Summary: Emma's no it-had-a-face vegan. She likes her steak medium-rare and life isn't worth living without bacon. But there's a gaping difference between enjoying a piece of deer jerky and staring Bambi in the face with the intent to kill.
Natural Born Princess
By Pokey the Great
Chapter 1
When she was five years old, excited about the baby growing in in Sally's tummy and without even the slightest inkling that she could be tossed away like last week's newspaper, two chipmunks set up house in the old oak tree outside her bedroom. One of the branches reached out far enough to tap her window with a gentle nudge from the wind. Autumn had set in enough to convince the acorns to fall but not enough for Emma to keep her window closed. Sally didn't know Emma had figured out how to open it on her own and the little girl was always quick to shut it before Bill got home from work.
Emma sang softly while she served imaginary cake with pink frosting and poured apple juice out of her little plastic teapot into four matching teacups. An acorn landed on her windowsill and fell with a rat-a-tat-tat onto the floor. The child set her teapot down to inspect oak tree's offering. She picked the acorn up, pleased to see it was still wearing its little beret. Two chipmunks, almost identical except for their noses, chittered from the oak branch. Emma smiled at them.
"Hello," she said and held out the acorn. "Is this yours?"
The chipmunks chittered again and leapt onto the windowsill, their little claws skittering on the wood.
"Do you like apple juice?"
The chipmunk with the bigger nose bobbed his head up and down enthusiastically. Emma grinned and fetched two teacups, only sloshing a little of the juice over the sides, and set both next to her guests. She didn't think either one of them would care for her imaginary cake so she put the acorn on one of the little saucers and placed it between the two cups.
"What are you doing?" a voice shrilled from her doorway.
Emma whirled around to face a horrified Sally and the chipmunks fled, knocking one of the teacups off the windowsill onto the grass below and spilling the other.
"It was a tea party…"
"A tea party at the window? Why would you—Oh!"
Sally clutched her stomach.
"Oh! Oh God. I need to call Bill!"
Was inviting chipmunks to her tea party really so naughty?
"I'm sorry…"
The woman paid her no mind and then things were all rush, rush, rush and suddenly Sally and Bill had their very own bouncing baby boy. Emma thought he was beautiful and wonderful and she was going to be the best big sister ever. And then Sally and Bill sent her away.