Creedy
strolled along at dusk with B trailing him.
"Right lad, time we
got ourselves in and got us some working man's dinner, ehy?"
Creedy
had got used to talking to himself all day, he knew the child could
hear him well enough. "I'll bet it's rice again, and I'll
have some of my own specially brewed substance, then I'll hit my
bed."
Creedy noticed B wasn't at his side, turning around he
saw the boy had stopped and was staring out over the castle fences to
the setting sun. Creedy walked over and sat beside him.
B turned
and sat down a few inches away from Creedy. Then he changed his mind
and leaned in, leaning against his chest he pulled Creedy into a hug.
Creedy sat, holding this little boy watching the sun go down. He
could feel a tiny heartbeat against his own and hugged him
tighter.
"My Daddy isn't coming back is he?"
Creedy
stayed completely still, amazed that the boy had such a strong voice,
yet such a tiny body. "Has he gone to mummy? With the
angels?"
Creedy had never been particularly religious, but a
simple lie could help this child.
"Your mother is surely an
angel now boy, and your father will be at her side, watching you."
"Dragons have wings, are dragons like bad angels?"
"I
suppose you could go with that yeah, Anyway, little B shall we go
inside?"
B had gone very quiet again, Creedy lifted him off the
floor and walked with him in his arms. "It'll be alright B, I'll
look after you."
B smiled, "And I will look after Rosie for
you."
Creedy laughed. "Yeah you keep your eye on that madam
for me, you can be my little partner in crime."
After
supper Creedy and Quinn were in the corridor preparing their piece
for the kids, when Rosie appeared with A and B at her side.
"Was
he OK for you today Dave?"
"Sure, he was fine." Creedy
battled within whether to tell her B had spoken but he didn't want
to betray the boy's confidence. It was clear the boy had a lot of
questions, he hadn't spoken a word since they entered the castle.
Looking down at him now, his eyes pleaded for silence.
"We
moved rocks, threw rocks, dropped rocks, it was a grand day."
Rosie
smiled, "Why don't you two go and get a seat with the other
children?"
A and B ran off hand in hand, Quinn followed and set
up the stage.
"So..." Rosie leaned against the wall beside
Creedy. "What treat am I in store for?".
Creedy's eyes
twinkled. Quinn's voice boomed over the children as he began his
speech about a galaxy far, far away.
"You want a treat from
Creedy, ehy lass?" Without warning he leant down and kissed Rosie
on the lips, then ran onto the stage to take his role as Luke
Skywalker.
"I saw that." Ma's voice appeared next to Rosie.
"I didn't expect that... he.." Rosie was lost for words,
her heart was racing. "He shouldn't have done that, and I shall
give him a piece of my mind after his performance."
Ma laughed.
"I bet you will. Right shall we get a seat?"
As Rosie watched
Creedy being trained to use a light sabre, she looked around the
children. Star Wars was nothing new to her, but to these it was a new
fantasy. These poor children born into a world ruled by dragons had
no knowledge of how great mankind once was. Would they ever?
Suddenly
B held her hand tight and smiled at her, she pulled him into a hug
and watched Creedy play the fool for the children's sake.
"Creedy
likes you. You should like him too."
Rosie stared speechless for
the second time that night at B in her arms; he was staring at Creedy
with admiration.
After Creedy and Quinn had taken a bow, they blatantly lied about being the creators of Star Wars. Rosie observed the children sit on their knees. The laughter had left the room.
What do we do when we are
awake?
Keep two eyes on the sky.
What do we do when we
sleep?
Keep one eye on the sky.
What do we do when we see
them?
Dig hard, dig deep, go for shelter, and never look back.
Rosie had tears in her eyes, this was the life these children
had to live with. With one prayer created by Creedy he was preparing
them for the years ahead. Suddenly she felt suffocated and ran out of
the room, not even looking behind her.
Once outside she
breathed heavy and openly wept.
Crying for the unfairness of the
situation she was stuck in, crying for her recently dead parents, her
dear grandmother. She wept for her brother and his friends who used
to tease her and pull her hair. She cried for Ireland, its once
beautiful land that was scorched until it was unrecognisable, causing
her to flee.
She cried so much she wasn't able to control her
breathing until it was just hiccups and gulps of air, she lay on the
cold uncomforting rock of the castle and stared to the skies.
Creedy
hadn't noticed Rosie leave, but did find two hysterical twins
weeping, thinking they had been left again. Creedy stared down at
them, they were silent tears on the children's faces. Anger
coursed though him. "Come now kids, how am I supposed to call you
brats and avoid you if you never make a sound?"
B ran to him and
hugged his leg. "She's gone, Creedy."
Taking example from
her brother A did the same. Creedy smiled and began to walk, easily
carrying the two twins around with him, as they clung to his legs.
"Well my little devils", Creedy's Irish accent wasn't
perfect but he saw B smiling, "We shall just have to find our
unruly nanny won't we? Where can she be? I know she wouldn't have
gone far without you two cherubs! So .." Creedy then caught Ma's
face as she walked toward them, looking solemn.
"Kids, Rosie
has gone to have a wash before her bed, she's asked me to put you
to bed. Will you come with your Ma now?"
Both twins shook their
heads and gripped onto Creedy's legs, pinching him unintentionally.
"Argh hey, no pinching alright - how about me and Ma take you
to bed, hey?"
The twins didn't really have a choice as Creedy
began to stride toward the stairs with a twin on each leg.
"Why,
I'll have to get me some of these twin things Ma, muscle builders
they are, my legs will be like a superhero's this time next week.
Not that they aren't superhero's legs of course, they must be as
they are attached to myself."
Quinn heard this and shouted
something about Creedy having chicken legs. Shocked Creedy stopped
and turned around lugging the twins with him.
"You, good sir,
are a villain." Creedy was pointing to Quinn, to the amusement of
all the children headed to their beds.
"As a superhero I shall
silence your mouth over a game of cards, a serious game as well this
time - we'll bet our hero outfits!"
Quinn laughed, "I
haven't seen you in your tights for a while, but fine. I pick the
game."
"See that kids?" Creedy addressed the twins, "Now
he will pick a really hard game now." Creedy swung his legs back
around and heaved himself to the stairs. "And no doubt he will
cheat, and your poor uncle Creedy will lose his PVC superhero outfit.
A villain through and through."
Ma heard both twins laughing,
which was a heart-warming sound. Creedy's voice was still booming
round the corridors as he shouted Ma was feeding these kids far too
much.
