Curing a little heart
I don't know how I came up with this honestly. Here's another random one-shot! I do not own any movie, character, etc. Warning: This contains spoilers of the movie A Little Princess, (the 1995 version,) and is Rated T for a not very nice word.
He arrived early compared to the many other workers Miss Minchin hired, from teachers to maids. His mood was also tiresomely cheery, one that battled her rampant younger sister, Amelia's. But on top of all this, Miss Minchin took note that he was not at all bad looking.
"You must be our newest addition," she began with a hand to shake. "Miss Minchin, doctor. I trust you'll find Amelia, my younger sister, quite soon. She'll escort you to your office and bedroom shortly."
"And what a pleasure this is." He accepted her hand and even kissed it before shaking it. "Dr. Charles Xavier, humble and glad to serve." As he shook her hand, Miss Minchin offered her traditional, fishy smile reserved for parents and other adults and led him down the hall. He was a charmer, but she had dealt with charmers before, and they usually were the first to leave.
"Since classes start quite early, Dr. Xavier, I allow my girls and the other teachers full permission to enter your office from as early as eight in the morning until seven."
"At night, ma'am?" His voice grew more distant as he observed the overwhelming hall and its chambers. As he continued to follow her, Miss Minchin chuckled at his question. Like a little boy he is, she mused. Oh, he'll be gone soon. With Dr. Xavier gone, she would not have to add another paycheck and learn to tolerate another uncouth simpleton.
"Of course, professor." She could almost feel him turn red behind her. "Is something the matter, professor? Oh my, a slip of the tongue! That was your occupation before you became a doctor! Do forgive me!"
Her assumptions were proven correct when she glanced behind her shoulder. Poor Charles was redder than Amelia's hair and stuttering almost incoherently.
"Please M - Miss Minchin. W - we are family here, a - are we n - not? If you would, please refer to me as Charles -" They reached a full classroom, and he politely opened the door for her. "Then I shall call you Miss Minchin."
The class erupted into giggles, and it was Miss Minchin's turn to flush bright red. Yet as quick as the crawling flush reached her cheeks, she fought it off and tapped loudly on the teacher's desk, where the class' French teacher was snoring in his seat again.
He woke up and then muttered French phrases, but Miss Minchin briskly cut him off. "Class, since one of you caught a dreadful fever during our walk -" Fierce whispering began to emerge amongst the girls, but Miss Minchin ended it with an even fiercer glare.
"As I was saying before being rudely interrupted, I decided to hire a doctor to keep ourselves healthier for these next few wintry months." She gestured to the brown-headed man wearing a dull brown suit under a white lab coat. "Say hello to Dr. Charles Xavier."
"Hello, Dr. Charles Xavier," the class greeted dully in unison. Some students gave him dreamy looks, others flirty looks, like the brunette girl close to the front with provoking eyes. A few girls shyly held their breaths and looked around the room. One other girl with curly dark brown hair and wearing huge glasses even held her face in her hands and started frighteningly at her shoes.
Out of the entire group of girls, only one smiled. She had curly, dark blonde hair that framed her angelic face perfectly. Her grey-blue eyes fluttered curiously at him, completed with a gilded yellow frock and matching shoes.
If any of the other girls wore the same dress and/or the same shoes, Charles knew he would not have noticed. A lovely wardrobe did not satisfy curiosity; a lovely mind did.
What the girls, the teachers, and Miss Minchin did not know was Charles was a telepath, which meant in his case, he could read and control minds. The girl in front of him was projecting. So with one studying glance, he knew the girl was named *Sarah Frances Crewe. Her father was *Robert Rama Crewe, and he brought her to the school and was currently fighting with the British in the Great War. He clearly did it to benefit and protect his little princess, since New York was much safer in its state then India. But, he knew his little Sarah would miss him dearly like he would of her. Her mother, *Eliza Sita Burnett Crewe, went to the same school and had the same caring demeanor innocent Sarah held close to her heart.
Charles briefly drew back. Being such a busy bachelor, he never considered raising a family, especially when such high-esteemed men like Captain Crewe came into his life. The doctor could not help but possess envy; he often wished he would be stripped of his abilities to exist as a genuine father for a little girl like Sarah. However, he knew he could never receive that honor; he considered himself too self-absorbed and dangerous, even for a powerful mutant.
But what Charles pitied was her paternal longing and homesickness. He never knew a child so young as eleven could act so mature and reserved and yet so guileless and compassionate to others. No child such as her should ever face heartbreak. Sadly, even if Charles lacked premonition extensively, he knew an innocent heart was short-lived in the musty, dirty streets outside. Even a newcomer from faraway knew the cruelties of the world, especially a newcomer who left home.
After French class, Sarah skipped off with the other girls to Lottie's bedroom, which she shared with four other girls. Lottie had the fever, but she really wanted Sarah to see her, and the older girl did not have it in her heart to ignore her. Besides, the five-year old warmed up to Sarah ever since she comforted her in her time of needing and missing her late mother.
"What do you think about the new doctor, Sarah?" Lottie blinked her dark green eyes at Sarah and tugged her hand closer to her. "I think he's a prince in disguise from what I saw from my room."
"A prince in disguise," A little girl exclaimed with a disgusted expression. "How childish! He's obviously someone just doing his job!"
"You are just saying that because you were drooling all over your French textbook for him," Lavinia teased, receiving giggles from her clique of friends.
Sarah bit her lip when she saw the crestfallen look on some of the girls, including the girl just ridiculed, and smiled sweetly at Lavinia.
Lavinia frowned at Sarah and made a face at Lottie. "Creepy mother and daughter... How cute!"
"Just as cute as your look for Dr. Xavier, Lavinia."
If the girls were not laughing loudly earlier, they definitely were then. Lottie and other younger girls even clutched their bellies and rolled on the floors. Sarah, throughout her laughing fit, thought she heard some snickering behind a creaked doorway and saw brown eyes twinkle in mirth.
Later that evening after supper, the girls gathered around for reading hour. Miss Minchin would play her harp, and Amelia and Charles were always invited to join them. (Well, Ms. Minchin strongly recommended it, to the point where the adults had no other choice.)
Sarah glanced up at the young doctor, whose eyes were puffy and whose shirt was untucked. It must have been a long night; she heard almost twelve girls caught Lottie's fever.
While she was staring off in that direction, she caught sight of Becky, the servant girl, passing through the halls. If only Sarah was able to witness Becky's expression when she found her new shoes under her bed! The eleven-year-old girl additionally wished Becky would walk in with the other girls in the shoes, grin happily, and not have to perform any more servant duties.
Meanwhile, Charles could not help but hear her projected thoughts and sigh tiredly to himself. Miss Minchin began strumming her harp and flipping to the page where the girls left off in the book. He wished this Becky could join the group as well. It would probably make reading hour less dull.
After twenty minutes into the book, many of the girls and even Amelia were fast asleep. Some managed to shrug off yawns, but about half of the girls was out. Both Charles and Sarah were about ready to slouch to sleep, too, but then Miss Minchin declared it was Sarah's turn to read.
Lavinia gave the novel to Sarah, and the story resumed. "Charlotte looked at her father and said, 'Father, you are right. I shall abandon my foolish fantasies and wishes.'"
Charles' lips quivered, and he restrained a smile when the girl glanced around the room. As she wondered what Charlotte would do without her freedom to choose, Charles put a finger on the left side of his head and entered her mind.
I think Charlotte deserves better.
Sarah gasped, earning raised eyebrows from Lavinia, and caught Charles winking at her from across the room. Unsure whether to smile or shout, Sarah followed her heart and continued from where she left off on a different note.
"'But I simply won't marry him. I'm sorry, Father,' she said. And with that, Charlotte…"
As Sarah's improvised continuation of the story grew even more and more intense and fervent, from secret lover named Pierre to Tahiti to pirates and to undying love, the group was alive again. Most of the girls gathered around the popular storyteller and listened with wide eyes. Amelia fanned herself frantically until she swooned, Miss Minchin stopped playing the accompaniment, and Charles struggled to conceal his chuckles.
Miss Minchin hurriedly stood up, stomped over to the girls, and snatched the book from Sarah. She wore a disapproving frown when she discovered that the next pages in the book had nothing to do with Sarah's made up tale.
"…. A group of mermaids appeared and rescued -"
"Stop now!" The girls scurried like ants back to their original places, and Miss Minchin stared incredulously at the little raconteur. "Sarah, what do you think you're doing?"
A glimmer full of hope appeared in Sarah's eyes. "I just couldn't let Charlotte marry that horrible man, Miss Minchin. Haven't you ever done that before? Imagined something better?"
"I suppose it would be easy for a child who has everything," Miss Minchin murmured spitefully before shouting. "But from now on, there will be no more make believe tales during reading hour or any other time! Is that understood?"
As the girls replied in unison, "Yes, Miss Minchin," Charles projected to Sarah.
Well done, princess.
Several months later, on the day of Sarah's birthday, a messenger from the bank Captain Crewe was associated with came to tell Miss Minchin the tragic news of Captain Crewe's sudden demise in war. Distraught, Minchin ended Sarah's birthday party. Charles heard from Amelia that the child, now penniless, was reduced to a servant girl like Becky and one step away from the streets outside.
More months passed after Sarah was forced to move into the attic, and Charles soon found himself growing depressed. Whenever he did see the girl, she was always working and in rags. Whether she was raking leaves or serving the girls supper or washing dishes, she lost her glow day by day, except when she was with Becky.
As glad as Charles was that Sarah had a friend through her servitude, the doctor selfishly missed her inviting others to her suite bravely for stories, her stories in general, and her kindness for others, even Miss Minchin. One day, he thought he heard that Sarah had fallen down the front staircase, and that was it. His temper snapped; just because any girl was a servant and was not permitted to get regular checkups like the others, it did not mean Sarah should had to wait for one checkup per month.
"I might check Becky, too." He rounded up his kit and bolted out of his office, passing Amelia and searching for the girls. "To hell with you, Minchin!" Eventually, after finding Lavinia brush her long hair in Sarah' s old, luxurious suite and checking every servant area, he found them in the attic exchanging words.
Becky jumped up and dashed, but Charles blocked her way with a gentle smile. "Please forgive me. I don't intend -"
"Miss Minchin will get mad if she finds us speaking to you now. We all will get in trouble, sir."
Charles smirked at Becky and dangled keys in front of her face. "Not when she finds herself locked in her own office without her keys," he whispered slyly and laughed. Sarah laughed along with him, but Becky was still unsure.
"Are you the young doctor Sarah told me about," Becky asked curiously. Beside her, Sarah blushed and hid her face.
Charles grinned widely and nodded. "Yes, my dear. Sarah? I heard you took a fall today."
The girl covered in soot stood up straighter and looked at her plain black shoes. "I - it was nothing serious." All of a sudden, Sarah winced and fell to the floor, lying down on her back.
Charles instantly rushed to her side and grasped her left hand. He searched for a washcloth in his kit, pulled one out, and tossed it to Becky. "Please run that through ice cold water. If she doesn't have a fever, the least we can do is soothe any possible injuries." Becky nodded and ran out of the attic.
"I hope Miss Minchin..." Sarah croaked before coughing hoarsely.
"Hush now." Charles felt her forehead while checking her hands, wrists, arms, and neck. "Where does it hurt, Sarah?"
She groaned and pointed to her left ankle, blinking several times. "Everything is hazy…Papa…"
Charles removed her left shoe and sock and immediately found the profusely gushing cut on her foot. In addition to the injury, Sarah had appeared to have bruised and twisted it.
"I can see you're dehydrated," Charles grumbled almost angrily, picturing Miss Minchin hogging everything from the girls. "Sarah? Are you still with me?" He had to focus in order to help them.
He grasped both of her hands this time, and Sarah timidly and tenderly returned the gesture with traces of her old, warm smile on her face. "You were the voice in my head one night."
Charles nodded and whispered, "I remember it by heart," before biting his lip. Tears fell from Sarah's burning cheeks, and a few escaped from Charles' eyes.
"Your people wait for you, princess. Whatever anyone says, you'll always be a princess to those who actually matter. And I may not matter, but I can tell you, here and now, I've never met any girl more deserving of royalty." He kissed her temple and added, "Please, Sarah. Keep your sharp wit and dear heart for the both of us. Keep your imagination alive especially. And nothing, nothing at all in this world will ever be able to stop you."
This time, tears of happiness trailed down Sarah's face. And for the first time in a long time, a genuine, innocent smile reached her lips. "Thank you, Dr. Xavier."
"I'm Charles, little princess. Please call me Charles."
Becky returned with the damp washcloth, and Charles placed it on her hot forehead. Thankfully, Sarah did not have a fever. However, he had recommended she rest somewhere cooler than the attic on such a warm summer day. As for Becky, he provided her cuts and bruises on her feet and knees with ointment creams and told her to apply daily whenever possible. Luckily, nothing else was bothering the two girls, and they promised him they would inform him of any other health-related issues.
A week later, Charles was walking out the door, unemployed and speechless. Who knew somebody would tattle on him so quickly? Minchin did not take it lightly either. She left him without further assistance, as he expected she would do. He was surprised Amelia would secretly lend directions to the closest port! Nevertheless, he bade the sisters farewell and wished them happiness.
He had to leave right after he was fired, so he was given no time to say goodbye to anyone else. But as he was shutting the door out, he found the little princess herself at the bottom of the steps, about ready to deliver bread and other goods to the kitchen.
"Charles?"
He ran down the steps, knelt to her eye level, and stared at Sarah with a bittersweet smile.
"Remember what I said back in the attic. Won't you?"
Sarah willed herself not to cry, but she would hug him. As her tiny arms wrapped around him, however, a few escaped.
"Tell your own story." He touched his head again, connected her mind with his for just that moment, and projected her warmest, most delightful memories from India and at the school. He released her to stare deeply into her grey-blue eyes. It was then Sarah noted how extremely blue Charles' eyes were.
"Your sincerity and love for those around you is powerful, Sarah Crewe, much more powerful than what any mind reader can have. Use this power wisely. I'll remember you and your dear father in here." He pointed to where his heart was. "As I hope you will, too."
"I'll remember all of us, Charles," She clung on to him tightly before slowly letting him go. He gave her temple one more kiss and waved goodbye as he reluctantly walked away.
He regretted one action while at the school; he never told her he sensed her father's active mind next door and never did anything else about it. Although, if there was one trait Charles did not appreciate, it was nosiness. After all, though he lacked premonition extensively, Charles had the vague idea that she did not need his assistance any longer, and neither did her father nor anybody involved. The innocent heart would last; he was just needed temporarily for a cure to restore it before battle. Now, Sarah did not need him.
So, it was not surprising that another couple of months later, he only offered a cheerful smile to the two little princesses and captain riding in a carriage in the bright sunlight.
The End
Side notes: *Sarah Frances Crewe- This is somewhat of a namesake I made up after the author of the book the movies are based off of, Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett.
*Robert Rama Crewe and *Eliza Sita Burnett Crewe- These are random names with the middle names being from Sarah's favorite book in the 1995 movie, The Ramayana.