Written in the Stars fic
Title: Shadows
Fandom: Once Upon a Time
Characters: Ruby, Stranger
Word Count: 440
Prompt: I12. Don't be so excited about so much responsibility. at 5_prompts
Summary: Ruby takes these kinds of jobs because she needs the money but she doesn't really want to be here.
Title: Scream in the Night
Fandom: Original/Cousins
Characters: Cara/Quinn, Svea
Word Count: 557
Prompt: J9. There will be a fair dose of tough love, though there will be tender moments at 5_prompts
The scream echoed through the tiny house, ricocheting off walls until it became something greater than it had started out as. In the dark of night, it took on gargantean proportions. Wrapped in her quilt, handmade from Aunt Adi, Svea gave a start as her body caught up with the fear her mind had just witnessed. She hated being woken in the middle of the night by bad dreams. Hated it even more when it was her mother who was doing the screaming.
She started counting, just like she had been told. Even though she wasn't a baby anymore, was, in fact, a big girl of five, Svea still counted under her breath. As she got to one hundred, the familiar footsteps sounded out in the hall. Right on schedule. As the door to her little room opened, she scuttled out from beneath the covers and held out her arms to be comforted.
"It's alright, baby girl. Everything's fine." Her da always said the same thing, all part of the charm of safety that wrapped around her during these midnight fears. "Twasn't bad this time. No, it wasn't bad at all."
"Papa," she whispered, needing information almost more than comfort tonight. When he loosened his hold, she pushed away and held his face between her hands. It was impossible to see him but she knew him by heart. Strong chin with a scar over near his left ear that he wouldn't explain. Full lips that gave the best kisses in the world, something both she and Mumma agreed upon. Kind eyes that narrowed when he was angry and sparkled when he laughed. Hair the exact shade of brown as her own. Freckles that dotted the tops of his cheeks from where the angels had kissed him.
"Papa, did I make Mumma scream like this?"
"Hush. This isn't your fault. We've told you, it's just something that happens to her-"
"No, not tonight. When she was pregnant with me. I heard her telling Aunty Suze that she had trouble with her hormones and it's made her episodes worse. Did I make her like this?" He didn't answer right away and she read the truth in his silence. "And this is why I'll never have a brother or sister, isn't it?"
He smoothed the hair back from her forehead, the calluses on his fingers tugging at her fringe. "You have all your cousins. With all of them, you have more playmates than you'll ever need. Isn't that enough?"
A single tear dripped down her nose but she didn't sniffle so Papa never knew it was there. When she spoke, her voice was strong. Only little girls cried and she'd been big for quite awhile. "Yes. I suppose I have too many, don't I? I guess I don't really need a brother or a sister."
He hugged her close again, nearly squeezing the breath out of her. Making sure to turn her face away from his neck where he was sure to feel the tear, Svea linked her arms around his neck and pillowed her cheek on his shoulder.
"Is Mumma alright?" When he nodded, she lifted her head. It was all part of the ritual that kept them all safe and, she suspected now that she was piecing things together, sane. "All the same, we should go check on her."
Title: Cookies
Original: Original/Cousins
Characters: Svea, Cara, Cam
Word Count: 716
Prompt: K6. You need your friends and they need you. at 5_prompts
Svea stood behind Papa, the small bag with her clothes, one toy and her most special blanket was clutched to her chest with one arm while the other clutched at her father's leg as if she never wanted to let go.
"Again, thank you. Your brother thinks that he's found a different procedure that should help. In four or five days, we should know if works. Unfortunately, it's getting a little hard to discuss things around our house." Papa stroked the top of her head as he talked to Uncle Cam. Both men were too tall to see all the way to their faces comfortably but she was content to stare straight ahead. They were talking about her without really talking about her, after all.
"I have big ears," she whispered, not sure why that was such a huge concern to anyone. Could Uncle Loah fix her after he was done fixing Mumma? Was she going to have to just suffer through this sudden epiphany of hugeness on her own? Would her cousins laugh at her?
All this was swirling around her brain as Uncle Cam knelt down in front of her, his eyes still trained on Papa as they shared one of those looks that they seemed to understand without words. "Well, I don't know about that. I'll have to check and see how much they've grown since the last time I've seen you. What's it been? A week? Could they have grown that much in such a short amount of time?"
She shied away from his large hand as he reached out to smooth back the hair she'd been refusing to wear up lately. No use broadcasting the fact that there was something to laugh about. His touch made her shiver, mostly with pain as he found the wounds where she had tried to repair the damage herself.
"No, these aren't big at all. Not nearly as big as mine." He patted her shoulder, much as Papa had done this morning when she'd said her good byes. Mumma had wanted to come but last night had been long and Svea had sent her back to bed with a stern reminder that she wouldn't feel well without more sleep. What she hadn't said was, If you don't get well, I'll never be able to come home again. It wasn't anything anyone had said to her but she had been hearing things lately that were starting to scare her.
Svea met her uncle's gaze and tried to find a smile for him so that he would smile back. Uncle Cam was a ferocious man when he wasn't smiling and right now, his frown was more sad that anything else. "Yours are big."
"Yes, they are. Well, would you like to go play with the Littles? I think all three of them are well contained in the playroom at the moment. Or Sanne is around here somewhere. We could roust her up."
The very last thing she wanted to do today was to get stuck in the playroom with the triplets that everyone fondly referred to as "the Littles" because it was always a noisy place when they really got going. Neither did she want Sanne to look down her nose at her as she had the last time they had come by. That was the day that Guen had been visiting and the big girls had wanted to play on their own. She'd wanted to stay close to Mumma that day so it hadn't been a huge deal but now she knew that the same gesture would make her cry.
When she shook her head at both suggestions, Uncle Cam smiled. "Well, I think I heard Mrs. Collins talking about making cookies this morning. Would you like to help her? She especially likes little girls who are willing to help her lick the spoons clean."
That suggestion was one that she could live with. Mrs. Collins made wonderful cookies but would never give up the recipe to anyone that asked. Maybe she could remember what she used and share with Mumma... but that train of thought only took her back down the wrong path. Instead, she took a deep breath and put her hand out for her uncle to take as she nodded her head. Cookies, it was.
Title: Make a Run For It
Fandom: Original/Cousins
Characters: Svea, Aunt Becca
Word Count: 422
Prompt: L7. Bide your time because change is on the horizon. at 5_prompts
It had been a trying day. Svea had succeeded in not crying up until the point when Aunt Becca had tilted her head to the side in that way she had, as if she could see right through to everything that the little girl was thinking but couldn't say out loud, and held out her arms for a hug. Every tear she'd been keeping inside came pouring out so that, when she was done, her aunt's shirt looked as if it had been run under the faucet. Even after she was done crying, it had taken the promise of Toad-in-a-Hole for dinner (her favourite meal any time of day) and hot apple crisp for dessert that had enticed her to let go.
There were quite a few similarities between Papa and her Uncle Cam (their size, the way their face was always very neutral until something came along that made them smile or frown, the way that everyone stopped talking when they came into a room) but there were not many between Mumma and Aunt Becca. Svea puzzled over this as the seven of them ate dinner. The Littles were quite subdued, only breaking one cup the entire meal. All the wallpaper and carpets in the house was spelled to repel liquids, food and ink so the plateful of food that Cahya threw at Charis was hardly worth the effort. Aunt Becca ignored them until they were ready to be good but Svea had a strong suspicion that her mother would have gotten right in the midst of the fight and thrown a plate of food herself.
They were both good mothers but the differences had Svea's chest aching again almost as soon as the meal was over. She wanted her Mumma now more than everything. In that moment, she was certain of what she needed to do. While she'd only been to Uncle Loah and Aunt Adi's house once, she was fairly certain she could find it again. It wasn't far. She remember Uncle Cam once joking that it was almost being a kid again, having his brother so close. Maybe she could ask questions and discover where exactly she needed to go to find the Healer. With any luck, she could sneak out after everyone was asleep and be there before morning. That way, when her disappearance was discovered, she might have already had a chance to explain her concerns with Uncle Loah and get him on her side in this argument.
Because her Mumma needed her. Of that she knew for certain.
Fandom: Once Upon a Time
Characters: Ruby, Stranger
Word Count: 440
Prompt: I12. Don't be so excited about so much responsibility. at 5_prompts
Summary: Ruby takes these kinds of jobs because she needs the money but she doesn't really want to be here.
Title: Scream in the Night
Fandom: Original/Cousins
Characters: Cara/Quinn, Svea
Word Count: 557
Prompt: J9. There will be a fair dose of tough love, though there will be tender moments at 5_prompts
The scream echoed through the tiny house, ricocheting off walls until it became something greater than it had started out as. In the dark of night, it took on gargantean proportions. Wrapped in her quilt, handmade from Aunt Adi, Svea gave a start as her body caught up with the fear her mind had just witnessed. She hated being woken in the middle of the night by bad dreams. Hated it even more when it was her mother who was doing the screaming.
She started counting, just like she had been told. Even though she wasn't a baby anymore, was, in fact, a big girl of five, Svea still counted under her breath. As she got to one hundred, the familiar footsteps sounded out in the hall. Right on schedule. As the door to her little room opened, she scuttled out from beneath the covers and held out her arms to be comforted.
"It's alright, baby girl. Everything's fine." Her da always said the same thing, all part of the charm of safety that wrapped around her during these midnight fears. "Twasn't bad this time. No, it wasn't bad at all."
"Papa," she whispered, needing information almost more than comfort tonight. When he loosened his hold, she pushed away and held his face between her hands. It was impossible to see him but she knew him by heart. Strong chin with a scar over near his left ear that he wouldn't explain. Full lips that gave the best kisses in the world, something both she and Mumma agreed upon. Kind eyes that narrowed when he was angry and sparkled when he laughed. Hair the exact shade of brown as her own. Freckles that dotted the tops of his cheeks from where the angels had kissed him.
"Papa, did I make Mumma scream like this?"
"Hush. This isn't your fault. We've told you, it's just something that happens to her-"
"No, not tonight. When she was pregnant with me. I heard her telling Aunty Suze that she had trouble with her hormones and it's made her episodes worse. Did I make her like this?" He didn't answer right away and she read the truth in his silence. "And this is why I'll never have a brother or sister, isn't it?"
He smoothed the hair back from her forehead, the calluses on his fingers tugging at her fringe. "You have all your cousins. With all of them, you have more playmates than you'll ever need. Isn't that enough?"
A single tear dripped down her nose but she didn't sniffle so Papa never knew it was there. When she spoke, her voice was strong. Only little girls cried and she'd been big for quite awhile. "Yes. I suppose I have too many, don't I? I guess I don't really need a brother or a sister."
He hugged her close again, nearly squeezing the breath out of her. Making sure to turn her face away from his neck where he was sure to feel the tear, Svea linked her arms around his neck and pillowed her cheek on his shoulder.
"Is Mumma alright?" When he nodded, she lifted her head. It was all part of the ritual that kept them all safe and, she suspected now that she was piecing things together, sane. "All the same, we should go check on her."
Title: Cookies
Original: Original/Cousins
Characters: Svea, Cara, Cam
Word Count: 716
Prompt: K6. You need your friends and they need you. at 5_prompts
Svea stood behind Papa, the small bag with her clothes, one toy and her most special blanket was clutched to her chest with one arm while the other clutched at her father's leg as if she never wanted to let go.
"Again, thank you. Your brother thinks that he's found a different procedure that should help. In four or five days, we should know if works. Unfortunately, it's getting a little hard to discuss things around our house." Papa stroked the top of her head as he talked to Uncle Cam. Both men were too tall to see all the way to their faces comfortably but she was content to stare straight ahead. They were talking about her without really talking about her, after all.
"I have big ears," she whispered, not sure why that was such a huge concern to anyone. Could Uncle Loah fix her after he was done fixing Mumma? Was she going to have to just suffer through this sudden epiphany of hugeness on her own? Would her cousins laugh at her?
All this was swirling around her brain as Uncle Cam knelt down in front of her, his eyes still trained on Papa as they shared one of those looks that they seemed to understand without words. "Well, I don't know about that. I'll have to check and see how much they've grown since the last time I've seen you. What's it been? A week? Could they have grown that much in such a short amount of time?"
She shied away from his large hand as he reached out to smooth back the hair she'd been refusing to wear up lately. No use broadcasting the fact that there was something to laugh about. His touch made her shiver, mostly with pain as he found the wounds where she had tried to repair the damage herself.
"No, these aren't big at all. Not nearly as big as mine." He patted her shoulder, much as Papa had done this morning when she'd said her good byes. Mumma had wanted to come but last night had been long and Svea had sent her back to bed with a stern reminder that she wouldn't feel well without more sleep. What she hadn't said was, If you don't get well, I'll never be able to come home again. It wasn't anything anyone had said to her but she had been hearing things lately that were starting to scare her.
Svea met her uncle's gaze and tried to find a smile for him so that he would smile back. Uncle Cam was a ferocious man when he wasn't smiling and right now, his frown was more sad that anything else. "Yours are big."
"Yes, they are. Well, would you like to go play with the Littles? I think all three of them are well contained in the playroom at the moment. Or Sanne is around here somewhere. We could roust her up."
The very last thing she wanted to do today was to get stuck in the playroom with the triplets that everyone fondly referred to as "the Littles" because it was always a noisy place when they really got going. Neither did she want Sanne to look down her nose at her as she had the last time they had come by. That was the day that Guen had been visiting and the big girls had wanted to play on their own. She'd wanted to stay close to Mumma that day so it hadn't been a huge deal but now she knew that the same gesture would make her cry.
When she shook her head at both suggestions, Uncle Cam smiled. "Well, I think I heard Mrs. Collins talking about making cookies this morning. Would you like to help her? She especially likes little girls who are willing to help her lick the spoons clean."
That suggestion was one that she could live with. Mrs. Collins made wonderful cookies but would never give up the recipe to anyone that asked. Maybe she could remember what she used and share with Mumma... but that train of thought only took her back down the wrong path. Instead, she took a deep breath and put her hand out for her uncle to take as she nodded her head. Cookies, it was.
Title: Make a Run For It
Fandom: Original/Cousins
Characters: Svea, Aunt Becca
Word Count: 422
Prompt: L7. Bide your time because change is on the horizon. at 5_prompts
It had been a trying day. Svea had succeeded in not crying up until the point when Aunt Becca had tilted her head to the side in that way she had, as if she could see right through to everything that the little girl was thinking but couldn't say out loud, and held out her arms for a hug. Every tear she'd been keeping inside came pouring out so that, when she was done, her aunt's shirt looked as if it had been run under the faucet. Even after she was done crying, it had taken the promise of Toad-in-a-Hole for dinner (her favourite meal any time of day) and hot apple crisp for dessert that had enticed her to let go.
There were quite a few similarities between Papa and her Uncle Cam (their size, the way their face was always very neutral until something came along that made them smile or frown, the way that everyone stopped talking when they came into a room) but there were not many between Mumma and Aunt Becca. Svea puzzled over this as the seven of them ate dinner. The Littles were quite subdued, only breaking one cup the entire meal. All the wallpaper and carpets in the house was spelled to repel liquids, food and ink so the plateful of food that Cahya threw at Charis was hardly worth the effort. Aunt Becca ignored them until they were ready to be good but Svea had a strong suspicion that her mother would have gotten right in the midst of the fight and thrown a plate of food herself.
They were both good mothers but the differences had Svea's chest aching again almost as soon as the meal was over. She wanted her Mumma now more than everything. In that moment, she was certain of what she needed to do. While she'd only been to Uncle Loah and Aunt Adi's house once, she was fairly certain she could find it again. It wasn't far. She remember Uncle Cam once joking that it was almost being a kid again, having his brother so close. Maybe she could ask questions and discover where exactly she needed to go to find the Healer. With any luck, she could sneak out after everyone was asleep and be there before morning. That way, when her disappearance was discovered, she might have already had a chance to explain her concerns with Uncle Loah and get him on her side in this argument.
Because her Mumma needed her. Of that she knew for certain.