Precious Little

Originally written for Campfire item #155709, The Adventures of Precious Little

The horse stopped and reared just in front of Precious. Several other men on horses wearing similar green uniforms stopped behind the first. The man atop the beast boasted shining medals and colorful ribbons, obviously a soldier. He radiated fear and power, and his presence caused an obedient hush to blanket the crowd. "You!" the soldier barked, stabbing a finger toward Precious. "Come with me!"

"You better go," an old lady gently tossed Precious a raspy whisper through the tattered shrouds covering her face. "If you make him mad, we'll all suffer."

Of course, Precious didn't care if anyone else suffered, so she tried her usual approach to adversity. "I want to go home - now! You overgrown, overblown, overbearing, overdressed, Napoleon wannabe idiot!" She screamed at the soldier, with venom in her eyes. The onlookers, including the other soldiers, gasped.

"Please!" The old lady coughed up at the soldiers. "She's new here, Your Greatness. She doesn't know the penalties!"

"Let her go!" Another voice came from the crowd. Several others murmured agreement.

"Round them up! The soldier yelled to his men, reaching his arm toward the sky and waving his hand around in circles. "And kill them all! Except this petulant little girl. I'll deal with her myself."

Just then, something snapped in Precious' mind. A realization. A revelation. Nothing had ever made her feel this way before. Could it be that an entire group of people are unselfish enough to care what happened to her? Could they care about her so much that they're willing to give their lives to stare evil in the face and embrace what they know to be good? No, that wasn't it. Precious thought some more, and then it hit her..... Your Greatness....Your Greatness.... ah, that was it. The old lady called the soldier Your Greatness. What a great title! She had to get it for herself. Besides, the name fit her better than it did the soldier. And she knew just what to do. Play along. Maybe she could get into his confidence, and as a very minor benefit, save the people of the village too. Could she be developing a soft spot in her heart for others? No, definitely not. But she did have a plan....
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