Cassandra Norst's page

Timothy and Bianca were childhood sweethearts. In a tragic accident that almost cost Bianca her life, she lost the ability to have children. Devastated, they tried to move on with their lives. Timothy worked long hours and traveled as a merchant, and Bianca worked as a server at the local tavern. One morning, as Bianca was heading outside to finish her chores, she found a baby girl left on their doorstep. Happily taking the sleeping girl inside, she couldn't wait to show her husband. This little girl was a blessing they had never hoped to have. They named her Cassandra, calling her Cassie affectionately. They raised her with love and provided all they could for her with their meager means. Cassie was a happy, imaginative child. She was theirs in all but blood.

Bianca made Cassie a Teddy bear when she was really young. He was made from scraps of cloth that she had lying around. Cassie calls this bear Patches. She loves him dearly, from the moment her mother gave him to her till now. Cassie enjoyed making different little from odds and ends she found. Bianca helped and taught her when she had the time, and Timothy would bring his little girl odds and ends from his travels for her to play and make stuff with. Cassie could often be found with these odds and ends, sitting under a tree with patches. She would be talking up a storm with him and some of her other imaginary friends.

When Bianca and Timothy could not be home to watch Cassie, they left her with Timothy's brother, Balin. Balin took on the task of teaching Cassie. He took to teaching her how to read and write. He also taught her the language Elven. He rewarded her success with pats on the head and little trinkets. Over time, those reward pats became more of caresses and unwanted touches. By the time she was five, Balin was forward with is caresses, barely not crossing any lines. Things changed when she turned six.

Two weeks after her sixth birthday, Cassie was spending the night with Uncle Balin. Her mother would be busy all night at the tavern and her father was on a trip for more wares. She had mixed feelings about staying with Uncle Balin because he had been acting strange, but she didn't think much more of it. Uncle Balin was just different than most people. Patches in hand, Cassie arrived to spend the night. Uncle fed her, drew her a bath and helped her get ready for bed. That is when things went wrong.

Cassie cried herself to sleep with Patches there to protect her. She didn't understand what had happened. She just knew she wasn't to tell mommy and daddy because they had told her to mind Uncle. Uncle had told her to never tell. That was the first night of many for several years. Cassie started shrinking in more and more on herself. Her number of imaginary friends grew from just Patches, though he was always the most special. To her, Patches wasn't imaginary, he was real. It wasn't until halfway through her twelfth year that things came to light. She had been staying the night at uncle's again, only this time things went differently.

Things were the same as usual, and Cassie had escaped to within her own head. She was praying for it to end, for him to stop all this. Suddenly she heard Uncle Balin yell, drawing her out of her own world. Taking a moment to focus, the first thing she could see was Uncle holding his face. Next was the blood seeping through his fingers. He pulled his hand away and looked at her raging for a moment before calming down. The marks on his face looked like claw marks. Cassie didn't realize they were from her own hands, instead she believed that Patches had done this to protect her. Uncle seemed to scold her, maybe even curse at her, but she couldn't really hear, being in shock. He was angry, he was bleeding and he was still there. Cassie was terrified and hid her face in Patches, praying for him to protect her again.

Unheard by both Cassie and her Uncle was the sound of the front door opening. Timothy had gotten home early from his latest trip and had come to take Cassie home since he hadn't seen her in a couple weeks. With quiet hellos, thinking that his little girl was asleep, Timothy was searching the house. His first stop was Balin's study, though he was absent from there. He continued on hearing voices towards Cassies room. When the door opened, it was like time stood still. First, Timothy saw the scratched and bleeding face of his brother. Then, he saw Cassie, and he was filled with rage. She was looking at him with both a relieved happiness and embarrassed shame. He could see blood on her fingers, making her the culprit to his brother's injuries. Timothy, realizing what had been going on, turned and decked his own brother. Balin took the hit off guard and slammed his head into a wall. Leaving his unconscious brother to wrap his daughter in a hug. He wrapped her in a blanket before pulling his daughter close and telling her that Balin would never be allowed near her, that he would not let this happen again.

And it didn't. Timothy ran to the guard carrying his little girl wrapped in a blanket, he refused to leave her there. The guards had rushed to the scene and arrested an unconscious Balin for his actions, proof enough there. Cassie, as a result of the knowledge of the events coming out, clung to Patches and tried to hide even more in the presence of others. Her balance had been upset, things were changing. Even with Uncle gone, Cassie seemed lost and not the little girl her parents knew.

Two months passed from that last night, and Cassie still refused to come out of her shell. Balin had faced the hangman's noose for his atrocity, and any talk of those events was now sparse whispers behind closed doors. Cassie could only be found talking to Patches in a hushed voice. With no sign of her ever returning to the little girl they once knew, Timothy and Bianca where at a loss. They loved her so much, that when Hokuto came to take Cassie to a special school, they made the tough choice. They let her go. They felt that for Cassie to heal, to move on, that she needed to leave. They could not afford to move themselves. With tearful goodbyes, many hugs, and whispered i-love-yous between tears, Timothy and Bianca Norst said goodbye to their little girl, trusting that this was for the best and that they would see her again, once the 8 years was done. So Cassie left with Hokuto, only taking Patches the Teddy Bear with her on the journey.

A brief little snip-it about Patches the Teddy Bear.

"M-mommy!" cried little Cassie as she ran to her mother hold a battered and torn teddy bear. Sniffles and sobs had turned her face blotchy and tear-stained. "P-patches... patches i-is h-hurt..."

"Oh, sweety," her mother calmed before enveloping her daughter in a hug. "Let me take a look." Gently taking patches, she inspected the damage. Poor patches had a busted seam on his torso, a missing eye and one of his ears was trying to fall off. "What happened?"

"...N-neal... a-and Jev... t-took him..."

With another gentle squeeze of reassurance for Cassie, "Lets fix Patches up."

Together, Cassie and Bianca found scraps of cloth and a new button. Patches got a few more patch, and now had mix-matched eyes to match Cassie. "There. All better." Bianca placed a kiss on Cassie's head.

"Thank you, Mommy." Giving her mom a big hug, "Patches says thank you too."

"You're welcome Patches," responded Bianca with a smile. Cassie, holding Patches, ran back off with a smile.

Cassie and "Patches" in the world of her dreams, while she is trying to escape from what is happening in reality with her Uncle Balin.

Atop a green, grass-covered hill sat Cassie as a breeze blew back her hair. The sky was blue with a few scattered fluffy clouds. 'What would you like to do today?' came a voice from behind her. Materializing there, stood a Giant, Patched together teddy bear, with mix-matched buttons for eyes.

With a happy smile crossing her face, Cassie turned before getting up to give the bear a big hug. "Can we go to the Circus today, Patches?"

As she asked, off in the distance, a bigtop formed. The sounds of a Circus could be heard coming from it.

'Sounds fun.' Patches face moved to have a smile as he reached to pick her up and set her on his shoulder to make the journey to the manifested tent.

There were lions, tigers and elephants, acrobats doing gravity-defying stunts and several clowns coming out of a tiny car. With laughter and happiness, Cassie and Patches enjoyed the circus. All too soon though, things had to come to an end. The circus disappeared around them, leaving only Patches and Cassie.

Cassie was looking down scared. "I don't... wanna go back..."

'Me neither, but we must.' Holding her close, Patches tried to comfort her. 'Let's go together.'

The whole world faded out, and Cassie opened her eyes to see the face of Uncle Balin smiling at her. "Good girl. Go clean yourself up and get to bed." With that he exited the room, leaving her on the bed to take care of herself.

Cassie started crying as soon as he left, hiding her face in Patches. 'H-how about you go... clean up? It' Patches paused for a moment. 'It might make you feel better?'

Cassie gave a small nod, face streaked with tears and her body wracked with sobs. Slowly getting up she moved to gather her things and head to get clean. 'T-tomorrow will be better. Mommy comes to take us home.'

After cleaning herself up, Cassie made a pallet in the floor, unable to sleep in the bed tonight. Falling asleep, all she could think about was that tomorrow she would be home. That she'd be safe till her next night with Uncle.

These are just some notes about Cassie and Patches

The reason The Eclipse was chose for Cassie is for multiple reasons. She is a little girl who has become lost in the sudden changes happening around her. Even though the abuse has stopped, she doesn't know what to do with herself. She has had a dark moment in her life, and is still under the effects. The sun, hinting at a brighter time, is still there, just hidden. An Eclipse eventually moves on, hinting that the dark will start to become less, and the brighter times more.

Mother - Bianca Norst - Barmaid/Server who works nights sometimes
Father - Timothy Norst - Merchant who sometimes travels for new wears
Uncle - Balin Norst - Scholar, brother of Timothy.
Best Friend - Patches - A teddy bear who only Cassie hears talk, he appears as a larger, animated version of himself in her dream world.