"Caustic Cousins"
Part 1
Little House on the Prairie fanfiction
Twelve-year-old Crystal Craiger waited impatiently with her father, James, for the stagecoach to arrive. Her cousin, Danielle, was coming to stay with Crystal's family while her parents were at a clinic. Danielle was supposed to be around Crystal's age, and the young girl was excited at the prospect of a new playmate, as well as someone with whom she could share her chores.
Finally the stagecoach rumbled into the depot. By this time Crystal was hopping from foot to foot in anticipation, causing little puffs of dust to explode out from under her boots. Once the vehicle had slowed to a stop, everyone waited anxiously for the girl to emerge.
Finally, the door opened, and a sweet-looking girl stepped out. She was dressed fancily, but that wasn't too much of a shock; people always wanted to make a nice first impression. Her dress was down to her ankles, and was a soft, periwinkle blue. There were small rosettes on the bodice, and lace came down in layers on the ample skirt.
Her hair was auburn and curly, with her grown-out bangs pulled back by a bow that matched her gorgeous dress. Her complexion was fair. She would have been extremely pretty, except for her size. She didn't look "bad" necessarily, just rather beefy. If it weren't for the welcoming smile that she sported, she would have seemed rather overbearing.
The back of the stagecoach was loaded with the girl's bags and trunk, and she was only there for a three week stay! Crystal gaped in awe as the stagecoach driver and her pa hefted the loaded packs into the family's wagon. She felt so inferior in her simple calico dress with its pale pink background and little violets sprinkled across it, covered by a solid navy apron. They had money for slightly nicer clothes, but now that they lived on a farm, it just wasn't practical!
Still, she mustered up her courage, and timidly approached her cousin. She extended her petite hand, and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Crystal. You must be Danielle. I've been looking forward to meeting you for so long!"
"Hi," was all the response Crystal could get from the other girl.
"You must be awfully tired after such a long journey. How was it? Did it take you long to get here from Pittsburgh?"
"Yes, I am, and yes it did," came the reply.
Crystal was a little put off by this, but decided to let it rest. The girl just had to be tired from her trip. Surely she would be more conversational once she had a good meal in her, she reasoned.
Finally the wagon was loaded up, and James came over to the two girls. "Oh, good, I'm glad you two have already introduced yourselves. It's good to meet you, Danielle. I'm your Uncle James. Julia has told me a lot about your family, and we've heard nothing but good about you." The man put an arm around her shoulders.
"It's nice to meet you too, Uncle James," she said sweetly.
James smiled. "I'm sure you two girls will have a lot of talking to do, so I will let you sit in the back where you can have some privacy. Let's hurry and get home, so we can get supper out of the way and get Danielle to bed. I'm sure she must be absolutely exhausted."
"Yes, I am, Uncle James. Dinner and bed sound just wonderful. And I would love to have some time to get to know Crystal," replied Danielle kindly. James beamed at the girl, and motioned to the back of the wagon. Crystal was already clambering amidst all of the luggage.
Danielle just stared in surprise. For the first time since she had arrived in Walnut Grove, she volunteered to speak to her cousin. "Uh, Crystal? How do I get up?" she asked.
"Just climb in, silly!" came Crystal's easy response.
Danielle just balked. "You can't be serious!"
"Oh, fine then, give me your hand," Crystal conceded. It took some doing, but she finally got her larger cousin up in the wagon next to her. Danielle just went and sat on her carpetbag with her chin in her hands.
"Are we all set back there?" James called out.
"Yes, Pa!" called out Crystal.
"Alright then, let's get on home!" With a jolt the wagon began to move south towards the small farm that was the Craiger's.
Several times on the way back to the Craiger farm Crystal tried to engage her cousin in a conversation, but each time she failed miserably. Eventually she just gave up, and went to sit by herself and daydream.
Finally the lengthy trip from town was over, and the family got out of the wagon. Julia, Crystal's mother, ran out of the house to greet them. The smell of lye soap and peach cobbler faintly clung to her form, and while Crystal welcomed the smell, Danielle wrinkled her nose just a little. Julia didn't even notice, though, and hurried over to the girl and embraced her.
"Hello, honey! It's so good to meet you, at last! I've heard so much about you!"
Danielle's sweet smile made its grand entrance again, and she returned her aunt's hug. "Hello, Aunt Julia! It's nice to meet you too!"
"Let's get you inside then. Supper's on the table. Your uncle'll come out after the meal to get your bags.
While James went back out to unhitch the team, Julia led the way into the white, two-story farm house. The door led straight into the kitchen, so no instructions were needed on how to get to the dining area. The room was small, though not crowded. An oven and counter were against the back wall, and a fireplace to the left of it. In the far right corner was an oak table. It was already set with a glass, silverware, plate, and napkins at each place.
"Danielle," Julia began, "you may go ahead and take a seat at the table. Tonight, Crystal and I will serve you."
"Why, thank you, Aunt Julia," came her response. She made her way over to the table and flounced into the nicest chair, which just happened to be James'.
Indignant, Crystal strode purposely toward her cousin, opening her mouth to rebuke her, but Julia barred her way. One arm came across the girl's chest and the other hand covered her mouth.
"Let her be, Crystal," Julia whispered in her daughter's ear. "She's a guest, and she didn't know any better." Crystal bit back a sharp retort and merely nodded. Neither woman nor child thought they had been observed, but Danielle wasn't one to miss anything.
It was that perceptive nature of hers that drew her eye to the linen napkins on the walnut table. "Why, you have such 'interesting' napkins, Aunt Julia," she commented lightly.
"Yes, well, I'm sorry about this Danielle," Julia began, and then she caught her daughter's questioning gaze from across the room. She went and picked one of the pieces of fabrib up and brought it to Crystal. Tears came to Crystal's eyes as Julia continued.
"Crystal was doing laundry this afternoon, and left my white napkins to soak with her pa's red shirt."
"Ma, I…"
"Not now, Crystal," her mother replied tartly. "Your father and I will discuss this with you after supper."
Silently crying, the girl nodded her head. Julia put a comforting arm around Crystal's shoulders and gave her a quick hug.
"Help me get supper on the table, alright? The sooner we eat, the sooner we can it over with."
Crystal nodded again, and helped set out the roast duck, biscuits and honey, and creamed corn. By the time she was pouring water in the glasses, James was coming through the doorframe.
As he entered he was smiling and whistling Yankee Doodle, but then he saw the tears on Crystal's face. He approached her with a concerned look on his face.
"What's the matter, sweetie?" he asked. "Do you have another headache? If so, you may sit down, you know."
With this, Crystal's sobbing resumed, and she shook her head.
"Then what…?"
As James began his question, Crystal set the pitcher down, and grabbed a pink and white napkin. Shame-faced, she proffered it to her pa, then clasped her hands protectively behind her.
James' look of concern was quickly replaced with one of grim determination. He said not a word as he went to sit down at the table.
For the first time he saw Danielle in his seat. He frowned, but chose another chair. Julia and Crystal each took a seat, and then James blessed the food.
This done, he turned his attention to his niece.
"I'm sure you're going to want to get to bed once we've supped," he said. Crystal blushed, knowing her father was trying to let them have their 'discussion' in private.
"Yes, Uncle James," Danielle replied. "I'm awfully tired. I'll just bring in my satchel for tonight. It has a change of clothes in it."
"Very good," James said. "I brought that in and set that at the foot of the stairs that lead up to Crystal's room. She has a pull-out trundle bed you can use."
"That sounds perfect," she said, then turned to her aunt.
"This meal is ever so delicious, Aunt Julia."
Julia's heart warmed with the praise. "Why thank you, sweetheart," she replied kindly.
After that, dinner was a fairly quiet affair, and for poor Crystal, it seemed to drag on forever. However, as all good, or in this case, bad things do, it came to an end as everyone finished and cleared their places.
"Danielle, honey, why don't you just go on upstairs?" suggested Julia. "The stairs go right up into Crystal's bedroom. The trundle is already pulled out for you, and has clean sheets and blankets on it. Your uncle and I need to speak with Crystal for a while, but she will be back up later."
"Of course, Aunt Julia," she said while giving (to Crystal, anyway,) an exaggerated yawn. Crystal felt something wasn't quite right with her cousin, but at the moment she was too upset over her own predicament to be overly concerned about her.
Danielle went and hugged first James goodnight, and then Julia, and finally made her way upstairs. Once satisfied she was all the way up the stairs, James and Julia turned to their nervous daughter.
"Well?" James demanded. "What have you to say for yourself?"
"Pa… I… was just excited about getting Danielle! I guess I hurried so I could go with you. I'm so sorry!"
"Crystal, this is the third time this month you've been negligent in your chores," Julia said. "If you didn't have time to do this one properly before you left you should have just stayed here. Most likely, I would have finished the laundry myself. Then you wouldn't even be in this mess!"
Crystal just hung her head in shame, watching her tears form puddles on the old wooden floor beams.
"Your mistakes have been getting graver and graver," Julia continued." Here, her voice got rather constricted. "You know those napkins were the last thing that survived the trip out here that were from my parents?"
Crystal started sobbing. "Mama, I'm so sorry!"
James lifted her chin roughly until she was looking at him, and then he took a step back. "You remember what we told you would happen the next time you did something like this?"
"Pa… no!" she wailed.
"Oh, you don't remember? Maybe you need a little reminder!" James barked as he made a pass towards his daughter.
"No, pa! I remember! I just…" Crystal said, cowering away from the sudden display of anger. James' face was twisted in rage and was just about ready to slap his daughter when he felt his wife's hand on his arm.
"James, stop. You are upset about her mistake with the chores, not what she just said, and you know it. I also think we've been too easy on her, and it's built up. Whatever it is, you WILL NOT touch our daughter until you've calmed down."
James' jaw was set, but he lowered his hand. "Crystal, go do your barn chores and wait for me there," he ordered softly.
This was quite different from how her punishments were usually handled, and she left in great confusion. Behind her she could hear a few phrases of her parents' arguing.
"Julia! She obviously hasn't been learning anything from the spankings I've been giving her!" James yelled.
"You're right, James, but taking it out on her in anger isn't going to change things..."
That was the last thing Crystal was able to hear as she trudged out to the barn. She didn't know exactly what to expect, but she was pretty sure it wasn't going to be good.
Part 1
Little House on the Prairie fanfiction
Twelve-year-old Crystal Craiger waited impatiently with her father, James, for the stagecoach to arrive. Her cousin, Danielle, was coming to stay with Crystal's family while her parents were at a clinic. Danielle was supposed to be around Crystal's age, and the young girl was excited at the prospect of a new playmate, as well as someone with whom she could share her chores.
Finally the stagecoach rumbled into the depot. By this time Crystal was hopping from foot to foot in anticipation, causing little puffs of dust to explode out from under her boots. Once the vehicle had slowed to a stop, everyone waited anxiously for the girl to emerge.
Finally, the door opened, and a sweet-looking girl stepped out. She was dressed fancily, but that wasn't too much of a shock; people always wanted to make a nice first impression. Her dress was down to her ankles, and was a soft, periwinkle blue. There were small rosettes on the bodice, and lace came down in layers on the ample skirt.
Her hair was auburn and curly, with her grown-out bangs pulled back by a bow that matched her gorgeous dress. Her complexion was fair. She would have been extremely pretty, except for her size. She didn't look "bad" necessarily, just rather beefy. If it weren't for the welcoming smile that she sported, she would have seemed rather overbearing.
The back of the stagecoach was loaded with the girl's bags and trunk, and she was only there for a three week stay! Crystal gaped in awe as the stagecoach driver and her pa hefted the loaded packs into the family's wagon. She felt so inferior in her simple calico dress with its pale pink background and little violets sprinkled across it, covered by a solid navy apron. They had money for slightly nicer clothes, but now that they lived on a farm, it just wasn't practical!
Still, she mustered up her courage, and timidly approached her cousin. She extended her petite hand, and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Crystal. You must be Danielle. I've been looking forward to meeting you for so long!"
"Hi," was all the response Crystal could get from the other girl.
"You must be awfully tired after such a long journey. How was it? Did it take you long to get here from Pittsburgh?"
"Yes, I am, and yes it did," came the reply.
Crystal was a little put off by this, but decided to let it rest. The girl just had to be tired from her trip. Surely she would be more conversational once she had a good meal in her, she reasoned.
Finally the wagon was loaded up, and James came over to the two girls. "Oh, good, I'm glad you two have already introduced yourselves. It's good to meet you, Danielle. I'm your Uncle James. Julia has told me a lot about your family, and we've heard nothing but good about you." The man put an arm around her shoulders.
"It's nice to meet you too, Uncle James," she said sweetly.
James smiled. "I'm sure you two girls will have a lot of talking to do, so I will let you sit in the back where you can have some privacy. Let's hurry and get home, so we can get supper out of the way and get Danielle to bed. I'm sure she must be absolutely exhausted."
"Yes, I am, Uncle James. Dinner and bed sound just wonderful. And I would love to have some time to get to know Crystal," replied Danielle kindly. James beamed at the girl, and motioned to the back of the wagon. Crystal was already clambering amidst all of the luggage.
Danielle just stared in surprise. For the first time since she had arrived in Walnut Grove, she volunteered to speak to her cousin. "Uh, Crystal? How do I get up?" she asked.
"Just climb in, silly!" came Crystal's easy response.
Danielle just balked. "You can't be serious!"
"Oh, fine then, give me your hand," Crystal conceded. It took some doing, but she finally got her larger cousin up in the wagon next to her. Danielle just went and sat on her carpetbag with her chin in her hands.
"Are we all set back there?" James called out.
"Yes, Pa!" called out Crystal.
"Alright then, let's get on home!" With a jolt the wagon began to move south towards the small farm that was the Craiger's.
Several times on the way back to the Craiger farm Crystal tried to engage her cousin in a conversation, but each time she failed miserably. Eventually she just gave up, and went to sit by herself and daydream.
Finally the lengthy trip from town was over, and the family got out of the wagon. Julia, Crystal's mother, ran out of the house to greet them. The smell of lye soap and peach cobbler faintly clung to her form, and while Crystal welcomed the smell, Danielle wrinkled her nose just a little. Julia didn't even notice, though, and hurried over to the girl and embraced her.
"Hello, honey! It's so good to meet you, at last! I've heard so much about you!"
Danielle's sweet smile made its grand entrance again, and she returned her aunt's hug. "Hello, Aunt Julia! It's nice to meet you too!"
"Let's get you inside then. Supper's on the table. Your uncle'll come out after the meal to get your bags.
While James went back out to unhitch the team, Julia led the way into the white, two-story farm house. The door led straight into the kitchen, so no instructions were needed on how to get to the dining area. The room was small, though not crowded. An oven and counter were against the back wall, and a fireplace to the left of it. In the far right corner was an oak table. It was already set with a glass, silverware, plate, and napkins at each place.
"Danielle," Julia began, "you may go ahead and take a seat at the table. Tonight, Crystal and I will serve you."
"Why, thank you, Aunt Julia," came her response. She made her way over to the table and flounced into the nicest chair, which just happened to be James'.
Indignant, Crystal strode purposely toward her cousin, opening her mouth to rebuke her, but Julia barred her way. One arm came across the girl's chest and the other hand covered her mouth.
"Let her be, Crystal," Julia whispered in her daughter's ear. "She's a guest, and she didn't know any better." Crystal bit back a sharp retort and merely nodded. Neither woman nor child thought they had been observed, but Danielle wasn't one to miss anything.
It was that perceptive nature of hers that drew her eye to the linen napkins on the walnut table. "Why, you have such 'interesting' napkins, Aunt Julia," she commented lightly.
"Yes, well, I'm sorry about this Danielle," Julia began, and then she caught her daughter's questioning gaze from across the room. She went and picked one of the pieces of fabrib up and brought it to Crystal. Tears came to Crystal's eyes as Julia continued.
"Crystal was doing laundry this afternoon, and left my white napkins to soak with her pa's red shirt."
"Ma, I…"
"Not now, Crystal," her mother replied tartly. "Your father and I will discuss this with you after supper."
Silently crying, the girl nodded her head. Julia put a comforting arm around Crystal's shoulders and gave her a quick hug.
"Help me get supper on the table, alright? The sooner we eat, the sooner we can it over with."
Crystal nodded again, and helped set out the roast duck, biscuits and honey, and creamed corn. By the time she was pouring water in the glasses, James was coming through the doorframe.
As he entered he was smiling and whistling Yankee Doodle, but then he saw the tears on Crystal's face. He approached her with a concerned look on his face.
"What's the matter, sweetie?" he asked. "Do you have another headache? If so, you may sit down, you know."
With this, Crystal's sobbing resumed, and she shook her head.
"Then what…?"
As James began his question, Crystal set the pitcher down, and grabbed a pink and white napkin. Shame-faced, she proffered it to her pa, then clasped her hands protectively behind her.
James' look of concern was quickly replaced with one of grim determination. He said not a word as he went to sit down at the table.
For the first time he saw Danielle in his seat. He frowned, but chose another chair. Julia and Crystal each took a seat, and then James blessed the food.
This done, he turned his attention to his niece.
"I'm sure you're going to want to get to bed once we've supped," he said. Crystal blushed, knowing her father was trying to let them have their 'discussion' in private.
"Yes, Uncle James," Danielle replied. "I'm awfully tired. I'll just bring in my satchel for tonight. It has a change of clothes in it."
"Very good," James said. "I brought that in and set that at the foot of the stairs that lead up to Crystal's room. She has a pull-out trundle bed you can use."
"That sounds perfect," she said, then turned to her aunt.
"This meal is ever so delicious, Aunt Julia."
Julia's heart warmed with the praise. "Why thank you, sweetheart," she replied kindly.
After that, dinner was a fairly quiet affair, and for poor Crystal, it seemed to drag on forever. However, as all good, or in this case, bad things do, it came to an end as everyone finished and cleared their places.
"Danielle, honey, why don't you just go on upstairs?" suggested Julia. "The stairs go right up into Crystal's bedroom. The trundle is already pulled out for you, and has clean sheets and blankets on it. Your uncle and I need to speak with Crystal for a while, but she will be back up later."
"Of course, Aunt Julia," she said while giving (to Crystal, anyway,) an exaggerated yawn. Crystal felt something wasn't quite right with her cousin, but at the moment she was too upset over her own predicament to be overly concerned about her.
Danielle went and hugged first James goodnight, and then Julia, and finally made her way upstairs. Once satisfied she was all the way up the stairs, James and Julia turned to their nervous daughter.
"Well?" James demanded. "What have you to say for yourself?"
"Pa… I… was just excited about getting Danielle! I guess I hurried so I could go with you. I'm so sorry!"
"Crystal, this is the third time this month you've been negligent in your chores," Julia said. "If you didn't have time to do this one properly before you left you should have just stayed here. Most likely, I would have finished the laundry myself. Then you wouldn't even be in this mess!"
Crystal just hung her head in shame, watching her tears form puddles on the old wooden floor beams.
"Your mistakes have been getting graver and graver," Julia continued." Here, her voice got rather constricted. "You know those napkins were the last thing that survived the trip out here that were from my parents?"
Crystal started sobbing. "Mama, I'm so sorry!"
James lifted her chin roughly until she was looking at him, and then he took a step back. "You remember what we told you would happen the next time you did something like this?"
"Pa… no!" she wailed.
"Oh, you don't remember? Maybe you need a little reminder!" James barked as he made a pass towards his daughter.
"No, pa! I remember! I just…" Crystal said, cowering away from the sudden display of anger. James' face was twisted in rage and was just about ready to slap his daughter when he felt his wife's hand on his arm.
"James, stop. You are upset about her mistake with the chores, not what she just said, and you know it. I also think we've been too easy on her, and it's built up. Whatever it is, you WILL NOT touch our daughter until you've calmed down."
James' jaw was set, but he lowered his hand. "Crystal, go do your barn chores and wait for me there," he ordered softly.
This was quite different from how her punishments were usually handled, and she left in great confusion. Behind her she could hear a few phrases of her parents' arguing.
"Julia! She obviously hasn't been learning anything from the spankings I've been giving her!" James yelled.
"You're right, James, but taking it out on her in anger isn't going to change things..."
That was the last thing Crystal was able to hear as she trudged out to the barn. She didn't know exactly what to expect, but she was pretty sure it wasn't going to be good.