"Anne With A Vengeance…"
Summary: A slightly AU version of how Ka'kwet was rescued.
[Note-The author is a Catholic by upbringing and while full of respect for those truly adhering to ethical/religious mores, knows the dark and twisted history of much of his church well. With the note that he finds some light there as well and no indication that any other faith does better, sorry, as those on the receiving end of "Rev." Bakker's quack cure, etc know all too well.]
Considerable violence…You may well wish to avoid this one, but for those infuriated by Ka'kwet's sad and tragic fate, some justice and a happy ending.
...
"You again?" the Native School nun "teacher"/wardeness frowns at the figure she spies through the opened small window.
"Yes, mum. Come about the little Indian girl, Ka'kwet, mum." The quiet figure on porch in sober farmer's best dress noted.
"I told you to come back when the Father is here!" she closes the small window door with bang against the grill protecting it.
Another patient knock… "Mum? I can't go way this time without the girl. And I know the Father is here."
"Go! Or I'll send our hands, with guns to deal with you!" the nun's voice, through the door.
"One's already out here, mum. And my sister's got his gun." Patient voice. "Now open, please, or she'll open it with his gun."
"What?" stunned… "Father?!" cry.
"My brother Matthew is quite right, Sister. Open up or I'll blow this door off its hinges." A woman's voice, quietly but firmly.
"Who the devil is this?" a man's voice through the door.
"Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. Here for the little girl, Ka'kwet, Father." Matthew, quietly. "Give her to us and this ends quick."
"Just a couple of ignorant uppity Protestant farmers, Father…" the nun hisses to the priest. "Nobodies, I'm sure."
"Sir, I shall summon the authorities to arrest you! You are trespassing. And I will send Thomas out, armed, if you don't…"
Blam…
The door is thrown open…
One of the thugs who'd confronted Matthew Cuthbert on his first visit comes in from a back room, shoving frightened children at their desks out of his way, rifle in his arm… "Father? What the hell?!"
"Don't frightened, children." Marilla beside Matthew in doorway, rifle taken from aforementioned thug, now deceased, in arm.
"No, nothing to worry about. We're taking you all home." Matthew agrees.
"Son of a bitch!" the priest cries, staring, then crossing himself. "Thomas?! Kill these worthless Indian-loving heretics!" waving the thug on.
"Yes! Kill them!" the nun cries as well, likewise crossing herself. "I'll see the savage brats to the guardhouse/barn." She turns to face the terrified children. "Move or I'll flay the flesh from your bones!" They panic and run back to the far side of room.
"No, stay here!" Marilla calls as Thomas moves up, a bit startled and rather terrified to find himself confronted by Marilla's rifle and Matthew's pistol.
My job description clearly stated I was the armed thug and the worst I'd face is shoving Injun-lovin' white guys with no connections around, as well as blowing out the brains of Injun parents tryin' to get their kids back. And maybe the occasional bitin' kid.
"Move, you heathen! Or Thomas will blow your savage brains into that wall!" the nun fumes.
"Now, we don't want no trouble here…" Thomas tries, trying to look grim and ready for confrontation.
"Damnit, man." The priest rages. "Shoot them! Shoot them both!"
"Die, heretic scum!" the nun screams.
Thomas nervously trying to raise rifle, Matthew on him in a second, gun to his head.
"I wouldn't if I were you." Quietly firm.
"I know who you are, Cuthbert. I've heard all about you and that orphan brat of yours, 'Nane with E' trying to write letters and get these savages away from us!" the priest rages. "Well, no one important cares! And I'll have that adoption invalidated! The Church will take your farm when you're in prison for this! That girl will be forced into a nunnery!"
"Yes! She'll be like me!" the nun cries, red-faced with rage, arms flailing. "No one came to save me in the orphanage. She'll suffer as I did and become a bride of the Church like me. Teaching and tormenting these savages till she's no longer of any value to the Church! Dying as I will, alone, unloved, bitter!"
Does look a bit like Anne…Matthew notes to Marilla, sadly.
"That's Anne, not Nane, Father. What a miserable person you are, Sister." Marilla sighs. "My heart weeps for what you must have been and gone through, but I'll shoot you if you move anywhere nears those children. Children! Go out and you'll find a wagon, get in and under the cover. Don't make a sound if anyone comes by here!"
"Yes, go now…" Matthew urges. Forcing Thomas to release rifle and sit in a chair.
"Stay here or I'll beat you all to death!" the nun rages.
"Thomas, you coward! Knock that old fool down and take…" the priest backs away as Marilla points rifle his way.
"You'll both burn in Hell! Take the damned animals, I'll have them back here in a day! You in prison, headed for the gallows, both of you!" the Father rages, waving arms.
"No! Don't let them go!" the nun cries. "I couldn't escape, why should these brats, even for a day?!"
The children edge around wall, finally passing behind Marilla and running out door, one by one, as they reach.
"NO!" the nun fumes. "Father! Stop them!"
"Where's Ka'kwet? 'Hannah'?! Tell me!" Marilla told the nun.
"Best to…I think." Matthew, now tying up Thomas in his chain with a bit of rope a male student had offered at his question.
"Where you'll never find…" the nun sneered.
"She's in the barn." The student who'd helped Ka'kwet escape before tells them, quietly, pausing in the line of children now racing to the door.
"Ok, can you go get her out?" Matthew asks.
"She has the key…" points at nun. "She wears it round her neck."
"You bitch!" the nun screams. "I'll swallow it fir…" halting as Marilla fires rifle and recocks.
"Give it here or I will shoot you." Marilla notes quietly. The nun eyeing her furiously.
"Go ahead and shoot her, the Sister will never yield to heretic threats!" the Father, insistent.
"Fine, here!" the nun hands over key as Marilla aims.
"You worthless…" the priest hisses. "I never took a vow to be shot, Father." The nun glares.
"Go and let her out, bring her to the wagon." Marilla urges the girl.
"What about Hi'weh?" the student who'd helped find rope asks. "She's back in there." He points. "The Father took her…In the family way, there."
"Oh, my God." Marilla gasps.
"I did no such thing…Lying heathen." the priest, nervously, offhand shrug.
God, even I had a little trouble there, Father, Thomas thinks.
"As he did me yesterday." The boy notes. [Note-Oh, yes this Catholic boy firmly believes the accounts of the victims.]
"You bastard little savage!" the nun cries.
"Miss…" Matthew addresses Ka'kwet's friend. "Go let her out, too, poor thing."
"No! That savage is a liar! She's being punished! You let her out and I'll whip you, girl!" the priest cries.
"Go to your Hell!" the girl screams. "He took me too, last week." She goes to back to open door there.
"You evil, evil man…" Marilla, shaking head.
"Heretic! Indian lover!" the priest fumes.
"Come out Hi'weh, we're saved!" the girl cries. "Ka'kwet! We're coming!"
A tall lovely girl, stripped to the waist emerges.
"I was merely about to whip…" the priest insists as Marilla turns to another girl.
"Get the poor child something to cover herself."
"That's a mite low, Father. Raping little children as well as abusin' them." Matthew shakes head at the fuming priest.
"I didn't know nuttin' about this." Thomas nervously insists. "I was only followin' orders."
"You buried the other girls and that nun who was a little nice." The friend of Ka'kwet notes.
"Damn you!" Thomas fumes.
Nun? The nun stares a moment.
"Lies, Sister…All heretic lies." The Father insists.
"She said she would report the Father and he killed her." The girl notes. "Thomas buried her in the backyard with some of the girls who died when he beat them…And the one she flayed to death." Points at nun who blanches.
"So what." the priest sneers. "Who'll believe a savage…?"
"They'll believe the bodies when we dig them up." Matthew notes.
"The Church will never let it be known. You'll be in prison, then Hell." The priest insists. "And Thomas? You're fired!"
Damn…The nun thinks.
So much for him or the other idiot taking me away at last.
Defiling myself to them both for nothing. Shit.
"He's right about all that." The nun sneers. "The Church can cover all this up and still hang you both."
"Go on, child, with your friend and let Ka'kwet out. It'll be all right." Marilla kindly urges Hi'weh and the other girl out.
The boy leaving with them, last of the children…
"This will do them no good…And finish you two." The priest notes, with sneer. "And your 'daughter'…"
"Then, as we figured…" Matthew sighs. "I guess we'll have to kill all three of you."
Huh? Thomas blinks…
But I said I wus only followin' orders…
"It's a pity. But we knew we probably would." Marilla sighs.
"You two? You weaklings." The priest guffaws.
"I got a girl in…Some place. Don't kill me." Thomas pleads. "I'll testify for you about the priest. That was kinda. And the boys, I did kinda wonder about that…"
"You gutless…I'll see you hung too!" the Father cries.
"God strike these savages dead! Kill these heathen, Lord!" the nun, raging.
"I'm sorry but we can't let you live, Thomas." Marilla sighs to the man. "And you did help abuse and murder these children and conceal it. But here…" she offers bottle. "Drink some of that, it's whiskey with a bit of laudanum. It'll make things easier."
"Don't drink it, you fool!" the priest cries.
"Here, pledge of honor. Just a swig." Matthew takes bottle and a small swig.
"See, I'm fine."
"Take some…Or I'll just shoot you." Marilla holds bottle to Thomas' lips. He nervously takes a sip…
Waiting…
Hmmn. Good stuff but I don't taste the laudanum…
He takes larger swig…
Yeah, very good stuff. Another swig…
"There, just keep drinking…" Marilla holds bottle up for him to drink.
"Stop you damned fool!" the Father cries.
"It's ok…Not bad at all…" Thomas, happily.
Whoa…Now I feel…The…Laudi…
"A bit more, eh?" Marilla holds up bottle to his lips, he drinking.
They won't drug me then kill me, right? He thinks, drinking. "Lookee, I'll go sleep and you just do was ya wan…?" slurring now a bit. "I'll makes a dealllll…" he nods off.
"Fraid not." Matthew shakes head.
"Fool." The priest glares.
"Better off than his mate." Marilla notes.
"Murderer!" the nun cries.
"No, it was self defense for sure when he came at me." Marilla notes. "We'd intended just to drug them both if we could."
"You shot Fred?" the priest stares.
"Clubbed him. Matthew's gun's not very accurate." Marilla nods. "But he is quite dead. But I'll consider it justice as well as self-defense."
"You two are insane!" the nun hollers.
"Oh, no. Not really. It's just…Back when we were kids, alone…We had to fend for ourselves." Matthew notes. "And a few times we encountered people like you…Remember Uncle Michael, Marilla?"
"Oh, Lord, yes…Tried to rape me and wanted the farm. That blow to the head settled him." Marilla nods.
A knock at the door, a gangly red-haired girl with straw hat entering, with a still rather stunned Ka'kwet…
"Marilla? Matthew? Whoa…" Anne eyes the guns.
"Anne…We tole you to wait in the wagon and look out for anyone coming." Marilla frowns.
"Give her to me." The nun glares. "I'll teach her to mind!"
"Quiet, you." Matthew orders, waving gun. "Anne, you best take your friend and go back to the wagon and wait for us. We're almost done here."
"Fool girl!" the priest fumes. "These people are murderers, they're going to kill us! Fetch the authorities!"
"Go, do as the Father says, you red-haired heathen!" the nun chimes in.
"You are all evil people!" Ka'kwet cries. "You should all be dead!"
"We understand how you feel, poor child." Marilla notes. "But we're going to get you home to your parents."
"Oh, I just mean them, Miss Cuthbert." Ka'kwet shakes head. "I'm not entirely turned to utter hatred yet, though I came close. I knew Anne had tried to help me. It's made all the difference. But you had better kill them. They were already plotting to have Anne taken from you and have you jailed or ruined for trying to change the government's evil policy."
"And I'll yet do it!" the priest yells.
"Did you really rape that poor girl, Hi'weh…And those boys and other girls?" Anne addresses the Father.
"I honored them by acting in Christ's name. Not that such foul heathen deserved…"
"Oh, just shoot him right now." Anne shakes head. "Don't let him live to harm others like us."
"Pretty much what we mean to do." Matthew nods.
"Matthew." Marilla, a bit worried.
Anne really should not think such things of us. Or worse, witness them, by us.
"You can't kill us now!" the priest insists. "The children will be witnesses, accomplices!"
"I wouldn't have Ka'kwet see this but I'd gladly…" Anne began.
"Anne? Did we raise you like that?" Marilla frowns.
"Sorry. But you can't spare these two monsters…"
"No. But I don't want you or Ka'kwet to see." Marilla sighs.
"This is sin, girl! I mean, really Sin. Not like what I did, little sin."
"Rape, abuse, kidnapping, murder." Marilla notes.
"Of mere savages. God does not care." The priest frowns.
"God never cares…" the nun, sighing a bit.
"This girl, your orphan charge, will be a witness…She'll hang with you!" the Father cries.
"No, she won't. Anne, now mind me and go take Ka'kwet to the wagon…" Marilla insists.
"They've killed before!" the priest insists. "You must stop them!"
"Oh…Really, Father…" Marilla shakes head. "That was said in confidence."
"We were just kids then. We had no other way to defend ourselves." Matthew explains to a somewhat stunned Anne and Ka'kwet.
"I did wonder how two children kept such a place like Green Gables in such a sea of petty corruption and avarice like Avonlea." Anne notes.
"Only true evildoers, Anne, and we stopped as soon as we could stand up for ourselves legally and found some friends who'd stand by us." Marilla, anxiously.
"Couldn't have amounted to more than ten…Three were just thieves and murderers tryin' to loot an easy mark." Matthew notes. "Three greedy relatives, but they were Dickensian, you'd appreciate that Anne. Right out of 'Oliver Twist' or 'Great Expectations' they were. And several of the men tried to take liberties with Marilla. Serious ones, you know. Like his." Eyes the priest who fumes.
"We've really just about abandoned all that." Marilla sighs. "It was just that there seemed no other way to save these poor children."
"We were leading them to the Light! The Light!" the Father screams.
"Pardon me but seemed like you were leading them to somewheres else, Father." Matthew, dryly.
"Bastard heretic!" the priest cries.
"We won't do it again, Anne…Unless we have to to protect Sebastian and Miss Stacy from racist Klan types who'll want to lynch him and rape and murder her for their inter-racial romance." Marilla, somewhat woefully. "We'd have to protect them."
"I suppose so." Anne nods.
"Inter-racial…?" the priest sputters.
"Black man, white lady. Very nice people. Lovely couple." Matthew nods.
"They have the sweetest baby by his first wife." Marilla, gushing a bit to the nun.
"May it burn in Hell!" the nun screams.
"Anne?" Marilla, a bit anxious. "I hope this doesn't frighten you about us. We would never harm even fairly obnoxious people. I didn't even poison Billy Arnold."
"Hmmn…No, and I mightn't have blamed you. But I guess if you could avoid killing Rachel all these years…" Anne notes. "Come on Ka'kwet, we'd better make sure the other children all secure and not attracting attention from any passersby."
"Hannah! Don't leave! I love you, I only flayed you for your own …Oh Lord, even I'm not delusional enough to believe that. Come back here, you heathen bitch and free me or we'll kill your whole tribe, your family of savages! The government will avenge us!" the nun screams.
The two leave…
"Well…That's about that." Matthew notes. OH! As the priest makes a desperate try, running back and grabbing a pairing knife from a table.
"Die you Protestant Indian-and N-word loving scum! You probably like Jews too!" the priest tosses knife at Matthew with some skill. Matthew firing pistol as the knife strikes him in the arm.
"Never had anything against them." He shrugs, pulling knife out of arm, the gun now on floor, both men eyeing it. The nun as well…
"Matthew!" Marilla, firing rifle at the Father who takes it in the chest, hand already struck by Matthew's bullet. The nun seeing her chance, breaking to the left, and shoving the rifle away as Marilla tries to aim at her. The rifle clattering on floor. Both women attempting move to grab, Marilla kicking the rifle under a desk across the room.
The nun moving back, heaving breaths but sure she can take this skinny, middle-aged…Uh-oh as Marilla spies ax on wall to her left.
The dying priest gasps, his bloody hands trying to reach for the gun on the floor…
"Sorry, Father…" Matthew kicks said gun away.
"You bitch!" the nun screams, pulling up the kitchen knife…
"Careful, Matthew!" Marilla cries, heaving ax and bringing it down into the nun's skull.
Matthew reaching gun first, struggles with the enraged priest and fires, the priest dropping to the floor.
Both Marilla and Matthew heaving…Rising to their feet, eyeing the dead on floor.
"Now that was a bit of work." Matthew notes.
"We're really getting too old for this." Marilla sighs. "Someone else may have to help Sebastian and Miss Stacy."
…
Pressing the gun into the remaining, unconscious thug's right hand for a moment to leave fingerprint impressions on the wiped clean handle…He places the ax in the sleeping man's right hand, the gun now laid beside the man's foot.
"Ok…I guess we're just about done here." Matthew notes, quietly. "I think it's likely the authorities'll decide to accept that he killed them for the school's funds and then killed his pal over there in a quarrel over the loot."
"The government might search for the children…" Marilla, worried tone.
"Well, I doubt they'll concern themselves over Native children but when we burn the place, after I make it look like the drunken fool knocked over this lantern stumblin' about, I think they'll likely have no records of the kids to track them down. Our friends should go ahead with their plans to move to a more safe place, though."
"Oh, Anne will be disappointed to lose Ka'kwet." Marilla sighs.
"True, but can't be helped, can't be helped. Maybe they can meet again someday, in secret. We'll try to stay in touch with her parents. Best to overturn this…" he throws lantern down on some school papers tossed about near the unconscious man, flames erupting. "…and be off."
"Yes, I'd say we should. Before anyone can spy the flames." Marilla nods. "And we don't want the children endangered."
"Right." Matthew nods. "Busy day. I suppose supper'll be late."
"No…I cooked it beforehand. I think there's enough for everyone. We might want to stop by Rachel's and see if she has a few extra greens and biscuits. The children must be starved." Marilla notes.