Word for Word: Allege, Alleged

I’m in a writers’ group that meets on Zoom, though before the pandemic we met in the back room of a nonprofit bakery. Every week, we do a writing prompt: someone gives a page number, and our organizer picks a word from a huge dictionary. In this example, the word is: Allege, Alleged.

Tiny Treasures miniature house by Ashland, from Michael’s

The alleged rapist was guilty, and that was all it took for him to spontaneously combust. Usually, the witch’s curse on all misogynists only went into effect when a misogynist spoke — saying something sexist or woman-hating. But rape was sufficiently egregious that it was more than enough.

When the witch responsible sat quietly listening to the news, she sat back and realized she was more powerful than she had realized. She scanned the great hall for other witches. Whenever she made eye contact with another witch, they nodded slightly to each other. Aren’t we all, she thought.

Violet & Steampunk Boy, my favorite book (volume 3) in my middle grade fantasy series Rowanwick Witches, is available here:

Violet and Steampunk Boy: Rowanwick Witches