AN: Will probably be some AU! The biggest one being Tom dying and Matthew living! Very hard topic to write about, but I think it's a topic that does need to be spoken about!
Sybbie lay awake in her bed that night, large tears slid down her cheeks like waterfalls. She buried her face within her pillow, trying desperately to hide the sobs that were now wracking her body.
Her normally long, thick brown hair was matted to her scalp and needed to be brushed. She couldn't bring herself to care, not right now. All that was going through her mind was what happened two weeks ago, the encounter that would change her life forever. She had never seen it coming, he was supposed to be her friend! Her best friend... they'd grown up together, had laughed and made mischief together. The betrayal hurt more than the physical aspect of what he had done to her.
"Archie! What on earth are you doing? Archie, please stop. It hurts!" She struggled beneath the body of her supposed best friend, she began to scratch and kick violently in an attempt to make him stop.
She couldn't understand how this had happened! She was only 13, Archie was 14 and the same age as George. She had never even dreamed of being intimate with any man! Not until she was married and a lot older. Sybbie Branson, the only granddaughter to the Earl of Grantham had been overpowered by one of her eldest friends. Archie knew full well what her thoughts on the subject were, being from an aristocratic family as well knew what was expected of them. She watched in fear as his eyes turned dark, how he had growled in her ear that she was a whore and had been leading him on.
She shuddered violently as the memory overtook her, protectively pulling the bedspread around her.
They had been exploring the woods surrounding the Downton Estate, it was something that they would do more often than not when he would come to visit. They'd been talking normally, mostly about how his first year at Eton had gone, what he'd done during the summer holidays and how she'd gotten on during her final year at the school in the village. It was almost like a switch had been flipped, Archie had pushed her down an embankment whilst she had been facing away from him.
It had only taken a second, but that was all it took to send her tumbling down to the ground below. She landed awkwardly on her arm and hit her head. She laid there winded and disorientated, gasping for breath. It didn't take her long to find her voice, she told him to get off of her and to let her go. His voice cut through hers as though she hadn't spoken at all, tearing her dress off of her body and telling her to just enjoy it. His hands immediately found her breasts and pulled her bra down, he latched onto her breasts in a very firm grip. She yelped pitifully and almost immediately one of his hands covered her mouth, preventing anyone else from overhearing what was about to happen to her.
"Archie... Please just let me goooo! I won't tell, I won't tell please!" She choked back sobs, she couldn't believe that this was happening to her. Especially at the hands of her best friend.
"Come on Sybbie, just enjoy it! It's only sex, why do you have to be a bitch about it! Just enjoy yourself... I've wanted to do this for a long time" he bent down and kissed her neck, leaving her sick and even more frightened.
"Archie, this isn't you! You're my best friend, you always included me when you would play with George! Even when it was unladylike and you'd been told not too! You're like a brother to me... you're like a brother to George too! Why are you doing this? Please just let me go!" She began to sob and kicked more violently, hoping that it would snap him out of what he was doing to her. Instead he laughed, a cruel laugh that sounded so foreign coming from him. He bit her neck hard, hoping for a better reaction. Instead, she yelped and turned her head away. Her neck was already bruising quite badly, he gave her a disappointed look.
"But Syb... I'm having fun!" He growled, grinding his hips roughly against her. His dark brown eyes stared down into hers and he chuckled as his hand slipped into her underwear, rubbing against her barely covered intimate spot. He was disappointed to find no wetness there.
"Aren't you even a little excited by me?" He growled, shoving her underwear aside so he could clumsily rub against her opening.
"Stop it! Please... don't!" She wriggled and kicked under him, hoping to get him off of her but it was all in vain. She just wanted to be anywhere else but here, why had she not taken up her Aunt Mary and Uncle Matthew's offer to go to the village instead. She wanted to scream, to cry even but she knew that it would do her no good now. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry, whatever had happened to the Archie she knew was beyond her. He was already becoming too turned on by her begging and pleading, she tried to push his hands away. She was so desperate for him to turn back to the kind and thoughtful boy that she had known before all of this had happened. The boy who would never even so much as playfully grab her or push her around! She didn't even recognise the boy above her, yes he looked the same but this was not the Archie that she knew. It was like Jekyll and Hyde!
"For fuck sake!" He hissed. He glared down at her, removing his hands for a second so he could undo his trousers. "Stop being such a bitch and just enjoy yourself!" She felt bile rise in her throat, the acidic feeling burning her esophagus and she swallowed painfully. She was trying desperately to make him stop, the only problem was that her mind was going completely blank, the panic she was feeling was overwhelming her and she had no idea what to do or say.
As she heard his zip coming undone, she couldn't stop the lone tear that dripped down her face. This couldn't be happening to her, she couldn't be having her innocence and virtue stolen from her. She then heard the awful sound of him tearing her underwear in half and throwing them off to the side, she felt something hard touch her most private spot.
"Archie... Archie please don't!"
The top part of her body, mainly her upper arms and chest area were tender from all the grabbing, bruises and bite marks. The marks that would be there for days, weeks even. A constant reminder of what the person who she had once loved like a brother had done to her. She felt his hips move again and some more tears slid down her cheeks.
"Archie... you can't do this to me!" She hiccuped pitifully as her bottom lip shook.
"I can do whatever I want!" He growled and pushed roughly inside of her, groaning as she let out a sob od pain. The friction he caused with just that one movement alone sent waves of pain through her, she whimpered tearfully.
All Sybbie wanted to do was tell someone. To tell anyone what had happened to her, but she was so ashamed and embarrassed. How could she ever look at her Aunt Mary, Uncle Matthew and her amazing big cousin George and tell them what had happened to her. How she was no longer pure, how she was spoiled and ruined. The only thing she was thankful for was that her dear mama and papa were no longer around to see the car crash that her life was turning into. The memory continued.
She couldn't scream because her hand was covering her mouth, not only that but it was like her body had betrayed her. It was like she was paralysed! SHe couldn't move, think or scream. She couldn't understand why one of the servants or gardners weren't coming to her rescue, there were normally at least one or two around the garden and surrounding areas at any given time! Why couldn't they come to her rescue?
If only she could get her body to cooperate with her, to reach something heavy that she could use to bash him on the side of his head and make this nightmare end. But realistically with the way his weight was pushing down on her, even with all her strength there was no way she would be able to get him off of her. As Archie thrust in and out of her, her mind revelled in nothing but the pain he was inflicting on her body. He was supposed to be her friend! They'd known each other their whole life! Did that mean nothing to him?
He continued thrusting, ignoring her tears of pain until his body suddenly went ridged and he finished with a loud groan. He got up and smirked down at her before walking off towards the house leaving her terrified, bleeding and broken on the floor. She stayed there on the floor for a few hours before pulling on her dress and standing up, limping towards the house. She was so thankful that for some reason there was no servants around really to see her in this state. She snuck into her room and crawled into the bath, allowing the hot water to burn the scent of him away.
Sybbie whimpered and sobbed as she came out of the memory. She got up and looked in the mirror, taken aback by her gaunt appearance. She had always been slim anyway, but this was on another level even for her. She hadn't left the room once in the two weeks since it had happened, much to her Aunt and Uncle's anger. She had feigned sickness for the first week, having all her meals brought up to her dutifully by Anna alongside orange juice and copious amounts of tea and hot chocolate. Most of it had been thrown out the window or flushed down the toilet, she couldn't bare the thought of food at the moment. The second week was a lot harder, they were growing increasingly worried about her. She had never refused to see them before, not even after her beloved papa had died last year.
A couple hours had gone past of Sybbie staring at her reflection, her bruises were fading slowly especially from in between her legs and stomach. She couldn't let anyone see her in this state, especially Anna as she would normally dress her every morning. She heard a knock on her bedroom door.
"Who is it?" Sybbie squeaked slightly, covering up her frail body with her dressing gown.
"It's Aunt Mary darling, I want you downstairs for breakfast today. You've spent far too long in your bedroom and quite frankly I'm worried about you, as is your Uncle. Do you want me to send Anna in now? Your cousin is already eating everything in sight and there will be none left!"
Sybbie opened her bedroom door, nothing really looked amiss unless you looked deeper. She plastered a fake smile to her face. "No thank you, Aunt Mary. I want to dress myself today. I will be down in a moment!" She bit her lip, trying desperately to conceal how much pain she was in. There was no way she could say anything, not right now.
Mary frowned slightly at the odd request, something seemed off. She couldn't pinpoint it exactly. She did look awfully pale and she could tell that the young girl had lost weight. She nodded slightly.
"Alright my darling, I'll see you downstairs in just a moment then!" She reached her hand out to smooth the young girls hair from her face, something she would do often. What was unusual about this was the way Sybbie jerked back sharply, almost falling backwards in her haste to get away from the touch.
"Sorry Aunt Mary, your hands are freezing!' She lied smoothly, ignoring her Aunt's piercing gaze. She knew if she looked up at her then she would crack, and she couldn't. She didn't want to burden them with this.
"Cold hands? In September? Ok, well I'll leave you to get dressed." Mary left the room and closed the door behind her, as she walked along the corridor alarm bells rang in her head. Something was desperately wrong.
Sybbie breathed a sigh of relief, she had averted the attention off her for now. She sat in front of the dresser, brushing through her matted hair with her brush, gently getting out all the knots until her hair was smooth again. She soon made her way to the wardrobe, selecting her most comfortable and casual dress. She made sure it covered all the marks on her arms and chest, gently styling her hair so that it covered her neck area. She took a deep breath and shivered slightly, fixing a smile to her face.
She walked down the stairs, greeting every servant she passed along the way. Reaching the dining room, she turned the door handle and stepped inside. Immediately she felt all their eyes on her and she looked down, uncomfortable at all the sudden attention. She looked at her Aunt, Uncle and cousin and pulled her dress down subconsciously trying to comfort herself, she felt totally on edge.
"Good Morning Aunt Mary, Uncle Matthew, George..." She stood awkwardly, as though this was the first time she had ever been in this dining room. Mary noticed and frowned slightly, her eyes darting towards Matthew. He had noticed too and raised his eyebrow slightly in concern.
"Good morning, darling!" Matthew smiled warmly, gesturing to the seat in between himself and Mary. He filled the girls plate with a huge portion of scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon and toast. He then made quick work of pouring her a cup of sugary tea, he had noticed the weight loss the minute she came into the room. She looked really unwell!
Sybbie sat between them, her stomach doing somersaults as she looked at the huge portion in front of her. She picked up the knife and fork, cutting the food up into tiny bite sized pieces. She chewed on some if the toast, she wished that she was in her bedroom. Away from prying eyes and away from the family she loved.
"Morning Syb!" George said, stuffing some bacon into his mouth whilst Mary scolded him for his bad manners. Sybbie's blood ran cold hearing that name again! She tightened her hands around her knife and fork so tight that her knuckles went pale. Her breathing became shallow and laboured, Mary was so busy scolding George that she didn't notice. Matthew did however and moved a little closer to her.
"Are you alright sweetheart? You've turned really pale all of a sudden!" Matthew spoke in a calm, gentle tone. He reminded her so much of her papa, she had to turn away otherwise she would've spilled everything to him without an ounce of hesitation.
"I... I'm fine... really I just... don't feel well. I have a virus maybe!" She felt so bad lying to him, he had always been there for her and loved her from the moment she could remember! He was always including her when he would take George out to play, he would always take them in cakes and other treats when their nanny wasn't looking and he had never so much as raised his voice to her. She gulped her tea, trying to wash away the knot in her throat.
Matthew glanced at Mary who was suddenly looking at her niece, concern etching on her face. They were not at all amused by their niece's attempt at lying to them. Mary felt completely responsible for Sybbie, after the death of Sybil when Sybbie was only a few hours old and then the devastating death of Tom last year and then factoring her own very elderly parents who had decided to move to Scotland and retire out there. It was just the four of them now living in Downton and they were close. Very close.
George just ate his way through breakfast, not noticing the tension in the room. After all he was 14, if it didn't concern him directly then he didn't notice a thing. Sybbie began to push the food around her plate, not wanting to eat at all. She felt so unwell and sick to her stomach.
"Please can I go upstairs? I don't feel well..." Sybbie made a move to stand up, glancing at her Aunt who had put her knife and fork down.
"Yes, you may. Get up to bed at once! Why didn't you tell me how poorly you were this morning? You do look incredibly peaky," Mary fussed over her feeling her face to check for a fever, it took everything in Sybbie's body not to recoil away. It's Aunt Mary... It's Aunt Mary you're safe, it's not Archie.
Sybbie stood up shakily and slowly made her way towards the door, hiding the pain she was feeling as best as she could. "I'll be down in a few hours, I probably just need a rest..." She whispered.
"Oh no you won't young lady! You will be staying in bed for the rest of the day and your Aunt and I will be up to check on you later!" Matthew admonished gently, worry lacing his tone at the odd behaviour his niece was exhibiting. George giggled slightly, his parents were always worrying and fussing over them both.
Mary waited until she was sure that Sybbie was out of earshot before turning to her son, "George Matthew Crawley! Stop laughing at once! This isn't a laughing matter, I'm very concerned about your cousin! She's not spoken to you has she?" Mary knew how close the two were and she knew that sybbie would go to George more than she would to them.
George looked contrite, he thought for a while as he run a hand through his hair.
"No Mother, this is the first time I've seen her in a couple of weeks now that you mention it, honest!" He chewed on his lip anxiously and Matthew began to get worried, he knew their boy would never lie to them. Not about his cousin's welfare, she was his best friend and his little cousin. He was always fiercely protective of her.
"Alright my dear chap, don't worry so. Your mother and I will get to the bottom of this! Go on, enjoy your day. Off you go" Matthew pat him on the back, smiling encouragingly as George headed towards the gardens. Matthew and Mary stood up, exiting the dining room and making their way towards the library. Matthew sat down and Mary cuddled within his embrace, her fingers clutching at his shirt.
"I really don't like this Matthew! Something is seriously wrong, I can feel it!" Mary sighed softly, clutching him even tighter.
"My darling, we will get to the bottom of this. I promise you."