Disclaimer: actually I don't really need a disclaimer of Chapter One, cause
all the characters are mine, but I'll let this be the disclaimer for the
whole thing. Spot Conlon and all the other newsies belong to Disney. I'm
not making any money off this, and I have about ten bucks to my name, so
don't sue me, Disney people! Duchess, Flash, John, Blackjack, and all the
Brooklyn Newsies except for Spot, are my original characters.
Author's Note: This is my first ff so please read and review. I know chapter one is kinda depressing, but it's really just introduction. It gets better. I promise. Also, this is the only ff I've actually written, but I have three whole series planned out for the future. So if you like this one, I'll be writing more (
Love, Duchess
February 1899
Anastasia Laine, commonly known as Duchess, leaned against the wall of a dirty boxcar on a northbound train. Her seat on the hardwood floor was hardly comfortable, but she was too tired and emotionally drained to think much about it. At least the clattering of the freight car as it rolled along the tracks reminded her that she was alive, something her exhausted system was having trouble recalling at the moment. She sighed and raked her hands through her tangled hair. She had spent the first several hours of the trip deliberately thinking of nothing, but she couldn't keep that up. So finally she let her mind drift back to yesterday, to recall, in all their lurid detail, the events that had suddenly and irrevocable changed her life.
A mere day ago, Duchess had been the happy and confident leader of the Downtown newsies in Richmond, Virginia. She had taken control of Downtown two years before, at the tender age of thirteen. The previous leader had been nineteen at the time, and ready to give up being a newsie, so he held a competition to see who would be the next leader. The contenders were four large, muscular boys ranging from fifteen to eighteen years old, and Duchess. The assembled crowd of newsies had laughed at her when she lined up next to those big boys, but the laughter stopped a few minutes later when she knocked her first opponent out cold in ten seconds flat. She had proceeded to do the same for the other three, and no one who was there that day had ever questioned her right to lead. Quite a few of them, however, asked where she'd learned to fight like that. None of them had ever seen martial arts before, which was her secret weapon, and the reason she could beat boys so much bigger and stronger than her.
She had learned the eastern fighting style in Japan, where she had lived with her missionary parents until she was ten years old. She had one brother, John, who was two years younger than her. Then their parents had decided that it was time for their children to see the land of the free. They had told them stories about America, but for Anastasia and John, who had lived their whole life among the Japanese, they seemed a bit hard to believe. At this same time, Anastasia's best friend, Su Mai Ling's parents decided that they would have better opportunities in America and decided to immigrate. Anastasia had been overjoyed, since she couldn't imagine being separated from Su, who was more like a sister than a friend. Both girls were proficient in all types of martial arts, as were most Japanese children. They had, in fact, met in training when they were four years old, and had been inseparable ever since.
So it was that the girls and their families set out with high hopes on their way to America. Tragically, the ship's occupants were struck with a fever mid-voyage. In such confined surroundings it quickly spread to most of the passengers and crew. Anastasia, Su, and John, recovered quickly, but all their parents, along with about a third of everyone on board, died of it. So the three children, virtually penniless upon their arrival in San Francisco, had become a family of their own. On the streets of the coastal city they all gained street smarts in a hurry. After a year in San Francisco, they decided to head east, towards denser civilization. Their original goal was New York, but they had all liked the relatively small, southern capital, Richmond, Virginia so much, they decided to stay. They settled into a life on the streets, which were much kinder than the ones they had known before, and Anastasia and Su became newsies. Anastasia somehow got the nickname Duchess. She wasn't really sure why. Su came to be called Flash because she could move so fast. Duchess was better at "improving the truth," so she called the headlines most of the time. Flash did acrobatic tricks to draw a crowd. They made a great selling team. Duchess insisted that John finish elementary school since he was two years behind the girls. They all lived in the downtown lodging house, which was owned by the kindly Mrs. Hilliard.
The girls had been newsies for two years when Duchess became the leader of Downtown. A few months after that, John finished fifth grade and Duchess agreed to let him become a newsie as well. Things were fairly smooth after that, for about two years, except for one little problem by the name of Blackjack Dodge.
Blackjack was the leader of the Southside newsies, and had been one of her opponents in the competition for Downtown. He had hoped to increase his territory to include the majority of the city, north of the James River and he had never forgiven Duchess for beating him. Consequently she and all her newsies had to be on their guard for him and his bullyboys.
One morning in early February, John was caught alone in a back alley by Blackjack and a few of his gang. Seeing his chance to get revenge on Duchess, Blackjack had cruelly and methodically beat her thirteen-year-old brother to death.
Duchess had found him as the Southside boys were running away. She was too concerned about her brother to give chase and ran to his side. He was barely alive by that time, but he reached weakly up to her. "I love you, big sister," he whispered feebly. "I love you too, Johnny," she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You're going to be just fine. We'll get you a doctor, and everything will be all right." At his point, she lapsed into Japanese, which was equally natural for her, just saying the same things over and over as she sobbed harder. John was struggling more and more just to draw breath. He summoned the last of his strength to place a hand on his hysterical sister's arm. She immediately fell silent and looked down at him. "Don't cry for me, Ana," he said, struggling to form each word. She smiled through her tears at his use of her secret nickname. No one else called her Ana, not even Su. "Why would I cry for you? You're going to be just fine," she said, not believing it any more than John did. "Goodbye, Ana. I'll tell Mom and Dad hi for you." She nodded, holding back her tears for his sake. A moment later his head dropped back, and she knew his pain was over. She gathered his lifeless form in her arms and released the gut-wrenching sobs she had been restraining.
Underneath her grief, she identified a new emotion building within her. It took her a moment to identify it. It was anger, or more precisely, fury. She would kill Blackjack for what he'd done to Johnny. She had no doubt she could do it. But before she could follow that train of thought any farther, she heard whistles and clanging bells. The police had arrived on the scene, and she was the only one there with her dead brother. They had been tipped off by none other than Blackjack, who claimed he'd seen Duchess kill Johnny.
When they tried to grab her, her self-preservation instincts kicked in and she broke away and ran for all she was worth. The tears were still streaming down her face as she ran through alleys and side streets, working her way to the lodging house. She had to leave. That was all she knew. If she stayed, she be put in prison for sure, and that was something that could not happen. When she finally reached the lodging house, Flash, and most of her other newsies were there. Duchess opened her mouth to explain, but Flash held up a hand to stop her. "We heard," she said gently, tears beginning to run down her face as well, "You have to leave. I already packed your things." She handed Duchess a carpetbag that contained all her worldly possessions. Duchess looked into her best friend's eyes. Suddenly she was being hugged tightly, and she shuddered out her grief in the arms of her dearest friend, who was now the closest to family that she had. When her sobs subsided, Flash released her. "Head for New York. Write me when you can, and I'll come find you. I'll see that Johnny gets a proper burial." Duchess nodded. She wished she didn't have to leave before her brother was properly buried, but she had no choice. "I'll write you," she looked into Su's eyes, "sister." Su smiled brilliantly through her tears. "I'll wait for word, sister," she whispered the last word. "You're the leader now, Flash. Be good to them." Then, without another word, Duchess turned and made her way to the train station, where she hopped a north bound freight train.
Duchess raised her head from her hands. These reflections had been painful, but she felt somewhat better for it. She just couldn't believe that she would never see her only brother again. It seemed too horrible to be true, and yet there was no denying it. She had thought she had no tears left, but she had been wrong. As the train rattled ever northward, Duchess stretched out of a pile of burlap sacks and cried herself to sleep.
Author's Note: This is my first ff so please read and review. I know chapter one is kinda depressing, but it's really just introduction. It gets better. I promise. Also, this is the only ff I've actually written, but I have three whole series planned out for the future. So if you like this one, I'll be writing more (
Love, Duchess
February 1899
Anastasia Laine, commonly known as Duchess, leaned against the wall of a dirty boxcar on a northbound train. Her seat on the hardwood floor was hardly comfortable, but she was too tired and emotionally drained to think much about it. At least the clattering of the freight car as it rolled along the tracks reminded her that she was alive, something her exhausted system was having trouble recalling at the moment. She sighed and raked her hands through her tangled hair. She had spent the first several hours of the trip deliberately thinking of nothing, but she couldn't keep that up. So finally she let her mind drift back to yesterday, to recall, in all their lurid detail, the events that had suddenly and irrevocable changed her life.
A mere day ago, Duchess had been the happy and confident leader of the Downtown newsies in Richmond, Virginia. She had taken control of Downtown two years before, at the tender age of thirteen. The previous leader had been nineteen at the time, and ready to give up being a newsie, so he held a competition to see who would be the next leader. The contenders were four large, muscular boys ranging from fifteen to eighteen years old, and Duchess. The assembled crowd of newsies had laughed at her when she lined up next to those big boys, but the laughter stopped a few minutes later when she knocked her first opponent out cold in ten seconds flat. She had proceeded to do the same for the other three, and no one who was there that day had ever questioned her right to lead. Quite a few of them, however, asked where she'd learned to fight like that. None of them had ever seen martial arts before, which was her secret weapon, and the reason she could beat boys so much bigger and stronger than her.
She had learned the eastern fighting style in Japan, where she had lived with her missionary parents until she was ten years old. She had one brother, John, who was two years younger than her. Then their parents had decided that it was time for their children to see the land of the free. They had told them stories about America, but for Anastasia and John, who had lived their whole life among the Japanese, they seemed a bit hard to believe. At this same time, Anastasia's best friend, Su Mai Ling's parents decided that they would have better opportunities in America and decided to immigrate. Anastasia had been overjoyed, since she couldn't imagine being separated from Su, who was more like a sister than a friend. Both girls were proficient in all types of martial arts, as were most Japanese children. They had, in fact, met in training when they were four years old, and had been inseparable ever since.
So it was that the girls and their families set out with high hopes on their way to America. Tragically, the ship's occupants were struck with a fever mid-voyage. In such confined surroundings it quickly spread to most of the passengers and crew. Anastasia, Su, and John, recovered quickly, but all their parents, along with about a third of everyone on board, died of it. So the three children, virtually penniless upon their arrival in San Francisco, had become a family of their own. On the streets of the coastal city they all gained street smarts in a hurry. After a year in San Francisco, they decided to head east, towards denser civilization. Their original goal was New York, but they had all liked the relatively small, southern capital, Richmond, Virginia so much, they decided to stay. They settled into a life on the streets, which were much kinder than the ones they had known before, and Anastasia and Su became newsies. Anastasia somehow got the nickname Duchess. She wasn't really sure why. Su came to be called Flash because she could move so fast. Duchess was better at "improving the truth," so she called the headlines most of the time. Flash did acrobatic tricks to draw a crowd. They made a great selling team. Duchess insisted that John finish elementary school since he was two years behind the girls. They all lived in the downtown lodging house, which was owned by the kindly Mrs. Hilliard.
The girls had been newsies for two years when Duchess became the leader of Downtown. A few months after that, John finished fifth grade and Duchess agreed to let him become a newsie as well. Things were fairly smooth after that, for about two years, except for one little problem by the name of Blackjack Dodge.
Blackjack was the leader of the Southside newsies, and had been one of her opponents in the competition for Downtown. He had hoped to increase his territory to include the majority of the city, north of the James River and he had never forgiven Duchess for beating him. Consequently she and all her newsies had to be on their guard for him and his bullyboys.
One morning in early February, John was caught alone in a back alley by Blackjack and a few of his gang. Seeing his chance to get revenge on Duchess, Blackjack had cruelly and methodically beat her thirteen-year-old brother to death.
Duchess had found him as the Southside boys were running away. She was too concerned about her brother to give chase and ran to his side. He was barely alive by that time, but he reached weakly up to her. "I love you, big sister," he whispered feebly. "I love you too, Johnny," she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You're going to be just fine. We'll get you a doctor, and everything will be all right." At his point, she lapsed into Japanese, which was equally natural for her, just saying the same things over and over as she sobbed harder. John was struggling more and more just to draw breath. He summoned the last of his strength to place a hand on his hysterical sister's arm. She immediately fell silent and looked down at him. "Don't cry for me, Ana," he said, struggling to form each word. She smiled through her tears at his use of her secret nickname. No one else called her Ana, not even Su. "Why would I cry for you? You're going to be just fine," she said, not believing it any more than John did. "Goodbye, Ana. I'll tell Mom and Dad hi for you." She nodded, holding back her tears for his sake. A moment later his head dropped back, and she knew his pain was over. She gathered his lifeless form in her arms and released the gut-wrenching sobs she had been restraining.
Underneath her grief, she identified a new emotion building within her. It took her a moment to identify it. It was anger, or more precisely, fury. She would kill Blackjack for what he'd done to Johnny. She had no doubt she could do it. But before she could follow that train of thought any farther, she heard whistles and clanging bells. The police had arrived on the scene, and she was the only one there with her dead brother. They had been tipped off by none other than Blackjack, who claimed he'd seen Duchess kill Johnny.
When they tried to grab her, her self-preservation instincts kicked in and she broke away and ran for all she was worth. The tears were still streaming down her face as she ran through alleys and side streets, working her way to the lodging house. She had to leave. That was all she knew. If she stayed, she be put in prison for sure, and that was something that could not happen. When she finally reached the lodging house, Flash, and most of her other newsies were there. Duchess opened her mouth to explain, but Flash held up a hand to stop her. "We heard," she said gently, tears beginning to run down her face as well, "You have to leave. I already packed your things." She handed Duchess a carpetbag that contained all her worldly possessions. Duchess looked into her best friend's eyes. Suddenly she was being hugged tightly, and she shuddered out her grief in the arms of her dearest friend, who was now the closest to family that she had. When her sobs subsided, Flash released her. "Head for New York. Write me when you can, and I'll come find you. I'll see that Johnny gets a proper burial." Duchess nodded. She wished she didn't have to leave before her brother was properly buried, but she had no choice. "I'll write you," she looked into Su's eyes, "sister." Su smiled brilliantly through her tears. "I'll wait for word, sister," she whispered the last word. "You're the leader now, Flash. Be good to them." Then, without another word, Duchess turned and made her way to the train station, where she hopped a north bound freight train.
Duchess raised her head from her hands. These reflections had been painful, but she felt somewhat better for it. She just couldn't believe that she would never see her only brother again. It seemed too horrible to be true, and yet there was no denying it. She had thought she had no tears left, but she had been wrong. As the train rattled ever northward, Duchess stretched out of a pile of burlap sacks and cried herself to sleep.