Child of Phobos, Chapter 3
By Sunflare2k5
The next morning, Scarecrow was told that he'd have a visitor this afternoon…
if he was willing to see her, that is. He only nodded in reply, trying to hold back
his emotions; a moment of vunerability would be exploited mercilessly, as he'd
learned so long ago.
Annabelle arrived after lunch, and was escorted to the small visitor area; it was
rather dusty, and a few spiders had already taken up residence in the neglected
room. She sat down in the wooden chair in front of the safety glass, and waited
for the guards to bring her beloved to her…
Scarecrow's eyes widened a bit as he first saw Annabelle; she had changed
considerably since he'd seen her last. She was thinner and paler now, and the
bright paisley dress of greens and blues only emphasized that. Her hair was
still black, but it hung lankly. And though she smiled at him, there was a sadness
that still lurked within it. "Johnathan..?"
"What happened?!" he blurted out, then shook his head. "Annabelle… of course
you'd have changed by now." Idiot! He berated himself mentally. You're the
Master of Fear, you don't crumble before anyone!
"Yes…" Annabelle laid her hand against the glass. "Leukemia does that."
It took him some moments to respond, but finally Scarecrow lifted his hand to
touch the glass separating their hands. "How long..?"
"Without treatment, four months at best." Annabelle stroked the glass over his hand.
"And with treatment?"
She gave him another sad look. "Four months at best." She sighed. "So… I've
decided against it. I don't see the point of taking all that I'd saved for Joanna,
and selling off all that I have, when it won't give me any more time."
"Getting your affairs in order…" Scarecrow murmured. His hand trembled a bit
against the glass.
"I wasn't sure how to tell her about you – or you, about her." Annabelle continued.
"But once I knew this… well, I couldn't take this to the grave."
He nodded slowly. "How's she taking this?" he asked, trying to find something else
to think about. He'd finally been loved, and she'd leave him so soon?!
"Oh, Joanna had suspected there was something worse wrong with me than just a
bug… though I wish she'd been wrong, just this once?" Annabelle shook her head.
"I'm still trying to find a guardian for her; there's not many people I know that would
be able to take care of her. But I'll find someone, don't you worry!"
"And while we're speaking of Joanna…" Annabelle got out a manila envelope. "Here –
I had copies made for you, but I can show you these now?" She pulled out the first
photo and held it up for him to see.
It was of a girl with long black hair pulled back into a single braid. Large tortoiseshell
glasses magnified her intense blue eyes; her face, while thin, had a delicacy to it that
softened the angles… made her seem more elfin, instead of bony. She was pale,
though not in the sickly way her mother displayed; the white ruffled blouse enhanced it.
Annabelle held up a second photo; this one of her and Joanna. Joanna was only a
couple of inches shy of her mother's height, as they stood side by side. She was
still in the same white ruffled blouse as the first photo, a black skirt printed with
rich red roses, and black patent-leather shoes with lace-topped small socks.
"She's… beautiful." Scarecrow breathed out. "Of course, she got that from you..?"
"Joanna's the best of us both." Annabelle reassured him. "The best…" With that, her
voice broke as she started to weep. Internally, Scarecrow cursed the glass that
separated them, kept him from comforting her as she needed.
"All right – that's enough!" the guard with her interrupted. "You're gonna cry, do it
outside…" He started to guide Annabelle back with a hand on her shoulder.
"You, you'll make sure my Johnathan gets these?" Annabelle sniffled, putting the
photos back.
"Yeah, yeah…" the guard started, only to be near-impaled by Scarecrow's glare
through the glass. "Um… I mean, he certainly will, ma'am?"
Better, Scarecrow thought. He'd best respect my lady!
(to be continued)
