Onc2023 Stories

Regulus had had enough of the loud screaming matches between his mother and older brother as they left him with a headache while also preventing him from hiding. In what felt like sheer madness, he left the house unnoticed and found a Muggle library, a sanctuary from noises that would bother him as he tried to study. Of course, in his delight to find a quiet place to study, he forgot one important thing. Muggles. Disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter. This is written for ONC 2023, prompt seventy-six, "You're poring over spellbook in the local library when a human discovers you."

After their mother is mysteriously killed, Ethiel and Tifa start seeing ghosts. Their Aunt decides to move to their mother's home with them, hoping to provide them a better life. However, in the new house, Ethiel and his sister find a strange mirror in the working room of their mother that takes them to another world, Anigma. One after the other, they discover shocking secrets about her from the videos she has left for them in a flash drive. With nothing more than a few leads from her videos and some help from her other-worldly friends, the two siblings must finish the quest she started in order to be granted three wishes, in hopes of saving Animga from doom and also to bring her back to life. Will Ethiel and Tifa be able to fulfill the last request of their mother and get to see her again? Read and find out. -------- ONC 2023 prompts I will be using: Prompt 29 -------- COPYRIGHTED ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2023 P. Kumaran Pandian Cover illustrated by P. Kumaran Pandian

* ONC 2023 Shortlister * "She caught the eye of one of the horsemen, and something in his face caused her to pause mid-step. The man he was standing with, realising he was being ignored, turned to see what he was staring at, and his mouth fell open. 'Arner! The prophecy!' he hissed. That seemed to attract the attention of the whole party, and before Aleyna knew what had occurred, they had all stopped what they were doing, and stared openly at her, before tilting their head in her direction, bowing. The last of the men to lower his head, the one who had first spotted her, was now biting his lip, something like worry creasing his brow, before he too bowed." * * * Aleyna, a professor at Lyknisia's Academika, is from a world of science and reason. To her, magic is something found in children's stories. It's not real, has never been real, and never will be real, and nothing anyone can say will change her mind. Arnerstrom, known as Arner, is King of Mynythia. He is from a world of magic and spirits. A world where the unseen is just as powerful as the known, and where prophecy dictates almost everything. But when a prophecy appears to be fulfilled by chance, Aleyna is whisked away from her books at the behest of Arnerstrom, and taken to a land of mystery and secrets. A land where magic is very real and spirits govern all. Set in the same world as The Winter Ghost, but located many kingdoms apart, The Convert Queen is a fantasy romance novella where what you see isn't always what you need to know.

Theodore Blackstar is an ordinary freshman. Until he gets married during Spring Break.

(ONC 2023 Shortlisted) Shannon Meadows thought he was renting a house in a quiet secluded neighborhood that would allow him to focus on writing his literary masterpiece. Little did he know he was living next door to 80's rock legend Antony LeBon Lacey. Their personalities clash immediately, but soon they are forced to work together to discover what happened when two months disappear overnight and they appear to be the only two people left on Earth. Can they overcome their differences to find an answer to this mystery?

38 A seemingly bottomless pit was found, for which the depth can't be determined. Over time, scores of people began using it to illegally dump trash. Many have jumped believing that they'll find life's answers within it. Today, we learn the truth about the hole. ~~~ Susan "Maysie" May Hornsby was a toddler when the sinkhole opened on the edge of the Missouri River, in the Tristate area (and six towns of Sioux City). It drastically changed her nation (drying up the Mississippi, slowing interstate trade to a standstill, making drinkable water a concern, forcing the nation to reroute a whole major waterway-not to mention the dumping and jumpers) but the child herself couldn't understand any of that. This made her nightmares all the more remarkable-though no one would know it, at the time. When the world ended, she was left with "the bad man" Alder Nahimana as her sole guardian. She was raised in the void of space as "the only people left alive". But there were more humans out there-and once her guardian passed, she sets out to find them, accidentally becoming crucial to the preservation of her mankind along the way. Not bad for a child whose world ended when she was 5.

An ordinary Igbo girl who goes by the name Nnena wakes up one day after an intense nightmare just to discover her life before was a whole lie. She's a mystery even to herself. She pushes everyone away from her and each time they come close she's forced to run again in fear of hurting them. Nnena is special but rather be ordinary and still make a difference, she rather be normal than be regarded as a witch. A normal decision. With barely any answers she's ready to travel the globe with the help of her father, if only she finds him, even if she has to has to hustle on her own to do so, to discover who or what she truly is.

No one has seen the real world in centuries. Since the creation of Dreamworld, humanity has transported permanently into the digital realm. The only ones who even know that Earth was-and is-a real place are the members of the Embassy, Dreamworld's sole government power. Tom Tolmafin, the last human to remember Earth, has hacked the aging process to prevent himself from dying before he finds his son, who was by the agency just before Dreamworld became operational. Now inside the digital realm, Tolmafin has created the catalyst to the Embassy's destruction and the only hope to finding his son-an android. Ace Raven, the most sarcastic AI known to man, has two objectives. Find Drake Tolmafin and shut down Dreamworld. When he meets a band of rebel teens attempting to break out of the system, he finds his chance to face the most lethal virtual landscape that will lead him to his goal. If they survive the Zones, they can hack the program and complete their objective, returning humanity to the real world. Failure is not an option. Failure means death. Prompt: In a dystopian world where technology controls every aspect of life, a group of rebels must navigate through a virtual reality landscape to hack into the mainframe and take back control from the oppressive government. {ONC2023 Shortlister}

The new and attractive landlord has left everyone else wanting to make a good impression. But me? I've known something was off from the moment he shook my hand. There's just something wrong about him. Something . . . dark. But I brushed it off. And now it might be too late. Guess I should have listened to my instincts after all. __________________________________ This story contains profanity and violence. • ONC 2023 •

Grown up in the simple town of Forn, as the daughter to an innkeeper and ex-soldier, the youthful Marion Barwick aspires to become a soldier herself. Beaten down time and time again by life, she is eventually broken and takes on the role of innkeeper her father always hoped her to have. Here, she reunites with an old friend after losing her partner, who invited her to his wedding. The night before the wedding he confesses love to Marion, as well as his family-in-law's likely plans to murder him during the wedding ceremony in a coup of revenge on his family. Determined to save her love and live happily ever after, she elopes with him. Before they can make it off of the palace premise, he turns back to save his family. Now alone and grieving, Marion is left to pick up the pieces of her life to remind her she is worth of love, no matter what. An homage to simple fantasy, short bittersweet romance stories and stories without teenage protagonists. This story is a short recollection of the life and mind of Marion Barwick, a simple woman in search of a meaning to her life after losing her partner. This romance novel is focused on self-discovery, family and found love. Based on a Dungeons & Dragons game. Prompt 55. Since you've been going out for quite some time, your love arranges for you to meet their parents. When you get to their house and you enter the front door, you hear them say "I'm sorry" as the door closes behind you. ~(✩✧✩)~✶~(✩✧✩)~ Chapter I. • 1627 W (Total 1627 W) Chapter II. • 1974 W (Total 3601 W) Chapter III. • 2530 W (Total 6131 W) Chapter IV. • 1869 W (Total 8000 W)

This story is for the ONC 2023~ prompt #36 When a powerful witch possessing an unusually old magic cast a spell on Alpha Knox of the Blood Wolf Pack he quickly becomes ill and slips into a coma. The pack doctors don't know what do or how long the Alpha will survive. His Beta, Ebony, assumes the role of a Alpha. While taking on the the day to day of the pack and keeping it safe from its enemies, she is desperately searching for answers. Ebony discovers that her best friend and Alpha has been keeping a secret. He met his mate 7 years ago, but hasn't seen her since. In a race against time Ebony has to find the mate of the Alpha in order to break the curse. Oddly enough she will have to rely on the help of a group of Witches to Save the Alpha! Will she be able to find the Alpha's mate in time? Will the mate bond be what will save her best friend and the Blood Wolf Packs beloved Alpha?

ONC 2023 Shortlister His features had haunted her for years; a boy with silver eyes peering out from beneath a mask of bone. His body cloaked in darkness, a wicked grin upon his lips that spoke of treachery-- a smile that had broken countless hearts. And in that instant, in the midst of this game of life and death, Lucy wondered if hers would be next... .................... Lucy was warned never to trust those within the Carnival of The Lost-- a circus of strange creatures who spend their nights in performance, vanishing during the day. Yet she is drawn in by its music, her dreams filled with the face of a mysterious boy who's eyes shine pale as the moon, the air of a dark power shrouding him. But when by her own hand a deadly mistake is made, she must play the carnival master's wicked game to set everything right. Written for the Open Novella Contest 2023, this novella is a companion book to my short story 'At Autumn's Edge.' Prompt used; 49. "Master the rules of the game until you can play it better than they can." Cover image AI generated using Canva. Cover composition made by the author.

🏆ONC 2023 || Ambassador's Pick 🏆ONC 2023 || Round Two Qualifier One night is all it takes to change a life. There's something wrong with Felicity Farr. It's how she can't seem to do her job right no matter how hard she tries, and how she's still under her parents' thumb years after moving out, and how she looks at girls the way she should look at boys. So even though she can't fix anything, she tries to fix herself all the same. But when a blind date ends with her in an attractive stranger's bed, Felicity is forced to question everything in her life. Especially when said attractive stranger asks her to run away with her for a week. Clover Chai is beautiful, confident, and everything Felicity should avoid. But she captures Felicity like the drag of the tide, and as the week drags on, Felicity finds herself having to choose between her head and her heart---especially since she can't imagine her summer fling remaining a fling anymore.

DISCONTINUED (Eliminated round one) They call her the DreamCrafter, known for her ability to sneak into peoples minds and swap out their memories for carefully crafted lies. One of the revered Façonneur Magique, Amethyst has never known friendship. The other fae always treated her with respect, if only to avoid her temper. They worried she would take their most precious moments and leave a gap. She was too good at her job to leave a gap though. Her Guild mistrusted her, her parents gave her up, what could she do but become distant? After uncovering a secret that could destroy the royal family, how far will she go to protect those she swore to?

72 On the twilight of their sixteenth birthday, a shy bookworm escapes their surprise party to find refuge in their favorite library. While walking through the shelves in search of a good read, they stumble onto a peculiar book that changes their life. ~~~ Being a Great-Granddaughter of Greek Gods doesn't make you special. In fact, there was maybe two people who thought about Grace Rose Sterling and special at the same time, and she didn't believe it was because they understood her. Aglaea and Hephastus knew she had the family talent, but talent on loan from Gods isn't the same as being known. Sharp but shy, Grace could hold her own if she was willing to be burdened by people who wanted favors, not friends, but she was very unwilling to play social games. They even roped in her childhood crush as her personal temple guard, making her his obligation, not his choice. It was enough to push a girl to hiding in the small library attached to the ballroom they held her Sweet 16 in. Problem is that the Gods truly did know her, and worse, they had ancient Greek ideas involving God-tier tasks. So, they gave her a burden in the form of the scariest Love Djinn they knew. Either she would control the monster threatening her sleep, or she would brave everyone else to stay free of his machinations. One way or another, her talents would be forced to the surface. Either way, a young demi-god is not allowed to be shy-or herself. ~~~ Trigger Warning: This is a 16 year old kid, not a Reverse Harem story. That being said, the Djinn is intimidating and may be too much for some readers.

While her best friend Cassidy snacks on brie and boys in France, Darcy Li-Quinn must face her last year of high school and the unpredictable wrath of her sister, Danica, alone. Darcy's plan for dealing with Danica and her heinous friends is simple-be invisible. But first, she's promised Cassidy she'll do 'one brave thing'. Mustering the courage to say 'hi' to the cute boy on the bus, Darcy expects rejection or indifference. She doesn't anticipate a grumpy ghost with unfinished business who needs her help. Suddenly, a quiet year of flying under the radar looks increasingly unlikely. *** Rationally, Hunter Viera knows that his brother's death wasn't his fault. But that doesn't stop his guilt about Archer invading his every thought or lessen the grief sitting heavy in his chest. Changing schools offers a fresh start, and Hunter's plan is simple-be invisible. But he hasn't counted on Darcy, or her ludicrous claim that Archer speaks to her from beyond the grave. Suddenly, a quiet year of sitting on the sidelines looks increasingly unlikely. *** This is a story about hearts and hope and public transport. This is Darcy and Hunter's story (and a little bit Archer's too). *** 'Get A Life' is my entry for Open Novella Contest 2023 and is inspired by the following prompts. 20. You finally build enough courage to talk to that cute someone you see every day on the bus. Their face turns dark as they respond "You shouldn't be able to see me." 9. There's an urban legend that's been circulating for years about a taxi cab that doesn't take you where you want to go, but where you need to go. One night, you stepped into this cab.

Colin Creevy runs into Hermione Granger in Dijon, France after his first year as both of their families are there touring the place for their family vacations. He doesn't expect to find something strange in one of the photos he took the summer Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban. Disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter. This is written for ONC, for prompt twenty-six, "As a tourist in a foreign country, you were just snapping pictures. Later that night you go through your camera roll and was shocked to your core when you saw what you caught on camera."

A twist in time. A villainous lady hated by the ton. A quest to avoid ruin. When Ria's Grandmother suddenly disappeared, she didn't expect the search would bring them to 19th century England. After possessing a body of a woman hell-bent to profess her love to the most dashing man in town, Ria must salvage what little of what's left with "her" reputation to live a comfortable life, at least until she could find a way to return to her own time. Taken from Prompt #70 (ONC 2023)

Bernard heard other elves talk about finding true love. After living a thousand years he'd not found it, always waiting one more day knowing full well the odds were stacked against him. Disclaimer - I don't own 48 Christmas Wishes or The Santa Clause. This is written for ONC 2023 for prompt forty-three, "You waited a thousand years to find your true love, what's one more day?" 2/5/25 - Ambassador Pick for Fanfic for February 2025. 3/9/25 - Added to Fanfic's Crossover list.

Moving schools and towns is always hard but it was something that Kayla was quite used to. This year was no different to previous years except for one thing, she was greeted by a typical high school bully. That was where she met her potential new friend Hailey. As time goes by Kayla starts to question her sexuality when she falls in love with one of the students in her music class and a participant in the school talent show. Can music unite these 4 very different/ diverse teenagers or would music fail to do this?