9th of Mow, 1572 TR
Today is my eighth birthday, and I received you as a present from my father. Mother says she hopes it will inspire me to stay indoors, so I won’t get any more freckles. I told her I planned on taking you with me into the garden, and then Mother made that face where her lips get thin and it looks like she smells something unpleasant. Mother and I don’t get along very well. For one thing she named me Penelope Eudora Evangeline Plainsworth, and for another she never lets me have any fun. Mother always wants me to stay inside and do boring things like embroider and serve tea; I’d rather be outside with my brothers, Alexander and James. Sometimes my other brother, Timothy, plays outside with us too, but he’s often too sick. Tim and Lex are twins, a year older than me. Tim is the oldest by about a minute. Around the time when I was born, Tim contracted a terrible fever, and he’s been weak ever since. Lex is just fine though, and he is my favorite brother. He calls me Nellie, and he always picks me over Jamie when we play games with teams. Jamie’s alright I suppose, though he can get very annoying. He’s a year younger than me, and he hates to be left out of anything Lex and I do.
Oh dear, Mother’s calling. She says she wants to teach me about cutlery. If I hurry I might be able to sneak out the window and down the tree.
Love, Nellie
24th of Octumbre, 1573 TR
Dear Diary,
Mother locked me in my room with no supper again. This time it’s because I was using my dolls as target practice. Lex was throwing them up into the air so I could swing at them with his wooden sword. I told Mother I thought she’d be pleased that I finally found a use for the dolls, but she just kept going on about how I’m “the worst daughter in the history of humankind” and that she cursed her loins for bringing me into the world. I think she’s just angry because that porcelain one was antique. Oh well.
Love, Nellie
30th of Novis, 1574 TR
Dear Diary,
Mother tried another concoction on my hair today. She’s been trying to find a way to keep it from being so frizzy, but nothing seems to work. Now my head smells fishy. I really hate Mother.
Love, Nellie
12th of Janvive, 1575 TR
Dear Diary,
Something miraculous has happened! Mother told me she is going to have another baby. I pray that it will be a girl, so she’ll have someone new to torment. I know it’s what Mother wants too.
Love, Nellie
17th of Aoag, 1575 TR
Dear Diary,
The baby is a girl! I’m eternally grateful. Not only will Mother be too busy with the baby to pay attention to me, but once the little one grows up, she can make doilies and paint teacups with Mother. Hurrah!
Mother is delighted. At first, she was afraid she had wasted all the best names on me, but with help from Auntie Cordelia and a botany book, the new baby has been named Angelina Isabella Gardenia Magnolia Plainsworth. Three middle names instead of two – Mother’s really outdone herself. I think I’ll call her Algae.
Love, Nellie
5th of Decem, 1577 TR
Dear Diary,
You should have seen Algae today. Mother was entertaining some guests, and they all thought Algae was the most adorable child they’d ever seen, with her golden curls and rosy cheeks. Algae just ate up the attention as always, twirling around and giggling. Mother put an enormous pink bow in her hair; I was surprised she could even lift her head. At least it took the attention off of me, so I could go outside with Lex and the other children. We played hide and go seek in the garden. At one point I was the seeker, and I found Jamie in a bush with Ophelia Treefellow. He was giving her little kisses on the cheek. It was revolting.
Love, Nellie
27th of Avril, 1580 TR
Dear Diary,
Another maid had to be let go today, the same one I caught in the closet with Jamie. This time the excuse was that she had broken too many platters, although I don’t recall her ever breaking any. I heard the other maids say she was being sent away to a home for young ladies who are “in a bad way.” Later I overheard Lex giving Jamie a lecture about honor, but I doubt it will make any difference. Mother says Jamie’s too handsome for his own good; I say he’s a spoiled brat.
Have to go, Algae’s screaming at her nurse again.
Love, Nell
3rd of Marchize, 1581 TR
Dear Diary,
Timothy died last week. I haven’t been able to write about it until now. He was sick for two weeks, growing worse and worse, until one morning he died. Mother hasn’t come out of her room yet. At first I could hear her wailing from all the way downstairs, but now she just sleeps. Even Algae can’t get her to come out. Father isn’t speaking, and Lex has been left to run the household. He’s the oldest now. He had been planning on leaving for the Wall, as second-born are expected to do, but now he has to stay. And now I wonder if I might get to go in his place.
Love, Nell
6th of Mow, 1581 TR
Dear Diary,
Mother has locked me in my room again. This time I’ve really done it. Ever since Tim’s death, she’s been set on getting rid of me. Unfortunately for her, I’m not pretty or thin or graceful or very well-behaved, so she’s been scraping the bottom of the barrel. The worst was tonight. Mother invited Rudolph Banebright, a lecherous old scab, to dine with us. I tried to stay out in the sun as much as I could, hoping to get more freckles, but Mother put some terrible powder on my face to cover them up. I also made my hair especially unruly by combing it towards the scalp. Luckily there wasn’t much Mother could do to fix it. Then she forced me into a frilly dress that was much too tight. I was hoping the old man would see through the façade, but all he seemed to care about was the fact that I was young. He kept smiling at me all through dinner; it was disgusting. If my mother is going to marry me off, couldn’t she at least find someone closer to my age? I kept interrupting people at dinner, talking about the life cycle of the maggot, things like that. Nothing seemed to repulse Rudolph, he just kept smiling and saying what a “pretty young thing” I was. His eyesight must be poor. Finally I kicked him, then claimed I have involuntary spasms. I meant to get him in the shin, but my aim was a bit high it seems, judging by the way his eyes bulged from the pain. That was when Mother sent me to my room.
Now they’re deciding what to do with me. I know Lex is advocating for my going to the Wall. I’ll be seventeen in a few days, and it’s the best way for me to serve my family aside from marrying Rudolph Banebright and being forced to smother him in his sleep. All I can do now is hope Lex convinces our parents to let me go.
Love, Nell
14th of Mow, 1581 TR
Dear Diary,
It’s been decided – I can go to the Wall. In the end it was Aunt Cordelia who convinced my mother that it was the best thing to do. After all, there’s a likely chance I’ll die, and if not, I’ll settle in the Wilds and never embarrass my mother again. I will miss my darling Lex, however. Today he gave me a strange breastplate to take with me. It’s an old family heirloom that’s been stored away on account of looking a bit creepy, but I like it. I feel like my life is finally going to begin.
Love, Nell
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