Warnings: Updates WILL NOT BE REGURLARLY. However I will make a promise to FINISH this story, no matter what it takes! (Even if it's the last thing I do, before I die… though I hope that won't be the case. LOL)
Hello! If you're reading this, it must mean you're taking a chance with my story! So thank you. (: And if you don't know me I am the author of Down By the Rocky Shores and Pick Ups and Proposals! C:
To my current followers, sorry for the false alarm! Originally I was going to post another chapter for Down By the Rocky Shores, but words aren't flowing right, so I decided to mess with this story idea for now.
So without further adieu... the first chapter of Once Upon a Wish!
Chapter 1:
It was quiet with an occasional bird chirp here and there. And that's how Ally Dawson liked her mornings. With a grunt, she pushes herself up so she was leaning on her elbows as she overlooks the view from her spot on the rooftop. A small smile on her lips as the sky suddenly bursts into colors of red, orange and yellow, the sun finally peaking above the horizon.
"So beautiful." Ally mutters, another sigh escaping her lips as she lies back down to soak in the early morning rays. She lets her eyes close shut while bringing her hands up and over, only to nestle them under her head.
She lies there for a few more minutes, before forcing her eyes open as her phone alarm goes off; reminding her of the terrible life she lived. "Rise and Shine! Rise and Shine! Rise and Shine!"(1) It shrieks as Ally hastily flips her phone open to press the end call button.
Sitting up with her legs cross, she takes one last look at the rising sun, quietly reminiscing. She had to admit, her life wasn't completely horrid. She had the other kids at the orphanage to thank for that.
Ally Dawson is 17 years old and for a good part of her life she's been stuck at Sunny Orphanage(2). A place where everyone thinks is filled with sunshine and happiness, but in reality it's a sad excuse for the head lady, Ms. Morgan, to live an exquisite life free of charge. (3)The government pays for everything as long as she takes care of the children. But at last, it's not Ms. Morgan's job to care for the children. In fact she had thrust that responsibility upon Ally, when Ally first arrived.
"I promised your father that I would take care of you while he was out on business." Ms. Morgan muttered from her chair. Ally squirms in her seat as she clenches her hands in a fist on her lap. She looks up at Ms. Morgan through her eyelashes, staying silent, remembering the punishment she received for talking back. "But that doesn't mean I have to treat you well… per se."
"You're 8 years old, old enough to care for the other children." Ms. Morgan states with a wave of her hand. She then softly places them onto the desk, drumming her nails onto up and down onto the hard surface.
"Every morning I want you to make the children's bed and get them cleaned up for breakfast. As soon as they're done with breakfast, you shall take them into the classroom and teach them their Math and English and whatever subjects kids are required to learn. Is that understood?" Ms. Morgan questions, looking down at Ally with intimidating eyes. Ally vigorously nods her head up and down, allowing Ms. Morgan to continue.
"Good. After teaching them you shall take them back into the dining room for lunch. After lunch you'll let them play in the play room for an hour or so, before heading them all upstairs for naptime. While they nap, I will give you a set of chores, which are to be done before dinnertime."She stops, giving Ally another look. Ally nods her head vigorously to let her know that she was listening.
Ms. Morgan nods her head slightly, before continuing, "After dinner, the kids will have an hour to watch T.V., and then you will finally take them to bed. Is that understood?"
Ally nods her head up and down, but Ms. Morgan quickly scolds her. "Don't nod your head at me anymore! I want you to say 'Yes Ms. Morgan'."
Ally immediately corrects herself, uttering out, "Yes Ms. Morgan."
As a satisfied smile appears on her face, Ms. Morgan lies back into her chair, making it squeak under her weight. "Good."
And since then, Ally had been slaving her life away for Ms. Morgan. Silently praying for her father's return, who never came.
With a sigh, Ally shakes her head lightly to clear her thoughts, before getting up and jogging over to the trap door. She grabs onto the handle, slowly lifting it up so it wouldn't make any loud noise. With a light thump, she sits down with her feet dangling in the opening. She uses her feet to feel her way down.
Finally finding the steps, she slides down whilst grabbing the door to let it close shut after her. Taking two steps at a time, she makes her way down the stairs and over to another staircase across the room.
Her heart's beating fast as she tiptoes her way past Ms. Morgan's room, snores erupting from the room like it did with the Giant in (4)Jack and the Beanstalk. After a couple more flights of stairs, Ally finally slips her way into the kitchen.
Grabbing an apron, she gracefully ties a knot around her waist before tying her hair up in a messy ponytail with a rubber band. Her bottom lip is wedge in between her teeth as she chews on it absentmindedly.
"What should I make for breakfast?" She asks herself, heading over to take a look inside the fridge.
"Eggs? Bacon?" Ally mutters out loud taking the contents out and placing them on the counter, sticking her head back in the fridge.
"Blueberries!" Ally exclaims, before adding, "Blueberry pancakes! The kids would love that."
With a nod of approval at her choice of food, she pulls on her ponytail to make sure it's not loose, before finally starting breakfast. She hums a small tune to herself, lifting the pan upward causing the pancake to do a flip before landing back into the pan with a smack.
"Ally!" A small voice cries, making Ally turn around a bright smile appearing on her face.
"Morning Izzy." Ally greets the little girl, who ran up to Ally, dragging a stool behind her.
Izzy is 5 years old. She had thick frizzy red hair that fell pass her waist. She was only 3, when Ally found her at the orphanage's doorstep, crying. The poor thing was wandering the streets in search of her mother, but she never found her. Instead she walked up and knocked on the first door she saw.
"Are you making pancakes?" Izzy asks as she steps onto the stool, her tiny little fingers reaching up for the counter. With a grunt, she pulls herself upward and onto her tippy toes as she looks into the sizzling pan, which was now filled with bacon.
"I was." Ally murmurs, looking down at the girl from the corner of her eye. "I'm making bacon now."
"Yum!" The little girl exclaims, shutting her eyes tight beaming a smile at Ally. Ally giggles, before flipping the bacon over making them sizzle.
"Ohhh." Izzy murmurs, her eyes widening with wonder, making Ally giggle again. After a few more minutes, Ally quickly lifts the pan off the stove, heading over to the plates, which were already filled with pancakes and eggs, Izzy stumbling close behind her, carrying the stool.
"Isabelle!" Ms. Morgan's voice shrieks from upstairs, just as Izzy places her stool next to Ally. Ally turns around, lifting her head up as if she can see through the ceiling. "Come here right now! You're in big trouble young lady!"
Ally looks down at Izzy, giving her an apologetic look. "You better go see what wants, before she throws a fit."
"But Ally! I wanted to help with breakfast." Izzy whines as she sways from side to side, before plopping herself down onto the stool while looking up at Ally with wide innocent eyes. A smile appears on Ally's face as she shakes her head at Izzy. "Not today, sweetie."
"ISABELLE, YOU GET YOURSELF UP HERE RIGHT NOW!" Ms. Morgan shouts, making both Ally and Izzy jump. Ally gives Izzy a pointed look, making Izzy huff in annoyance.
"Fine." She grumbles, making a small pout on her face as she grudgingly gets up and starts to walk away towards the door. Making a mental note to make it up to Izzy later, Ally turns her attention back to preparing breakfast.
"Yes, Ms. Morgan!?" Izzy shouts as the sound of feet running up the steps reaches Ally's ears.
Ally shakes her head, a smile gracing her face as she turns around to place the pan into the sink. She wipes her hands onto her apron, before heading over to the cupboards in search of cups. She pulled out ten cups filling each one with milk. Placing all the cups on a tray, she heads for the door towards the dining room.
The dining room was huge with an eighteenth century look, just like the rest of the house. With russet colored walls and a cabinet filled with antique plates to her left, Ally stepped forward towards the dining table, which seated five people on each side, quietly placing the tray of milk down. She distributes the glasses of milk evenly to each side. When she's done, she takes the last glass of milk and downs it herself.
Tucking the tray under her arm, she quickly heads back into the kitchen to get the plates of food as the sound of children giggling and running down the stairs approached her ears.
"What do you think Ally made for us today?"
"I think she made muffins!"
"Muffins? But Ally only makes muffins on Saturday!"
"Well I think she made us cookies."
"Ms. Morgan doesn't allow sweets for breakfast."
"Don't be silly Grace. Sweets are good for us!"
"That's funny Thomas. I can't help but remember a time when you received a stomachache from eating too much candy."
"Shut it Beatrice!"
"That's not nice Thomas!"
Ally couldn't help but giggle as she listen to the kids argue with one another. Placing five plates on the tray, she carefully balances it on her head, before taking two plates in each hand.
"Stop fighting all of you. I've made us pancakes this morning." Ally exclaims, balancing the plates as she pushes the door open to reveal eight children seating themselves in their chairs.
"Pancakes!" They all cried, making Ally roll her eyes at them. "Good morning to you guys too."
A series of 'good mornings' soon fills the air as Ally reaches the table, quickly passing out the plates.
"Are they blueberry pancakes?"
"Yes, they are Molly."
"Is there syrup?"
"Of course James."
"I want syrup too!"
"Hold on Sarah."
"I want jam!"
"Hang on Benjie."
"I'll go get it Ally."
"Thank you Beatrice." Ally says looking up to give the brunette an appreciative look. Placing the last plate down, Ally quickly stands up to give her back a good stretch. Just as she breathes a sigh of relief, Beatrice walks back in with syrup and jam in hand. Ally walks up to her, muttering a quick thank you before retrieving the condiments.
"Heads up!" She cries, nodding her head at James. James nods his head lifting his hands up to catch the bottle of syrup from Ally. "Thanks!"
Ally nods her head, prying the cap off the jelly, before sliding it over to Benjamin. "There you go Benjie!"
"Thanks Ally!" Ally nods her head, reaching down to wipe her hands on her apron again, before placing them on her hips. A smile graces her face as she takes a good look at the kids in front of her.
There are 9 of them, an odd bunch of kids, all of them with their own little talents and quirks. Beatrice, the oldest, is 16 years old. Glasses on and her head always in a book, she has thick messy curls, but pretty blue eyes. James, a year younger than Beatrice, is more of a sport junkie with his spiked up jet black hair and dark brown eyes. Daniel and Sarah are both 14. Daniel has light brown hair and stunning blue eyes. With his Harry Potter glasses, Daniel is practically another version of Beatrice, but he's a boy. Sarah, the girly girl, with her dirty blonde curls and chocolate colored brown eyes, is always wearing a headband. Then there are the twins, Molly and Thomas, who take after James and his sports. Both with dark brown hair, brown eyes, and freckles on their faces, these two are another set of trouble making twins. And finally we have our musical prodigies, Benjie, Grace, and Izzy. Benjie and Grace are 7 years old and practically inseparable. Benjie has short brown hair and steel colored eyes and a voice of an angel. Grace, with short blonde hair and sky blue eyes, is the soulful one out of the group. Then there's Izzy, who's 5, with thick frizzy red hair and emerald green eyes, the diva of the three.
And speaking of Izzy, she was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Izzy, guys?" Ally asks, searching the room as if she would magically appear out of thin air.
The silence that Ally was enjoying moments ago is immediately interrupted with shouts from the twins.
"It was Molly!"
"It was Thomas!"
"What?! No! It was you!"
"Woah guys! Calm down!" Ally shouts, getting in between them, but it's useless, because they continue to banter back and forth as if she wasn't even there. Suddenly the sound of heels clicking in the distance reaches Ally's ears.
"Shush!" She cries, bringing a finger to her lips, finally catching everyone's attention for a moment. "Ms. Morgan is coming."
That's all that was needed to be said, before everyone settles down in their seats a hush filling the room just as the door slams open.
"Morning children." Ms. Morgan mutters as she walks in, her heels clicking on the hard wood floor. Everyone mutters a 'good morning' before going back to quietly munching on their breakfast. "Allyson."
Ally looks up at Ms. Morgan, giving her a quick curtsy. "Ms. Morgan."
"Go help Izzy clean her bed. She seems to have wet it last night."
"Yes, Ms. Morgan." Ally replies, dashing towards the kitchen while taking her apron off.
"And while you're at it, make me my coffee and bring it to my office." Ms. Morgan instructs, walking across the room to the other door. She opens it, but before she steps through she turns around to look at Ally. "Am I understood?"
"Yes, Ms. Morgan." And with Ally's answer, she steps through the door the sound of her heels clicking fading away in the distance.
"What did you guys do?" Ally asks, giving the twins a glare, before stepping through the door and into the kitchen. She hangs her apron up, the sounds of Molly and Thomas arguing from the dining room reaching her ears. Ally lets out a sigh. For once, I just want those two to be two civilized human beings. Ally thought as she reaches into a cupboard to take out the coffee can. She starts to scoop out the number of cups required to make coffee, before walking away letting the coffee maker do its job.
"Well?" Ally asks, as she steps through the door and into the dining room again.
"We were playing dodge ball in the bedrooms-"
"-I was jumping on Izzy's bed when Thomas threw the ball-"
"-the ball was suppose to hit Molly, but she dodge it-"
"-the ball went flying and hit the bedside table-"
"-and the water went flying on Izzy's bed!"
Ally lets out a groan, bringing a hand up to massage her head. She looks up at Molly and Thomas through the gaps of her fingers.
"Really?" Was all she asked as she brings her hands to her hips, giving them a pointed look. "What have I told you about playing dodge ball inside the house?"
"You never really said dodg-" Thomas begins, but the look Ally sends in his direction shuts him up quick.
"It was implied." Ally mutters irritably, making everyone in the room shiver in fear. They were all grateful that they weren't in Thomas's and Molly's shoes at the moment. And who wouldn't blame them? Ally rarely gets mad, so when the rare occasion came no one wanted to be the cause of it.
Ally shakes her head, letting out a sigh. "When you next see Izzy, you are going to apologize to her. And you will be helping me wash the dishes this week." She scolds them, making them nod their head up and down vigorously. "Yes ma'am!"
Ally rolls her eyes at them, before turning around to look at everyone else. "Behave. We don't want Ms. Morgan to have another fit."
Everyone nods their head in agreement, averting their attention back to eating their breakfast. With a sigh, Ally heads up towards the bedrooms.
Once she reaches Izzy's room, Ally couldn't help but coo at the sight before her. Izzy was viciously scrubbing away at the wet spot, while singing a familiar tune.
"Isabelle, Isabelle!
All I hear is Isabelle,
From the moment I get up
Till shades of night are falling.
There isn't a letup,
I hear them calling, calling
"Go up and do the be-" (5)
"What you doing?" Ally asks, stepping into the room, smirking down at Izzy, who nearly fell off the bed at the sound of Ally's voice, but she caught herself in the nick of time. Her cheeks turn a light shade of pink as she quietly answers, "Cleaning and singing."
Ally lets out a laugh, striding over to sit down on the bed in front of her. It creaks from the extra weight. "You okay there?" Ally asks softly, tilting her head to look at Izzy who suddenly found the bed sheets to be very interesting.
"Yeah. Ms. Morgan is just a mean butt." She mutters with a pout. Ally shakes her head, chuckling to herself. "Yeah I know what you mean."
Just then Izzy crawls over to Ally, burying her face into her chest. "I didn't wet the bed. I promise. I didn't do it Ally."
Ally felt her heart break as she starts to rub Izzy's back soothingly. "It's okay Izzy. I know you didn't. No one's blaming you."
"But Ms. Mor-"
"Don't worry about Ms. Morgan. What does she know anyways?" Ally scoffs, lifting Izzy's hair out of the way so she can see her face. She smiles at Izzy and Izzy's trying to keep a sad face by biting down on her bottom lip. Ally smirks, before attacking her with tickles to the belly.
"You all better now?" Ally asks with a raise to her eyebrows as she stops the tickling, so Izzy can answer. Izzy lets out a breathy laugh, before nodding her head.
"Good." Ally says approvingly with a nod of her head. "Now you go downstairs and eat your breakfast and I'll finish up for you. Okay?"
Still biting her lip with the corners turned upward, Izzy nods her head, muttering a quick 'thank you'. She jumps off Ally and makes a run for it towards the stairs. Ally couldn't help but let out another laugh as she turns to take a look at the wet spot on the bed.
Once Ally was done cleaning up, she quickly headed downstairs to get the kids started on their math lesson for the day before rushing off to hand Ms. Morgan her coffee. Besides getting yelled at for bringing her coffee late, the rest of the day went by as usual.
And luckily for Ally and the kids, Ms. Morgan decided to go out for dinner today.
"Ally! Can we pretty, pretty please eat dinner in the living room?!" Thomas cries, practically begging on his knees. Ally shakes her head about to say no, seeing what he had done this morning, but then the other kids begin to join in with his begging and Ally couldn't say 'no'. "Fine, but anyone spills anything and you're all going straight to bed."
They all nod their heads in agreements, dashing off to the living room in a fit of giggles as they get to watch their nightly cartoons earlier than usual. Ally smiled, heading towards the direction of the kitchen, when the sound of feet running towards her made her stop.
"Ally! Can I help?" Izzy asks, running up to her. Ally nods her head, opening the door up, so Izzy can go through first.
"What should we have for dinner, huh, Izzy?" Ally asks, searching the cabinets and refrigerator.
"Cookies!" Izzy exclaims. Ally stands up, looking at Izzy contemplating this over, before nodding her head. "Okay, we can have cookies."
Izzy squeals in delight, making Ally laugh. "Woah. Calm your horses." Ally mutters, throwing her hands up in a stop motion, but Izzy doesn't pay attention as she runs towards the fridge to grab the cookie dough. Ally, chuckling, jogs over to help Izzy carry the cookie dough onto the counter.
Walking back to close the fridge, Ally notices a bowl of uncooked noodles and an open package of cheese. She grabs them, placing them on the counter, before going through the cupboards looking for the canned spaghetti sauce with meatballs inside. When she finally finds it, she pulls it out and turns to Izzy. "We're eating lasagna tonight."
As Ally starts to layer the pan with noodles, cheese and spaghetti sauce, Izzy starts to pat the cookie dough into little ball shapes. Once they were both done, Ally quickly popped the lasagna into the oven, while placing the sheet of cookies into their smaller oven.
"Izzy, you can go ahead and go watch TV now." Ally urges, pushing her out the door. Izzy turns around read to argue, but Ally cuts her off, "I'll let you know when they're ready."
Izzy closes her mouth, giving Ally a nod of approval before she walks on towards the direction of the living room. "And Izzy! Can you call the twins in? They have dishes to wash."
"Okie Dokie Ally!" Izzy shouts back, sprinting to the living room. Ally lets out a laugh, before she starts to wash the dishes, the twins arriving shortly after to dry and put them away. When they're done, Ally lets them go back to watching their television shows while asking them to call Izzy back in.
Once Izzy arrives, Ally takes the lasagna and cookies out of their ovens to place them on the counter. Ally bends over to pick Izzy up and place her on the counter next to the food.
"Smells good!" She exclaims, throwing her face over the lasagna and cookies to get a good whiff.
"When I say now, you hand me the plates okay?" Ally instructs, already cutting into the lasagna.
"Okay, now." Ally states, causing Izzy to quickly shove the plate under the piece of lasagna.
"Woah there." Ally chuckles as Izzy swiftly place the plate behind her. "Now place two cookies on the plate."
Izzy does as she was told and place two cookies on the plate. They follow this routine until they had 10 plates ready for dinner inside the living room. Lifting Izzy to the floor, Ally tells her to call the twins in while she went to grab the forks and glasses of milk.
When they finally arrive, Ally hands Molly and Thomas each a tray of four plates, while giving Izzy her own tray of two plates to hold.
"Be careful." Ally warns as the three of them walked out the door. She's silently praying they won't make a mess on their trip back to the living room as she places 10 glasses of milk on another tray to head to the living room.
When she gets to the living room, she's please to see that there were no messes. Placing the tray down, Ally quickly gets out of the kids way. Grabbing the last plate, she sits herself down onto the sofa chair, letting out a sigh of relief. She lets her eyes wander shut for a moment, grateful for the peace and quiet. However it's quickly interrupted as the kids all groan.
"AWWW!"
"Breaking news?!"
"It was getting to the good part, too!"
Ally opens her eyes to see what all the fuss was about. Finally realizing their television show was quickly replaced with an anchor woman talking about some fight.
"Breaking News! Austin Moon caught in a fight with paparazzi!" The lady shouts, before a video is played of a blonde hair boy straddling a man's chest on the floor. The blonde boy is throwing punches while the man lifts his camera to take shots. Ally couldn't help but roll her eyes in disgust. The things people do for money. She thought, reaching for the remote to change the show.
"Will this be the last straw for (6)D&M Record Label, which is also currently owned by Austin Moon's father, Mike Moon himself? Or-" Ally leans forward, pressing a button on the remote.
"OH Harry Potter(7)!" Beatrice coos as Ally tucks the remote into the crook of the sofa chair's arm, before she snuggles deeper into the chair while grabbing a cookie to nibble on.
"Happy Birthday Harry!"
"Hey Ally?" Thomas murmurs, turning to look at Ally, who looked like she was going to fall asleep.
"Hmm?" Ally hums, sitting up to dig into her lasagna.
"Isn't your birthday coming up too?" Thomas asks, making everyone turn around to look at her.
She smiles, giving them a light nod of her head. "How old are you going to be?" Izzy asks her eyes wide as she stands up from where she's sitting to walk up to Ally. She plops herself onto the floor next to the sofa chair, looking up at Ally with wide eyes. Ally couldn't help but smile as she ruffles Izzy's thick red hair around.
"18. I'm going to be 18 years old Izzy."
(1) IDK… I just wrote down the first ring tone sound from the top of my head…
(2) Sunny Orphanage… from my imagination. HOWEVER if it is a real place, then I shall revoke my rights to the name. LOL
(3) Don't know if this is actually true. Try researching it… got confused. LOL
(4) Don't Own Jack in the Beanstalk~!
(5) Izzy's version of the Work Song on Cinderella~! Don't own that either. ALL DISNEY.
(6) D&M Records also from my imagination… but just in case it's real… I revoke my rights.
(7) Unfortunately, I DO NOT OWN Harry Potter as well. Though I absolutely adore it and can watch it over and over and over and over… in fact I think I will have a Harry Potter marathon tomorrow. :DD
Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Let me know what you think, because you know reviews can sway the update's speed~! (;
Just a heads up… I will be alternating back and forth with this story and Down By the Rocky Shores to get ideas a moving! So I will apologize in advance if I update this and not the other story and vice versa~ (:
Thanks again! And until next time,
~Christy :DD
P.S. HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS! :DD Or what's left of it... which isn't really much... SO HAPPY SECOND DAY OF THE NEW YEAR.
