Second chapter! Yay!

Chapter 2- The Fabrics Vendor

"Well… I was coming home from the marketplace by myself because I was racing from Pinocchio. He didn't really want to, but I convinced him to play hide and go seek or race back to the house. He choose to race because he was anxious to get home for some reason. He said it was a gut feeling that we should go home. I didn't believe him and we started the race. I got him and the house- the house-" Tears threatened to come forth and I angrily rubbed my eyes before continuing in a dead voice, "The house was on fire. Pinocchio was missing and the roof had caved in when I came. I could hear Geppetto calling for help, but then he stopped a little while after the roof caved."

Fantôme was the first to move. She came over and perched on my rock and wrapped her ghostly white arms around me. We were quite the contrast from the rest of the girls- Ariel had fiery red hair, Bulle's hair was dotted white and a pinkish shell color, Coquille had startling greenish blue hair, Sirène had deep black and purple hair, and Manquante (when she was alive) had sunset orange hair.

Fantôme had blinding long, straight silver-white hair and almost white skin and her shells were a light blue. I had light golden hair, pale skin, though not as pale as Fantôme. Compared to the rest of the mermaids, Fantôme and I were just ghosts in the background, not really noticed. Which was kind of ironic, considering 'Fantôme' means 'ghost'.

"So… what the heck am I gonna do with my life now? And no Ariel, becoming a mermaid is not an option," Ariel pouted at my words.

"There's supposedly a home tree over by the Solitary River. You could live there," Échelle suggested.

I nodded. Home trees were large light brown trees that were about 50-100 ft. tall and had one spot in the wood were you could tunnel through and you would reach a little passageway. The roots of the tree were the ceiling beams and walls. There were rooms that were built into the tree underground and furniture too. Anything that you desired could be put there.

Except the dead.

I slid off the rock. "I'm gonna go check it out."

Three years later…

I leaned forward, my interest piqued. There was a group of people in my woods. This never happens. Even better- it's the Huntsman, Rumpletstilskin, and the Evil Queen. A smile flickered on my face. I just love messing with these people. Lucky for them, I have to go into town to get some supplies so I won't play with them too much.

I leapt off of the tree branch I was perched on and raced out of the undergrowth. I dipped into an immaculate curtsey and whispered, "While your very pretty, Your Highness, the two things that are true here is that the beautiful creatures are deadly, and the wild things worse." I locked eyes with Rumpletstilskin, grinned at him, ignored the Huntsman purposely, and shot off towards town. Not that they knew it was towards town, in fact they've been walking in circles this whole time. They aren't even a full mile in! Luckily, the wildlife and plants shift a lot around here, so I got to watch them bake for as long as I pleased.

As I exited the woods, I mulled on how I should get my supplies. I was only ten; the clerks wouldn't treat me seriously. I could whip out a knife, use magic, simply steal… or continue to lay low, as I've been doing. As I walked the miles to the market, I decided that it would be better to continue what I've been doing all along.

The market came into my sharp sight and I quickened my pace so I would be able to be home before dark. It was lunchtime so the market was relatively empty and I hurried over to the cloth stalls. The vendor looked half awake and didn't see me when I came up. I rolled my eyes and sharply whistled.

"I need some cloth." I deadpanned. The vendor smiled at me, recognition shining dully on her face.

"Aren't you the little girl who comes here annually?" She asked with a smile on her face.

I nodded an affirmative. Do the vendors remember me? I do come to the same vendors every year, even when I still lived in town.

"Here, I saved you some of the blue and white cloths you always buy." She turned around to go grab the fabrics. She had three when I turned around- my usual blue and white ramie fabrics and then light brown cotton. She handed me the fabrics with a smile.

I dug in my purse for the coins I would need but she stopped me, "It's free, no worries. There weren't much left in the spools anyways."

"Uh, thank you. What's your name?" I asked awkwardly. I wasn't much used to kindness. Vendors don't much like kids. Apparently we get underfoot.

"Milah." She said with a smile. "How old are you? What's your name?"

I hesitated before answering. "Emma and I'm ten."

She nodded, "Where are your parents?"

"Dead. I live by myself near here, some friends stop by to check on me." It wasn't a lie. The animals in the forests always check on me and I spend a lot of time with the mermaids.

"Oh, honey," She started but I cut her off.

"He's been dead for ages. My brother may or may not be dead, and now that I think about it my father might not be dead too. But it doesn't matter, if they had wanted to find me by now they would've."

"I'm sure they've been looking." She said. I shrugged.

"Don't matter anymore. Thanks for the fabric Milah." I did a quick curtsy and disappeared into the streets.

"Emma… a girl who lives by herself and has the same name as the lost princess and Geppetto's lost daughter. Not to mention the special glow flowers in her hair." A smile curled Milah's lips.

did you like it?

Review to prove your Loyalty!

Songbook12