Hey guys, I´ve recently been playing Fallen London and thought I´d write a story about a woman living in that city. As I only know my own storyline, it´ll be loosely based on that, but I guess it´ll be more general and not bound to the actual story of Fallen London. Oh, and I might have to change it to M later, but I´m not sure yet... but it won´t be a descriptive lemon! I got the title from the Foxboro Hot Tubs, by the way, it´s really only the title though. Hope you enjoy!
Dark Side of Night
The Story of Lady Abigail Nixon
Four weeks had passed since the police had dragged Abigail from the street in front of Thomas´s house. She had seen thieves, delirious after having been in the Honey Den for too long, be brought in and hanged within a day and a night. She had eaten stale bread, mouldy at the edges, and drunken water so filthy she thought it would kill her. But one thought kept Abigail alive, it was the only thing that could make her fall asleep despite the screams that could be heard throughout the night- a letter, a few lines written on heavy, expensive paper and sealed with green wax.
My dearest, I swear you won´t have to live in this hell for much longer. Look for the loose stone and wait for further instructions. Do not worry, I will help you soon enough.
Abigail had always known that she had a benefactor who was looking after her- she guessed it was an admirer, she had enough of them, after all. But how many would still be interested in her after she had lived in a cell for over a month? And who would be interested in her enough to risk his (or her) neck for her? The young woman didn´t know, but she did know that this favour wouldn´t be for free. She bent down and pulled a silver tablet from underneath her bunk. It was a dinner tray she had bought from the guard and now used as a mirror. It was far from perfect, but being a vain lady, she had had to have it. Looking at the shiny surface, she ran her finger through her grimy hair, trying to clean it at least a bit. Then, she pulled down the top of her dress and washed her cleavage with a bit of water she had left over from lunch. Just a few minutes later, she heard the nearing footsteps of her guard bringing supper.
"Good evening, officer. What´s on the menu today?" Abigail purred, standing closely to the bars of her cell.
"Quiet, whore!" he barked in response, quickly sliding the tray into the room.
"Why, sir, I´m just a lady that likes to have some company now and then! That can´t be illegal now, can it?" she grinned, leaning against the metal in front of her.
"For creatures like you, it should be." the man mumbled and turned around to leave. But just before he went out of sight, he let a single piece of paper fly through the bars and onto Abigail´s bare feet. Immediately, she picked it up and ripped the seal open.
My dearest, take out the loose brick of your cell just after your tray has been taken. You will be given more instructions after that.
The woman could hardly contain her delight. Freedom was within reach! She started eating straight away, gobbling up everything except a small piece of bread which she hid in her dress pocket. As always, the combed her hair a bit and washed herself as well as she could. When she was ready, she lay down and pretended to sleep, not wanting to draw any attention to herself. About half an hour later, she heard the guard open the cell and carry away the tray. Abigail waited another five minutes, just to be safe, and then went to the side of her cell of which she knew that it faced the court and park below. She counted three bricks up, two left, another up and then grabbed the stone. She pulled with all her strength till it came loose and slid out. After that, all she could do was wait.
It was ten minutes later that an arrow flew through the hole and missed Abigail by just a few centimeters. Another note was attached to it.
Go to the wall opposite of this one and knock on the stones in exactly this order:
Three left seven up, twelve right nineteen up seven left, eleven right nine up thirteen right. Then run.
Abigail knocked on the stones and immediately, a piece of the wall slid over, making a hole big enough to climb through. Abigail did as she was told and ran down the dark tunnel that greeted her. She didn´t know what was waiting for her, but she was too happy to be back in Fallen London to care right now.
That was chapter 1! The next one will be longer, I promise! You won´t get a special reward for reviewing, but I´d be happy to read your thoughts anyway :)