(A/R)
Hey guys! Madeline's dead lover is NOT Alfred. This story takes place around WW2, bear with me if I make any mistakes I'm kind of stupid.
The day she received the letter was the worst day of her life. The letter that all waiting lover's dreaded. Every letter he sent left her trembling with fear as she reached for the letter opener, every envelope opened made her on edge, ever letter read relief would flood through her, but this letter... This letter was different than the rest.
As she reached for the envelope opener with a shaky hand she scolded herself for worrying, she tried to be an optimist, but it was hard when every waking moment she spent worrying for her love. She took a deep breath in trying to calm her nerves as she ripped through the paper with the small blade and pulled out a two pieces of folded white paper, it looked like all the other letters, it felt exactly the same but they were so different she would later find it almost shocking that they could be so alike and so different at the same time. Her eyes widened as they read the words, her hands gripping on to the paper as if it would some how save her.
"No..." It left her lips as a whisper, the next words coming out much louder. "IT'S NOT TRUE!" She screamed, the loudest she had ever been in her entire life. She brought her hands to her face as if it should feel different now, she realized her cheeks were wet and her hands were shaking violently. She slid off the chair and on to her knees, her dress offering very little protection from the hard impact. She kneeled over, hugging the pieces of paper as her entire body shook with grief.
"IT CANNOT BE TRUE!" She cried into the floor boards. "PLEASE GOD NO!" Her pleas' went unanswered that day. She spent the next hour screaming the same words over and over as her tears started to soak through a small area in her dress, her glasses had fallen off long ago. She did not hear the banging on her door, nor did she hear when her brother Arthur broke the door down. She barely noticed his arms wrapping around her as he held her close, whispering, "What's wrong dear?" over and over again trying to get her to answer, even though he already knew just by looking at her. The siblings stayed like that for the next hour or so, Arthur ignoring the tears prickling at his eyes. Eventually Madeline cried all the tears she could and uncurled her fingers from around the paper, looking up into her brother's emerald eyes. "Arthur..." The word came out in a rasp whisper, her throat had become hoarse from screaming. "I know Maddie..." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and she clung onto his shirt, another tearless sob wracking her body. "It's going to be okay." He whispered into her hair, almost like a promise although they both knew it was only a beautiful lie.
They stayed like that for what seemed like hours until Arthur finally stood without a word and picked Madeline up as her own legs were too weak to support her weight. He blew out a candle and left the house, and with great effort was able to make the front door shut. He carried her out to his car and sat her in the passenger seat, quickly making his way to the driver's seat. The car roared to life as he turned the key in the ignition. "Where?" She asked, barely above a whisper. "My place." He said driving away from her house full of memories.
Arthur immediately tucked Madeline into the bed in the guest room. She fell asleep right away, the exhaustion of the day finally taking its toll.
"Arthur?" Amelia's usually cheery voice was low and full of concern.
"Oh... Amelia." He said turning away from the door after he shut it.
"Was that Maddie?" She asked, taking a step closer and wrapping an arm around him, guiding him towards the library for a glass of brandy.
"Yes... Amelia?" He asked raising his head to look at his wife, blonde hair falling down in wavy curls framing her face quite nicely.
"What is it Arthur?" She asked softly, opening the door to the library for him. She was being uncharacteristically quiet.
"Is it alright if Madeline stay's with us for... Awhile?" He wasn't sure how long she would need to stay, only that he would be there for her no matter what.
"Of course Artie." Amelia offered a small smile as she sat him down in his big green arm chair, turning away to make him a drink.
"No ice." He said quietly, letting the only sound be of the fire cracking and of the glass clattering as Amelia made him a drink.
"Here you go..." She handed him his drink, sitting down beside him on the arm rest.
"Thank you."
"Are you going to tell me what happened?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"I don't know..." She left it at that, deciding that she would pester him about it more in the morning.
"My brother has decided to move again."
"Really? Did that git get chased out of another town? Whats this, his fifth?"
"He only got chased out once, Artie." She reminded him, glad the subject was changing and the air around them was lightening.
"Yes yes, so where is the bloke moving to now?"
"Here."
"What?!" He almost dropped his drink as he stared up at her.
"He's moving to London. And he'll need a place to stay for a while while he gets settled in, so I told him he could stay here."
"You didn't!"
"He's my brother Arthur!"
"I don't want that bloody git staying in my house!"
"Our house Arthur." Her voice was stern now, letting him know that there was no disagreeing with her on this.
"Fine." He said crossly as he downed his drink, getting up to put the glass away. "I'm going to bed."
"I'll see you there in a moment." She said as he left the library/study. She sighed and slid from the arm rest into the cushion. A small moment of rest before the chaos would begin.
Arthur's in a worser mood than usual, Maddie's all messed up, and now Alfred's coming.
"Fun."
(A/R)
Sup' you beautiful bastards? CAN YOU GUESS WHO MADELINE'S LOVER IS? It'll probably be revealed in the next chapter.
Thanks for reading!