaction behind a mask of wide-eyed shock. She watched Valerie standing tall, unbothered by the growing tension.

Giselle let her shoulders droop in a practiced, pathetic motion. She looked down at the uneven dirt floor, allowing her voice to tremble just enough to project pure