Ah! My Goddess! Belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, not me.
Skuld's Last Wish
By Thermopyle
thermopyle@tds.net
http://Thermopyle.anifics.com/
#####
Skuld rose halfway up through the water, then looked around, and froze.
She was in a pot, over a fireplace in a chimney. The crumbling bricks
rose around her, covered in soot and dirt. Except, of course, where
there was blood. And there was a lot of blood, smeared in filthy
handprints and scratch-marks across the rough surfaces, some chunks of
brick actually gouged out of the walls by sheer strength of panic and
fear.
"This isn't happening," she whispered. "This isn't happening."
She looked down, into the pot from which she had come, knowing what she
would find. And she did, too. That... thing, brushing up against her
chest, like a thin bundle of sticks bound together with paper-mache, was
an arm, with the fingers on the attached hand bent in all directions,
broken in the attempt to escape. Floating beside her was the head of a
child her own physical age, eyes wide and staring blankly up at her.
"This isn't happening," she whispered. "This isn't happening."
An old woman, warts on her nose, hideous, but with a happy, cheerful
look on her face, hobbled forward to just a couple of feet away, wincing
slightly at the heat of the fire. Skuld looked at her in horror, hoping
that this woman wasn't who she thought she was, but knowing the truth.
It was just a silly story, right? Something to frighten little kids? It
couldn't be true. Surely not. How could such a person be deserving of a
wish, anyway? No, it had to be false.
"Oh," said the hag as she studied Skuld with interest. "Where did you
come from? Such a cute little thing, too. I wish I had a pretty girl
like you in my cooking pot every day!"
"This isn't happening," she whispered. "This isn't happening."
But it was.
And soon, she started screaming, and screaming, but only for a little
while. At least, until the next day.
And the day after that, too.
#####
Okay... what's up with this? Well, I wrote a short little thing (just
dialogue, four lines long) on Delphi in response to seeing yet another
fic where Nodoka somehow qualifies for a wish, where Azusa gets the wish
instead, promptly names Skuld 'Francois', and wishes to be able to play
dress-up with her forever. A number of people responded with their own
variations of this, with Happousai or other people getting the wish,
instead. Each time, Skuld's wish granting ends up rather badly--for
her.
So, I decided to write a serious version of the idea, instead of the
silly one that started the thread. This was the result. A horrible old
woman of Hanzel and Grettle type personality gets a wish. ^_^;
Skuld's Last Wish
By Thermopyle
thermopyle@tds.net
http://Thermopyle.anifics.com/
#####
Skuld rose halfway up through the water, then looked around, and froze.
She was in a pot, over a fireplace in a chimney. The crumbling bricks
rose around her, covered in soot and dirt. Except, of course, where
there was blood. And there was a lot of blood, smeared in filthy
handprints and scratch-marks across the rough surfaces, some chunks of
brick actually gouged out of the walls by sheer strength of panic and
fear.
"This isn't happening," she whispered. "This isn't happening."
She looked down, into the pot from which she had come, knowing what she
would find. And she did, too. That... thing, brushing up against her
chest, like a thin bundle of sticks bound together with paper-mache, was
an arm, with the fingers on the attached hand bent in all directions,
broken in the attempt to escape. Floating beside her was the head of a
child her own physical age, eyes wide and staring blankly up at her.
"This isn't happening," she whispered. "This isn't happening."
An old woman, warts on her nose, hideous, but with a happy, cheerful
look on her face, hobbled forward to just a couple of feet away, wincing
slightly at the heat of the fire. Skuld looked at her in horror, hoping
that this woman wasn't who she thought she was, but knowing the truth.
It was just a silly story, right? Something to frighten little kids? It
couldn't be true. Surely not. How could such a person be deserving of a
wish, anyway? No, it had to be false.
"Oh," said the hag as she studied Skuld with interest. "Where did you
come from? Such a cute little thing, too. I wish I had a pretty girl
like you in my cooking pot every day!"
"This isn't happening," she whispered. "This isn't happening."
But it was.
And soon, she started screaming, and screaming, but only for a little
while. At least, until the next day.
And the day after that, too.
#####
Okay... what's up with this? Well, I wrote a short little thing (just
dialogue, four lines long) on Delphi in response to seeing yet another
fic where Nodoka somehow qualifies for a wish, where Azusa gets the wish
instead, promptly names Skuld 'Francois', and wishes to be able to play
dress-up with her forever. A number of people responded with their own
variations of this, with Happousai or other people getting the wish,
instead. Each time, Skuld's wish granting ends up rather badly--for
her.
So, I decided to write a serious version of the idea, instead of the
silly one that started the thread. This was the result. A horrible old
woman of Hanzel and Grettle type personality gets a wish. ^_^;