A.N. Third chapter in two days. Wow I'm proud of myself! Oh-KAY! Well I
hope you enjoy this one as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
Disclaimer: same as previous chapters. (
A Whole New World
Chapter Two
at the wagon station in New York City
Kid Blink paced nervously at the wagon stop. He had a letter that had to be delivered to the driver of the smallest wagon. He did not know who it was from, who the person was he had to deliver it to, or what the importance of the letter was, but he did know one thing...It must be important, or the short fat man who gave him the letter would not have looked so nervous and scared and eager to be rid of the letter. All he wanted to do was go back to his home at the Lodging House for Newsboys (fondly called Newsies) and play cards with all his pals, but a promise is a promise. Besides, he had been paid five dollars to play mail boy, but he did not really know if it was worth it. 'Man oh man! I'se been waitin heah for ovah an hour! When is dis ting supposed ta get heah?' he thought to himself as he ran his fingers through his wind-tossed hair. He was almost ready to give up and pass the letter on to someone else to fulfill the errand when he heard horses and wagon wheels clattering on the road. He whirled around and was met by the sight of a three wagon party, making their way to the platform. One was massive and the other was decent size, but the third one was the one that stood out to him. 'dat's the one,' blink thought to himself. After waiting for the majority of the bigger wagons' populations disembark, he stole over to the smaller wagon. There, he was met with silence, except for the sound of gentle, even breathing. Overcome with curiosity, he could not help but to steal a peek. What he saw was a young girl, maybe eighteen, sleeping peacefully. In the corner lay a fat burly man, apparently passed out. A liquor bottle was clutched in his grasp. The girl began to stir. He did not stick around to see if she woke up, but before he decided to depart, he noticed what the main difference was about her . 'She's so dark,' he mused. A noise behind him caused him to turn around. In front of him stood a tall, gangly man, whose physical appearance gave no impression of violence, until he looked at his face. Hard lines of hatred and hardships were etched into this mans face, giving him the appearance of a criminal. Blink swallowed loudly to try to get the sudden lump of fear back down his throat. "What do ya want, boy?" the tall man asked. "Uh, may I please ask if you are de drivuh to dis heah wagon sir?" Blink said, mustering up every ounce of courage he had left. "Who's askin'?" the man demanded. "A man named Smithson. If you really are de drivuh, he asked me ta give you dis letter. But you can't take it until I find out if you are de one I am supposed ta give this to," Blink replied, sounding more calm than he felt. "Smithson, huh? Well, alrighty. I know 'em. And yes, I am the driver of this here wagon. Can I ask you your name boy?" The tall man's mood went from irritated to interested. "Uh, dey call me Blink. Kid Blink cuz of de patch on my eye," he replied cautiously. "Well, den thank you Blink. You've fulfilled your duty," the tall man said. Then he turned and yelled, "Now git!" as he turned and walked away. Blink was ready to leave and go back to Manhattan when he remembered the girl in the back of the wagon. Up until the encounter with the driver he had just assumed that she was a slave of some sort. Maybe from Africa. Yet he realized that it couldn't be the case since the driver did not look as if he let anything that he could do get passed down to another. All he wanted was just one more peek. Besides, what did the inside of a covered wagon actually look like? He had never actually looked at the inside of one before. Sure, they came through here all the time but he had never tried to enter one. 'Well, first time for everyt'ing!' he thought as he climbed into the wagon. The girl was now sleeping soundly again. The old fat man was still passed out, so he took the liberty of walking around the small wagon. There was about six feet between the two sleepers so that gave him a bit of room to move about. He had satisfied his curiosity when he was drawn back to the girl. She was so peaceful, yet he could sense that deep down something was troubling her. It was etched into her face. That face...so dark and smooth, her features perfectly etched into her beautiful face. He crouched down in front of her face for a better look. As he stared into her face, her eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes, the closed them again. He smiled, thinking she still must be dreaming. His smile disappeared however when the girl's eyelids flew open as she took in this figure looming over her and screamed a surprised scream. This took him totally by surprise as he hollered and fell over backwards, landing just in front of the drunken man. The girl started jabbering in a language that was unintelligible to him. It sounded like Chinese mixed with Hawaiian. He stared wide eyed at her as she tried to hide behind the small blanket that had been covering her as she lay sleeping. He rose slowly, keeping his hands in front of him as he started cooing, "Calm down, I won't hoit you. It's okay. You'se okay. I didn't mean ta scare ya." The girl started calming down and eventually she ended up cross legged in the corner of the wagon. Her eyes wide with fright, she asked, "Who are you?" Blink gawked as he asked, "You speak English?" "Yes," she replied, "but please answer my question." "Well, my name is Kid Blink. My chums call me Blink. I live heah in Manhattan." "Chums? Excuse me, but what is chums?" she asked with a confused look on her face. "Chums is pals, friends, whatevah," he replied. "Do you understan?" "Oh! Friends! Friends! Yes! Well, Blink it is nice to meet you. I'm Vecienna Primo," she said shyly. "Ah...Vecienna. Dat's a nice name. Can I help you wit anyting Miss Vecienna?" Blink asked. "Um, Maybe you can help me. I need a place ta stay, but I don't have a lot of money. Maybe you know of a place, yes?" she said hopefully. "Well, I tink I might know somewheah. You could stay in Brooklyn wit the goil newsies. I'm shoah Spot wouldn't mind. We can go ask him though. Whadda ya say?" Blink proposed, an eager look on his face. "Oh, that would be wonderful! Just let me freshen up a bit!" She eagerly replied. "Okay, I'll meetcha outside den." Once outside, Blink waited with his back to the wagon. Maybe it was because he was hidden from the others' view that he was able to witness what happened but all of a sudden he saw the tall thin driver of the small wagon take out the letter that Blink had given him and read it. As he tried to put it back in his leather satchel, two men came up apparently to start trouble. The letter fell to the ground, forgotten, as the two men came and started beating up the tall thin man. The thin man put up a good fight, but the other two came out as victorious. The thin man lay crumpled on the floor, barely breathing. About 25 feet away lay the letter. He ran and gathered it and brought it to the thin man. "Is you okay? I saw what happened! What do I do? Is you gonna be all right?" Blink asked, as the man struggled to survive. Then the last two words the tall man said were, "The letter..." as he breathed his final breath. Blink stood up and looked down at the man, lying in a pool of his own blood. He held the letter clenched in his fist. He looked back at the wagon. Vecienna had not yet emerged, so he took the chance he had and took out the letter. As he read, he began to grow uneasy. He paled as he read the last line of the letter. "I know where you are. I have spies everywhere. I will be watching."
A.N. this is not supposed to be a mystery one just so you know. I'm just setting the stage. ( Tell me what you think. (
Disclaimer: same as previous chapters. (
A Whole New World
Chapter Two
at the wagon station in New York City
Kid Blink paced nervously at the wagon stop. He had a letter that had to be delivered to the driver of the smallest wagon. He did not know who it was from, who the person was he had to deliver it to, or what the importance of the letter was, but he did know one thing...It must be important, or the short fat man who gave him the letter would not have looked so nervous and scared and eager to be rid of the letter. All he wanted to do was go back to his home at the Lodging House for Newsboys (fondly called Newsies) and play cards with all his pals, but a promise is a promise. Besides, he had been paid five dollars to play mail boy, but he did not really know if it was worth it. 'Man oh man! I'se been waitin heah for ovah an hour! When is dis ting supposed ta get heah?' he thought to himself as he ran his fingers through his wind-tossed hair. He was almost ready to give up and pass the letter on to someone else to fulfill the errand when he heard horses and wagon wheels clattering on the road. He whirled around and was met by the sight of a three wagon party, making their way to the platform. One was massive and the other was decent size, but the third one was the one that stood out to him. 'dat's the one,' blink thought to himself. After waiting for the majority of the bigger wagons' populations disembark, he stole over to the smaller wagon. There, he was met with silence, except for the sound of gentle, even breathing. Overcome with curiosity, he could not help but to steal a peek. What he saw was a young girl, maybe eighteen, sleeping peacefully. In the corner lay a fat burly man, apparently passed out. A liquor bottle was clutched in his grasp. The girl began to stir. He did not stick around to see if she woke up, but before he decided to depart, he noticed what the main difference was about her . 'She's so dark,' he mused. A noise behind him caused him to turn around. In front of him stood a tall, gangly man, whose physical appearance gave no impression of violence, until he looked at his face. Hard lines of hatred and hardships were etched into this mans face, giving him the appearance of a criminal. Blink swallowed loudly to try to get the sudden lump of fear back down his throat. "What do ya want, boy?" the tall man asked. "Uh, may I please ask if you are de drivuh to dis heah wagon sir?" Blink said, mustering up every ounce of courage he had left. "Who's askin'?" the man demanded. "A man named Smithson. If you really are de drivuh, he asked me ta give you dis letter. But you can't take it until I find out if you are de one I am supposed ta give this to," Blink replied, sounding more calm than he felt. "Smithson, huh? Well, alrighty. I know 'em. And yes, I am the driver of this here wagon. Can I ask you your name boy?" The tall man's mood went from irritated to interested. "Uh, dey call me Blink. Kid Blink cuz of de patch on my eye," he replied cautiously. "Well, den thank you Blink. You've fulfilled your duty," the tall man said. Then he turned and yelled, "Now git!" as he turned and walked away. Blink was ready to leave and go back to Manhattan when he remembered the girl in the back of the wagon. Up until the encounter with the driver he had just assumed that she was a slave of some sort. Maybe from Africa. Yet he realized that it couldn't be the case since the driver did not look as if he let anything that he could do get passed down to another. All he wanted was just one more peek. Besides, what did the inside of a covered wagon actually look like? He had never actually looked at the inside of one before. Sure, they came through here all the time but he had never tried to enter one. 'Well, first time for everyt'ing!' he thought as he climbed into the wagon. The girl was now sleeping soundly again. The old fat man was still passed out, so he took the liberty of walking around the small wagon. There was about six feet between the two sleepers so that gave him a bit of room to move about. He had satisfied his curiosity when he was drawn back to the girl. She was so peaceful, yet he could sense that deep down something was troubling her. It was etched into her face. That face...so dark and smooth, her features perfectly etched into her beautiful face. He crouched down in front of her face for a better look. As he stared into her face, her eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes, the closed them again. He smiled, thinking she still must be dreaming. His smile disappeared however when the girl's eyelids flew open as she took in this figure looming over her and screamed a surprised scream. This took him totally by surprise as he hollered and fell over backwards, landing just in front of the drunken man. The girl started jabbering in a language that was unintelligible to him. It sounded like Chinese mixed with Hawaiian. He stared wide eyed at her as she tried to hide behind the small blanket that had been covering her as she lay sleeping. He rose slowly, keeping his hands in front of him as he started cooing, "Calm down, I won't hoit you. It's okay. You'se okay. I didn't mean ta scare ya." The girl started calming down and eventually she ended up cross legged in the corner of the wagon. Her eyes wide with fright, she asked, "Who are you?" Blink gawked as he asked, "You speak English?" "Yes," she replied, "but please answer my question." "Well, my name is Kid Blink. My chums call me Blink. I live heah in Manhattan." "Chums? Excuse me, but what is chums?" she asked with a confused look on her face. "Chums is pals, friends, whatevah," he replied. "Do you understan?" "Oh! Friends! Friends! Yes! Well, Blink it is nice to meet you. I'm Vecienna Primo," she said shyly. "Ah...Vecienna. Dat's a nice name. Can I help you wit anyting Miss Vecienna?" Blink asked. "Um, Maybe you can help me. I need a place ta stay, but I don't have a lot of money. Maybe you know of a place, yes?" she said hopefully. "Well, I tink I might know somewheah. You could stay in Brooklyn wit the goil newsies. I'm shoah Spot wouldn't mind. We can go ask him though. Whadda ya say?" Blink proposed, an eager look on his face. "Oh, that would be wonderful! Just let me freshen up a bit!" She eagerly replied. "Okay, I'll meetcha outside den." Once outside, Blink waited with his back to the wagon. Maybe it was because he was hidden from the others' view that he was able to witness what happened but all of a sudden he saw the tall thin driver of the small wagon take out the letter that Blink had given him and read it. As he tried to put it back in his leather satchel, two men came up apparently to start trouble. The letter fell to the ground, forgotten, as the two men came and started beating up the tall thin man. The thin man put up a good fight, but the other two came out as victorious. The thin man lay crumpled on the floor, barely breathing. About 25 feet away lay the letter. He ran and gathered it and brought it to the thin man. "Is you okay? I saw what happened! What do I do? Is you gonna be all right?" Blink asked, as the man struggled to survive. Then the last two words the tall man said were, "The letter..." as he breathed his final breath. Blink stood up and looked down at the man, lying in a pool of his own blood. He held the letter clenched in his fist. He looked back at the wagon. Vecienna had not yet emerged, so he took the chance he had and took out the letter. As he read, he began to grow uneasy. He paled as he read the last line of the letter. "I know where you are. I have spies everywhere. I will be watching."
A.N. this is not supposed to be a mystery one just so you know. I'm just setting the stage. ( Tell me what you think. (