The Princess's Wishes: A Halloween Fairy Tale

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Synopsis:

Another BigCloset TopShelf story.
Barry is about get a Halloween Trick or Treater, that he'll never forget, as a Princess makes her three wishes.

Story:

The Princess’s Wishes

A Halloween Fairy Tale

By grover

This is my first story, and since I had to do the best I could editing it, be aware I know of the bad grammar, and spelling mistakes. I wrote this for Sapphire’s Halloween contest, and I am reposting it here. This story does feature TG themes and if that offends you, please don’t read any further. Warm and fuzzy thanks to Angle O’Hare and Karen Page for their kind help and assistance in editing. Warning: novice writer, read at your own risk!

Barry set the bowl of Halloween treats down by the door, and turned on the outside porch light. He was thinking that this year’s Trick or Treaters would have slim pickings at his house this year.

This year because he wasn’t able to afford much, save for a generic bag of mixed candies, he was unemployed with no prospects. Not that it would be a problem, he had rarely had any ghouls, goblins or even a witch come by his door, in the past. He was a single older man living by himself and he guessed he was regarded with some suspicion by his neighbors.

Barry had inherited his home, after his parents had died years before, but a developer had come in and renovated most of the other homes in the neighborhood making them attractive to younger couples with children.

He had found himself an older man surrounded by younger families, but Barry hadn’t a problem with that. He’d always loved children and enjoyed having them around. The problem was Barry had a secret. He’d spent most of his life working in warehouses and trucking depots. It was demanding physical labor and he developed an impressive muscular body that any man would be proud of. That is almost any man, but Barry.

Barry looked in the hallway mirror running his large hands through his thinning red hair and sighed at the sad green-eyed man reflected within. In his youth he’d accepted his fate of being different from everyone else, but only time could teach him why.

Perhaps he’d known all along, but lied to himself about it. Gazing into the mirror at himself, he imagined instead, a slim beautiful woman with thick red hair and smiling green eyes, and not the so sad ones, that looked back at him. Turning his back on the mirror and the dream, Barry shuffled back to his easy chair and the book he was reading. He knew how expensive SRS was and even if he sold the house, it would barely cover all of the expenses.

No, the biggest reason was fear, fear that even if he did have the surgery, people would still know that he had once been a man. His dream was an impossible one, for even the best surgeons could give one only the appearance of womanhood, not the ability to have children as a woman. If he couldn’t pass as a woman, then all chances of succeeding, with the difficult adoption process was gone, and that was without considering that he was unemployed, and if he sold the house to pay for the surgery, he wouldn’t even have a home.

This all meant that his dream was impossible. Barry took the only escape that was left to him, and lost himself in the pages of his book, comforted by a favorite author’s vision of adventure and transformation in a world far, far away.

Barry’s adventure was interrupted by the doorbell. He rose eagerly to his feet with a smile thinking “Ah Ha! The first catch of the day!” Barry chuckled to himself that he’d watched way too much Sci-Fi, but couldn’t help himself because they had such great quotes. Mumbling to himself about apologies and Captain Neda, he hurried to the door.

He was more than half-afraid, that it would be a false alarm and it would be just one more lost pizza delivery boy looking for directions. Barry was delighted to find a princess instead, complete with an obviously self-decorated paper grocery bag for her treats. She was wearing a very detailed princess dress complete with tiara about her blondish brown hair, and she looked to be 6 or 7 years old. Nervously she stammered out “Trick or Treat!”

Barry replied with a smile as he reached for his bowl of treats, “I think I‘ll chose treat.” The little princess lost her nervousness as she reached for the candy treats. He looked around and didn’t see a parent with her anywhere about, and she was too young to be out by herself without even some other children with her. Kneeling to eye level with her because he didn’t want to scare her, Barry asked, “Where is your mother, princess? You’re not out by yourself are you?”

Surprisingly, she looked into his eyes rather than away, as if searching for something known only to her. She said softly, “No, my mother ran away, so it’s just my dad and me.”

Barry was startled at her honesty, and that she would tell such a thing to a stranger, but seeing the pain in her gray eyes, he knew she was trying to deal with a lot of hurt. “Princess,” he said quietly her, “Your father doesn’t know you’re trick or treating does he? Don’t you think he’ll be worried about you?”

She gave a solemn nod to his first question and said, “My dad is at home getting ready for a party I talked him into, but he doesn’t know I’m out tonight. I’m older than I look and I’m not really a princess. You see I’m really a boy. That’s alright isn’t it, because it’s Halloween?” The princess gave me another searching look and spoke with a soft misery, “You understand don’t you?”

Barry had looked forward to tonight because it would let him indulge in the maternal side of himself safely, without revealing the secret that he hid even from himself sometimes. The fate that had brought the Princess to his door proved that God had a very peculiar sense of humor. Tonight was Halloween, and if he wanted to be a princess, then so be it. Barry didn’t think that the Princess was much older than seven maybe eight years old and that was still too young to be out alone at this time of night for any girl or boy.

Barry told her, “Tonight is Halloween and you can be anyone you want to be, but no matter who you are, you are still too young to be out by yourself. Can I get you to call your dad, and let him know that you’re Okay?”

“I can’t,” she said, “He has been so sad since Mom left us, and this will be the first time he has gone out since then.”

“Well,” Barry said, “I will have to walk you home then.” He held up his hand to forestall any arguments, and went to his hallway closet to grab a light jacket to wear over his t-shirt.

She looked up at him as he returned and asked, “Since tonight is Halloween, will you be my mother?” The Princess giggled at the expression on Barry’s face and said, “I have a Dad already. It’s a Mom, I need now.” With a worried look she asked, “It is alright isn’t it?”

Trying to recover his self-control, Barry felt a torrent of emotion rushing through him. With every bit of control he had, he kept from slamming the door shut and denying what he heard. It was her gray eyes looking so deeply into his that prevented that. She was so young to have known such hurt already, and if she were a princess inside, that pain would only be the beginning. They both deserved a happy night, him, because of all the pain from the past, and her for all of the hurt that was to come.

Barry grinned, he hoped optimistically, and said, “It’s Halloween, and we can be anyone we want to be. Yes, I’ll be your Mom for tonight.”

The Princess squealed in joy and grabbed him in a hug, which he gently returned. She reached for his hand and started pulling him down the drive to the sidewalk.

He was very self-conscious of how strange this Halloween was becoming, and more than a little concerned, that some well-meaning citizen would think he was a molester trying to take advantage of the Princess. Barry took a deep breath, and strengthened his resolve to do what he could to bring good memories of this Halloween for the Princess to keep. As he and she walked down the sidewalk, towards her house, he noticed how the streetlights made the Princess’s hair look almost red, which was strange because they usually washed out colors.

They had come about a half a block, when the Princess said, “Mommy you don’t have a costume,” while pointing at some mothers in costume on the other side of the street.

“Don’t point Princess, that’s rude,” Barry, said, “Since I’m a make-believe mom, I have a make-believe costume.”

The Princess giggled and said, “Okay, what kind of costume are we make-believing?”

Thinking of the sexy witch’s costumes that Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock wore at the end of “A Practical Magic” Barry said, “Well, how about a pretty witch as the mother of a beautiful princess, Princess?”

“No,” she pouted as she shook her now reddish locks. You have to be beautiful too, a beautiful witch mommy, and a beautiful princess daughter.

“Okay,” Barry laughed, “You talked me into it!” They had finally made it down the first block, and he was wondering just how far she lived from him. As they crossed the street, the Princess saw a group of kids her size going to Trick or Treat at the next house. When she looked up at him, he knew what she wanted, and it wasn’t in him to say no.

“Okay, but just this one,” he said, but she was already gone in a fuffy storm of petticoats. He watched from a distance as she waited her turn, and returned. Barry did think it weird that none of the mothers standing near seemed to react, as if there was anything wrong with him walking with the Princess. He calmed himself, and began to enjoy the fall stroll with his make-believe daughter. Of course, just one house turned into most of the ones on the whole block, but the Princess was having a great time and so was Barry.

Barry was starting to regret wearing heels after they finished the second block. At first, he was confused, heels? He than remember that the Princess had talked him into going with her in costume. It seemed strange at the beginning, because he didn’t recall even having a costume, but the thought faded as the Princess and he enjoyed the Halloween stroll.

Barry found himself giggling and laughing with the Princess as they turned down the drive of a re-modeled home, and she rang the doorbell.

“Daddy, we’re home,” the Princess squealed happily, as she threw herself into the arms of the man dressed as a classic Bela Lugosi vampire, complete with face paint and fangs.

Barry, Bar...? Bri...? Brianna carefully blinked her eyes? She held onto the porch railing with both hands as the world moved around her. Very carefully, she blinked her eyes again wondering what had happened. Brianna saw the Princess with the man in the vampire costume, but he didn’t seem familiar to her, nor did this house.

Allen had just finished putting on the last of the costume make-up, when the doorbell rang. He wondered where Scott had gotten off. After the little scoundrel had conned him into going to this costume party tonight, Scott had disappeared into his room, saying he had school project coming due. Allen hoped that Scott hadn’t slipped out, after being told he couldn’t. At fourteen, Scott was too old to go Trick or Treating, even if he could pass for younger, and Allen had been concerned about how he had been acting since Beth left them. Allen picked up the dish with the candy on his way to the door. It was probably just some Trick or Treaters making their last calls.

Allen barely had enough time before a wild bundle of petticoats and wild red hair leaped into his arms shouting, “Daddy we’re home!” Her momentum spun him around, as his mind tried and failed to cope. This girl was Scott, but it couldn’t be he thought dizzily. Scott was small for his age, but not this small. This girl’s hair is red and Scott’s is brown like his mother. With his mind rebelling, Allen grabbed the doorframe with one hand to steady himself as the world shifting itself around him.

Scott…? Sco…? Sor…? Sorcha was telling him excitedly, that she and Mommy were home. Mommy? Allen looked up and saw a beautiful witch complete with sexy black dress and tall pointed hat. She looked as confused as he felt. The witch had the most bewildered expression on her face, as she looked at him.

Brianna found herself watching the Princess, and the rather handsome Vampire. She didn’t recognize him or the house, but she should, right? Brianna saw her own confusion mirrored on the vampire’s face and wondered what was happening. Then, as clearly, as if someone had told her, she knew that she could just walk away, and all of this would just fade away like a dream. She had a choice, to go on with this dream, or just turn away and leave. Brianna didn’t know if this was the right choice, but she knew that she wanted this dream more than anything. She gathered her courage, and moved to her daughter and husband and kissed him.

Allen was shocked as the witch kissed him. He had thought that the world had trembled around him earlier, but now that was a pale vision for what just happened. What was a dream became real and what was real became a dream. A moment of forever later, Allen opened his eyes and found a green-gold sea before him. He lost himself looking into the depths, until abruptly brought back when Brianna blinked and Allen saw that he’d been staring into her eyes.

Sorcha giggling cheerfully managed to make both of her parents blush. “Daddy, Mummy, what am I going to do with you.” She placed both hands on her hips in mock anger.

This set off another bout of laughter and giggles from Sorcha, Brianna, and Allen, reluctantly joined. He felt odd and disjointed, and knew that something had happened. Just what, and if, was good or bad, he didn’t know. He felt unsure about himself and the situation that he found himself in. Allen realized that he’d been keeping his wife and daughter at the door and gestured them in. He said, “Why don’t you go to the kitchen, and I’ll nuke some hot coco for you,” as he lead them inside.

Brianna still felt a little lost, but with her daughter’s Sorcha’s hand firmly in her own, she followed her husband inside. She found a breakfast nook and slid in after taking Sorcha’s treat bag and emptying it onto the table. After waggling her finger at Sorcha to leave the candy be, Brianna started checking each piece making sure no one slipped any doctored candy to her child. She thankfully didn’t find any, but did notice some rather cheap generic mixed candies that seemed familiar somehow. “Honey, you don’t want these do you?” Brianna asked her daughter.

Sorcha peered carefully at the cheap treats, and her face lit up as she recognized them. “Don’t throw them away Mommy! Those are special!” Sorcha held out her hand for them.

“Okay, darling you can keep them, but you have to share.” Brianna told Sorcha as she tried to keep from laughing at the so serious look on her daughter’s face.

Sorcha nodded eagerly, and with great care placed a piece of the nearly discarded candy in front of her mother, herself, and another off to one side clearly meant for her father.

“Dear, while you are up could you get a jar for these?” Brianna asked pointing at the heap of candy treasure.

Allen nodded and soon brought over a jar and three mugs of coco. Brianna started scooping the candy into the jar and while Allen picked up Sorcha and put her in his lap he asked, “Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to Princess?” Somehow, he knew that all of the confusion over the night’s events came from her.

Sorcha bobbed her head making her red curls bounce. “While you were turning into a Vampire, Daddy, I went and put on my costume. It wasn’t very good, and couldn’t make up my mind to go Trick or Treating or not. I didn’t want to be laughed at. Then my fairy Godmother showed up, and said that I had three wishes. I made my first wish by wishing I was a real live Princess!”

Brianna shared a glance with Allen and winked, because they knew Sorcha’s name in Gaelic meant radiant, but in Hebrew was princess.

“Then I wished that, I would find the best Mommy in the whole world, and bring her home tonight,” Sorcha continued. “We then went Trick or Treating, and had a wonderful time, and got a lot of candy and came home!”

Brianna laughingly corrected her, “That’s a few too many ANDS love,” and hugged her daughter.

Allen couldn’t help joining in, but when he caught his breath, he asked Sorcha, “What happened to the other wish, that was only two?”

Sorcha looked around, and with great concentration screwed her eyes shut and said, “I wish that we would all live happily ever-after!”

They all looked at each other in a half expectant way as if waiting for something to happen. Allen wasn’t sure what he believed in at that moment, but in his heart, he knew that his choice had been made to spend his life with these two. He reached out, pulled his witch and princess to him, and said, “Happily Ever After.”

If the world trembled, shook, or moved, they never noticed as they dissolved into a happy knot of giggles and laughter.

Outside, the aforementioned fairy Godmother, swished and flicked her wand, and completed the spell, “Done, Done, and done!” A tornado of fairy dust shot forth and swirled about the now happy home. She was feeling rather proud of herself. One set of three wishes given to a deserving youngster had given three good people a chance for a long happy life. Only a chance, for not even magic could do everything. She’d chased off that nasty character trying to cause mischief, not on her watch! Now, there was only one more task left to do.

As she flew toward the front door, the Godmother flicked her wand, once more and grew in size dressed as a baby-sitter. Now walking, she reached for the doorbell, but held herself from pressing it. The sound of happy giggles and laughter was a joy, and after all, the witch and the vampire still had some time left to spare with their princess, until their party.

Looking back at the passion Brianna had kissed Alan with, the Godmother thought, that being a mother wouldn’t be the only pleasure that Brianna would enjoy. If things went the way, the Godmother thought they would; there was a good chance that Sorcha would soon have a brother or sister, because magic was in the air!

Happy Halloween!

Notes:

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Comments

StumbleBum

Somehow I happened upon this.. Does show the promise of a well talented writer! : )
a

alissa

Adorable

That was an adorable story that really made my day. Very touching and sweet.

Jodie
xoxo

This first story shows Grover

This first story shows Grover’s talents. The stories that flowed from his muse after this one showed that promise of potential was realized again and again. Grover you are true asset to this community.

*happy sigh*

Hypatia Littlewings's picture

Awwww.

:)

Thank you for a wonderful story

Keep writing!
I believe you have the gift!
All my hopes,
Sasha

All my hopes
Sasha Zarya Nexus

Magic

Very well done. For a first effort you did very well. You had good tutors too.

I loved the story, please keep up the good work.

Princess Wishes

Aren't Fairy Godmothers great!

Nice concept, and a sweet story.
You Must write some more.
I guess we can all be a little wytchy sometimes.

Sarah Lynn Morgan.

(That means 'princess' too! Princess Lake Sea)

Good Work Grover

Nice to see this story polished up and posted to BC.

Grover has followed my Timeout sillyness at The Crystal Hall for some time -- please don't hold that against him. He has made thoughful comments but the author bug is insidious. He seems to have caught it bad. Grover, I am afraid there is no cure.

I am adapting an earlier piece of his for Timeout, it's a sentimental tale of a sorceress's familar that has remained faithful to it's dead mistress but longs for a new sorceress to bond with. Along comes someone that to the magical animal looks like a witch and smells like a witch and seems to do things only a witch can do but is not a witch or is she? It's Whateley, what else can I say? It had me crying a in a couple spots. Grover can yank the heartstrings when he tries.

Grover may be a raw tallent at this stage but, there is promise. Hope to hear more from you. I promise to post Miki to BC once Timeout is caught up to that point here, likely in this coming January.

Best Wishes.

John in Wauwatosa

John in Wauwatosa

I loved it

I loved your story but now I wonder when the fairy godmother will show up at my door
thank you
jenny

Cute story

A pleasant little fantasy, I think you can write more. Thanks.

-- Donna Lamb, Flack

-- Donna Lamb, ex-Flack

Some of my books and stories are sold through DopplerPress to help support BigCloset. -- Donna

Very Well Done Grover!

for a first time story, that is an excellent work! You do have good talent! I very much look forward to see your future writings Grover! Experiment, and try. Its how we all find our niche. *hugs*

Sephrena

Quite Pleasant

The story moved nicely; nothing seemed forced to me, the way some first stories do. I liked the way that both parents were given the choice of accepting or rejecting their new lives.

Eric

Novice

This novice thanks you all for your comments and kind words. A guy named John once said, "All you need is love." Ditto!
grover-

First time out and a home run!

I must agree with the previous comments about this first attempt. You did an excellent job, and the characters rang true to me. I also liked the choice that they had, to accept or walk away from the changes.

Would that life would offer us all such choices. I'm very much looking forward to more from you, grover. A very, very well done story.

Huggles from Cathy_t_

As a T-woman, I do have a Y chromosome... it's just in cursive, pink script. Y_0.jpg

How shall I put this ...

Grover,

This was a very well done first effort, with a well thought through, consistent plot that was well executed.

You MUST continue to write; that's all there is to it.

Itinerant

Nicole (a.k.a. Itinerant)

--
Veni, Vidi, Velcro:
I came, I saw, I stuck around.

OMG Grover you lied to us. Yo

OMG Grover you lied to us. You said you were only a novice writer, but the story I just read was written by someone who has been writing for a while. This is a very good Hallowe'en story, that has an early Christmas present wrapped inside. My heart melted when the princess came to Barry's door, and then asked him to be her mom for the night. My heart was even happier when Brianna discovered she was wearing heels, and I was even more happy when she met Sorcha's father, and I was just so elated, that the fairy godmother had granted these three wishes to the little deserving child, and made sure she had a family. And I was not surprised to find out that the fairy godmother would be Sorcha's babysitter.

Thank you so much Grover for this very sweet and treasurable story.

With super love & big as the sky hugs
Barbara

"If I have to be this girl in me, Then I have the right to be."

"With confidence and forbearance, we will have the strength to move forward."

Love & hugs,
Barbara

"If I have to be this girl in me, Then I have the right to be."

A terrific story, well-told ...

... but there's something I need to ask. Towards the end, the Fairy Godmother says "She’d chased off that nasty character trying to cause mischief, not on her watch!"

Who was the nasty character? Where did he or she appear? It seemed an odd loose end for such a well-written piece, and I did go hunting without success.

Could someone please point him or her out? Thanks!

Randalynn

Magical Indeed

No novice author warning was necessary for this tale. This is a great first story!

I, too, was a little confused by the 'nasty character', but the rest of the story falls into place nicely.

Thanks so much,

Geronwyl
_______________________________________________________________________
Some realities are limited by what we sense, others are defined by what we dream.

Some realities are limited by what we sense, others are defined by what we dream.