Oh My, I Messed Up the Story

Had Abby really lamented the fact that she hadn't been here for Katie's first pregnancy? Because she was about to go crazy from all of the mood swings.

As the Madam Clan Leader, she spent most of the day socializing with people. That made her very grumpy. She complained about all of their complaints constantly.

"A sick chicken? How am I supposed to know what to do about that; do I look like a vet?! Why do they always expect me to fix things I don't know how to fix?" Katie whined. "Nobles don't have to deal with this when they're pregnant. No, they get to lie in bed THE ENTIRE TIME."

"Wouldn't you hate that though?" Abby pointed out. "Since there's no TV and novels here are lame."

Katie startled her by bursting into tears. "You're right. I should be lying on the couch with a bunch of pillows and my Lord of the Rings extended edition DVDs and a big bag of potato chips but I can't."

She immediately panicked. Backtrack, backtrack! Bringing up home was definitely the wrong move here. She wracked her brain trying to think of a solution since comforting her using the traditional methods wasn't working.

This conversation was the straw that broke the camel's back but it had been coming on for a while. How on earth had Al managed to handle her alone when she was pregnant with Adam?

Katie fell asleep crying and Abby quietly let her nap, taking Adam outside to play in the snow with Hagan and Iida. Al ran into them on his way back from checking on some of the villagers' livestock.

A worried expression crossed his face when he approached. "Is Katie asleep again?"

"Yes…after crying herself out. She's homesick. Did this happen when she was pregnant with Adam too?" Abby asked curiously.

He let out a weary sigh and ran a hand down his face. "Don't get me started. She wanted books, movies, and foods that I couldn't get for her and then bawled her eyes out or got angry every time. Pregnancy makes her temperamental."

"That's an understatement. I do have an idea that might help her…but it will take a little work."

"Anything," Al said desperately. "I just want her to stop crying."

Ah, he really was a good guy. Katie may have had to come to a fictional world to find the perfect man for her but she had truly lucked out.

Abby told him her plan and everything they would need to do to make it happen. Al listened intently, nodding along when she told him his role in all of this. He was in charge of recruitment and she would handle the rest.

She left him to supervise the little ones while she went to the bakery. After exchanging pleasantries with Sia, she told her the rather odd request she had.

It was completely random, but there was a movie about leprechauns that she and Katie had watched as children. A group of leprechauns disguised as humans ran a potato chip empire. While touring the factory, a tour guide talked about the origin of the potato chip and how there was an urban legend about it being discovered when someone in Ireland accidentally cut their potato slices too thin while cooking them.

Abby had never made homemade potato chips but if she described them to a more proficient cook she hoped they would be able to pull it off. Sia was intrigued by the challenge.

"So they are supposed to be crispy and practically full of air? Hmm…I have an idea that might work. If we cut the potatoes incredibly thin and then soak them in cold water for a while it might help them crisp up the way you want. The seasoning you described would have to be added after to get the full effect."

She nodded along. "Please try. I can test them for you and see if they are like what I am describing."

It turned out that Sia was a culinary genius because she made a passable potato chip on the first try even though this world's potatoes were slightly different than the ones she was used to. Abby was beyond impressed.

"You just saved my life, thank you," she gushed. "These are going to make Katie so happy."

Sia smiled in response as she continued cutting potatoes. "Good. That girl works so hard for everyone around here; she deserves something nice."

By the time she came out, nearly every child eight to fourteen had been gathered in the schoolhouse. More people showed up than expected; Al really came through. Or like with Sia, everyone loved Katie and wanted to help cheer her up.

Abby instructed everyone on how to make the very rudimentary costumes they would need. Some used bits and pieces of existing outfits while other things had to be made of paper. While they worked on that, Abby mentally assigned roles and wrote the not-so-accurate scripts using her limited experience from being involved in drama as a teenager.

It wouldn't be the extended editions but she could do her best to give her sister a little bit of Lord of the Rings. They had loved those movies and had a marathon of all of them in a single day about once a year. She knew the story well enough to try and replicate it in a dumbed down version.

The props were extremely limited and more likely than not this would look even worse than the majority of elementary school plays back home. But it was the thought that counts, right?

The kids all seemed excited at the prospect of putting on a play even though most of them had never seen one because they were a rich man's diversion. Nyla's older children had at least heard of them because there was a theater in the capital they had lived on the outskirts of.

A few days into rehearsals, some of the older teenagers who were more heavily involved in their apprenticeships showed up on the doorstep of the schoolhouse looking a bit sheepish. "We heard what you're doing for Katie and we'd like to be a part of it…if we could."

More bodies wouldn't hurt. There was always a need for additional actors in scenes with crowds or armies. Abby welcomed them in.

Katie wasn't any the wiser because after the first day Abby did all of this during school hours. She left the house and came home the same time as always so it wasn't the least bit suspicious.