Yeah, I know it sucks. I haven't updated in forever.

Well, here it is.

Chapter 11- The dining hall

I don't know how long I was kept in that small, blank room. It could have been a couple of hours, it could have been days; it was too impossible to keep track of time. I figured this must be the receiving ward. When I was interviewed for admission, they said I would spend up to a few days in here. What they failed to mention is that there was a separate one for children.

For all the time I was kept in there I never stopped thinking about Ben. I hoped he wasn't being kept prisoner like I was.

That's truly how it felt, like I was being kept in prison for a crime that I didn't commit.

This must be how Mr. Barker has felt everyday of his life for the past two years. What a horrible punishment for someone who hasn't done anything…

I still miss him dreadfully…

When the only door in the room finally unlocked, the short fat man walked in. He was just about to say something but I jumped up from where I was still leaning up against the wall and interrupted him, "Where's Ben?"

He sighed and glared at me. "He's with the Medical Officer."

My mind began to race. Was he hurt or sick? Was there something wrong that I didn't know about? "Why? Why is he with the Medical Officer?" I asked, panic apparent in my voice.

The man sighed again. Then spoke as if he was dealing with a small child and not a grown women just worrying about her boy. "Don't worry ma'am. All new paupers are examined by the Medical Officer for illness. When the Medical Officer is done with your son, he will be coming here to check you,"

This calmed me a little. Not a lot, just a little.

In the course of the next few hours I was searched and checked by the Medical Officer. After being cleared by him and being placed in the "Able-bodied women, and girls above 16." category (as if that wasn't apparent), the short fat man brought me to another room. Inside the room was nothing more then a few nails jutting out of the wall and a tub filled with slightly steaming water.

"Please wash yourself," He said very bluntly. "When you or finished or when the water gets too cold change into this," He handed me a bundled up pile of what I presumed to be a dress that I hadn't noticed him carrying before.

Ugh, I didn't know we had to wear a uniform too.

"When you are through, leave your cloths that you wear now in this room on that hook," He pointed to the nails. "These will be returned to you upon your discharge out of the workhouse. And then come back out to the larger room where someone will lead you to your ward. Under rules I'm suppose to supervise you, but frankly, I don't care to," He told me as he pushed me in the room and closed the door.

"That's alwright," I whispered, "I wouldn't undress in front of you anyway,"

As I settled into the lukewarm water of the tub, I found myself relaxed for the first time in what seemed like forever.

I took a deep breath and sunk deeper into the water. Closing my eyes and taking in the smell of the water relaxed me further. For a moment, I was almost able to forget about the horrible place I seemed to find myself in and stop worrying about Ben… and I found myself almost falling asleep, sinking below the water.

But I caught myself and sat up all the way. I couldn't let myself fall asleep, not here, not now. Even though I hadn't gotten any sleep since we arrived and I was just now discovering how tiered I actually was.

When I was finished I dressed into the horrid pile of clothing that the fat man had given me. I hadn't even realized how ugly it was until I had put it on. The whole thing was completely shapeless with a pattern of faded and washed out blue vertical stripes on a dirty off-white colored background. On top of it all there was a bonnet - that I didn't plan on putting on.

When I was all dressed I walked out into the room like I was instructed to do, but there was no one to be seen anywhere. I looked around and sighed.

They really must care for us here.

Across the room was a window. I walked myself over to it and proceed to try and put my hair up in it's usual fashion; out of the way on top of my head. I was just about to get it just right when the fat man appeared behind me and grabbed me by the shoulder. He pulled me away from the window.

"We don't have time for this," He mumbled. I was unhappy as we backed away from the window to see my long curly hair fall on my shoulders. "Put the bonnet on," He instructed me, pulling me to a door across the room. I frowned but obeyed, not happy with it in the least bit.

He brought me down a hallway, talking to me all the way. "This is the women's ward," He informed me. "Right now it is after 5:30 pm and everyone is working until the supper bell rings." He opened the door to a rather small room, only about 20 feet wide and long with what seemed like 50 beds stuffed into it. The walls were identical to the rest of the building's walls I'd seen so far; grey and plain.

On the floor of the room were about 20 women, all scrubbing away viciously at what seemed to be a perfectly clean floor. "This is where you will be working tonight," The fat man informed me. I frowned even deeper. All of the women, varying in age, were wearing the same apparel that I was and when the man spoke, they didn't even dare look up from their scrubbing.

Cleaning. Not something that I particularly enjoy doing.

"Well, get to work Mrs. Lovett," He urged me, pushing me a little bit. I stayed back, still a little shocked by the silence in the room. All of the women seemed to be brainwashed. Not me, that's not what I want to turn into.

"Mrs. Lovett," Just as it appeared that the man was getting to be severely angry, there was a loud bell sound and all the women in the room stopped their scrubbing, set their brushes in pales of water, and filed out of the room with their pales in complete silence. I just stood there, completely speechless.

"Well, it seems the fates are favoring you. That was the supper bell, follow the rest of the women into the dining hall," The voice coming from the man urged me.

I took a deep breath and proceeded to follow the mute crowd of women. When we got to the dining hall, I was confronted with about 50 long, narrow tables, all lined up with small stools placed behind them. All of the women sat down. I followed and sat in the chair next to the last women in line. Still no one spoke. The silence bothered me to no end.

The master of the workhouse, the tall skinny man I had seen before, stood up at the front of the group. After a prayer, the master instructed us to go serve ourselves food. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until then. Then I remember that it had actually been a long time since I ate a proper meal, even at home. It wasn't until after I was served that I realized that I wasn't about to get any proper meal here either. All my serving was was a small piece of bread and cheese. Plain, predictable, and not very filling.

All the time I was eating I kept one eye open for Benjamin. I mean, they said I could see him during meals, correct?

After I had eaten all of my food (and realized that seconds were prohibited) I saw him. A young girl, no older then 14, all the way across the room was carrying Ben in her arms. It had seemed like it had been so long since I'd seen him last. I stood up and tried my best to remain silent as I made my way over to him.

But I was stopped as the tall skinny man stepped in my path. "And where do you think you're going?" He asked loudly, his booming voice echoing in the silent room.

"To see my son," I mumbled, trying to seem as weak and helpless as possible thinking perhaps he'd feel bad for me.

"There is no moving around or speaking while we are in the dining hall," He said. I heard a few chuckles from the crowd. They were laughing at me.

"But, my son. I haven' seen him in so long," I added, becoming angry.

"I'm sorry ma'am," He said, pushing me back toward my seat.

"No!" I pushed back without really thinking about it. "I want to see him! Benjamin!" I called out, my own voice echoing. Everyone was staring. Ben heard me calling and looked in my direction. His face, which seemed to still be wet with tears, lit up. He smiled at the sight of me.

"You said I could see him at meal times." I added

"I said you could see him, yes. You see him, now please return to your seat with the rest of the women. I'm sorry," He responded, his voice rising with anger. The tall man pushed me harder, almost sending me sprawling on the ground.

"Oh, yes. You're truly sorry, is this why you won't let me even talk to him? Because you're so sorry about it?" I knew what I was saying didn't really make much sense, but I felt that perhaps saying something back would make me seem strong.

All of the sudden, I felt another quick smack across my cheek, this time the force enough to knock me off my feet. I sprawled out on the floor and my vision blurred for a minute. I tried to stand back up but couldn't seem to. What had he hit me with? The pain spread through my whole face, burning like a fire and bringing a tear to my eye; not that I'd let him see it.

"Now, ma'am. I suggest that you get back in your seat, or spend the next three weeks in solitary confinement," The tall man threatened through clenched teeth, towering over me. I heard Ben crying in the background. The man spun around and spoke to the girl who I supposed was the one carrying Ben. "Stephanie! Quiet the child!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. He turned back to me.

"Now get up," He commanded, kicking me quite hard in the ribs.

I stumbled up, my face and side stinging. I glanced back one last time at Ben. The girl rocking him looked me in the eyes with a very concerned look. When she saw that I was looking back at her she quickly changed her expression to one that said, "Don't worry ma'am, I'll take good care of him," I felt a little better knowing that some older child had taken him in. I was still watching when the girl took Ben, and another boy around the age of Ben with the same brown curly hair, out of the dining hall, Ben still crying for him Mum.

Reviews are encouraged and encouraging =)

Thanks for reading!