Author's Note: I lately read the book Mad Maudlin by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill. Two days after reading it, I had a dream where I was involved in the book as a friend to Ace, Magnus, and Jaycie. I cannot play the violin in real life, (I can only play the piano), and my name is not really Elaine Meng. However, in my dream, I made a living by busking with a violin, and I also several years younger than my age now. Anyway, this dream inspired me to write a fic based somewhat on it. Besides, I noticed that the Mercedes Lackey section mainly has fics based on Valdemar and the Velgarth universe in general, and doesn't have many fics on the other series Lackey wrote or collaborated on. The character Elaine Meng doesn't resemble me in any way other than the fact that she is Chinese-American, has glasses, is a Christian, and enjoys reading, mainly fantasy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Mad Maudlin or any of the other books in the Bedlam Bard series. It belongs to the wonderful author Mercedes Lackey and her excellent collaborators, Ellen Guon and Rosemary Edghill.
Elaine Meng slipped out the Drake home with her backpack, violin, sleeping bag, and a knapsack containing some underthings, a bottle of water, and some food. She was not going to stay at the foster home any longer. She had managed to get away from Mr. Drake, thanks to the fact that she'd taken karate lessons and knew some other methods of self-defense. However, she was under no illusions that she could escape him a second time, for he would probably make sure that she couldn't fight back before trying to have his way with her. And this time, he'd make sure Mrs. Drake was out, not just in the back yard.
She wheeled out her bicycle, which had a basket in front and a crate attatched to the back. The sleeping bag and violin case was put in the crate and a tarp tied over it all to keep it from getting wet. The knapsack was put in the basket, next to the lock and chain for her bicycle, and a poncho was thrown over it. Elaine then shouldered her backpack, which contained the Bible, four of her favorite paperback books, a folder of music, a notebook, some clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, a Swiss Army knife, hairbrush, three pens, and a photo of her parents. With that, she silently pedaled away into the night.
When dawn came, Elaine made her way to a wooded area and stopped to rest. She drank some water and ate a cereal bar, then began planning where to go. New York City wasn't that far away from Newark, which was the city nearest to the suburb she lived in, and it would be difficult for her to be found. She could hide out there for a year and two months until she turned eighteen and could claim the inheritance her parents left her. Then she'd finish high school and use the money to go to Julliard, or perhaps attend college if Julliard didn't work out.
With that decided, Elaine took out her sleeping bag and slept until noon. When she woke up, she set off again, this time heading for the Big Apple. As Newark was approximately five miles away from Manhattan, it only took her about two hours to reach New York City. After getting a map and guide book, she had an apple and a sandwich from her knapsack and then tried to figure out where to stay. Also, she had to arrange to get a busking license. She had over fifty thousand dollars in her bank account, but she didn't want to spend it, as it could tip off to the authorities where she was. As she refused to break the Eighth Commandment and steal, the only way she would be able to survive on the streets was to play her violin to make money.
Elaine got on the subway and ended up in the St. John's area. She really didn't know why she headed there, other than the fact that she had a feeling that she would find someplace to stay, even if it was only temporarily. She walked around with her bike and stopped in front of a building off 110th. It was abandoned, like the several abandoned buildings she had seen in the Lower East Side on her last visit to New York City with her parents, which was three months ago. After examining the place, she saw that the doors were chained shut and most of the windows were closed, but one window on the second floor and next to the fire escape was open. She chained and locked her bike to the fire escape around the side of the building.
A girl of Elaine's age, bundled up, a hat pulled down over her hair, and carrying a full backpack and several grocery bags appeared. "What are you doing here?" demanded the girl when she saw Elaine, coming to a stop.
"I ran away from my foster home and was looking for a place to stay," responded Elaine. "I came across this building. Do you live here? If you do, can I stay here? I promise I won't be a bother. Oh, and my name is Elaine."
"I'm Ace," said the other girl warily. "I guess you can stay here for awhile. There's some other kids living here too. And you're a girl? No offense, but with your hair short like that and the non-feminine clothing, you could be taken for a boy."
"I know," said Elaine. Her instincts told her that Ace was nice and a trustworthy person, so she had decided to be on friendly terms with Ace. "I'm not going to lie about my name or gender, since God doesn't like lying, but I thought it would be best if I gave people the impression that I'm a boy. Girls attract things that a boy might not attract."
Ace blinked. "Okay. Get your things and follow me, then."
Elaine attatched her sleeping bag to the bottom of her backpack, slung the knapsack over one arm, and picked up her violin. "Let me carry one or two of your grocery bags, Ace."
Ace looked surprised. "But you've got your own things to carry, Elaine."
"I've got a free hand," replied Elaine, reaching out and taking a grocery bag. "Besides, my things aren't all that heavy."
The two girls went up the fire escape to the open second-story window and climbed in. Then they went up the stairs to the fourth floor. Ace handed out the stuff she'd bought and said, "We've got someone new joining us."
One of the girls exclaimed, "Oh, a boy! That's great! What's your name?"
"Elaine," answered Elaine. "And I'm a girl."
Another girl muttered, "Well, she's not a very pretty one then. Those clothes and short hair make her look like a boy."
Elaine chose not to answer to it and instead followed Ace to a corner. "Here, you can share this space with me and Jaycie," said Ace. A teenage boy with long black hair and a very pale face slowly sat up from a sleeping bag. He was bundled up in several layers of clothing and looked somewhat weak. "This is Jaycie," said Ace, handing him a six-pack of Coke and a bar of unsweetened Baker's chocolate. "Jaycie, this is Elaine."
Elaine spread out her sleeping bag next to Ace's and set her backpack, violin case, and knapsack against the wall. Ace then explained her rules. If you had money, you would give it to her and she would buy stuff for you, as long as it was all legal. She wouldn't steal, and she refused to buy anything illegal. She did the shopping usually three times a week.
"You don't have to shop for me," said Elaine. "I can take care of it myself. Or I can help you with your shopping excursions."
Ace gave her a look. "What's your deal, Elaine?" she demanded.
"I'm just trying to be nice," responded Elaine. "You don't have to bite my ear off, Ace. My instincts tell me that you're a good person and can be trusted, so I'm being friendly to you. Besides, I'm a Christian, and I don't lie, steal, or basically do anything that's against the Ten Commandments and anything else that's frowned upon in the Bible."
Ace sat up straight and gave Elaine a suspicious look. "You're a Christian?"
"Yes, I asked forgiveness for my sins and accepted Jesus into my heart five years ago, when I was twelve. Ever since then I've been doing my best to live a good, Christian life. Do you have a problem with that, Ace?"
"What kind of Christian life?" asked Ace. "I've known some people who said they were Christians and was living a Christian lifestyle, but their behavior said otherwise."
Elaine sighed. "Jesus said to 'Love your neighbor', right? And there's the Golden Rule, 'Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.' That's what I try to live my life like. I'm not naive, though. I realize that there are people in the world who are wicked or mean or can't be trusted. I'm not going to trust everyone I meet. But I will be polite to those people unless I have no choice but to defend myself or run away. Like what happened with Mr. Drake."
"Who's Mr. Drake?" asked Ace curiously. "And what happened with him?"
"He's the reason I ran away," answered Elaine. "My parents died a month ago in a car accident. As my only relatives lived either in China or Canada, I got sent to a foster home. Mr. Drake was the foster father and tried to have his way with me. It's a good thing I took karate lessons and knew some other methods of self-defense, so I was able to fight him off. Also, Mrs. Drake came in from the back yard and called for him. But I wasn't sure I could fight him off a second time, so I ran away. And I intend to stay hidden until I turn eighteen in a year and two months and can claim the money my parents left me."
"Couldn't you just report what happened to your social worker and get sent to a different foster home?" asked Ace. "Or move to Canada and stay with your relatives there? Or at least get them to help?"
"My maternal grandparents speak only Chinese and a few words of English," snapped Elaine. "Do you think they can help any? And they live in an apartment building for senior citizens, so I couldn't move in with them. As for my aunt and uncle, they've got work and two kids of their own to worry about. I can't just stay in Canada for more than a few months without needing to get a visa, and my relatives can't move to the US. And I don't trust the foster care system all that much now."
"Oh," said Ace. "Well, you can stay with Jaycie and me, Elaine."
"Thanks," said Elaine, smiling. She then glanced at Jaycie and frowned. He had drank two cans of Coke and eaten a few bites of chocolate and it seemed to affect him adversely. She had no idea what someone was like under the influence of drugs, but she couldn't help wondering if Jaycie's reaction to the Coke and chocolate was like someone under drugs. However, caffeine shouldn't be affecting someone like that. "Jaycie, is something the matter?"
"Nothing," murmered Jaycie, taking another swig of Coke.
Elaine stared at him and then rummaged through her backpack. She pulled out a book from the bottom, which was about the Elves of legend and myth. She flipped through it, but couldn't find anything on how caffeine affected Elves. She knew about the affect Cold Iron had on them, but that was it. She then put the book back in her backpack and dismissed the idea that Jaycie was an Elf. After all, Elves didn't exist, whether Bright Court or Dark, other than in fantasy stories. Right?
Ace then took some food from her backpack and offered Elaine some. "Thank you, Ace, but I have some food with me." She looked through the knapsack and took out a pear. "Do you want this? I noticed that you didn't buy any fruit."
Ace took the pear and thanked Elaine, who then took out a peanut butter sandwich and began eating it. After a few minutes, Jaycie stuffed a wad of bills in Ace's hand and then lay down and closed his eyes, apparently to sleep. Ace quickly put the money in her pocket and glaced around to make sure nobody had been watching.
"Where does Jaycie get the money?" asked Elaine in a whisper.
Ace shrugged. "No clue," she replied, also in a whisper. "But he always has money on him. The other kids were taking the money from him until I came along. He didn't fight back, either, when the money was being taken."
Elaine frowned again. She had read that Elves could magically produce just about anything, including money. She sighed and silently told herself, Elves don't exist, Elaine. They're just a figment of people's imaginations and are a part of some fantasy books. But she couldn't help feeling that either Jaycie wasn't human, or magic existed and he had the ability to perform it. And she didn't mean sleight-of-hand stuff that people called 'magic'.
"I take it you play the violin, Elaine?" asked Ace in a normal tone of voice.
Elaine looked up, startled. "Oh, yes I do. I've been taking lessons since I was seven. I'm not bragging or anything, but I'm very good on it. At least, that's what my teachers and parents tell me. I intend to get a busking license and make a living that way. If I make more than what's needed to cover my expenses, I'll be happy to share it with you."
"Thank you for the offer, but there's usually enough, thanks to Jaycie," responded Ace.
"But most of it will end up being stuff like burgers, right?" asked Elaine. "I'm sure you'll occasionally want to have some food that's healthier, or drinks that you normally don't buy. So if I have extra money, I don't mind getting healthier food for you."
"Well, I would love to have a cup of coffee," admitted Ace wistfully.
"So if have a few extra dollars, I'll stop at Starbucks or something and buy you a cup," said Elaine. "I'm willing to do this for you because you're a nice person and I want to be your friend. Do you think I'd do this for the other kids staying here?"
Ace snorted. "They'd probably want something stronger than coffee."
"Which I'm not going to provide," said Elaine firmly. "I don't do drugs or alcohol. Besides, I'm not going to be their friend. I wouldn't trust them any farther than I can throw them."
After an hour, in which Elaine read the Bible and Ace one of her books, the two girls went to bed.