Prompt: Write about a sudden change in weather.
Song lyrics belong to Disney.
Maggie was playing bouncer with Jo when the clouds rolled in. Dark grey, almost black, they hung low in the sky, moving alarmingly fast toward the Longtreader farm. A distant, low grumble of thunder told them this was no September shower. When Maggie heard it, she thought of having to go home to the palace and felt sad. When Jo heard it, he moaned.
"Oh, no." He broke into a run towards the playhouse, because his siblings wouldn't appreciate being drenched. "Dad was afraid of this," He called back toward his cousin. "If it rains too hard, the wheat will be finished." Maggie grimaced along with Jo. She didn't know much about farming, but she knew that if the wheat wasn't there to be harvested, bad things happened. She was grabbing her school bag, which she had dropped carelessly on the ground when she had arrived at the farm, when her Aunt, Weezie, appeared at the front door.
"Don't go home, Maggie," She called over the whistle of the increasingly forceful wind. "Storm's coming too fast." Maggie nodded, and ran to help Jo round up the little ones.
"Sno and Harmony are up in the barn loft," Jo shouted, grappling a flying pop–up tent out of the air. Maggie raced into the barn, just as a resounding crash of thunder shook the ground. She found the five–year–old twins cowering in a corner of the loft, and Harmony on her back, leading Sno by one hand, she climbed down the ladder, and turned them over to Weezie. Her Uncle Picket, and his farmhand Lallo came barreling in from the fields, each dragging a cartful of hastily harvested wheat behind them. Jo followed behind them, picking up the stalks that fell off. They headed toward the barn as a stab of lightning touched down just miles away, sending Maggie's one year old cousin Courage into hysterical sobs. She scooped Courage off of the ground, singing a quiet lullaby as she carried her inside the house and deposited her into Harmony's lap. The rain was coming down in sheets now, bringing the last three of her younger cousins inside and underneath various sofas, tables, and blankets. Jo dashed into the house, seizing the bouncer ball as it tumbled across the now deserted front lawn.
"Helmer's still in the shed," He panted, and as though on cue, Maggie's oldest cousin burst from his workshop and shot towards the shelter of the house, goggles still resting on his forehead and pliers in hand. Moments later, Picket and Lallo came in from the barn, following suit. The moment they were all in the house, Weezie went into mother mode.
"You're soaking, all of you. Everyone change, before I kick you back out." When the Longtreader family had left for their various rooms, Maggie was left dripping in the middle of the floor, shivering, teeth chattering. Weezie poked her in the ribs, and she stifled a shriek. "Come with me, Mags." Weezie opened the door to a sewing room, and pulled a gorgeous deep blue dress out of the closet. "I was saving this for your birthday, but your mother won't thank me if you catch pneumonia."
At a loss for words, Maggie stared at the silk in her hands. "Oh, Auntie, it's–it's– thank you!" She set the dress down on a table and enveloped her aunt in a squelchy hug, earning a snicker from Jo, who had reappeared at the top of the stairs.
"Hey– Now you're getting me wet." Weezie pushed Maggie away playfully, and handed the dress back to her. "You know where the bathroom is." Maggie shut herself into the dimly lit room, which seemed much too small for ten people. She peeled off her soaking school dress, patted herself down with a towel from the cupboard, and tugged the soft, beautiful silky dress over her head. When she looked in the mirror, she felt like a different person entirely. She looked, well, pretty. It felt different. Pretty was Hannah's job. And though she did her best to pretend that she didn't have her heart set on any buck, she couldn't help wondering what a certain son of Jo Shanks' friend, Owen would think if he saw her wearing this dress. She briefly considered wearing it to school the next day, but then shook her head. This dress would go in her closet, and come out only for very special events. She smoothed the dress, and retied the bow she was wearing over her ear. When she stepped out of the bathroom, Weezie looked her up and down.
"You've grown since I measured you last. Come back in here so I can let out the hem." Maggie stood patiently as Weezie lengthened the dress, and the moment she opened the door to the sewing room, she found Harmony, wearing a rumpled green dress, which was on backwards, gaping at her.
"You look like a princess."
Maggie scooped up her little cousin, and carried her over to the sofa. "I am a princess, you goober. C'mere, let me fix your dress." With a minimal amount of wiggling on Harmony's part, the dress was rightaways, and Harmony scrutinized her once more.
"I bet Junder will faint when he sees you."
"Hey!" Maggie whispered, her face heating up. "That's a secret, remember?" She grabbed Harmony around the waist and tickled her, reducing her to giggles. Another crack of thunder rattled the windowpains, sending two more small cousins into Maggie's lap, trembling. She bit her lip. The thing was, she had a secret. She could sing. Really, really sing. She'd told no one except her grandmother, Sween, who she was sure she'd gotten her voice from. She didn't want anyone else to know yet. But now, wearing a beautiful dress, and surrounded by her Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins, who had all wandered into the living room, (Lallo had borrowed an umbrella from by the door, and insisted that he go home) She felt like maybe, just maybe, she could sing for her small cousins. She rifled through her vast inner library of songs, and settled on an ancient lullaby, passed through generations of Natalians. All Is Found, it was called. She took a deep breath, and began to hum, her voice easing gently into the melody.
Where the north wind meets the sea
There's a river full of memory
Sleep, my darling, safe and sound
For in this river all is found
In her waters, deep and true
Lie the answers and a path for you
Dive down deep into her sound
For in this river, all is found
Yes, she will sing, to those who'll hear
And in her song, all magic flows
But can you brave what you most fear?
Can you face what the river knows?
Where the north wind meets the sea
There's a mother, full of memory
Come, my darling, homeward bound
When all is lost, all is found.
And that was it. She sat there, while her family ogled at her. She didn't want to sink into the floor, like she had always been afraid she would. All she felt was peace. Peace like she had never felt before.