Snippets of Greatness

Scarlett

Originally written when I was in eighth grade.

I sit on a stool by the kitchen hearth, lost in thought. The rain pounds on the castle windows and every now and then there is a flash of lightning or a clap of thunder. A nervous-looking page enters the kitchen and addresses me.

"Umm, Scarlett? Queen Starball would like you to bring her some muffins."

"Of course," I say as I stand up and gather some into a basket. I hurry up the stairs, but stop when I see something resembling a carriage outside the castle window. When another flash of lightning illuminates the scene, I see that it is, in fact, a carriage pulled by a single black horse. It stops in front of the castle only long enough to expel someone from it, then rolls on. I stare in shock at the unmoving figure lying face-down in the mud, just inside the castle gate.

After about two seconds in which my brain contemplates what I should do, I drop the basket of muffins and race down the stairs, through the corridors, and out the heavy wooden front door. When I reach the figure at the gate, I kneel down in the mud, not caring that my dress will get dirty.

The figure turns out to be a girl younger than I am, whose face and hair are so caked with dirt and grime that I can't tell what color her skin or hair are. I pick her up and carry her into the castle, where one of the older maids helps me bathe her and dress her in a clean nightdress. She doesn't fully come back to consciousness throughout the whole procedure, just mumbles a bit and doesn't protest.

When we get her clean, we are shocked to discover that under the dirt, she has hair as black and smooth as a raven's wing and skin the color of dark chocolate.