Hello! How is everybody? I'm fine... so here's the chapter. It's REALLY short, but I'll make it up with a surprise update one day. Oh, yeah, the cuteness may be over for a little while...
TheDoctorPieMaker: She is, isn't she? As far as Beau and Leo, I guess you're just have to wait and see... You'll find out in this chapter.
ElphieIsPopular: Thank you! Your picture is great, too!
4-year-and-3-day-old Galinda was awoken in the middle of the night by crying. At first, she believed that it was just Cordelia and Genevieve, the newest additions to the family. Oz, her family was growing so fast. Little Cordelia and Genevieve were only a few weeks old and cried and cried every night, waking up the entire family. But this time, Galinda noticed, the cries were not as high pitched as those of the little twins. Galinda sat up and leaned forward slightly, trying to better hear the cries. She held her breath, trying to be as silent as possible in order to figure out exactly where the cries were coming from. It took her a second to get a grip on the source of the noises, but she felt uneasy when she realized. They were coming from Leo and Beau's room. The cries were unmistakable. She rarely heard the boys cry, but she would on occasion when they hurt themselves playing outside or when their father had to discipline them. But it took a lot to make them cry, so they would only cry if the situation was very bad.
"Aiglentine?"She whispered through the darkness. "Aiglentine?" She whispered again. Aiglentine was Galinda's imaginary friend. She was a beautiful girl with lovely long, flowing red hair and a gorgeous red ball gown. She lived in the garden, so Galinda usually went there to visit her. But if Galinda was extra scared, she would call for the rose-haired beauty and she would come. And tonight, Galinda was extra scared. In her mind, she could see Aiglentine coming in and sitting on the edge of her bed in a sparkly red nightgown and her hair loose, flowing around her in the moonlight.
"What's wrong, Galinda?" She imagined the girl saying to her.
"I hear crying," Galinda whispered, completely oblivious to the fact that she was only speaking to the air at the end of her bed, "and it's coming from Leo and Beau's room. I'm scared, Aiglentine!"
"Don't be scared." She could almost hear Aiglentine respond. "Go out into the hallway and find out what's wrong."
"Okay, I will." The blonde nodded, tossing her covers to the side and quietly stepping away from her bed. "Come on." She said, gesturing towards where she could almost see Aiglentine sitting. And she could almost see Aiglentine hop off of the bed and step behind her. The "two" quietly eased down the hallway after Galinda easily opened the door with the knob that she no longer struggled with. The cries grew louder with every step that Galinda took towards the boy's room.
"Wait! I hear voices!" Galinda could almost hear Aiglentine whisper into her ear.
The blonde did, indeed, hear voices, so she quickly slipped to the side and hid behind a table in the hallway. She could almost see Aiglentine do the same.
"Are they going to be okay?" Came her father's voice, hushed and full of concern.
"I wish that I could promise you that." Came a man's voice, one that she had never heard before. "They are strong boys, but this is a strong virus. I've seen it go both ways. But unless we can get their fevers down, they will not make it to morning." Galinda gasped from her place behind the table. She could almost hear Aiglentine do the same.
"But they're both so young! You have to save them!" She heard her mother exclaim softly, brokenly. It broke Galinda's small heart.
"I'm doing everything I can, Mrs. Upland." The voice said.
"Please," her father whispered. "Keep them with us. Please!"
"And I think that it's possible. But it will be a long night. Like I said, we just have to keep their fevers down." The man said.
"Alright." She heard her father whisper. Her mother didn't respond, she only sobbed. Galinda herself shed a tear as she slowly returned to her room.
"Don't worry. They'll be okay. I know it." She could almost hear Aiglentine say.
But just almost hearing it wasn't enough. And Galinda Upland cried herself to sleep, afraid that she had seen her brother's faces for the last time.
Yay! Tradgedy! So I'll explain more about this issue later. And Aiglentine will become a much more important character. Also, Galinda's age will stay more consistent in chapters for a while. And I'm sorry that this is such a short chapter and I'm sorry for updating late in the day. See you next chapter! Just to clear things up, Leo and Beau weren't feeling well for a while until this happened because it just got worse.