Chapter

The World at His Feet

The next day Delphe said little to Prince. Her eyes were reddened from spent tears but there was something different there. There was love. No. That wasn't it. That was always there. That was not new. But in a way it was. It was different that day. Stronger. There was something else though aside from that. A sort of silent resilience.

The day was almost normal. They played together and she told him stories. She fed him all of his proper meals. Just before supper she had laid out a dress outfit over the chair. They had eaten and she had gotten him washed up. She took the plates out to pass off to Charles. When she had come back up she closed the door behind herself and stared at the boy.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing child." He could feel otherwise, so much so that he had difficulty falling asleep. She kneeled at his side and sang to him, fondling his hair until he had no choice but to give in to sleeps pull.

"Prince. Wake up." The voice was at a whisper but the jostle had an urgency to it. "You've got to wake up."

He must have been asleep for a few hours. The house was very much dark.

"It's not morning?"

"I know. Here get up. Shh!" She hushed as he started to whine. "You've got to be quiet. Raise your arms. She pulled the gown from his small frame. He noticed that Delphe was dressed in something he's never seen before. "Get this on." She reached for the dress clothes she had laid over the chair. He was dressed in the proper attire to accompany her wear. He was the gentleman to her lady-hood. She was a regular belle just like the ladies pictured in her story books. Her dress was purple and white and had flowers and ribbons on it. She donned a ladies hat with a lace trim tucking her hair beneath. White gloves held his hand in hers. He would never know where she got the dress she used that night.

"What are we doing?"

"We're leaving."

"Tonight? I thought I was leaving tomorrow."

"No. It has to be tonight."

"Is somebody coming for me?"

"No sweetie. Nobody's coming."

"Are we going downstairs?" She wasn't quite sure how to answer that. For as far back as his memories would take him, he's never set foot on that bottom floor.

"No." At his befuddlement she said. "We're going out through there." She nodded to the window.

She climbed out first. When she was in position she coaxed him to follow. "Come on. One foot, then the other. It's easy. Just like that. Now you got it." They had used a trellis to climb down. One that had been there for generations before them and was now overgrown with ivy. Delphe guiding each step as he descended. It cracked under the weight of them but fortunately had not given way altogether and they made it down safely.

Prince was lightheaded upon standing two feet on the grass. He'd never been this low to the earth before. He felt a strange weight that leaden his legs and kept him from moving. He stared up at the dark hole of the window which had been his prison for eight years and the earth became unsteady beneath his feet. If she'd known how he was feeling then perhaps she would have given him ample time to recover himself. As it was she took no notice of his condition.

She went to Prince's case which had apparently been waiting for them at the bottom of the trellis, lifting a white shawl that had been laid over the top. Throwing it over her shoulders first then taking the case in one hand and Prince's hand in the other.

"Come on." She pulled him out. He had no choice but to let her guide him.

Her steps were hurried. Delphe very aware of everything around them. She said very little to him during this time. Hurried statements like. "Come on." or "Walk fast boy." He forced his feet to move themselves like they were supposed to. They zigzagged through a few streets and back allies.

She stopped at a carriage. "Get in." She ushered him in first and climbed in after. It was a closed carriage. He heard the driver command the horses with what sounded more like bird callings and the coach moved jerking him with it. He wasn't sure what he expected being in one of these would be like but his mind wasn't ready for the earth to move so fast past him without effort from his own two feet.

The buildings around them changed. They came from a quiet neighborhood into a much louder one. The feeling of disorientation did not dissipate. Now he had new sights and sounds and smells, such as he's never seen before and it came to him all at once. The lights twinkled around him. Men and ladies swayed as they passed. Needless to say, he became overstimulated by all the new sights and sounds and smells; coupled with the speed of the cart, and his heart raced because of them all. The new sensations frightened him. He squeezed his eyes and leaned in close to Delphe.

"It's okay boy. We're alright now."

"No. I think I'm going to be sick."

"Stop the cart!" He barely made it out before his contents were splayed out over the roadside. She was at his side, rubbing circles at his back. "You okay now?" He considered before nodding. "Come on. Let's get back inside. We shouldn't be seen."

She held him against her as they rode on. In time the sounds of women's laughter and music and boisterous men dissipated. Prince braved now to open his eyes. The streets were quieter here. Carriages passed with a clattering of hooves and swishing of wheels through dampened streets at a dwindling regularity. Soon they were the only horse and cart on the road and they drove for a long while still. Coming to a place where her dress seemed out of place but her steadfastness told him that this was exactly where she had meant to go.

"What's that smell?"

"That's the bayou." He's heard her talk about the bayou before and looked out to see it. The houses were more sporadic here. Spotting the vast expanse of grassy wetland. The dirt road they were on sliced the land in two. Next to the road on her side was the still black river. The glimmer of the moonlight traced them as they went. Barely seen twinkles of light reflected from the roots of the grass which was how he knew the water was there. They followed along this thing for some time.

The music he had thought they had left behind was returning. They were going to it. He heard it for some distance and it grew in volume as they travelled.

At the end of the road was a shack. They stopped in front and she ushered him out of the carriage. Several things made this building different than the ones they had driven passed. Firstly this one was made of wood, very much dilapidated as light poured out from between the planks. If this shack was built the same time as the others it speaks well for the stone ones as they seemed to be more put together. This made the other difference curious to him. People didn't gather in the other ones like they did here. Those buildings were all dark. If there was anyone in them at all, which there was no way to be sure, they were long asleep.

Not this place though. It was busy, smoky and had the pungent smell of swamp gas and wet wood infiltrated with sweat and bourbon. The people there were happy though. Laughing and singing and making their own music. He didn't know whether to be frightened by them or amused.

"Where are we?"

"You've got to trust me boy. Do everything I say and do not misbehave." She made a deal of this so Prince did his best to not disappoint. She let go Prince's hand to lean over the bar. She had ask a gentleman something Prince couldn't readily make out. The keep pointed to a group of three men which sat together all facing out into the room. Only one was tucked up behind a table. The elder of the three. The other two had their chairs leant on the back two legs against the wall. The middle one adorned with a short brimmed hat made of straw. When Delphe approached, these men propped upright. Everybody in this shack had dark skin like Delphe but these three here were darker. Maybe it was the music playing but what short words were exchanged Prince couldn't discern. The younger two stood and waved her to follow them to a room that was behind the wall they had been leant against.

The room was a muted 'L' shape with the door being nearer the bottom corner of the L. Meagre belongings occupied that space. To the right of the door were rags of blankets laid atop a wooden frame. The most pitiful excuse for a bed he has ever seen. There were three tables total. The smallest in width but tallest of them lay just beyond the door. The other two shorter and broader tables took up either sides of the 'L'. One opposite the makeshift bed the other adjacent a rocking chair. Notably the fanciest piece of furniture in here. What lay beyond the wall that cornered the room, Prince was never to know.

The eldest man whom had been tucked up behind the table now popped his head behind the other two.

"This will do nicely." She turned to them. "Thank you for this." She said with a most gracious air. "I will be back before midday."

"Wait." The boy pulled her arm. "You can't leave me here." She knelt to his level and caressed his cheek with her gloved hand.

"Only for a short while. You rest here and do everything these men tell you to do. I'll be back for you Prince. Before the day's over. Be good until then."

"Delphe!" He called out. She walked away giving him a final look. There was so much love in her eyes, he felt at peace. He didn't know why he was there, but he knew to trust her. He would do what she said and be good until her return.

"I'm guessing you're pretty tired." A baritone voice came from the thinnest man. They all had whiskers of black curly hair growing in straggly patches. The man who'd sat behind the table had the most weight on him which wasn't much at all and was the only of the three to have white hairs in between the rest.

"Yes sir." As much as he didn't want to be tired, he was worn down to nothing. The man's friend who had an unlighted cigarette sticking from his lips came forward lifting Prince onto the frame before bending low and removing the boy's shoes. Slipping them off his feet and setting them aside. He laid him down and drew the blankets over him tenderly. Nodding at the others, he got up closing the door between them leaving the boy alone.

His eyes were heavy as with the rest of him. The music floated through fighting his efforts to sleep. He laid with eyes open thinking about all that had happened that night. His first night out was an eventful one. He doubted even with how tired he felt that he could sleep through the music and worry but in time his eyes fell and he was gone.