o - o - o - o - o
Alfred knew a lot about the places Madeline visited. He answered all her questions, to the point where he became her "unofficial" tour guide. During her video chats with Alfred, he'd teach her interesting facts about local history, native flora and fauna, or fun things she could do in those areas.
After a busy day of travel and sightseeing, she'd unwind by playing games with Alfred. They visited each other's islands in Animal Crossing, went on adventures together in Minecraft, and battled it out in Mario Kart (Alfred was a bit of a sore loser, but she thought it was cute).
Weeks passed by like this, until it was almost time for Madeline to return to D.C. Before that, Alfred informed her of a reenactment going on of a battle from the American Revolutionary War. This experience would be her first, as Madeline had never been a spectator to a historical reenactment.
The reenactment took place in Virginia, which was a few hours drive from D.C. She figured she'd be able to watch the reenactment and make it back by nightfall to Alfred's. Madeline had procured a Halloween costume beforehand, so she'd get to spend the day with Alfred. The two of them had agreed on a "fairy tale" theme because Alfred wanted to participate in a costume contest together.
Madeline was easily able to locate the reenactment site. There was a crowd of onlookers roped off from the reenactors. The "soldiers" in blue and red respectively were bustling about in and out of tents, or riding on horses. She noticed reenactors who were cooks, nurses, and drummers also. The scale and dedication of the reenactment was impressive.
Excitement and anticipation were prevalent in the air as the reenactors began to set up for battle. Madeline found herself swept up in the crowd's enthusiasm, leaving her unprepared for the first gunshot.
It was loud. Realistically, she knew that those weren't real firearms. No one would be harmed in the battle; but as Madeline found herself counting more "dead" bodies on the ground, she flinched. Her palms were sweaty, her heart rate increased, and her breathing sped up.
Why didn't anyone else in the crowd seem bothered? To them, this was nothing more than entertainment. Why wasn't she the same? Madeline focused on getting her breathing under control. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath in, and a deep breath out. Slowly but surely, the beat of her heart returned to its normal rhythm.
She had no idea how much time passed before she opened her eyes. The reenactment was over. Madeline was relieved that no one had taken note of her strange behavior. She returned to her RV in low spirits.
Inkblot, Sneak, Susan, Oggy, and Woodstock took note of her despondency. When she told them what had happened, they freaked out. Super strength, changing eye colors, weird dreams, and now a panic attack? Madeline knew one thing for sure; she'd be avoiding historical reenactments in the near future.
The drive to Alfred's was quiet. Madeline didn't feel the need to talk when the atmosphere was this heavy. Kumarie laid in her lap the entire time as reassurance. When she arrived at Alfred's house, she took a moment ro regain her composure. Deep breaths in, deep breaths out. You can do this. Think of happy thoughts. Don't let Alfred know about what happened.
Madeline texted Alfred of her arrival and waited for him to open the door in his usual boisterous manner. She was not disappointed.
"Yo, Maddie! You're here! How was the reenactment?!"
She hoped her smile was convincing as she told Alfred, "Oh, it was amazing! The reenactors were so authentic! Thank you so much for recommending this to me Alfred!"
"Haha, no problem! The best way to learn about stuff is seeing for yourself!"
Alfred gave Madeline a thumbs up.
"Let's go setup the guest room! You must be totally drained after all that driving!"
Madeline followed Alfred to the room that she's been sleeping in while staying at his house. She had once again brought along Kumarie to sleep with; she'd need her after today's events.
Alfred left Madeline with a quick good night and she was left alone. She brushed her teeth and changed into her sleepwear: an old number 70 red and white hockey jersey, and plaid white-pink flannel pants. Madeline got in bed, wrapped the blanket tightly around her and Kumarie, and closed her eyes hoping for the best.
o - o - o - o - o
She was pacing. Matthew was pacing. She was outside of an office and shouting could be heard from inside. There were two voices and neither seemed wanting to concede to the other. Finally, the door opens, only to be slammed closed soon after.
Alfred had stepped out of the office. He seems older than he appeared before, in her dreams. He was no longer a child, but almost a teen. Madeline and Alfred were not the same height anymore; rather, he seemed to be about a head taller than her.
As Alfred stormed down the hallway, Madeline wordlessly followed after. She listened as he fumed and ranted about whatever argument had gone on inside the office.
"Ugh, I can't believe Arthur! Doesn't he realize I want to be independent?! I'm not that little kid he's raised for so many years! Why won't he just let me be?!"
Arthur? Who is Arthur? And why does it feel like she somehow already knows? Madeline's train of thought was interrupted when Alfred spun around and leaned down to clasp her hands in his.
"Mattie! You agree with me, don't you? Arthur's a jerk, isn't he?!"
She was flustered as she attempted to provide an answer.
"Al, don't you think you're overreacting...? Arthur is a good guardian...He's been taking care of the both of us for so many years...Why do you want to leave so quickly...?"
"Why? Why?! Because there's a whole world for me to explore, Mattie! Adventures to go on, new people to meet! And I can't do that stuck under Arthur's roof!"
Alfred had let go of her hands sometime during his impromptu speech. He turned around and walked away. Madeline wanted to stop him from leaving, but could only watch as his image got further and further.
Her surroundings shift to a battlefield.
Smoke clouds fill the air and obscure her vision; she breathes in the smell of gunpowder and iron.
There's a musket in Madeline's hands and she's shooting. The soldiers in blue are downed by her shots. To her right and left, her fellow soldiers in red suffer a similar fate. The lucky ones are shot in places like the knee or the shoulder; the others don't survive to tell the tale.
She's panting, fighting off exhaustion. Madeline keeps moving, keeps firing, because no one that died on this battlefield will die in vain.
There's cannons going off, explosions that rock the ground beneath her feet, as she struggles to regain balance and-
o - o - o - o - o
"Hey! Wake up! Maddie! Wake up!"
Madeline wakes up and seats bolt upright in bed, terrified by her dream. She's sweating and her eyes dart around frantically to find who or what woke her up. Alfred is sitting on the edge of her bed, hands in the air in a placating manner.
"...Alfred...?"
Alfred's hands are still in front of him as he reassures her, "Maddie! It's okay...you're okay now, alright? You're safe. You're not in a dream anymore...You're in your bedroom. Nothing's gonna hurt you. I'm here for you."
"But...but I was there...and it's my fault they're dead...and-"
"Woah, woah, woah!"
Alfred wags a finger in Madeline's face.
"No more of that! This boat runs on happy faces! Can you give me a happy face?"
She is momentarily stunned before she ducks her head. When she raises it, a weak smile is on her face.
"Hm...Nice try, but you'll have to try harder than that!"
Alfred snaps his fingers and points at Madeline.
"I have just the thing to cheer you up! Wait here!"
He rushes off and Madeline anxiously waits for him to come back. When Alfred returns, he's holding Bucky in his arms.
"Look! It's Bucky!"
"Oh, I can see that Alfred, but why did you bring him here?"
"Don't you know? Cats help with a lot of stuff, like loneliness, anxiety, and depression! In other words, he'll keep you company while you're sleeping!"
Alfred plops Bucky on the bed. Then he tells Madeline funny stories about Bucky, his first week with Alfred, etc. Sometime during all of this, Madeline dozed off with a small smile on her face. She was not awake to see Alfred tuck her hair behind her ear, and leave her room with a satisfied grin.
Fanfiction is a bit wonky, so if you got an email or notification that the story was updated, you probably weren't able to read the chapter. Usually chapters should be viewable 30 minutes after they're uploaded, but for some reason it took days for Fanfiction to update my story...