What happened to Rose?

My little sister, Rose, is not what one would normally expect from a younger sibling. Younger siblings are people you love unconditionally, but are still super annoying. Anyone who has siblings will be able to attest to the weirdness that is the sibling dynamic. Rose is not like that at all. It was like she exited the womb as an angel. She hardly ever cried as a baby, she slept through the night, and immediately fell in love with every person she met. My parents and I were terrified what the terrible twos would bring, as I had been a bit of a hellion when I was younger. However, she remained sweet and loving. When she turned 7 years old, she seemed even more unnaturally adorable than before. She has long, wavy, copper colored hair that many women would die for. Her eyes are the sharpest green I have ever seen. She wouldn't have hurt a fly if her life depended on it.

So, it was very apparent when her entire personality changed overnight. She went to bed like any other night. At 9 o'clock sharp she reminded our mom it was time for bed. She climbed into bed and was peacefully asleep in seconds. At about 4 a.m. she walked into my parents room and demanded some ice cream. My mom was obviously very confused, but told her to go back to bed, that maybe we would all go out for ice cream later that day. For the first time in her short 7 years of life, Rose threw a temper tantrum. It was not a small one either. She let loose a bloodcurdling scream, laid down on the floor and started to pound her fists into the carpet. This woke me up and I rushed to my parents bedroom to see what was wrong. None of us knew what to do, we were all in shock. She had never done anything like this before. Eventually, she cried herself to sleep, and my dad carried her back to bed. Since it was Saturday we decided we could sleep in despite it being 7 a.m. and we all went back to bed, still reeling from the early mornings events.

It only got worse from there. She went from the sweetest child known to man, to the world's worst hellion. She got into trouble at school, kicked, bit, and scratched when she didn't get her way, and had an insatiable appetite for sweets. My parents were convinced this is what they got for having seven years of sweetness. I was convinced something was wrong with her. She looked like Rose, but that was not my little sister. My parents just thought I was overreacting, but I wasn't to be swayed. So I did what any teenager does with questions their parents can't answer, I turned to Google. At this point, I was looking at things like bipolar disorder. The thought of anything supernatural hadn't even crossed my mind. Those kinds of things are for comic books and television. Nothing I was finding on the internet fit Rose's condition. I had hit a dead end.

I probably would have never known what happened to my sister if it wasn't for the brownie. Not the delicious chocolate kind, or even the special infused kind. Nope, it was the kind that wakes you up with a dagger at your throat, in a very bad mood.

I woke up with a start as something small but dense landed on my chest. I didn't have a second to get my bearings before I felt the sting of a sharp blade against my throat. A small creature that resembled an angry garden gnome was crouched on me holding a dagger. He wore what looked like doll clothes, and I had the odd thought that he had raided Rose's toy box. The clothes were dirty and ratted, and he wore no shoes. "Where is Rose?", he snarled at me. I tried to explain she was in her room asleep, but he didn't seem appeased. "No, not that thing. Where is Rose?", he asked again. "I-I don't know. Something happened one night, she was fine and then she became mean. D-Do you mean that isn't my sister in the next room?", I managed to stutter out. Visibly frustrated, he took the knife from my throat and slumped into a sitting position in my lap. "I knew it.", he said sadly "They took her, and its all my fault." "What do you mean they took her? Who is they? Why did they take her? How is it your fault?", I rushed out, afraid this little thing would disappear before my eyes. He looked up at me curiously. "You would do anything for her wouldn't you?", he asked. Without hesitation, I answered, "Yes, anything, in a heartbeat." He jumped up excitedly, "Then you can bring her back, you can go get Rose!" He hopped out of my bed, and ran to my open bedroom window. "Wait!", I cried, "How do I get her back?"

Without answering, he jumped out the window and ran into the woods behind my house. Now fully awake, I sat at the edge of my bed, trying to figure out if I was dreaming or not. Before my brain had a chance to decide, the small creature reappeared at the window with a handful of berries. "These are elderberries, when you eat elderberries gifted by a brownie, you will be able to see all the fae.", he explains calmly. I consider myself somewhat of a nerd, so I have a general idea of what the fae are. I know enough to know he isn't talking about Tinker Bell, and that faeries don't give gifts for free. "What's the catch?", I ask suspiciously. He grins as he replies, "Not as clueless as you look I see. Just your name dear, and the Sight is yours." "Don't you already know my name?", I ask confused. He replies again, "Then it shouldn't matter if you give it to me." I weigh the options in my mind. It seems like nothing to tell him my name, something he already knows. He is proof faeries are real, and I wasn't going to waste time questioning it. I had already figured Rose was somehow kidnapped by faeries, though whatever they left behind still confused me. This is also the only lead I had on what happened to my sister, and I wasn't going to pass it up. Still, he was a faerie, and though I didn't know how I was sure him wanting my name meant more than I knew. However, desperation does funny things to people, so I gave him my name.

After we made the exchange of a name for berries, he explained that Rose had been kidnapped and switched out for a changeling. It looked like her, but was not her. Changelings are known to have nasty temperaments. He was Rose's friend, and had been living in our house for awhile. She was nice to him, gave him her doll clothes to wear, and fed him honey and sweets whenever she could. She was born able to see faeries, a rare gift. He said he told only his brother of his friendship with Rose, but that someone else must have found out too. The fae love children anyway, but Rose's particular innocence made her irresistible to them. The fae will not be easily convinced to give her back, but he said if I was willing to make a deal it could be done. So, I am now apparently going on a quest to rescue my sister from faeries.

This should be an interesting weekend.

To Be Continued......