1. Hello, and welcome to the first chapter of my legacy! If you haven’t read the prologue yet, I suggest you do that first. Otherwise, you may be very confused. If you have read it, then please continue on. >>>
2. So this is it, Poppy thought as she approached the dorm building. College. For the past couple of years, Poppy had been traveling from place to place, taking odd jobs where she could and just managing to get by on her own. When times were hard, the only thing that kept her going was the memory of Alexia and the mission that she gave to Poppy in her last moments. Eventually Poppy came to Sim State University. Even though she never finished high school, Poppy was a very smart girl, and she was accepted into the school. So here she was, hopeful for the start of a new life and the start of the legacy she was destined to begin.
4. Poppy set out to claim a room for herself and to pick a major. She choose Biology after a short consideration for no reason other then that it seemed interesting.
5. After she was done with that, she just sat down for a bit and stared at the screen. Her mind was far away, back years before, to the day that had changed her life forever. She still had nightmares nearly every night, and the paranoia wouldn’t go away. Even though she never dared let her pointed ears go uncovered for even a moment, she was terrified of someone finding out what she was. She couldn’t be discovered. She couldn’t fail Alexia’s mission.
7. Poppy spent the majority of her time studying or just reading. She was happiest with a book in her hands. It allowed her to distract her mind from the things she didn’t want to think about. Plus, it was just her nature to want to learn about all she could, and she was a quick learner. It wasn’t long before people in the dorm started recognizing Poppy as the girl who always had a book in her face. More often then not, though, Poppy was mostly invisible to the people around her.
8. She didn’t mind. It gave her a chance to… observe. She spend most of her first semester this way; studying, observing, and always praying that she’d somehow be able to begin her legacy smoothly… ~~~
10. Irene tried to stay calm, but she couldn’t help but flinch as Queen Theresa looked down at her in rage. “ Please, you Grace,” she said. “There was no other way. My sister wouldn’t tell me a thing. She was willing to die before she told me. She would’ve been no use to us either way…”
11. “ You idiot !” Theresa roared, standing up. Irene collapsed to the ground as a torturous pain ripped through her body. Theresa only glared at her. “If anyone knew where that elf was going to go, it would be that pathetic sister of yours!” she hissed. “There are ways – many ways, Irene – to get someone to tell the truth. Because of you, we have no way of knowing where that bloody elf may be!”
12. “ Please, my Queen” Irene pleaded through her pain. “Please, have mercy! I will go find her! I will find the elf. Give me just one more chance. I swear on my life, I shall never disappoint you again!”
13. Theresa stood there in silent consideration for a moment, but then she nodded and Irene’s twitching body finally relaxed. Irene slowly climbed onto her knees as the effects of the spell wore off. “ Thank you, your Grace,” she said shakily. “You won’t be disappointed, I promise.” ~~~
14. Back as SSU, it seemed that Poppy wouldn’t go friendless for long. Although she was quiet, she had a natural ability of getting along with everyone she met, and soon she made a friend out of a red-headed girl named Marie Pesherianu. Despite what seemed like a cold exterior shell, Marie was actually a really nice girl. It wasn’t long before Poppy got her to open up, and they became the best of friends.
15. Eventually, Poppy started getting more comfortable with her new environments, and she started opening up a little bit more. She worried (unnecessarily) about grades and freaked out (just as unnecessarily) about finals. She made some friends and listened to gossip and told jokes and laughed and enjoyed the college experiences. The nightmares still continued, but during the day, she could almost be normal . You know, as normal as an elf with the destiny to save the magical world could be.
16. … an elf with the destiny to save the magical world… Despite how desperately she tried to be normal and how sometimes she momentarily convinced herself that she was, the truth of her existence always crept back into her mind. “ Marie, do you believe in magic?”
17. “ Magic?” Marie asked with a raised eyebrow. “No, not really. There’s some pretty strong evidence that aliens exist, but that’s not magic. Werewolf's and vampires and witches and that kind of stuff? I don’t believe a word of it. Why do you ask?” “ Oh, no reason,” Poppy said as she began to sit up.
18. Poppy tried to hide her disappointment. She could never tell anyone about what she was, not even Marie. With this burning secret, she was extremely lonely.
21. Poppy’s freshmen year had past and sophomore year was already flying by when she decided to get a job working in the dorm’s cafeteria. The first reason was that she was smart enough to make mac and cheese without it catching on fire. The more important reason was that she was getting tired of living in the dorms, and she wanted to raise money to get her own place. It wasn’t the best pay, but it was something, and she even managed to convince the cafeteria worker to let her work with her hair down.
22. “ What do you mean you’re leaving?” Marie and Bim, one of Poppy’s other friends, asked in union. “ Well, I just really want to get a place of my own,” Poppy said. “It’s too loud here, and I swear, if another drunk student wanders into my room from a party again, I may just lose my mind.” Marie and Bim both nodded in agreement. “Besides,” Poppy continued, “I have almost enough money to buy a little lot not far from here. We would still see each other all the time. I’m thinking of leaving as soon as the semester’s over.”
23. “ Oh!” Bim smiled excitedly as an idea popped into her head. “You should totally found a sorority! There’s only one on campus right now, but they barely ever accept new members. It would be so awesome if you were in one!”
24. Marie scowled. “Are you kidding?! Greek Houses around here are filled with shallow, mindless people who prioritize beauty over brains. They are all completely superficial.”
25. Poppy suddenly grinned as a thought came to mind. “Well,” she said. “Maybe I could change that.”
26. And so, as soon as the semester ended and Poppy entered her Junior year of college, she moved out of the dorms. She bought herself that small lot of land and spend nearly every dine she had to her name to buy the bare necessities for her new home. Saying that it wasn’t much would be an understatement – it didn’t even have four walls – but it was hers, and that’s what mattered.
27. Once she moved in, there was only one thing left to do – apply for a charter. That’s right, Poppy was indeed founding a Greek House. Sure, living in a Greek House probably wasn’t going to help with the noise problem; it was probably going to make it worse. But she wanted to make a Greek House different from the others in SSU, one that wasn’t superficial. She believed that students deserved more options. Plus, it would be a learning experience.
28. And with having a Greek House came the inevitable toga party. She invited all of her friends and even bought a keg, which she stayed away from, but the others liked it. Poppy definitely wasn’t what you’d call a party girl, but she was friendly and knew how make everyone laugh, so the party was a success.
29. It was at this party that Poppy met Chase Wilsonoff. He was a sweet guy and a natural conversationalist. He had one of those contagious smiles that could put a whole room of people in a good mood. He could make Poppy laugh until she had tears in her eyes, and he did multiple times. In seemed that no matter how hard she tried to give all of her guests equal attention, she always seemed to wander back to talk to Chase…
30. … and even later that night after everyone had left and Poppy was laying in her bed, her thoughts constantly strayed to Chase…
31. “ Okay, who is it?” It was just a couple days after the party when Poppy blinked out of a daze at the sound of Marie’s voice and looked over at her in surprise. “Oh… uh… What are you talking about?”
32. “ Oh, don’t give me that,” Marie said, looking back down at her book. “Just because I don’t get all googly eyes over boys doesn’t mean that I can’t spot someone that does. Plus, I have never seen you look away from a book for that long, especially right before mid-terms. So who is it?”
33. Poppy blushed a little and looked down at her book. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied. Marie rolled her eyes but dropped it. She figured Poppy would confess eventually.
34. Poppy was far from stupid, but even she took a while to figure out why she loved being around Chase so much, why she could never seem to look away from him, why her heart skipped a beat when he looked back at her. These feeling were new and like nothing Poppy had felt before. But after a while, she realized the truth. She liked Chase. She liked him a lot.
35. Every time they talked, Poppy hoped that by some stroke of luck she would find out that Chase liked her too, but he never showed any sign of liking her as anything more than a friend. And as much as Poppy wished it wasn’t so, there was a good chance that friends was all they would ever be.
36. Come on, Poppy. Just dial the number and ask him out. It’s simple. Seven buttons, press call, and then ask a question. Come on, just do it! Sighing, Poppy hung the phone back up.
37. Before she knew it, Poppy was in her Senior year of college, and she began to worry. In order to found a legacy like Alexia had told her to, she needed to produce a heir. To do that, she needed a husband. At this point in her life, the only guy she could see herself with was Chase. She knew that that could change, that she could eventually move on and find someone else. Right now, though, the only one she wanted was Chase, and there was no way she could tell him.
38. Other people had different ideas. “ That’s it, Poppy,” Marie said when she was over at the Greek House one day. “You need to talk to him.” Poppy blushed nervously. “W-who?” “ I swear, Poppy, you don’t give me enough credit as your best friend. You know who I’m talking about, and that’s Chase! Don’t even try to lie to me. I see the way you look at him, and the way your eyes light up when you talk to him; I know you like him. You need to talk to him.”
39. Poppy frowned. “Okay, I do like him. A lot. But Marie, I just can’t…” Marie cut her off. “Oh, yes you can, and you will!” “ What… what do you mean?”
40. “ Well… I sort of invited him over for you.” Poppy’s eyes widened and she jumped out of her seat. “You did what?! ” “ Poppy, what’s done is done. He’ll be here any second, so just talk to him! Tell him how you feel. He’s just a boy. The worst he can say is that he doesn’t feel the same way, and then it’s done and you’ll have it all off your chest… Oh, look, here he comes.”
41. Poppy turned around, and sure enough, there he was. Like it always did when she saw him, her heart skipped a beat. “ Oh, and I almost forgot,” Marie said. “I have class right now. See you later.” Poppy got ready to flash a snappy comment back at her, but she was already gone, and Chase was coming this way.
42. “ Hey, Poppy,” he said as he walked up to her. “Marie told me you wanted to talk to me about something?” I swear, the next time I see Marie…. “Oh, um, yeah. I just… uh… I just wanted to… er… see how you were doing.” She froze. And now he thinks I’m an idiot…
43. And then he laughed. Laughed. Like she had told a joke or something. Poppy blinked in amazement as he started to speak. “ Well, okay then. How about this. I know this great place downtown that has the best burgers. How about we go there, and then we can talk.” Poppy was dumbstruck. Did I just get asked out? “Um, sure,” she said. “ Great. I’ll call a cab.”
44. And so half an hour later Poppy and Chase were sitting across from each other in a neat little 50’s diner downtown. They talked and laughed over hamburgers that were, indeed, very tasty. It was easy to talk to Chase, despite how nervous Poppy was before, and they found themselves just sitting there, talking, long after their hamburgers were gone. Nothing about it was particularly romantic, but Poppy couldn’t have been more excited.
45. Eventually they had to give up their tables, but they stayed around to just hung out for a bit. “ Oh,” Poppy cooed excitedly as the music playing over the speakers changed. “I love this song!” Chase grinned. “You wanna dance?”
48. “ Don’t start getting a big head, Marie, but you are amazing!” “ I take it everything with Chase went well?”
49. Everything with Chase went more than well. It wasn’t long before they were quite the idem, spending every possible moment they could together. Poppy couldn’t have been happier. The nightmares finally went away, and there were actually days that went by that she didn’t think about that horrible day years before. For once in a long time, everything was right.
50. “ I love you.” Poppy looked up into Chase’s eyes as he said those three magic words, amazed at how lucky she was to have him. “I love you, too,” she murmured. She loved him. She was in love, and she probably had been for a while now. She knew now that she wanted to be with him and only him forever.
51. Poppy suddenly sat up nervously as a thought occurred to her, and Chase sat up with her. “ What’s wrong?” he asked. Poppy bit her lip. She wanted to be with Chase forever, but in order for that to happen, he had to know the truth. “We need to talk,” she said quietly.
52. Poppy led him to the couch and they both sat down. Poppy smiled sadly at him. He is probably going to think I’m crazy, but I have to try. “ Chase, I need to tell you something really important… about me and who I really am. I don’t know how you’ll react, but all I ask is that you listen. Can you promise me you’ll listen?” “ Of course.” “ O-okay,” Poppy said, and then she told a deep breathe and began…
53. Poppy told him everything. She told him about Alexia, and how she had raised Poppy from when she was a baby. She told of that day when Alexia sat her down, and she told him every single word Alexia had spoken to her, words that she still remembered as clearly as though it had only been yesterday. She told him of her mission and the spell that was put on her. She told him of her grief for Alexia, and her fear for the stranger called Irene. She told everything she had been dying to say, and Chase listened in silence. Now there was only one thing left to do.
54. After looking all around to make sure there was no one around to see, Poppy tentatively pulled some of her hair back to expose a little, pointed ear. Chase stared at it with an emotionless expression, and Poppy stared back at him nervously, scared of what he was going to say. “ So you’re… an elf?” He asked. “ Y-yes.” For a few terrifying moments, Chase just stared at her. With each moment that passed, Poppy was sure that he was going to call her crazy or just stand up and leave.
55. But, amazingly, he didn’t do either of those things. Instead, he scooted closer to her and put an arm around her shoulder. “ I believe you,” he whispered. “ You do?” Her eyes widened in disbelief. He doesn’t think I’m crazy! “ Yes, I do. I love you, and if you say it’s true, then I believe you.”
56. Poppy took his hand and stood up, pulling him up with her. “Chase,” she said seriously. “You know what this means, right? There are people after me, people who want me dead. If… if we’re going to be together, and they find me, you’ll be in danger, too. I understand if you don’t want to…” “ Don’t even finish that statement,” Chase said, smiling at her. “I’m not going to leave you. I’d never leave you. I don’t care if I have to deal with witches and vampires and werewolves to be with you. I love you, Poppy.”
57. “ Really?” “ Of course,” Chase said with a grin. “In fact…”
58. Chase got down on one knee, and Poppy gasped. “ I was going to do this somewhere else,” he said. “Somewhere nicer, like a restaurant or something. But I figure, where could be better? And after you trusted me enough to tell me that… But anyways, I’m rambling. The point is…”
59. “ Poppy Estela, I love you. Marry me?” “ Oh my god,” Poppy breathed. “Yes. Yes, yes, yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!”
60.
61. To add to all of the good news, Poppy finally raised enough money to remodel the Greek House. It couldn’t be called much more than a shack, but it was much better than before. Maybe it seemed weird for Poppy to remodel right before she graduated and moved out anyways, but she was actually just getting it ready for the newest member of the Greek House.
62. Poppy realized that she needed someone to watch over the Greek House after she graduated until her kids came to college, and she knew exactly who she wanted to do it. “ So, Marie, do you want to pledge?” “ Me being asked to join a Greek House… hell must be freezing over. But sure, I’d love to.” And so she did.
63. ~~~ Marie Pesherianu: Generation 1 Greek House Placeholder 6/3/6/4/6 Family LTW: Marry off 6 Children ~~~
64. And with Marie moving in, Poppy decided that it was about time to tell her the secret as well. She told her everything that she had told Chase, about Alexia and the witches and being an elf. Marie was shocked, but surprisingly, she accepted it as the truth with barely any hesitation. Poppy couldn’t have felt luckier. The two most important people in her life accepted her for who she was. It was more than she could’ve ever asked for.
65. Before she knew it, Poppy was graduating from SSU Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 GPA. To celebrate, she hosted a graduation party in the Greek House. Nobody except for Marie and Chase understood why Poppy didn’t wear the traditional graduation robes, the reason being that wearing the cap would expose her elf ears.
66. Everyone enjoyed the party, but no one did as much as Poppy as she enjoyed the last few hours of the college life.
67. “ Spring Valley isn’t much,” Poppy told Chase later as they were talking about the town that they would soon call home together. “In fact, it’s pretty much deserted. If you mind, I guess we could…” “ Are you kidding?” Chase laughed. “Anywhere I can make a home with you is good enough for me.” Poppy smiled. “I love you.” “ I love you, too.”
68. As the party came to a stop, it was time for Poppy to go. And so, wearing a dress that really wasn’t her style, she climbed into a taxi that was to take her to her new home. Soon she would have to take on new responsibilities if she was going to found her legacy right, but she wasn’t worried. In fact, for the first time, she was confident that everything would be okay.
70. That’s all for now. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you’ve enjoyed it! The next chapter is probably going to take me a while to make, so please bare with me. Also, happy holidays to everyone, and I hope you all have a wonderful, prosperous new year! -Kaylyn
