Handmaiden Fables: The Child · 6:27pm Feb 26th, 2023
I wanted to try something new here, since the next chapter of The Handmaiden is taking so long to come out. I thought it would be neat to put out a few supplementary shorts about The Handmaiden universe, to give a bit of context to some lesser-used characters.
You can assume these shorts are canon, unless they contradict/are contradicted by the main story.
The Child
The Child ran across the field, the twigs and spurs stabbing angrily at her bare, exposed feet. The pain underfoot paled in comparison to her bumps and bruises, her aching muscles and battered flesh. She knew not where she hoped to end up. She knew not what she would do when she arrived at her destination, wherever it may be. All she knew is that she must run, run from the pain and the threats and the fear.
The Child was running for what felt like hours before she found what was calling to her soul, something to give her pause; A grand oak tree, surely a thousand feet tall by The Child’s best guess. It was a strong, proud tree, one of the tallest of its kind despite being right at the edge of the forest and the valley. Its leaves were golden brown, and they almost seemed to glow from the amber sunset. When The Child arrived at The Tree, she looked it up and down for a moment, awed and frightened by its grand presence. Slowly, as if having to convince herself to move, The Child grabbed hold of a knot in the bark and pulled herself up. Her foot caught another little gnarled hunk of the tree, and she used it as a foothold as she climbed.
It was unclear how long it took, but eventually, The Child climbed as high as she could, and found a perch on a strong, sturdy branch. She shimmied her aching body along to the edge of the limb, a few branches and leaves being the only thing keeping her aloft. And for a while, several minutes, perhaps even hours, The Child sat in her perch. She waited, for what, she knew not. Direction? Courage? The good sense to climb back down? At the moment, The Child did not know.
“That’s quite the climb, for such a little one.”
The Child glanced down and, at the base of the tree, was a woman. A beautiful woman, fair of skin and wearing an elegant glistening gold diadem that wrapped around her head and contained her long, flowing hair. Beside The Woman was a girl, perhaps fourteen or fifteen years of age, wearing a crisp suit and coat that seemed just a bit too large for her. The Child didn’t respond at first, instead watching the woman beneath her approach.
“What are you doing up there, little one?” asked The Woman. Somehow, despite speaking at a moderate value from so far away, The Child heard her as clear as day. “Don’t you know that climbing such trees can be dangerous? Especially here, on the edge of the Forest Everfree.”
“I… I want to be a bird!” called The Child. “So I climbed this tree, so that I could turn into a bird and fly away!”
“That would be very impressive, should you accomplish such a feat. Unfortunately, I would be very surprised were you capable of that.” The Woman had a smirk to her tone, more amused by this child than concerned for her safety. “Why do you want to fly away, little one?”
“To get away! So Father won’t hurt me anymore!”
“Your father hurt you? Is that why you’re so bruised?” The Woman below rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Tell me what happened?”
“Father’s farm got destroyed. When those people attacked Canterlot a year ago,” said The Child. “We’re starving. He told me not to eat any more for two more days, but there was an extra chunk of bread… I was so hungry, I ate it. So Father hit me with the handle of his axe.”
“Another casualty of Ayomi’s arrogance… You have a lot in common with my assistant, Rarity.” The Woman gestured to the girl beside her, who nodded grimly up the tree. “She lost her parents in that attack. Nevertheless, your father beat you because you ate more than you were permitted?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think you deserved to be beaten?”
“Yes. Father warned me that he would beat me if I ate the bread,” said The Child. She tucked her legs up to her chest, wincing as her knees made contact with her bruised torso. “But I ate it anyway.”
“I see. And he beats you often?” asked The Woman. The Child murmured in the affirmative, which didn’t seem to surprise The Woman in the slightest. “Why fly away? Why not fight back?”
“He’s stronger than me. I’m just a weak little girl,” said The Child. “If I try to protect myself, he’ll just beat me harder. So I need to fly away and build a nest some place far, far away.”
“I understand. Well, it is as I said, I do not believe that you will be able to fly away as you desire,” said The Woman. “But you are more than welcome to surprise me. Only one way to know for sure.”
“Empress!” The assistant, Rarity, looked to her mistress in shock. “Are you certain it’s wise to say such things? She—”
“The girl wants to fly away like a bird. Who are we to rob her of the chance to try?” said The Empress. She looked up at The Child. “Go on, then. You want to fly away? Then go ahead and jump. Perhaps you will defy my expectations and become a bird just as you wish.”
The Child looked down at The Woman, The Empress, but said nothing. She did not know much about The Empress, just what her father had told her. Tales of how she had failed to defend her kingdom, and how they were starving because of her shortcomings. The Child didn’t know if she agreed with that. Even if it were true, Father chose to be cruel. That was not The Empress’ decision. The Child stood up on her branch, legs trembling like a leaf in the wind, and stared down at the ground. So far away, so unforgiving. And yet, at the same time, the faint promise of flying away from her pain and fear. Perhaps this was what she was running to find, what she was waiting to hear. The Child closed her eyes and, with a deep breath in, stepped off of her branch.
The Child fell for ages. It could have been years for all she knew. The sound of rushing wind whipping at her face was dulled by the thumping sound of blood rushing into her head, building to a roar in her little ears. The Child squeezed her eyes shut, knowing one way or the other, she would be free of her fear soon.
A snap cut through the air, easily audible through the loud winds, and somehow, The Child stopped falling. She hadn’t hit the ground, nor had she become a bird as she desired. Instead, when she opened her eyes, she was staring directly into the unflinchingly powerful gaze of The Empress. She tilted her head curiously at The Child, suspended in the air just a few feet from the ground, and The Empress smiled.
“You are wrong, little one. You are not weak,” said The Empress. “You fed yourself, despite knowing what your father would do. You jumped, despite knowing that you may perish. That is not weakness. That is strength of will.”
“You… You saved me,” said The Child.
“No. I simply stopped you from dying. It is up to you to save yourself.” The Empress snapped her fingers again, and The Child was gently lowered to the ground. “If you wish to be more than a starving little orphan, then it is up to you to do that for yourself.”
“Orphan?”
“Ah. I’m getting a bit ahead of myself, I suppose,” said The Empress. “Once I am done with my business in the Everfree, I will return, and I will kill your father.”
“Kill… You’d really kill Father?” asked The Child.
“Do you oppose this decision?” Slowly, The Child shook her head. “Then it is settled. Rarity will give you a bit of bread. Make it last, because from here on out, you will not have anyone to depend on. It will be your duty to make sure you are fed.” The Child nodded her understanding. “What is your name, child?”
“Scootaloo.”
“Well, Scootaloo. You are now in my debt. It would be very wise for you to discover a way to repay me sometime in the future.” The Empress patted Scootaloo atop the head before turning back the way she came. “I see great potential in you, little one. Do not disappoint me, or you may find yourself preferring your father.”
“Yes, Empress. Thank you,” said Scootaloo. Rarity approached her and produced a small roll from her satchel, and pressed it into Scootaloo’s hand. “Thank you.”
“Walk down to the inner city and find the house down the road from the inn. There should be a cauldron on the front yard,” said Rarity. “Go there. My sister is waiting there, she’s about your age. Tell her I sent you, and she will take care of you until we can figure out what to do with you.”
Without another word, Rarity scampered away to catch up with The Empress. Scootaloo simply stood there, clutching her bread as she tried to make sense of what just happened. The Empress had spoken rather highly of her, though Scootaloo couldn’t reason out why. She was just a little girl, what could The Empress possibly see in her?
Scootaloo decided she would figure it out as she sat down at the base of her golden oak tree, and greedily devoured her meager supper.
More The Handmaiden is incoming, I promise.
There is no blog post upvote. I wish there was now
My only concern is that if you keep making posts like this to add contacts to the story, this is such an info dump. I’m concerned this would be integral to understanding the plot. Hell, it’s so detailed it could be a chapter on its own, even if it is small, or at least part of one And they also help The story progress mor Smoothly
5715597
Given the trajectory of the narrative, there's not really any time or space to add any of these ideas. There's no open slots left, so to speak.
I think these little shorts coming out sporadically would be better than never sharing them at all especially when the shorts are answering questions no one really had like "what made Scootaloo want to become a guard?"
5715598
Will you be marking these short add-ons? give them like time or chapter they are making a reference to?
5715628
I'm kinda playing it by ear at this point. For this short, for instance, it's pretty obvious that it takes place way before the story starts. For future shorts, I'll be sure to make it evidently where it slots into the narrative. If not an exact timestamp, it'll have enough details for you to surmise roughly where it occurred.
A neat little fable.
5715693
Fable is a good word to use here, I might call them Handmaiden Fables moving forward.
5715674
Thank you for answering my questions