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The Side Effects of Being Raised by an Evil Fairy
by Lamie
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"Ok. To do list: #1, stop thinking about Rosella. Except I had to think about her in order to tell myself not to think about her. Arg! Anyway #2, get over fear of heights. #3, get over fear of long words, because if I know long words, then I can impress Rosella. Ah! #4, stop thinking about Rosella!"
The hen pecked at his pants. "Hey! Stupid bird. Shoo, shoo!" He waved his hands at it. His pink hands. His not-green hands. He still felt strange about being in this new form, but, oddly, it didn't feel unnatural. It felt like he was supposed to be that way. In his previous form, it had always felt cramped, like he was hopelessly trapped. Of course, this feeling could have been possibly because Lolotte never let him leave the castle. Of course, that didn't restrict Edgar! Especially when he was around 10 years old, and probably would have been on Ritalin if he lived in the United States instead of a dreary castle in Tamir. On several occasions, he had snuck out of the house and wouls stay in the woods of Tamir for days at a time. Sometimes, he firmly made up his mind that he would never return to his mother's castle, only to go back a day later because he was cold, wet or hungry. Other times, he would have every intention of returning, but Lolotte would send out her Nosferatu look-alikes to bring him back. It was on one of those occasions that he developed his fear of heights. One of the goons was carrying Edgar back to the castle, for the 3rd time that week, and he was getting tired of lugging the fidgety little green brat back to the castle. So, to teach him a lesson, he dropped Edgar. Fortunatly for our little green friend, the goon swept down and caught him with less than 4 feet to spare. But still, free falling to the ground, knowing what would happen if you were to smack into it at like a million miles an hour, is enough to scar someone for life.
That particular winged freak didn't last much longer in Lolotte's company.
It was about that same time in his life that Edgar began to suspect. His skin felt... wrong. Like it didnt' belong where it was. Like something else belonged there in the place his skin was. He not only suspected about himself, but about his mother. Something didn't feel right. She was the only person to show any sort of affection for him, and she did act as a mother since he was a baby. So, why did he feel he wasn't truely her son?
"You deserve to look like what you really are," Genesta had said to him only a few minutes ago. So, this was his true form? This pink color that went so perfectly well with Rosella's own color? Edgar's mind flashed back a few minutes to when he was first poofed to the beach where Rosella and Genesta stood.
He had been up in his room, moping; kind of unsure whether to be happy or sad. Ok, sure, his evil supposed-mother was dead, but his mother, the woman who had raised him and cared for him and tried to make him happy, was dead. "Since she's dead, she can't open Pandora's Box and let out all those evils. Rosella will return Genesta's pendant and everything will be peaceful. Um..." Edgar tried to think of some other good thing that came out of Lolotte's death. "Uh... The unicorn can go back to the meadows. She can't.... uh.... She can't make Rosella marry me. Dangit! Of course, I could just ask Rosella if she'd marry me...." He looked into the mirror over his dresser. "There's no way she'd ever love someone like me. I'm short and green and ugly and weak, and she's tall and pink and beautiful and strong." He blinked a few times and then looked away from the mirror. "What am I going to do now that mother is dead? I can't stay in this castle. It's too yucky. Of course, someone yucky like me should live in a place like this. ARG!!" Edgar began to yell, allowing his voice to get the loudest he had in a long time. "I don't belong here! I don't belong in this skin! Why am I here?! She wasn't even my mother!!" He wasn't sure what made him shout, except for maybe the vague feeling that this was the truth, and maybe if he let it out then it would be revealed as the truth, and what he had been told was the truth could be revealed as a falsehood. "I need to get out of here!!" He was about to make a bolt for the door, when suddenly he felt a strange pulling sensation.
Edgar's surroundings were bright, and warm, and... it definatly wasn't his room in the castle. He blinked and then realised he was on a beach. A beach with Rosella (!!!) and Genesta. Genesta spoke to him. She said that he had a beautiful soul and that he deserved to look like what he really was. "What I really am?" he thought. And before he knew what had happened, or even could focus his mind enough that he could later remember what happened, it had happened. It felt like someone was pulling up on a string wrapped around his spine. But it wasn't painful at all. It felt kind of tingly. And then, it felt.... right. The strange wrong feeling he had felt for as long as he could remember was gone. He looked around again. The sand was further away! He was about to freak out when he noticed something else: He was taller than Rosella! There was a look on her face that seemed to say "Holy guacamole."
And then Edgar realised: He was human. Genesta had turned him human. Human! And Rosella was there. This was his chance! He was human, and maybe- just maybe.....
He had always read in books that when one made a marriage proposal, he should kneel down on one knee; so that's what Edgar did. He told Rosella how he felt and asked her to marry him. Honestly, he wasn't expecting her to say yes. He wasn't even expecting her to think about it. But when she did seriously seem to be considering to accept, it got his hopes up. Maybe she would say yes! "Oh, please," he thought. "Oh please, please, please say yes. Oh pl-- Oh shoot, did I leave the candles in my room lit? Please, Rosella, say yes..."
"I'm sorry..." she began. Edgar didn't hear much after that. She sounded very nice about rejecting him, and maybe even regretful.
"Good-bye," the fairy then said to Rosella. "We'll never forget you!"
Edgar, now sitting on the beach, had no idea if never forgetting her was a good thing, or bad. He wanted to remember her. But he didn't like the sinking, ache-y feeling in his chest that he felt when he thought about her that told him he missed her. "How pathetic. She hasn't even been gone for an hour and I miss her? I don't even know her that well." But it felt like he did know her well. In the same way that he had known that he didn't belong in his previous hunchback form, he now knew that he somehow belonged with Rosella.
He glanced backwards, away from the water, towards Genesta's ivory castle. Even though it wasn't (and it was the first time he had been to Genesta's island) the place strangely felt like home. Far off in the distance, he could vaguely see the dark mouintains; the place he had called "home" for almost 20 years. But it wasn't home. And Genesta's island wasn't home either. Home, he felt, was far a way. Edgar stood up and walked to the bright purple doors of Genesta's palace. He never once thought about being freaked out from height. He slowly opened the doors and walked into the foyer. There were three doors to chose from, but luckily the first he chose was where he found her.
"Um, Genesta?"
"Yes?" the fairy replied cheerfully.
"I was wondering if I could talk to you."
"Why, of course, Edgar."
"I was just a little curious a-about..." his voice lowered to a mumble.
"It's ok, go ahead."
"About my m-mother. Lolotte, I mean. She wasn't really my mother, was she?"
"No, she wasn't. She took you from your real parents when you were a baby, and then just used her magic to alter your appearance to make you look like you could be her son."
Edgar was silent for a while. "Uh, did you know about this before?"
"Yes."
"Well, um, why didn't you do anytning about it?"
"I was no match for Lolotte," Genesta replied without missing a beat. "Especially if I were to intrude upon her own domain."
Edgar felt a small twinge of anger. There must have been at least one time in all those years where Genesta could have been able to do something. But the anger quickly passed as he realised that it was not Genesta's duty, especially if Lolotte wasn't inflicting terrible harm to anyone. "What's going to happen to mo- I mean, Lolotte's castle? And all of her servants?"
Genesta suddenly seemed very happy. "Oh! I can make it so pretty! And those ugly goons can be pretty butterflies!" She called out to all of the fairies fluttering about the room, "Come, friends! Let us make Lolotte's castle beautiful!" There was a fizzle of light.
"Wait!" Edgar cried out. But it was too late. The room was emptied of all its occupants except for Edgar. "Who are my real parents?" he asked no one.
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The Side Effects of Being Raised by an Evil Fairy
by Lamie
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"Ok. To do list: #1, stop thinking about Rosella. Except I had to think about her in order to tell myself not to think about her. Arg! Anyway #2, get over fear of heights. #3, get over fear of long words, because if I know long words, then I can impress Rosella. Ah! #4, stop thinking about Rosella!"
The hen pecked at his pants. "Hey! Stupid bird. Shoo, shoo!" He waved his hands at it. His pink hands. His not-green hands. He still felt strange about being in this new form, but, oddly, it didn't feel unnatural. It felt like he was supposed to be that way. In his previous form, it had always felt cramped, like he was hopelessly trapped. Of course, this feeling could have been possibly because Lolotte never let him leave the castle. Of course, that didn't restrict Edgar! Especially when he was around 10 years old, and probably would have been on Ritalin if he lived in the United States instead of a dreary castle in Tamir. On several occasions, he had snuck out of the house and wouls stay in the woods of Tamir for days at a time. Sometimes, he firmly made up his mind that he would never return to his mother's castle, only to go back a day later because he was cold, wet or hungry. Other times, he would have every intention of returning, but Lolotte would send out her Nosferatu look-alikes to bring him back. It was on one of those occasions that he developed his fear of heights. One of the goons was carrying Edgar back to the castle, for the 3rd time that week, and he was getting tired of lugging the fidgety little green brat back to the castle. So, to teach him a lesson, he dropped Edgar. Fortunatly for our little green friend, the goon swept down and caught him with less than 4 feet to spare. But still, free falling to the ground, knowing what would happen if you were to smack into it at like a million miles an hour, is enough to scar someone for life.
That particular winged freak didn't last much longer in Lolotte's company.
It was about that same time in his life that Edgar began to suspect. His skin felt... wrong. Like it didnt' belong where it was. Like something else belonged there in the place his skin was. He not only suspected about himself, but about his mother. Something didn't feel right. She was the only person to show any sort of affection for him, and she did act as a mother since he was a baby. So, why did he feel he wasn't truely her son?
"You deserve to look like what you really are," Genesta had said to him only a few minutes ago. So, this was his true form? This pink color that went so perfectly well with Rosella's own color? Edgar's mind flashed back a few minutes to when he was first poofed to the beach where Rosella and Genesta stood.
He had been up in his room, moping; kind of unsure whether to be happy or sad. Ok, sure, his evil supposed-mother was dead, but his mother, the woman who had raised him and cared for him and tried to make him happy, was dead. "Since she's dead, she can't open Pandora's Box and let out all those evils. Rosella will return Genesta's pendant and everything will be peaceful. Um..." Edgar tried to think of some other good thing that came out of Lolotte's death. "Uh... The unicorn can go back to the meadows. She can't.... uh.... She can't make Rosella marry me. Dangit! Of course, I could just ask Rosella if she'd marry me...." He looked into the mirror over his dresser. "There's no way she'd ever love someone like me. I'm short and green and ugly and weak, and she's tall and pink and beautiful and strong." He blinked a few times and then looked away from the mirror. "What am I going to do now that mother is dead? I can't stay in this castle. It's too yucky. Of course, someone yucky like me should live in a place like this. ARG!!" Edgar began to yell, allowing his voice to get the loudest he had in a long time. "I don't belong here! I don't belong in this skin! Why am I here?! She wasn't even my mother!!" He wasn't sure what made him shout, except for maybe the vague feeling that this was the truth, and maybe if he let it out then it would be revealed as the truth, and what he had been told was the truth could be revealed as a falsehood. "I need to get out of here!!" He was about to make a bolt for the door, when suddenly he felt a strange pulling sensation.
Edgar's surroundings were bright, and warm, and... it definatly wasn't his room in the castle. He blinked and then realised he was on a beach. A beach with Rosella (!!!) and Genesta. Genesta spoke to him. She said that he had a beautiful soul and that he deserved to look like what he really was. "What I really am?" he thought. And before he knew what had happened, or even could focus his mind enough that he could later remember what happened, it had happened. It felt like someone was pulling up on a string wrapped around his spine. But it wasn't painful at all. It felt kind of tingly. And then, it felt.... right. The strange wrong feeling he had felt for as long as he could remember was gone. He looked around again. The sand was further away! He was about to freak out when he noticed something else: He was taller than Rosella! There was a look on her face that seemed to say "Holy guacamole."
And then Edgar realised: He was human. Genesta had turned him human. Human! And Rosella was there. This was his chance! He was human, and maybe- just maybe.....
He had always read in books that when one made a marriage proposal, he should kneel down on one knee; so that's what Edgar did. He told Rosella how he felt and asked her to marry him. Honestly, he wasn't expecting her to say yes. He wasn't even expecting her to think about it. But when she did seriously seem to be considering to accept, it got his hopes up. Maybe she would say yes! "Oh, please," he thought. "Oh please, please, please say yes. Oh pl-- Oh shoot, did I leave the candles in my room lit? Please, Rosella, say yes..."
"I'm sorry..." she began. Edgar didn't hear much after that. She sounded very nice about rejecting him, and maybe even regretful.
"Good-bye," the fairy then said to Rosella. "We'll never forget you!"
Edgar, now sitting on the beach, had no idea if never forgetting her was a good thing, or bad. He wanted to remember her. But he didn't like the sinking, ache-y feeling in his chest that he felt when he thought about her that told him he missed her. "How pathetic. She hasn't even been gone for an hour and I miss her? I don't even know her that well." But it felt like he did know her well. In the same way that he had known that he didn't belong in his previous hunchback form, he now knew that he somehow belonged with Rosella.
He glanced backwards, away from the water, towards Genesta's ivory castle. Even though it wasn't (and it was the first time he had been to Genesta's island) the place strangely felt like home. Far off in the distance, he could vaguely see the dark mouintains; the place he had called "home" for almost 20 years. But it wasn't home. And Genesta's island wasn't home either. Home, he felt, was far a way. Edgar stood up and walked to the bright purple doors of Genesta's palace. He never once thought about being freaked out from height. He slowly opened the doors and walked into the foyer. There were three doors to chose from, but luckily the first he chose was where he found her.
"Um, Genesta?"
"Yes?" the fairy replied cheerfully.
"I was wondering if I could talk to you."
"Why, of course, Edgar."
"I was just a little curious a-about..." his voice lowered to a mumble.
"It's ok, go ahead."
"About my m-mother. Lolotte, I mean. She wasn't really my mother, was she?"
"No, she wasn't. She took you from your real parents when you were a baby, and then just used her magic to alter your appearance to make you look like you could be her son."
Edgar was silent for a while. "Uh, did you know about this before?"
"Yes."
"Well, um, why didn't you do anytning about it?"
"I was no match for Lolotte," Genesta replied without missing a beat. "Especially if I were to intrude upon her own domain."
Edgar felt a small twinge of anger. There must have been at least one time in all those years where Genesta could have been able to do something. But the anger quickly passed as he realised that it was not Genesta's duty, especially if Lolotte wasn't inflicting terrible harm to anyone. "What's going to happen to mo- I mean, Lolotte's castle? And all of her servants?"
Genesta suddenly seemed very happy. "Oh! I can make it so pretty! And those ugly goons can be pretty butterflies!" She called out to all of the fairies fluttering about the room, "Come, friends! Let us make Lolotte's castle beautiful!" There was a fizzle of light.
"Wait!" Edgar cried out. But it was too late. The room was emptied of all its occupants except for Edgar. "Who are my real parents?" he asked no one.
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