Disclaimer is in the prologue.
Rini in Toyland
Chapter 1 - In the Sheep's Meadow
Rini felt warm. It wasn't something she expected. She figured she would still be lying in the snow, or at least in Darien's car. She felt something soft and earthy-smelling under her chin. Something poked at her.
Getting poked wasn't fun. In fact, it hurt. She pushed the thing poking her away, but it kept doing it. Maybe it's Amy, checking me for broken bones, she thought. Amy wanted to be a children's doctor and knew a lot about bones. Amy wouldn't poke so hard, though. Maybe Serena or Mina, trying to wake me up? She finally rose to a sitting position, rubbing her elbow where it smacked the tree. "I'll be down in a minute, Serena."
She finally opened her eyes.and got quite a surprise. She was in a sunny, grassy meadow. Sheep and lambs frolicked around her. A familiar young woman with long golden hair in two buns on her head stood over her, concerned. She wore an old-fashioned pink dress, a lacy apron embroidered with flowers, and a flower-trimmed bonnet. "Are you all right, little girl?" She pushed at Rini's stomach with her beribboned cane.
Rini shoved the cane away. "I will be, once you quit pushing that thing in my tummy!"
The girl moved her cane. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wanted to make sure you were all right. I guess I was too rough. You took a nasty fall."
Rini stood with the girl's help. She seemed to have only minor cuts and bruises, except for one really ugly bruise on her elbow. "Where are we?" she asked. She never saw a place like this in 20th century Tokyo or Crystal Tokyo. "How did I get here?"
"Oh," the girl explained, "we're in the Sheep's Meadow, outside of Toyland Town." She pointed to a group of tall buildings in the distance. "See? That's where I live." She shrugged. "As for how you got here, you dropped from the sky. You must be a magician of great power if you can do that!"
Rini frowned. She really had to stop making entrances like that! "I'm not a magician. Not yet, anyway, but I will be soon!" She turned to the girl. "I'm Serenity, but you can call me Rini. What's your name?"
The girl laughed. "That's strange! My name is also Serenity, Serenity Bo- Peep."
"Bo-Peep?" Rini knew that rhyme! "Little Bo-Peep, who lost her sheep, and doesn't know where to find them?"
Serenity's face turned beet red. "I NEVER lose my sheep! Well, almost never. Except for that one time last Tuesday.and the Monday before that.and last month.."
"Serenity!" Rini exclaimed. She ran across the meadow, which was now empty. "The sheep! They're gone!"
Serenity burst into a great waterfall of tears. "Oh, no! If I lose the sheep one more time, I'll be fired, and Mama will never be able to pay the rent on the shoe!"
Rini peeked from under the large mushroom she was using as a makeshift umbrella. "You live in a shoe?"
Serenity dabbed at her eyes with a large, lace-trimmed handkerchief. "Yes, I do. There's so many of us that Mama doesn't know what to do! Papa is working in the peppermint candy mines, and Mama has to take care of us. My sister makes grocery deliveries for the elderly, and I watch Mr. Barnaby's sheep, but it's still not enough."
Rini put the mushroom down. "Don't worry, Serenity! We'll find your sheep. They couldn't have gone that far in such a short time!"
Serenity snorted as they started down the hill. "You don't know my sheep. I once found them eating the dried grass all the way at the entrance to the Forbidden Forest."
Rini rubbed her sore elbow. "The Forbidden Forest?"
The shepherdess shivered. "You don't want to go there! They say there's horrible monsters and all kinds of scary stuff there! That's where the Queen of Hearts and Old King Cole send criminals! Being exiled to the Forbidden Forest is the worst possible punishment in Toyland."
They hurried across the grassy meadow, calling for the stray animals. Rini found some fleece stuck to a bush that told them they were on the right track. Serenity led her to a dirt road that wound around a clear stream. Many people in carts and on horses, dressed much like Serenity (but with less lace), ambled past them. They passed a farm and several neat little cottages.
"Serenity!" Rini pointed to a flock of white fluff by the edge of the river. Serenity pushed past Rini and threw her arms around the nearest sheep.'
"Oh, thank goodness!" Serenity exclaimed. "I was so worried!" She started to cry again. Rini took her handkerchief out of her pocket and handed it to Serenity, who gratefully accepted it. The upset shepherdess shook her finger at her fuzzy charges. "Naughty sheep, running off like that! What would Mr. Barnaby say if he knew I lost you again?"
A tiny lamb jumped on Rini's legs like a dog. "I like this one," she smiled. "It's cute."
Serenity giggled. "That's Woolie, the baby of the family. She likes everyone. Well, except Mr. Barnaby. She runs and hides whenever he's around."
"Who's Mr. Barnaby?" Rini asked as she petted the adorable lamb. Woolie bleated cheerfully.
Serenity shuddered. "Mr. Diamond Barnaby is the richest and meanest man in town. He owns more than half the businesses and homes in Toyland, including our shoe and my sheep." She stood and brushed off her skirt. "He thinks because he's rich and handsome, he can have anything he wants. He keeps trying to court me, even though I've made it quite clear that I'm interested in someone else."
"Diamond?" Rini knew that name too well! "He likes you?"
Serenity nodded and pointed toward a dark, shadowy mountain range in the distant horizon. "He lives on the Parched Mountains, just beyond the Forbidden Forest. He and his sister and brother have a spooky mansion where they turn people into animals and make them their slaves!" She stroked one of the sheep. "He's good-looking, with silvery-white hair and a strong figure, but his eyes are like iron, and his hands are cold as ice. He'll turn you out on the street if you don't pay his high rents."
Woolie suddenly darted behind Rini, bleeting in horror. Rini gasped and tugged on Serenity's pink skirt. "Um, Serenity?" She pointed at a tall, white haired man emerging from a big black carriage, a large bouquet of red roses in his hands. "Is that Mr. Barnaby?"
Serenity swung around, almost knocking over an amused Diamond Barnaby with her cane. "Oh, hello Mr. Barnaby," she said nervously. "How are you today?"
Mr. Barnaby crossed his arms. "Quite well, thank you, Miss Bo-Peep." He nodded at the sheep. "How are my little money banks today?"
Serenity glared at him. "Is that all you think of the sheep as? They're like family to me!"
"They're part of my enterprises, Miss Bo-Peep, not cousins and nephews." He noticed Rini for the first time and frowned. Rini stepped back, away from Mr. Barnaby. His gaze was like steel. "And who is this pretty, oddly- dressed young lady?"
Serenity gulped. "She's, ahh, she's."
"Her helper!" Rini exclaimed quickly. "I'm, um, her new helper Rini. I'm dressed like this because I'm from another country."
Mr. Barnaby raised his eyebrows. "I don't remember hiring help. Maybe my overly soft brother brought you here, child." He sighed. "I must talk to Sapphire when I return to Nemesis Manor. He's much too kind to the natives and foreigners." He lifted Serenity's wrist to his lips and kissed it, then handed her the bouquet. "Just a small token of my great esteem for you, Miss Bo-Peep."
Serenity moved away, toward Rini and the sheep. "Mr. Barnaby, don't you have pressing business in Toyland Town?"
"Not as pressing as you, my pretty jewel," he purred. Rini felt Woolie shake behind her. She could see what frightened the lamb. He gave her the creeps. Mr. Barnaby leaned so far over Serenity that he was almost laying on top of her. He ran his fingers through her long golden pigtails. "I would be delighted if you would consent to become my bride, Serenity Bo- Peep."
WHAM! WHAP! Diamond Barnaby doubled over in pain, having been smacked in the side by a cane and kicked in the rear by a small, pink-haired girl. "Leave her alone!" Rini exclaimed. "She doesn't like you!"
"Rini's right." Serenity held her cane defensively. "I'm not in love with you, and I wouldn't marry you if we were the last man and woman in Toyland!"
Diamond took a few minutes to gather his breath before snarling "You'll pay for that, Miss Bo-Peep, and the pink-haired brat, too. Make no mistake, I'll have you for my wife, if I have to drag you to the church myself!"
"That," said Serenity, "I'd like to see." Mr. Barnaby snatched the roses from where they fell, stormed into his black carriage, and drove off in a cloud of dust.
Rini in Toyland
Chapter 1 - In the Sheep's Meadow
Rini felt warm. It wasn't something she expected. She figured she would still be lying in the snow, or at least in Darien's car. She felt something soft and earthy-smelling under her chin. Something poked at her.
Getting poked wasn't fun. In fact, it hurt. She pushed the thing poking her away, but it kept doing it. Maybe it's Amy, checking me for broken bones, she thought. Amy wanted to be a children's doctor and knew a lot about bones. Amy wouldn't poke so hard, though. Maybe Serena or Mina, trying to wake me up? She finally rose to a sitting position, rubbing her elbow where it smacked the tree. "I'll be down in a minute, Serena."
She finally opened her eyes.and got quite a surprise. She was in a sunny, grassy meadow. Sheep and lambs frolicked around her. A familiar young woman with long golden hair in two buns on her head stood over her, concerned. She wore an old-fashioned pink dress, a lacy apron embroidered with flowers, and a flower-trimmed bonnet. "Are you all right, little girl?" She pushed at Rini's stomach with her beribboned cane.
Rini shoved the cane away. "I will be, once you quit pushing that thing in my tummy!"
The girl moved her cane. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wanted to make sure you were all right. I guess I was too rough. You took a nasty fall."
Rini stood with the girl's help. She seemed to have only minor cuts and bruises, except for one really ugly bruise on her elbow. "Where are we?" she asked. She never saw a place like this in 20th century Tokyo or Crystal Tokyo. "How did I get here?"
"Oh," the girl explained, "we're in the Sheep's Meadow, outside of Toyland Town." She pointed to a group of tall buildings in the distance. "See? That's where I live." She shrugged. "As for how you got here, you dropped from the sky. You must be a magician of great power if you can do that!"
Rini frowned. She really had to stop making entrances like that! "I'm not a magician. Not yet, anyway, but I will be soon!" She turned to the girl. "I'm Serenity, but you can call me Rini. What's your name?"
The girl laughed. "That's strange! My name is also Serenity, Serenity Bo- Peep."
"Bo-Peep?" Rini knew that rhyme! "Little Bo-Peep, who lost her sheep, and doesn't know where to find them?"
Serenity's face turned beet red. "I NEVER lose my sheep! Well, almost never. Except for that one time last Tuesday.and the Monday before that.and last month.."
"Serenity!" Rini exclaimed. She ran across the meadow, which was now empty. "The sheep! They're gone!"
Serenity burst into a great waterfall of tears. "Oh, no! If I lose the sheep one more time, I'll be fired, and Mama will never be able to pay the rent on the shoe!"
Rini peeked from under the large mushroom she was using as a makeshift umbrella. "You live in a shoe?"
Serenity dabbed at her eyes with a large, lace-trimmed handkerchief. "Yes, I do. There's so many of us that Mama doesn't know what to do! Papa is working in the peppermint candy mines, and Mama has to take care of us. My sister makes grocery deliveries for the elderly, and I watch Mr. Barnaby's sheep, but it's still not enough."
Rini put the mushroom down. "Don't worry, Serenity! We'll find your sheep. They couldn't have gone that far in such a short time!"
Serenity snorted as they started down the hill. "You don't know my sheep. I once found them eating the dried grass all the way at the entrance to the Forbidden Forest."
Rini rubbed her sore elbow. "The Forbidden Forest?"
The shepherdess shivered. "You don't want to go there! They say there's horrible monsters and all kinds of scary stuff there! That's where the Queen of Hearts and Old King Cole send criminals! Being exiled to the Forbidden Forest is the worst possible punishment in Toyland."
They hurried across the grassy meadow, calling for the stray animals. Rini found some fleece stuck to a bush that told them they were on the right track. Serenity led her to a dirt road that wound around a clear stream. Many people in carts and on horses, dressed much like Serenity (but with less lace), ambled past them. They passed a farm and several neat little cottages.
"Serenity!" Rini pointed to a flock of white fluff by the edge of the river. Serenity pushed past Rini and threw her arms around the nearest sheep.'
"Oh, thank goodness!" Serenity exclaimed. "I was so worried!" She started to cry again. Rini took her handkerchief out of her pocket and handed it to Serenity, who gratefully accepted it. The upset shepherdess shook her finger at her fuzzy charges. "Naughty sheep, running off like that! What would Mr. Barnaby say if he knew I lost you again?"
A tiny lamb jumped on Rini's legs like a dog. "I like this one," she smiled. "It's cute."
Serenity giggled. "That's Woolie, the baby of the family. She likes everyone. Well, except Mr. Barnaby. She runs and hides whenever he's around."
"Who's Mr. Barnaby?" Rini asked as she petted the adorable lamb. Woolie bleated cheerfully.
Serenity shuddered. "Mr. Diamond Barnaby is the richest and meanest man in town. He owns more than half the businesses and homes in Toyland, including our shoe and my sheep." She stood and brushed off her skirt. "He thinks because he's rich and handsome, he can have anything he wants. He keeps trying to court me, even though I've made it quite clear that I'm interested in someone else."
"Diamond?" Rini knew that name too well! "He likes you?"
Serenity nodded and pointed toward a dark, shadowy mountain range in the distant horizon. "He lives on the Parched Mountains, just beyond the Forbidden Forest. He and his sister and brother have a spooky mansion where they turn people into animals and make them their slaves!" She stroked one of the sheep. "He's good-looking, with silvery-white hair and a strong figure, but his eyes are like iron, and his hands are cold as ice. He'll turn you out on the street if you don't pay his high rents."
Woolie suddenly darted behind Rini, bleeting in horror. Rini gasped and tugged on Serenity's pink skirt. "Um, Serenity?" She pointed at a tall, white haired man emerging from a big black carriage, a large bouquet of red roses in his hands. "Is that Mr. Barnaby?"
Serenity swung around, almost knocking over an amused Diamond Barnaby with her cane. "Oh, hello Mr. Barnaby," she said nervously. "How are you today?"
Mr. Barnaby crossed his arms. "Quite well, thank you, Miss Bo-Peep." He nodded at the sheep. "How are my little money banks today?"
Serenity glared at him. "Is that all you think of the sheep as? They're like family to me!"
"They're part of my enterprises, Miss Bo-Peep, not cousins and nephews." He noticed Rini for the first time and frowned. Rini stepped back, away from Mr. Barnaby. His gaze was like steel. "And who is this pretty, oddly- dressed young lady?"
Serenity gulped. "She's, ahh, she's."
"Her helper!" Rini exclaimed quickly. "I'm, um, her new helper Rini. I'm dressed like this because I'm from another country."
Mr. Barnaby raised his eyebrows. "I don't remember hiring help. Maybe my overly soft brother brought you here, child." He sighed. "I must talk to Sapphire when I return to Nemesis Manor. He's much too kind to the natives and foreigners." He lifted Serenity's wrist to his lips and kissed it, then handed her the bouquet. "Just a small token of my great esteem for you, Miss Bo-Peep."
Serenity moved away, toward Rini and the sheep. "Mr. Barnaby, don't you have pressing business in Toyland Town?"
"Not as pressing as you, my pretty jewel," he purred. Rini felt Woolie shake behind her. She could see what frightened the lamb. He gave her the creeps. Mr. Barnaby leaned so far over Serenity that he was almost laying on top of her. He ran his fingers through her long golden pigtails. "I would be delighted if you would consent to become my bride, Serenity Bo- Peep."
WHAM! WHAP! Diamond Barnaby doubled over in pain, having been smacked in the side by a cane and kicked in the rear by a small, pink-haired girl. "Leave her alone!" Rini exclaimed. "She doesn't like you!"
"Rini's right." Serenity held her cane defensively. "I'm not in love with you, and I wouldn't marry you if we were the last man and woman in Toyland!"
Diamond took a few minutes to gather his breath before snarling "You'll pay for that, Miss Bo-Peep, and the pink-haired brat, too. Make no mistake, I'll have you for my wife, if I have to drag you to the church myself!"
"That," said Serenity, "I'd like to see." Mr. Barnaby snatched the roses from where they fell, stormed into his black carriage, and drove off in a cloud of dust.