Child's Play: Write a children's story!
For a challenge at womenverse to write a children's story. This was rather hard!
Fandom: Firefly
Rating: G
Author’s note: These are based on an OC that I wrote about here and here. Inspired by Gina Torres’s quote as shown in this gifset by backinblack-est1967 at tumblr. Made the baby a girl, though, played in my head by Quvenzhané Wallis. :)
The Ugly Duckling (words: 547)
Kaylee lifted the girl into the hammock. "Don't be scared, Aura, it'll swing for a second then settle down, and you'll be comfy as comfy for your naptime story." The auburn-haired tot wriggled around on the rainbow-colored pillows and closed her eyes. "I'maint scared, Kaylee," she crowed. "I like it here!" "Me, too!" Kaylee looked proudly around the engine room and sat on the crate next to the hammock. "Now. This story's might get a little sad, but has a lot of happy, too. It's called The Ugly Duckling." Aura opened one eye. "What's a duckling?" Kaylee took her hand and squeezed it. "It's a kind of bird, from the old times. This is, well, it's my way with an old story my mama used to tell me. A bird's a creature that flies." Aura opened her other eye and gazed at Kaylee. "Like Serenity?" Kaylee gave a grin and nodded. "Well, as a matter of fact...just listen."
There once was a girl who lived on a dusty dirt road with her ma and pa and five noisy brothers. They didn't have much, but no-one in their town had much, so it wasn't so bad. The little girl didn't mind being in among a mess of boys, her brothers and their friends; in fact, she liked it, and it was only later, when the girls 'n' boys started growing apart, that she got uncomfortable. See, the girls all started thinking about their looks, and primping and preening, and this girl didn't care about that so much. Suddenly, it was like she didn't fit in anywhere, not with the girls with their hairbows and giggles, nor with the boys who wouldn't wrestle or let her play ball with them anymore. Plus, she was never a graceful type of girl, more like clumsy, all knees and elbows, and not pretty or anything. So more and more, she felt like the ugly duckling in that story she always heard from her ma. The only time she wasn't awkward and dropping things was when she was working with her pa in his shop, fixing engines and machines and the like. There, she could lose herself in the wrenches and coils and belts and be at one with machines that didn't judge her. But still, she dreamed of some other life away from the dust and the life she'd grown up with. She'd sometimes go down to the airstrip and look at the spaceships that'd land there on some kinda business or other, and imagine what'd be like to take to the skies in one of those.
Well, one day, hanging round the airstrip after church, this girl met her a fine traveling boy who didn't mind that she was clumsy or a tad oil-touched. No, he made much of her and invited her up to see his ship. It was a firefly, spread out like a beautiful swan--which is another kind of bird, a glorious one--and....
Kaylee heard a soft snore and saw that the little girl had fallen asleep. "Just as well," she thought, "that part of the story'd have to be changed to protect the innocent." Giggling to herself at the memory, she got up quietly and grabbed a cloth to wipe down her beloved engine.
Jeannie the Genie (words: 557)
Inara's heart warmed as she watched Aura tumbling around on the satin-covered bed. "Just a bit longer, dearie, then it's resting time. And soon, your mama will be back to cover you with kisses." She made sure to keep the hesitation out of her voice, born out of countless times of worry about the crew out on one of their jobs. "'K, m'ready," piped up Aura, luxuriating on the silky cushions. "Can I have a story, please, 'Nara? Something about--" she looked around her-- "a princess! In a shiny room full of jewels and stuff!" Inara settled on the bed and stroked the girl's curly locks. "All right, darling, let's do." She thought for a moment and then, in an unconscious echo of Kaylee's earlier words, said, "Now, like all stories, this story has some sad parts, but it gets happy in the end."
In a place, neither near nor far, and at a time, neither now nor then, there was a girl who wasn't a princess, but she was a genie. What is a genie? It's a magical creature who exists to serve others by granting them their heart's desires. This genie, her name was Jeannie, and she lived in a bottle with her genie friends. It was a pretty bottle, lined with silks and satins, and the genies all wore lovely clothes, and were very comfortable. But they could only leave the bottle to grant someone their heart's desire, and after that they had to return again. It was a pleasant life, one that they were born to live, but sometimes Jeannie felt a longing for another kind of life, outside her warm and safe little bottle, where she could come and go as she pleased, and be truly free.
Then, one day, after granting a special wish to a lucky someone, Jeannie pricked her finger on a thorn of a rose, and fell ill. For weeks she tossed and turned in a fever, tended by the other genies, who could use no magic to heal her. Finally, the chief genie summoned a special magician to work a spell on Jeannie. It roused her from her fever, but could not cure her blood completely. Knowing that she could not have eternal life, but must live as a mortal, Jeannie decided to leave the other genies, and strike out on her own. Yes, she would still grant wishes, it was her life's work, and all she knew. But for as long as she had to live, she would live free.
Aura made a small sound of wonder, and Inara paused. "What is it, honey?" Aura seemed to be thinking, perhaps at the likeness of Inara's story to Kaylee's, or perhaps at how her surroundings did, indeed, look like the inside of a very elegant bottle. "This story, 'Nara. Is it...true?" Inara considered, and smiled. "Here is the ending of every fairy tale told to me, Little One, so I'll say it to you, and you can decide." She placed her hand over the little girl's heart, but her gaze was off into the distance as she said, softly, "The dreamer awakes, the shadow goes by; when I tell you a tale, the tale is a lie. But listen to me, fair maiden, sweet youth; the tale is a lie, what it tells is the truth."
Coda
"Did you have a fun day, sweetie?" asked Zoe, as she pulled the covers up around Aura. "Mmm, yeah, mama. Kaylee and 'Nara told me stories. They were kinda sad and kinda happy." The little girl snuggled down so all that was visible were her bright eyes and curly auburn hair. Then suddenly she pushed the blanket down and thrust out a pointing finger. "Now you, mama! You tell me a story! Make it one that's happy and sad." Zoe considered, and slid into the bed next to her daughter. "Okay, I will," she murmured, tucking the blankets up around the two of them. "Here we go. There once was a man, who seemed like an average man, but really he was a super-duper hero. He was called Laughing Pilot. Now this super hero, his special ability was that he could fly any kind of craft, and make any person laugh..."
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