Life of Opal

Surprise in the Night

     Late one night, Opal tiptoes out of her bedroom. Her parents seem to be really worried about her and her strange dreams lately, so she wants to do something for them that will make them feel better!

     As she sneaks down the hallway, her father's raccoon Ruddiger spots her. He rushes up to her, chittering loudly.

     "Shhh!" Opal scolds, holding her finger to her lips. "Don't wake Mommy and Daddy up, Rugger! I'm gonna surprise them."

     Ruddiger raises an eyebrow, as if to inquire what the young girl plans to do.

     Opal smiles mischievously. "Sparkly things always cheer me up, so maybe it'll cheer them up too! There are lots of sparkly things in Daddy's lab, so..."

     Ruddiger interrupts with more chittering, and throws his tiny front paws up in frustration.

     "I know I'm not allowed in Daddy's lab without him, but this is supposed to be a surprise!" Opal protests. "How's it supposed to be a surprise if he's standing there watching me?"

     Ruddiger rolls his eyes, but reluctantly follows the young girl through the castle. Once they arrive at Varian's lab, Opal smirks at Ruddiger.

     "Daddy hides the key up there," she says to the raccoon, pointing up to the top of the door frame that is way beyond her reach.

     Ruddiger sighs, understanding what Opal is suggesting. He scrambles up the door frame, finds the key, and pushes it down. Before Opal can catch it, it clatters loudly against the hard castle floor.

     Opal winces once she hears voices nearby, but she ducks down into the dark shadows, unseen, as a couple of castle workers pass by, curious about the noise they heard.

     Once they are out of sight, Opal sighs with relief. She picks up the key, as Ruddiger hops down and lands on her head. She giggles quietly, and then stands on the tips of her toes to unlock the door. She creeps into the lab, and closes the door behind her.

     "Okay, let's find the sparkliest stuff we can find!" Opal tells Ruddiger. The two of them search through Varian's supplies, until Opal is satisfied with her sparkly choices. Pulling down a spare pair of goggles hanging on the wall, she puts them on and says, "Daddy always tells me to be safe." She then pushes a stool up to her father's work table, and climbs onto it.

     "Let's add a little bit of this, and a little bit of that..." Opal says, mixing all of the ingredients she picked. Ruddiger ducks under the table, watching her nervously.

     "And finally, just a little bit of all of this!" Opal announces, pouring one last ingredient into her mixture. Suddenly, a huge explosion of pink and sparkles bursts up into her face with a loud POOF!

     As Opal coughs from the unexpected explosion, and Ruddiger cautiously peeks out from under the table, the lab door flies open and there stands Varian. "Opal Selené Ruddiger!" He shouts, using her full name. But there is more worry in his voice than anger.

     "Heh heh..." Opal chuckles nervously, hopping down from the stool. "Hi, Daddy."

     Varian picks her up, and helps get her cleaned. "Opal, what were you thinking?" He asks, kneeling down to her level. "You know you aren't allowed in my lab without supervision."

     "I did have supervision," Opal replies. "Rugger was with me!"

     Varian raises an eyebrow at Ruddiger, who waves sheepishly. "Opal, honey, a raccoon is not supervision. Besides, Ruddiger is supposed to be keeping you out of trouble, not helping you get into it." He gives his raccoon a pointed glare.

     "But I—" Opal begins to say.

     "No buts, young lady!" Cassandra says, suddenly rushing into the room. "We made that rule for a reason! You could've been hurt!"

     "I wasn't, though!" Opal says with a frown.

     "You still broke the rules," Cassandra tells her. "You're grounded."

     Opal's eyes well up with tears. "Please no, Mommy! I won't do it again, honest! I just wanted to make something special for you guys..."

     Cassandra's face softens, but she still stands by her decision.

     "I... I'm sorry," Opal says, burying her face into her father's shoulder.

     Varian can't stand to see his daughter upset. He picks Opal up, and glances at Cassandra.

     "Hey, don't give me that look!" Cassandra says to him. "She disobeyed us!"

     "I know, I know..." Varian says. "But, it was just once. And she's fine. Maybe, this time, we let it slide?" He smiles hopefully, as Opal stares at her mother pleadingly with large, wet eyes.

     Cassandra shakes her head, but she finally gives in. "Fine... But only this time! You do that again, and you will be grounded. Understand?"

     "I understand! I promise!" Opal says, eagerly jumping from Varian's arms into Cassandra's. She gives her mother a tight hug around her neck.

     "Alright, alright. Let's get you back to bed," Cassandra says with a chuckle. She and Varian take Opal back to her room, and tuck her in for the night.

     On the way back to their bedroom, Cassandra notices Varian smirking at her. Giving him a slight punch on his arm, she says, "You're impossible, you know that?"

     "What? Just because I can't stand to see our daughter cry?" He replies. "And also, ouch..."

     "She's definitely got you wrapped around her finger," Cassandra tells him. He is about to protest, when she suddenly drapes her arms around his shoulders. "But that's one of the reasons I love you. I can see how much you love her." She kisses him tenderly, as a blanket of stars twinkle in the window behind them.