Chapter 14: Revealing the Past
Up in the secret room above the medical bunks. Rose was down on her knees, sobbing hysterically, throwing her face into her hands. Artemis stood on her shoulder, trying to comfort her mistress. The chameleon looked back and noticed Jim, Delbert, Silver, and Morph entering her secret room. She climbed down from her mistress's shoulder and hissed at them, turning red in anger. Delbert jumped back in fright, hiding behind Silver.
"Oh, Doc," Jim said, raising his brows. "You're not scared of a little lizard, are you?"
"Not since she stuck her tongue in my ear!" The canine man replied, keeping up his guard.
Jim gave a secret smirk to himself, and he knelt picking Artemis up by the tail. The lizard gave a glare and shot her tongue out, trying to poke Jim's eye or face. Then his smile disappeared and turned to concern as he walked up to the redhead and placed his hand on her shoulder asking, "Rose, are you okay?"
The redhead jumped up and spun around. Her face was stained with tears and her large eyes widened.
"How did you get in here?"
"We went through your secret door," the boy stated pointing.
"Oh great, I should have closed that door," she said, wiping the tears away from her eyes.
"Rose, we were wondering if you can tell us about your past," Jim said.
The redhead's eyes widened in shock and said, "What?"
"Rose, we've been noticing that something has upset you with that fire. We believe there's more to you than we already know," Delbert added.
"No," she shook her hands frantically. "It's best that you don't know."
"Rosie, you can't make any more excuses," Silver said firmly, "We noticed dat t'ere was somethin' peculiar about ye that meets the eye."
"I can't," she said, looking away in shame and clutched her elbows.
Rose, you must tell them, her conscience said in her mind. You must learn to trust them. I think it's time you tell them. They deserve to know the truth.
"Rosie, if we don't know why you got so upset 'bout the fire, it will get worse over time, and it will stay on yer chest," said Silver.
The redhead gave a heavy sigh. She stood up straight and wiped her eyes. She felt herself forcibly turning over to the men and looked up.
"Very well," she said. "I'll tell you. Please pull yourselves some seats, while I do something first."
She stood up and closed the ladder door, and went to all the openings, and closed them all. The petite redhead released a breath and faced back the men. Jim crisscrossed his legs on the floor, with Morph resting on his shoulder. Delbert sat on the fainting-sofa and Silver sat on another chair.
"There, now no one should be able to hear us," she said walking up to them. "But before I could start, you three must promise to keep this between us, along with Mother and Mr. Arrow. I rather have this be kept a secret. Do you swear in blood me not to tell anyone of this? You can't say anything about this to anyone."
"Don't worry Rose, I won't tell," Jim said.
"I'll never tell a soul," Silver agreed.
Rose sat on the stool near her desk and smoothed out her skirt. Artemis curled up on the shoulder of her mistress. She looked back to Jim, Silver, Morph, and Delbert and began her story. She couldn't believe that she was finally telling it, after many years.
"I guess I'll have to start with my parents. My father was an anthropologist and a doctor. He spent his early adulthood traveling around the Etherium to battle pirates and finding rare plants that could cure an entire planet from a disease or an epidemic. One day he was traveling on an expedition to search for a rare flower and walked along a trail on a high hill with his friends from school. He stopped and, in the distance, and he first saw my mother. She was part of a research party and was looking over a map and a few notes on her experiments.
"My father was awestruck to see her and leaned over the edge for a closer look; without warning, he lost his balance and fell down the hill. My mother noticed the commotion and grabbed one of the pans, and without thinking hit my father on the head, knocking him out. She gasped, realizing she made a mistake, because she thought he was a thief."
She smiled at the memory chuckling and looked back at the men. Their eyes widened at the way, how Rose's mother would hit the girl's father on the head.
"I guess it sounded like, 'love at first headshot," Silver said.
"You could say that again, Silver," she replied, and continued her story. "My mother brought my father over to her tent and tended his head injury and he regained consciousness. She apologized to him for knocking him out, and he forgave her. He introduced himself, and she introduced herself.
"My mother was a registered nurse and a botanist, and she was down in Gandorona studying the local plant life looking for cures for space diseases. My mother wanted to bring healthcare to all people and species, no matter where they lived. My father loved my mother because she was kind, witty, talkative, honest, and smart. My parents spend two months together and realized that they were so much alike, and they fell in love. They traveled together across the galaxy and went on numerous adventures."
Jim Hawkins grew curious to hear the girl's story. He felt that her parents were more loving to each other and to her, than his father was to him and his mother. He had a hidden frown when his father came to his mind. But he shook the thought away and brought his attention back to Rose.
"So Rose, where did your parents' adventures take them to?" Delbert asked.
"Their next adventure took them to meet more friends," she replied. "My parents went on a hiking trail up to a mountain at the highest point and they lost their balance falling into a raging river, and were nearly killed from falling down a waterfall, but they were rescued when a net that was used for catching fish, stopped their fall. My parents saw a person climbing up a rope ladder, and they called out to him to stop, and they wanted to thank him. Their mysterious savior was gone, but he left his calling card on the wall.
"It was the symbol of the mysterious Violet Eyed People, the original inhabitants of Gandorona, thought to be a lost civilization. But they've been alive for many years and are very secretive, and no one has ever seen them before. Clearly, the Violet Eyes saved their lives, my parents vowed to thank them somehow, to pay them back with some good deed of their own."
"Wow, I never heard of the Violet Eyes," Jim said.
"Violet Eyes," Silver said. "I once heard of 'em in many stories, so they really do exist."
"Mm-hm, I always though the Violet Eyed People were just stories," Rose nodded. "Until I saw one years later."
"What did your parents do for them?" Delbert asked.
"Later on, my parents found out that Ironbeard stole a sacred stone from the Violet Eyes. Ironbeard was one of the most feared pirates in the entire galaxy, like the legendary Captain Flint. They figured that returning this precious stone would be the perfect opportunity to pay back the Violet Eyes, and they tracked Ironbeard down and took back the stone. They arrived at a temple that marked the border to the tribe's land and placed the stone on an altar; when they turned away, there was a rustle of leaves, and the stone was gone. All that was there was a gift for my parents. The Violet Eyed People were so grateful to my parents for the safe return of their precious stone that they accepted them as members of their family. After three years of being together, my parents got married, and a year later, I was born, and everything was complete."
"Let me show you something." After taking a deep breath, she went over towards a drawer in her desk and pulled it open. She reached in and grabbed a small rectangular photograph of a man and a woman, and a little girl of six-years-old.
The three men's eyes widened, the woman was a splitting image of Rose, with pale skin, a heart shaped face, and long flowing auburn hair tied in a low bun. However, her eyes had chocolate brown orbs. The man was tall and slender with kind blue-green eyes and his hands firmly held onto the woman's shoulders with his smile very gentle. In between the adults, the little girl has auburn hair and a pale complexion from her mother and her father's blue-green eyes. She wore a lavender dress with a ribbon in her hair and had a sweet smile on her face. It didn't take long for Jim, Silver, and Delbert to realize that this was Rose and her parents.
"Are those your parents?" Delbert asked, adjusting his glasses.
"Yes," the redhead said.
"What are their names?"
"David and Margaret. I used to call my father, King David and they would call me, Rosebud." She looked back at the picture and allowed her fingers to smooth over the glass.
"You really miss them, don't you?" Jim asked.
She nodded sadly as she felt her eyes moistened again. She quickly wiped them away and placed down the picture on her desk and looked back at the trio.
"I decided to bring my family pictures wherever I travel. Whenever I bring them with me, it feels that my parents are still with me," she looked down and held up her locket, and ring. "These items were from my mother. Mr. Arrow gave them to me the day we left for the voyage."
The three men looked at her jewelry and Rose looked down at her ring, staring at the smoothness of the gold and her index finger gently tapped on the jewel. Memories came back to her when she was being held in her mother's tender arms and would look down to see the ruby ring on her mother's right hand. She would often cup her mother's locket and Margaret would open it to show to holograms of the happy moments. Another memory came when her father who would play pretend with her and bring her out to the parks to experience nature. Then she felt something touching her shoulder, she looked up to see a floating hand with its' index finger tapping her shoulder. The hand transformed back into Morph as he chirped and cuddled on her pale cheek.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I just have memories coming back."
"That's okay Rose," Delbert replied, reassuring her. "What happened next?"
"After I was born, my parents moved into a village where there was a lagoon nearby and we could see the stars from the sky. My early childhood was happy, and I loved my parents dearly." Then her eyes darkened. "But one night when I was only six, a fire broke out into my house. My parents got to my room to get me out. As my father was looking for an axe to break down the door, a piece of a beam fell from the ceiling and landed on my arm, burning my skin. I panicked and tried to put it out; I felt that my flesh was about to fall off. My parents were able to get me out of the house and the fire brigade arrived.
"The cause of the fire was a loose wire and the electricity over heated causing a spark and the fire started to build up. My father had a scar on his leg, but he was all right. Sadly, that fire caused me to suffer panic attacks when I'm near it and I've been terrified of fire ever since. I could never go near it, even the smallest flame from a candle or match, would cause me to run away in horror!"
"So dat's why ye got upset with t'e bonfire," Silver said, finally understanding. Jim and Delbert nodded in agreement.
"Yes," the redhead nodded. "I ended up getting scars after I was burnt. I could never go out in public with these scars, so I ended up wearing long sleeved clothes, no matter the weather."
"Rose, if you don't mind," Jim said. "Can you show us, your scars?"
At first, the girl hesitated, but nodded, "Sure."
Rose slowly stood up and placed her chameleon down on her stool. Her fingers delicately pulled the laces in the back of her bodice and felt it growing looser and looser around her ribs. She allowed the bodice to slip off her arms and it landed softly on the floor. She hesitated for a moment, thinking that she shouldn't take off her shirt in front of men.
Facing away, she took a deep breath and slowly pulled off her shirt, only to be wearing her chemise. Her bare arms were exposed to the cold air and goose bumps were forming. As soon as she turned towards the men, she revealed the large jagged pale pinkish-white scar on her left shoulder trailing down her bicep ending at her elbow. Jim, Silver, and Delbert gasped in horror at the sight of her scar.
"Oh my God!" Jim said taking Rose's arm and stared at the scar.
"What t'e blazes?" Silver exclaimed.
Rose looked down, knowing the scars will remind her of the pain. She even turned around to show another paler one going down her shoulder blade.
"I've never seen such scars," Delbert added.
"After getting these scars, I went to a burn treatment center to have them healed and they did. My back healed, and so did my arm. I'll have these scars for as long as I live."
Rose grabbed her shirt and pulled it back on and tied on her bodice. She sat back down and continued her story.
"After the fire, I thought everything was going to be normal again," she said, her face looking down. Tears were refilling her eyes, as she looked up streaming down her face. "But I was wrong. Four months later, tragedy struck again. I woke up in the middle of the night, and looked out from my window, and I discovered that pirates were attacking my village. All I can remember was the houses lit on fire, people screaming and running, along with guns and cannons going off."
Jim's blue eyes widened, he remembered reading pirates in his bedtime stories when he was young, and never thought that they would be involved in real life situations.
"My mother entered my room and saw me awake, she picked me up and we headed down to the foyer where my father was standing with his sword. They planned to hide me in one of the secret closets and try to fight the pirates. My father told me that these pirates are dangerous and not like the ones that I would read in the stories. They wouldn't spare me, and will kill me, especially never trust them. He gave me his last goodbye and handed me over to my mother. She headed to the living room and placed me in the hidden room behind a cabinet and instructed me not to come out, until she came back.
"As I was hiding, I suddenly heard my father in the vestibule, and it turned out he was slayed first by the pirates. They came in and battled with my mother, and unfortunately, she didn't make it. Before they could try to find me, the army arrived, and the pirates got away. Mr. Arrow discovered me in the hidden cabinet and took me in his arms. I asked him where my parents were, and he explained that they didn't make it. I was carried into the foyer, and I suppose he didn't want me to see this, but I saw my parents."
More tears poured down her face and her voice croaked. "Their lifeless bodies… covered in white sheets stained… with blood…. I'll never… forget that sight. From that moment on… my life… as I knew it… was over..."
The redhead suddenly, let out all her emotions that were bottled up; she fell to the floor and lies down, bursting in tears and sobbed harder. Jim came next to her, he helped her up and hugged her close. The girl's tears wetted against his leather jacket and shirt, but he didn't mind at all.
"I never knew that you had hard times," Jim muttered. "Just like me."
"Oh Rose," Delbert said, kneeling to the girl, placing his hand on her shoulder sympathetically. "I'm so sorry I misjudged you. Your parents died trying to save you."
Rose gave a sad nod. She took a few stuttering breaths to calm down and sat back in her chair.
"When did t'e Captain and Mr. Arrow took yeh in?" Silver asked.
"After my parents died, the village put a small and modest funeral for them. I was sent to an orphanage and spent three months there. After arriving, I began to isolate myself and not interact with the other girls. But one day, I noticed Mother and Mr. Arrow coming in, and she took notice of me. It took a while for me to trust them, and eventually I began to and eventually, Mother adopted me."
"After the adoption, I grew fearful of the outside world and shut myself away from all contact. I never stepped out from the walls of my home for nine years, thinking that I would get hurt again and lose anyone that I was close to.
"I often at times wondered if I had died with my parents. Why was I spared, and they weren't? You know… sometimes… sometimes, I wished I had died with them!"
"Rose, don't you ever say that!" Silver said, sharply to her. The girl flinched from his sharp voice. He had never spoken to her like that before. He placed both of his enormous hands on her shoulders and forced her to look at him in his eyes. "Your parents' priority was you. T'ey wanted to make sure that you were safe. T'ey wouldn't want to lose their only child, if you had died, they would have missed you."
"Silver's right Rose," Jim agreed. "It's never okay to think you'd be better off dead. You've got so much to live for. Your parents would've wanted that."
The redhead took a deep breath and listened to what the boy and cyborg said. They were right, she had to live her life to the fullest and experience moments, whether they were good or bad. Delbert on the other hand was confused and wondered what did she do living at home.
"But there's something I don't understand. How were you educated if you didn't go to school?" Delbert asked.
"I had help from home," Rose said, giving a gentle smile. "While Mother and Mr. Arrow went on voyages, I had a governess who helped me with my education and my life. My governess, Lorraine was a friend of my late mother when they were young girls. She and her husband Thomas, have two daughters: Hazel and Willow; they were friends with me, when we were little. Lorraine and her daughters came to live with us after her husband died. Thomas was also a friend of my father too. Hazel and Willow too were my only friends, along with Artemis."
"I never knew the captain had a soft side and capable of loving someone," Delbert admitted. "To love and take care of in sickness."
"When I was nine years old, I had pneumonia and nearly died. Mother and Mr. Arrow stayed right by me every minute. I was lying in my bed coughing hard and struggling to breathe, with sharp pains in my chest. But then someone left a pouch on the windowsill. It was from the Violet Eyes; they left a medicine of their own. Somehow, they found out about my illness and decided to create a medicine to bring down the fever. Mother placed it in a broth and gave it to me and I managed to get better. So far, the Violet Eyes are still looking out for me, after all what my parents did for them. Maybe someday, I should thank them and pay them back with a good deed of my own. A few weeks after my fifteenth birthday, I was offered to go on this voyage and after cautious thinking, I decided to go. So, I came to the R.L.S Legacy, met the three of you, and you know the rest."
"Why didn't you ever tell us, about your past Rose?" Jim asked.
"I guess I didn't know how, so I kept it a secret," the redhead admitted, lowering her head. "I was afraid that if I had told anyone of this, I'd be faced with judgment and shame, no matter how truthful I sound. I've never spoken about my past or my parents to anyone. Only my adoptive parents, Lorraine, Hazel, and Willow were the only ones who knew about it; and now, you three know."
Rose broke down into tears again. Artemis stood on her mistress's shoulder and rubbed her head against the girl's cheek to comfort her. Delbert took out a handkerchief and handed it to Rose. She mumbled a 'thanks' and used it to dry her eyes.
"Ever since my parents passed away, I've fallen into a deep depression. I felt that joy and life was being sucked out of my soul, making me feel empty and hopeless." She teared up again, stuttering. "Mother and Mr. Arrow did the best they could to help me heal. Most times, I feel like I moved on, but still the pain is still in my heart. I feel like that I'm such a burden to them for putting up with me."
"No Rose. Ye are never a burden to anyone. T'e captain and Mr. Arrow only wanted what's best fer ya. No matter what happens, t'ey'll never give up for you."
"Thank you, Silver." She gave a small smile.
The three men stayed silent for a moment, as they absorbed each word from the girl's story. They couldn't believe that Rose's early life was filled with tragedy, and she is in the process of healing from the trauma and loss from her parents. Jim learned that he wasn't alone suffering from hard times.
"Rose," Jim said, taking her pale hands into his own. "Thanks for telling us."
"We honestly have no idea, how honored we are to hear about your past," Delbert added. "If there's anything you need or a shoulder to cry on, don't hesitate to come to us."
"Thank you," she replied, and then she yawned. All the crying and letting out her emotions made her incredibly exhausted. "Guess all the talking wore me out, I think I'd better get some rest."
"Yeah, I think we all could use some," Jim agreed, stretching his arms.
Everyone bided good night to each other and thanked Rose again for telling her past. They all went to their separate chambers for bed. Little did they know that one opening was uncovered and Scroop was there, listening to the entire story. He grinned madly, knowing what the captain's daughter's weakness was.
