My Sweet Angel
Chapter One: First Meeting
Gertrude was nervous for she hardly knew any English and was only sixteen. She had traveled to Gotham seeking refuge from the tyrant oppression in Hungary. She had been told that the Van Dahls weren't easily won over. She just had to be the best young woman should could be. When she arrived she was greeted by an enormous, foliage shewn, aging mansion that was everything she thought it would look like. She approached the old, hardwood door, and took a deep breath.
She knocked on the door and waited patiently for someone to answer it. When the door was opened, she was greeted by a soft, round young face framed with short cropped dark brown hair. He had soft blue-green eyes and a beautiful soft thin yet plump soft pink smile. She smiled warmly back and introduced herself.
"Ello, I am Gertrud Kapleput and I am interested in your open position for a cook.", She smiled and. held out her hand.
"Hello, I am Elijah Van Dahl, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Van Dahl. Please to meet you Gertrud. Please come in.", he smiled and shook her hand then stepped sideways to let her in the warm, lovely mansion.
As she entered, she couldn't help but gasp in wanderlust and awe at the grandeur of the beautifully aged mansion. She followed Elijah to the lounge where madam and master Van Dahl were sitting. When she entered the room, she became nervous and jittery. She stood in front of Madam and Master Van Dahl as they sized her up and asked perilous questions about her background and experience.
"Where are you from?", Master Van Dahl muttered melancholy.
"Hungary, is where I am from, sir.", she answered.
"Can you cook?", Madam Van Dahl pressed.
"Yes, I am an excellent Cook.", she beamed with pride.
"Isn't she a lovely sight, mother, father? Like a white lily at sunset.", Elijah poetically and absentmindedly mused.
"Elijah! She is to be our Cook! Not your Lover! Put her out of your mind this instant!", Madam Van Dahl barked at her son.
"Now, now, dear be nice. He's still learning his place in this world.", Master Van Dahl bluntly stated to his wife.
As Madam and Master Van Dahl exchanged rigid banter to one another, Elijah, their only child timidly approached Gertrud, who stood there quietly evaluating her new employers as they argued with each other.
"Sorry about my parents; they can never find satisfaction my choices of lovers. They simply don't understand me.", Elijah sadly smiled.
"My parents, I never really knew them. They sent me away when I was really young to better myself with education and job skills.", Gertrud opened up with sadness in her heart.
"Oh, that's, kind of your parents I guess. Sorry I don't know what to say. I don't mean to be rude or insensitive", Elijah mused.
"Oh, it's alright, they wanted me to better myself because they wanted me to have more opportunities than they did.", Gertrude smiled.
"Do you miss your parents?", Elijah inquired.
"Yes, I do miss them, terribly so.", Gertrud's sad eyes shed a tear.
"Come here, sweet thing", Elijah wrapped his arms around Gertrud's shaking shoulders and gently soothed her as he caressed her soft, golden curls.
At that moment, It was Her and Elijah just standing there as the world around them disappeared and she cried upon his shoulder as he soothed her. They stood there in each other's timeless embrace feeling something they could not yet understand until they were older. However, they knew they felt something for each other, they just didn't know what it was called or how powerful it could be until their dying days.
A few minutes later they were torn from each other the way they would always be as time progressed. It was Madam Van Dahl who had a look of disdain upon her features. Elijah was sent to the study and Gertrud was sent to the servant quarters until she was needed. She sat there on the hard, lumpy bed shewn with a thin sheet and a neatly folded quilt at the foot of the bed for when it gets drafty and cold. Tears caressed her lovely features and spilled softly and quietly to pine wood floor.
She was scared and worrisome of her new surroundings. She never worked in such a huge mansion before. She felt so lonely and sad. She hadn't told Elijah what had happened to her parents when she was really young. She mourned for them every day and wished that they were here now to comfort her in her time solitude and melancholy. She curled up on the bed and fell asleep uncovered.