So I heard this "fairy tale" in a video game I was playing the other day. It intrigued me and I couldn't get it out of my mind. It was just so...grisly. I didn't tell it as accurately as I could have, but for the context of this story it works perfectly ^_^ Oh and once again I always say that my stories revolve around the ending my friend wrote yadda, yadda. Yes I know I say that every time I post a Godchild story, but I just don't want people to be confused about how Jizabel and Cassian are living with Cain and such. Read Kare Uta's GC stories. Alrighty! Enjoy!

"Mary, hug me!"

As soon as Mary Weather heard the voice she jumped to the left and avoided being grabbed by Oscar. What was he thinking trampling towards her like a rhino? She shook her head and sat down on the couch, cringing as she felt Oscar sit right next to her. He put his arm around her, not noticing how she tensed up.

"I had the worst nightmare, Mary!" he said with a sad look. "It was about that stupid fairy tale, Stinky Crow. Damn, I hate that story so much. I dreamed I was the kid! Can you believe it?"

Oscar had her at "fairy tale." If there was one thing Mary Weather loved it was a good fairy tale. She loved those old poems and nursery rhymes and fables. She would often hum them to herself or repeat the stories in her head just to keep herself entertained. As much as she wanted to ignore Oscar she couldn't help the excitement she felt at hearing about a fairy tale, especially one she had never heard of before.

"Stinky Crow?" she said. "I don't think I've heard that one."

"You haven't?" Oscar asked surprised. "Well, consider yourself lucky. I hate that fairy tale. It makes me shiver." He shivered just once for good measure and to make sure Mary had gotten his point. However, she didn't care.

"That makes me more interested!" she cried. "Tell me the story, Oscar!" She looked at him with huge puppy eyes, knowing he wouldn't be able to resist her. She watched him thinking about whether to share the tale with her or not, but after a few moments he gave a sigh and rubbed the back of his head.

"If you insist."

Mary got comfortable on the couch and stared at Oscar intently, waiting for him to start the story.

"Once upon a time there was a boy named Elliot. Elliot spent most of his time outside watching birds. He loved birds so much. He envied their wings and wished he had a pair of his own. So one day, Elliot decided to make himself wings."

Mary rolled her eyes. "So he's Icarus?"

"It's different than Icarus!" Oscar argued. "Just listen, okay?" he cleared his throat and began again. "So, Elliot worked all day on his wings until his mom called him in for dinner. He went inside and ate in silence, though his mom was complaining to his dad about every little thing. However, daddy was too busy with his paperwork from his job to even notice her or Elliot for that matter! Elliot stared out of the window, watching the birds fly by when his mom suddenly said 'Elliot! You smell so bad! You're always outside playing in the dirt! It's disgusting! You're like a little street rat!' Elliot just smiled to himself and kept staring out the window."

"What a horrible mother," Mary interjected.

"A terrible mom indeed!" Oscar agreed. "Daddy isn't any better. And neither were the kids at his school! Elliot was always picked on by the other students. They would make fun of his artwork in class because no matter what the teacher told them to draw, he would always draw birds. The kids also hated the way he smelled, just like him mom. 'Stinky crow! You're just a nasty, stinky, ugly crow!' they would say to him. And he would respond with 'You guys can go to hell!'"

"He should respond that way! They shouldn't be making fun of him like that! I bet if they knew what his home was like then maybe they wouldn't be so mean to him!"

"Perhaps," Oscar answered Mary. "But they didn't know. And they continued to make fun of poor Elliot. Then after the school day Elliot would go home and listen to his mom nag and watch his father ignore them both. The highlight of his day would be when he found the time to work on his wings. Those wings and the birds that flew around his yard were the only things that kept him going."

"I feel so bad for Elliot." Mary said.

Oscar wasn't sure if he should continue with the story or not. The point of the story wasn't to feel bad for Elliot at all. He thought he must have been telling it wrong. "You know, Mary, Elliot was just as mean to those kids as they were to him."

"He wouldn't have to be if they didn't make fun of him all the time!" Mary yelled.

Oscar was starting to regret even bringing the story up in the first place. He hated this story so much and he didn't want Mary to feel bad for it's main character. He frankly didn't want her to know about the story at all! However, there was no way out now. He had to finish the story or Mary would never leave him alone about it.

"Well, eventually after many days Elliot had finished his wings. The next day all of the students were standing around on the playground when Elliot had appeared in his makeshift bird outfit. They stared for a moment and then burst out laughing. 'Look at Stinky Crow!' they yelled while laughing."

"Stinky Crow?"

Both Mary and Oscar looked to the door as they saw Cain and Riff walk in. The look on Cain's face said that he was not happy at all. "Why are you telling Mary that hideous story?"

Oscar smiled nervously and shrugged. "She asked me to, Cain. How can I say no?"

"Easy," was Cain's response. "Just tell her no!"

"Cain!" Mary yelled. "I want to finish the story! How bad can it be?"

Cain sat down in a chair across from the two of them. "Horrible. I hate that story so much. It makes me shiver."

"Me too!" Oscar said loudly. "See, Mary! I'm not the only one who hates this story."

Mary looked to Riff for help, though she knew he wouldn't disobey his master. As long as Cain was here there was no way Oscar was going to finish the story for her. She put on a smile worthy of a prize and stood. "That's fine then. I'll be in my room if anyone needs me!"

The three men watched her storm off and just as Riff was about to say something to Cain, most likely about his treatment of Mary, he cut him off with his hand. He simply did not want to talk about it.

Mary made her way up the stairs, though instead of turning to go to her room she went in the opposite direction. She knocked quietly on one of the many doors in the hallway and smiled as someone told her to come in. She walked inside to see Cassian sitting on the edge of the bed and Jizabel brushing his hair in the mirror.

"Hello, Mary," Cassian said with a smile. "What brings you here?"

She ran and jumped on the bed, taking a spot next to Cassian. "I was wondering if one of you could tell me the fairy tale, Stinky Crow."

"Stinky Crow?" Jizabel asked, stopping the brush for a second.

"I hate that story." Cassian said. "It makes me shiver."

"You too? Why does everyone hate that story?" Mary asked.

Jizabel turned in his chair while still running the brush through his hair. "It's not a popular fairy tale.. Even I feel some distaste for it. What brought about you wanting to know it?"

Mary explained to him how Oscar had mentioned it because of a dream he had. She told them how curious she was about all fairy tales and how she never heard this particular story before.

"He stopped at the part where Elliot walked into the school in his bird outfit. Then Cain appeared and told him not to tell me the rest."

Cassian chucked at that. "Ever the protective brother," he said more to himself than anyone.

"It's just a story!" Mary cried. "Surely he can't protect me from something that's intangible!"

"The emotional trauma that comes from hearing a tale of a certain type can be devastating, Mary," Jizabel said. He knew all too well how just hearing something can send someone into a deep depression. "I can see why he wouldn't want you to hear the story."

Mary gave him a disappointed look. "Does that mean you aren't going to tell me the rest of it?"

Jizabel laughed. "Of course I will," he said. He put his brush down and crossed his legs with his arms folded on them, ready to tell Mary the rest of fairy tale.

"Jizabel…." Cassian said in a warning voice.

"What? Cain told Oscar not to tell her the story, not me. Besides, Cassian, if I really felt she couldn't handle it then I wouldn't say a word. Now, you said you stopped when Elliot wore his bird costume to the school?"

Mary nodded her head excitedly. She knew coming to these two would be better than arguing with Cain. She did notice the troubled look on Cassian's face, though she figured he was probably more worried about getting in trouble with Cain than about her hearing the story. If he was really concerned about her hearing the story because of it's content then he would have put up more of a fight.

"Elliot walked into the school in his makeshift bird costume. All of the students pointed and laughed and called him names. What they didn't expect Elliot to do was run back inside and climb to the top of the school building. They watched in awe as he stood there for a moment and then jumped, their eyes and cries of amazement keeping him afloat."

"Did he really fly?" Mary asked, unable to contain her enthusiasm. "Was he really able to stay in the air?"

Cassian scoffed. "You didn't finish your sentence Jizabel."

Mary looked from Cassian to Jizabel, who was smirking at her and giving her a skeptical look. "Honestly, Mary, you're smarter than that. If you put on a bird costume and jumped from the top of this house what would happen?"

Mary hesitated before answering, all of that enthusiasm sucked right out of her body. "I would fall."

Jizabel nodded. He closed his eyes and continued the story. "They watched in awe as he stood there for a moment and then jumped, their eyes and cries of amazement keeping him afloat…for all of two seconds. The teachers worked hard to wipe bits and pieces of Elliot off the crying children. One teacher stared at the body and noticed his mangled face had a grin on it. For the first time in his life he had felt true happiness. The end."

Mary was quiet for a bit after that. Cassian and Jizabel looked at each other and for a moment they thought that perhaps they shouldn't have told her the end of the story.

"Mary?" Cassian asked softly, putting a hand on her back.

"Such a horrible story," she whispered.

Cassian nodded his head. "It sucks the happiness right out the room, huh?" he said with a laugh, simply trying to lighten the mood.

"If those children hadn't made fun of him so much and called him names then maybe…maybe…."

Jizabel just shook his head. "I've come across a lot of cruel people in my time, Mary Weather, and I'm being completely honest when I say that when it comes to unmerciful beings children are very close to the top of the list."

Mary wanted to argue with him, but she knew it was true. Children often bore neither feelings nor remorse when it came to teasing or hurting. There were a few exceptions, just like with adults, but for the most part children were just as cruel as some adults.

Mary closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again she graced the two men with a large smile. "Well, as depressing a story as that was I can't let it get to me. Thanks for telling me the story, Jizabel!" She looked over at Cassian and patted his hand. "And thanks for letting him tell it to me, Cassian."

He laughed and patted her tiny hand back. "You're welcome. Listen, Mary, I know and Jizabel knows that a story won't break you completely, although even I was hesitant to tell you that heartbreaking and grisly story. Be gentle with Cain. He just wants to protect you."

"Even from fairy tales?"

"Even from fairy tales."

Mary nodded her head. She didn't want to make any promises to Cassian about being gentle with Cain, but she did have an idea that would probably get Jizabel excited.

"I think I'll make up my own fairy tale!" she said, skipping to the door. "One Cain will be sure to love!"

Jizabel and Cassian looked at each other as the girl left the room. Jizabel's face held amusement and intrigue while Cassian's face held worry and concern. Though they were both feeling different emotions the same thought was running through their heads: what kind of fairy tale would Mary Weather create for her dear brother?