For whom the belle tolls.

[Fairytale dreamer]

<font face="Arial">"Southern belles come in all shapes and sizes.. and the thing that makes us special? We're the original ladies -- all those Yankee high class women? They're trying to copy us. We're the real deal."

Name: Annabelle Maguire, cousin to Shannon, Will and Caleb.
D.O.B: November 10, 1983
Occupation: Elementary school teacher.

(SN in lowercase is: midnight beiie.)</font>

<font color="#996600" size="1">[ December 12, 2004 01:07 PM: Message edited by: little white lies ]</font>

[Fairytale dreamer]

<font face="Arial">Christmas. Part I.

Sunshine filtered through the gaps in the pale pink curtains, filling the dainty room with natural light. The room was decorated in feminine colors, petal pink and soft white, with a few posters of that year's heartthrobs hanging on the walls. The two girls sprawled out on the bed looked very different from the women they are today -- Shannon being a bright-eyed girl of twelve who hadn't grown into her long limbs yet, and Anna as a freckled tomboy of eight. Both without sisters, they had learned to fill that void for each other, even if their age differences did provide some rough patches.

"...ew! That's so gross!" Anna sputtered, pert little nose wrinkling up in disdain while she stared at Shannon with wide eyes.

"What?" Shannon blinked, girlish amusement coloring her fair features while she shifted on the bed. Even at this young age, hanging on the fence between girl and woman, she showed her spots as an utterly feminine creature, wrapped up in a dress of soft fabrics and a pastel blue.

"YOU LET A BOY --" Anna, on the other hand, was wearing a baseball shirt that was two-sizes too big and a pair of jeans that were hopelessly ruined with grass stains.

Shannon immediately leaned over to clamp a hand over Anna's mouth. "Shh! My parents are right down stairs." Urgent whisper while she withdrew her hand.

"..kiss you?!" Fierce whisper.

"Girls? Is everything all right up there?" Shannon's mother called from the foot of the stairs.

"Fine!" They shouted in unison before breaking out into girlish laughter.

"I .. can not believe you did that," Anna said when she finally regained control of herself.

Shannon's features scrunched up in a show of embarrassment. "... We were playing spin the bottle .. it's not like I had any choice.."

"....Ew, Shannon. Boys have cooties!" Anna was shocked. Really.

"No they don't! That's just one of those ... urban legend things."

"Urban legends?"

"You know, like how people say if you drink coke while eating pop rocks you'll die.."

"Oh my god, that's so true! I saw it on the Discovery Channel."

"...Really? Oh. Well. Anyways, they don't have cooties."

Anna seemed unable to find a good argument for that point, so she let it go. "...Shan?"

"Yea?"

"What was it like?"

Shannon groaned, covering her face with a pillow.

"Come on, tell me! Tellmetellmetellmetellme.." There were times when Anna really showed her age, like this one. Insistent tugging on Shannon's arm, laughing all the while.

"Fine." Muffled murmur. "It was .. okay, I guess." Shannon was glad that the pillow was hiding her face, since she was blushing.

"Oh my god. Are you gonna have a baby now?!"

"No!" Snapping her head up to stare at Anna. "You can't have a baby from kissing."

"...Well, you never know. It could happen."

Shannon couldn't fault that logic, so they lapsed into silence.</font>

<font color="#996600" size="1">[ December 12, 2004 01:07 PM: Message edited by: little white lies ]</font>

[Fairytale dreamer]

<font face="Arial">Christmas. Part II.


"Your brother is a meanie-head," complained Anna while they trudged back up stairs after Christmas dinner. They had fulfilled their duties as the youngsters of the family, letting all of the elderly relatives pinch their cheeks and tell they how cute they are.. and how big they've grown.

"...What'd he do?" Shannon blinked, glancing towards Anna while they shuffled down the hall towards the elder girl's bedroom.

"He stole my cookie!" Anna said this in the overly dramatic manner all children seem to possess, as if the loss of her cookie would signal the end of the world.

"Oh. You should've kicked him. That's what I always do." And their parents wondered why Shannon and Will had such a love-hate relationship.

"Oh well." Anna shrugged, flopping down onto the bed.

Shannon quickly followed suit, exhaling in a low sigh while settling down on the bed. The girls were silent for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts.

Finally, Anna rolled over to face Shannon. "Hey, Shan?"

"Hm?" She turned her head to study the tomboy.

"My dad's getting married." Quietly, her fingers brushing along the comforter lazily.

"What?" Shannon sat up, blinking in surprise.

"Yea, to some lady named Donna." Anna shrugged, seemingly nonchalant about the whole thing.

"Oh." A thoughtful frown formed. Shannon didn't really know what to say to that! ".. well, I hope she's nice." Maybe that would work.

"Me too.. but if she's mean, I'd be Cinderella, right?"

Shannon chuckled softly. "Cinderella wears a dress."

"Oh. Well, then I'll be Wonder Woman instead. She never wore a dress."</font>



<font color="#996600" size="1">[ December 12, 2004 01:08 PM: Message edited by: little white lies ]</font>

[Fairytale dreamer]

<font face="Arial">The journal was old, with faint scuff marks marring the dark green cover and the pages were dark around the edges, loose from being constantly thumbed through. In a world where nothing was constant, her journal was a lifeline. She recorded her thoughts, her dreams, her memories .. and it always there waiting for her whenever she needed help, like a best friend.

She was curled up in the corner booth of a local coffeehouse (she had heard about the dangers of drinking coffee at the local hang out so she had been quick to find a substitute), legs drawn up onto the cherry red vinyl seat and her back pressed against the wall. Anna was indulging in one of her favorite past-times: People watching. It was something that she and Shannon shared, having spent countless hours watching people and making up stories. They were women that could have been heroines from a Noel Coward story, though with a modern twist.

Her coffee was growing cold, so she set the mug aside after taking one last sip, shifting in her seat while reaching for her pen. She tapped the end against the crisp white page before finally deciding to write.

Dear Mama,

I'm not sure why I still write to you.. its not like you can receive mail where you are. Or can you? I guess that's a mystery I'll have to wait a few years before solving. But then again, maybe you're reading this over my shoulder right now. I sometimes think you're here, I swear I can smell your perfume. I miss you, Mama.

I'm in Rhydin now. I'm staying with Shannon -- she's so different now, Mama. I didn't realize how much a year or two could change a person. When I asked her about it, she just shrugged and said it had to do with the environment. I don't know what that means, do you?

There are all kinds of crazy creatures in this town, Mama. I feel like I'm dreaming half the time.. I met a vampire. His name is Jack, he's a good friend of Shannon's. I'm surprised she didn't warn me ahead of time about the vampires and other strange creatures, but I guess she had her reasons.

I met a guy the other day, my first day in town actually. He dated Shan a while back I guess and is still hung up on her from what I can tell. Poor guy. He's so different from the boys back home, Mama .. Sleek and sharp, a Yankee, you know? It'll be nice to have a friend, if nothing else.

Well, I have to go. I'll write again soon -- I promise. </font>



<font color="#996600" size="1">[ December 12, 2004 01:09 PM: Message edited by: little white lies ]</font>

[Fairytale dreamer]

<font face="Arial">

The store was bustling with holiday shoppers, people rushing through the different departments in search of the perfect gift, for the perfect price. Displays were already in shambles in some sections of the store, signs that the early birds had already descended on the store. Every now and then a clerk would come on the loudspeaker to announce some new deal and it would trigger yet another stampede.

It was far too early for the artist to be out and about, since she refused to rise before noon now that she was on 'vacation', and she was sucking down coffee from a to-go cup with the kind of enthusiasm a person trapped in a desert for days would have when drinking their first glass of water. She was still grumbling while trailing in the wake of her overly cheerful cousin (she was sure Anna had caffeine injected straight into her veins from an IV), shooting skeptical glances at her watch every now and then. Surely it couldn't be this early if it the sun was shining brightly.

"Come on, Shannon!" Anna urged, obviously growing exasperated by the belle's slowness. Packages rustled while she adjusted her hold on the different plastic bags, moving to motion to a display of crystal snowmen and reindeer. "Wouldn't your mother like this?"

"..I'm coming, I'm coming," she muttered, sidestepping a rack of Christmas ties in order to come up alongside Anna. She barely even passed a glance to the display, already shaking her head in the negative. "No, no.. It's not expensive enough. She'd get the vapors if she knew I bought her something from a department store," she said, with a wry twist to her mouth. "I'll just get a music box or something." Shoulders lifted in a shrug and she drifted further down the aisle. "Who else are we shopping for again?"

"Well, you need to find something for your mother .. and Bjorn, and I need to find something for Will ..and Trent," she replied, voice lowering on the last name in hopes that it would slip under the radar.

It didn't. "Trent?" Shannon paused in her study of a collection of leather wallets, slanting a glance back at Anna. "You're buying Trent a present," stating, moreso then asking.

Anna shuffled uncomfortably, lavishing attention on a rack of keychains in order to avoid looking at her cousin. "Yea.."

Shannon bit her lip, replacing one of the wallets in order to head closer to Anna. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, you guys are just dating, sweetheart.." I don't want you to get your hopes up.

"We're not 'just dating,' Shannon," Anna corrected sharply.

"..Oh." Both brows shot up in surprise and she filed that information away for a later day's contemplation. "I .. I see." A flicker of a frown, passing a glance to the side. "When did this happen?"

"About a week or so ago." Slender shoulders lifted in a shrug, playing casual.

"Oh." She blinked again, slanting a brief glance to the side. "And have you .. talked to him recently?"

"Yea, I saw him yesterday," Anna said, passing a curious glance to Shannon. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason," she deferred, raking fingers through her hair -- a nervous habit. "When you saw him yesterday, did he seem .. out of sorts?"

"He said he had been dealing with some problems, but he seemed fine," she informed her.

"I see." Another flicker of a frown.

"You know something."

"I might," she hedged.

"What is it?"

" ... I'm afraid you'll have to ask Trent, about it, sweetheart. Those are his secrets to tell, not mine." She offered an apologetic smile before turning to continue drifting down the aisle.

"You know, family aren't supposed to keep secrets from each other. It's not fair!" She grumbled at Shannon's back.

"Oh yes we are, dove. It's what family is all about."</font>