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Chapter XIV - Aunt Helena
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Athena watched from a distance, her eyes following the other children as they chased after one another with sticks. Two girls in beige skirts and shoes ran by her—they turned their heads for a moment, catching a glimpse before giggling and playing once more.
Carts and buggies passed by after the girls, and the horses neighed at her. She winked.
Three schoolboys came by after that, sticks in hand. They approached Athena. Her smile fell.
"Aye, whatcha doin'?" the taller one asked, his auburn hair covered in dirt specks.
"Notin'," Athena replied, scraping her finger in the dirt.
He whispered to the other two boys. They stared, impatient as rats in the midst of a cellar.
"So, are ya da girl dat talks ta animals?"
Athena nodded.
They heaved over in rapturous laughter, holding their thin bellies. As they walked away, Athena stuck out her tongue.
"Athena! Come here, young miss!"
The girl flared her nostrils and tightened her fists. "What is it?" she asked, rising and turning to face a short yet plump woman, who could have been mistaken for a fat, juicy raisin with her layers of dark purple robes covering rolls of fat. When she spoke, spit launched from her dark red mouth, dripping off her rotten teeth and falling to the ground. Detailing the lines around her lips were moles; Athena thought she saw one staring at her, the one with a hair poking out of the middle.
"I'm in the store for but two minutes and you're already misbehaving! Why did you stick out your tongue at those young gentlemen?"
Athena shrugged, clutching her right arm.
"Oh, just wait until your father hears about this! Perhaps he will let me teach you a lesson. Young miss, you must learn to behave one of these days—even if you are only ten. I don't care how old you are, you must act proper. Speak when you're spoken to! Don't just sit there and shrug your shoulders and give that glum look to people. I'll not have my niece acting with such impropriety—"
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"Athena!"
The girl's head popped up, her hair flapping like wings alongside her ears. Father stood in the doorway of her bedroom.
"Yes, Father?"
"You have another letter from your Aunt Helena demanding a visit. Shall I write a reply denying the offer?"
Athena shuddered, her hair falling over her eyes. She took the covers of her bed and wrinkled them up in her hands. "No."
His eyes doubled in size. "N-no?" the man stammered. "As in 'no, I won't go'?"
"As in 'no, I will go."
"Athena!" he gasped, shutting the door behind him and rushing to his daughter's side. He laughed for a moment. "Darling, but you have such a lovely life here," he gestured to the dank, rotting walls. Cringing, he asked, "What made you change your mind?"
"Perhaps it's time I did learn to be a lady, Father. I'm sixteen now."
"But, Athena, aren't we forgetting something?" He took her hand and began patting it.
She sighed. "I will ask Sir Claudius if I may visit family in Dublin and see what he says—"
"But your payment has already been docked!"
"Father, you know just as much as I do that we have plenty of gold to last this family for months. Sir Claudius is a generous man."
He scratched his beard, staring out the window, his eyes following the falling spring flowers.
"Besides, once I go and visit, we won't have any more bothersome letters from her ever again!" Her pretty teeth glimmered in the sunlight from the window.
"I believe you're right, daughter, but—" he stammered. "How long do you intend to stay?"
"Until I become a lady."