Fairy God Sister -- Introduction and Chapter One

**The title for this story is up for debate. If anyone has a suggestion for the title please feel free to let me know**

Carrie stood next to the cradle with her thumb in her mouth. The two year old stared in amazement at the infant, barely a week old.

“Daddy!” She called, not removing her thumb.

“What is it, angel?” The man replied, standing in the doorway of the nursery. The room was painted a pale blue with furniture that popped in pastels of yellow and pink.

“Wanna see baby.” She babbled. Her dad lifted her up and held her above the bed. The baby was swaddled in a soft pink blanket and wore a bright outfit, with a matching hat. She slowly opened her eyes, not making a sound as she stared at her sister. The bright blue eyes of the infant met the brown eyes of Carrie. “Wha her name, Daddy?” Carrie whispered as she reached into the cradle. Her dad pulled her away swiftly and carried her out of the room as he spoke.

“Her name is Jocelyn.” He said.

“Joshy-lyn” The toddler whispered. As she did, the baby met her eyes once again. They didn’t look away until their dad swiftly closed the door.

~~*~~

Four years later, Jocelyn and Carrie sat on a sandy beach. The two sisters couldn’t have looked different. Carrie played in shorts and a yellow t shirt with butterflies on it, her curly brown hair pulled back into pig tails. Jocelyn sat quietly in a sun dress with her hair flowing straight down her shoulders. A stylish white hat was tilted on the side of her head. They both worked on the same sand castle, Jocelyn placing sea shells on the side of the massive creation and Carrie working on surrounding the castle with a wall and a moat. The ocean crashed near them, and behind them was a short path that led to their back yard.

“Carrie, I running out of sea shells” Jocelyn said, one of the few things she had said that day. The girl was terribly quiet around everyone except Carrie. Her sister looked up and ran to the edge of the beach where the waves were quietly crashing.

“Come look for some with me.” Carrie called to Jocelyn. The girls waded through the small waves and grabbed every shell that they saw. Two almost identical spiral shells washed ashore at the girl’s feet. One was a soft blue and the other, smaller than the first, was pink. Carrie grabbed both of the shells in one hand. “Look, Joshy-lyn,” Carrie said, using the nickname she had used when they were babies, “These Sea shells are sisters, just like us. Let’s have Mama make them into necklaces.”

They abandoned their project and ran up the path to their house. They found their mom sitting at the table, sewing a new blanket.

“Mama! Mama!” The girls yelled in unison. Carrie held out the two shells to show her mom. “Looky at the shells we found.”

“They sisters just like us!” Jocelyn said, barely above a whisper. She bounced up and down with excitement.

“Make them into special necklaces for us, please Mama.” Carrie said.

“Of course,” Their mom said. She pulled a needle and thread out of the clutter and carefully poked the smallest of holes in the tip of each shell. “Remember, being sisters is magical. Promise me that you’ll always look out for each other.” She slipped the blue shell over Carrie’s head and the pink over Jocelyn’s. Just then a flash of lightning brightened the world, and no one seemed to notice the slight glow radiating off the shell around Jocelyn’s neck as they ran back outside to gather their toys before the storm hit.

Chapter One

“Oh, Carrie, I can’t believe you’re going to prom. I’m so jealous.” Jocelyn said as she sat on the edge of her sister’s bed. She stared at the ocean out the window while Carrie styled her long hair into a beautiful updo.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get asked. You can still come with us.” Carrie said. She pulled a long, pink dress out of her walk-in, slipped into it. “Help me with the corset, will you?” Jocelyn slid off the bed and began twisting and twining the ribbons tightly.

“I don’t want to be a third wheel.” Jocelyn said, disgusted. “And it isn’t a big deal. I just barely turned sixteen. I don’t think anyone even knows yet.” Jocelyn pulled the ribbons tightly at her sister’s request. “I can’t believe Jacob asked you. That’s amazing! He’s, like, the cutest guy on the baseball team.” Jocelyn gushed, not letting it show that she was jealous of her older sister. Her cheeks flushed when Carrie gave her a questioning look. Jocelyn usually didn’t have a nice thing to say about or to Jacob. “And that’s not hard, considering that most the boys on the baseball team are either short of chunky.” Carrie laughed.

“Or both.” She said. Jocelyn finished with the corset and tied the ends of the ribbon into a small dainty bow. Just then, their dad knocked on the door. “Come in, Daddy.” Carried called to him. He walked in and gave a tired smile. He had looked older lately, more worn down and sad.

“Carrie, you look beautiful.” He said, “If only your mother could see you.” He said, sadly. It had been almost a year since their mother had gotten in a car accident. It had been raining and she had slid off the road. The doctor said that she had felt no pain.

“Thank you, Daddy.” Carrie stood and gave her dad a small hug. Jocelyn cleared her throat quietly and stood next to them.

“Sorry, Dad, but I have to finish Carrie’s make up.” Jocelyn said, steering Carrie into a chair. He nodded and walked out of the room. Jocelyn began with the eye shadow and put a soft layer of pink above Carrie’s eyes, adding a touch of yellow and gold to the outer edges. She put on a thin coat of mascara and then moved on to the blush. “Do you have your necklace?” Jocelyn asked in a hushed voice.

“Yeah.” Carrie answered, pulling the necklace out of the top of her dress. “Why? Can you feel a storm coming on?” Jocelyn looked at her sister’s worried face and made a split second decision.

“No. Not at all. But better safe than sorry.” Jocelyn lied. She shrugged. “There. You’re done.” She said. She turned away and began putting away her make up. Carrie began ranting about how much fun prom was going to be. Jocelyn tuned her out and stared at her pink shell around her neck. She had long since replaced the thread with a thin silver chain. The shell had a faint glow about it, as it usually did when a storm was coming. A storm always brought bad luck and hard times. It made Jocelyn’s hands shake. She shoved her hands in her pocket and turned back to Carrie. She smiled as her sister continued to rant.

The doorbell rang and Carrie spun around frantically. “Oh my gosh! He’s here! Jocelyn, will you hurry downstairs and get the door while I find my shoes?” Jocelyn laughed at her sister's nervousness and headed out the door and down the creaking wooden stairs. She opened the door and instantly felt self-conscious. Jacob stood at the door in a tux. His tall frame filled the suit nicely and his blond hair was slightly messy, but still looked good. She stood there, barer foot, in a t shirt and gym shorts, with her hair simply down.

“Umm… Hi Jacob.” Jocelyn said nervously. She ran her hands through her hair and stepped back. “Come on in. Carrie will be right down.”

“Thanks Jocelyn.” He smiled sweetly at her and a tingle ran up her spine. She couldn’t tell if it was glee or a shiver. She turned around and walked back up the stairs briskly.

“Carrie. He’s waiting.” Jocelyn said as she walked into her sister’s room. She was amazed to see Carrie standing by the window, gaping with fear. “What is it?” Jocelyn asked.

“Storm clouds. Why didn’t you feel it?” Carrie asked slowly. Jocelyn looked down in shame.

“I didn’t want to worry you. I mean, you’ve been looking forward to this for weeks.” Jocelyn whispered, “I figured you would be okay for a little while and if it got out of hand, I could just pop over there and help.” Carrie walked over and hugged Jocelyn.

“Thanks.” Carrie said, “I’m sure it will be okay. There hasn’t been a big one since… since…” Carrie choked on the words. Jocelyn pushed her back and smiled bravely.

“Go downstairs. He’s waiting.” Jocelyn practically pushed Carrie out the door. She glided down the stairs gracefully and Jacob beamed at her. Jocelyn stood at the top of the stairs and watched as they slipped out the door. Jacob led Carrie out the door, but stopped before he closed it and looked at Jocelyn. Her stomach dropped and she turned away quickly. She could feel the pressure deeply now. It was pushing against her, wishing to be free. She resisted the urge to run and threw herself onto the couch. The news was on and she watched as the reporter said that the storm would get worse through out the night. She flipped through the channels until the pressure was unbearable. She heard Carrie's voice in her head "Help me!" and she stood faster than the lightning that struck at that same moment.

She ran to the end of the hallway, where the nursery used to be. When Jocelyn was ten, her mom let her redesign it and the tan walls and light blue carpet made it look like the ocean. Sea shells hung from fishing line in front of her window, covering it with unique shapes and colors. The pale green bedspread complimented the room. Jocelyn flung open her walk in and quickly grabbed a cream knee length dress. The pressure still was immense. It was times like these that she itched to release some of it. Usually she resisted, because if she wasn’t careful, she could make the situation worse. The wind screamed outside and she turned in a panic. She had to go to that dance.

She closed her eyes and let some of the pressure free itself. It left her fingers in a flurry. The dress fluttered as ribbons of dim pink light swirled around it. The dress gained layers and added glitter to the torso and sleeves. Jocelyn opened her eyes after a moment. The cream dress looked basically the same. Same shape, same length. But now it was fuller and much flashier. She slipped it on and ran a brush through her thin blond hair. It was perfectly straight and soft. She ran to grab a pair of flats; they were a light brown and would match the dress perfectly. She flew down the stairs once more and grabbed her car keys. “Dad, I’m going to the dance! I’ll be back in a few hours!” She screamed through the house.

“Okay, dear. Be careful.” Her dad called back. She rolled her eyes. If Carrie had said something like that, he would have had a fit. He always had a preference toward Carrie. Whatever, she thought, and ran out into the harsh wind. Her car was old, but it ran fine. She was grateful for that as she pulled into the street. The drive to the school was about fifteen minutes. Carrie must have gotten there about a half hour ago, Jocelyn thought. She knew she was speeding as she rounded a corner. Fear twisted in her stomach but she pushed it down. This was the corner that her mom had died on. In the rain. Jocelyn gritted her teeth at the memory but sped onward. Soon she reached the high school.

The lady accepting student ID was the school counselor. She looked upset to have to sit in the cold and accept tickets and money. “Hi, I’d like one ticket.” Jocelyn said to her. The lady glared at her.

“Only upper classmen can purchase tickets at the door.” She growled. Jocelyn rolled her eyes and stuck her hand into her handbag. She let the light flow, and a ticket appeared in her hand. One piece of light ribbon flew toward the counselor and passed over her eyes. She looked confused for a moment and Jocelyn held out her ticket.

“Ms. Montgomery,” Jocelyn said, frustrated. “Here’s my ticket.” The lady took the ticket slowly and punched it with a hole puncher. Jocelyn resisted the urge to run into the gym and casually walked in.