Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a tiny kingdom. It was very peaceful and prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition. Here in a stately chateau, there lived a windowed gentleman and his daughter, Camila. Although he was a kind and devoted father, and gave his child every luxury and comfort he could, he still felt she needed a mother's care. Deciding to marry again, he chose for a second wife a family of good fortune and two daughters just around Camila's age. They went by the names of Lucy and Keana.
It was upon the untimely death of this good man, however, that the stepmother's true nature was revealed. Cold. Cruel. And bitterly jealous of Camila's charm, wit, and beauty. She was determined to forward the interest of her two uncommon, very spoiled daughters. She was going to make sure that nothing stood in her way.
Thus as time went by, the chateau fell into disrepair. The family fortune was squandered for the selfish reasons of the stepsisters. The stepmother allowed her children to do as they pleased and made sure that Camila's life was miserable. Through all this Camila was abused, humiliated, put down, and eventually forced to become a servant in her own home. And yet, despite all of that, Camila managed to remain gentle and kind, even willing to stand up for herself in the darkest hours. For with each new dawn she found hope that someday her dreams would come true.
-
The sun slowly rose into the morning sky, the shadows beginning to disappear from the chateau's tower. A pair of bluebirds made their way up to the tower, flapping their wings until they were able to rest on the windowsill. A pair of slightly torn curtains rested in the window, barely allowing any light into the tower. The birds each took a side of the curtains and slowly pulled them back, allowing the early sunlight to pour into the room. It was quite small and looked about in as much disrepair as the rest of the chateau. Not much appeared to be in there aside from a bed, the window, a dresser, desk, chair, and a divider. In the bed there appeared to be a sleeping person, though it was hard to tell because the patched up blanket was covering the majority of the furniture. The birds flew in one the curtains were pulled back all the way and sat down on the headboard of the bed, looking at the supposed sleeping figure. But of course, the birds had been in there numerous times before; they each had on a vest and a little hat as if they were small blue people. It was obvious that they were more than welcome there. But it didn't look like anyone was there to greet them this morning. The birds exchanged glances before looking back at the figure. They tweeted slightly, as if they were trying to wake the person up.
There was little response. The figure under the blankets moved and the pillow became half folded, as though it were covering a face.
The birds flew over. One lightly pulled on some brown locks while the other tried its best to pull off the blankets, with little success. A yawn then escaped the person and the birds nearly jumped up as the person shifted in their sleep. They were now lying on their stomach, the pillow covering their head with only a small opening for the birds to crawl under and get their attention. One of the birds landed on the pillow and noticed this, tweeting to the second bird and pointing to the pillow.
The second bird shrugged its shoulders and tweeted back, with the assumption that the idea wasn't so good.
The first bird rolled its eyes and shook its head, which easily caused its hat to fall off and reveal the messy feathers on its head.
Giving in, the second bird sighed and flew over to the pillow. Tweeting slightly, it poked its head under the pillow and started crawling under, only to be answered by a giggle. The bird gasped and jumped out, quickly ducking behind the headboard and only slightly poking its head out.
The first bird tried a different approach. Turning around and leaning forward, like it was looking for a back way to get in, it poked its head behind the pillow. As it did that, a tan hand crept over and playfully flicked its tail. The bird gasped, grabbing its tail and flew back to the other bird, nearly banging into it and knocking it off of the headboard. They turned their heads around to see a laughing young lady slowly rise from under the blankets. Her chocolate wavy locks fell down to her waist, and her brown eyes complimented her skin tone very well. Though it was hard to see her figure underneath the blankets, it was easy to tell the young lady was around her teens. One could assume she had a very nice figure, and even as sleepily as she was, she had an amazing smile. That, of course, was none other than Camila.
"Good morning to you too, guys," She only rolled her eyes slightly at the birds. While Camila was not the best in the morning, and with good reason, it was her little animal friends that did the trick to cheer her up. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for them she'd have no idea what she'd do. The house would be nothing but a prison under the ruling of Judge Stepmother and Officer Stepsister One and Officer Stepsister Two...or something along those lines. But of course, those weren't the people she liked to think of first thing. Camila dealt with them enough during the day. Even she knew not to take her frustration out on her little companions. And even though the birds were a bit angry for their flicking right now, Camila knew it best to explain herself. Though there wasn't much of an explanation to give; it was about the same thing every morning, and they knew her well.
"But you know it serves you right for spoiling people's dreams."
The birds responded by flying over to the window and sitting at the windowsill, pointing at the large clock tower in the distance.
"Yes I know it's a nice morning," Camila nodded as she ran her fingers through her hair, "but it was such a nice dream, too." She sighed contently and leaned back on the bed. Camila had never really been much of a dreamer, but living as a slave under her own roof gave her the right to dream. It was the thing that kept her going. After all, if she had thought so negatively all of these years then where would she have been? Way worse off than where she was now. And by no means did that mean she had no guts. Camila was more than capable of standing up for herself. It was just a shame it was so hard to get even one word in edgewise with anyone around here.
She diverted her attention back to the birds, whom she had named Louis and Liam, who were now sitting on her lap eager to hear about her dream.
"What kind of a dream?" Camila interpreted their tweets. She then shook her head at them. "Can't tell."
The birds exchanged glances once more before looking back at Camila. They looked at her questionably before she gave her answer.
"Because if you tell a wish, then it won't come true." Camila answered as she ran a brush through her hair briefly. "And after all..." Her words were then replaced with a sweet melody.
"A dream is a wish your heart makes"
Liam and Louis rested themselves comfortable on her lap as a few more birds, each with a hat or vest of their own flew looked like a bunch of feathery people in their own little nests. Some looked sporty. Some looked nerdy. Some even looked like Louis and Liam. The birds happily flew in and made themselves comfortable around the room as they listened to Camila's soft yet powerful voice.
"When you're fast asleep
In dreams you will lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep"
A red bird in a little bow tie tried tweeting along, until another bird in what looked like a tiny sports jacket, shushed it. The red bird sighed and flew over to the headboard and tweeted along with Camila contently. Camila allowed him to do so as she ran her brush through her hair once more.
"Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling through"
Poking her head out of a mouse hole near the bed, a light brown mouse yawned and stretched before stepping out into the open. Her fur was messed up, mostly like bedhead. She had on nothing but a yellow dress and little yellow slippers, and dragged a white apron in her paw along with a yellow hat. She yawned, slowly allowing herself to wake up as she listened.
Inside the mouse hole, another mouse was waking up from his bed, a small feather bed with a tiny blanket, and stretching. Even from in there he could hear Camila's voice. He yawned and looked at his tangled tail, then out the mouse hole, then back at his tail. The mouse groaned and started attempting to undo the large knot.
"No matter how your heart is grieving"
The light colored mouse crawled onto the desk by Camila's bed and relaxed at her singing, much like the other mice as they arrived out of their beds and joined them and the birds.
"If you keep on believing
The dream that you wish will come true"
But like all nice things, they just had to be interrupted. the animals in the room nearly jumped as they heard the loud dinging of the clock tower. Camila groaned as she sat up and put her brush down.
"Urg, that clock." she sighed as she pulled off the blankets.
The clock rung again and Camila tossed her pillow to the side before sitting at the edge of her bed and walking into her slippers.
"That funsucker." she mumbled to herself.
It dang again and she became more frustrated.
"I hear you, I hear you!" she called as though it were actually able to hear her. She began talking as it dang. "Get up, you say. Get up you sleepy head. It's time to start another day." Camila rolled her eyes before looking at one of the female mice, one in a nice dress, who folded her arms like she could tell Camila's frustration perfectly. Camila nodded at the mouse. "I know Octavia, even he orders me around."
Octavia nodded in agreement, along with the two smaller mice sitting beside her.
Knowing she couldn't bring down her friends like this, Camila changed her tune. There was no sense in starting another day with a bad attitude. "But there is one thing no one can do. They can't order me to stop dreaming." She nodded to one of the birds flying to her. "And perhaps someday..."
"The dreams that I wish will come true"
Going into the best expectations for the day, Camila spun around back over to her bed and picked up the blanket, tossing it into the air. A small group of the birds each took an edge and folded the blanket perfectly, making the bed, while a few others jumped on the pillow and stretched it out as though they were fluffing it.
Camila made her way behind the divider and poured some water into a small bowl, leaving a dry sponge next to it, as Octavia started shooing the boys out of the room.
"Go on, shoo!" Octavia scolded. "Out, out."
While the rest of the family would get the actual shower in the house, the best that Camila could do was the water and a sponge. It was better than nothing. She put her hair up in a bun and hung her sleep wear on the divider as another group of birds dropped the sponge into the bowl. Once it soaked up enough liquid, as many birds as possible got together to lift up the sponge and squeezed out all the possible water from it onto Camila like she was getting a mini shower. Camila continued humming the tune, though let out a loud shiver at the feel of the water.
As that went on, the remaining birds hung up her sleep wear and then grabbed her work clothes from their hander and rested them on the chair while the mice lay everything out. The work clothes were about as simple as they could possibly get. With a white apron there was also a light blue long sleeve shirt, a long brown dress, and simple black shoes at the floor. A few of the mice shined her shoes and dusted off the clothes, humming along to Camila's tune. On the desk, another mouse pulled out a white sash, almost like a headband, from the drawer, and a final pair of mice filled the background with 'la's' as they neatened out the headband and rested it down.
Camila gathered her clothes behind the divider and slipped them on after drying off, then stepped into her shoes. A pair of birds flew behind her with the apron, tying it around her waist tightly.
"No matter how your heart is grieving"
She then sat down in her chair and ran her brush through her hair one more time. The birds then picked up her headband and handed it to her.
"If you keep on believing"
Camila then wrapped it around her hair, evening everything out as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.
"The dream that you wish will come true"
"Mila! Mila! Come here! You gotta come here!"
Camila turned to see some more mice crawling back under the door, begging for her attention. She watched as they crawled onto her desk, still trying to get her attention even though they already had it.
"One at a time, one at a time." she attempted to calm them down. Camila turned to the darker mouse, the leader of the pack. "Alright Raven, what's going on?"
Raven, like all the other mice, talked in a squeaky voice and some of the letters sounded like others. "Dere a mouse downstair. Bwand new. Never saw 'em afore."
"A new mouse?" Camila asked curiously. She opened one of the drawers and pulled out a tiny shirt. "Well then, he'll need a shirt..."
Raven couldn't help but laugh. "No, no, no." She eagerly patted her chest. "Like dis. It a girl."
Camila blinked. A girl who had once surprised her father with her intelligence made the complete wrong assumption. How embarrassing. "Well that does make a difference." She tried to make the heat fade from her cheeks as she replaced the shirt with a dress.
Raven jumped in front of her again, trying to get more attention. "No now! Trap trap! In trap!" she exclaimed.
Camila's eyes widened. "What? In a trap?" she gasped. "Why didn't you say so?" Removing herself from the chair, she ran over to the door and left it open for the mice to get out easier, then started descending the stairs with them following her. While there were numerous stairs it didn't take her very long to reach the half way mark; walking up and down them everyday was a good workout. And right at the halfway mark of the tower was where she saw a small cage with a mouse trapped inside of it. A few of the other mice were hanging around the cage, trying to get the attention of the little critter inside of it. The mouse inside the cage picked her head up and looked at Camila; as she lifted the cage in her hands, she scooted as far back as she could.
"alright everyone, calm down." Camila told the critters. She unlocked the trap door and looked at the shivering mouse inside. Her fur was a chestnut-brown color and especially the fur on her head looked messy. She was trembling like there was no tomorrow. Camila sympathized with her; she knew what it was like to be trapped so easily. She sighed watching her. "The poor little thing is scared to death." Camila turned to Raven and carefully set down the cage. If anyone could calm this new mouse down, Raven could. "Raven, would you like to try explaining things to her?"
"Yup yup, Mila." Camila nodded. "Yup yup." She contently walked into the cage and over to the mouse. The mouse looked like she was trying to pick a fight, most likely because she was so scared. But Raven was nowhere near intimidated. She was an all-around friendly mouse; that's why everyone liked her. "Hey, c'mon princess. No reason be scared. Take it weasy."
The mouse cocked her head in confusion at Raven.
"Dis a nice house. Yup yup. We like it here." Raven said.
The mouse glanced at the other mice hanging around the cage, then at Camila who was watching from outside.
"Mila like you too. Evryone weal nice." Raven added. She looked at the mouse calming down and nodded, leading her out. "See, dat all better. C'mon. Zu zu."
The mouse scratched her head as Raven led her out. "Uh...zu zu." she nodded. "Zhu zhu pet."
The other mice laughed lightly and cheered as they two of them walked out into the open. The new mouse waved to them and stopped to look at Camila. She cocked her head, trying to see if the dress she had would fit her.
"Well...let's try it on and see how it looks." she offered as the mouse lifted her arms so she could put the dress on. She slipped the tiny dress on her and the mouse looked around herself. It had fit pretty comfortably. She then looked up as Camila put a green hat on to match the yellow-green dress of hers. "It looks like a perfect fit." Camila observed as the mouse fiddled with his hat like it was a new toy. "Now all you need is a name. How about...Dorothea?"
The mouse twitched her nose and looked at Camila as she suggested that.
Seeing her reaction wasn't overwhelmed, Camila saw about coming up with a different one. "Well then, what about Dinah Jane? Nice and simple, right?"
Raven nodded his head, thinking the name seemed to suit the new friend perfectly. "What you think, Dinah Jane? Eh...DJ?"
She scratched her chin. "Uh...erm...Dinah." she repeated. Then she laughed and clapped her hands. "China!"
Raven shook her head. "No no no. Dinah.. Dinah Jane."
"Uh...uh Moo moo." she chuckled.
Raven shook her head again. "No, you not a cow. You a mouse. Squeak squeak. Get it?"
She tilted her head. "China Jane?"
Raven shrugged her shoulders. "Cwose enough." she sighed.
"I've got to hurry." Camila realized. She got up and started heading down the stairs. "Make sure to keep Dinah out of trouble, Raven." She briefly turned back to them, remembering one important detail. "And please, don't forget to warn her about the cat." Then she continued her way down the stairs in an effort to start the first of her many daily chores.
Raven nodded and waved to her. "Yup yup, Mila. Zu zu." she nodded. She turned to Dinah, who was still waving bye for the day. Now how to explain this to Dinah...? Not that Dinah seemed dumb, of course. But it would also be a bad idea to scare her so soon. "So Dinah, ever see cat cat?"
Dinah thought for a minute. "Eh...cat cat?" she repeated, confused.
"Yup, cat cat." Raven nodded. "Name Lucifer." She slowly started circling Dinah. "He vewy sneaky and he jump atcha! He go..." She started almost jumping at Dinah like she was imitating the cat and Dinah slowly backed to the edge of the stairs. "..Mousey! Mousey! Attack mouse! Wunchtime. I eat. Good food." Then she got on all fours and made such a squeaky meow that not only did her fur straighten up and her tail uncurl, but it made Dinah fall. "MEOW! Meow meow meow!" Confused at where Dinah went, Raven got back up on her hind legs and looked for her. Finally seeing that Dinah lost her balance and fell onto the next step, Raven walked over and glanced at her new found friend. "Zu zu, Lucifer. Get it?"
Dinah poked her head up at Raven. "Uh...erm Lucifer." she repeated. "Yup yup. I gotcha." she nodded, giving a thumbs up.
...