Chapter 2
Disney owns Kim Possible and all related characters. Any original characters seen here are figments of my imagination.
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Ron woke up with a jolt when he heard his mother's violent coughing. He tripped several times and nearly fell down the loft's ladder as he raced to her room. He rushed to her side and rubbed her back hoping it would help her. When she finally stopped coughing, he gave her a cup of water and felt her forehead. She still had a temperature, but it did not seem to be getting any worse.
"How you feelin' Mom?" He asked as he fluffed her pillows and tucked her in under the blanket.
"My chest and throat hurt from coughing so much, and my back is stiff, but I feel a little better now that I've had some water. Thanks, Ronnie." Sarah said and forced out a smile.
Ron noticed the time on his father's old pocket watch sitting on the table next to his mother's bed. It was close to five, so he decided to make breakfast for the family since he usually got up around this time. "Ok, well you rest now. I'll go make breakfast and add a few logs to the fire. Do you want anything before I go?"
"No dear, but thanks for asking."
Sarah smiled at Ron and watched him leave. As soon as he was out of the room, her face turned into one of sadness as she tough of her family. The past three years had been rough on them. After David's death, she was heartbroken and felt guilty for not being able to help her sons around the house. Then to make matters worse, the cold weather came the year after the accident and the farm was practically useless. Thankfully, they had a few prosperous years where they were able to save some money. They were still able to pay their taxes, and since they tried to live off what little food they grew, they could afford to buy the few essentials items they could not grow from the town store. Unfortunately, things were going to get worse before they got better. Their money situation was nearing a point that if they did not have any money come in soon, they would not be able to afford seeds for planting, flour, fabric, and they would not be able to pay their taxes.
Sarah's thoughts were broken when Ron came in to bring her, her breakfast. He set a tray on her lap and she looked at what they were having…boiled potatoes, peas, and milk. "Ronnie, please take the milk and put it back in the bottle, and then go and get your brothers for me."
Ron gave his mother a curious look and wondered why she did not want her milk. He decided not to question her, and went outside to the box where he kept the milk (1), and poured it back in the bottle. Then, he climbed the ladder to the loft where he and his brothers slept to wake them.
"Dude, what're you doing?" Will whined when he felt Ron shaking him. "I'm trying to sleep."
"Yeah, whatever." Ron said coldly. "Mom wants to see you and Jake."
"What's she want at this ungodly hour?" Jake grumbled. The racket his brothers were making had woken him up.
"I don't know, but you better get down there and find out." Ron answered. "Breakfast is on the table."
His brothers just gave him dirty looks, but Ron paid them no mind. He climbed down the ladder and went to his mother's room to eat with her. When he entered the room, he noticed she had not touched her food and she looked sad and scared. Normally, she would try to put on a brave face around her sons, but this morning, that was not the case. Ron did not know why, but he was afraid to ask , he sat next to her and held her hand.
Jake and Will walked in the room with their plates and sat at the end of her bed. Their curiosity was piqued when they noticed their mother's expression, but they just waited for her to speak. Sarah sat there for a few minutes and looked at her three sons. She did not say anything; just looked at them and comforted herself with their presence. Finally, she let out a troubled sigh, and let them know why she wanted to speak to them.
"You guys know, as well as I do, that things around here have been going downhill ever since your father died. We were fortunate that he thought ahead and put some of the potato profits away. For the past two years, we've been living off our savings, but it's come to a point that if we don't have some income, we are going to run out of money."
Sarah stared to tear up and her voice started to crack when she got to that last part. Her sons knew that whatever was coming next was going to be particularly painful for her, so they all moved a little closer to comfort her. After a minute or so, Sarah found her voice and continued. "As I said before, we're going to run out of money soon and I think its time for two of you to find work. I'd love nothing more than to have you three close to me all the time, but we have no other choice. Jake, Will, you two are the oldest and I think it's best for you two to go. Ron will stay here and tend to the house and crops." Sarah watched her son's expressions while she spoke and the older two seemed surprised by her decision.
Jake was the first to respond. "Mom, are you sure this is what you want? What if we can't find work in Middleton? Lowerton is a six hour walk from here and Go City is two days from there!"
"Yeah, where are we going to stay? It's not like we can afford to stay at an inn every night!" Will added.
"Boys, you aren't making this easy on me. I know this is going to be a big change for you, but we have no other choice. I'll give you a little money to take with you, so you can find a place to stay for a few nights. Most employers will provide their workers with a place to stay, especially if you find work on a farm. Now, I'm not asking you if you want to go, I'm telling you. We've literally run out of options!" Sarah answered. She had tears running down her cheeks and her voice was shaking again.
"Mom, it'll be ok. I'm sure they'll find work soon." Ron tried to comfort his mother while ignoring the looks his brothers were giving him. He was disappointed in his brother's behavior, but not surprised by it. He knew they loved their mother and in the end, they would look for a job. They were acting like this because they had gotten so use to letting him do all the work around the farm. Now, they would actually have to work.
"Ronnie, pack the milk and cheese Kim brought over the other day for your brothers. I want them to take some food with them. It may not be much, but it'll be better than sending them out with nothing." Sarah said after she calmed down enough to talk. Then she turned to Jake and Will. "Boys, I love you very much and I don't want you to leave, but I need you to do this for the family. You'd better get ready, the sun will be up soon, and you don't want to waste any daylight."
Jake and Will did not to argue with their mother. They could see that this was hard for her and she did not need them fighting with her over the matter. Her mind was made up. The stood up and both gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek and went to pack their things. Before they left the house, they said their goodbyes to Sarah and told her of their plans to go to Lowerton and Go City for work.
"Please send word soon and let me know how you're doing and if you've found a job. It will help ease my nerves if I know you're okay." Sarah asked her sons as she gave them one last hug.
"We will Mom. Love you." Jake said.
"Love you too." Will added.
With their goodbyes said, the two men left their mother's room. Ron met them at the door with the food his mother wanted him to pack. He was not sure what to say to them because he knew they were not happy about having to leave. "Well, you guys take care of yourselves and good luck." The blond teen said. He hoped for his mother's sake they found jobs close by, and soon.
"Yeah, see ya." Both said flatly and with little emotion as they took the sack from Ron and walked out the door.
Ron watched his older brothers walk down the path until he could not see them anymore. "Finally those two are actually going to do something to help out." He thought as he turned to go back in the house. He added a few more logs to the fire and went to check on his mother. He was going to keep an extra close eye on her for the next few weeks because he knew she was going to miss them.
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Jake and Will wondered around the streets of Lowerton wondering where they should start. The town was about the same size as Middleton, and they hoped they had better luck here than they did at home. Everywhere they went, they were told the same thing, "Sorry, I really wish I could help, but I can't afford to hire you." Unfortunately, the whole town was suffering from the change in the weather and they just could not afford to hire them, even if they needed the help.
"How about the general store?" Will asked.
"Yeah, I guess that's as good a place as any." Jake answered with a sigh.
The brothers went in the store and walked to the counter. They did not see anyone, but they heard noises coming from the next room. They waited for the owner of the store to come back to the counter. After a few minutes, a young boy carrying rolls of fabric approached them.
"Can I help you two find anything?" The boy asked the newcomers.
"Well, actually, we're looking for a job and we were wondering if you need any help around here." Jake asked.
"Oh, ok, I'll call for my dad. He owns the store." The boy said as he placed the fabric on a table that had other rolls of fabric. "Dad! There are a couple of guys out here looking for you!"
"Artie, how many times do I have to tell you it's not polite to yell?" The boy's father said as he came into the room. "Sorry about that, how can I help you?"
"It's ok Mr.…" Jake stopped when he realized that he did not know the man's name.
"Oh, I'm sorry, the name's Martin. Martin Smarty."
"Mr. Smarty, my name is Jake Stoppable, and this is my brother Will. We're new in town and looking for a job. We were wondering if you need any help around the store."
"Oh, sorry boys, I'd like to help, but my son and I can handle things around here without a hired hand. I did hear that the Blacksmith and the Carpenter were looking for some help. Maybe you could try them."
"Yeah? Thanks for the help. We'll go check 'em out." Will said a little discouraged. They bid Martin and his son farewell and left to find the carpenter and the blacksmith.
As luck would have it, they were across the street from each other. To save time, the two brothers decided to separate; Jake would try the blacksmith and Will would try the carpenter. Five minutes later, the brothers met in the street, and their faces told the other that they did not get the job.
"What'd he say?" Will asked.
"Well, he was looking for help, but he was looking for an apprentice."
"Same here. I asked him if he knew of anyone else in town that needed workers and he mentioned that the basket maker, the gunsmith, the miller, the shoemaker, and the silversmith are all looking for apprentices, but other than that, they don't need anyone else."
The brothers quickly realized they were wasting their time by looking for a job in a specific trade since they did not have time to become apprentices. They needed a job that paid them so they could send money home. An apprentice worked for several years and the only pay they received was clothing, food and a place to live. Only after they passed their inspection by their master could they actually earn money from their trade.
"Maybe we should ask around and see if any of the local farmers need a hired hand since that's the only skill we do have." Jake said dejected. Will only nodded to show he was in agreement.
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After a day of rejection from every tradesman and farmer in town, the brothers decided to go the one place in town they had not been yet, the tavern. They were hungry, depressed, and in need of a stiff drink.
"What a day! I don't think I've had this much rejection in my whole life!" Will said as he and Jake sat down at a table. "I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse!"
"Yeah I know. This sucks! I wish I was still at home and Ron was the one out looking for a job. I would much rather do work around the house than go through the crap we went through today." Jake complained.
Before Will could agree with his brother's comment, a heavyset woman walked up to the table to take their order. "I haven't seen you two around here before, are you new in town?" The lady said in a cheerful tone.
"Yeah, we're looking for work. You wouldn't happen to have anything available, would you?" Jake said flatly, expecting rejection.
"Well, I'll ask my husband, but since things have been so slow around here lately, I doubt we'll need any outside help. What're your names?" She said even peppier than she did before.
Will wondered if she was always so bubbly as he answered her question. "My name's Will Stoppable, this is my brother Jake, and we'd sure appreciate it if you would ask your husband about the job." He smiled at her, hopping it would help.
"It's nice to meet you both, my name's Amy. Would you like anything to eat and drink? Today's special is pork sausages and potatoes, only a shilling (2) per plate!"
"We'll take two specials and we'll have ale to drink." Jake said. After the day he had, he needed alcohol.
"Ok, I'll be right back with your order and I'll talk to Monty when I get back to the kitchen!"
The brothers sat at their table quietly and waited for their meal. They did not eat the food that they brought with them because they wanted to save it incase they had to make the long walk to Go City. It was a wise decision on their part because when Amy brought them their food, she informed them she did not have a job for them. The brothers ate their food slowly and sipped their ale. They did not know when they would have another meal, so they savored it.
"It's getting late, is there a place around here where we can stay for the night? We have a long walk ahead of us tomorrow and I wouldn't mind getting a decent night's sleep." Jake asked Amy as he was paying for their meal.
"We have a few extra rooms here at the tavern for travelers to stay in. Monty usually charges two shillings a night." Amy replied.
"We'll take it." Will said sleepily.
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The next morning the brothers got an early start and left the tavern just before sunrise. Go City was at least a two-day walk from Lowerton. They made good time and only stopped once around two o'clock for lunch. As they were sitting along the side of the road, they saw an elderly Asian man carrying a large bundle of sticks on his back, coming down the road in their direction.
When the man approached the Stoppable's, he turned to speak to them, "May I sit with you?"
The brothers were suspicious of the man, but they let him sit, "Umm…sure." Will answered. Neither one helped the older man when he struggled to take the bundle off his back so he could sit.
When the Asian man sat down, he noticed Will take some cheese out of his sack, "I was wondering if I might have a bit of your food. I have been walking all day with these heavy sticks on my back and have I have not had anything to eat."
"Are you serious?" Will said. He was not sure if he heard correctly. "We barley have enough for ourselves and you want us to give you some of our food?"
"Please." The old man said with a tired sigh. "These sticks are heavy and I need to boost my energy."
"I'm sorry, we have a long walk to Go City, and we can't spare the food." Jake said in an irked tone. The brothers went back to eating their food and ignored the old man. They could not believe that some man they did not know would ask them for some of their food.
When the elderly man realized he was not going to get any help from the two younger men sitting next him, he stood up and reached for his bundle. He struggled as he picked up his sticks and put his arms through the straps so he could carry them on his aging back. Then he turned to the brothers, bid them farewell, and continued on his way.
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"How much further are we going to walk tonight? My feet hurt, I'm cold and tired, it's starting to rain, and I can't see anything in this darkness!" Will complained. The last time he had sat down was when they ate lunch, and that was hours ago.
"What would you like me to do, make an inn appear out of nowhere?" Jake snapped. "I haven't seen anything that would provide any kind of shelter from the weather, so until we find something, we're better off walking!"
"Damn! Ok, I get it! You don't have to bite my head off."
"Well, quit your bitchin' and things will move a lot faster!"
After their little argument, the brothers walked in silence as they trudged down the dirt road toward Go City. They knew if they worked on each other's nerves anymore, the two of them would get into a physical fight, and that was the last thing they needed. Then, about thirty minutes after their little spat; Will saw a faint light in the distance as they rounded a bend in the road.
"Jake, do you see that?" Will squealed, pointing towards the light. "It might be a house or something! Maybe we can talk them into letting us stay the night!"
"Ok, calm down. Let's head toward it, and see what it is." Jake responded nonchalantly. He was not as excited about the light as his brother was. They quickened their pace as they followed the road toward the light. Eventually, they realized, the light was coming from something that was high up in the wooded hills.
"I guess we should check it out. If nothing else, we might be able to find a cave or something to spend the night in." Jake said, as if he was reading his brothers mind.
"Yeah, hopefully." Will responded as they left the road and started to climb the hill, disappearing into the woods.
The woods were dark and hard to navigate due to the reduced lighting. Thankfully, the rain stopped and the clouds cleared, allowing an occasional moonbeam to find a break in the tree tops and light the surface enough for them continue climbing the hillside. Then after a long and tedious climb, the hill flattened out, the trees cleared and the brothers found themselves a few hundred yards from the backside of a very large castle.
"Wow! Let's check it out!" Jake suggested as he ran toward the castle. Will did not answer verbally; he just followed his brother and eyed the castle in amazement.
The two brothers circled the outside of the castle, hoping to find a servant that they could persuade into giving them a place to sleep for the night. As they rounded the side of the building to the front, they noticed a road about two hundred yards away leading down the hillside and back into the woods. "Of course there's a road leading up here! Too bad we had to find this place the hard way." Will thought as they continued to circle the castle.
"That's strange." Will said as they returned to where they started. "We didn't see one servant or one guard, and the only light we saw in the whole building was that light up there on the third floor. I know it's late, but you'd think someone would be awake to guard the place."
"Yeah, that was kind of strange." Jake thought out loud. "Hey, have you ever heard of there being a castle between Lowerton and Go City? I mean, I haven't and it seems that something this big and close to home, one of us would've heard of it."
"No, I've never heard of this place, but it must be so secluded, that very few people know it's here."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"I saw the stables and some servants quarters on the east side of the building, maybe we should find a spot in there to sleep for a few hours and then get out of here before anyone notices us."
"Sure…but before we do that, aren't you curious to see what's inside?"
"Yeah, I suppose so."
"Let's climb up there and see what's in the window."
"Ok, but after that, I want to get some sleep. I'm tired." Will said as he yawned and rubbed his right eye with the palm of his hand.
Jake started up the wall first and Will followed close behind. They did not have a hard time scaling the wall, as they were able to find decent foot holds and hand grips in the brick. As they neared the window, Will slipped slightly and yelped as he regained his footing.
"Shhh! Do you want them to hear us up here?" Jake whispered down to his brother.
"No!" Was all Will could think of for a comeback. He was more worried about falling than getting into a verbal spat.
They continued up the wall and finally Jake made it to the window. He saw that it was open and when he looked inside his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Www-Will, you better hurry up here. You…you have to see this." Jake's voice faltered as he eyed the room.
Will wondered what had his brother so visibly shaken, so he climbed as little faster. "Really, what could be in there that is so interesting that I…" Will cut himself off when he saw what his brother was looking at. He just stared in the window and when he found his voice, all he could say was, "Damn!"
"I know." Jake said in a bewildered tone as they stared at a large room filled with gold, silver, and jewels.
"Man, I never thought I'd ever see something like this! Just a handful of this stuff would set a person up life." Will whispered to the air, he wasn't really talking to anyone, just thinking out loud.
"Yeah, I…wait…what'd you just say?" Jake was thrown from his thoughts when he processed what Will said.
"I said I never thought I would see this much money in my life."
"No, no, the last part."
"Oh, just a handful of this would set a person…" Will cut himself off for a second time that night when he realized what he said and he saw the look on Jake's face. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"
"Oh, yeah. Think about it Will…we sneak in, fill our pockets and food sack, and sneak out. We won't take much. There's so much in there that they'll never miss it!"
"True, but what if we get caught? We don't know who owns this castle. It could belong to the King, for all we know!"
"Who's going to catch us? We didn't see any guards outside, and look, there aren't any in the room. It's perfect! We'll have enough money to give Mom, and enough to keep for ourselves. We could move out, get our own houses, get married and the best part about it, we'd never have to work again!"
Will did not need to think about it to know he liked the idea of being rich. He was more worried about what they would say to their mother than he was about stealing the money. "What are we going to tell Mom? You know she'll be pissed if she finds out we stole this money."
"Don't worry about that right now. We have from now to the time we get home to come up with something." Jake said as he emptied the food out of their sack and climbed in the open window. Will just nodded and followed him inside.
Once they were in the room, they looked around to make sure no one was guarding the room. As they were looking for guards, Jake noticed something about the room that he had not notice before…the room was larger and taller than any room he seen. He guessed that the room was bigger than their house. The room had to be thirty-five feet tall. "Now that I think about it, that window was huge too. We could stand on the ledge and it was still taller than us."
"Hey Will." Jake whispered. "You notice anything strange about this room?"
"No. Why?"
"It's huge! It has to be over thirty feet tall. Why would the rooms in this castle be so big?"
"Maybe it's just this room, it is the treasure room. Maybe they plan on putting more money in here."
"Yeah, maybe. Let's get started and get out of here."
When they were satisfied they were alone, they turned their attention away from each other and went to find things they wanted to take. While they filled their pockets and sack, they thought of the ways there were going to spend their money.
"You finished yet?" Will asked.
"Yeah, let's get out of here."
The brothers started to climb the wall and found it harder to climb this time around. A few items fell out of their overflowing pockets and Jake almost dropped the sack, twice, as it was a little awkward to climb and hold the heavy sack.
When Will reached the window ledge, he called down to his brother, "Hey, hand me the sack."
Jake tossed the sack to his brother and hurried up the wall since his load was lighten. When he made it to the top, they poked their heads out of the window to make sure there was no one outside.
"I think it's safe, I don't see anyone." Jake said.
"Yeah, don't see anyone eith-AHHH!" Will screamed when a twenty-five foot giant grabbed him and his brother.
"What do we have here?" The giant roared and eyed the trembling intruders in his hands. "A couple of thieves? Well, I have a place for thieves!" The giant growled as he stormed out of the room and into the dark corridor.
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Next time: Ron leaves Middleton to find his brothers.
1. Ron left the milk in a box outside because it was cold outside and the milk would not go bad as quickly if it were kept cold. Think of it as a makeshift refrigerator.
2. A shilling was a type of currency used in England in the 18th century that was worth the equivalent of 12 pennies, or since the plural form of penny is pence, 12 pence.
A/N: Well, I hope you liked this chapter, I know it mainly focused on the two original characters, but the next chapter will be more normal. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!