Chapter Three~ Defiance and a Visitor
Two days of Mrs. Dames torture Riley endured; waking to have a tiny meager breakfast of a single bowl of porridge and glass of milk before starting everyone else's chores. When the other girls found out about this arrangement no one complained, in fact they celebrated and teased her mercilessly until she began throwing fists and punches so that Mrs. Dames had to try and intervene. By dinner time Riley was covered in dust and dirt and grime from working; dusting, sweeping, polishing, weeding, trimming, cleaning, mopping, folding and so on. She was sweaty making the dirt and dust and grime stick to her skin and her hair was pulled back into a bun behind her head to keep out of her face. It was on day two that Mrs. Dames called Riley into her private office. It was supper time and Riley hadn't eaten all day because she hadn't been keeping 'up to standers' so she was weak and exhausted. Swaying a bit on her feet, she stood before Mrs. Dames who smiled wickedly upon seeing the once outspoken child beaten down.
"Do you know why you are here?" she asked casually so that the child shook her head swallowing to wet her sandpaper throat. Mrs. Dames bent down to get out from a desk draw a letter with elegant emerald script writing addressed to 'Riley Warring'. Eyes widening, Riley looked with mouth wide open at the woman who said,
"I can only imagine what you're thinking. But what I want to know is—what are you willing to do to get this letter?" Riley scrunched up her nose wondering softly,
"What do you mean? Haven't I done enough?" Mrs. Dames laughed to herself shaking her head mockingly telling her,
"Oh no dear child, it's only just begun. I received this letter this morning and after reading it figured it would be best to decided that you should figure out your own fate." eyebrows furrowing, Riley in need of sleep and a good warm meal asked,
"What do you want?" that's when the woman put the letter, clearly already opened, on the desk and said,
"I want to know what are you willing to do to get this letter from me. How far are you willing to go?" Riley felt that this was some horrible trap and upon realizing this frowned saying with a stern resolve,
"Not to the ends of the earth." Mrs. Dames laughed and stood from behind her overtly elegant desk to come to stand near Riley telling her,
"Oh but my dear, you're going to have to do better than that if you want the letter." the wicked twinkle in her eyes was enough to make Riley know that this was indeed a set up so she straightened her shoulders and said in a clear voice,
"I don't want it." raising an eyebrow, Mrs. Dames said to her,
"Really? So I can burn it now then." and grabbing the letter off the desktop she marched to the fireplace and was about to toss it in when Riley suddenly cried,
"Who's it from?" but Mrs. Dames turned and in the glow of the firelight looked hauntingly evil as she said,
"You would have had to read it to find out." before she tossed it into the fire and Riley watched her one chance of knowing who she is burn and smolder into ash.
"Now, get back to work." Mrs. Dames snapped as she moved to sit back in her chair only Riley found some inner courage that had been locked away for far too long and said,
"No."
"Excuse me?" Mrs. Dames asked coldly glaring daggers at the child who stood defiantly in the center of the room as she repeated,
"No, I won't." Mrs. Dames slowly stood and stared down the child who wouldn't look away as she said,
"You treat me like garbage, force me to work my hands to the bone and hardly feed me while locking me away in an attic closet bedroom. You sometimes beat me into submission and expect me to submit to your will—well I've had it. I'm done doing so!" Mrs. Dames stood in front of her now and looming over the only ten soon to be eleven year old girl told her,
"Either you do as I say or it won't end well for you."
"I dare you to hit me." Riley told her before adding,
"Because I'm leaving." and with that she started for the door turning right on her heel making Mrs. Dames stand there in shock for a moment—before she grabbed Riley by the shoulder. Only Riley was ready and willing to fight so she kicked the woman in the knee before using her left knee to knee her in the stomach. As Mrs. Dames went down Riley was freed of her grasp and once so stood over her saying to the panting woman,
"What does it feel like to be beaten down?" then she turned on her heel and was at the door before she heard Mrs. Dames say,
"As soon as I'm up, consider yourself mine."
"No, because I won't be here." Riley replied honestly as she left the office shutting the door simply as if nothing had happened and returned to her attic bedroom where she grabbed a backpack and began stuffing it with clothing. The only few things of value to her where the handkerchief given to her by that boy Harry from the zoo, and a small empty picture frame she'd made that she intended to put a picture of her family in when she got adopted. Putting those things on top, she put the backpack on her back and left the attic bedroom without a single glance back. She was in the foyer when she heard a girl scream out Mrs. Dames name and then bolted for the front door and swinging it wide open bolted down the walkway and out of the garden and down the sidewalk. She ran and ran, past empty fields and yards and trees leaving behind the only place she'd ever known willing herself to continue even though she hadn't eaten a full meal in two days. Finally she had to stop and putting her hands on her knees panted as if her lungs would give out. Huffing and puffing, she spotted a trail leading through the fields down towards a lake. She actually remembered this lake—when she was seven she had seen a few girls here ice skating. So she made her way down the trial and upon reaching the lake smiled enjoying the relaxing feeling from the scene before her. Making her way closer to the lake, she found a tree and sat in the shade of it before realizing she had nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. Maybe she could camp here for the night.
"Mind terribly if I join you?" a voice said suddenly so that she jumped and turned to see an elderly man wearing a simple robe of rich velvet the color of dark ocean blue. He had long white hair and matching beard tied at the middle with a string which was odd, spectacles over eyes that shined with wisdom far beyond Time itself and understanding in the strongest sense of the word. Riley felt an overwhelming sense of peace around him and said,
"I don't mind." so the elderly man moved to sit on a tree root next to but not directly next to Riley.
"If I am not mistaken, it seems you are running away from home." the mystery man said but Riley told him all in a rush,
"I don't have one, I live in an orphanage where the owner beats me and forces me to do all the work. Everyone hates me and I have no friends, no family and no chance of a happy life whatsoever. She even destroyed my once chance of finding out who I really am!" feeling angry tears, Riley picked up a rock and threw it watching it skip across the lakes surface hearing the elderly man chuckle warmly.
"See those ripples? Each ripple, is a year in your life child and you have a very long life ahead of you. Do not think for a moment that this single moment means more than everyone waiting for you to discover." he told her in a grandfatherly tone but she turned to him with watery eyes saying,
"But how can I discover those when I have no chance?" he chuckled again and then asked her a peculiar question,
"When is your birthday child?"
"July 31st—why?" Riley told him sniffling a bit so that the elderly man nodded as if in thought while he began to dig around in his robe pockets saying,
"Then I came with perfect timing it seems, for today is exactly July 31st." his eyes twinkled here as he pulled out an envelope that matched perfectly the one that Mrs. Dames had destroyed and handed it to her saying,
"A very happy birthday Riley." staring at the man in total shock, she took the envelope from him and stuttered out,
"Thank you sir." he stood from his seat and stretched saying to her,
"Ah, do not thank me yet—for I have someone to be speaking to now. Meantime, I suggest you return on to the orphanage before it grows dark. You never know who or what may be lurking in the darkness." Riley stared at him with questioning eyes, but after looking around realized how dark it was quickly getting and how winding it was turning, as if every warning sign was trying to tell her to go with this stranger who had seemingly appeared out of the blue.
"Now come along dear, let us return quickly now." he said smiling warmly to her before looking around once then starting off down the way.