Back In Hope Valley

Sizzling smoke bubbled throughout the cafe room, as men in crisp black suits, with glossy ties, walked into the cafeteria, the chimes on the door echoing. Abigail shifted her concentration up to the door from her bubbling soup, which blew a spice-like flavor across the cafe. Noticing their faces, fear crept up to her, remembering the newspaper and the telegram she recently read and received.

She felt her eyes darken, and her heartbeat racing. Unsure what to do. Her thoughts were all over the place. Using a cloth, she held the brim of the pan, and removed it from the stove. Abigail wiped her hands on her stomach where her apron covered it before walking up to the two men.

Their dark brown eyes staring into her, she felt fear creep up her, but in the most bravest and confident voice she could utter she let out the words

"Hi Gentlemen, can I help you?"

She knew they weren't here to eat.

"We're looking for the mayor of this town…Abigail Stanton"

His voice boomed and echoed throughout the cafe, as the conversation hushed down into quiet whispers before stopping. Abigail felt pained gazes of people around her, and she rubbed her palms against each other, nervous bubbling up inside of her chest. The aroma of baked banana bread spread through the cafe spreading a comfort sense in the cafe. However these men in the room seemed to have sucked out all the comfort in this room.

Back in the woods

"Julie!"

Elizabeth screamed out, her voice going three pitches higher. Unsure what to do. All of a sudden, she looked down and found Julie's blue coat which was gleaming was now dusty and the shade faint, the thin specks of mud hiding it.

All of a sudden she stopped behind Julie's coat. The man was pointing a gun at Julie, his hand on the trigger. She felt the breath stuck in the back of her throat. But she knew this was the wrong time to panic. Elizabeth felt Jack's arm wrap an arm around Elizabeth's waist gently nudging her behind him, using his other hand to pull out his weapon.

Elizabeth saw Julie bleeding and beneath her dark boots, a small hole poked through it, blood gushing out. Julie pressed her hand against the wound, but Elizabeth still saw blood beneath her gloved hand pressed on it.

Suddenly she felt a hand wrap around her stomach. But instead of the warmth and comfort she felt with Jack, a chill shot up to her spine. Her heartbeat raced.

She felt herself turning and saw her right in front of charles.

"You"

She let out, breathlessly, fury bubbling up inside of her, remembering all that his family has done to hers the past few months.

Immediately, she clenched her hand in a fist and punched his face, pushing him onto his knees. Suddenly Jack appeared in front of her, just as Charles stood up and Charles ended back onto the ground again, this time knocked out.

Elizabeth automatically turned to julie. She sat down next to her, but let out a wince as she felt the pain throb in her leg. The pain started flowing to her head, her head thudding blood rushing up and all of a sudden dizziness took over her.

Through her pain she spoke through gritted teeth, fingernails digging into the soft muddy ground as she asked Julie

"Are you alright?"

Hearing the pain in her sister's voice, Julie quickly swept up and held one of Elizabeth's hands, while Jack held the other.

"I should be asking that to you, what happened?"

Before Elizabeth could respond she felt her head thudding blood flow thudding to her head and then she felt herself getting faint. She barely heard a voice shouting 'Elizabeth!' before her eyes shut and everything went black. Her back bent against Jack's arm as it stretched down to her back, holding her tightly in his arms.

In another part of the forest

"Ms D, where did Constable Thornton go?"

Robert was up next to her, waiting patiently for Jack to come back. His brown eyes gazing up at her as his nech arched back to look into his teacher's eyes.

"Wasn't that Ms Thatcher's sister?"

Someone whispered, but then a hushed silence roamed around the woods as the children all peered up at her, seeking for her response. Ms D took a deep breath in, taking in the earthy, woody and herbal scents of the woods. Unsure what to do, she glanced around at the children. Jack went off with that peculiar girl and left her alone with the kids. He told me he would be back soon.

"Alright kids, Constable Thornton seems to be caught up with something. Lets wait for him here, there are those woods around the small sticks, lets sit around it ok?"

"Is that supposed to be where the campfire is?"

Young opal asks, grinning up at her. Ms D returns the smile, watching Opal's small legs run back to her friends before turning her attention back in front, waiting for a sign for a man with a brown jacket, backpack in hand.

Back in Hope Valley

"Mrs Stanton!"

At the sound of her name, she halted in her spot, the gentle breeze of the wind of hope valley brushing against the brim of her skirt. She turned around, smushing small tiny pebbles under her shoe, feeling it's crunch before adjusting her attention to the tall women towering over her.

Hair tied in a bun, making the sharp features on her face even more bolder. Mrs Blakely stormed up to Mrs Stanton, who couldn't help but imagine what had happened next in the town she was Mayor of.

"Yes, Florence, how may I help you?"

"What are these rumors that I'm hearing? A fake deal being made with you? You spending some of our money on some- "

Abigail rolled her eyes at her words before

'Florence! Florence!"

Florence hushed down, her thin lips pressed tightly against each other as she pressed her palms against, her looking down at Abigail with curious eyes.

"Me and Bill and Jack, will not let anything happen in this town, you understand?"

Florence opened her mouth slowly, before shutting it. She nervously wiped her hands against her dark navy skirt, falling down to her ankles. She gave Abigail a quick nodd, before turning away from Abigail and started heading away from her. Abigail exasperatedly shook her head, and let out a puff of air, as she walked into her office after her rounds in the Cafe.

Back in Hamilton

"Father! Mother!"

Viola screamed, holding a one year old boy in her hands. She quickly paced down the stairs from her mansion, her eyes searching around for her parents.

She returned with silence. A small sound of glasses twinkling from the chandelier, but that was all.

"Lionel?"

She asked, but wasn't surprised with no response to her husband's name. He was always busy, helping her parents manage their finance bills. Even though it was important, she missed him. Ever since this fiasco caused her husband to leave, it seems that their son was always frustrated, throwing toys acrossing the room, storming up in tears and tantrums. Most of which ended up leaving Viola exhausted and desperate for a break. It seemed that he missed his father too.

She bounced Joseph on her knee, ensuring the small giggle would last and not have tears roll down his flushed pink face. Viola watched as he kept fidgeting with the small blocks in his hand. Viola placed a kiss on her son´s ginger hair, as he let out a giggle turning in his mothers hands. Moments like this made her heart warm, and the worries and danger of her Parents and frustration with her husband disappeared. Just for a moment.

As she gave him a slice of orange to eat, the telephone rang, as a maid rushed through one of the doors carefully walking across the gleaming shiny floor, pieces of glass all brushed away from the disturbance days before. She kept playing with her son as the maid answered to the call before calling out for Viola, breaking her from the trance she was in with a moment with her son

She walked up, her son wrapping her legs around her side, as his arms wrapped itself around her neck as she wrapped her arms around his waist protectively. With her other arm, she picked up the phone, listening to the noise echoing through the phone.

¨Julie, Julie….I can´t half understand what you are saying¨

Then she felt her breath being caught in the back of her neck.

¨Jack? Where did Jack come from"

"Alright, Alright, I'm on my way. I'm going to have to bring Joseph though, Lionel is still not back."

Viola rushed to get her coat on, as the maid helped with her son before returning to grab the car keys before rushing out the door, her son in her arms. Her heartbeat racing, worriedly placed her son in the seat next to her before going to the other side. She pulled the car out, and drove past the towns and streets carefully finding the hospital. How could this happen? Aren't we going through too much already?