Mettle

A dark fairy tale

Ellie was a small girl standing at just above the bedroom dresser. At 11 years old her mother had her expectations, but from what Ellie heard from the soft voices while listening at the crack of her door at night her mother had not found happiness herself. And sometimes those soft voices rose to screams and the sounds that made Ellie jump and clutch the wood of the door hard.

She came home from school one day and bustled up the stairs past her ma. Her room resided in the attic with cold floors that crackled and squeaked when she walked on them. Her bed was adorned with a ruffled blanket that seemed to beg to swaddle her with its tendrils of lace. It was always night in the attic. An ever long solitary sanctuary that Ellie looked forward to throughout the schooldays. She longed for this space, away from the judging teachers and her ma’s insisting, “Friends are important, Ellie,” “You’re not a child anymore, Ellie”. Here, she could be who she really was. And Ellie burrowed into that space like a black bear in hibernation.

By 5 o’ clock she had already put on her night gown. She crawled over to her bedroom door and counted the minutes from the moment the clock reached its hand to 5. She heard the front door crash shut as her father came home. She knew the moments that would come soon after. She lay on the ground and listened to the voices as they got louder and louder. She pulled at the bracelets she’d fashioned for her wrists. Friendship bracelets, so they say, for herself as she was the only friend she felt she would ever have. Purple as starlight, she pulled them down her arm to reveal the ivory scar tissue she had left for herself. She reached for the metal she had slid between two wooden floor boards. But this time she did not let it kiss her skin.

Not tonight, she thought to herself and dropped the shiny thing into her chest pocket. She lay there and listened while the voices spoke softer and became almost calm. Ellie’s body sunk into submission. She began to sleep. Although her body lay limp on the dusty wood, Ellie’s small frame began to change. Like dandelion weed a pair of purple tinged wings protruded from her shoulder blades and broke the surface of her nightgown, splaying out over her back. The floral from her bed spread dissipated into wild flowers that wound into Ellie’s short, bed-shaggy hair.

Slowly her body was animated with swirls of enchanted wind, all pink and purplish sunset colored. Her eyes drowsily fluttered open.  Her blade appeared as a dagger at her side, promising as to only harm the deserving few. Protected by a sheath of titanium. The metal that had comforted her would now be her instrument of defense.

She could not run far from those footsteps. Threatening, approaching the cellar door as Ellie brandished her weapon. She silently promised, this time she would not use it on herself. The door swung open as the ugly figure barged inside. An ogre invading Ellie’s land with brute force. She knew what would come next and would not let him win. Not tonight. She had promised herself.

 There had never been a more courageous pixie in all of her story books. The ogre thrust an ugly hand and seized the small girl’s arms, overlooking the appendages of flight upon her back that raised Ellie higher. The ogre anchored himself and gave many blows until the fairy broke free and raised the dagger and brought it down upon the ogre’s chest. It left him stumbling and Ellie caught a glimpse of the only daylight the attic cast. The skylight that projected all four seasons into her room.

Though the daylight was dimming she fluttered toward the charming window as the ogre grasped at her ankles. She beat her wings with all of her might and bashed the dagger into the skylight. Splinters of glass rained into the almost empty house as Ellie broke free, a winged champion of fate soaring into the warm piercing blue night. A free lady among the just-born stars of twilight. 

Reviews

[Rae S]

This is a beautiful story with a sad ending (to me). I loved the way she transformed and fought off the ogre. The writing in this is magical and works well with the story. My only comment is that I had to reread some of the language to get what they meant. When she ran past her "ma" I was confused as her mother isn't called that until this point. It then changes to ma for the rest of the paragraph.

The quotes inside the paragraphs were a bit tough to pick out but worked well for how the story is structured.

I truly enjoyed this story and hope to read more by you!