I broke off the engagement in quite a dramatic way…. And then all hell broke loose.
I saw for the first time how vicious and cruel my father actually was.
I was briskly awoken by Raul- the actual Raul, not dream-Raul- shaking my shoulder. "Miss! Miss, wake up!" He frantically whispered to me. My eyes fluttered open groggily; it was still the middle of the night. But there was enough light in my room to see the glint of terror in Raul's face. He kept shaking me somewhat violently to get me up.
"Miss, you've got to get up! You have to leave, NOW!" "Huh, what's all this about?" I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand. The gardener helped me sit up in my bed, taking hold of one of my hands so to keep me steady. "There's been a horrible commotion downstairs. The master's awfully upset about something," his voice quivered afraid. I was still half asleep, letting my eyes rest for another minute as I yawned. "What? What are you talking about?"
"It's Mr. Desmond! He's been tearing the whole house up about something. I came inside from out back only to hear him screaming. Glass shattered, furniture tossed about, Mrs. Desmond was in hysterics. He was fighting with his boys over something; I didn't catch what." "Fighting?" My eyes instantly widened as I suddenly became alert. My first thought was Damian and what kind of peril he might be in. I must go to him….. I have to help him! I was about to leap out of bed and tear out the room before Raul caught my arm.
"Miss?!" "I must go find Damian!" "No, miss! Don't go downstairs!" "But he may need me!" I fired back desperately, but Raul desperately shook his head. "No, you need to go right now! I fear one of the neighbours might have called the police over the disturbance. You need to leave before the SSS officers get here!"
Hearing this, my mindset shifted. Everything inside me still commanded me to go to Damian's side, but if the police were on their way and Mr. Desmond spotted me…. He might blame me for this whole debacle- whatever it is. I had an idea, which made me believe all the more that it might end badly for me if I got involved. I needn't worry that any real harm shall come to Damian; not if the cops intervene. But I must make my exit before Mr. Desmond remembers that I'm alive…. Or living under his roof.
Being as quiet as we could, I gathered up what few belongings I could carry, including the picture of my father. While I did this, Raul pulled out Finn's old clothes for me; thank goodness he thought of that! I packed up a small bag, leaving my trunk at the end of my bed. Then I got changed quickly into the boy's attire, pulling my hair up into a cap Raul brought for me. It's amazing; I really did look like a boy, or a "street urchin" as the upper class might call it. Fine by me! The SSS weren't interested in lowly street boys; I'd be able to get to the academy easier this way. Raul helped me put my bag on, and tip-toed over to the door, opening it a crack. He held his fingers up to his lip in a "shhhhhh" motion; I nodded and kept my lips shut.
The door opened and for a second, nothing happened. He motioned for me to come forward with his withered hand, taking mine in his once I was close enough. Silent as mice, we stepped out into the hall once the coast was clear. I gave Raul a look as if to say "now what?", and the response in his eyes was for me to follow him. Quietly but hurriedly, he led me down the other end of the hallway to the servant's staircase hidden at the end. There was this overly-eerie silence suffocating the atmosphere; it kind of reminded me what the estate was like before I ever met or saw the Desmonds. I remembered just what a crypt this place felt like; how dead and oppressing the interior was. This manor had the appeal of a tomb…. Before I met Damian.
We crept by hushed until a sudden smash of glass made me flinch. I glanced over my shoulder into the darkness as Raul squeezed my hand worriedly. The crash was followed by muffled shouting, alarming me. We stood still for a second, as if too frightened to move. Then sirens could be heard outside, unclear if they were coming in the direction of the house or not. Raul wasn't taking any chances. He rapidly began to run, pulling me behind him. "Let's go!" He didn't bother being quiet anymore.
Opening the concealed door in the wallpaper, Raul led me down a back staircase I'd never used before. It all happened so fast; all the lights were still on downstairs and the yelling was getting louder. I couldn't tell who's voice it was, but it sounded older…. I'd put my money on Donovan, and I could only guess who he was assaulting right now. Before I left, I put a resignation letter as well as a "goodbye" note on my pillow in my old room; I prayed Damian found them before anyone else. In retrospect, leaving them was a terrible idea, but it was too late to turn back now.
With another rapid-fire check to ensure no one was around, Raul opened a small, narrow door at the bottom of the staircase. The walls were bare-boned and the space very tight. He guided me out into the pitch-black night air, and began running across the yard with me. The sirens were getting louder now….. We had to be out of here before they arrived.
We didn't stop running; I didn't even have time to gaze back at the mansion one last time. We kept going and going through the empty streets. I struggled to keep my bag over my shoulder; its contents jostled around inside. The two of us didn't stop until we were a good ten blocks, if not further, from the house, reaching the outskirts of the good neighbourhood. Only then did Raul and I pause to take a much-needed breath. Our hands released as he and I rested our palms on our kneecaps as we simultaneously gasped for air. It took me a few seconds to gather enough breath in my lungs to say anything.
"Mr. Desmond… He won't hurt Damian, will he?!" "I don't know, miss. But please don't worry; I'll find him once I go back." "I'll call Mr. Henderson! He'll send a car and pick both of you up!" But Raul's head shook gravely as his back straightened its posture back to an upright position. "You or Henderson can't have anything more to do with that boy- not until you're safely out of the country." "But what if he's injured, or worse?! We have to help him!" "I will; leave it to me. We can't risk a warrant being sent out for your arrest in the meantime. If Desmond's aggrieved at his son, he'll do anything to take his revenge on him. You have to keep your head low and not draw attention to yourself; not from a man with such powerful, dangerous connections." "But the police…..!" And Raul shot me a stern glare. "You really think they'd go up against someone like Mr. Desmond for a trivial noise complaint?" He said this and my eyes lowered in defeat slightly. He's right; I knew he was right. The SSS showing up at the Desmond estate was just a formality; they weren't there to help Damian or Mrs. Desmond or anyone else. I was also aware that Mr. Desmond could pull the right strings in the party to make me disappear…. If he figured out that Damian had fallen in love with me. Oh, why did I leave that stupid resignation letter behind?! Luckily for me, I doubt Donovan remembered my "menial" existence, and Damian wouldn't bring me up to his father. At least I had that in my favour….. Still, this was a really dangerous situation for me to be in. I wouldn't be safe in Berlint anymore… Not until I was securely on that train.
Raul didn't leave my side. We walked at a more casual pace together, so not to draw suspicion to ourselves. I wanted to hold his arm but had to pretend that I was a boy and so act like it. We strode in pure, nervous silence until we happened across a security guard for some building nearer downtown. The man, dressed in uniform, was absent-mindedly twirling a baton, only pausing curiously once he spotted us. I stayed shyly behind Raul, determined not to speak lest my voice give me away. Raul tipped his cap as friendly as he could at the guard, forcing a polite grin.
"Evening, my good sir." "Evening," the guard answered back in a gruff but not hostile tone. Raul stopped just shy of ten feet in front of him, using his body as a partial shield between me and the man. He pressed his fake smile. "I was wondering if you knew of any payphones nearby? Me and my grandson here need to call for a ride." The guard didn't seem put off by this question, quickly eying me from behind Raul. He "hmmmmmm" for a second while rubbing his chin, as if trying to remember.
"I think there's one on Lyme Street, just across the bridge and down to your right." "Thank you, sir. Much obliged," Raul gave him a wave as he turned to leave. I stayed close behind, not making eye-contact with the guard. He gave us one final look before lighting up a pipe I hadn't noticed he'd been holding up until now. Raul and I did our best to appear nonchalant as we crossed the bridge and made our way over to the phone. Thankfully I had enough change to cover the cost of a call, but not by much; the rest of my money was in bills. It took us a while, but we finally found the phone booth. Raul stood lookout with his arm anxiously crossed while I phoned the academy.
You can imagine Mr. Henderson's surprise to receive my call in the dead of night.