This is a random oneshot I found while I was tidying up my memory stick. I can't remember when I wrote it, or why, but I've decided to post it anyway. I'm not entirely sure how old Lirael is in this, but she's younger than 5. Hope you enjoy it!

Just This Once

Arielle had stopped listening to Kirrith a long time ago. All she had done was nearly forgotten that it was her turn to work in the Clayrs' kitchens that morning and, as a result, she had arrived there a little late. Or, by Kirrith's standards, inexcusably late. Arielle didn't think that was a serious enough offence to deserve one of Kirrith's unnecessarily long lectures, but now their kitchen shifts were over, she was receiving one anyway. It hadn't taken her mind long to wander off on an adventure to some distant country that she had read about.

'Arielle, are you even listening to me?' Kirrith suddenly snapped, incredibly irritated by the vacant expression on her younger sister's face – the one that always appeared when she was lost in a daydream.

'What?' asked Arielle.

Kirrith gritted her teeth and repeated her question. 'I asked you what you were doing this morning instead of getting ready for work in the kitchens.'

'Oh.'

Kirrith waited for an answer, but none came. She looked at Arielle's face and saw that that stupid dreamy expression was there again. It appeared far too often, in Kirrith's opinion.

'Arielle, I do wish you would pay a little attention,' she sighed, folding her arms across her chest.

Arielle grinned as she stared back at Kirrith. 'Trust me, sister, I'm paying as little attention as I possibly can.'

'So I see,' muttered Kirrith. She was no longer in the mood to put up with her sister. Sighing in exasperation, she sped up and stormed away.

Arielle stuck her tongue out at Kirrith's back – an immature gesture, she knew, but that didn't bother her. Grinning to herself at the achievement of annoying her sister three times already before noon, she turned down the passage that led to Merell's nursery room. She had asked the Guardian of the Young to mind her daughter for that morning, and it was probably time she relieved Merell of the child.

The door opened slowly after Arielle had knocked, as Merell carefully made sure that none of her charges managed to escape.

'Yes?' she asked, gently nudging a blonde toddler back into the room before straightening up. 'Oh, Arielle! How are you?'

'Very well, thank you,' Arielle answered, greeting Merell with a kiss on the cheek. 'And yourself?'

'Busy, to say the least,' Merell replied, sighing to emphasise her exhaustion. 'I take it you're here to take Lirael off my hands?'

'I am,' smiled Arielle, following Merell into the room, making sure she didn't trip over any of the children.

Any other mother would have had to search thoroughly through all the blonde-haired girls to find her own child, but not Arielle. She headed straight for the one raven-haired girl in the far corner of the room, where she was engrossed in play-acting a scene from some famous battle with two other girls.

'Lirael!' called Arielle, fighting to hide a smirk as her daughter let out a long, melodramatic scream and pretended to collapse on the ground, a wooden sword tucked under her arm. The other two girls cheered, and then all three burst onto fits of high-pitched giggles.

'Lirael!' Arielle said again, a little louder than before in order to make herself heard over the laughter.

'Mummy!' squealed Lirael, immediately turning away from her friends and scampering over to Arielle. 'Mummy, did you see me die? I was winning, and then Rayen and Mylla got me, and I died. Did you see it?'

'Yes, I did,' Arielle replied, lifting Lirael into her arms. 'It was very good.'

'Good,' said Lirael, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck. 'Is Auntie Kirrith waiting outside?'

'No, I got rid of her earlier.'

Lirael grinned happily. 'Good.'

'I can't help the way my daughter feels about her aunt,' Arielle said, shrugging as Merell gave a small chuckle. 'We should probably be going now, so this one doesn't give you any more trouble.'

'She's been as good as gold,' Merell answered, ruffling Lirael's hair. The child tried to neaten it up again afterwards, but Arielle used her free hand to mess the black tresses up even more.

'Mummy!' Lirael protested, pouting at her mother from behind a tangle of raven hair.

'Yes, darling?' Arielle asked innocently. 'Oh, your hair is in a right mess! How on earth did it get like that?'

'Mummy, you did it,' Lirael replied, still glaring.

'I wouldn't do a thing like that,' Arielle exclaimed, somehow managing to keep a straight face. 'Now, let's get you back to my room and sort your hair out, shall we?'

Lirael nodded and waved goodbye to Merell and the two girls she had been playing with. Arielle carried the child out of the room, only just avoiding a trio of girls who darted in front of her in an enthusiastic chasing game. As Arielle made her way along the network of passages that led to her room – which was, unfortunately, next to Kirrith's – Lirael played with strands of her mother's long, golden hair and chatted away about her morning of playtime. Arielle listened and laughed as Lirael told her extensively about one of the other girl's secret collection of stolen stuffed toys, which Merell had yet to find.

'What did you do today, Mummy?' Lirael asked, suddenly distracted from what she had been saying by a Charter light in the ceiling.

'I had to work in the kitchens,' Arielle replied, making a face that made her daughter giggle.

'You should have played with us,' Lirael said.

'I know,' replied Arielle. 'But I'm afraid that it was my turn to work in the kitchens this morning. We all have to take turns, remember. It's only fair.'

'Mylla wasn't being fair,' said Lirael, pouting slightly. 'She said we couldn't play with her dolls because they were hers and not ours, and then, Mummy, then she said we weren't being fair because we wouldn't let her play with us. But we didn't want her to play with us because she didn't let us play with her dolls, and then 'Rell said that we were being mean and told us to let her play.'

'You seemed to be having fun with her when I saw you,' Arielle commented.

'Well, it was fun in the end,' Lirael admitted. 'But she was still mean for not letting us play with her dolls.'

'Yes, that is a bit mean,' Arielle replied, 'but I'm sure she'll let you play with them another day. Maybe she was just in the middle of playing her own game with them, and didn't want you to interrupt.'

'Arielle!'

Arielle turned to see who was calling her, and saw that it was Catin, the Watch messenger, carrying the ivory tokens that called the selected Clayr to the Observatory for the Nine Day Watch. Arielle was surprised as Catin approached her and handed her one of the tokens; she was not especially strong in the Sight – at least, not above average – so she was rarely summoned to the Watch.

'I'm glad I found you,' said Catin, stopping for a moment to catch her breath. 'I am sure that everyone on my list decides to hide themselves around the place. I can never find everyone quickly! Hello, Lirael,' she added, smiling at the small girl.

Lirael smiled back and waved, but didn't say anything.

'I don't suppose you know where I can find Jenett, do you? I've been looking for her everywhere.'

'I think I saw her going down to the lower refectory,' Arielle answered. 'I think she's hunting for a man again.'

'Another one?' asked Catin, distractedly. 'Alright. Thank you!'

She left again in a hurry, heading towards the stairs that led to the lower refectory, and Arielle sighed. She didn't like being part of the Watch. It meant dressing in the clean, pressed, star-dusted white robe and the circlet of silver and moonstones, and that outfit was far too formal for Arielle.

'What's that, Mummy?' Lirael asked, pointing at the ivory token.

'It means that the high-ups want me to be in the Nine Day Watch this time,' Arielle explained, handing the token to Lirael, who immediately tried to bite it. 'I'm afraid that means I will have to leave you with Auntie Kirrith for a while.'

'I don't like Auntie Kirrith. She's boring,' Lirael declared, scowling at the thought of spending any length of time with her rules-conscious aunt.

'I know, I know,' sighed Arielle, 'but Mummy has to do what she's told sometimes.'

Lirael pouted. 'Don't want you to.'

'I know you don't want me to, sweetheart,' Arielle replied, kicking the door to her room open, 'but Mummy only misbehaves when Auntie Kirrith has told her to do something. I will get into trouble if I don't do what I'm told this time. Big trouble.' She set Lirael down on the bed and opened her simple, pine wardrobe.

'Mummy, what are you doing?' Lirael asked as Arielle started rummaging around at the back of the wardrobe, trying to find her white robe, which probably lay crumpled somewhere on the bottom of the cupboard. After a while, she found it, dragged it out from underneath several other garments, and threw it over her shoulder, where it landed on Lirael's head.

'I'm getting ready for stupid Watch duty,' Arielle replied, now attempting to find the only pair of shoes she owned which were in a respectable state. This search proved unsuccessful, however, so she grabbed the nearest pair she could find and cast a quick Charter spell that removed the worst of the numerous scuff marks. Then, she stretched up on her toes and took her moonstone circlet down from the top shelf of the wardrobe.

When she turned around again to start changing her clothes, Lirael was sitting on the bed, wearing the white robe.

'Look, mummy, I look like you,' the girl remarked, indicating the sea of white that completely swamped her small form. 'I just need that now,' she added, pointing to the circlet in Arielle's hand and making a grabbing movement with her fingers that clearly meant 'give it to me.'

Arielle blinked, wondering why it seemed so strange to see her daughter wearing that white robe. Then, she remembered the series of visions she had received over the years, both before and after Lirael's birth – visions that showed her daughter wearing an entirely different outfit.

'Mummy!' Lirael demanded, snapping Arielle out of her remembrance. 'Give it to me! I want to put it on!'

Slowly, Arielle sat beside her daughter on the bed and positioned the silver circlet on Lirael's raven head.

'Alright, Lirael,' she answered. 'Just this once.'

Note to HopeCoppice - yes, I know, writing about small children is VERY out-of-character for me. :P