Yes – I am uploading this rather early on Sunday 1:30am to be precise, but I have realised that – despite expectations – geography projects do not write themselves. So I'm trying to not go online until it is finished – so if review replies/PMs are late that's why.
Year 1247 – during the great rule of our 37th Ozma
After Notta started school the days when she was gone became increasingly boring for me. No longer did I have someone to play with, who would always be willing to do something fun with me – whatever it was, it was always fun with Notta around.
I had tried to hang round with Ketzal, she'd given up school the previous year to help Papa around the farm, but after several weeks of me following her like a shadow, and managing to make her spill the pig feed she was carrying all over her dress in a desperate attempt to get her attention, she'd snapped, "Del, please, cut it out! Can't you find something to do with yourself?"
So I'd taken to walking around the nearby farmlands – but it wasn't much of an adventure without my sisters. I tried searching the ground for pretty objects but I never seemed able to find the ladybirds and pretty pink leaves that Notta found in handfuls.
It was one of those days; I wandered, once again, around the outskirts of the farm kicking stones, wondering what to do with myself…
"Hey!" A Lamb from the farm next-door bounded up to me, "what are you doing?"
"Nothing," I replied in a monotone.
"Well, do you want to play with me? I've got a brand new red ball and no one to play catch with me."
I gazed at the shiny ball in wonder, "ok," I said and climbed over the fence.
"My name's Ewetta," she said, bouncing the ball into my arms, "I'm nearly five."
I looked at her with amazement – I hadn't known that there were any other children around my age here, Gieffe was older than Ketzal and his twin sisters were even older than that! And the couple with the ponies had just had a baby, which they wouldn't let out of their site, never mind let us dress her up. We'd never had much to do with the family of Sheep, so I had no idea they had children, never mind one my age with a big red ball!
"I'm Delva," I told her "I'm four and a half."
Ewetta bleated happily, "Delva's a pretty name," she told me as I threw the ball back to her.
The day was spent in bliss, not only did Ewetta have a bouncy red ball, but she also had a long skipping rope and knew all kinds of skipping rhymes. I only went home that day when Ewetta's mother called her in for dinner.
My sisters were back by the time I arrived home and dinner was nearly on the table.
"Wow Del, you're late," Ket smiled at me, "Did you find something to do then?"
I grinned, "Yeah Ket! I made a friend, here name's Ewetta and she's nearly five and she has a shiny red bouncy ball and a long skipping rope – which she's really good at – and she's teaching me how to back skip…"
Ketzal laughed, "I'm glad you had a good time little one."
I scowled, "I'm not little."
Her smile only widened, "so where does this Ewetta live?"
"Oh, on the Sheep's farm," I told her.
Ketzal was silent for a moment, "Del, I'm not sure it would be wise for you to see her again."
My face fell, "Why? She's my friend!"
Ket took a moment to think then bit her lip, "Ok, you can if you want, just don't tell Papa about her."
I nodded – I hadn't really been planned to anyway – but now she mentioned it I had to ask, "Why?"
"I just don't think it would be wise, Papa doesn't… get on very well with the Sheep."
Ketzal's warning didn't mean much to me at the time – oh I didn't tell Papa about Ewetta – but I didn't really think about why he wouldn't like her to be my friend. It was just one of the things that made Papa strange, like that fact he liked Ianu when all he did was scream and wail all day, or the fact that he liked to drink beer yet wouldn't let any of us touch a drop of it.
So I continued playing with Ewetta, I showed her my dolls – mostly inherited from Ketzal and she showed me her little family of cuddly sheep. We went on walks and watched the fishes in the river. She picked daises from the meadow and I made them into daisy chains (she found them too fiddly to make with her hooves) and we round them around each other's fur and hair and pretended to be Ozmas – or Ozmas' sisters.
A few happy months later I brought her round to one of our barns to show her some kittens that one of our cats had just given birth to.
"Delva!" I turned round at father's shout.
"Yes Papa?"
"What are you doing with that Sheep?"
I smiled, completely forgetting Ketzal's words, "oh, this is Ewetta, she's my best friend."
Father took three menacing steps towards us, "Get out of my farm," he roared at the Lamb, "I never want to see you trespassing on my land again."
"b-but Sir, Del said…" the brave Lamb stammered.
"I don't care what my stupid daughter said," shouted Papa, "get your filthy Animal behind OUT!"
Ewetta galloped back to her farm without another word.
Then father turned to me, grabbed my arm and dragged me into the farmhouse.
"What do you think you were doing Delva?"
"I was playing with her Papa."
He slapped me across the face, "Don't you ever even talk to that Sheep, Lurline don't ever talk to an Animal again if you can't help it. Do you hear me?"
The tears ran uncontrollably down my face as I nodded, "but why?"
"Because Delva," father explained, tone still full of menace – but less directed at me, "the Animals are the most foul living things in existence, if it wasn't for the previous Ozma's traitorous Animal advisers maybe Oz wouldn't be in the state it is now. Poor and ruined, far from the great empire it once was!"
"I didn't know that Papa," I said, horrified that my best friend could have been involved in destroying the great Oz that Papa was always talking about.
"Well don't let me see you anywhere near those filthy things again Delva, or I'll give you more than that little slap."
The rest of the day was spent on my bed, crying, and not just from Papa's slap (which hurt a lot).
Ketzal saw my damp eyes when she came back from collecting some mushrooms for dinner, "what's the matter Del?"
"Papa says I can't play with Ewetta anymore," I sobbed.
Ketzal sighed and put her arms around me, "perhaps it's for the best; anyway it won't be that long until you go to school now – and just think – a lovely girl like you will make lots of new friends."
That didn't make me feel any better.
I didn't speak to Ewetta again, although she tried to speak to me, I feared Papa's reprimand too much. Also I mistrusted her, now Papa had said so many horrible things about her kind. Papa was a grown up and knew a lot of things I didn't, so if he said the Animals were bad he was right. Wasn't he?
