Pardon me for the pause on writing, *sigh* another year of high school. And this chapter whipped my a** since I was at a lost for where to take it.
I've been blabbering in my head with thoughts on how to make it all work(Annaliese encountering Logan, learning about her father, finding ways for her to end up in the condition to be a maid, how Barry becomes psychopath's butler) so this may have just been a little more of the inside to who Annaliese truly is.
Bare with me, I was in a bit of writer's blocks!
Thanks for the happy review and kind followers!
"Hurry up!" cried Emmeline as she raced further on, her leather boots lobbing up dust from the cobblestone streets.
Annaliese and Barry were four feet far, paying little heed to her whining. She darted like there were bavlerines hunting her, but her siblings strolled like it was a pleasant evening to cherish the scenery.
Though it was a challenge, considering Barry was lounging around that outsized sack overflowing with stolen possessions, having both hands gripping it with it over his shoulder and having it collide against his back with every move. Fortunely for them, suspicion and embarrassment was spared since down the road seemed vacant, though most people were already at the castle.
Annaliese huffed at the top of your voice, enough for Barry to glance over at her. "You would look better with a stick and a handkerchief. At least people wouldn't think we're crooks," she garbled.
"They'd think we were homeless beggaws!" He snickered obnoxiously letting out a sigh while saying, "How fun that would be!"
"Least we won't have someone's gun up to our head. A furious villager or one of King Sparrow's little pawns."
"You get ovew it Annie, you nagging won't make me think anything else. You and ma can keep up with the blah, blah, blah, but it won't save me a damn. Nor ouw condition."
"Stealing helps our situation?"
He shook his head a barely, mostly thinking of some sort of new snaky remark or something to up hold his care-free attitude that also provided wit and some allure. But now, he was at a dead end, unsure what to say to her.
The teenager just blew air out of his nose, still with the bag whacking against his back, making him pull it up farther. "If I answewed twuthfully," murmured Barry, staring down the street and watching as the elegant scene of the castle became closer and little Emmeline became farther from her running, "that would only pwove nagging and lectuwing works." He smuckered his lips loudly, as he continued on. "I got actually a new plan ahead of me, shall I say a new impwovement in my caweer."
Annaliese's eye bulged up and her thick eyebrows curved with aggravation. "What are you planning on doing? Another tavern? Flirt with the bar whore, get her eyes off those coins she's counting and snatch them up once you start lusting her?" she asked. "Or sneak into the open window of the general store during the night and pray to the gods you aren't seen?"
Barry, despite his age of seventeen, he was smaller than the lamp poles on the streets, slender, but strikingly short of height. And with his body, he could easily blend into the common crowd, a blessed thing for pick-pocketing, and flitting through the window that had been unintentionally left open by the clumsy shop owner. "Nah, that's getting old and now that I'm so confident," he chuckled as Annaliese rolled her eyes, "I think it's time fow a new game. Something a bit mowe exciting….but also wewarding too."
His eyes peaked towards her, wanting to know if this was peeping her interest.
And it was.
All too satisfying for him, he continued sharing his scheme. "I was thinking tonight…tomowwow maybe, I'll just walk down to Millfield, won't be too long from here and maybe visit that nice, thwee-stowy mansion acwoss the lake. I heaw it has some of the sweetest things in it, all worth a heap of gold," snickered the ginger like an evil doctor who had just invented a killer creature, rubbing his hand together and a smile of insanity.
"You bloody idiot! You could never make it out alive, Reaver and his damn guards would shot you the second you're scene! Steal from anyone else but Reaver, the man is known to be the best shot and the most careless." She shook her head while staring daggers at him, but in the end it didn't seem to bother him.
"Weavah?" Barry asked then tittering as he threw down the large bag, departuring it on the side of the road. "Blah. That top-hatted dandy doesn't scawe me; he's just a bloke with a gun and a walking stick. Besides my little sistew, I've all ways wanted to die young if it's what it comes down to. And I have bequeathed all of my goods to you."
She didn't say anything else to him, no value in doing so. Barry was self-absorbed, persistent and dumb, dumb enough to think he could escape the wraith of Reaver and just waltz out of his mansion as if he was just a visitor. And stubborn enough to not even have his planned changed.
On the most common day, Bowerstone Castle's grounds were bare and empty, lacking human life, though it was typical for a few nobles, both women and men, to be caught strolling the area. But now, now it was an ocean of people, not just nobles in powder wigs, waist coats, and their starched vocabulary. They were dots in the huge crowed, mingling in with the middle-class and even the lower class. It was unsurprising that most though were nearest to the castle's entrance, awaiting impatiently for the royal family to reveal themselves behind those bold size doors with beaming handles, that shimmered from the sunlight.
Annaliese's eyebrows sprang up once she noticed.
Almost every from from Albion seemed to be there.
"Bloody gods!" she cried out to her older brother. "We'll suffocate in that group."
"I think Emmeline would wather go with that than be hewe like sitting ducks," he said watching from the corner of his green eyes as Emmeline jumped up and down to see pass the large crowed. He chuckled, "Well thank goodness for us for being so small. Come on."
Barry grabbed Emmeline's hand with no hesitation or fear of marring her, and dashed through openings in the crowed. He even thrust a few people out of their place to get to the front, all with his little sister clinging onto him from behind as their feet dashed.
Annaliese staggered from behind, bumping into others who then hissed at her or gave a starting look to her.
Those looks were so distracting she soon found herself lost in the crowed, turning every direction to see where Barry and Emmeline had gone to. But all she could find were villagers all piling against her, pushing her forward. "Barry! Barry! Barry, damn it where are you!" screeched Annaliese with her hands cuffed around her mouth, shouting in each direction. "Emmy! Emmy where are you?"
Nobody heard her.
No one could hear anyone. Their voices were nothing but sounds of…of a rat scurrying around on a ship, you could hear somewhat of them, but in all they were nothing. Instead the air was filled with sounds of trumpets being blown loudly; some people were even talking loudly like they're still at the tavern sharing an amusing story.
And suddenly, it stopped.
Everyone now shot their heads towards the doors, stunned looks on their faces and a few smiles creeping across.
In her eyes, it had seemed world had complete stopped turning, moving, it has just froze into place with everyone in it. Sound was rare, it felt as if no one was even breathing and not even a person could move one step, just eyes open like a gigantic creature was in front of them.
But this was no creature; this was just a bold soldier with gruffly facial hair coming onto the stairway. He was young in the face, but unattractive from where she stood.
"Oh," a voice finally said, it was a female that sounded like a small child, "Sir. Walter is presenting today, how magnificent! King Sparrow is a good friend of his."
Annaliese took only a quick glance over her should, relieved that there was actually a voice.
"Citizens of Albion, I present to you the royal family," Walter's booming voice pronounced, with an uproar of applause. "King Sparrow, Lady Victoria, Prince Logan and Princess Rose."
A loud cry of excitement was heard throughout the land, there were cries of joy, even some jumping up and whistling obnoxiously as everyone watched from below the two doors open, though Annaliese hardly paid any attention, she was more attached to finding her brother and sister. Making filthy remarks wouldn't be the wisest choice around these people. But even she found herself glancing up at the stairway, wondering what Lady Victoria's dress was today.
And for today, it was the color of a blood red with a white lace over the crew neck of it, showing off her large cleavage. Imprinted on the dress were small swirls of gold, like the color of her champagne hair. Her dress seemed so heavy looking on her, weighing down upon her and the goth black shoes with a long heel couldn't make her any comfortable.
Even the princess was wearing those elegant, painful apparels, even though she was about six, hiding behind her mother's gown as the loud booming noise from the crowed frightened her.
"She's look quiet well doesn't she?" asked a hefty size nobleman who was to the side of Annaliese. He was standing tall and proudly, even taller with a wig on, that curled on the side and his large stomach showing in his white trousers.
"King Sparrow made an exceptional choice for marriage," another nobleman approved.
The young teenager rolled her brown eyes at them, but held her tongue. She found nothing in the royal family, not even looks; they would seem like common folks on the streets if you subtracted the gallons of makeup Lady Victoria wore and her bee hive hairstyle. Then took those childish brown pipe curls out of Rose's hair and floral dress. And robbed Sparrow of his long, gray curls and his glowing crown.
But for Logan, Annaliese had never seen him before actually.
She rarely visited these types of things and was much more pleased staying at her house, but there was the occasional time. Sparrow had a brilliant advancement for the future and for months, even years, he had people building this industrial outside of the market. When it was presented, Annaliese's father had taken her to watch the ceremony. But she was so young at the time it was a blur in the mind, she couldn't remember if Logan had come too. Or was it just King Sparrow and Lady Victoria who had went?
Then there was the time Princess Rose had just been born, she came to that ceremony too and much older that she could visualize what happened that day. It begun like this ceremony did, the loud sound of trumpets in the air, flowing with flower pedals and a crowed bigger than the eye could see. A different soldier had begun that one though; he was young, slender and tall like the mountains.
But Prince Logan …he was no where to be found. Not standing proudly with his family on the stage, gazing out at his future subjects as they cheered loudly.
"Looking at how cute they awe?" a voice asked cooing, Barry's speech impediment right to the side of her.
Her concentration Logan was turned away, as she looked to her brother, with one arm draped down and one being hugged to by Emmeline. "We lost ouw good spots 'cause of you…" he said in his chirpy tone as he rocked on the heels of his feet.
Annaliese's brown eyes scanned to see a new view of the prince, barely making contact to Barry or anyone else, just appearing rather odd as she stood on her tip-toes watching. But it was hopeless, everyone was now cramping together in front of her. "Damn," she grunted.
"Looking for someone in particulaw?" asked her brother with a widen smirk.
"No…I'm just," she muttered as she bobbed her head in each outlook. "Agh! Must there be so many people at these bloody things!"
"A king's speech? Nah, most wather go to a pub."
"Shut it, Barry, you know what I mean."
Barry brushed off the statement no doubt that was never the worse thing he had told her.
For Annaliese, she was growing more impatient by each second and irritated by these fools who stood in front of her, blocking her view. A voice in her head told her to just shove them out of the way; yet making a scene at a public announcement would not be in the best interest for improving her reputation. Many people knew her as the poor girl, and she would keep it like that and not turn it into anything dire.
"I think ouw sistew might have visit fathew's liquor cabinet this morning, Emmy," he whispered to Emmeline as he watched his other sister bounce around for a better way to see.
Emmeline giggled madly, making it impossible for her to say something. Her mouth was an inch open, ready to speak but there was a sudden noise that loudly interrupted her.
A scream.
Although screaming was the most usual thing to hear in a heard of people like this, this wasn't a scream of joy, this was a more recognizable scream of fear. Their eyes blasted to Annaliese, where she had fallen to the gravel ground with a few other people surrounding her, who also has hit the solid ground.
"I'm so sorry about that." She scrambled to her feet, truly humiliated, while skimming around her as everyone else came to their feet too.
The citizens ignored her, although their face clarified that her apology didn't take much effect and walked away to continue on watching the speech. It had started a minute ago, though the kids didn't really notice since Annaliese was too busy searching and Barry and Emmeline were too busy gaping at their sister.
"Damn girl!" a man, buffed and strong appearing, stronger than any man in the group boomed as he stood onto his feet. His arms, like his whole body, were muscular and bold like he could throw a blacksmith across the castle and have them land in the gardens.
"I'm really sorry sir, I was just wanting to see…," Annaliese apologized once again, now striving to stay polite.
But this middle-class man was a beastly creature disguised in clothing, tattered and foul rags stitched together. His scrubby beard made him like a pirate, but his eyes made him look even more petrifying.
"Why don't you move out of the way you filthy buggin' whore!" he hissed.
"Excuse me siw," Barry said kindly as he moved up to the man who looked ready to pounce on his young sister. "When someone says sowwy, the most unidiotic wepsonse is to say 'it's all wight' and not be a complete bloody lunatic. Even a fat face pwick like you can do that, can't ya?"
She quickly latched onto his arm, but tugged him back after seeing the fire raging through the man's eyes. "Barry…it's all right," she whispered loudly.
"Yeah Bawwy," the large man mocked, imitating the teenager's speech impediment since anger made it more obvious sounding, "why don't ya go with your little nutter sister and go play with your little toy guns and let the adults listen to the speech." He bent down to Barry's eye level, just to abuse him more on his childish looks, and ruffled his dirty orange hair, making it even more unruly. "I'm sure your mommy will give you a cookie if you're good."
Barry and Annaliese were different looking, saved the face, but along with that, there were things you could never mention to because if you did a trigger set off in their mind, and it was an explosion waiting to happen.
For Barry that trigger was pulled when you assail him with his speech impediment, his small child-like height or the insult on his family. Annaliese knew that right away as she watched flares rage into his eyes, now turning both into the same color. And hanging down was his hand clutched in a red fist. "Maybe if your arse wasn't as fat as hell," he growled between gritted teeth, "my sistew wouldn't have to bump into a damn ugly, slob wetch like you so she could actually see."
Annaliese hugged Emmeline closer, blushing madly as she looked around. A huge crowad around them was watching, intrigued by what was happening and what all the shouting was about. Once again, she attempted to stop Barry. "Barry Hatch!" she cried, remember whenever her mother scolded him as a lad, she would use both his first and last name to get his attention.
It worked, somewhat. He peered over his shoulder to see his sisters standing there and now a whole group of eyes all on him.
"Hatch? You wouldn't perhaps be Randle Hatch's kid would you be?" Barry heard the man behind him ask. The name of his lost father was interesting to hear, since he hadn't heard it come from one's mouth in a very long time. "Yeah…you look exactly like the man, small and you got the same attitude too," continued the man with an emerging smirk as he whipped his brow that was oily. "Gee, I remember meetin' him at a pub, drunker than anyone else, whining about how he had no money and had to leave his three bastard children back in the market with his mentally ill wife."
"Shut the hell up!" yelled Barry, attracting more attention from other villagers.
"Tah, he was a pathetic fool! Waste of life if you ask me. He should have been hung for what he had done, shot a bullet through his numbskulled mind. But no, like a pathetic idiot he escaped. He was a-."His words were cut off and started to moan like a cow being branded, it was shrilling loud that everyone turned to stare at him with bulging eyes. But there was a mixture of squeals and women screaming like a man was climbing up their hoop skirts.
However, the man couldn't even see his hand that was marked right in front of him, his whole vision was stirring in a haze and it seem as if a heavy whip of fog was coiling around him. He could see nothing, except that bright red stain appearing onto his shirt and the raining blood from his nose. And right before he collapsed to the ground, he could see a small fist pointing aimed to his nose.
Barry stood their, rather stunned by what he had just done and he looked back towards everyone. "Well, that suwe shut him up, didn't it!"exclaimed the boy looking around at the crowd, seeing the terror in their eyes.
"Come on, Barry," Annaliese muttered so the silent crowad couldn't hear her. "We should just leave now."
He finally obeyed, but first not without giving the man, who was slowly coming back to mind with the assistance of others around him, a wicked smirk of enjoyment and a nod of the head. No doubt, for a boy like Barry, right hooking a two hundred fifty pound beast was one of the greatest accomplishments yet for him.
They walked down to the gate, with people moving aside as they did so, just staring at them silently. Some were shaking their head, others just kept looking.
Just before they left, when they were one foot away from leaving the crowd, Annaliese turned back, but not to look at the others, to look at what it was that she wanted to. He was far in her vision, but she could see his black hair, slicked back blowing gently with the fall breeze and she saw those eyes of brown lighten with amusement from the fight.
She smiled as she saw him and ironically a smile crept across his face too, as if Logan could see her from that far. And she couldn't understand why, but she felt a wave of the most abnormal feel inside of her. It was undesirable with words, no statement or phrase could make any sense or have you the feel.
Oh dear, this chapter! I've been busy school shopping, meeting with old friends, my family going camping, and my dad and I begun selling are rabbits so I explain to you why this chapter may have had a drop. Thankfully school will be the only pressure on me and since I'm a senior I will be getting out early, so more time to write!
