A Rose from Mindoir
Chapter One
I love this part of Mindoir, the moss covered rocky edge, the soft bed of grass I always lay on, the endless blue water so far down below. It's quiet, a place for me to be alone, to get away; ever since the accident three years ago everyone seems to be afraid of the cliffs. This is my place, my escape from the world.
"Ellanore!" with a quick look behind me it's obvious that my mother found out about my latest incident, and she's angry, I can feel that scowl of hers burning a hole through me; I'm definitely catching hell later. Luckily my dad is the one to walk over to me; he's always easier to talk to.
"Ugh why does she always use my full name?" My distaste for my name makes the statement sound more than a little hostile. Why can't she just call me Ella like everyone else does? He throws his arm around me sitting down by the cliff watching the water.
"Your mother loves the name she picked out for you sweetie". My dad has always been more calm and patient with me and its apparent in his playful tone. I toss him a glance trying to fake innocence, and fail at it.
"She picked out?" He sees right through me, he's very used to the sarcasm by now.
"Hey I was ready to call you flower pot, but your mom's idea was better." He chokes out with a partial laugh. I can't help but chuckle at that, Dad always gets a smile out of me and today is no different.
"Oh ha ha very funny daddy!" With that I stick my tongue out at him and lay back down on the grass staring into the cloudless sky.
"I try. Now you want to tell me what happened?" There's the serious voice I had been expecting; they had heard about the fight at school. Lately my parents have been accustomed to getting these types of calls, but this one was more violent than usual. As I turn over to my right side away from my father the days events race through my mind. Lost in my thoughts I trace the wounds Kevin's teeth left in my fist all the while shifting my position so that my head is in my dad's lap.
"He got in my way." Lying wasn't going to accomplish anything but I wasn't sure what they heard about what I did to Kevin.
"Don't you lie to me Ms. Shepard, you know you're terrible at it". He's trying really hard to sound stern but I know him too well, he's secretly happy I am such a capable fighter; somehow he always knows when I'm lying though. It's those damned eyes of his I couldn't lie to him if I tried. Everything about my father is fairly typical, average height and weight, dirty blond hair angular face and nose, well built from construction jobs he's been working since he was 15, but his eyes stood out, I've heard the women around town claim they're like green emeralds, they look like an ocean of crystal green; I've caught mom getting lost in them on more than one occasion. He passed that trait on to me, everything else came from my mother. Other than my eyes I don't look anything like my father; a year ago some smart ass thought it would be funny to make a crack about my mother sleeping around, his nose never set properly. "Um hello, earth to Ellanore? Do you have a proper explanation for today?"
"He told me girls have no place in sports, that I should be some nobody's trophy wife like my mom". Just repeating the insult to my family makes me want to beat the crap out of something.
"So you figured you would relieve him of his teeth?" there was an anger to his voice, but also fear, for all the trouble I get into I'm still his little girl and I know he worries one day I'll get into a fight I can't handle.
"It was only two hits! Plus I left him his molars". My dad let out a loud laugh; he never was any good at being mad at me especially when I always know how to make him laugh.
"You know you're lucky Kevin isn't pressing charges." I'm not sure my dad knows how impossible it is for him to sound like a serious parent when he's trying to scold me inbetween his laughs.
"Kevin's a pussy". The retort comes out angrier than I had intended. There's a flash of concern on Dad's face, I'm sure my parents think I'm losing control of my temper. I'm really not looking forward to the lecture I'll get at home.
"Ellanore Rose Shepard! Language!" I don't know why he even pretends to be shocked he knows full well that I learned this language from him.
"Do you want to be the pot or the kettle daddy?" That got another boisterous laugh out of him.
"Smart ass". He chuckles to himself, he would have gotten hit for that had mom heard.
"I try". With a smile and a kiss it's time for me to get up and face my mother's punishment. "Now let me go see mom before she has an aneurism". Here goes nothing, I take a quick look back at my father flashing look of dread.
"Be nice to your mother she loves you and is just looking out for you". I roll my eyes and start walking towards my mother standing with her arms crossed in disapproval; her gaze still burning a hole through me. Even though she's pissed its easy to see why everyone finds her beautiful; five foot eight with wavy jet black hair down to her lower back. Very fit, she won't tell me how much she weighs but I'd guess around one thirty. She has a soft face and fair skin with a slender nose. She's also well endowed, all of these things were passed to me, however no one seems to know where I get the red hair from. Her eyes are colder though, a deep dark brown almost black; it makes that scowl almost unbearable. As I approach my mother I can't help but notice a hint of fear in her expression.
"We have a lot to talk about. Your behavior lately is not acceptable." I know better than to argue with her right now so instead I simply nod and hang my head.
"Can we go home? I'm tired and need a shower". The last thing I need right now is an argument so I try my best to be polite. Despite how angry she is with me my mother can't help but smile, I remind her of herself when she was my age. She loves to tell me stories of the hell she raised and how she used to drive her parents insane; I think that's why no matter what I do or how many lectures I get she can't stay mad at me for long.
"Of course sweetheart, but we need to talk later. This behavior of yours concerns me; but we can talk about that later. Let's get my little Rose home". My mothers nickname for me, it always seems to sooth me and I never really understood how. Her demeanor softened considerably and with a gentle tug she pulls my wounded hand to her lips and kisses the injury. With that the three of us start back to the house.
When we get back home I head to the bathroom and get in the shower. The hot water feels good after today, it's soothing. I close my eyes and just let the water cover me like a warm blanket.
Your smile lights up the dark parts of my heart
And your heart brings a smile to my face
Your smile makes me love you more and more
While I lose myself in your eyes.
I always end up singing in the shower. It's a simple song mom used to sing to me when I had bad nightmares. Those damned woods; I still have the nightmare from time to time, in it I get lost in the dense woods outside of Riverbend. When I was little that dream would terrify me and I would make my way to my parents bed and mom would sing that to me until I fell asleep.
With the day effectively washed away I get out of the shower and stand in front of the floor length mirror. I just turned thirteen but according to my mother I look more like I'm fifteen or sixteen. The boys in my school have already begun to notice and were it not for my frightening reputation their advances would likely be maddening. Still, I've seen the way men seem to drool over my mother. "I swear the first guy I see gawking at my backside is going to get my boot shoved so far up his ass he'll think his tongue is leather". My statement to myself had been said louder than I expected.
"I heard that Ellanore!" She hates it when I swear but that doesn't stop me from doing it around her. When I get downstairs dinner is just being served. Mom is a brilliant cook and tonight is no different she's made a roast with steamed carrots and mashed potatoes.
"Smells great mom". Please let her forget about needing to talk to me. I really don't need to hear the same old lecture. I sit down and grab for the mashed potatoes but my hand gets smacked away before I can get any.
"You know better than to grab any food before grace". I give my mother the best fake pout I can muster and she passes me a warm smile before reciting the short prayer. "Now, while we eat its time to talk about today". Damnit, here comes the same lecture I always hear.
"I know mom, I should use my words first actions second, you're concerned that my temper is no longer under my control and I will end up in more trouble than I can handle. Did I miss anything?" I know my impatient tone only makes her angry but I hate these lectures.
"Well at least I know you have the ability to memorize our usual talks though I'm beginning to doubt their effectiveness". There is an obvious annoyance in mom's voice. "Sweetheart your father and I are concerned, Kevin is nearly twice your size you could have been seriously hurt. The last thing we want to see is you getting hurt badly due to your rash actions". This was unexpected they know I can fight, and well, but then again this was the first time I had attacked someone that much bigger and older.
"That didn't stop him from getting his ass kicked. It's not my fault Kevin is too fat and slow to land a hit". My father nearly choked on the potatoes he was eating before letting out the laugh he failed to hold in.
"I swear Richard how are we ever going to get her to stop using language like that if you act like a hyena everytime she does?" My father always looks like a deer in headlights when mom is scolding him.
"Oh come on Hannah show me one thirteen year old that doesn't know and use that language liberally". Dad is usually the one to defend me when the language argument comes up. He finds my foul language to be hysterical; my mother however does not.
"I'll have you know I survived just fine through my teens without feeling the need to use such language". There's pride in her voice but some sarcasm as well. There's no way she refrained from ever swearing at all.
"Well that's because you were a saint. Well, at least until I got my hands on you". Dad's sly grin was not as subtle as he'd like to think. What followed was a big kiss right on her lips in front of me. Sometimes I think he forgets I'm sitting across from them when he gets like this.
"Um, dad Ew! Can you two get a room or something? I really don't need to watch your make out sessions with mom". Dad is still grinning like a kid that just got away with stealing candy; mom pretends to be her usual horrified self, the same act she puts on whenever I see my parents engaged in any sort of pda.
"Richard control yourself! Our daughter is sitting right across from us!" My mother is not nearly as convincing as she thinks with that line delivered half giggling. I do my best to look grossed out and stand up from the table.
"Oh by all means don't let me interrupt you, please you have my blessing I've always kind of wanted a little brother". It is way too easy and amusing to make my mother blush and by now she is turning cherry red.
"See we have permission honey, what do you want to name the baby Hannah?" Now its my turn to nearly choke on my own laughter; as my poor mother turns a shade of red I didn't know humans could turn.
"What am I going to do with you two? My daughter swears like a sailor and goes into a Krogan bloodrage at the slightest provocation, while my husband attempts seduce me in front of her and they laugh about it". The image of me as a Krogan has my sides splitting with laughter as my dad gasps for air. "Now if you are quite finished laughing at inappropriate jokes the dishes need cleaning then you need to wash up and go to bed you have school tomorrow. Oh and in case you thought your antics had gone forgotten you are grounded for three weeks because of today's fight". As the laughter vanishes from my face replaced by annoyance I reluctantly clean up the dishes and head to my room.
Back in my room and under my covers all that's left is to reflect on the day. "Am I really out of control? It was only one fight". As sleep slowly creeps across me all my conscious thoughts leave me and all that remains is one phrase uttered as I slip into the dream. "Not the damned woods again".
Finally, my three weeks of punishment are over. With the sun shinning through my window the light pink walls of my room are illuminated; the color a remnant of when I was younger, along with the rows of frilly tiddler sized dresses in the back of my closet. Unfortunately with the sun up it also means its time for me to get ready for school. With the shower out of the way and dressed in my favorite pair of jeans, t-shirt, and boots I'm almost ready to head downstairs. Apart from some eyeliner and eye shadow I really don't wear much make up which saves me plenty of time in the morning. That just leaves brushing my hair; now that my morning routine is finished I can go downstairs and eat.
"Mornin' Lil' Rose. I see you've completed your prison sentence without incident." Jeff, my godfather, is my dad's oldest friend; he's an Alliance vet and was in the military for twenty years before retiring. He always has some sort of comment and an easy smile. He is taller than my father, almost six feet, has red hair and blue eyes, a broad face and, being ex-military, is very well built.
"Totally, and I didn't even need to make a shiv!" Jeff has always loved my sense of humor, almost as much as he loves throwing my sarcasm right back in my face; he is also usually the first one to find out about my fights. While my parents are concerned he seems determined to make me a better fighter, must be the Alliance part of him kicking in; to that end he sneaks in small hand to hand lessons behind my parent's back. "Sadly I didn't have anyone around to make my prison bit-".
"Ellanore Rose Shepard! You finish that word and you will be spending another week grounded!" My mother's sternness is somewhat drowned out by Jeff's uncontrollable laughter; but I silence myself nonetheless. Mom places a plate with scrambled eggs, toast and home fries in front of me for breakfast and gives me a kiss on the forehead.
"My word girl, your father's mouth and your mother's looks; you are a contradiction wrapped in a paradox". It seems it's hard for him to get out a sentence in-between laughs, he is right however; while I grow to look more and more like mom I act more and more like dad.
"Don't forget about my extensive knowledge of dentistry, with just two hits I can completely rearrange that smile! I think next fight I'll try for just one hit, it's important to set worthy goals you know". Seeing my mother's face Jeff is trying very hard to hold in his laugh and it's turning him a wonderful color of red.
"Excuse me miss, next fight?" There's that stern tone again, she knows I'm kidding but she hates when I joke about my fights; she also feels that Jeff encourages me.
"Um, I mean no, fighting is bad and no one should do it". I shoot Jeff a sly smirk and wink, which gets him chuckling again. Of course my mother is neither amused nor convinced.
"Mmhmm, somehow I suspect that sentiment is not entirely sincere young lady". With that she sat down across from me with her own plate. I know I should be more worried about myself and take a little more care not to start fights with boys twice my size but when they start slinging insults at my family I can't help it, it's like a different part of me turns on, one I have a hard time controlling.
"So what brings you here so early Jeff?" I'm not used to seeing my godfather at the house so early; before Jeff had any time to respond my mother chimed in.
"Your father is driving him to the construction site this morning as Jeff's truck is in the shop, so I invited him over for breakfast; you can help yourself, the food is on the counter". He now works in the same construction company as my dad; in the past few years there has been a lot of new colonists coming into Mindoir thus the construction business is currently booming. Mom works on a small plot of farmland near the house; she brings the stuff she grows to the market some of it ends up in our dinner as well. "Ellanore finish up and head to school I don't want you to be late. Now if you'll excuse me I need to go see why your father is still asleep. Oh and sweetheart, promise me no fights today?"
"Fine mom I promise I won't start any fights". I want her to at least not have to worry all day what I'm going to do; plus I think I can handle non violence for one more day.
"See ya later Lil' Rose". He loves that nickname; I don't think I've ever heard him use my first name. With my breakfast finished its past time I head to school.
"Bye mom I'll see you later tonight". After school I plan on spending some time at the cliffs; it's been three weeks and I miss that place.
"Ok sweetheart, have a good day and remember no fight's you promised". With that I head out the door and start the fifteen minute walk to school.
It's only half an hour into first period and I'm already about to fall asleep; I get by in school but I'm not the best student. I have a bad habit of falling asleep in class and procrastinating on my work; nonetheless I do decent enough to avoid any problems academically even though my teachers seem to go insane trying to motivate me. I need to go for a walk; this math class is driving me insane. "Mrs. Walker may I use the bathroom?"
"Is my class boring you again Ms. Shepard? You know I should say no on the account of your frequent naps in this class". She's not wrong, this being my first class I usually end up sleeping through it. "Fine, but be back before the end of the period". Reluctantly she releases me from the boredom.
Out in the hallway I feel myself breathe a sigh of relief; the monotony of that class was going to drive me insane. Gym and Engineering are the only classes that hold my attention; I love being active and Mr. Parker is always finding new ways to keep me on my toes in whatever sport or activity we are doing, and I love pushing my own boundaries, while I'm always finding new things to build in Ms. Hunters class. For now I simply roam the halls for a few minutes; it's a fairly small school, two floors and all in all about four hundred students. The walls are a white tiled monstrosity makes me feel like I'm walking through a bathroom half the time. What few lockers there are all black, though the paint is peeling on many of them. "Don't you have math right now Shepard?"
"Yup, and I've gotten a very restful sleep so far, just wanted to stretch my legs". I flash John a smirk; he's one of only two people that I actually consider a friend; everyone else in this school is either talking about me behind my back, or too stupid to realize insulting me to my face is a bad idea. John is big, a football player for the school, he's five foot four, just an inch taller than me; he does however, have a good 50 pounds on me. His hair is black like my mother's but obviously much shorter, and he has deep blue eyes almost purple, an angular face and average sized nose.
"Heh, haven't you had a few notes sent home because of that?" He's right my teachers are not overly fond of my sleeping habits, especially when they involve their classes.
"Yeah, well I'm pretty sure my parents are more concerned with me assaulting kids at school to worry about me slacking in class". Even though the joke gets John laughing it's not entirely untrue, mom and dad have been so concerned about my violent behavior that they seem to have forgotten about my academic issues.
"Speaking of which I hear Kevin is looking for you; I'd watch my back if I were you". Same rumor I've been hearing for two weeks, if he has the balls to get in my face I'll mop the floor with him again.
"Well I better get back to nap time ." With a wave I head back to class and serve the rest of my time in utter boredom. It's the same story with my other classes for the day, my one reprieve is lunch; thankfully I have the same lunch period as John and Wes. As I head back to class I can't help but notice Kevin down the hall; the way he's staring me down is unnerving. Shaking off the uneasy feeling I head back to class.
It's finally lunch and the cafeteria is full as usual; there are several round tables all of them an off white with blue plastic seats. The cafeteria itself is a big circle with one side made up of numerous windows that look out into the town. I heat up last nights leftovers in the schools microwave and sit down at one of the smaller round tables with John and Wes. "What are you up to after school?" Wes is the only other kid in school I'm friends with; he's smaller than me and John, maybe five feet and one hundred pounds. He has hair like my father's, dirty blond and hazel eyes. Both John and Wes seem to not want to bother with the varying forms of bullshit popularity contests that plague this place; I suppose that's why I like them.
"I'm gonna spend some time at the cliffs, it's been three weeks I need some peace or I'm going to explode". Glancing around the cafeteria I see there's a couple girls gathered around one of he smaller tables, the popular girls, and another girl sitting at the table doing her best to ignore them; great now the entire cafeteria is going to watch as these bitches try and torture this girl. There's the typical pointing and laughing, name calling, and then the family insults begin. I hadn't even realized I stood up.
"Leave it alone Shepard, you don't need another three weeks for breaking Kathy's nose, as fun as it would be to see". I can't even hear John as I stroll over to the poor girls table. I can feel the rage almost like a lump in the back of my throat; I have to control myself. I can hear this morning's conversation echoing in my head, I can't get physical today.
"Don't you morons have anything better to do, like agonizing over whose brain is less developed?" She's way too easy to anger. The girl at the table gives me a thankful smile.
"Why don't you go attack a few more students, your parents sure did a great job raising you, psycho". No you won't get a rise out of me, I won't give you the satisfaction of breaking that pretty face of yours; my knuckles make very audible crack as I clench my hand into a fist and give Kathy a seething scowl. She pretends not to be afraid of me, "What? You gonna hit me? Good maybe you'll be expelled this time". The act isn't fooling me, especially after she falls over her own feet as I walk over to the girl at the table, spilling her entire tray on herself.
"Come on let's go, you don't want to be near these bitches, I need a shower just looking at them". With a gentle tug she gets up and walks with me over to John and Wes and sits at one of the empty seats. She's pretty, long curly brown hair down to her waist, a soft slender face with that typical button nose, similar to my height and weight, her eyes were a bright brown almost yellow. After taking a seat next to her John is the one to break the silence.
"That could've gone very badly Shep, you know you're on thin ice after what you did to Kevin". John is usually the one reining me in at school though he isn't always able to get through to me.
"Yeah I know; but I wasn't actually going to hit her, besides you can't tell me watching her bust her ass trying to avoid me wasn't hilarious". That got a laugh out of John, but it's true I need to be careful about confrontations in school.
"Well, everything went fine, and it seems we have a new member of our little group". Wes smiled at the new addition to the table, she seems quiet.
"Thank you, I can usually ignore them but lately it seems it's never ending; my name is Katherine by the way but everyone just calls me Kat". Nice name, I'm glad she found the nerve to speak up, I flash her a warm smile.
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure they will just stick to the constant yammering behind our backs for now; at least we will be left alone". That got a smile out of her; I never understood the kids at this school. What does torturing other kids do for anyone?
"Yeah, well who cares what they talk about; hey maybe between the four of them that half a brain they have could come up with a decent insult". We all laugh at Wes' comment.
"It certainly didn't take long for her to fall over herself". Kat says while flashing a smile at me.
"Heh, yeah she likes to act all tough but I know all too well that she's scared of me, hey why don't you stop by the cliffs after school I think you'd like it there. John you know the way, my last period ends early". We spend the rest of lunch getting to know our new friend, she lives pretty close to me with her mom, they moved to Mindoir a year ago after her father past away, which explains why I haven't really noticed her until now.
"Well, it seems it's time to go back to class, it was nice meeting you guys and thanks again Elle, I'll see you later". Nice girl, I'm glad I was able to help. Hopefully the rest of the day goes by fast, the rest of my classes are bound to be boring.
With my last class over I can finally head to the cliffs, I'm looking forward to just relaxing and not having to worry about anything. As I walk out of school Kevin is standing in the parking lot with some friends; damn it please don't start anything I'm not up for a fight today, I walk past him hoping he doesn't notice me. The walk to the cliffs is enjoyable; even though the path takes me through part of the woods it's a much less dense area so it never really bothered me. I find my thoughts drifting back to my new friend, it's curious, she's not usually the type I'd be friends with, very shy and way more girly than me; dresses, pink and all that other stuff, my mom would love her. The noise I hear behind me snaps me out of my thoughts, "Hello? Is anyone there?" It must have been my imagination. My thoughts wander to the conversation mom had with me before I was grounded; am I really in danger of getting that hurt? I mean it's only a fist fight and I'm faster than most think I am. On the other hand I'm finding my anger harder to control of late, if I don't be careful that anger could cost me a lot in a fight if I get careless. After walking a bit further I hear another noise, whipping around to look and still there's nothing, "Ok seriously, who the fuck is out there?" I know I heard something, after scanning the area for a few minutes with nothing to be seen I go back to walking. After another few minutes I hear the voice behind me.
"I am going to make you pay for what you did to me". With that Kevin shoved me to the ground. I toss him an annoyed smirk, looks like I have to put him in his place again.
"It seems you finally found the stones to face me huh?" My smile vanished with all my courage the moment he pulled out the knife. Suddenly I was frozen with fear; how far was he going to take this? Did he really want to hurt me that bad? So many fearful questions racing through my mind; chief among them being, is he going to try and kill me? The charge came out of nowhere and even though every fiber of me screamed to move and run I was frozen. The flash of the blade coming down at me snapped me out of it and I managed to move but the knife cut into my shoulder, instinct and adrenaline taking over I turned and ran. I started down the path to the main road all the while hearing him screaming at me, "You can't run from me bitch!" I cut through the forest keeping the path in sight so as not to get lost. Dodging in and out from behind trees to try and lose him; I can still hear him cursing at me, swearing he'll catch up to me, I see rocks go flying past my head as his voice seems to be getting louder.
This is bad if I don't find a way out of this he'll catch up to me; suddenly I heard a snap and a crash followed by Kevin's cursing; turning to look I can see he fell hard over a large fallen branch and he's hurt. This is my chance, breaking out into a full sprint I ran until I couldn't hear him any longer. Afraid to look and see if Kevin has followed I push myself further finding the path again. It wasn't long before my arm began feeling stiff and heavy, the warm wet feeling terrifies me and then the throbbing started, it was subtle at first but soon my whole body felt each throb. I can't bring myself to look down at my shoulder so I push myself to run further, about a mile away from the main road my legs gave out and I collapsed to my hands and knees as three figures came running.
"Shep, what..." I could tell the wound was bad by the look of horror painted across John and Wes' face. My entire body throbbing I reluctantly took a look over to my left shoulder; all that could be heard were my scared hyper-ventilated gasps. There was a deep gash running down my shoulder and it was covered in blood; I can't breathe and I feel tears behind my eyes. That was when Kat kneeled down next to me, I felt her press her sweatshirt against my shoulder, all that escaped my lips was a partial whimper and cry of pain as I buried my head in her shoulder. The pain was too much and with my whole body throbbing and shaking the last thing I heard before everything seemed to fade was Kat's voice.
"It's ok Elle, well get you help".