Clara & Co.

Whew, I haven’t posted The Smallones in a while. 😛

See all the parts so far HERE. (Sorry if some pictures aren’t showing up in the previous parts, I’m working on that.) Here’s a refresher from the end of Episode 8:

Lora’s eyes got a faraway look, and reluctantly, she began to tell her story.

“When my mother – the Queen – was born, she wasn’t an only child. She had an older sister named Elvira.

Elvira was a bitter and angry child. She hated her little sister from the moment she was born….”

“It seemed to Elvira that everyone loved her little sister, Lilith, more than her. Their parents, the King and Queen, hardly ever let Lilith out of their sight. They were always laughing at her adorable antics. The little girl was sweet, kind, and talkative. She was the stark opposite of quiet and shy Elvira. The older girl was furious.

Time passed, and the sisters grew older. They were never very close – their widely contrasting personalities caused frequent arguments. Lilith always tried to apologize afterward, hoping to become friends with her distant sister, but Elvira ignored her attempts.

One day, Elvira was taking a walk alone when she stumbled paths with a young human child. Elvira was shy and a little scared at first, but she soon realized there was nothing to fear about this child.

The girl was curious and kind, and Elvira liked her. The tiny girl and the human became fast friends. Elvira kept their friendship a secret from her family. Finally, she had something that was all hers, separate from her sister.

A secret friend.

The two became inseparable. The young human girl was careful and gentle. She played games and laughed. Elvira loved her.

As the two girls grew older, Elvira’s human friend came less and less to meet with her. Sometimes when she came she would be angry or sad, and Elvira would always try to cheer her up and make her laugh.

One day, the human girl asked Elvira a startling question. ‘Why can’t I tell anyone about you?’

Elvira, surprised, replied that some humans could be dangerous to the Smallones, and that their friendship must always remain secret for the safety of her town.

The human girl didn’t bring it up again, but the question seemed a little strange to Elvira. Why did anyone need to know about their friendship, anyway?

One afternoon, Elvira’s friend didn’t show up at their usual meeting place.

Elvira waited and waited, but the girl didn’t come. Finally Elvira turned to leave, thinking her friend must not be coming that day.

Suddenly, a human hand grabbed her and snatched her up.

Elvira struggled, shocked to see that her friend was the one who was treating her so roughly. When she demanded an explanation, the girl didn’t respond. She just clutched Elvira tightly and started off at a determined run in a direction Elvira had never been before.

Elvira tried to escape from the girl, but she wasn’t strong enough. Confused and scared, she screamed up at her friend to stop and explain. The girl pointedly ignored her.

Soon, the girl came to a stop in a small human yard. She called out a name that Elvira didn’t recognize. Elvira suddenly realized what was happening – the girl was going to show her to another human.

As she frantically tried to wriggle free, she heard the girl’s voice shouting angrily at the other human who had emerged from the brick house.

‘She’s real! I can prove it this time! I have her here, in my hand! Come and see!’

With a final, desperate struggle, Elvira slipped out of the human girl’s fingers. She tumbled, unhurt, into the grass and scurried quickly into the tall weeds.

Elvira lay flat, hidden between the blades, her heart pounding, terrified.

The human girl gasped and looked around to see where Elvira had gone. The other human laughed. ‘Did you lose her?’ he sneered. He was tall and thin. Elvira realized he must be the girl’s older brother.

The human girl shook her head, and a tear slid down her face. ‘No! She – she was right here!’

She stepped back, away from her brother…

…and her shoe landed hard on Elvira.”

Lora paused her story. Ava sucked in a sharp breath. Both sisters were watching Lora with wide eyes.

“Did she die?” Ivy whispered.

Lora was silent for a moment.

“She lived, though everyone was sure she wouldn’t. The human girl, oblivious to what she had done to Elvira, wasn’t able to find the tiny girl among the tall grass. She assumed that Elvira had escaped.

Once the humans had walked away, arguing loudly, Elvira managed to pull herself into a nook between some tree roots. There she lay, almost mortally injured, countless bones broken. She could hardly move.

It was almost three days before one of my kind found her. The King and Queen were horrified and shocked. The Smallones rushed Elvira back home where she lay in bed for many months, too bandaged and pained to tell anyone what had happened. Lilith didn’t leave her sister’s side.

Finally, after a long and unbearable wait, Elvira was well enough to speak.

She told her family the terrible story.

The tale spread like wildfire through the town – Princess Elvira had been betrayed and terribly wounded by a human girl who had been her secret and best friend for many years. The word ‘human’ became a word said only with fear and disdain. Humans became quickly known as untrustworthy and dangerous. New laws and safety regulations were passed, strictly prohibiting any contact between humans and Smallones.

The entire town went down, deeper and deeper, into the roots and hollow trunk of the great oak tree. There they lived, hidden from humans. Protected.

Despite the fact that Lilith hadn’t left her older sister’s side all through those long months, Elvira was no closer to her. The older girl didn’t like the way Lilith had responded when she had told her what happened. It almost sounded as if Lilith was defending the human girl’s actions.

So Elvira remained alone in her anger, so angry with the human she had once called a friend. She felt as if she could never trust anyone ever again. Grief and bitterness overwhelmed her. She became more quiet, sullen, and angry than ever before.”

Lora shook her head.

“That had always been the sister’s biggest difference. When Lilith was hurt, she opened up to others.

Elvira, however, only drew farther and farther away.”

____________

To be continued…

Stay tuned for Episode 10! 😀 Also, special thanks to Ms.AGDoll for letting me use her doll, Sadie. 😉

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is so close! What are your plans? Here’s a picture of some delicious, warm pumpkin cake that my mom made:

It is SO good! 😮 (I bet you’re hungry now.) 😛

Thanks for reading, following, and commenting! You guys are the best. ❤