Tales of the Alternate Universe
Chapter Thirteen: Peter Butler
Dear Flanna,
These last two months have been a total pain in the butt because of the winter season. We've had to endure cold and hunger while those Destiny guys sell your father's coal at the market indiscriminately. (Miss Bonnie helped me to write that word, she's so nice!) They are making lots of money out of other people's misery … If only you were here, we could find a way to steal the coal and share it with everybody for free.
In fact there's a bunch of things that I'd do if only you were here. I've heard that the city is a nice place 'cause everyone has lit chimneys in their houses and the streets are cleaner 'cause people use cars instead of horses…—You know I'm talking about the poop, right?— But I hope you miss this little piece of land as much as I'm missing you right now, Flanna.
I ummm… When will I be able to see you again? You know, I'm not very good with numbers, but it's been like four months since the last time I saw you and…well even my little sibling arrived sooner than you… Do I sound desperate? I'm not desperate to see you if that's what you're thinking!
Just hurry up, dang it!
The red-haired girl had to cover her mouth to stop a giggle from coming. Unfortunately, the happy look on her face was easy to contrast with the dull environment in which she was at the moment, and her new teacher didn't let it go unnoticed.
"Hacksworth!" the angry growl of an extremely tall and thin woman was shot towards her.
Flanna slid her letter under her desk with a quick movement of her hand and prepared a mental excuse while Miss Agatha, an abnormally hunchbacked-woman with long black hair tied into a tight bun loomed over her, using an old cane as support.
"Yes ma'am." The young girl replied as sternly as possible.
Hacksworth could only think of her new school teacher as an ugly old hag, she was nothing compared to Miss Bonnibel's sympathy and enthusiasm for educating. Miss Agatha seemed to be angry all the time, she yelled at her students constantly and would hit their knees with a ruler if anyone dared to break any of the classroom's rules. The teacher leaned on Flanna's desk and stared at her square in the eyes. The girl's features were tensed a little because of the closeness, but remained unchanged despite the sudden burst of nervousness inside her. She wasn't supposed to open Finn's letter in class. If Miss Agatha managed to discover it, there was surely going to be trouble for her.
Miss Agatha frowned as she glared at Flanna and demanded an answer with a snort. "Do we still have the pleasure of having you with us at class or has your little mind drifted somewhere else, hmm?"
Her creaky voice caused Flanna to shudder, however the girl was quick enough to cover her own fear with an unsure smile as she shook her head. "I'm right where I'm supposed to be, Miss."
Flanna tried to slide the letter under her skirt while the teacher was distracted. Sadly, Agatha's cane struck her knee before she could proceed to do anything else. The old hag snatched the paper from her as soon as the red-haired girl shrieked in pain and smashed her desk with her hands.
"LIAR!" the teacher screamed, provoking the fearful stares of the other girls in the classroom to fall upon Flanna. "You were reading this when you were supposed to be focused on class!" her shouts continued to fill the air as she waved Finn's letter on the red-haired girl's face.
Hacksworth gritted her teeth and clenched her fists while her head remained hung down. There was nothing she could do to stop a terrible disaster from happening. Miss Agatha read the letter aloud in front of the class, shrieking in irritation after she had emphasized the fact that said letter was written by a boy.
That was the last straw for Flanna. She sprung off her seat, striking her desk's table with her fists. "And what's wrong with that?! Girls and boys study inside the same classroom at the countryside!" she yelled.
"Girls and boys? They are mixed at the countryside? Humph! No wonder she's so aggressive and bad mannered!" The other girl's murmured between giggles and sardonic gestures.
"Stop…WHISPERING!" Flanna cried, smashing her desk once again.
Her behavior was of course immediately disapproved by her teacher. It earned Flanna a ticket to the principal's office where she made another angry tantrum in her defense and was forced to endure a torturing punishment after school. Flanna delicately lifted her grey skirt above her knees, which combined perfectly with her new dull outfit, and knelt reluctantly over a pile of dried grits. The red-haired girl was forced to spend an entire hour in that position. Flanna knew by experience that soon her knees would start bleeding, but she didn't care.
For her strict teachers it was a punishment, while for her it was a whole hour of peace in which she could reminiscence freely about her happy moments at Junktown. Although she had lost Finn's letter that afternoon, Flanna could still recall each sentence, word by word, in her mind and imagine the green hills of the farming fields where she once used to run as wildly and freely as she wanted. She could listen to Finn's voice so clearly, that it was as if he were there with her. It was hard for Flanna to admit it at first, but the longer she stayed away from Junktown, the more she longed to go back in time and stay in Finn's arms instead of hopping through his window the night she left. She missed him and her old life at Junktown greatly.
Her life wasn't so restricted back then. Flanna was actually a free girl while she lived in the humble surroundings of that old town, even when she was forced to remain locked in her bedroom. Now Flanna could understand clearly that the city was the real prison. Sure, everything was fancier and easier there, but it was a prison nonetheless. She felt like a bird trapped in a golden cage.
x+x+x+x+x
The way back home wasn't a pleasant walk either. The rainy season came along with the newly arrived spring and the end of winter, washing away all the snow in the rocky streets and chilling Flanna's spine at the same time. The girl hadn't brought an umbrella with her, she never expected to be grounded and miss every mean of transportation when she woke up that clouded morning. Her feet splashed the water beneath them as the red-haired girl advanced with a slow pace. She couldn't care less about getting wet, all Flanna wanted was to reach her uncle's home and bury herself under her bed's blankets for the rest of her life.
Flanna stopped her walking shortly after her ears perceived the sound of another pair of feet, following hers. She turned back and grunted bitterly, "What do you guys want now?"
Her older cousins, Francis and Thomas snickered in response. They were only a couple years older than her, and in her opinion, it made them twice as annoying as the typical teens of their age. They both shared practically the same features as Flanna: wild russet hair and green eyes (except for Thomas' slanted ones). A strong body frame just like her father and uncle, and the ability to intimidate anyone who dared to stand in their way —except for another Hacksworth, that is. Flanna didn't fear them at all.
"What are you doing here ssso lonely, little cousin?" Francis asked with a mocking smile. A single perked-up fringe above his forehead could easily fool anyone into believing that he was a nice person, when in reality he was totally the contrary of it on the inside.
"Heh, yeah! Aren't you supposed to be at home already?" his brother added with a teasing giggle.
"I'm just trying to walk back home…" her response was quiet and sincere. Flanna was exhausted of not being able to fit anywhere and wished to go back to the only place where she would be received with open arms. She just wanted Junktown back. She wanted Finn back.
"Hey brother! I think I know what's wrong with our dear Flanna," Thomas said, "It probably has a lot to do with this!"
He shoved out a yellow envelope filled with a bunch of papers, which Flanna easily recognized as all the letters that Finn had sent her since she left the countryside. A horrified gasp left her throat, watching how Francis snatched it from his brother's hand and pulled one of the letters out, letting some others fall onto the wet ground.
"Oh right, Flanna must be missing thisss ssso called Finn Mertensss, hehe! Who isss he? Your boyfriend or sssomething? Do you missss your pitiful farm boy, cousin?"
"Give them back." the red-haired girl demanded sternly, her hands were curled into fists instantly.
"Whoa! Was that an order, little lady?" Thomas sneered.
Flanna couldn't stand it anymore. She leaped over her cousins and grabbed the letters, struggling frantically to free them from their grasps. The rain kept falling upon them and it eventually caused the papers to be weakened and be easily ripped off during their struggle. The girl backed away with a despondent look on her face as her only windows back to Junktown and Finn's side floated down towards the drain, carried by the running waters of the street.
"Not ssso rude now, huh Flanna?" her cousin laughed as he ran away. "Hey Thomasss, wanna race on our way back home?"
"Last one is a rotten egg!" his brother replied, not really caring about his young cousin's disheartened condition. "You should run too Flanna, otherwise you're gonna be in trouble with your daddy!"
The red-haired girl fell onto her knees, watching the water run.
x+x+x+x+x
A short man with a red-stripped umbrella ran down the street calling out Flanna's name. When he finally found her, she was sitting on the sidewalk not minding the chilling rain that was still pushing her head down. This peculiar man was dressed in a blue tuxedo accompanied by a pair of red gloves and a bow tie of the same color on his collar. In fact, he was the Hacksworths' actual butler and Flanna's only friend.
"Miss Flanna!" he gasped at the same time in which he covered her with his umbrella. "What in the name of the deities are you doing under the rain?!"
"Waiting…" Flanna whispered. "Maybe I will drown… if it rains hard enough."
"Nonsense!" the butler exclaimed, forcing a worried smile. "C'mon up miss, I haven't seen your father around lately but I bet he'll be really mad if he finds you like this…"
"Who cares…?" the girl sighed dully.
Peter Butler wasn't exactly an expert in children's behavior, but his long years of experience as servant to most of the rich families of the city, and his previous job on Miss Bonnibel's family mansion, gave him the confidence to guess that something extremely bad had happened to the young Hacksworth in his arms. He noticed Flanna's hurt knees and the tears in her tired eyes, and proceeded to cradle her tenderly, carrying her back to their home. On the way, Peter was able to subtract some information from the girl that would help him understand what had happened to her and try to solve it in a gentle attempt to comfort her.
"Hush, miss… You're far better than those nasty spoiled boys." the Butler said as he stroke her red wet hair. "Don't worry about those lost letters, I'm pretty sure that your friend will keep on writing, and while you wait, you can always find a way to remember him through the good memories that he left in your heart so many months ago. You know, those kind of memories won't ever fade if the feelings that they bring to you are strong." He smiled.
The girl hopped off his arms and faced him with her own smile. "Thanks, Pete But."
They walked the last remaining blocks towards Flanna's uncle manor in silence, trying to enjoy the peace that came from each other's company until they bumped with an unexpected scene. The mansion's servants, as well as Francis and Thomas were standing outside with pale-shocked faces and shivering bodies. Peter Butler left Flanna's side in a huff to ask his fellow companions about the odd situation that was happening right before their eyes. He came back to the red-haired girl with a similar expression of fear in his features.
"M-Miss Flanna…" the butler stammered, holding her shoulders. "Your uncle… is dead!"
At first Flanna was skeptical of what she had just heard, but her mind managed to make a quick recompilation of the pain in everyone's faces —even on her cousins— and she made the proper connections needed to confirm that Peter was being serious. The red-haired girl pushed him away and dashed into the mansion, ignoring everyone's warnings. Her feet froze and her hand reached out for her mouth in shock at the dreadful sight before her.
Her father's brother was hanging in the main hall.
Update: Grammar checked and corrected.