Serenity's Story
Chapter One: A Walk In The Dark
Serenity age twelve, orphanage, Port Royal:
Looking around, Serenity noticed that almost everybody was asleep. She let a silent tear fall down her mud and blood stained cheek as she wished that sleep would come as easily to her as it did to the others.
As it stood, she was lying on the ground in utter pain and agony- she had been caught again and now she was paying the concequences. Her tiny frame shook with pain as she tried to push herself up. Her arms gave out, making her fall with another dull THUNK to the ground.
Letting more tears fall she put her face on the dirt covered floor and withered in pain. Her back was now a bloody mess; this beating had been the worst one yet. Her arms had gotten whipped, even, leaving hurtful, burning cuts across her arms and her back. They had ripped off the back part of her dress, which was now laying only feet away.
"Sere?" came a small, scared voice from behind the shadows of somebody's bed.
Serenity pushed herself up, this time keeping her balance. She sat painfully up and looked around. "Molly? Where are you, Molly?" she asked, trying to keep her voice even, though every note of it shook with pain. "I'm right here, Molly. Come here."
A little red-haired girl crawled out from the shadows and moved over to where Serenity sit. She looked frightened and there were tear stains illiuminated by the moon's shining rays. "I'm scared, Sere," she whimpered.
Serenity pulled the little girl into her lap. "Don't be scared, Molly. I'm right here. I'm always right here." she said, stroking the little girl's hair, trying not to cringe with pain.
"What about the boogie man? Will he come and get me?" whimpered Molly again, looking into the older girl's eyes.
Serenity smiled faintly. The boogie man was a story that the orphanage made up to scare their occupants. They told it to every new member who joined their ranks, and it worked on the younger children, even on some of the older children. But, Serenity knew better. She did not believe in a boogie man. What she believed in were good people and bad people, and the orphanage was crawling with bad people.
"Don't be scared, Molly," whispered Serenity in Molly's ear, rocking the child back and forth. "I'm right here. Nothing can get you while I am with you, not even the boogie man."
"Are you sure?" asked Molly, squeezing out yet more tears. "He's tried before, you know."
Serenity smiled again, this time more broadly. Ah, she thought, the imagination of the young. "Well," she said, looking at the younger girl. "If this boogie man comes, he will have to deal with me, and I promise you that he will regret it more than anything he's regretted in his entire life."
Molly looked up with bright eyes. "Really? You would protect me?" she asked.
"With my life," replied Serenity. Then she looked around. "You had better get to bed, young missie, you have a long day ahead of you. You're getting adopted, aren't you?"
The young girl nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, I am," she replied, getting off of Serenity's lap and going to her corner.
After a moment Molly's voice, gentle and quiet as could be called out Serenity's name.
Serenity, though very much in pain, and knowing she was going to regret this in the morning, scooted over to where Molly was laying. "What is it, Molly?" she gently asked the younger girl.
She looked up with bright eyes. "Will you sing me one last lullaby?" she asked, smiling at Serenity. "I love your voice."
Serenity smiled. "Alright, one last lullaby," she replied. Then she thought for a moment. "I'm going to sing you one my mother always used to sing me before she passed away."
Molly nodded. "Okay," she replied.
Serenity began in a quiet voice. "Skin so soft and eyes so bright, you are a gift from heaven. Hair so fair and lips so rosey, resting in my arms, oh so cozy. Never has anything so brilliant came into my life; you are my wishing star in the sky so bright, an angel from above, spreading your wings against the moon's heavenly light, as gentle as a dove. You were placed with me and I with you, we're really quite the pair. Somebody must have really known what they were doing to bless me with one so special, with big bright eyes full of kindness, with bright silky hair, and a caring heart, with a smile always to share. Rocking chairs and furry bears and every song to sing, you make my life whole, you make my heart sing, and I'm really blessed to have you, my love, now lay your head to rest."
Serenity smiled as she noticed Molly's breathing deepened, sending the bright little red-head into dream-land.
Scooting to where her piece of floor was, she laid back down and started silently crying. She missed her mother, and wished that she hadn't gone. If her mother could see just how unhappy Serenity was, she would be furious. Her mother always wished for her the best things in life, even if she, herself could not have them.
And then, with another wave of depression, Serenity remembered under which circumstances Molly had come in.
Flash Back
Serenity and all the other kids were standing around outside in a line, as they always had when new people were to arrive; the older and taller kids were in the back, forming the back of the line; the middle kids formed the middle line and the youngest ones and the shortest formed the front line.
When the headmistress walked up the steps to the orphanage, the kids gasped. She was leading a young girl, no more than six, in the worst possible shape. The girl had two large black eyes and bruises all up and down her arms and there were cuts on her cheeks. Her beautiful red hair fell ungracefully out of the bow that was holding it back.
She was looking at the ground as she walked. She either didn't want to trip, or didn't want to look at anybody.
As soon as the headmistress had gotten into the building the other kids scattered and played and started fist fights and everything that kids do.
Serenity, on the other hand, rushed over to the young girl, who was standing awkwardly, looking at the ground.
Serenity fell to her knees and took a part of her skirt and wiped the little girl's face off. There was lots of dirt on her face, mixed with blood and all sorts of grimy things.
After she had finished wiping off the little girl's face, she looked a little better. The reason the girl looked as though she had two large black eyes was the fact that there was a build up of dirt around her eyes.
If Serenity had to guess how the dirt got there she would have said that the girl had been crying and then rolled around in the dirt.
"I'm Serenity," she said, smiling faintly, as she pulled the young girl's hair back into it's bow. "There, see, you are very pretty. The only thing missing is a smile."
The girl smiled timidly. "I'm Molly," she replied and her voice was quiet and even. She was looking at Serenity with warmth, the same warmth that she was receiving from Serenity.
"It's nice to meet you, Molly." said Serenity, smiling. Then, her smile faltered as she saw the young girl's lips tremble and her eyes start to water. She collected Molly in her arms, acting much older than she was, and gently began stroking her hair. "What's wrong?" she gently asked.
"I... My parents... I..." stuttered Molly, in between sobs. "They... they...were... alive... and-and th-then," she took in a huge intake of breath before starting again. "A-an-and the-then he-he c-ca-cam-came..."
"Shh, Molly, shh." said Serenity. Molly was obviously in shock.
Molly let out a piercing wail, then continued. "H-he-he ca-came a-and...s-shot...t-them...b-both..."
Serenity sat there, horror struck. She had just seen her parents get shot! She hugged the little girl tighter, her own emotions getting the better of her as she let the tears fall from her eyes down her cheeks. "Oh, Molly, I am so, so sorry." she whispered, her voice catching on the tears. "I-I don't know what to say..."
Serenity had sat down and had put Molly in her lap, embracing the little one tightly. She really didn't know what to say.
They both sat there and cried for what seemed like ages before they were ushered in for a measly dinner.
From that time on, Serenity had made a decision. From that time forth, she would protect Molly from everything that came her way, no matter how severely she was punished for it.
And, as time went on, the two had gained an eternal friend.
End of Flash Back
It was hard for Serenity to let Molly go the next day. She knew her feelings were somewhat selfish, that she should be glad for Molly to be getting out of this horrible place, but all the same felt more than a bit sad at losing her best friend.
Before Molly left, she ran over to Serenity, who had managed to pull herself up and was standing shakily by the doorway, and hugged her. "I'm going to miss you, Sere," wailed the little girl, pulling herself close to the older girl.
Serenity shook her head and kneeled to Molly's level. "Now I'll have none of that, you hear?" she said, taking her skirt and wiping Molly's tears away. "This is a happy time for you, Molly! You get a better home where you will be happy. I promise you you'll be happy there, Molly."
Molly's eyes brimmed with tears. "I really do hope so," she said, then, with one final look at Serenity, turned and made her way down the walk with her new mother and father.
"What's wrong, Serenity?" sneered one of the kids. "Can't stand to have your-"
But, whatever the kid was meant to have insulted her with was never found out as Serenity turned and socked him right in the face, a reflection of her own feelings at the moment.
The kid fell to the ground, holding his now bloody nose and wailing like a baby. He looked imploringly up at Serenity, who merely stood there.
"Oh, come on, you big baby. That was nothing. At least your nose isn't broken." stated Serenity before turning around and heading back into the orphanage to go help with clean-up duty.
All the other kids surrounded the one Serenity socked and looked at him in amazement that his nose actually WASN'T broken.
Serenity had been known to get in a few fights, her being the victor in every one. It was also common knowledge to not get on the bad side of her, otherwise you might just find yourself nursing a broken limb, or nose. Needless to say, the kids never messed with Serenity.
It was another few weeks until Serenity tried her new 'escape' plan. She wanted to heal a little bit before they caught her again. But, however, she decided this plan was full-proof. This would be the one that worked.
It was the middle of the night before she put her plan in motion. She had made sure everybody was in bed before she gathered what little stuff she had together and began plotting out her map.
It was about one thirty before she had calculated out and mapped and plotted the best route for her to take. It was the only one she had not yet taken, and she was very confident that it was going to work.
After one last glance at her map that she had drawn out on the dirt strewn floor, she stamped it out with her foot so that if anybody did come after her they would not be able to trace which way she had gone.
Gritting her teeth, she looked around to make sure there were no guards standing watch before she went. Being fully satisfied at the fact that there were none around, she made her way swiftly, but silently down the halls of the orphanage, trying to make as little noise as possible.
When Serenity got outside she looked around again. There were a few guards here and there, but they would not notice her the route she had chosen to go.
Making a quick left, she soon made her way around the outside of the building and made her way around the back.
Out back there was a little grove of trees that went for about a half a mile which would give her sufficient cover until she would have to veer out and be out in the open.
Looking around quickly, she estimated the guard's vicinity around her. They were quite a way away from her, but they would still notice her if she moved too quickly or loudly.
Crouching down a little bit, her steps soft and deliberate, she made her way slowly towards the forest. So far so good... Serenity cursed softly as a twig snapped under her foot, alerting the guards around her.
Instincts kicking in, Serenity started running towards the forest as fast as she could, not even daring to stop and look over her shoulder at the gaining officers.
She decided that if she didn't want to get caught the best way would be to hide in some brush and let the officers get farther and farther away from her. So, bending down and picking up a rather large stick, she veered off into the bushes and threw the stick with all of her might, hoping the guards would fall for the ploy.
Serenity did a mental celebration as the guards followed the noise where the stick hit. However, she decided she needed to get away from the bush she was hiding in so that when the guards came to search she would not get caught.
Moving swiftly and silently, Serenity moved from bush to bush until she was completely satisfied that they would not find her. At this time it was about four thirty in the morning and she was getting awfully tired, but she kept her eye lids from falling down because this was the most crucial point in her plan.
She looked up at the sky and saw that it was beginning to lighten; if she wanted to get anywhere, she needed to hurry. So, looking around, she moved, once again, from bush to bush.
Another hour led to the most magnificent sunrise that Serenity had ever seen. She had always been kept in the orphanage getting things ready for breakfast when the sun came up; the orphanage always had the drapes closed, so only slivers of the sunrise could be seen.
Serenity smiled. Not only was it one of the first sunrises she had seen in its magnificent glory, it symbolized a sun rising on a new day- a new life, and she was very, very pleased.
When she had reached the edge of the grove of trees she noticed the guards stumbling about drunkenly. Apparently they had gotten a drink during the night when they found no sight of anybody. As it was, they both tumbled over and their snores could be heard to where Serenity was and a bit further beyond.
Serenity grinned at her new found freedom and walked at a brisk pace passed the guards, whose heads were resting against the others in a drunken heap, and walked on into a neighborhood that she knew must be for the well to do.
The houses were the biggest, most beautiful houses Serenity had ever seen in her life. Coming from the poor, 'trashy' side of town, she could fully appreciate the beauty of these houses and could only marvel at how long one of these beautiful castle-like houses would take to build, while taking in the beauty of the landscaped yards and the beautiful flowers blossoming here and there.
Serenity stopped walking as she was atop a short hill. She looked down at the houses that lined the streets. When her eyes met with one particular house, her brows furrowed, along with her lips.
There was a group of boys surrounding a girl of about Serenity's own age, with dark brown hair and a light, spring colored dress on. Her hair looked as if it should have been in ringlets, but was now messy as the boys were pulling and tugging on it while smearing mud on her beautiful dress.
Serenity instantly felt her temper flair. She never had stood for behavior that these boys were exhibiting, and she never would. So, having that insight, you should know enough about her to know that she barreled down that hill as fast as her legs would take her and didn't even stop until the first boy was on the ground, holding his bloody nose in his hands and wailing like a baby.
The other boys looked at her like she was insane, but Serenity did not care. She threw the one off that was pulling on the girl's hair and he landed right into a mud puddle. He started bawling and howling like a little girl, jumped up, muttered something about "orphanage trash" and ran away, still howling.
"Anybody else?" asked Serenity through clenched teeth, with her fists clenched and raised, ready to pounce.
The remaining boys all let out a huge yelp and ran away, hissing obscenities that they hardly even knew the meaning to.
Serenity looked at the girl's appearance and frowned. Her dress was ripped and muddy and her hair was in a tangled mess. There were also tear streaks down her dirt covered face.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
The girl, who looked to be about Serenity's own age, shook her head. "It's usually not that bad," her voice cracked. "They usually don't throw mud."
"But they pull your hair and everything else?" asked Serenity in rage. She wanted to pound on those boys more and more.
The girl grinned. "Well, not usually, but I guess today was the exception." she replied, shaking her head.
"I'm Serenity, by the way," stated Serenity, holding out her hand.
The girl smiled and took Serenity's hand. "I'm Meagan. It's a pleasure to meet somebody who could throw those goons into their place."
Serenity grinned sheepishly. "It's a habit, I guess." she said, scratching her head.
Okay, I know that's a dumb place to leave off, but I want to leave you hanging for awhile, to see how you all like this new and improved version. It's not going to be completely different, but some major changes are in store, and that's for sure.
