A/n I have always wanted to know what happened to the characters after these books so I am going to write a "sequel", so to speak, for the books The Story Girl and The Golden Road by L.M. Montgomery. I would have loved it if the author had written any more books about the King family, but she didn't so I'm going to write a short one myself.
"A New Story Girl"
Many years had passed since our last evening in the orchard, the last one when we all sat together in the orchard, when we had all still been on the Golden Road. It was the last one we were all to send together, we no longer had our sweet Cecily.
I never got used to not having Cecily sitting on her little stool at Uncle Alec's feet, knitting or sewing for some church mission. She had never had her 16th birthday, although it was only days after she…she…left us. Her last words were "Everyone take care of each other, you all love each other more than anything in the world, like I love you. Grow, live, and love each other always," like some benediction she put her arms around us all and kissed our heads. We cried but she rebuked saying: "Don't cry, I'll see you soon enough. Don't forget me, and love each other always." With those words she went to sleep: we never saw her in life again. She had died: peacefully and quietly in her sleep. Our Cecy was gone. No one would be there to comfort you when you needed it. No one would be more interested in other's health and safety then her own. I couldn't stand the thought when I saw Cecily's sewing square, that it would never be finished. I broke down, but rather than cry in front of everyone I went to the one place I swore I wouldn't go: the "Path to Arcady". I promised the Story Girl and Uncle Blair, but I had to go there. To see the grove and brook, I needed to feel close to old Story Girl, the one on the Golden Road, the one who could give me more comfort than anyone else. But most of all I needed to forget; I needed to be 14 again. But that was many years ago, and still I have never told the Story Girl of my going there.
WE all had grown up considerably since our last meeting all together. The Story Girl had found her love in a dashing French man named Philippe. They had 2 children, Cecily and Blair. They were often traveling for her acting and I agree with them that there was no place better for their children to be raised then the old Carlisle homestead, so they have been here for 2 years now. It is her 8-year-old Cecily whom our story is connected but to those of you who remember my other childhood play mates besides The Story Girl I should like to let you know their futures.
Dan was married to that girl whose name started with a K and they were as happy as anybody I had seen. He was still making sarcastic comments and still gave Felicity no end of peace. He and Kitty lived in the old farmhouse, as Uncle Alec and Aunt Janet in their old age had moved into Uncle Roger's with him. Uncle Roger was happy because he got a housekeeper for free, he had had many housekeepers since Aunt Olivia left, they all left because of his sarcastic tongue. They got married 8 years ago. They did not have 11 children however contented with only 4.
Felicity did not stay long in her ignorance of her feelings for Peter. They were courting by time she was 17(Just after Cecily died), they got married 2 years afterwards when Felicity had just turned 20. They got married 7 years ago and 3 wild children are running around the manse. Man the Story Girl was so accurate in her predictions. Two she failed to be accurate in, I think nobody even would have thought of it several years ago, Felix and Sara Ray's.
When Sara Ray grew up she really grew up. I still see no resemblance in the old Sara of the warts and being controlled by her mother. She grew up to have a kind of beauty within that had been pent up for may years and were released by the death of her overbearing mother. She became sweet, loyal and beautiful. She also got a heck of a temper.
These were charms my brother Felix apparently could not resist and the most astonishing thing the world happened: they feel in love. I still can't think of the girl my brother fell in love with as little, quiet, annoying Sara Ray, she had completely changed. I think it was for the better and I'm sure Felix would emphatically agree with me. Father was well pleased with the match, then again father only wanted us to be happy, and they were married 6 years ago. They are very happy and have 2 children, confounded them!!!
Yes it is true, I, Beverly king am the only one of the clan who did not settle down and marry, and I am the loneliest of them all too. Or I used to be. I have now the task of raising the Story Girls children and I don't know if their "Uncle Bev' is the best person for it. Though they are lovely children.
Blair is 5 and is really his namesake's likeness. He talks in the same "book talk" or beginnings of it. He does remind me so much of uncle Blair it almost breaks my heart to see him, knowing his namesake's body is under the ground and his soul is with "his Felicity". I can never stand to talk of uncle Blair's death; it hurts too much.
Cecily the Story Girl's 8 years old daughter has a charm of her own, she has the story girl's talent of telling stories, but she likes more to run around than the Story Girl, she also must look much more like her dead Grandmother than her mother. She is much paler than the Story Girl was, and she loves the smell of dead fir above any other, just like her grandmother, but she has the Story Girl's long brown curls.
Her tales are just as fascinating as the Story Girl's, when she recited "The lady of Shallot" for the first time, I was as close to crying as I had ever been in childhood when reading the poem. I was just as shocked as the first time I had heard the Story Girl recite it, as well as many of the Story Girl's tales that Cecily told. I laughed as much when Betty Sherman told Neil Campbell to marry her as when the Story Girl told the story to Mr. Campbell so many years ago.
I think that little girl had her mother's wonderful knack of telling tales, if not a better talent, for I must say, unlike her mother, the child was beautiful. The Story Girl had never been beautiful, although her charm was just as much as if she had been beautiful, her daughter was. Cecily was the combination of the best in her Grandmother and mother. She had the Story Girls charm and her dead Grandmother's beauty, and I had to love her for it. I do have so little to love as my own.
A few weeks ago Cecily told the story of the "Family Ghost", I had the worst case of déjà vu I ever had in my life. She looked so much like the Story Girl when she told me the tale on my first day in Carlisle, an endless amount of years ago.
I went over to Felicity's to get the Story Girl's latest letter, I had to remember she was somewhere in Yorkshire reciting for some noble, she had accomplished her dream.
Felicity greeted me with her usual kiss-out-the-door as she went shopping with their oldest child, Sara. Sara did remind me of what Felicity must have been like at 7. Peter came out from the study, with little Alex clinging to his leg. Despite his name Alex was nothing like Uncle Alec must have been at 5, I think Alex was like Peter. Peter shooed him out to the yard, and then shock my hand as was usual for our manly greetings. I then requested to see the Story Girl's latest letter, to which he was happy to oblige.
I read the letter while Jane, short for Janet, was howling as much as her 2-year-old lungs could stand, poor Peter tried, unsuccessfully to clam her down. There was no way I could tell who Jane toke after in the family, but I pity the parents of whoever she did as I certainly pitied Peter and Felicity for such as loud child. I sincerely hope she grows out of it.
The Story Girl didn't say much but it was still good to know that she couldn't possibly be in PEI or even Canada, and that it was just resemblance to Cecily that was giving me Déjà vu.
As I walked back to my lonely house that had only recently been full of laughter, with the advent of Cecily and Blair from Kitty and Dan, I heard what I thought at first was Cecily telling some story of reciting some poem, I heard the words "Ursula" and "Kenneth" and "The Springs" as to give me a sure idea of which tale she was telling. I reminisced about the day when the Story Girl first told us that story, that night by the fire when we had come up with "Our Magazine", but then I heard another voice with Cecily's, no it couldn't be!!! The Story Girl was in England, she had only been there 2 weeks ago for sure, and there was not enough time to get to PEI in 2weeks.
But when I found Cecily a strange woman was with her. I didn't recognize her but she seemed pleasant enough. She had brown hair that was pinned up in lovely coils and a pleasant smile, which she was flashing now, and even I had to admit her brown eyes were beautiful.
"Hello" she said, I thought her voice much like the Story Girl's, but with a sweet quality I had never heard in the Story Girl's. I was mad she should be so much like my favorite cousin and resented her for it.
"Who are you and what are you doing with my niece?" I admit I was a bit too mad.
"I am Janet Royal. I am here by request of a certain Ms. Sara Stanley-Rouin. I am a friend of hers from New York. You must be Mr. Beverly King, editor of the Daily Enterprise. Sara said you were her cousin and taking care of her daughter Cecily. Cecily sounded, from her letters like someone I should meet."
"I'm sorry I interrupted you Cecy. Your mother always hated interruptions," I said grabbing her up in my arms, dear little soul she was.
"Sara told me she did once. She said they spoiled the effect of whatever story she was telling."
"Yes, she got so mad one time when she was reciting a poem for a school concert and Sara Ray, who thought she was stuck for a word, said it for her and in the process ruined the Story Girl's recitation. How mad we all got at poor Sara."
"Is that what you call Sara, the Story Girl?"
"Sara Stanley? Yes."
Ms. Royal proved to be a very interesting person when I talked to her more. Poor little Cecily was tired, so I went to my house and took her up to her room.
I had built my house by Peg Bowen's old house. She did never come back, we all assumed she had died, but I don't know. I just like to think Peg went somewhere she must have been satisfied to stay at. Anyway, she left her house deserted and I used it for a place to keep hay. My house was a lovely little cottage. I had painted it a light blue, because Cecily wanted it to be light blue. The trim was yellow and it made the house cheery. The inside had stuck to masculinity as far as I was concerned and only Cecily's little flower paper room had the least trace of femininity. I took her up there and Ms. Royal got out her nightclothes and put her in them. We then left her to sleep and went downstairs.
"What story was she telling you?" I asked curious to hear what she thought of that old tale.
"The story of Kenneth Macnair and Ursula Townely."
"What did you think of that old tale?" I said finally getting to the point.
"It was certainly a sweet one. I think that it was an old PEI tale for you, it almost makes me miss it."
"Where you from?"
" I hail from New York but I grew up in a little town called Shrewsbury. I came back to meet Cecily and a young woman by the name of Emily Byrd Starr."
"Who is Emily Byrd Starr?"
'She is a student at Shrewsbury high School and she wrote a wonderful story called "The Woman who Spanked the King"."
"I know that story!!! Cecily loves to tell that one once I read it to her from magazine I once read. She tells it often." It was the truth. Cecily had told that story several days ago to some company and she had had them in stitches before they left, myself included.
Just then something awful happened, my detested dog, Chu Chin came in. He was an annoying little dog given to me by Felicity as a present for Blair and Cecily. They both disliked Chu Chin and, like their mother, preferred cats. Chu Chin proceed to walk across the parlor to inspect Ms. Royal. He seemed quite taken with her, so in the haste to get rid of him I said:
"He's quite taken with you Ms. Royal. You can keep him if you want, as a matter of fact I'd be obliged if you would."
"Then I will. I like this dog. What is his name?"
"Chu Chin Ms. Royal."
"Hmm…it suits him."
"I think so too. My cousin Felicity gave him to me for the children and they prefer cats, like their mother, and so do I. Pity they didn't take after Philippe, who loves dogs, but it would be wonderful of you to take him off our hands."
"I will Mr. King. I love dogs."
"Good, that's all settled."
Just then, only after 15 minutes, at most, Cecily came bounding down the stairs.
"Uncle Bev!!! I had the most terrible dream, there were 3 moons, and, oh, Uncle Bev, it was awful!!!"
I picked her up and soothed her, poor girl. I was suddenly scared; Cecily had had that dream once, when we were small children. I can remember Cecily, telling me the next morning how awful it was. Would this Cecily's fate be the fate of my late cousin? No, I could not bear to lose little Cecily, just like her namesake. I held the little girl close until Ms. Royal came out and sympathized with the poor child. Then Ms. Royal cheered Cecily up by asking her to tell the story of the woman who spanked the king. Cecily ran up to get Pat 3; as he was affectionately called, and then came down to tell us the story.
"Well, "she began…I became lost in the humorous tale of the brave woman who spanked Price Bertie at Balmoral Castle many years ago when he and her son feel in deep water.
Soon the story was over and Ms. Royal said that, regretfully, she had to go.
"Well, come again if you can. I've enjoyed your company immensely." I said sincerely.
I liked that Janet Royal woman. I hope to see her again, but in the mean time I have to bring up the "New Story Girl" as she is becoming known within our family. I only wish she could stay on the Golden Road forever, but she must grow up. The world must know "The New Story Girl" too.
A/n I originally wrote this for a school reading project, hope you like it!!!!!! If you have read the Emily books you'll get the thing about Chu-Chin, hehehe!!!!! Anyway, if requested I will write more to this sequel. Also, don't rebuke me with the age difference in Bev and Janet Royal, I was desperately searching for a LMM character that would suit him and be near his age, so Janet Royal it was.
HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!!!!!
PLEASE REIVEW!!!!!
Your most Minnesotan of authors
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