Two updates in one day!! Well, here we go..
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Aby and her family...
Chapter Three- I am not original sin
" I'm going to London next week." Her father announced during dinner.
By now the family had grown by three members and were expecting a third. Daniel and Catherine (ages seven and nine), had come with their mother from the previous marriage where their father had passed on and Jason, was born a year after the wedding.
Aby hadn't gotten along with her stepmother since the day of her arrival four years ago, and she rarely ever received meals because of her obsession with having the last word and voicing her opinion. What's more, Abygail wanted to see the world. She brought Daniel to school everyday and he would teach her how to read and write while he himself was learning. Many a time, the pre-teen had asked to journey to London with her father, who kept refusing her. So it came as no surprise when Abygail Hart was denied again.
"But it would be good for me!" She insisted, "I could learn the business or look for suitable young men, or I could get a job at the Kings Theatre as a player! Mayhap even live off my pen or perhaps my drawings! Or I could-"
"Enough!" Her father boomed, "You will do no such thing! Abygail listen to me, you cannot and will not be a working woman, 'twill bring only misfortune upon us here."
"But-"
"Did you not hear your father?" Her stepmother asked fiercely, "'Tis downright scandalous for a young woman to work! And what with all the suspicions of witchcraft in this house because of you, Abygail! I wouldn't be surprised if you were tried within the year, and you know how that would end for us!"
"Well just because I believe that being a woman does not mean that you have to follow a man's orders and be treated like property, just because I believe that I am not original sin and I enjoy being independent and like writing and drawing and acting, just because I want to see the world, does not-"
"Damn it, Abygail!" Her father boomed once again, "You have to stop! If not for yourself then for us! Do you realize that a fair trial for you would end at the bottom of the lake, dangling from a rope, or burnt at the stake!? Think Aby! People would then be suspicious about the rest f us! What then, hmm?
"Go to bed, daughter." He then stated more calmly, "I shall need extra hands in the field tomorrow."
Aby obliged.
The week passed torturously for the pre-teen. All her thoughts were about London. Ah, what a glorious city! She didn't care about the certain dangers that awaited her if she was to ever arrive, she was curious.
So the evening before her father left, Abygail Hart concocted a plan.
The next morning, Aby woke before first light and stuffed a couple of plain dresses in a rucksack. As she looked at the small bag, she bit her lip in thought before stealing some of Tom's old breeches and shirts, Abygail also rook one of his old hats for good measure. After the bag was packed, she hid it on the side of the barn.
That day, things carried on normally. And as Catherine helped with the dirty dishes after dinner, Aby retired to her room for the night, complaining of an ailing stomach. She went into her room, opened the small window and quietly climbed out. Grabbing the rucksack, Abygail hid on her fathers cart and became silent.
Soon, she heard voices and felt the cart being pulled, she was on her way to London.
It had been days since Abygail was stuck in that tiny cart, and when they finally arrived in the city she was hungry and sore. But the young girl didn't have time to dwell on that, she was finally in the largest city in England!
Aby quickly took her bag and scampered off the cart. It was then that she realized that she had no idea where she was going. Looking to her left, she saw the grand house that her father went into, and to the right was the street.
'What to do, what to do…' She thought, 'Well I could either stay with father and be sent home, or I could explore the city and reveal myself later…'
Her conscience was telling her to choose the former option, that it would be better to face the music now then wait for the song to get louder. But where was the fun in that?
"Second option it is, then." She murmured herself, smiling. With that, she marched down the street with bag in hand, a sense of purpose in her stride.
It was late afternoon when the young girl had originally arrived in London, and by the time she had decided to explore by herself the sun had been setting. Abygail somehow managed to stumble upon the Midsummer Fair just as night fell, and spent most of her evening there. Aby was able to pocket a few coins and some food, in fact, she even found an empty tent in which to change. The girl donned herself with a pair of brown breeches, a white shirt and a hat; which she stuffed all her hair into. Aby always had boots on under her dress.
She walked around aimlessly for a while until coming upon a stage, it was curious to find a troupe that performed at night, so Aby hid by the side of the stage and waited. Soon, the play began and she was tightly squished between many curious children, yet none were female. This was expected of course, since the play was none other than Shakespeare's Macbeth. Abygail was getting constantly shoved and would shove right back, but she made one mistake of shoving one particular boy that was not to be trifled with.
It had started innocently enough: the boy had nudged his friend who lost his balance and then fell into Aby, she then shoved back and succeeded in making the original boy tumble to the ground. He wasn't very happy about that, so he simply punched Aby in the nose whilst she was trying to see the players. Getting her emotions in check, she took a deep breath and began to push through the crowd, though not before tripping and 'accidentally' stepping on her assailants legs while glaring at him. Aby was never good at controlling her temper.
The assailant's friend couldn't help but be intrigued at the 'boy' who had had the courage to physically harm possibly the worst urchin in London, so he followed 'him' out of the crowd and into a secluded area past where a woman claimed to be harboring an exotic sprite.
Aby wiped her bloodied nose on her sleeve and winced before letting a long string of oaths tumble out of her mouth.
"Bloody men!" She muttered, "Just wanted to see the bloody play an' then this had to happen! Bloody damned-"
"A-are you alright?" A voice asked timidly from behind.
Aby spun around but didn't even look at the owner of the voice before blurting out the first answer that came to mind, "Oh yes I'm jus' dandy an' yerself?" She replied sarcastically.
"Sorry 'bout Brady, but he's not one te be trifled with. 'Specially when it comes to a stranger doing the trifling, though I do owe you thanks fer that, it's good te humble 'im once in a while… I'm Ben Barker." The boy stuck out his hand and smiled.
Abygail looked at the speaker, he had messy black hair and his clothes were dirty and ruffled (no doubt his mother had tried to clean him up for the fair), he had a kind face and Abygail's breath caught in her throat as she looked at his eyes. They were a dark, rich chocolate color and she couldn't for the life of her fathom their depth. Aby confidently extended her arm and shook his hand, "Erm, Hob…Sawyer."
Ben smirked and held out a strip of cloth from his pocket, "Hob Sawyer, ne'er heard tha' one before."
Aby merely shrugged before muttering a small thank you, "I'm not from around 'ere." She said, "I'm from Somersetshire, but my father has yet to know of my arrival in London."
Ben's smirk morphed into a full fledged grin, "Good God, mate! Runnin' away an' then taking on the most vile urchin in the city, the hell you aren't from here!"
Now it was Aby's turn to grin, "Question. Ben is short for Benjamin, yes?"
"Aye." He replied slowly, "What's it to you?"
"Curiosity." She answered simply, and then raised her hand to prevent her new acquaintance from speaking, "An' before you say that 'curiosity killed the cat' or the like, I'll have you know that I am not feline-like in any shape or form."
Ben smirked, "Ne'er took country boys to be one's wiv a sharp wit. What'd you say yer father was 'ere for?"
"I didn't. What's it to you?"
"Curiosity." He replied smugly.
Okay! So I got Ben in there! The whole argument with Aby and her family about being 'original sin' is basically because according to the Bible, women are considered original sin (for those of you that didn't know..). Hope you liked! Criticism is welcome as usual and please, for the love of God (even though I'm not all that religious..) REVIEW!