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Gwendolynn Von Holden's Diary: Can't a girl get some sleep around here?
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<blockquote data-quote="Eeralai" data-source="post: 2511814" data-attributes="member: 15008"><p><strong>Author's note</strong></p><p></p><p><span style="color: Red">When BSF said he wanted detailed backgrounds for the characters, he created a bit of a monster in me. My background for Crill was detailed, but read like a history book. When I brought Gwen in, I created several short stories for her. Here is the first one when she discovered her powers:</span></p><p><span style="color: Red"></span></p><p></p><p>Gwendolynn Von Holden lay swaddled in soft, fluffy, white blankets looking very proud of herself for being born. She had a mess of wavy black hair, flush cheeks and startling purple eyes. Her parents surrounded her in love, and even her two brothers stopped playing for a few moments to smile and welcome her. Although words were beyond her grasp, she cooed, crooned and cried her way through nine months, demanding the attention of anyone who was in the room with her. At nine months, words burst forth from her in alarming rapidity. Her mother and father delighted in each new word, while her oldest brother Geoff was disgruntled with all the attention Gwendolynn received. When she was one, he decided to teach her a few words some of the other farm boys had told him. She streaked around the house blissfully shouting them over and over. Mother and Father decided since he was taking such an interest in expanding Gwen’s and his own vocabulary, that he could play with Gwen for an hour a day, and also begin lessons in reading. The farmers laughed when they heard that the Von Holden’s were teaching five-year-old Geoff to read, but Geoff was bright and found the lessons to be enjoyable. He also enjoyed playing with his sister, although he put on a big fuss about it.</p><p> </p><p>Gwen adored her two older brothers, and played happily with them whenever possible. When she was two, her sentences became quite intelligible, and at three she spoke with the certainty of a five-year-old. The Von Holden’s had two more children after Gwen. Dale arrived after Gwen turned two, and James arrived shortly before she turned five. Gwen took notice of her two younger brothers mainly as new dolls there for her amusement.</p><p> </p><p>On Gwen’s fifth birthday, she was sitting in the parlor having a tea party with her three dolls. She spoke her dolls, and they each had a distinctive voice. Geoff and Aaron always teased her by mimicking her voices, so she had recently begun continuing the conversations inside her head whenever the boys walked by. On this particular day, the three older children were excited because a birthday meant cake. Geoff came running into the parlor ready to tell his sister how big the cake was and saw her playing tea party with her dolls. Gwen, pretending he wasn’t in the room continued the conversation in her head. “Oh no,” she thought to the dolls. “It’s big ugly Geoff!”</p><p> </p><p>“What did you call me?” asked Geoff.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t call you anything,” said Gwen.</p><p> </p><p>“You did too,” said Geoff. “You just called me ugly!” Then Geoff took one of the dolls and began running away.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey!” called Gwen. “Give her back!” Gwen jumped up and ran after him. Geoff reached the door right as Mother was walking through.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s all this?” asked mother looking down at both of them.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing,” said Geoff and Gwen, quickly in unison.</p><p> </p><p>“I was just playing tea party with Gwen,” continued Geoff. “Here you go Gwen. I think her coat is on right now.” Geoff handed the doll back to Gwen.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” mumbled Gwen looking down at the doll. There was no sense in telling on Geoff because they would both end up in trouble, and she didn’t want trouble on her birthday. The children could never predict what punishment their parents would dish out, and on a birthday, none of them wanted to miss being dished out a piece of cake. Mother was telling them both to play quieter and to not run in the house while Gwen thought to her doll, “That mean old Geoff better not get us into trouble.”</p><p> </p><p>The two children agreed to play more quietly and Mother went on her way. Geoff turned to Gwen excitedly. “Did you just think to your dolls, ‘That mean old Geoff better not get us into trouble?’”</p><p> </p><p>Gwen gaped up at him. “Yes I did.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m a mind reader Gwen! Think something else to me!” </p><p></p><p> “What do I think?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just anything!” </p><p> </p><p>“How big is my birthday cake?” thought Gwen.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s three layers!” exclaimed Geoff. “Let’s go tell Aaron!” With that, Geoff ran out the room and up the stairs to Aaron’s room followed closely by Gwen.</p><p> </p><p>“Aaron!” said Geoff. “I can read minds. Think something to me.”</p><p> </p><p>Aaron looked up from his book. He was a small boy of seven and very thoughtful. Geoff was the one with the big schemes, but Aaron always thought out the details to pull them off. He looked at his older brother of two years and wondered what this new scheme was. Geoff seemed so excited though, that maybe it was true. “All right,” said Aaron calmly. “What am I thinking?” There was a pause in the room for a minute.</p><p> </p><p>“Think it louder Aaron,” said Geoff. “I can’t hear it.”</p><p> </p><p>“How can I think louder?” asked Aaron. “What are you up to Geoff?”</p><p> </p><p>“Down in the parlor he read my mind three times, Aaron,” piped in Gwen. “Honest! Watch.” </p><p> </p><p>Gwen was silent and then Geoff said, “She thought, ‘I hope Aaron believes us.’” </p><p> </p><p>“That’s right,” said Gwen.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not going to believe this,” said Aaron. “All Geoff has to do is think of something you might say and then you agree Gwen. This is silly.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh Aaron,” thought Gwen. “You’re really pigheaded.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not pigheaded Gwen,” said Aaron.</p><p> </p><p>“Gwen didn’t call you pigheaded,” said Geoff.</p><p> </p><p>“I just heard her,” said Aaron.</p><p> </p><p>Geoff grabbed Gwen’s shoulders. “It’s not me Gwen,” he said. “It’s you! Think something to Aaron again.”</p><p> </p><p>Gwen looked at Aaron and thought, “My birthday cake is three layers!”</p><p> </p><p>“Wow!” said Aaron. “Can you hear what we think too?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know,” said Gwen looking confused. “I haven’t tried to.”</p><p> </p><p>“Try me first,” said Geoff. The room was quiet.</p><p> </p><p>“You thought, ‘The birthday cake is being frosted,’” said Gwen excitedly. The three children stood staring in amazement. Then they all started talking at once. They spent the rest of the morning running around the house, trying to figure out how far away they could talk to Gwen and how many words they could say to her. Geoff and Aaron tried thinking to each other, but it was only Gwen who seemed to have the mind speak power as they called it. They discovered she could only catch short sentences and they could be as far as 15 feet away. Then abruptly it stopped and Gwen had a headache. The boys were scared and concerned all at the same time. None of them had thought it would have any ill effects on Gwen. Father found them in Aaron’s bedroom talking quietly to Gwen. </p><p> </p><p>“What’s wrong?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I have a headache Father,” said Gwen in a small voice.</p><p> </p><p>“Too much birthday excitement,” said Father. “I’ve heard you children running around the house all morning. Come here and I’ll carry you to your room for a nap.”</p><p> </p><p>A droopy Gwen managed to shuffle over to Father’s arms. He picked her up and carried her out the door. “Should we tell?” whispered Aaron.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s wait and see how she feels after her nap,” replied Geoff.</p><p> </p><p>Gwen woke up feeling fine to the relief of Geoff and Aaron, and the birthday party proceeded as normal. The next day, the children were happy to find Gwen’s mind speak back in place. They decided against telling Mother and Father. They would only use it for short periods to avoid wearing out Gwen again. The next few months brought forth a host of new schemes from Geoff, and with Aaron’s help and Gwen’s thinking, they did not get caught, too much.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Eeralai, post: 2511814, member: 15008"] [b]Author's note[/b] [COLOR=Red]When BSF said he wanted detailed backgrounds for the characters, he created a bit of a monster in me. My background for Crill was detailed, but read like a history book. When I brought Gwen in, I created several short stories for her. Here is the first one when she discovered her powers: [/COLOR] Gwendolynn Von Holden lay swaddled in soft, fluffy, white blankets looking very proud of herself for being born. She had a mess of wavy black hair, flush cheeks and startling purple eyes. Her parents surrounded her in love, and even her two brothers stopped playing for a few moments to smile and welcome her. Although words were beyond her grasp, she cooed, crooned and cried her way through nine months, demanding the attention of anyone who was in the room with her. At nine months, words burst forth from her in alarming rapidity. Her mother and father delighted in each new word, while her oldest brother Geoff was disgruntled with all the attention Gwendolynn received. When she was one, he decided to teach her a few words some of the other farm boys had told him. She streaked around the house blissfully shouting them over and over. Mother and Father decided since he was taking such an interest in expanding Gwen’s and his own vocabulary, that he could play with Gwen for an hour a day, and also begin lessons in reading. The farmers laughed when they heard that the Von Holden’s were teaching five-year-old Geoff to read, but Geoff was bright and found the lessons to be enjoyable. He also enjoyed playing with his sister, although he put on a big fuss about it. Gwen adored her two older brothers, and played happily with them whenever possible. When she was two, her sentences became quite intelligible, and at three she spoke with the certainty of a five-year-old. The Von Holden’s had two more children after Gwen. Dale arrived after Gwen turned two, and James arrived shortly before she turned five. Gwen took notice of her two younger brothers mainly as new dolls there for her amusement. On Gwen’s fifth birthday, she was sitting in the parlor having a tea party with her three dolls. She spoke her dolls, and they each had a distinctive voice. Geoff and Aaron always teased her by mimicking her voices, so she had recently begun continuing the conversations inside her head whenever the boys walked by. On this particular day, the three older children were excited because a birthday meant cake. Geoff came running into the parlor ready to tell his sister how big the cake was and saw her playing tea party with her dolls. Gwen, pretending he wasn’t in the room continued the conversation in her head. “Oh no,” she thought to the dolls. “It’s big ugly Geoff!” “What did you call me?” asked Geoff. “I didn’t call you anything,” said Gwen. “You did too,” said Geoff. “You just called me ugly!” Then Geoff took one of the dolls and began running away. “Hey!” called Gwen. “Give her back!” Gwen jumped up and ran after him. Geoff reached the door right as Mother was walking through. “What’s all this?” asked mother looking down at both of them. “Nothing,” said Geoff and Gwen, quickly in unison. “I was just playing tea party with Gwen,” continued Geoff. “Here you go Gwen. I think her coat is on right now.” Geoff handed the doll back to Gwen. “Thank you,” mumbled Gwen looking down at the doll. There was no sense in telling on Geoff because they would both end up in trouble, and she didn’t want trouble on her birthday. The children could never predict what punishment their parents would dish out, and on a birthday, none of them wanted to miss being dished out a piece of cake. Mother was telling them both to play quieter and to not run in the house while Gwen thought to her doll, “That mean old Geoff better not get us into trouble.” The two children agreed to play more quietly and Mother went on her way. Geoff turned to Gwen excitedly. “Did you just think to your dolls, ‘That mean old Geoff better not get us into trouble?’” Gwen gaped up at him. “Yes I did.” “I’m a mind reader Gwen! Think something else to me!” “What do I think?” “Just anything!” “How big is my birthday cake?” thought Gwen. “It’s three layers!” exclaimed Geoff. “Let’s go tell Aaron!” With that, Geoff ran out the room and up the stairs to Aaron’s room followed closely by Gwen. “Aaron!” said Geoff. “I can read minds. Think something to me.” Aaron looked up from his book. He was a small boy of seven and very thoughtful. Geoff was the one with the big schemes, but Aaron always thought out the details to pull them off. He looked at his older brother of two years and wondered what this new scheme was. Geoff seemed so excited though, that maybe it was true. “All right,” said Aaron calmly. “What am I thinking?” There was a pause in the room for a minute. “Think it louder Aaron,” said Geoff. “I can’t hear it.” “How can I think louder?” asked Aaron. “What are you up to Geoff?” “Down in the parlor he read my mind three times, Aaron,” piped in Gwen. “Honest! Watch.” Gwen was silent and then Geoff said, “She thought, ‘I hope Aaron believes us.’” “That’s right,” said Gwen. “I’m not going to believe this,” said Aaron. “All Geoff has to do is think of something you might say and then you agree Gwen. This is silly.” “Oh Aaron,” thought Gwen. “You’re really pigheaded.” “I’m not pigheaded Gwen,” said Aaron. “Gwen didn’t call you pigheaded,” said Geoff. “I just heard her,” said Aaron. Geoff grabbed Gwen’s shoulders. “It’s not me Gwen,” he said. “It’s you! Think something to Aaron again.” Gwen looked at Aaron and thought, “My birthday cake is three layers!” “Wow!” said Aaron. “Can you hear what we think too?” “I don’t know,” said Gwen looking confused. “I haven’t tried to.” “Try me first,” said Geoff. The room was quiet. “You thought, ‘The birthday cake is being frosted,’” said Gwen excitedly. The three children stood staring in amazement. Then they all started talking at once. They spent the rest of the morning running around the house, trying to figure out how far away they could talk to Gwen and how many words they could say to her. Geoff and Aaron tried thinking to each other, but it was only Gwen who seemed to have the mind speak power as they called it. They discovered she could only catch short sentences and they could be as far as 15 feet away. Then abruptly it stopped and Gwen had a headache. The boys were scared and concerned all at the same time. None of them had thought it would have any ill effects on Gwen. Father found them in Aaron’s bedroom talking quietly to Gwen. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “I have a headache Father,” said Gwen in a small voice. “Too much birthday excitement,” said Father. “I’ve heard you children running around the house all morning. Come here and I’ll carry you to your room for a nap.” A droopy Gwen managed to shuffle over to Father’s arms. He picked her up and carried her out the door. “Should we tell?” whispered Aaron. “Let’s wait and see how she feels after her nap,” replied Geoff. Gwen woke up feeling fine to the relief of Geoff and Aaron, and the birthday party proceeded as normal. The next day, the children were happy to find Gwen’s mind speak back in place. They decided against telling Mother and Father. They would only use it for short periods to avoid wearing out Gwen again. The next few months brought forth a host of new schemes from Geoff, and with Aaron’s help and Gwen’s thinking, they did not get caught, too much. [/QUOTE]
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