The lost chapter.

Every Christmas my sister and I would make little gifts for our dolls and put them in little stalkings and then have the dolls open them on Christmas morning before we opened our own gifts. One thing I loved to make were books. Small enough for the doll of course, I would sit down and usually write the first chapter of a book I enjoyed. On the rare occasion - very rare occasion, I would write down one of my own books. This might seem kind of random, but the other day I pulled a trunk out from under my bed and started looking at stuff (most of which I had forgotten I owned) and I found those little books I made. Imagine my surprise when I found the first chapter to the original story of Hollyhocks! That's right, the manuscript is lost, but amazingly I still have the first chapter written in this tiny little book meant for a doll. I read it and laughed at how bad it all sounded. I'm a little embarrassed about it, but I think it would be fun to share it with you:

Chapter 1.
Do you like fairy stories? Oh good! Let me think a minute. What would be a good tale to tell you? Hmmm...I know! I will tell you the story of Hollyhocks. I love that story. It never gets old.

Now, the story is based back in the 1400's, during that of the Middle Ages in a place called the Valley of Doves. This place gets its name from all of the doves that live in the land. Also, the dove is a symbol of peace and the Valley of Doves was a peaceful kingdom ruled by King Wilhelm. All of the people in the village were quite fond of the good king.

At the north end of the kingdom there was a mountain on which was a brick castle with six tall towers. King Wilhelm lived in the castle and the mountain was called the North Mountain by the people of the village.

It was in this land, eight years ago, a little girl was born to two very happy parents, John and Petronilla, who named their daughter Hollyhocks, and they loved her dearly.

John was a handsome man, and his wife was a beautiful woman. He was a human, but Petronilla was not. She was a fairy with wings. Humans did not usually marry fairies, however, it has happened before.

Holly (as she was sometimes called) was a fairy like her mother, and she has aqua eyes with a hair color that was more green than blond. She had freckles and rosy cheeks and she was a kind and sweet girl. She was raised in a humble cottage. Her parents were very poor, but they got on well, for they grew a lot of their own foods and they had chickens and a cow. They also had a milk white unicorn.

Holly helped a lot with the crops and the animals and not once did she complain about the work. She rather enjoyed it. Whenever there was time, Holly would ride Anlon, the unicorn. She loved to ride and was very attached to him.

Just now Holly lay in bed waiting for her goodnight kiss. Her father came in and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Her mother came in after him and sang her her favorite song:

"Close your eyes my little one, close your eyes and have a dream.
I wish you dream you meet a king, I wish you dream you fall in love.
I wish you dream you have a girl whose as sweet as you.
I wish you dream you have a boy who's eyes are blue,
so close your eyes and dream this dream I wish for you."

Holly loved it when her mother sang to her because she had a beautiful singing voice. And they were a happy family who loved the Lord.

Then one day something happened that nearly broke poor Holly's heart. It makes me very sad to think about that day, but since you do not know what happened, I will tell you.

John and Petronilla went out for some fresh air and left their girl at home. They went out for a walk in the forest and never came out. They were the eleventh couple to disappear. Therefore, the forest has earned the name the Forest of Doom. The reason people keep going in there one after the other is because word does not get around. Something else that is strange is that not every person who goes in there disappears. 

When her parents did not return by evening, Holly was restless, and knowing no other relative, she ran to her papa's brother, Uncle Owaine, and his wife Emmencia, and their daughter May. Uncle Owaine and his family were not nice people because they hated anything that was not human. And well, Hollyhocks was a fairy as was her mother. Petronilla knew Owaine was a horrible man, but Holly was too young to know any better. 

She went to his house and cried while she told him of her troubles. Owaine did not care about anything she told him, but he pretended to feel sorry for her. He held her in his arms and said in a sorrowful tone, "my poor brother, your poor mother. Hollyhocks, I am very sorry, You have nowhere to go. Stay here with good Uncle Owaine and he'll take care of you, you poor child. Shall we go home and get your things?"

Word about the Forest of Doom finally got around to everyone and no one else has gone there for four years. Hollyhocks is now twelve years old and has greatly regretted her choice when choosing the person to run to. She has been treated like a servant for four long years. She has her uncles crops to take care of, his animals to feed and gather eggs and things, and she had her own animals to care for and she had to cook the meals and clean the entire house! No gratitude was ever shown towards Holly. They were even mean to her and made her work on April 18th, the day of her birth. The only thing she ever got was, "You'll do better tomorrow, I'm sure." Sometimes she was sent to bed without supper because she had worked too slow in the day. "Maybe a night without supper will teach you to work faster," they would say to her.

"How can I work faster without food?" Holly would think to herself, but she wouldn't dare say it. She hadn't any friends. She was like a prisoner and was never allowed to leave. The only companion she had was Anlon and the good Lord who watched over her...

The End ;)