Eleanor politely sat in a hospital room, arms crossed, helmet on her lap, gloves on the floor, head low. Standing in front of her were a doctor, nurse, policeman, and a priest, all staring at her blankly. Eleanor did not know why a priest was here, but the Irish were very, very Catholic, yet the priest was Anglican.
"Quite the story, hunh?" Eleanor remarked, raising her chin.
Eleanor's ascent from Rapture, undoubtedly, was quite the tale even though she paraphrased everything. The four people just blankly stared at the rather tall girl with a rather crazy story.
Maybe I should tell them about Mr. Spirry... That's an even crazier story.
"Well... I heard Sligo was involved in shippin' ta Iceland every now n' then past some years or so," the policeman mumbled, writing down some notes. He was the same policeman Mother stumbled upon.
Since Sligo was a port city, it was possible that Fontaine's smuggling occasionally exported from Sligo, and also possible that children were kidnapped from western Ireland and taken to Rapture during Sofia's leadership. The policeman would have quite a lot of notes to take back to HQ, and a lot of work to do.
"An' you sure ya alright, Ms. Eleanor?" the doctor asked.
"Yes, I'm fine, thank you." Eleanor smiled.
"Ya really sure you're okay, Eleanor?" the nurse implored.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine! Really, I am!" Eleanor repeated in good humour. She liked the Irish accent, and the way they slightly rolled the R was a bit funny.
"An' ya say awll dis be goin' on since ya was a kid?" the policeman demanded. Eleanor nodded, though he did not look convinced. "None a dis matches wiht what yer mom Mrs. Lamb be sayin', miss."
"Mother's always been like that. She's playing you, officer," Eleanor warned.
"Kinda hard ta believe a British girl who acts so English."
Eleanor looked at him weird. "I'm not British..." Or, at least I don't identify as such... Eleanor shuddered at the thought of being anything like Mother.
He looked at his notes, then back to Eleanor.
"Y'know, yer mom be an American Ph.D psychiatrist. I be pretty damn sure I can trust her more than ye." Eleanor looked at him weird again. He seems to respect Americans, something Mother would have taken advantage of.
"She's British..."
He clearly did not like the British, something that Eleanor's accent obviously reminded him of. Eleanor could only imagine what Mother had said behind her back.
"Did you...even see Father's body, and the suit he's wearing?" Eleanor asked with a little heat, and felt betrayed. "Talk to the little ones, they will tell you everything." The officer did not seem to care. "Don't you think it's a bit odd that all the children look exactly the same? Officer, everything I said is true. There is no evidence to the contrary."
"Don't change the subject, miss. Ye be a criminal wiht a warrant fer attempted murder."
Eleanor paused, eyes big. After all this time, did Mother take this chance just to screw her over?
Ms. Lamb's shoulders raised but her gaze lowered. She stroked some hair off her forehead, feeling rather guilty for trying to drown Mother. If only I had actually drowned you, Mother...
"I..." Eleanor hesitated.
"What!?"
"I just want to see the little ones," Eleanor requested firmly, making eye contact with the officer. He ignored her and wrote down more notes.
"The girls were taken ta tha children's section o' the hospital. We be keepin' em till they be feelin' awlright at the very least," the nurse butted while leaning to Eleanor, who nodded.
"Come wiht me, Ms. Lamb," the officer ordered, Eleanor feeling her blood pressure rise despite frisson. Was she going to jail? Did she escape Rapture just to end up in prison?
The priest noticed Eleanor's expression, and then stepped in front of the policeman. "Ah c'mon, Constable McDonagh! Give deh girl a break! She's been troo so much!" The priest took another step to the policeman. "Ya can't just arrest de girl from a single eye witness account, anyway. Testimony o' just one person isn't gonna look good on ya. Fer de love of yer soul, take de time to question the little girls! Do yer investigation properly fer once. Don't risk almost gettin' discharged again, eh?"
The officer hesitated.
"Anglicans..." the policeman grumbled. He looked at Eleanor, "If wih need anytihn' more, we be comin' back for ya fer more questions." He took his leave, not closing the door behind himself.
"He be goin', but he be comin' back quick," the nurse mumbled as the officer's footfall quietened.
Eleanor sighed with relief. She looked at the priest. "Thanks."
"McDonagh always was a wee bit too quick ta act, don't take it personally. Most o' us ain't like him. Wih tend ta not like de English, but wih don't hate'cha," the doctor remarked.
Eleanor nodded.
"I don't know what happened wiht you, but from what I 'eard o' the little girls, can't be anytihn' good," the priest said, truly looking concerned. "I believe ya, Eleanor, every word'ja say, I really do. Can't trust an American woman, y'know, I can see troo her games," he continued, Eleanor giving him a funny look. He must have meant American sarcastically.
"Appreciate it," Ms. Lamb said. Of course, Eleanor could have easily overpowered the policeman, probably not even needing her Plasmids, but she wanted to leave her past in the past. Using Plasmids in plain sight would only create terror, and the police would eventually use lethal force against her, and escalate everything. Of course, the easiest solution…would be to simply teleport out the place. Still, she couldn't do it in plain sight.
"Eleanor, methinks it ain't safe fer ya. When McDonagh be comin' back, he sure gonna arrest ya. He ain't a nice guy. Ye should come wiht me, I can offer ya solace in Calry Parish Church," the priest offered.
"What? But...I want to stay with the little ones."
"They be foine wiht us, Eleanor, ye don't have ta worry 'bout anytihn'. Once they're healthy, they'll be going to tha orphanage," the nurse promised.
"De orphanage ain't a good place, real bad stories I've been hearin'," the priest warned.
"Where else we gonna put tha girls, then? There's always some bad stories 'bout churches n' orphanages, but it can't be too bad," the nurse replied.
Eleanor was concerned. "If the little ones go through any more abuse... God help me, the perpetrators will pay," she warned.
"Eleanor, ya better get out o' here wiht Father Ó Gallachóir before McDonagh be come-in' back. I'll just tell 'im I never saw ye," the doctor said.
"I can't even say goodbye to my little sisters?"
"Ye can, we be figurin' sometihn' out," the priest assured.
Eleanor was surprised by how caring these Irish were, even though they would be breaking the law for her sake. Even though they probably did not believe her story, they trusted her, and wanted to help.
Eleanor did not know what to say. "Thank you, but...well... I can't go dressed like this." Eleanor snickered at the thought of wandering Ireland in a Big Sister suit. More than enough attention I got going down the pier.
Eleanor soon found herself in a hospital washroom, hands on the sink, head down.
"I never would have imagined myself..." Eleanor mumbled, looking at herself in the mirror, now wearing a cowl and scapular over a tunic, "dressed as a Catholic nun..."
It sure was a good disguise. She looked down, her Big Sister suit neatly folded up on the floor, her helmet, gloves, boots, and Big Daddy doll nearby. She looked back at the mirror, and chuckled. "If only Mother could see me now."
"Sister Esther, are ya done in there?" an old woman's voice asked outside the washroom, her accent neither too Irish nor too thick.
"Yes, Mother Eilis, on my way," Eleanor replied, taking one last look at her Big Sister outfit.
She had no use for it anymore, and could not bring it with her, so had to leave it behind with the rest of her unhappy past.
Eleanor gazed at the Big Daddy doll, sitting on the floor and staring back at her with his buttons-for-eyes. "Oh, don't worry, I won't forget about you... You'll always be with me." She grabbed Little Father and put him in her robe.
The nun stepped out the washroom. She felt a little odd dressed like this, but at the same time, felt holy and pure…innocent... I feel like the lamb of God. Ha!
Mother Eilis (who had provided the clothes) was a petite old lady with blue eyes, hair grey from age. Mother Eilis and some of the Sisters would come down from St John's Parish to the hospital to care for the sick, and now were part of the conspiracy to help Eleanor.
And it worked perfectly.
The Sisters waddled their way past Corporal McDonagh as he spoke to the doctor. He did not notice Eleanor, and she did not even have to act anything out.
"Well, that was easy..."
A while later, Eleanor and the nuns entered a larger room, where the Little Sisters were kept. The children played with various toys, and many of them stopped and looked at Eleanor, most smiling at her.
"Look! Eleanor's a penguin!" a Little Sister exclaimed, several of them giggling at that, including Eleanor and Mother Eilis.
"Aren't they just adorable?" a nun commented.
"They are," Eleanor and Mother Eilis said at the same time.
"It's so nice ta look after children. Rest assured we will do everytihn' we can to keep em happy," another nun said, Eleanor nodding, but felt sad that she had to go.
Eleanor approached the little ones, trying not to make puppy dog eyes but they came anyways. The Little Sisters noticed something amiss. "Eleanor's leaving, for a while."
"What?"
"Why?"
"Big Sister is going? Already?"
"You'd never leave, right?"
"But we just got here..."
"What about all these toys? The toys, Eleanor! The toys!" one Little Sister exclaimed, lifting a half-finished Rubik's cube in one hand and a retarded-looking teddy bear in the other.
Eleanor felt guilty. She really did not want to leave the little ones behind. However, she had no choice.
"They're for you. Promise me, you'll be happy while I'm gone?" Eleanor requested sweetly, eyes getting shiny as she patted a Little Sister on the head.
"I promise!"
"Me to!"
"I'll be extra happy, Eleanor, just for you!"
"What?"
"But you'll be back, right?"
"Yes, I'll be back."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Oh! Oh, oh!" a Little Sister chirped, the one who handed Eleanor the Big Daddy doll back on the lifeboat. This Little Sister raised her hand, all fingers closed except the pinkie sticking out. "Pinkie promise?" she whispered.
Eleanor smiled. "Yes, Cindy... I pinkie promise." Eleanor hooked her pinkie around the girl's. The little one made eye contact and smiled, Eleanor smiling back.
The Little Sister's smile faded as Eleanor's hand slipped away, looking like she was about to cry, and left with Father Ó Gallachóir.
After leaving the hospital, Eleanor followed Father Ó Gallachóir down the street. A few people greeted her as Sister, and the priest as Father. They reached a black 1939 Ford Anglia, a simple 2-door saloon. At first, Eleanor did not know how to react, seeing as this was the first time she saw a car. The priest opened the door for her.
"Please, sit down," the priest said nicely.
Eleanor would have preferred a larger car, though. She figured she was a bit too tall for this one. After hesitating, Eleanor took her seat, nearly falling out.
The priest looked at her funny. Eleanor innocently shrugged.
While driving down the left lane, the priest often raised a finger or two off the steering wheel whenever he passed another car, and those in the other cars often did likewise, their way of saying hello.
"Calry Parish not dat far from 'ere, won't be too long," Father Ó Gallachóir said to break the silence as he turned his car. "Unless I took a wrong turn…again."
"Thanks again, Mr. Ó Gallachóir. I really appreciate it."
"Ah, don't mention it. I be a wee bit surproized ye ain't nervous ta be a fugitive."
Eleanor chuckled. "Let's just say... I'm used to being on the run."
Eleanor looked like she wanted to say something else but didn't. The priest noticed.
"Sometihn' wrong, Eleanor?"
"Hm? Oh, no, nothing... Was just thinking about a...bad dream."
"Everytihn' you went troo down under is no more, Eleanor, ye be startin' a new life pretty soon."
As the drive continued, Eleanor watched the scenery of people, buildings, trees, and grass. All of this was definitely better than that rusty bucket down below. She noticed a ruined abbey over yonder.
"That be Sligo Abbey, it was destroyed by fire during de Middle Ages. Prime Minister Henry John Temple had it restored in de 1850s, but still, nobody goes dere. Don't look like it's gonna be back in action," Father Ó Gallachóir explained. He seemed quite happy to be with Eleanor.
Eleanor stared at the ruins as the car drove past it. Right after she looked away, she saw something with the corner of her eye, catching only a partial glimpse. Something big and red stood beside a corner of the abbey, looking back at Eleanor. She turned her head, leaning into the window to get a better look. Whatever the big red thing was, had just stepped behind the corner of the abbey.
"Oh!" Eleanor exclaimed, unsure if she should tell the priest to stop, but it seemed neither he nor anyone else going down the sidewalk had seen the big red thing. Must be nothing…
"Oi?"
"Nothing. Thought I saw something."
"Ah. Yeah, an' de cathedral out in Elphin ended up like Sligo Abbey, was nearly destroyed by a horrible storm in 1957 an' abandoned. Not even Vincent Hanly could do anytihn' about it. Dem Catholics be pretty unlucky past while, or maybe God's tryin' ta tell em sometihn'. Ye wouldn't believe some o' de stories I've been hearin' 'bout the orphanage here. Not a place yer sisters should be goin' to."
Eleanor had little idea of what the priest was talking about, but when he mentioned 1957, just one year before the riots...
Memories of Rapture flowed through her mind. She recalled how Mother raised her in isolation, as well as the many times she sneaked out of Mother's place. How the surface world had ruined things…stuck out to her.
However, one major difference was the lack of electronics, rather lacking up here. She reflected about when she played with electronics as a child, giving Amir a bleeding nose, Mother being arrested, Eleanor taken to Pauper's Drop to live with Grace, nearly bringing Stanley to justice, ending up in the orphanage, Dr. Alexander, Father, and then, Mother... Eleanor stopped thinking about her past. She wished she could see Amir again, and Father. She felt very lonely.
That evening, Eleanor arrived at Calry Parish Church. It was an Anglican stone church with a stone fence and graveyard with some trees and buildings nearby, built near the road and river going toward the ocean. She had never seen a stone church before, and found the structure to be quite beautiful, especially with the sun low in the sky.
"An' here we are. No way McDonagh will ever find ye here. If ya ever have a problem with de police, dere's solace fer all in de House of God." Father Ó Gallachóir parked his car. Eleanor watched him step out, but when she tried to do the same, she could not figure out how to open the damn door.
The priest leaned, raising an eyebrow.
Eleanor uncomfortably chuckled. After a brief struggle, she managed to open it, and got out, looking up at the parish. "It's beautiful." She breathed in the ocean air and enjoyed the sunlit scenery.
"It is, I bet you'd never seen anytihn' like that down under! It's perfect, just like every other church in Ireland, fixed 'r not! C'mon, ya gotta see how it looks…"
They entered the church, footfall echoing.
"Y'know, Eleanor," Father Ó Gallachóir spoke, voice slightly echong, "one day, de vaults down under will be renovated into a childcare. Dat's de real meanin' of our faith in action: de importance of little ones. After all, just like Jesus says, we must change ourselves an' be like children, less we never enter the kingdom o' heaven. De Kingdom of God belongs to de little ones."
"And my little ones deserve so much better after what they've been through," Eleanor commented quietly, looking at the large cross behind the altar.
Eleanor was never religious. Not even The Rapture Family could make her. Yet, the crucifix on the wall…was there any meaning to Christianty or religion?
Eleanor cocked her head. Do I believe in God?
Andrew Ryan sure did not want God ruling his city, though was not opposed to faith kept private. However, up on the surface, religion was clearly a public activity without guns, something Eleanor found strange.
"Ya can wait here or outside, or come wiht me ta sit in me residence. Whatever ye choose, I'll be goin' ta visit some friends, see what people I can find ta help ya start yer life anew. Ye can sleep in my place for de night. Chances are, tomorrow we can get everytihn' started," Father Ó Gallachóir said, Eleanor lost in sightseeing and thoughts. "Eleanor?"
"Hm? Oh, I'd rather wait outside, and look at the sun. Thanks for showing me this place," she replied. The priest nodded then started to walk away. Eleanor hesitated. "Oh, Mr. Ó Gallachóir?"
The priest stopped and turned around.
"Why did you believe me? Why are you helping me?" Eleanor asked with a serious, unblinking expression.
The priest paused. "'Cause me brother went to Rapture." The two silently stared at each other for a few seconds.
The priest smiled and took his leave.
"Huh." Eleanor looked back at the crucifix, wondering its meaning…
Outside, at the other side of the church, down a slight hill, was a small grey building on the lawn overlooking the river, the residence of the priest.
Eleanor stood outside, alone with her thoughts, strolling up and down the riverside. Downriver, she saw a mother with three daughters enjoying the river. Eleanor sighed. She walked away, wiping her eyes.