> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.ann-cudworth-writes.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Tapestry (part 1 of 9) - URL: https://www.ann-cudworth-writes.com/the-tapestry-part-1-of-9/ - Published: 2026-09-22T12:08:36.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-29T10:43:15.000Z - Author: Ann Cudworth ## TERCE- Three Hours After Dawn *Hands, unwanted, brushed her hair back, revealing her face. She flinched at the memory of Grignor’s touch; her mother’s new husband had no business in her bedroom.* Alyse focused on her blindfold, making sure it clung to her eye sockets and blanked her mind. The morning rain came like clockwork. Sounds of drops pinging on the cobblestones and hissing on the grass helped Alyse find her way across the courtyard in Saint Elara’s monastery to the door of their mill and her place on the Loom. The sun hadn’t risen high enough to warm the air. She drew the woolen cloak tighter, one finger sneaking up to wipe the cold mist from her cheeks. Familiar smells guided her way: damp stone, new wool, and browned bread. The susurrus of garments and the musical clinking of Infinity beads emanated from her sisterhood as they changed shifts on the Loom. Alyse pushed her Infinity beads deep into the folds of her habit, hiding the shortened string. She had given one up to protect her uncle from temporal radiation so he could sabotage the Tapestry without dying. Last night, they’d stood on either side of the Davina porta- the slotted passage connecting their monasteries. “Here’s my bead,” she’d said, pinning her ninth Infinity bead to the edge of the Tapestry as it slithered through the wall. The Tapestry twitched, pausing for a moment as he removed the bead on the other side. “I’ll cut out the spring lambing.” “Yes,” she agreed. For a moment, the tension on the Tapestry slackened as her uncle released a section from its guiding wheels. Alyse prayed it wouldn’t snarl or rip. “It’s done. Now go. Get back to your bed.” “And you to yours. Night, uncle.” As she stepped into the mill, Alyse tugged on her blindfold, testing its snugness. Desperation tightened her throat. Tracing the Infinity symbol on her breast, she crossed the threshold into the mill. They’d blasphemed last night in their sabotage. The tip of her nose, which poked out from the bottom edge of her blindfold, caught the corky scent of oak bark used to dye gold and yellow wools. Blue wool reeked of herbs and urine. The red wool, redolent of madder root, brought more unwelcome memories. Madder grew in a garden that was once her childhood refuge. Three loops past, Alyse followed her uncle Efran’s advice and became a novice with St. Elara’s. They’d hide in the monasteries together, he’d said. But it didn’t last long. On her sixteen loop, Grignor became Prime Actuator for the Codex at the monastery next door. Her sadistic stepfather worked the machine that controlled their world. Alyse clamped her jaw to contain another rush of fury. Their sabotage had to work. Grignor was too close, and he’d find her soon. Her stomach roiled with tension as she clasped her beads to cover the missing one. “Sister Alyse. Are you well? I sense dis-ease.” Alyse swayed as Mother Oda’s fingers touched her blindfold. “A blessed morning, Mother Oda. I am well. Just a touch of indigestion from the dinner sausage.” Oda’s warm fingers brushed around her blindfold, checking its tightness. “Is your second sight developing, Alyse?” Alyse lied. “I had three visions yesterday, Mother.” She’d had second sight since childhood, but it hadn’t protected her from Grignor. “Good. Today, you will start on the Loom, adding contextual images to the Tapestry. Our brothers next door cannot encode their parchment for the Codex without them.” “Thank you, Mother. I am grateful.” Mother Oda’s hands moved to the back of her head, and Alyse sighed as Mother Oda loosened the blindfold clamped around her eye sockets. Mother Oda’s sunken eyes—she’d been blind since birth — were visible through the gap. “The Tapestry waits for no one, Alyse. Be brave, see the truth.” Alyse bit back a confession. Sabotaging the Tapestry was a mortal sin; they’d have her heart’s blood for it. Instead, she reached for the guide rope along the wall and followed it past the spinning rooms. Her sister Elarans sang as they spun. *Blessed be the Spirit who guides our Sight.* *Blessed be the Loom that binds our Visions.* *Blessed be the Tapestry. May it Loop without end.* Alyse recited the Weaver’s Way as she approached her position at the Loom. *“And we shall be as gilt-edged serifs, risen to witness the future and weave our vision with simple woolen threads. And the Tapestry shall pass through the Divina Porta and be received by our brothers, who harvest its truths and pass them into Faith.”* Beside her, the Tapestry moved down a glass covered channel toward the Divina Porta with a gentle hiss. It left a line of brightness across Alyse’s inner eye. They called that effect spirit-light*,* but it seemed dimmer today. What would their sabotage do to their world? # --- The Tapestry (part 1) The Tapestry is a science fantasy featuring hidden truth, secret identity, and last-minute rescue. Set in a clockwork world, it follows Alyse as she as she uncovers a break in the tapestry that runs her world, and Stefen — who isn't quite who he seems — racing to stop her before it all comes apart. An earlier version of this story was previously published in 2018 by Metaphorosis. Ann Cudworth (also writing as A. C. Worth) is the author of short fiction in Metaphorosis Magazine, Exterus, and Sci-Fi Lampoon, and the anthologies Score—An SFF Anthology, Radicle, and Sages of Metaphorosis. She writes science fiction and urban fantasy, shaped by workshops at Odyssey Writing Workshop and the Sarah Lawrence Writing Institute, as well as Futurescapes and the Juniper Writing Institute. Copyright 2026 Ann Cudworth. All rights reserved. Read more at [https://www.acworthwriter.com/](https://www.acworthwriter.com/?ref=ann-cudworth-writes.com) My stories are written by hand and edited with ProWritingAid.