And to my sister- 7 years Belle with 10 years old Josephine
At the age of seven, Belle was, without a doubt, the most endearing seven-year-old Josephine had ever seen. Adorable, and perhaps a touch unique at times, but undeniably cute. However, there were moments when Belle’s adorableness could turn into a source of concern for Josephine, especially when she found her little sister in tears after a fall.
“Belle! We told you not to go there, remember? That bush has a lot of thorns,” Josephine scolded her younger sibling, her tone a mix of frustration and worry. She and Louis had repeatedly cautioned Belle about staying away from the bush. Josephine couldn’t recall exactly when her parents had mentioned trimming it, but they had assured her it would be safe for Belle to pick her flowers soon. Plus, there were plenty of better spots in the garden for gathering blooms, so why had Belle chosen the one with the potential for harm? Josephine was definitely not like this at the girl’s age.
With a whimpering voice, Belle replied through her tears, “I wanted to pick you Bougainvillea. You said it was your favorite flower.”
“Oh, Belle,” Josephine sighed, crouching down to Belle’s eye level. She wiped away a tear from Belle’s cheek and gave her a gentle hug. “You are the sweetest sister anyone could have. Bougainvillea is my favorite, and I really appreciate that you wanted to get it for me.”
Belle’s tears began to subside, replaced by a tentative smile. “You’re not mad at me?”
Josephine shook her head, her own smile warm and reassuring. “No, not mad at all. I just worry about you getting hurt in that thorny bush. You are still quite so young and your skin is still quite sensitive, brother Thomas, Brother Louis and Papa and Mama would cry if you get hurt, so you need to stay away from the bushes.”
Belle scoffed at that, “Brother Thomas would not cry! He brings me more pain than what the thorns could bring me,” Belle was still quite mad that Thomas had cut her hair while she was sleeping as a prank and hid one of her books after she had told their father that Thomas was sneaking around, and had threatened to cut her tongue off she told mama or papa about him cutting her hair and stealing her books- but Belle told anyways because she was not scared of Thomas. Thomas to her was just an overgrown dog, one that is really mean and seems to take humor in teasing her.
“Belle, brother is just teasing you. He really cares about you!”
“Well, I don’t care about him!” Belle retorted
“That’s not true,” And it wasn’t true, And Belle knew it so she just huffed as Josephine helped her to stand up and took her to the gardening, carrying on her back. Fortunately for Josephine, Belle was almost as light as Kat-who was four years old so it was quite easy to carry her especially since Belle did not move much. Once they reached the garden, Josephine sat down on the ground, pulling her little sister into her laps as she grabbed a dandelion and put in her hair. “Bougainvillea are filled with thorns, you should not go around picking them till you are older.”
“Roses are also filled with thorns and you let me pick them,”
“Roses won’t hurt you as much as Bougainvillea,” Josephine defended, “And besides, my favorite plant is actually rose because that’s your name. Belle Rose,” Josephine said as she kissed her younger sister on the cheek, “And you’re just as cute as a rose,” Belle had giggled at that, picking jasmine plant and putting in on her sister’s hair- she had remembered that Josephine was meant to be called Jasmine, but their grandma had decided to name her something else. Josephine, after her, mama and papa had agreed because after all Josephine was a pretty name.
“You’re lying, you love bougainvilleas!”
“But I love roses more!”
“No,” Belle said laughing as she grabbed a couple of flowers and turned around to put them on Josephine’s face, “You just love one rose- me! I’m your favorite rose but you don’t love all roses, I love all roses! You love all bougainvillieas! Roses are my favorite flower so they can’t be yours too.”
“And do tell, why can’t they be mine too?”
“because they are mine! I claimed them first,”
Josephine had laughed at that, grabbing Belle close as she tried to get away- her younger sister was simply too cute. She was glad to have Belle in her life, and Kat as well. She hoped that Belle and her never grow distant from each other, that would hurt Josephine a lot, after all Belle was her favorite rose and she would protect Belle forever. Josephine wondered how would Belle be in the future? Still quite ‘unique’ she thinks but more mature, more gentle perhaps? more adorable? She could not wait for Belle to grow up though she does wish Belle would stay younger for longer and she would to so she could stay with Belle for longer. But time does not work like that, someday Belle shall marry and Josephine shall too- she does wish Belle gets married earlier than her though, so Josephine could make sure that whoever Belle marries has nothing to do with what their mother wants and she could tease Belle. But whatever happens, who ever marries first, she does hope Belle and her would be as close as this forever.
A little Belle x Josephine fluff