Just thought I should update here, it's been a while ^^... And its one of those 'not-all-too-cheerful' chapters...
*** Chapter Sixteen : Gone And Replaced ***
Two years later...
Bentley woke up early in the morning, and just stared straight ahead of himself with a dull expression on his face, just like every morning since Cornelia had been declared dead. Her out of all people. And it was all thanks to him...
If she hadn't known him, she wouldn't have been sent away to her doom. There was a time when he wouldn't trade her friendship for anything else in the world, but now he would do anything to rewrite the past; if he would be able to go back to the time where he first met her, he would terminate their friendship before it even got rooted. If she hadn't known him, and he wouldn't know her, she wouldn't have to die.
He clenched his eyes shut and rummaged under his pillow for the little notebook she gave him, found it and looked through it yet another time. It was mostly his scribblings in it, but it was the sketches and little doodles that Corny had drawn that had made him keep it, and still look through it. It was like a little piece of her that still remained. The pages were getting tattered and torn because of his constant reading, and some pages were close to falling off. Eventually he got to his favorite sketch and felt his mouth get tugged up in a careful smile; it was a detailed drawing of him, sitting cross-legged on the floor and with his face buried in a book.
Cornelia didn't have many skills; most things she touched tend to break (and she would always blame it on someone else), her imagination was tragic, few people could understand her handwriting and even if she might look athletic, she had the agility and swiftness of a drunk hippo in a pottery store, not to mention her mathematics skills... But here he could see that if there was anything she actually was good at, it was drawing. The sketch of him was completely different from the rest of the doodles that littered the pages, since he could tell that she had actually put down time and effort into this thing. He didn't exactly look himself in the mirror every day, but he knew what he looked like, and just got more and more amazed with how good this sketch was!
He remembered the surprise he got when he rummaged through the notebook and discovered this for the first time, shortly after Cornelia left. It was like it just popped up in the book overnight. He almost felt a bit flattered!
He looked at the sketch for a while, and felt tears coming to his eyes again. But as it did, his fathers words echoed in his mind again: "Can you promise me one thing, kid? That no matter what happens in your life, stay cheerful, alright?" He closed the notebook and shoved it underneath the pillow again before flopping over to his back. The five lashes he got two days ago were still fresh and stung like hell as he lied down on his back and stared at the roof, but he ignored the pain. "All your life you'll encounter tragedies and hardships, but if you let those bad things control your life, then what's the point with living at all? No, I prefer to smile and laugh it all off!" Bentley took a deep breath before slowly curling his mouth up in a wide grin. "Laugh at them all, mock the worlds pitiful tries to bring you down!"
He chuckled lowly and nodded. "I sure will, dad..." Today was a new day, and he would soon have to meet the overseers and the Aventines. And he was going to greet them all with an unchangeable grin, and a mocking laughter.
After a few minutes, he finally managed to get up and get dressed before walking down the stairs. Winter were drawing closer and the chilly winds from the outside managed to breach the thin walls of the cabin, and he shuddered involuntarily as the cold hit him. He heard a low, rustling cough as he got to the first floor. Mere seconds after that, granny Ama emerged from her room, shielded from the outside world by a drape in front of the doorway. Bentley frowned worriedly when the old lizard began to cough again.
"Hey, are ya okay there, Granny?" He asked and put a hand on the much shorter girdled lizards shoulder.
She nodded and drew a few, quick gasps before answering. "I'm just fine, hun" She patted his hand and walked out into the kitchen. He hesitated before following her. "It's just a cold, it'll pass!" She continued with a cheery tone in her voice and began preparing the breakfast.
Bentley was quiet for a while. He really didn't like that coughing she has had for a couple of days now, but didn't say anything. She always kept saying it was nothing but a cold and that it would pass soon, but something made him doubt it. "So, want any help with the breakfast or somethin'?"
"Ya mean so ya can burn down the kitchen again?" Ama quickly replied with a smirk.
"Aw c'mon, it was an accident! And the ENTIRE kitchen didn't burn down! Only the curtains!" Bentley flinched, and the old lizard turned with a chuckle back to the pots. "But I kinda did ya a favor too; those curtains were hella ugly if ya ask me..."
"Yes, they were, weren't they?" She nodded at the table. "If you want somethin' to do, ya can go put the plates on the table. They'll be here soon, and I'll just heat up some leftovers from yesterday so the food will be done shortly too!"
Bentley nodded and silently began to rummage through the cupboards, and discovered how few bowls there were left. He was just about to point it out for Ama, but she seemed to already know what he was going to say.
"I know, I know..." She chuckled. "It's the little one, I'm afraid. He does love to throw stuff 'round and watch it break, that little rascal..."
Bentley grinned and started picking out the remaining bowls from the cupboard. The little one, Bastian, was Ellie and Tobys son who was a bit over a year ago. He had already learned to throw stuff to the side, and he thought it was hilarious when things crashed. He totally get that from his granddad, Ellie and Finn had said. Their father used to boast about being able to toss apple-sized objects to the other side of the plantation they grew up in.
Besides that, the little cub had gotten his mother long, spiky, black hair and mane, rounded ears and bright red eyes, but his fur was white like his fathers and he had both uneven spots and squiggly stripes covering his body. Plus, Bentley and him had gotten along perfectly ever since he was born, there was even a time when his parents couldn't even get him to sleep unless Bentley was there! And Bentley completely adored the little cub, almost made him wish he had one of his own. But that thought made him laugh at himself as well, since he knew he'd never even find someone he'd be able to call his own. Not if his life continued like this.
He had just put down the bowls on the table when the door opened and Toby, shortly followed by Ellie carrying a sleepy Bastian, entered the kitchen. Bastians eyes were half-closed as he clinged around his mothers neck, but when he saw Bentley, his eyes immediately opened wide and he made a happy, squeaky sound as he reached for his favorite 'uncle'. Ellie handed her son over to Bentley with a small smile before helping Ama with the breakfast.
Bentley laughed as the little cub in his arms grinned and reached to grab his ears with both of his little hands, but Bentley stopped him. "Haven't I told you that bad things happen to those who touch my ears?" He joked, but the cub just tilted his head slightly to the side with a confused look on his face, before giggling and reaching for the brown hyenas ears again.
Bentley rolled his eyes and put Bastian down in his chair, specially designed and built by Bentley himself to stop the little cub from falling down, before sitting down next to him. Finn and Lucy arrived in time for the food to be served and the rest of the breakfast routine went fast, and Bentley actually managed to save a bowl from being crushed against the floor by the little cub. The little swan dive he had to do to catch the bowl had apparently been hilarious, as Bastian happily clapped his little hands and laughed hysterically at the act. And it made Bentley burst out into laughter as well.
After the breakfast, Bentley stayed behind to go upstairs and fetch a warmer shirt, since today was going to be a pretty chilly day on the fields, but when he got downstairs again, he saw Ama sitting by the table with her head bent down. She looked like she was in deep thought. When he walked past, he also noticed that she held a little pale yellow voodoo doll in her hands. He had seen those before; they were lucky charms and not meant to harm, as many seemed to believe. Like little guardian angels that brought luck to the one they were given to. But the overseers didn't know that, so she used them to threaten and taunt the overseers with her 'voodoo witchcraft'.
Just as Bentley put a hand on the doorhandle to open it and follow the others out, he heard Ama lowly call his name. He stopped and turned around. "Yeah?" He said, and frowned worriedly when he saw a quick glint of pain flash in her eyes, but it was gone just as quick as it appeared. "G-granny? Is everythin'-...?"
She nodded and stood up. "There's somethin' I'd like to give ya, hun" She said and held out the little doll in her hand. "I've got a feelin' you'll need this more than I do" She added with a smile.
Bentley looked from her, down to the doll and then back again. "Umm... Thanks..." He said carefully and carefully walked up to her and accepted the doll. "But..." He glanced down at it for a second. "Why do you-...?"
"Oh, just a hunch" She said with a sly shrug. "And who knows, in the future you might even find someone special you'll want to give it to?" Before Bentley had any time to respond, she had turned him around and gave him a light push towards the door. "Go on now, hun! Wouldn't want'cha to git 'to more trouble with them overseers than ya usually do!"
"But, won't this help me against them?" He said with a laugh and walked towards the door, waving the doll at her.
"It brings good luck, hun! Not miracles!"
She watched with an amused smile in the corner of her mouth as Bentley trotted out and tried to catch up to the others. But as soon as the door closed behind him, a sharp pain ignited in the old lizards chest once again and she covered her mouth with her hand as a violent cough attack forced her to sit back down by the table. When she finally stopped coughing, she drew a pained, wheezing breath and leaned back against the chair. She swiped with her spiky hand across her feverish forehead and tried to force the pain away.
It was that damn cold. This autumn had been colder than usual, and eventually she had come down with a fever, not being as young and strong as she used to be. But she thought the cold would have gone away by now, but it only grew worse each day. The others didn't know, however. She had forced herself to keep up a strong appearance to not worry them. Nobody except for Bentley knew that she was ill. She could tell that Bentley knew, seeing the worry on his usually gleeful face told her everything.
She sighed sadly and tried to get up without causing another coughing fit. Bentley was a good boy. A bit crazy in the head, sure, but without a single bad bone in his body! If only he could stop getting himself into fights with the overseers all the time, even if he knows there's no chance he'll win! It always hurt when she saw Finn come home, dragging a barely conscious, yet chuckling, Bentley under his arm. The young hyenas back was by now ruined, with scars that would never fade and fur that would never grow back. Why? Just to have some laughs. He had to be more than a bit crazy in the head, and it was such a shame.
Ama began to clean the dishes before she'd go to her shift at the Gin. She assured herself that she would be fine, that the fever and the coughing would go away in a while. She had to be okay, for her hyenas and Lucys sake.
…
But only a few days later, the unavoidable happened; the old lizard collapsed during her work and was too weak to go on, forcing her to stay bedridden. But nothing anyone would do for her seemed to help her, as she visibly got more and more ill, until she finally passed away.
Granny Amas death came as a shock for all the slaves, but most of all for her family. Ellie and Lucy had been at her side when she drew her final breath, and it had been tough to accept it when it happened. Ellie had been crying non stop for the entire night, and since Toby had been busy trying to comfort his wife, Bastian had to be placed in Bentleys care. The little cub didn't know what was going on, or why his mom was so sad, and that made him scared. Scared enough to even give Bentley a hard time putting him to sleep!
The day after the funeral was held, everyone had been sitting around the table. Silent and sullen. They all had plates with food in front of them, but no one was in the mood to eat. Ellie, Toby and Bastian were going to move in the cabin and even if they told him that he could stay, Bentley didn't want to feel that he was intruding so he was moving into one of the empty houses further down towards the creek.
"I can't believe ya never said anythin'..." Finn muttered lowly, Bentley knew it was directed at him so he lowered his head.
"I'm sorry..." He responded in a low voice.
Finn had been the one most in war with his emotions after Amas death. Ever since he and Ellie came here after being sold off as mere cubs, they had been all alone. But granny Ama had taken them in, she had given them food, a home, clothes, love, everything! Now she was gone... And he just kept thinking that there had to be someone to blame. It had to be someones fault!
"Ya lived here with her! Ya would've known if she was sick!" He raised his voice slightly, making Bentley shrink in his chair.
"I know..."
"Finn, stop it!" Ellie said in a warning tone, but her brother ignored her.
"If ya would've told us we could have done somethin' earlier! We could have saved her!"
"I know!" Bentley tried to push the tears back.
Ellie stood up hastily from her chair and slammed her hands on the table. "Finn, it's NOT Bentleys fault! It's NO ONES fault! Granny didn't wanna tell us b'cause she didn't want us to worry 'bout her!"
"Yes it is!" Finn replied with a snarl. "He could've told us somethin' was wrong with her! But he didn't, and now we'll NEVER see Granny again!"
"Finn!"
"I KNOW!" Bentley yelled and swiped his arm to the side, knocking away his plate and sending it crashing into the cupboards.
Bastian was already getting startled by the adults sudden yelling at each other, so when Bentley shouted and crashed the plate, something he has never done before, the little cub began to cry loudly in fear. Ellie hurried to pick her son up from his chair and comfort him, while Bentley sat quiet in his seat, feeling everyone staring at him in shock.
"I.. I'm sorry guys... I'm sorry, Bastian..." He mumbled after a while and got up to clean up the mess he made. "I didn't mean to shout..."
"It's NOT your fault, Bentley!" Ellie said while calmly stroking her sons ears, slowly making him calm down to just quietly sobbing. "Don't listen to Finn!" She added and threw a dirty look at her brother. "He's just-...!"
"He's right, y'know..." Bentley took a broom and began to sweep the shards of the old, broken clay plate off the floor. "I..." He paused before he even got to start the sentence, took a deep breath and began sweeping again. He had always caused pain to the ones he cared about, and the ones who cared about him! First, it was his mother and father, then Buck, then Corny and now Granny...
He looked down at the broken plate and the lumps of potato that littered the floor. "I didn't mean to kill Granny... I-I just thought that sh-she had it all under cover, th-that she was just having a m-minor cold..." His vision got foggy, so he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "I-I'll just go and get my things..."
Ellie handed Bastian over to Toby, walked over to Bentley and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Bentley flinched in surprise, but didn't try to writhe out of her grip.
"It ain't yer fault, Bentley! We're all sad for whats happened, but there's nothin' we could've done to change it!" She loosened her arms around him and led him back to the table, and he didn't struggle when she made him sit down again. She herself sat back down next to Toby and Bastian. "We all have so much to thank granny Ama for, she has meant so much for all of us. And now when she's gone, the least we can do for her is to stay together an' keep lookin' out for each other! I know she wouldn't want us to go on 'bout and accuse each other..." She cocked an eyebrow at Finn, who shamefully looked down at the table to avoid his sisters glance. "So instead, I think we all should just leave this b'hind us. We've got enough troubles as it is!"
Toby nodded carefully. "Y-yeah... She's r-right!"
The rest nodded as well in agreement. It was hard to go on without Ama to be there to guide them, but they would manage! Somehow...
"Hey, Bentley..." Finn said and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm really sorry... Y'know, for blamin' ya, an' yellin' at'cha an' such..."
Bentley chuckled and shook his head. "It's alright, Finn! Really" He leaned over the table towards Bastian and held out his hand at the cub. "And we're still buddies, right Basty?" Bastian was quiet, but then he giggled and grabbed Bentleys much larger hand with both of his and bit down on his knuckles. Bentley chortled out a laugh. "I take that as a yes! Thank lord ya ain't got yer fangs yet, lil' squirt!"
…
A week later, the family had gathered again for dinner. The long days work was over, Bentleys arms were sore and his hands, feet and ears were cold, so the thought of a warm meal was more than appealing to him right now. Even if Toby and Ellie now were the masters of the home, they still called the cabin 'Granny Amas Cabin'. Matt and Mr Aventine had gone the day before to buy new slaves to replace granny Ama.
Lucy and the hyenas had just gathered around the table, talking and laughing loudly while Bentley was joking around with Bastian, when a couple of careful knocks were heard from the door. Everyone turned their heads to Bentley, who hurried to throw his hands in front of himself.
"Hey, don't look at me! I ain't done nothin' t'day! I swear I wasn't the one who hoisted Wilkes longjohns up in the treetop!" He said in defense, but Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Can you open the door? You're the closest, y'know!" She said.
Bentley first blinked in confusion, but then he grinned sheepishly and chuckled at himself before standing up and strut towards the door. "WELCOME!" He said dramatically as he swung the door open. "To our GLORIOUS five-star-...! Huh?" He quickly trailed off when his eyes met a pair of confused, light blue ones.
In front of him stood a female hyena, around her early twenties just like him, her nose, pointy ears and thick hair and mane were dark brown, like a brown hyenas, but the rest of her was white and on her face and arms were clear, black stripes, like a striped hyena. She wore a simple red shirt, a long, yellow skirt and in her arms was a bundle with her belongings. When she noticed that Bentley quietly gawked in shock at her, she averted her eyes and took a bashful step back.
"Uh... I'm sorry... But, is this Granny Amas Cabin, perhaps?" Her voice was really low and soft, and he had to focus to hear what she was saying.
"W-what? Granny Amas Cab-... Oh! Yeah! This is it!" He nodded and chuckled as he leaned his shoulder against the door frame. "If ya don't mind me askin', who're ya?"
"Huh? Oh, please, do forgive me" She nodded and clenched the bundle tighter to her chest as she did a short bow. Bentley blinked in confusion. "My name is Lottie, uh, I'm new here. I just got here, the one they called Chuck told me to go to this place, and... Oh..." She trailed off when Ellies head curiously poked up behind Bentley, and the spotted hyena grinned widely.
"Hi there!" She greeted cheerfully and pushed Bentley to the side. She extracted her hand to the other female, who took a startled step back by the sudden move. "My name is Ellie!"
"Uh, Lottie..." Lottie said and carefully took Ellies hand, while still clinging to the bundle under arm.
"Bentley, go get another chair!" Ellie said to Bentley as she pulled the nervous newcomer inside the house. As they came out into the kitchen, everyone around the table curiously turned their heads to Lottie. "You came just in time; we're 'bout to eat dinner!" Ellie said and let go of Lotties hand and pointed at the staircase. "The attic is available, you could leave your stuff there and then join us, if you'd like that is? If you're tired and just wanna go to bed, it's okay too!"
Lottie stared in surprise at the other hyena female, but then a warm smile appeared on her face and she nodded. "I'd love to!" She said just as Bentley dragged an empty chair to the table. The new hyena scurried up the staircase to the attic, where Bentley used to live.
"She seemed nice" Lucy curiously said and tilted her head. "Who is she anyway?"
"She said her name was Lottie" Bentley said and sat down on his side of Bastian and picked up the spoon the little cub had thrown on the floor. He used a fold of the tables cloth to clean the utensil before scooping up some mashed potatoes with it. "She's new here, apparently..."
To everyones surprise, Finn snorted and leaned back on his chair. "Whatta surprise... Granny ain't even been gone for a week, and he's ALREADY got a new one to fill her place!" He growled lowly and folded his arms.
"Finn, don't act like it's her fault-..." Ellie began to say, but got cut off by her big brother.
"I don't! But it's the Aventines! This ain't right! It just ain't feel right!" He slowly shook his head. "Ever since that Cornelia died..." He discontinued when Bentley and Lucy sadly turned their heads away. "Oh... Sorry y'two..."
"Do ya really have to be so insensitive, jerk?" Ellie growled at her brother and put her hands on her hips.
"It's okay..." Bentley mumbled while Lucy remained silent. He knew what Finn was going to say; the Aventines had hated Bentley and his family, ever since the news of Cornelias death. They had tried to get him sold off for years now, but being the well-known troublemaking joker he was, it was close to impossible. When they couldn't get rid off him they nowadays did everything in their power to make life sourer for the hyenas. And there were rumored that Mr Aventine now was thinking of turning to the railroads, or the mines to hear if they needed someone cheap. Bentley clenched his jaw and tried to stop thinking about it by trying to feed Bastian, but the little cub defiantly clamped his mouth shut and stubbornly turned his head away. Suddenly they heard steps coming from the stairs and within a matter of seconds, Lottie had returned to the others and almost tiptoed her way to the table.
"Well, welcome to the Aventine Farm, Lottie!" Lucy said with a chuckle as soon as Lottie had taken her place on the seat between Bentley and Finn.
"I-if you'd like to, you're m-more than welcome to stay on the attic. If n-not, we'll gladly see if there are a-any spare houses left" Toby said and tried his best not to stutter, but failed.
Lottie smiled and nodded thankfully. "Th-thanks, everyone..." She said carefully and looked down at her hands. "I... I never thought you'd be so... nice to me..." The last part she said even lower than usual.
"Why wouldn't we be?" Ellie said and wiped her sons face with her apron before sitting down. Bentley had actually managed to get Bastian to eat some mashed food, but at least half of it had accidentally ended up on the cubs face instead. "It's always fun with new arrivals to the farm! And it's kinda our duty to get people to feel welcome and at home here!"
"Since everythin' will just go downhill from here..." Finn mumbled lowly and stuffed some food in his mouth.
Lottie tilted her head at him with a puzzled look. "Whaddya mean by that?"
"Whaddya think I mean?" Finn said with a low growl after he swallowed. "I'm sorry to have to tell you like this, but you ended up on one of the worst plantations in Mississippi!"
"Finn, don't!" Ellie warned.
"Why not? She's probably better off knowing what she's going to be through for the rest of her life in beforehand, don'tcha think!"
"N-not necessarily for the th-the rest of her life!" Toby poked his head up from his food. "I-if the war-...!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know! But you DO know that our side is losin', right Toberon?" Finns comment made Toby look down and turn back to his food. Finn quietly glanced at Lottie again, who flinched under his gaze. "Our masters, the Aventines, will do ev'rythin' in their power to make yer life as miserable as possible, just a lil' heads up"
Lottie frowned and shook her head. "I don't believe that! Why would they do that?"
"Because they're horrible, cruel people without any sense of remorse, and they let the overseers treat us however that want, so ya better watch what you're sayin' and do, y'hear?"
She kept narrowing her eyes at him in disbelief. "I still don't believe you! Why would they treat us badly? We're the workers, and without us-...!"
"Do you think they care 'bout that?!" Finn growled and snapped his head to Bentley. "Bentley! Show her yer back! Show her how 'mild and compassionate' our masters are!"
Bentley flinched. "Huh?"
"No, Bentley! Finn, just stop it, okay?" Ellie tried to keep her voice steady, but everyone could hear anger simmer in her voice. Toby covered down over his plate and glanced up at his wife.
"No! If she won't believe me, we'll just have to show her just how bad the Aventines-...!"
"Finn! What is WRONG with you?!" Ellie snapped and stood up from her chair. "Ever since Granny Ama died...!" She started, but her brother averted his eyes at hearing the name and Ellie just couldn't go on.
Bastian jumped at his mothers angry voice and almost began to cry, but Bentley saved the situation by quickly start making funny faces at the cub, who instead began to focus on his silly uncle and giggle in amusement. Ellie gave Bentley a thankful nod and turned to her brother again, calmer this time.
"Finn, I wanna talk to ya for a bit" She said and nodded at the door after the staircase, the one leading to her and Tobys bedroom. Finn hesitated, before solemnly getting up from his chair and walk to the room, shortly followed by his little sister.
"I-it wasn't anything I did, was it?" Lottie asked nervously and bit down on her lip.
"Nah, Finn is just being an asshole, for once..." Bentley said with a slow shake of his head. He was a bit worried for Finn, though. Ever since Ama died, Finn had become more moody than ever. One minute he could be his usual happy and brotherly good-guy-self, the next he could be bitterly muttering to himself or even get into an argument and start shouting at the others! "But don't worry, he's not always like that! He's actually a pretty fun guy!" Bentley hurried to add. "Ellie too! In fact, this is only the second time I've ever seen those two fight!"
Lottie didn't say anything, she just nodded and quietly picked up her fork and knife. She poked in the food before delicately stick the fork into one tiny potato and eat it, and a happy grin spread on her face again. Bentley couldn't help but to notice how oddly she sat; her back straight, elbows in and used both knife and fork like the rich-guys would. And when he thought about it; she talked pretty funny too!
"Pardon me, but I don't think I ever caught your names" She suddenly said to Toby and Lucy, both responded by flinching and then sigh at themselves.
"Oh we're sorry" Lucy chuckled. "My name is Lucy and this is Toberon, Ellies husband, and Ellie is Finns younger sister!" She laughed at nodded at Bastian. "And the cub that's hidin' underneath all that mashed potato is Bastian, Toberon and Ellies son"
"But please, c-call me Toby. E-everyone else does!" Toby added.
Lottie nodded before turning to Bentley, smiling her careful smile and tilted her head ever-so-slightly. "And you are Bentley, right?"
Bentley nodded. "The one and only!" He said with a laugh.
"And thank god for that!" Toby mumbled which caused everyone around the table to laugh while he himself just chuckled.
Even Bentley laughed at that. And while he tried to convince get Bastian to eat some more food, instead of just trying to squish it in his hands, he noticed that Lottie was glancing at him every now and then. He was curious about her; she just seemed to so odd, for a slave that is! He knew there was something special about her, but what?
And thus, Lottie makes her entrance! She's quite a mystery, even to myself in fact o.O...
… That's all ^^! See y'all again next chapter!
