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| The Promise |
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| Jennifer find herself back in the orphanage attic again, without Brown. The Prince is standing before her and speaks of an oath she made long ago but does not remember. He instructs her to read more storybooks to get back her memories of the promise she made. There are three books, which focus on Jen's memories of events with Eleanor, Diana, and Meg. |
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| First, she relives a memory of Eleanor, who is searching for her missing Bird of Happiness. The bird was only a toy in real life. It is now an actual bird, and it is also the Gift of the Month. In her nightgown, Eleanor carried an empty cage and searched the entire orphanage. Diana and Meg had actually broke/killed the bird inside Eleanor's dress, trying to predict how she would react-with sadness or anger. It was Jen who found it first, but she gave it up to Eleanor. To the surprise of all three girls, she did not react at all, only tossed it into the Gift Box. It was that day she realized the idea of everlasing happiness was a joke. Jen recalled part of her promise: "everlasting". |
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Jennifer then recalls a time when Meg lost a love letter she intended to give to Diana. In reality, it was Diana who had taken it and torn it up, along with Meg's notebook. She then teased Meg about it. saying that maybe one of her stuffed goats had eaten it. Diana made it seem like Jennifer took the letter. A heartbroken Meg cried in Diana's arms and sentenced Jen to the Onion Bag torture device she had invented. Jennifer was put in a bag and had horrible insects dropped in with her. But Meg suspected it was Diana who had truly ripped it up and felt hatred mixing with her love for the girl. Jennifer remembers yet another part of her promise: "true love". |
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| Finally, she recalls when, to make an unmarried mermaid for the Gift of the Month, Meg and Eleanor took the Headmaster's pet koi. They cut it in half, tying the bottomto the top half of a doll they'd torn in two. Mr. Hoffman tried to get Diana to confess, blaming her, as she had been in charge of watching the other orphans at the time. Diana just cried, most likely to make him leave her alone. She blamed Jen, who'd found the mermaid. Diana put it in the tank and forced a rag with nasty water from the tank in her face. Later, Diana would compare herself to the unmarried mermaid-she longed to be a lady, but couldn't help acting like just the opposite, forver striving for what she could never acheive. Jen recalls the rest of her promise: "I am yours". |
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Go on to the next chapter |
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| Back to the story? |
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Back to the previous chapter |
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