The Ash-Girl and the Salmon Prince
Novelette 12,100 words Recommended by 2 award/anthology sources
"I have heard it on the rumors that when the tale-spinner’s guild gathers in their secret places, a full half of them are sworn to never tell the truth, and the other half to never tell a lie, even if it mean their life. Being one of that trade myself, I can tell you that’s more or less the shape of it, and I tell you so that you will know that the tale I tell you now is true, just as it happened and just as it was told to me."
Content warnings 1
abuse
Quasar links out; the story lives on Lightspeed, where the author gets the click.