Ravenna flew up in bed with a start; she immediately regretted her actions when her head began to pound as if it had been slammed into a brick wall; that was when she realized it had. A feeling of misplacement began to creep up her spine causing her to look about her room for something out of place causing her to realize she was not in her room. Panic flooded over her as she remembered the strange man from the alley that had attacked her. Surely he had not brought her back to his house? Oh her father was right, she shouldn't have stayed at her house all by herself. She should have stayed at Melissa's. A whimper left her throat, and unbeknownst to her, woke the man who had fallen asleep with his head on her bed.
"Shhh, it's ok, no one's going to hurt you."
Ravenna jumped at the voice and turned to it's owner. It was at that moment that she saw the face which had plagued her dreams for 15 years. She let out a blood curdling scream and scrambled out of the bed despite her pounding head. She frantically looked about the room for a weapon and grasped the deadliest object she could find, the kerosene lamp on the bedside table.
"Stand back you…you murderer. You might be bigger than me but I will not hesitate to fight back. Ask your friend from the alley, I probably made quite a hole in his foot."
The man in front of her lifted his hands as in an act of surrender and took a few steps backwards. The look he was giving her was one someone would give a person whose cheese had slid off their cracker.
"Hey, why don't you set down the lamp? I won't hurt you, I haven't hurt anyone before who hasn't deserved it, and I certainly have never hurt a woman. In fact, I'm the one who helped you last night."
Ravenna's brows furrowed. The voice of man in front of her was soothing, the kind of voice one would want to listen to while falling asleep; however his looks belied the trust his voice demanded. Steeling her determination she gave her best sneer.
"I'm sure that is what all of you gypsies say." The word gypsies was practically spat from her mouth as if it were something vial.
The man's expression was one of surprise and pain, as well as what Ravenna could only assume as disappointment, yet what the man could be disappointed in or how he could be disappointed in her was a mystery. He seemed to be struggling with himself before he answered her insult.
"Yes, it is true that I am of Roma blood, but as to what that has to do with my rescuing you from certain…ah…distress I am confused."
Ravenna gave a very unladylike snort at the use of the word Roma.
"Roma?" She gave a cynical laugh. "That's just a gypsy's way of trying to prove their equality with others. Why can't they admit that they are gypsies? The name fits; a scummy name for scum of the earth. As for you saving my life, I highly doubt it. One can never trust what a gypsy says, they always lie."
A voice appeared from the doorway which belonged to a boy wearing a bandanna around his neck.
"He's right you know, he did save your life. I was here when he brought you in unconscious. I'm thinking though that he should have left you there for the man to deal with you as he pleased. Race was just saying the other day that here Mush was always a bleeding heart and I'm beginning to agree with him."
Ravenna felt a bit of a rebuke at his tirade, but she was in a foul mood because of having to deal with a gypsy who apparently she owed her life too, as well as her head that felt as if it had been trampled on by both horse and carriage. It was easy enough to understand why her tongue managed to run a bit.
"Race? What type of name is that? And Mush?" Ravenna snorted again. "I can only guess what that insinuates."
The man now named Mush seemed to be seeing red, while the gaze of the bandanna wearing one merely dropped a degree lower in temperature.
"We're Newsies and have Newsie names. Not that you deserve an explanation."
Ravenna's golden hues grew wider. Would her day ever stop getting better? Now not only did she have to dear with owing her life to a gypsy, but a gypsy who sold newspapers like that little snot of a kid yesterday! It was Ravenna's turn to see red. This was it; she was getting out of this dump whether or not she owed the man in front of her her life.
Spinning on a heal she spat out "Thank you for saving my life" and was about to leave when she heard a meow from underneath the bed, and a kid wearing an eye patch flew down the stairs as if his long johns had caught on fire screaming "Jack" at the top of his lungs.
Choosing to ignore whatever the crisis might be for the "newsies" as they called themselves, Ravenna bent down to peek under the bed and was so surprised to see what greeted her she could not contain the delighted "Ferocious" that escaped her lips.
The voice belonging to Mush assaulted her ears.
"Ferocious?"
Rolling her eyes and showing the kitten that was in her hands she nodded her head.
"Yes, Ferocious is my new pet."
The man could barely contain his laughter, though as to why she was unsure, she could only assume he was amused by her name, which did noting to curb her already flailing temper.
"If you will excuse me I believe that I must be going home now, you see I actually have one to go to."
This statement stopped all conversation. Jack, whom she now knew was the bandana wearing one turned his attention towards her and merely stared.
"What did you say?"
Lifting her chin to mask the sudden sense that she had gone too far she sniffed.
"You know what I said, you hard of hearing now?"
For many years she would never understand why Jack made the decision that he did, but what left his mouth next would change the course of her life forever.
"Boys, I think we just found our new nurse for Les."
"WHAT!" Ravenna roared. Who did this guy think he was? Napoleon? No one told Ravenna Dooryia Worthington what to do, not when she had just earned her freedom. Her voice dropped to a deadly whisper.
"What did you say?"
What she would later learn to be a character smirk appeared upon Jack's face.
"You know what I said, you hard of hearing now?"
"Oh I heard what you said, I just can't believe you said it. How dare you think you can tell me what to do. I don't owe you a thing, you can't make me do anything I don't want to."
She knew she sounded like a 3 year old throwing a tantrum, but at the moment she didn't care.
The infuriating smirk merely remained upon Jack's lips. He turned his head to Mush who gave the slightest nod of his head before turning his attention back to her.
"Oh, but you do Nettle. You see you owe Mushy-boy here your life, and it seems he is giving that favor over to me to use it as I see fit and since all of us cannot afford to take a day off of work to help a friend in need…well…that leaves you."
Her jaw dropped in astonishment. How had her life changed so dramatically in a day's time? Yesterday she had finally earned something she had thought she would never be able to achieve, and today it seemed as if she would loose that freedom by the whim of a power driven street rat. Yet however much she wanted to protest and deny what Jack said, she knew it was true. She owed Mush a huge favor, and it was his decision on how to use it. If he chose to give it away to a friend, she was bound to do whatever the friend asked her to do, with in reason of course, and as much as she desired to state that what Jack asked was unreasonable, she new that not to be true. With a heavy sigh her shoulders slumped in defeat for a brief second before she steeled the back again and lifted her fiery gaze to Jack's own.
"Before I see to your friend I need to go back to my house and inform my servants that I am fine. I have no doubt that they will send a telegram to my father if I do not show myself within the hour. Even though it is quite early in the morning, my servants tend to be early risers as well."
Jack seemed to roll the thought over in his mind for a few minuets before he nodded his head in agreement.
"That will be fine, though I suggest you see to your patient before you leave, you might want to bring a few items from your house that will enable you to better care for our friend."
Begrudgingly she nodded her head in agreement. She hated to do anything to inflate this man's ego. Strutting out the door she headed up the staircase, oblivious to the fact that she did not have any clue as to where she was going. She turned into the first open door that she came too, and was actually lucky for once today, because she had chosen the correct door.
The room was filled with disorganized bunk beds and clothes strewn around. She crinkled her nose in disapproval and turned her attention to a bunk that had multiple newsies milling around it. Clearing her throat slightly the boys glanced up from the bunk and towards her. She waved her hands in a shooing motion when the boys did not seem to take her first hint to move when she had cleared her throat. Grateful that they all seemed to understand her second attempt to herd the boys away, she headed towards her new patient. What she would see before her would be the second brutal shock of the day.
In front of her was the boy that had sold her the newspaper under false pretenses. Under no circumstance was she going to nurse him back to health. She simply would not do it.
Turning on her heal she went to storm out of the room but Jack shook his head and twirled his finger signaling her to go back to the little boy in the bed.
Ravenna folded her arms across her chest and shook her head, she felt more like a tantrum throwing 3 year old than she ever had in her entire life, but she was adamant about not helping the boy. He had tricked her out of 5 cense; he had lied to her.
Jack lifted his brow silently challenging her. Ravenna's lips puckered in dissatisfaction and turned back to the lad in front of her.
Laying a hand upon the child's forehead she was not surprised to find it rather hot. Lifting her hand she noticed that the kid's nose was running and the cough he let out sounded a bit more real than yesterday's.
Shaking her head she turned back towards Jack and headed towards where he was standing.
"I don't know what's the matter with the kid, but he should not be in here. He needs to be isolated from the rest of the boys unless you want them all to get sick." She couldn't help slipping in a bit of condemnation in her voice insinuation his lack of leadership skills.
"I am going to my house to drop off my cat and to gather a few supplies that I think I might need. I will be back later."
She began to head out the door hen a steel grip grasped her arm.
"Oh don't think I'm going to let you go by yourself. You are not going to skimp out on your duty. Mush over here is going to accompany to and from your house. Not only will he ensure you return, but also that you do so in a timely fashion." He turned his attention to Mush. "I'll buy your papes for you today, I have no doubt you'll reimburse me later tonight.
Mush merely nodded his head in agreement, though he did not seem too thrilled at the idea of spending alone time with her, and she certainly did not relish the idea of being escorted by a gypsy. Letting a short stream of air out of her nose she simply stomped past them and headed down the stairs, not even giving Mush the decency of the knowledge that their departure was immediate.
A/N: Ok, no flames please! I know Ravenna is.. well…a not so nice person *insert preferred word here* but I wanted to make this as realistic as possible *yeah like that's actually going to ever happen hehe* but it's true. She wouldn't jump into Mush's arms even after he saved her because she hates gypsies and he is one, as well as the fact he's a newsie. So, that's all I have to say about that. If I missed you I'm sorry. Thank you to all who review *disperses crème savers to everyone*
Raeghann: Thank you so much for being my Muse yesterday and helping me figure out what I wanted to do with this fic. You help has been invaluable! *huggles her* Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked my beastie line. I giggled as I changed that from Mush saying it to Kloppman. I thought it fit better. As for your kitties I have no clue what to tell ya. My doggy is nice and sleeps all night…and all day hehe. Mush does have a soft spot and I'm glad I'm able to show it. :o)
JP: Thank you so much for your help this evening! I echo what I told Raeghann. Your help has been invaluable. As for what you smell I can't tell you yet hehe. Author's secret. :o) Thank you so much for your words of praise, they do much to reassure this doubting author. But keep that finger away, this was a swift update…wasn't it? Hehe
Ali: Need air…must have air…*Ali lets her go* Thank you dear. I'm glad you like my story! I like yours too…and speaking of it when are you going to update? Do I have to result to prodding or threats of withholding updates? Hehe. I liked writing the Mush's pants meowing part, I'm glad that you enjoyed it too. 7 cheers? *dances* I'm special hehe.
Ankalima-silma: It's nice to meet you honor. No I'm not associated with NML…I'm not even sure of what it is actually. I'm glad you like my story, it means a lot to hear that. I like the kitty too, and funny thing is she just appeared. Sorry she's not playing much of a roll in this chapter, perhaps the next. I hope you enjoy the chapter though. :o)
AaronLohrLover24: I'm so glad you're enjoying this story, its why I write, to give people a little something to smile about during the day. Thank you for writing that second bit about Mush and his strength, that means a lot. I wrote that in because it's more believable and it means a lot that someone noticed/ I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry….wrote it means a lot too much, ah well :o)
Kaylee: That does mean a lot coming from a person who doesn't like cats. Hehe. I want Ferocious too, perhaps that's why she came to me in my story. She's my dream kitty. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.
Mondie: I'm sorry to hear about your favorite teacher. While it was sad to go up and visit my family for such a dismal reason it was a lot of fun to see them. They are all psycho and it's entertaining to say the lest. I'm so glad you heart this story, and how I portray Mush it means so much to hear that becuae I usually don't focus on Mush's character and was really hoping it wasn't way off. I hope you enjoy this chapter.