Little Sister Academy: Bedtime

"Miss DeWitt, can you read us a bedtime story?" Cindy pleaded with enthusiasm. Several of the other children raised their voices in support.


Elizabeth placed her hands on her hips and looked Cindy up and down. "That depends, are your teeth brushed and your pajamas on?"

"No..." Cindy replied, her gaze drifting to the floor.

"Well, how does this sound? You get ready for bed in a reasonable amount of time and I'll read all of you a bedtime story?"

Experience had taught her that convincing Cindy to do something proved an excellent motivator for all of the girls. Cindy was something of a natural leader and had the uncanny ability to organize the girls with an ease that Elizabeth and Eleanor only wished they could duplicate. Eleanor had said in the past that she suspected a career in politics was in her future, if she wasn't so painfully honest.

Elizabeth and Eleanor had learned early on that the girls wouldn't sleep in individual beds. The girls had proved nearly inconsolable and prone to nightmares, and so a solution was devised by Eleanor; one corner of the floor was fashioned into one large communal bed on which all of the girls could sleep on together.

In this communal bed the girls were now arranged in a loose crescent around which they observed Elizabeth as she sifted through a pile of books. Occasionally she would hold one up and would be met with vigorously shaking heads or a cry of disapproval. After nearly a dozen books and nearly a dozen rejections she reached the last of her books.

"Alright, so what about this one?" Elizabeth inquired.

"You read that one last week."

"Hm." Elizabeth contemplated in silence. "How about a special story?"

Marie tilted her head slightly. "What do you mean, 'special?'"

"I mean it's a story just for you girls."

The girls tightened the crescent around Elizabeth and murmured amongst themselves. This promise of a special story was enough to attract the undivided attention of the girls, who were normally quite picky about such things. Elizabeth breathed deeply and began to recite her story.

"Once upon a time in a tower in the sky lived a beautiful princess."

"How can a tower just float in the sky?" Claire inquired

"Magic, silly." Cindy chimed in, authoritatively.

"Shh! She's trying to READ." Marie exclaimed, her voice raising to a whine.

Elizabeth paused and look around the room. "Should I continue?"

"Sorry Miss DeWitt." The girls replied in unison.

Letting a small grin creep up one side of her face she resumed her story. "The princess wanted nothing more than to see her family, but she was guarded by a giant dragon who didn't want her to leave. You see, the dragon was lonely and she was his only friend.

One day a heroic knight learned about the princess and went to the tower to rescue her. He traveled far across the land and eventually found two wizards who were always arguing. It seemed that this time they both wished to know which what would be best to have for breakfast. The knight suggested that they each could have what they want so that both would be correct, which suited them both just fine. In thanks they gave him a magical shield that would protect against the dragon.

Finally, after weeks of traveling he found his way to the tower in the sky. He knew that he couldn't beat the dragon because it was too strong, so he hid in a tree and waited for night time for the dragon to sleep.

Once the dragon was asleep he began to climb the tower-"

Claire raised her hand. "But I thought the tower was in the sky?"

Elizabeth looked over at Clair, who quickly lowered her hand and grinned sheepishly. "The knight climbed and climbed until he reached the top of the tower. There inside the tower was the princess. At first the princess was scared, it had been so long since she had seen another person that she didn't know what to do. But the knight was able to calm her down and tell her that he was there to take her back to her family.

And so the two of them began to climb down the tower together, the princess gripping onto the knight as tightly as she could. Unfortunately they were only half-way down before the sun began to rise and the dragon stirred from it's sleep." Elizabeth paused for dramatic effect.

Marie couldn't take it. "But how did they escape the dragon?" She asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
Elizabeth yawned. "Well, that's a good question. You see they..."

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Eleanor slowly opened the door and poked her head into the room. There in the corner was Elizabeth, fast asleep and huddled up amongst the girls. She smiled at the sight. Silently Eleanor slipped into the room, careful not to wake the girls or Elizabeth. Wordlessly she mouthed 'goodnight', brushed aside some errant strands of hair from Elizabeth's forehead and readjusted her blanket before making her way back downstairs.