Now, the key piece of context to remember for this scene is that Realmgard-Elfs are tall (breaking with the general trend for Elves, though actually more consistent with Tolkien) and Dwarves, well, aren’t…
Copyright
J.B. Norman
THWACK!
“Ow!”
Anneliese loves her little family, loves her little town, loves her little house. But she hates how little everything really is.
It’s hard being an Elf adopted by Dwarves.
Elves are tall. And Dwarves… aren’t.
Anneliese is happy with her life, though she often finds that she doesn’t fit in. Both literally and figuratively. Most people are slow to befriend the one non-Dwarf in town, unless they need something reached down from a tall shelf.
The rooms are too small. The chairs and tables are too low. Her feet have dangled off the edge of her bed since she was ten years old. She barely finds clothes that fit her.
And the doors!
She’s lost track of how many times she’s hit her head on a doorframe. Possibly, she muses, because she’s hit her head on a doorframe so many times…
“Ow,” Anneliese groans, rubbing her forehead and ducking under the lintel of the too-short door. “Mom, Dad,” she calls. “I’m home.”
Anneliese sees her mother appear around the corner. “Yes, dear,” she says with a smile. “We, uh, heard.” She beckons her daughter close. “Let me have a look at that poor head of yours.”
Anneliese stoops and allows her mother to inspect her forehead. “It’s fine, Mom,” she mutters.
“I’m your mother, dear. It’s my job to worry about you,” her mother notes. She smiles at Anneliese. “You’ll be alright as long as you don’t go running into any more doorframes.”
Anneliese rolls her eyes.
“By the way,” her mother tells her. “You got a letter today.”
Her mother hands her the letter, marked with the seal of the Wolf Knights.
“It’s here! It’s finally here!” Anneliese exclaims.
Her grandfather is a retired member of the Wolf Knights, and Anneliese has wanted more than anything to become a Wolf Knight herself. With her grandfather’s help and a letter of recommendation, Anneliese wrote to the Wolf Knights’ fortress requesting to be allowed to join the order.
She’s spent the last few months restlessly waiting the answer.
Her hand falters as she reaches for the letter. “What if it’s a rejection?” she asks quietly.
Her mother smiles reassuringly at her. “We’ll deal with that if it happens. For now, just open the letter, dear.”
Anneliese begins reading the letter. By the time she’s finished, the letter falls from numbed hands and flutters to the ground.
“By the Powers,” she mutters, shaking with shock.
“Well?” her mother asks, expecting the worst.
“M-Mom,” Anneliese mutters. “I-I-I-”
“Yes?” her mother asks, holding Anneliese’s hands in hers.
“I got in! The Wolf Knights want me to join them!” Anneliese exclaims. “I got in!”
“That’s wonderful, dear!” her mother says, hugging her tightly.
Anneliese’s mind fills with thoughts busily buzzy like a swarm of agitated Oake Island Hornets. “I need to go thank Grandpa! I need to pack! I need a sword! I need a horse! I need to sit down…”
“Don’t forget to breathe now, dear,” her mother notes.
“This is great!” This is awesome!” Anneliese exclaims. “I’m going to be a Wolf Knight! I need to go tell everyone!”
She goes running out of the room.
THWACK!
“Ow!”
The rest of my writing exercises are here. This scene is from February 2022.
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