Author's Note: Brand new chapter, peeps! Let's get the ball rolling. Happy reading!
Tuck Everlasting doesn't belong to me. I only own my OC.
Chapter 3
One early afternoon, after doing calligraphy and playing the piano, Mrs. Foster told Winnie and Rosalie to have a seat in the parlor room.
"A proper education gains one entre into society." She said.
"Your mother and I have given this a great deal of thought," Robert Foster; Winnie's father and Rosalie's uncle interjected.
"Middle house Academy for Girls in Pens ford, has an excellent reputation." Mrs. Foster added.
"Middle house?" Winnie questioned.
She and Rosalie exchanged looks.
"But that's a terrible place, everyone says so." Winnie protested. "It's like a jail,"
"Nonsense," Mrs. Foster replied. "Girls emerge from there as refined young ladies well-versed in etiquette and manners, both of which you are sorely lacking."
"But I don't want to be one of those girls. I want to stay here with Rosalie." Winnie insisted.
"You'll do no such thing," Mrs. Foster responded. "In the meantime, Rosalie is going to stay here and find a husband…and put her name out there with calligraphy."
"What?" Rosalie simply balked at her aunt and uncle. Here they were, talking about sending off Winnie to a faraway place from Tree gap; separating her from the one person she considered as a sister.
"Which is precisely why you must go," Mrs. Foster added. "I cannot let your unbridled nature ruin your chances for a respectable future."
"Winifred…I'm sorry about having to separate you from Rosalie…" Robert apologized. "But we have to do what's best for you. The same goes for your cousin."
Winnie looked at Rosalie and then at her parents.
"I won't do it," She said firmly. "I'm not like those girls. I won't go!"
She gets up and leaves.
"If you think you can separate me from Winnie, you are dead wrong!" Rosalie snapped, before following Winnie.
"Winifred!" Mrs. Foster said sharply. "Rosalie!"
"I won't go!" Winnie shouted.
The girls ran outside all the way to a gate.
"Ease up there, Win." Rosalie said, when they came to a stop.
"Can you believe them, Rose?" Winnie cried. "They're going to send me away, 500 miles away from you!"
"I know, Winnie. And I don't blame you," Rosalie agreed. "I'll have to put my foot down not to let that happen."
"Rosalie, can we just go into the woods?" Winnie asked. "Something about it looks so peaceful…"
"I don't see why not," Rosalie shrugged. "Sometimes, you've just got to step out of your comfort zone."
Opening the gate, the duo ventured out into the forest.
"How long should we stay out?" Winnie questioned.
"If we need to, I guess." Rosalie sighed. She didn't want to go back and face her aunt and uncle, plus be forced into marriage, while Winnie is getting shipped off. But what choice did she and Winnie have?
The Foster girls continued with their voyage. They both felt at ease.
After a while, they tried to head back, however it only leads them into deeper parts of the forest. Keeping calm, they kept walking, hoping to find a shortcut home.
At last; Winnie and Rosalie came upon a tree and found a boy drinking water from a spring that was bubbling up, in another part of the woods.
Stepping a bit closer, Winnie and Rosalie got a better look at him. He had shoulder-length brown hair, wore a white button-down shirt tucked into brown pants.
The boy looked to be two years older than Winnie, and possibly one year younger than Rosalie. Judging from the look on her cousin's face, Rosalie could tell Winnie is smitten with him.
Exhaling, the boy stood up and turned. When he saw the girls, he looked rather surprised.
"Hello there," said Rosalie.
"How long have you two been standing there?" The boy asked suspiciously.
"Not long at all," Winnie answered. "We were only walking past, and we…"
"Well, you both shouldn't…" The boy said. "Be in these parts of the woods."
"It's best you both turn around and go home."
Winnie and Rosalie exchanged puzzled looks. What could he be hiding?
"Well, go on; now, get!" The boy ordered, seeing they haven't moved.
Rosalie scoffed.
"Excuse you," She retorted.
"But I own these woods, and…we'll go on and get when we want to." Winnie said.
"You own these woods?" The boy asked.
"Yes, I do." Winnie replied.
"What's your name?" The boy inquired.
"Winifred. Winnie Foster," Winnie responded.
"And you are?" The boy asks Rosalie.
"Rosalie Foster. I'm her cousin," She said.
"Two Fosters? Well, I'll be…" The boy remarked. "Is that a fact?"
"That's right," Rosalie drawled, as Winnie nodded.
"Well…Winnie and Rosalie Foster, like I was saying you both need to turn around and go home." The boy advised.
"It just so happens that we were on our way home before you made your rude suggestion and we'd be happy to continue on our way if we only knew which way to go." Winnie admitted.
"In other words, you're both lost?" The boy asked, slightly amused.
Winnie looked a bit embarrassed, Rosalie couldn't help but smirk.
"I'll point you both home," The boy offered.
"Thanks; my good man." Rosalie said.
"I'd be much obliged," said Winnie, as the trio began to walk away.
"But I want a drink first." She starts to walk towards the spring.
"Wait…no!" The boy stops Winnie. "No!"
"What?" Winnie asks.
"You don't want that water." The boy warned. "Uh, it's poisoned."
"I saw you drink some," Winnie pointed out.
"Winnie, I think you should listen to him." Rosalie said.
"Well, now I'm feeling sick." The boy lied.
"You don't look ill," Winnie said. "I'm dry as dust,"
"I said, leave it alone!" The boy grabbed Winnie by her arms, dragging her away from the spring.
"Hey! Get your hands off my cousin!" Rosalie rushed over and pulled the boy's hands off Winnie.
"My father will have you arrested!" Winnie yelled at the boy, running off.
"I'm right behind you!" Rosalie follows her relative.
"You're not going to go and tell him, now…are you?" The boy called.
"Hey! Come back!" He pursues the girls. "Don't run away!"
Winnie and Rosalie continued to run until they bumped into someone.
"Where are you going so fast, Misses?" A man demanded in a rough voice, seizing their arms.
"Hey!" Rosalie screamed.
"Miles, wait!" The boy finally caught up.
"No, no!" Winnie yelled.
"Stop it!" Rosalie shouted.
"You know what Tuck said, Jesse." The man said, pulling the girls away. "No exceptions."
"Help!" Winnie cried.
"Let us go!" Rosalie hollered. "Stop!"
"You can't do this," Jesse protested.
"Stop! Let go!" Winnie screamed, struggling.
"Put us down, you S.O.B.!" Rosalie yelled, slapping at the man's hand.
"We can't," Jesse begged.
The man, Miles put the girls on his horse; with Rosalie in front of him and Winnie in front of her cousin.
"Hold on, Winnie." Rosalie said, as the three went galloping through the forest. All the while, Jesse ran, trying to catch up with Miles.
After what seemed like an eternity, Miles, Winnie and Rosalie arrived at a cabin.
"Ho," Miles comes to a stop, slowing his horse down.
"We're stopping here," He gets off and then grabbed the girls.
"Not a word out of either of you, you hear?" Miles drags them away towards the house.
"Miles!" A woman by the name of Mae, called from the porch. She came running over.
"Keep your hands off us, you bastard!" Rosalie screamed at him. She hits him hard on his chest as Winnie struggled to get free.
"You watch that tongue of yours!" Miles ordered, grabbing Rosalie's fists. He continues to fight with her.
"No!" Winnie cried.
"What are you doing? Let the poor girls go!" Mae commanded.
Miles tosses them to the ground.
"You dirty scoundrel!" Rosalie spat at him, swiftly kicking Miles in the ankle.
"Ow!" Miles grimaced.
"There's no reason to be frightened, young ladies." Mae assured the two. Winnie starts crying and Rosalie comforts her, with hugs.
"I caught them at the spring with Jesse." Miles informed Mae. "They're both Fosters, cousins."
"Oh, Lord." She sighed. "It's finally happened."
"We want to go home, please." Winnie pleaded, tears in her eyes. "We want to go home."
Rosalie got a good look at Miles. He had short brown hair, a faint outline of a beard and mustache on his jawline and green eyes. If it weren't for the fact that he kidnapped her and Winnie, she'd found Miles attractive; in a ruggedly handsome kind of way. For a moment, there was a look of regret in his eyes, for taking them away. Then, it was gone.
"There, there, children." Mae said in a soothing voice, getting down to their eye level. Rosalie looked away from Miles, turning her attention to the woman. She appeared to be in her forties or fifties, with blue eyes and the same hair color as Miles.
"We're not bad people. We'll take you both home just as soon as we can. I promise."
"Of course," Rosalie nodded.
"Miles, go find your father." Mae instructed. "He's across the lake. He'll know what to do with them."
"Tell Jesse I'm going to fix that mouth of his." Miles said, taking the horse's reins.
Rosalie simply glared daggers at Miles, which he caught before walking away.
Mae pulled out a music box, turned the dial and it played a familiar tune.
The music did the trick of calming down Winnie and Rosalie, for they both seem to relax.
"I've heard that," said Winnie.
"Me too," Rosalie piped up. "It sure sounds familiar though."
"Oh, have you?" Mae questioned. "It's, it's my little music box."
"I found it in the forest one day. Just waiting for me, I expect."
She sighed and wiped her face with a cloth. "Oh!"
"I put my baby boys to bed with it every night." Mae continued. "Gave them such sweet dreams,"
Rosalie smiled a bit. Mae seemed like a sweet woman.
Seeing the distraught look on Winnie's face, Rosalie continued to hug her and rocked Winnie back and forth; while the music played.
"We're going to be okay. I'm here with you," She whispered.
Mae smiled as she watched the elder Foster console the younger Foster.
A/N: Well, I hoped you enjoyed this exciting chapter!
This will have to be the last chapter I'm posting. I go back to school this week, so, I'll have update over spring break.
But, up next…Winnie and Rosalie meet Angus Tuck, and they learn a bit more about Miles from Mae.
Ta-ta for now!