Work Text:
“Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed.”
“ Katie Jacobs? Katie? ”
“ Paging Katie Jacobs! ”
It had been days and Katie still couldn’t get those words out of her mind. They were there when she went to sleep, when she woke up, when she choked awake at 3AM and vomited, when she couldn’t breathe.
“ Katie? Paging Katie Jacobs !”
Her parents were hiding something from her. Katie knew that her aunt was the one that had hurt her, of course. But there was something else. Something worse.
She grappled at her neck where the necklace should be, where his necklace should be, he’ll be so mad, where is it, what happened - the lady had said he was gone, but she didn’t believe her.
“Katie, sweetheart?” It was her mother. Katie coughed for a minute before shifting in the hospital bed to see her mother’s tear-stained face. Her parents were always crying, now. She didn’t know why.
“I’m okay, mommy,” Katie choked out, trying to keep her voice normal and steady. Her words were sand in her throat, filling up every crook and crevice and she couldn’t breathe again.
A nice lady had come to see her in the hospital after she woke up. She was a... social lady. No, that’s not right. Social worker . The lady had been nice. Katie couldn’t remember her name but she had been nice and warm and she wasn’t crying, which made Katie feel better.
She didn’t like that she made her parents cry.
The social lady had asked her lots of questions and asked her to draw pictures of her house, her family, her favorite toys.
Katie drew a normal doll. She didn’t like the one hidden in her toy box with the broken eye and cut-up hair.
That was her secret.
When she was about to leave, the social worker asked her if she had any questions. Katie did, but she almost didn’t want to know the answers.
“Where’s...” she had started. Her voice trailed off, but the social worker just smiled at her gently. “Where’s my aunt? Is she in trouble?”
The social worker’s smile wavered just a bit, but Katie was biting her lip and fidgeting with the bedsheets, so she didn’t notice.
“Yes, dear,” the lady said. “Your aunt Susan hurt you, so she’s going somewhere where she can’t hurt you or anyone else.”
“What about - w-what about - “
Katie couldn’t finish the sentence. The social lady understood her, though.
“You don’t have to worry about him ever, ever again.” The woman’s voice had grown almost cold. Katie would use the word “steely” when she thought back on this conversation years later. “He will never touch you. Never.”
Katie wasn’t convinced.
After awhile the woman left and her dad came in the room. He brought her a Jello cup. Strawberry. Those were the best.
One day while she was still in the hospital, her favorite nurse helped her sit up in the bed and gave her a coloring book and brand new crayons.
Katie liked brand new crayons.
She colored for awhile, and then wanted to rest again. She pressed the special button and the nurse helped her.
“ Paging Katie Jacobs! ” Became a melody in her mind as she drifted off.
After a week they told her it was time to go home. Katie wanted to cry, but she didn’t want her parents to start crying again.
She got dressed in a blue dress and the pink sweater her mother had been clinging to for the whole time Katie was in bed. It smelled strange, but Katie wore it anyway. At least her shoes matched.
She ran her fingers around her neck where she was so used to feeling to chill of the necklace.
“ Shhh... ” her uncle’s voice echoed in her mind. “ It’s okay, Katie. You’ll wear this for me, won’t you? ”
Katie swallowed hard and took her mother’s hand so they could leave.
Her house smelled different when she walked in. Sharp and bitter, like... paint! She pulled away from her parents and ran into her room. It was light blue now. All her furniture and toys had been replaced (Katie wondered if anyone had found the doll) and it was perfect.
Colors , thought Katie. Colors could fix everything.
That night after her mother and father had tucked her into bed, Katie pulled out the coloring book the nurse had given her. She flipped to the back and drew a dragon with big wings and scary teeth. She colored so hard that her green crayon broke. Katie drew the dragon until it was perfect, and then she drew herself with a sword, about to strike the dragon down.
She tucked the coloring book away, neatly arranged her crayons, and went to sleep.
Dragons , she thought, could be killed .