LovelyMay

    Stories 93
    Chapters 1,516
    Words 6.7 M
    Comments 0
    Reading 23 days, 5 hours23 d, 5 h
    • IN THE COACH-HOUSE Cover
      by LovelyMay In the Coach-House opens with the gentle creak of old wheels and the hushed tones of men passing time with cards while the estate sleeps. The soft rustle of sleigh harnesses and flicker of oil lanterns offer the only light in the otherwise dim, dust-scented air. Stepan, the coachman, presides over the game while Mihailo the porter brings news from the main house—news sharp enough to still hands mid-play. A tenant has died by his own hand. The details trickle in like cold air through the wooden beams.…
    • PANIC FEARS Cover
      by LovelyMay Panic Fears begins with a deeply atmospheric account that unsettles the senses and stirs the imagination. On a warm and silent July night, the narrator travels down a lonely country road to fetch the evening's newspapers. The world feels hushed, suspended in a strange kind of stillness, when suddenly he spots a flickering light on the village belfry—a light that defies explanation. There is no practical reason for it to be lit, no recent events that would account for it. His mind races to rationalize…
    • THE BET Cover
      by LovelyMay The Bet begins on a cool autumn evening, where a lively party sparks a heated discussion about capital punishment. Most guests agree that life imprisonment is more humane than execution, viewing the latter as too final and cruel. The banker, however, stands apart, believing that death is a kinder option than a lifetime in a cell, which he sees as slow torture. This clash of beliefs prompts a bold challenge when a young lawyer claims he would rather live in prison than die. In a moment of impulsive pride,…
    • THE HEAD-GARDENER’S STORY Cover
      by LovelyMay The Head-Gardener’s Story begins in a quiet greenhouse on a gentle April morning, where an auction draws together a few gentlemen amid a sea of fresh blooms. A timber merchant, a nobleman, and the narrator exchange remarks about plants, legal matters, and society. Amid them stands Mihail Karlovitch, the self-assured and somewhat eccentric gardener who, though alone in his post, refers to himself with pride as the head of a nonexistent staff. He listens with a quiet eagerness, hoping someone might share…
    • THE BEAUTIES Cover
      by LovelyMay The Beauties opens with a recollection set under the harsh sun of the Don region, where everything appears lifeless except for a memory the narrator has never forgotten. As a boy, he traveled with his grandfather and stopped in a quiet Armenian village. Among the dusty paths and tired animals, a striking girl named Masha stood out like a vision. She did not speak much, nor did she try to attract attention, yet her presence made the world slow down. Her beauty stirred something deeper than admiration—it…
    • THE SHOEMAKER AND THE DEVIL Cover
      by LovelyMay "The Shoemaker and the Devil" begins with Fyodor Nilov, a cobbler whose hands are weathered by honest labor, yet whose life remains empty of comfort. He toils late into Christmas Eve, his thoughts growing darker as he compares his own struggles to the luxury enjoyed by others. When a strange, limping man enters—partly concealed beneath furs but revealing a hoofed foot—Fyodor’s misery meets temptation. The stranger’s uncanny presence hints at something infernal, yet the lure of wealth silences…
    • Scene I — The Queen’s Lodging at St. Andrew’s. Cover
      by LovelyMay Act IV opens in a place burdened by authority and shadowed by emotional tension, as Queen Mary of Scots navigates the agonizing weight of leadership. With St. Andrew's echoing silence behind her and a restless court observing every motion, she finds herself pulled between public expectation and private longing. The memory of Chastelard lingers not only as a scandal but as a living wound she cannot conceal. Her desire to show mercy battles with the political risks attached to compassion. The Queen’s…
    • SCENE I — The Upper Chamber in Holyrood. Cover
      by LovelyMay Scene I opens in the Upper Chamber at Holyrood, where the four Maries—Beaton, Hamilton, Carmichael, and Seyton—gather during a quiet moment apart from the Queen’s presence. The room carries a hush filled with memory and murmured secrets. Mary Beaton begins to sing in French, her voice steeped in longing, drifting through the chamber like a tide drawing in all emotion. Her companions notice the sorrow clinging to her words and question the reason behind the melancholy. Beaton, quietly, admits that her…
    • SCENE II — A Hall in the same Cover
      by LovelyMay Scene II begins with an air of courtly elegance and subtle friction, as Queen Mary receives a finely crafted gift from the French king—a breast-clasp bearing the figure of Venus. This object, sculpted with poetic symbolism, becomes a conversation piece between her and Chastelard, drawing parallels between the art's portrayal of love and the Queen's own complex emotions. Though surrounded by opulence and admirers, Queen Mary seems mentally distant, as though something about the finely wrought Venus echoes…
    • SCENE III — MARY BEATON’S chamber: night. Cover
      by LovelyMay Scene III begins with Chastelard lingering in Mary Beaton’s chamber, cloaked in silence and uncertainty. The flicker of candlelight casts faint shadows, mirroring the restless emotions running through his mind. Though he awaits a moment that could bring comfort or ruin, he remains committed, cherishing the memory of Beaton’s touch from their last meeting. His reflections drift between hope and resignation, where even the idea of seeing her once more outweighs the dread of death. That two-year ache,…
    Note