It was not long after the royal wedding, when the king revealed his true colors to the queen and the prince. He was a cruel and merciless tyrant who treated his wife and stepson as slaves rather than family. He would work them to the bone and beat them whenever they displeased him. The queen wanted to leave him but he was a powerful man and he frequently warned his wife that if she tried to escape then he would destroy her most precious treasure. Her son. So she was trapped. Trapped by fear for her own life and her child's. Her fairy tale world of seemingly endless color and joy had now crumbled into an abyss of gloom and misery.
But even in the depth of her grief, not all was darkness. A new light found it's way to her in the form of a princess she had birthed. The king could have cared less for his daughter but the queen and the prince absolutely adored her. She was the only good thing that came out that dreadful second marriage and her mother and brother were determined to protect her from her father's abuse. They sheltered her well but they knew that they couldn't keep her safe from him forever. At least not while they lived within his kingdom.
The queen finally gained the courage to take her children and run but the king caught her in the act. He flew into a rage, the queen hid her children and tried to deal with her husband herself. The brother and sister waited in agony for the terror to end and when it finally did, their mother was no more. Yet the prince wouldn't let the king destroy the princess the same way.
He fled from the dark kingdom and took his sister with him, choosing to raise her himself. He found work and a new home for the two of them. They were safe from the evil king but his wrath had left a scar on the prince. One that made his heart frozen to all save for the little princess.
However while the prince's faith in dreams and love faded, the princess's blossomed as she grew. Her mother's stories and her memory were what gave her hope in even the darkest times. But she not only developed a hopeful spirit, there was also a curious mind, a devoted heart, and much to her brother's frustration, a short temper and a stubborn streak.
The princess tried not to make life harder for her brother than it needed to be but she was a quirky child and a lonely one as well. Her peers didn't take to her much because of her behavior and her appearance. To some she was an ugly duckling. But to her brother she was always a swan.
"That ladies and gentlemen was Fire on the Bayou by the Neville Brothers." Alastor spoke into the microphone. "We'll begin taking requests after these messages."
When he turned fifteen, Alastor began looking for work and he started out simply cleaning the area of the Red Radio, the nearest radio station in Louisiana which didn't pay much but it was better than nothing. One evening when the radio host was on break, he decided to play around with the equipment but he was unaware that he was on the air during this and to his surprise the listeners liked him. Liked him so much that he was promoted from janitor to equipment manager and eventually to radio announcer.
He was very passionate about his work. Choosing the most exciting songs to play while keeping the listener's attention with his witty and charismatic voice. He would tell the most intriguing news and stories but always made sure that the information was valid. But what the audience liked most was his vocals. He was a phenomenal singer, sounding like someone who came straight from of the Cotton Club of 1923. All types of listeners liked him but the ones who were old souls adored him.
"Okay listeners, here's our first caller." Alastor pressed the call button. "Good afternoon sir or ma'am, you're on the air with Red Radio, what song would you like to be played?"
It was a woman who had called in.
"Yes, do you know my classroom is a bayou?"
"Hmm...I don't believe I'm familiar with that one ma'am. Could you name the artist?"
"Yes! Her name is Elisabeth Boudreaux! It's apart of her new terror album!"
Alastor paled when he finally recognized the voice. A voice that he knew never signified good news when it spoke.
"Mrs. Hardy?"
"Yes Mrs. Hardy!" She snapped. "I have been trying to call you for hours! Your sister has once again unleashed an unholy wrath upon my class!"
"Don't worry Mrs. Hardy, I know the drill. I'll be down in half an hour. Folks I apologize for the inconvenience, I was about to sign out anyway. Have a good day."
Alastor signed off and the radio host took over as he normally did. He then got into his car, drove down to the middle school, and hurried to Mrs. Hardy's classroom. Sitting just outside the room was an eleven year old girl who bore little to no resemblance to the man who had come for her.
She was skinny like him but that was where the similarities ended. The rest was completely opposite. While he was skinny in a slim way she was skinny in a lanky way. Her stature was short in contrast to his tall height, her hair was bright red as opposed to his brunette locks, her skin peach colored and freckled whereas his was tanned and clear, her eyes were a big bulging green and his were a serious brown. How they wore their faces were contrasting as well. He hid his feelings behind a smile yet you could always tell how she felt.
"Mrs. Hardy a real pleasure to see you again." He smiled. "You're looking very radiant today."
"Your charm and flattery won't work on me this time Mr. Boudreaux." The middle aged woman said impatiently. "What your sister did today has put her on the verge of suspension."
"What has she done?"
"Look around you Mr. Boudreaux. Look on the shelves and tell me what you see."
Alastor did as she said and noticed a large number of empty cages, terrariums, and tanks.
"Empty cases for pets?"
"As you know Mr. Boudreaux I teach biology so I keep specimens native to Louisiana in order for the students to study them. But today your sister released them all."
"Did she?" He still smiled but he was nervous.
"Yes. She released the bullfrog, the tiger salamander, the swamp rabbit, the snapping turtle, the mink, and the quail."
"Well now I see what you meant when you said 'My classroom is a bayou.' "
Alastor had to listen to Mrs. Hardy rant to him for an hour and then he had to sweet talk the principal into not suspending her. But she was by no means off the hook.
"Beth answer me this." He said to her during the car ride home. "Why did you release those animals?"
"They were locked up. I wanted to give them freedom." She said. "They looked so sick and unhappy. I was only trying to help them."
"Oh how considerate of you. Too bad you couldn't consider me or yourself in that moment. You know she called me on the radio?"
"She did? What a psycho."
"That's not the point. The point is your actions resulted in me suffering humiliation at work today. I could have gotten fired."
"They're not going to fire you Alastor. You're the best guy they've got. Way better than them actually."
"I had to cut my announcements short."
"Is that really a bad thing? You spend twenty-four hours there everyday."
"I do not. If that was the case you'd never get fed."
"Okay maybe not twenty-four hours but you are there for a very long time."
"My job requires me to work long hours."
"It didn't at first."
"Jobs change Beth."
"So do people."
"This isn't about me. This is about you constantly causing trouble."
"I don't mean to make trouble."
"Well you do it every time you act without thinking and that's a problem you've had for years."
"I act how I feel, I can't help it."
"Yeah I'm sure." He rolled his eyes. "Just be grateful that you're a girl. If you were a boy I'd probably lop you on the head for everything you put me through."
"I'm pretty sure that's child abuse."
"The definition of abuse varies nowadays."
"And I haven't put you through that much."
"Oh no? What about the time you wandered off into the bayou?"
"I was chasing fireflies. I wasn't paying attention to how far I was going."
"Or the time you screamed murderer when you saw me carving up a pig and the neighbors called the police on me."
"I was six. I didn't know any better. You can't blame me for that."
"Or the time you smuggled a baby alligator into the apartment and it's mother followed you?"
"I didn't know it's mother was close by. I thought it was orphaned."
Alastor tried not to chuckle.
"You know you really need friends."
"Oh look who's talking." Beth replied. "As if you have an active social life."
"That's different. I choose not to have a social life and that's because I don't need one. You on the other hand definitely need one. Or at least you need something to distract you from your hobbies."
"What's wrong with my hobbies?"
"They involve two things I don't like. Animals and water."
"Okay maybe I go a little overboard when I try to be friendly with fauna, but just because you're afraid of the water doesn't mean I have to be."
"It wouldn't bother me so much if you wouldn't go swimming alone in that creek all the time. Someone should be with you."
"Like you? You're never home."
"Maybe I should go back to having a baby sitter stay with you."
"Oh God no! Alastor I'm eleven years old! Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is for someone my age to still need a babysitter?"
"We'll talk about this later. When we get home, I'll get started on dinner and you get started on your homework."
That was the usual schedule for the Boudreaux siblings. Alastor would go to work, Beth would go to school, Beth would then come home, do her homework, go swimming in the creek or check the bayou for interesting animals, then Alastor would come home, they'd have dinner, private time, then off to bed. Alastor didn't mind this routine but Beth had gotten a little sick of it. She wanted something different. She wanted to go to new places and meet new people. And she wanted her brother to stop spending so much time at the radio station.
"Hey Al." She said at dinner. "I've been thinking, you know Summer is just a few weeks away."
"I'm well aware of that." He said.
"And I usually spend every Summer cooped up in the house while you spend it cooped up in that station. So why don't we do something different this year? Why don't go somewhere?"
"You mean a vacation?"
"Yeah because we have literally never taken one."
"I don't know. I'm not one for travel."
"Oh come on!" She whined. "Other kids get to go on vacation in the Summer and they get to do all kinds of fun stuff."
"I wouldn't know where to take us."
"How about the beach? You know I've always wanted to go to the beach."
"And you know how I feel about the beach."
"Please Alastor! I know I have made things rough for you but I get good grades, I do my chores, I don't do anything really bad, and I never ask you for anything. Can't you just let me go to the beach one time?"
Alastor took a sip of his drink, contemplating her request.
"I'll think about it." He said.
"So in other words, no." She sighed. "Why do I even try?"
She stood up from the table and went to her room.