-1Prompt: 038. Fall

Characters: Martha, Thea, mentions of others

Pairing: None

Rated: PG or K+

Thea and Anna were best friends. Well, Thea and Anna were best friends most of the time. See, they didn't always get along and they didn't always like each other. Thea was epitome of high maintenance and convention. She liked things the same way her mother liked them. Her life was fine with her. However, Anna was a dreamer. She didn't always want to hear of Thea's small town crushes or gossip to Thea about Hanschen and Ernst. Anna liked to spend her time doing things that mattered. Sure, she loved to gaze at Melchior Gabor, she even liked to talk to Thea about him, but not all the time.

Therefore they fought. The fought a lot.

In fact, when Thea's birthday rolled around in mid-July they were in the middle of a fight. Thea wasn't sure why they were fighting, all she knew was that she had begun telling Anna a story about how she saw Hanschen Rilow sneaking towards Ernst's house in the dead of night through her window, when Anna threw a fit and told Thea that, "She had more important things to do than listen to her gossip."

This wasn't the first time that Anna walked out on Thea for being shallow, but Thea always felt like she was missing something when Anna did. Didn't Anna understand that they were supposed to listen to their parents? Didn't she know that it was fun to gossip about boys?

Thea was very disappointed that her birthday occurred when she was fighting with Anna, because this birthday was supposed to be special. It was her thirteenth birthday, not something that came around every day. This year she would be a young woman- why couldn't Anna just get over herself? Thea had already pleaded with her mother to allow her to have one friend spend the night on her birthday, which was something that was rarely allowed. Her mother reluctantly agreed. However, because of the fight Thea wasn't sure who to invite.

She didn't want to invite Wendla. It wasn't that she didn't like Wendla- she did, but Wendla was someone that Thea couldn't outshine. Wendla was nice, quiet, and beautiful. Thea was pretty, but far too loud and often said her opinions a little too bluntly. Wendla made Thea feel like she wasn't good enough. The other girls in town all worshipped Wendla for being so perfect and Wendla always got the attention that Thea wanted.

Eventually Thea decided that she wanted to invite Martha to her party. Martha was a quiet girl and very well behaved. She liked to listen to Thea talk and even though Martha's ideas and opinions were a little crazy to Thea, she generally enjoyed Martha's company.

When Thea asked Martha to spend the night, Martha declined very quickly. She said that her mama and papa would never allow her to spend the night somewhere outside of her home. But Thea wasn't the type of person to handle the word 'no' very well. So Thea asked Martha's parents herself if Martha could spend the night. At first, Thea thought that Martha was right- they didn't seem keen on the idea of having their daughter out of the house, but after a lot of respectful persuasion they agreed to let Martha go.

On the eve of Thea's birthday she was dressed up in her brand new dress that her mama had made for her. It wasn't dirty like her old plaid one had been. It had little pink flowers on a green cloth, her mama had even added lace to make it prettier. Since it was summer the sleeves were short, revealing Thea's slender stick-like arms. She couldn't wait to show the dress to Martha.

Martha arrived right on time, as she always was and Thea greeted her, bouncing at the door. Martha carried a bundle of flowers which she handed to Thea. Although it was nearing one hundred degrees outside, Thea noticed that Martha still wore a dress with long sleeves.

The beginning of the night ran very smoothly for both of the girls. Thea's mother gave them a large dinner and Martha laughed at all of Thea's jokes. As it was getting later the girls went up to Thea's room. They told her mother they were going to bed, but really they were going to talk and laugh about the boys in town. As Thea shut the door she carefully removed her new dress and put on her nightgown. It was a bit too short, but Thea didn't mind. Martha didn't change out of her dress.

"Martha, why don't you put on your nightgown? It's too warm for dresses like yours anyway," Thea's voice was matter-of-fact.

"I'm fine. I like my dress, it's soft," Martha defended.

"Don't be silly, did you forget something to put on? My mama has an old nightgown I'm sure she'd let you borrow." Thea offered.

"No really Thea, I'm fine." Thea, however, had already left the room to get a nightgown.

She returned another minute later and tossed the gown to Martha who held the thin dress in her arms limply. Carefully she turned around and began unbuttoning her dress. She stepped out of it slowly and Thea wondered why it was so hard for the girl to simply change clothes. But as the dress fell to the floor and Thea saw Martha's back she was no longer thinking of why it took so long for Martha to change, instead she was horrified at the welts and bruises on her back.

"Martha!? She exclaimed jumping up, "What happened to you?"

Martha didn't answer, she simply slipped the nightgown over her head and turned to face Thea. There were welts and bruises like the one on Martha's back all up her arms as well. Thea was disgusted.

"Martha? Answer me! How did you get those bruises?"

Martha's answer was simple.

"I fell."

"No one falls that much Martha, something must have happened. Please tell me. Did you meet one of those rascals by the schoolyard that mama always said lurk there?"

"No Thea," Martha's voice was tired, "I just... I... I fall a lot." It took several tries, but it was a clear statement and Thea could tell Martha didn't wish to talk about it.

Thea tried to let the rest of the night pass normally. She tried to ignore the nagging feeling she had that Martha was lying. After all, Martha had no reason to lie. The girls still talked about boys. They still laughed and joked, but both of them knew that Martha was keeping something back.

At some point, not too late in the night, they fell asleep. They were woken by the light coming through Thea's window. Quickly Thea put her day dress on and left the room so that Martha could change alone. Thea went to her breakfast table and pulled two apples from her cabinet. Martha soon joined her and handed her the nightgown she had borrowed. She told Thea that she had to be home soon.

Thea gave Martha the apple and asked if she could walk Martha home. Martha agreed. Their walk was somewhat quiet. Their secrets still lie in the dark of Thea's room. When they arrived at Martha's home, her father answered the door. He beckoned Martha inside and waved goodbye to Thea. As the door closed, Thea heard a muffled noise from the house. She heard a crash and a cry.

And then she knew, Martha had fallen.

Feeling like she was breaking rules Thea walked to the back of Martha's house where she knew the window of her room was. She pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and searched the ground for a stick and mud. She eventually found what she needed. She wrote a quick note to Martha, slipped it through the window and ran all the way home.

Later, a beaten down and sore Martha entered her room. She went to the window, gazing longingly at the sky above her and she noticed a slip of paper on her sill. Her father hated messes, she snatched the paper silently and opened it up. In small, girly letters there was a message on the paper:

You don't just fall, Martha- someone pushes you.

The thing was, that Thea didn't know how right she was.

A/N

Not my best chapter- I imagined this going better than it did. All of it comes out kind of coincidental. I tried to write it in a different style that I don't think works for me. Oh well, I tried, that's all I can do. See you next chapter, kiddies.