Age Switch

[nobler_things]

It was a peculiar place, this Tabula RasaMother had always stressed a thorough education, including all the classics, all of which they'd read together, in the parlor, in the dim light of the fire and gas-fueled table lamps. He had a rudimentary knowledge of Greek and Latin, as every proper, well-bred young man should, and he found it charming that

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[justsookie]

No matter how careful Jason Stackhouse tried to be this weekend, it seemed like Sookie just couldn't stay in one place for long. And why would she want to? Jason told her that mama and daddy were safe, that they were probably off somewhere doing grown-up stuff (which meant that Jason and Sookie definitely weren't supposed to interrupt), and that the two of them should just do their best to enjoy time on the island. And yeah, Sookie definitely wanted that. But then Jason tried to keep her all shut in and never wanted to let go of her hand, which was just ridiculous, so Sookie just tried her best to find some time to do girl stuff, and finally she snuck away, wanting nothing more than to meet some of the other people who were on vacation in the island.

The nicest room in the hotel seemed to be the one with the big TV-like wall, and a bookshelf, and a music box. Jukebox, Jason called it. So Sookie headed straight back there, shyly swaying her skirt by the door before she stepped inside, biting down on her lower lip and finding a seat next to the man there.

"Hi," she grinned widely. "Whatcha readin'?"

[nobler_things]

In theory, William quite liked little children. The represented the perfect, unsullied innocence that few managed to hold onto through adulthood. Goodness and uncorrupted morality, all the things he'd been taught to hold most dear.

Though, in truth, he'd spent very little time with children. He had no little brothers or sisters of his own, no nieces or nephews, and certainly no children, and in polite English society, young children were filtered away when their parents were entertaining guests.

But she was a tiny, perfect angel just the same, and he found himself immediately charmed. "Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream," he answered, turning to the title page so that the little girl could see the woodcut illustration of a lush, enchanted forest. "Perhaps not the most artfully written of his comedies, but it's always been one of my favorites. It's about fairies, you see."

[justsookie]

Some adults had a tendency of turning Sookie away, especially those at school. Ever since Sookie had started going to class, it was like people thought that she knew too much, like she was able to read their minds, some people said, and obviously people didn't like that. Sookie wasn't really sure why people thought that she could hear them any better than anyone else. After all, she only knew what they kept on saying to her. She definitely never went looking for secrets.

But this man was all nice, and he didn't seem annoyed that she'd interrupted his reading, so Sookie only managed to smile and beam as she stepped closer, her shoes only a touch too large for her feet, resulting in a shuffle. Lips pressed primly together, she examined the cover illustration carefully, trying to piece the letters together, although 'midsummer' was a bit too long for her to read without smushing the sounds all together in her head. Giggling and brushing down her skirt, she nodded and wondered about fairies, about their beautiful wings and pretty skirts.

"Can you read it to me?" she asked, a little shy (maybe mama would have scolded her for just asking plain like that), but too curious to stay away. "Is it a fairy tale? Does it have princesses?"

[nobler_things]

"The story is set during a royal wedding, of sorts, though it's not strictly a fairy tale. More of a comedy of errors. The arrogant, mischievous fairies meddling in the lives of silly mortals," William said, a gleam in his eye at being able to educate such a fresh, young mind on the wonders of one of his very favorite works.

He did wonder if the narrative might be a bit complicated for one so young, but he could remember finding much enjoyment in hearing his mother read to him, long before he truly understood what the stories meant.

"Shall we start at the beginning?"

[justsookie]

It was a lot of big words to process all at once, and Sookie blinked in an earnest attempt to understand, nodding solemnly before trying to find a comfortable place to sit. She didn't really know what 'arrogant,' or 'mischievous,' but there was that edge in the man's voice, almost theatrical, that allowed her head to fill in the blanks. Giggling, she smoothed out her skirt, suddenly struck with an idea and trying her best not to appear too proud. To the smart man, it was probably so obvious.

"Like Tinker Bell, right?" she asked. "Tinker Bell thinks Wendy and the other kids are so silly, and she makes all kinds of trouble for them." Nodding eagerly, Sookie sat herself down right next to the man, crawling closer and leaning her weight against him as she peeked in the book.

"From the beginning, then."

[nobler_things]

"You know, I'm not familiar with Tinker Bell," he admitted, quite intrigued by the possibility of a new story, whether it happened to be one for children or not. As a boy, he'd been convinced he'd read everything there was to read, when in fact, he'd only made it through his mother's personal library. There was a whole world out there he'd yet to see, even now.

She cuddled right up to him, so trusting and innocent, that he had to pause, opened to the first page, and ask, "Dear, where is your mother? If you don't mind my asking."

[justsookie]

"You don't know Tinker Bell?" Sookie asked, eyes widening in incredulity. Peter Pan had been one of the first stories that her mama told her, one of the first books that she'd bought as soon as she learned how to read. The brothers and sisters in the story were close, like Sookie and Jason were, and sometimes she spent a long time just trying to figure out which of the Darlings they were. "When I go back home and get my books, I can get Peter Pan for you. It's really, really good."

But before she could tell him about the fairies and the Darlings and the boys, Sookie blinked at the question. "Uhm... mama's out with daddy right now, doing vacation things. They'll be back."