All I could do now was stare in shock at the two figures standing beside the bed I was lying on!
One was huge, like the figure who saved me from a watery grave, but what was even more shocking was the rest of his features. His hulking body was covered in thick, dark brown fur, he wore a loosely fitted blue coat and a floppy red had atop his head.
The other was much shorter and thinner, had red-orange fur, a long snout, wore a green vest over a white shirt, green pants, and a yellow hat. Most shocking of all was the realization that my company were not even human!
They were a fox and a bear, both standing bipedal and wearing clothing as if they were human. They both looked as shocked as I felt. After a long bout of silence, the fox finally spoke. "Wellit'sabouttimeyouwokeupma'am, ol'Br'erBearbeenmakin'afussthinkin'y'allmight'vedrownedorsumpin!" He uttered this apparently all at once, confusing me. These beasts could talk too? "Euh?" was all that I could say back to him, not fully comprehending everything he just said. The fox's expression showed more annoyance than before, "Whatisyoudeaf, answerme'oman, telluswhyyouwasdownintheriva, whoareyaanyways?" He sputtered out his questions so fast, I could only stare at him dumbfounded. Suddenly, the bear spoke up, "S-s-s-say B-B-B-Br'er Fox," he muttered, but Br'er Fox was quick to interrupt him. "Disain'tgotnuttintotowidyouBr'erBear, disispeoplewedealinwid, npeopledon'tbelongmongussoy'allshould'vejusleterdrown!"
LET ME DROWN?!!!?? I screamed internally! Not that there weren't already a lot of people who would prefer me dead, but hearing Br'er Fox condemn Br'er Bear for saving my life was not something I was going to allow to slip by. "Monsieur?" I spoke up meekly, which neither of them seemed to notice. Br'er Fox continued to spit out his endless lecture towards the seemingly frightened bear. "Monsieur!??!" I uttered again, a little louder this time, but still no response. Fed up, I finally yelled, "MONSIEUR!!!" Finally, Br'er fox halted his speech while also snapping his head around to face me. He looked even more angry than before, almost feral. I quickly tried to shield myself with crossed arms, but the fox was quicker and clutched at the collar of my still damp dress. "Oh, sonowyawannaspeak wellyoubetta'xplainyourselfbeforeIchangemymind'boutkeepinyaalive!"
I felt strongly intimidated by both figures, so I wasn't sure exactly what to tell them, fearing that either way they would kill her or force her out to fend for herself again. Breathing in, she started, "My name is Jeannette Francis Gallagher, and recently I have gotten myself into trouble up north in Boston, Massachusetts. I killed a man who attempted to have his way with me. After realizing what I had done, I found myself on the run from the law."
This left Br'er Bear dumbfounded, more so than before, "B-b-b-but ain't ladies not s'posed to be fightn'? he asked more to himself than me. "Of course I'm aware what I have done is not acceptable behavior for a woman, but I could never live up to anyone's standards, not even my own papa!" Now my fear was replaced with rage, once again, these men were judging me for not having what qualifies as ladylike behavior, bringing me back memories of my papa and how he had always looked down on me, especially after my maman's death when I was only a child. "Papa was always displeased with who I was, claiming that it only brought shame to him and the rest of my family," I roared furiously at both men, "And if you two decide you don't want me either, then go ahead and kill me, I WOULD rather die than continue living as I have!"
By the time I finished yelling, I was out of breath and on the verge of tears. After catching some of my breathed, I mumbled, "Why am I even telling you all of this, I shouldn't expect anyone to care about me or my problems, no one ever has." Just like that, my inner damn broke and I burst out sobbing, not looking at either of my captors, out of fear of what might happen next.