1Where it all Started
Perhaps it all started with a sticky wad of mud thrown at her tail. Ursula yelped and tried to throw it off, but it was no good. To make matters worse, there had been a wad of used chewing gum inside that immediately stuck fast. The other girls laughed at her. "Aw, what's the matter?" the one who'd thrown it asked, not even bluffing concern. "Get a bit sticky?"
"We're just playing," another said, although she had no mud on her at all. From the gleam in her eyes, she'd probably talked the other girl into throwing it.
"I wasn't playing with you," Ursula said as one of the orphanage nuns came over. This was terrible; she might need her fur cut to get the gum out. And they would have meant for the gum to stick. It may have all started when a visitor a few days ago had said that Ursula one of the prettiest girls here. Ursula didn't care since she preferred exploring the woods outside of town to trying to be pretty. Besides, the visitor had adopted another child instead.
But these girls acted like it was a huge outrage. "You shouldn't be such a tomboy snob. Surely you could play with us and not fall in a mud puddle." Which made Ursula suspect they meant to push her into a puddle somehow.
"What did you three do now?" the nun asked as she stopped to check on her.
"They got mud and gum in my tail," Ursula said, closing her eyes and trying not to cry. They'd be happy if she cried.
"I didn't mean to actually hit her," one claimed, keeping her muddy hand clenched closed. "Jin told me to get her attention."
"I did not," the schemer claimed, shaking her head.
"You did so."
"Yeah, she said to hit her, but I didn't want to be part of it," the quieter third girl said, looking down and being painfully obvious with her lying.
Fortunately, the nun didn't believe them. "You three were scheming again, weren't you? Then you'll be putting that cleverness to a better use in taking on chores for today."
They whined and complained, but still had to take their punishment. But it didn't seem like enough. While the nun helped her clean out the mud and gum, Ursula told her as much. "They keep being mean to me no matter how they get punished for it."
"Some people don't learn easily," the nun said. Then she took out a small pair of scissors. "Now hold still."
She had to focus hard on not moving her tail. "Do we have to cut it out?"
"Afraid so. I'll try to make it hard to notice."
Even if it would be, Ursula still knew where it was and would know for days. "Fine." She closed her eyes and waited for it to be done with. "Can I pull a prank on them? I won't hurt them, promise."
"At least you ask about it," the nun said. "We should forgive and forget. But then, they haven't apologized to you or the other kids they've bullied. If you don't hurt anyone, and agree to clean up any mess you make doing so, then give it a try. You'll get in big trouble with us if you don't hold up your end of the bargain."
Doing some cleaning would be worth turning the tables on them. Ursula nodded. "Okay, I promise not to hurt them and to clean up any mess the prank makes."
"Good." The nun patted her head. "All done, see?"
She opened her eyes and saw that there was a little spot of shorter hairs on her tail. Hopefully no one else noticed. "Good, thank you."
So the other kids had been bullied too... how could she make this good?
To Jin and her cronies, it all started one evening during dinner. "Somebody wouldn't let me into the woods because there's an evil fire monster that moved in there," Ursula said when the other kids at the table were talking about what they'd done that day.
A girl who was in on her prank put her hands to her mouth. "Oh, I heard about that! It sounds real scary, like it wants to burn kids to toast and eat them up. If we're not careful, it'd come here and eat up all us girls."
"Is that the one that shoots fireballs around and has a big toothy mouth?" another participant said. "I hear it doesn't eat good kids, only those who are mean to others and make them cry."
"Is it a dragon?" the quiet girl who was always with Jin asked.
"I dunno," Ursula said with a shrug. "I didn't see it, but it might be."
"Well I think most of us will be okay if it only eats bad kids. But you three had better be careful."
"That is completely wrong and you know it," Jin said in a huff. "Oh wait, you wouldn't because you're not that clever."
"But you always," she sniffled and shrank back.
"Hey, quit picking on her," Ursula said, glaring across the table.
"Well she shouldn't be such a dumb crybaby," Jin said.
"Oo, maybe you should be careful or the fire monster will make you its toast," the other girl in Ursula's plans said.
"I'm not afraid of any monster," she claimed.
Later that evening, Ursula got one of the nuns to help her get into the attic and climb out to the roof. Ursula could do this herself, but asking first kept them from scolding her about it. She knew where Jin and her two companions slept, and she knew they were in their bedroom. Thanks to the warm evening breeze, most of the girls had their windows open. Ursula clambered over to over Jin's window and made sure she could hear them.
"You know what would be great?" Jin asked, near enough to the window that she could be heard clearly. "We could arrange things at the festival so that Ursula and the other stupid girls get hit with real mud pies, and that we will never be in the target part of the pie throwing game." The other two laughed.
While she had been talking, Ursula focused on her magic. Her mother had been teaching her some things before she passed on, then she kept practicing and learning on her own while here in the orphanage. She could make a fireball spell herself. But, that wouldn't be enough to match the monster story. She needed several fireballs, in quick succession. Fortunately, dropping them by the window was easier than actually casting a thrown fireball. It meant she could chain the fireballs together rapidly.
One... two... three...
One of the girls screamed. "What?" Jin asked, annoyed.
Four... five... six...
"I-i-it's the fireball monster!" Jin shrieked.
Ursula chuckled as she heard all three scream and stampede out the room. Then for the part she had really had to ask permission to do... Ursula dashed over to where the drain pipe was, dropped over the edge of the roof, slid along the drain, then hurried back inside before the other girls could realize that she'd been outside.
She went first to check in with the one who'd helped her to the attic, to prove that she'd come down safely. Since they were magic, the fireballs had puffed out into smoke before hitting the ground. There was no mess outside, although Ursula 'volunteered' to help clean up a flower vase that had gotten smashed when Jin and the others ran out of the room.
The best part of that evening was when the three bullies apologized for the things they'd done and promised they wouldn't act like that again.
But perhaps it all really started the next day; it was the day her entire life changed once more. The head nun brought her into the office to meet a new visitor, one she held with great respect. "This should be her," the head nun said. "This is Ursula; she's nine years old."
He was a large man with a military overcoat and a salt-and-pepper beard. He did have a warm smile. "Ah yes, she's the one."
"Ursula, this is General Rhun of the Imperial Army," the head nun said, patting her shoulder in encouragement. "He saw your prank yesterday."
"People weren't supposed to know about that," Ursula said, embarrassed that she'd been seen despite her planning. And the nuns were supposed to keep quiet.
The general chuckled. "I happened to be in the right place at the right time to spot fireballs raining down in the middle of town. It had me worried at first because it takes a skilled magician to cast that quickly. Then I saw you dropping down from the roof; you have remarkable skills for a child."
"Well I couldn't go back in through the attic or they'd know it was me," she said, feeling more confidant since he was impressed.
"That's good thinking," Rhun said with a nod. "It reminds me of a time I had to deal with a band of smugglers who were cautious in their actions. I finally caught them by deflecting a spell off a pot with a reflective glaze. While they prepared for more attacks from that direction, my squad and I ambushed them from behind."
Her eyes went wide and her tail went still on hearing this. "Really, you can make spells do that?"
"Of course. It takes some practice and knowing what objects can deflect properly." He winked at her. "See, I was thinking that someone who could pull off a stunt like that would be an excellent asset as a soldier. Of course, I can't swear you in as a child. But I can adopt you and give you some early training so you get a head start. By the time you can join the army, you'll be a top notch recruit we'll train to protect the entire empire. Would you like that?"
"Yes!" Ursula said, hopping in place with a big grin on her face.
And that was how she started her life with her Grandfather Rhun.
