Chapter 1 AKA What the hell is going on?
A little clarification, since Reinke and Marie are Belgian, the bold and italics is them so called speaking in dutch/flemish. Since I do not want to write everything in that language and than translate, it seems easier this way. I am sorry if any information about modern day Birmingham is incorrect, since I am not from there, I have searched a bit about things to do when you go on vacation there (which i plan to do, one day). I am sorry if anything else is wrong, I am still new to the Peaky Blinders world, but I love it. Enjoy! - QueenNothingness
So could you stay with me, lay with me
Talking 'bout nothing? Yeah (Oh)
Marie bobs her head as she listens to the music that seems to be surrounding her, eyes closed as the sun peeks through them. 'Eva, I am serious! Get back here!' She hears her best friend Reinke snap, a grin appearing on her lips as Reinke's twelve year old sister sticks out her tongue and runs away from them, hiding behind a tree.
'Fine, I am not coming to get you.' Reinke mutters underneath her breath, but a forgiving smile lights her face as she looks at her smiling friend. Reinke sits down on the blanket next to Marie, grabbing one of Marie's headphones. She closes her eyes and mouths the lyrics to Camila Cabello's Dream Of You, lying down next to her friend. 'Our last day, already.' Reinke whispers, as Marie sighs but nods.
'It was nice to invite me along. I really needed some time away from home.' Marie looks at the clouds that are passing by, the sun warming her now tanned skin. Normally she is as white as a sheet. 'Reinke, come and play!' Eva shouts, stomping her foot, a pout appearing on her face. 'Not now, Eva.' Reinke groans, closing her eyes as she seems to fall back asleep.
'I'll come with you, Eva. Let's go for another walk, yeah? Have a look around the Arrow Valley Country Park?' Eva smiles in agreement, the quirky twelve year old having energy for ten. Reinke and Eva's aunt lives in Birmingham. So when they decided to come and visit her, they invited Marie along.
Marie has had a tough year to say in the least. Her parents separating, her father being angry at her for staying with her mother and pretty much abandoning her. The only thing that seems to be working out at the moment is work. The rest, not so much.
Marie can only hope 2020 will be better.
Reinke raises an eyebrow at her shorthaired friend, the blonde girl nodding. Marie used to have very long hair, the strands almost reaching her butt. But than her parents divorced and Marie just...wanted a new start. She cut her hair into a lob style, her hair but a little bit longer than Reinke's blonde hair, she always having had short hair (bob style).
The only one with long hair now is Eva. If you saw the three together, you would think them related in some way. Like distant cousins maybe.
Where Reinke and Eva's hair is almost golden blond, Marie's hair is a few tints darker. 'You do not mind?' Reinke asks once more as confirmation, Marie shaking her head. Her friend grabs her small backpack with a bottle of water and some snacks, putting it on her shoulders.
It is august but still rather hot. 'No, ofcourse not. You rest a bit, okay? Eva and I will go and take a walk.' Reinke smiles thankfully, stretching her legs and arms, her tanktop riding up her belly. 'Than you can work some more on your tan.' Marie teases, Reinke sputtering and throwing her slipper after her friend.
Marie grabs Eva with her hand but is still laughing when they start walking, Eva eventually joining in. They spend the next hour walking around the park, Eva's energy slowly dwindling. They stop at a bench and sit down, Marie giving her bottle of water to Eva together with a snack.
'Are you ready to go back to school?' Marie asks as Eva groans, shaking her head. 'I am a bit scared to be honest. Going to a new school, it is...' 'Scary?' Marie asks while Eva swings her legs, biting her lip and nodding.
'I know it is. But you'll make new friends, just be your kind and fun self.' Marie comforts, grabbing one of Eva's braids that has loosened and rebraiding it. 'And if your hair looks pretty, like it is now, it will help as well.' Eva smiles at that, both girls falling into a companiable silence as they look over the lake.
Clouds seem to be rolling over the blue and sunkissed sky and turn dark very quickly. Marie's brown eyes look up to the sky, a worried feeling starting to churn in her belly. 'I think we need to go, Eva. A storm seems to be arriving. Why don't we go back to your aunt's house, pack our stuff and watch a movie, like your aunt proposed?'
Eva nods quietly, the weather worrying her as well. Marie's grip on her friend's little sister is tight as they walk back to where they left Reinke, her friend already having put everything in her backpack. 'I think we should go.' Reinke offers, hugging her sister to her stomach just as the first thunder sounds.
Than it starts to pour. 'Maybe we should wait a little bit longer until the rain is less harsh?' Marie calls over the thunder, the wind also picking up. 'Isn't it dangerous to stay here?' Reinke sputters, Eva trying to hide in her sister's belly, her arms tight around her sister's middle. Marie takes her sweater and gives it to Eva, so the poor girl who is only wearing a summerdress and sandals has it a bit warmer.
'We cannot leave, we'll be drenched in minutes!' Marie counters as Reinke looks again at the sky, the clouds turning darker and darker by the moment. Another thunder is heard, loud, and this time accompanied by lightning.
'You're right, we should leave. Eva, you hold hands with me and Reinke. We're going to make a run for it, okay?' Marie calls out over the wind and thunder and rain, which seems to be beating against them.
'Okay, now!' Reinke and Marie start running, gripping Eva's hands hard as they almost drag the girl with them. 'Come on, Eva! Running in the rain, it is fun, right?' Reinke laughs, trying to lighten the mood as they make their way out of the park.
Eva gives a small smile, but Marie can feel how the young girl is worried and maybe a little bit scared. They are drenched in seconds, and Marie thanks her good judgement she decided to wear a dark tanktop and dark shorts that come to her knees, with flats.
'The wind is getting stronger, Marie!' Reinke shouts over the wind. 'Let's go and get under that tree until it calms down a bit.' Her friend suggests, the three lone figures taking shelter under the big tree.
Eva is shivering, even with Marie's sweater, and all three of them are drenched and sopping wet. Reinke's sandals make a squelching sound everytime she moves, and she glares at Marie when her friend laughs.
'Come on, it's funny!' Reinke sighs but than nods, her good mood coming back. 'I hope I do not get a cold from this weather, or else,...' They wait for a while, the storm finally calming down.
At least that is what they think. Just as Marie wants to suggest to move on and go home, the sky lightens almost impossibly, so bright, bright, that Marie has to close her eyes,and than a gush of wind seem to knock them back.
Marie blacks out as she feels her body hitting the branches of the tree and than, nothing.
All I do, the whole day through, is dream of you
All I do, since I met you, is dream of you
Marie groans and hears voices around her, but it feels as if her head is pounding. She lets out another groan and feels around her, it seems like mud? The blonde girl finally opens her eyes and struggles to understand what she sees.
Rows and rows of houses, mud everywhere. There are no roads here, not like in 2019. 'What the?' Marie mutters, her fingers, now streaked with mud going to her head. It comes back with blood, some of it is dripping down the side of her cheek and onto the ground. A small wound, thankfully.
It is only now that the voices become clear. 'Oi, you allright, love?' Marie shivers, still drenched as she is, turning her head around and looking at a group of men behind her. She can see how they look at her bare shoulders and her legs making Marie wrap her arms instinctively around her. 'Where am I?' she asks, the man that asked her a question raising an eyebrow.
'Did not understand you there, love. English?' Marie blinks. A brummie accent. So she still is in Birmingham. 'Birmingham?' she whispers as the man nods, the girl on the ground still shivering. She is still wet and covered in mud from her legs to her arms.
'Yes, the Garrison.' The man points behind her. 'Pub?' Marie blinks once more but than nods, looking around her. 'The Garrison?' Marie says, but it does not ring any bells in her hazy and shocked mind. The man's lips tilt up at her non-English accent slaughtering the name.
'Let me help you up, yeah?' Maire bites her lip and nods, the man grabbing her hands and helping her up. 'Where did you come from? This is not what women around here usually wear.' He says, ignoring the snickers from the men behind him. Marie shivers again, tears slowly gathering in her eyes. She shakes her head in confusion, looking around her. Still does not ring any bells.
'No need to cry there, love. We'll get you home, right? Why don't you come in the Garrison first? Get you warm and all that.' Marie is on the point of nodding when she hears a scream piercing the air.
Her heart starts to beat faster as she hears her friend Reinke let out another scream. 'REINKE!' Marie shouts, taking off towards the scream, the man behind her calling for her.
'Let me go! Who do you think you are?!' She hears Reinke scream in dutch, making Marie go faster. Her world seems to come to a halt as she sees three clearly drunk men pushing Reinke around, the men at the same time trying to get her out of her clothes.
A sob comes from her left side, Marie's gaze falling on a bleeding Eva, crouched in the feutal position against a house. Marie motions for Eva to stay there, her temper getting the better of her.
She sees red and starts to run again, picking up speed as she slams with full force into one of the men, the whole group falling onto the ground.
'LET HER GO!' Marie screams in English, struggling underneath the man as she kicks him and pushes him off of her. 'Who do you think you are?!' Marie screeches at the top of her lungs, trying to scramble up into the mud.
'Let my sister go!' a small voice comes from behind Marie, a sobbing Eva standing behind her. 'Please.' Marie is quick to stand up and grab the girl with her arm, the twelve year old holding onto her middle, frame still sobbing hysterically.
'OI, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!' Marie turns and sees the man that had tried to help her out back at the pub, intervening. The three men that had attacked Reinke, leave her bruised friend on the ground, taking a step back.
'We were just...she asked for it!' One snaps, pointing at Reinke. 'Does not seem to me like she wanted it, did you now, love?' Reinke shakes her head as she sits up. 'Look at the way she is dressed!' Marie's temper flares at that remark. 'Because she is dressed like that you think you have the right to attack her? You sexist pig! In what time do you think we live?! ' Marie snarls back, her grip tightening on Eva.
'What year is it, actually?' Reinke whispers, a bit more composed now that she has time to sit up.
'1919, love. The war, remember?' the man behind them chuckles, the three girls falling silent. 'As for you lot, if you ever touch those women again, you'll hear from the peaky blinders, yeah? Now, scram! '
Marie's eyes widen, but she has no time to react. The blinder that has helped them, helps Reinke up and tells them to follow him to the Garrison, seeing the state the three girls are in.
The pub falls silent when they walk in, a bleeding Marie first, followed by a muddy Reinke and bleeding Eva. 'Sit down here, lassie. Harry, get them something to drink, will ya?' Marie sits down, a scared smile appearing on her lips as Reinke and Eva join them, the youngest girl shivering and hiding her face in her sister's stomach.
Reinke takes a sip from the drink before her, her eyes closing with the burn that comes with the whisky. Marie gives a thankful smile at the man that gives her a drink, the pub around them still silent.
'Here, hold this to you head.' Harry says, giving Marie a piece of cloth. 'Thank you.' The man that has helped them, chuckles and sits across from them. 'You are clearly not from around here.'
Reinke lets out a bitter laugh at that, shaking her head. 'No, I, we were born in Belgium.' Marie whispers, teary eyes falling on the man before her. 'What are you doing in Birmingham than, love?'
Reinke bites her lip, shaking her head at that. Marie takes a shaky breath. 'I don't know. I don't...' Eva has started sobbing again, her sniffling becoming louder.
'1919. What fucking happened?' Reinke snaps, but her voice is small and scared. 'I don't know. I think we went back into time?' Marie says, shrugging. 'Yeah, sure. Because this all fucking makes sense!' Reinke shouts, the men around them looking at them in confusion. They have reverted back to their native language.
'I did not understand you there, love?'
'Do not scream at me, Reinke! I have no idea what happened.' She sees her friend snap in that moment, Marie's best friend's grey eyes glaring at her with fury.
'Yeah, because here we are, stuck in 1919 Birmingham with the fucking Peaky Blinders! The peaky blinders, Marie! One of the most notorious gangs of this time! FUCK!' Reinke roars, standing up and starting to pace. Eva's big eyes look at her sister, Marie also sitting still, scared any movement she makes will make her friend go off.
'WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO, MARIE?!' Reinke screeches. 'SHIT!' Reinke takes her glass and throws it away, the glass shattering against the door of the back room the Shelby siblings sit, unbeknownst to Reinke.
Marie shakes her head, Eva now grabbing her middle. 'I don't know.' She says again in English. 'I really don't.'
The man before her opens his mouth to question what the hell was said, no one having understood anything of Reinke's tirade, looking at her as if she is crazy. Just than, the door opens and none else than John and Arthur Shelby walk out.
'What the fuck is going on in here, Harry?' the barman shrugs, pointing to Reinke. Marie only now sees her friend is frozen in fear, eyes wide when she understands what she has done. 'Well?' Arthur Shelby asks, cold glare fixated on Reinke.
Than her friend starts to cough and starts to shudder, the shock finally becoming too much. Reinke's body seems to shut down, her eyes falling back into her head and than she stumbles, crashing to the ground without a sound.
'REINKE!' Eva sobs from beside Marie, the Shelby brothers now glaring at the other blonde girl. 'I am starting to grow old here. Maybe you can tell me, ey? What the fuck is going on in here?!' Arthur roars.
'Fucking calm down, Arthur.' John rolls his eyes, his gaze falling on Marie and than on Eva. 'There is a child present. Don't want Pol to get mad at you for cursing in the presence of a little girl, yeah?'
He saunters over to Marie, his eyes still on her and never breaking contact with the girl's terrified ones. He seems friendly enough, but she can see the violence underneath that friendliness. He is waiting for her to make a wrong move and pounce, as if she is prey.
'I found her in the street in front of the Garrison.' The man that helped her, speaking up. 'She than fell onto her friend being attacked by three drunks, the little one hidden against the facade of a house.'
'So, tell me, love.' John says, cold eyes still glaring at Marie. She than remembers the stories about their caps and the razors hidden in it. It makes her want to swallow, the lump in her throat only growing bigger. 'What is going on? You tell us, and we won't have to hurt you and the little one, yeah?'
Marie looks right back into his blue eyes, gathering some of her dwindling courage, trying to ignore her beating heart. 'My name is Marie Willems. I was born in Belgium. That there is Reinke and this is her sister, Eva.' Marie whispers, a small smile appearing on her lips as she looks at Eva.
'As for what is going on, I have no idea.' John Shelby raises an eyebrow. 'What do you mean, lass?' Harry says, joining them at her table.
'I have no idea how I ended up here. I really don't.' Marie admits, some tears gathering once more in her eyes. 'And I have no idea how to go home either.'
She closes her eyes as she tries to gather herself, Eva still hugging her hard. 'It seems...we are stuck here.' John steps back, but she sees the disbelief in his eyes.
'Than you have a problem, love.' Marie swallows and tries to ignore the rising hysteria, a lone tear rolling over her mudstreaked face.
'Yes, we're fucked.' Eva whimpers at that, the man before Marie shushing her. 'Don't be so glum, love. Try not to scare the little one too much. We'll find a way to get you home, yeah?' Marie looks up once more, nodding at that.
'Drink a little bit more, love. You'll feel a bit better.'
Marie sighs but takes the glass of whiskey, downing it in one go. Her throat burns as she lets out a little cough, another tear that is brimming in her eyes, spilling over and leaving a trail on her cheek. Her gaze falls on Reinke, who Arthur has helped up, her friend propped up against one of the benches, still unconscious.
The blonde girl looks at the door of the Garrison that opens, more blinders walking in, a glimpse of the setting sun's rays peeking in.
And as she does her best not to start sobbing hysterically, she cannot stop thinking, how in the Lord's name is she going to go home?
How? This time, it seems Marie does not have an answer.
All I do, the whole day through, is dream of you
All I do, since I met you, is dream of you
So could you stay with me, lay with me
Talking 'bout nothing?
