Abandonment
Abandonment I
looked at the older fox and glanced between him and the captain flicking my
tail. My stomach was still churning from
being empty and battling withdrawals.
"It's been a long time since I've seen you this ill. I'm surprised you haven't tried running away
like you did years ago, after all that is what has led you to this point in
your life. Running away and blaming the
world for your issues." His words stung,
I stood up from the bed, and nearly collapsed as a dizzy spell overtook
me. "Strong words coming from a dog
barking at a wounded fox. I doubt you'd
say if I was fully healed and had my senses."
I shot back at him, I wasn't about to let him insult me, he might have
been my foster father at one point in time, but now he was just another fox,
barking at me. "Maybe you need to sit
down; you look like you are not very light on your feet." I took a step towards him and bared my teeth
at him. "If I was light on my feet, I
would knock your Viking teeth out right now!" He took two long strides and was muzzle to
muzzle, nose to nose, and eye to eye with me. "That's enough!" The Captain called out and made his way
between us to keep the peace. "You're
lucky." I smirked still baring my teeth
to him and the last thing I remember was getting knocked to the floor as my
head hit the side of the bed, knocking me out cold... Three
weeks had passed since my fever and I took care to avoid my father and mother
the best I could and spent my time alone in the family library with Nanny as
she taught me reading, writing, arithmetic, history, science, and Latin. I was reviewing my history and frowned,
"Nanny, why do I need to study history?"
She looked at me and adjusted her Maid smock while adjusting her glasses
and eyeballed me. "History is very
important, if you do not take to heart the lessons, history is bound to repeat
itself." I glanced up over the book and
looked over at a book entitled Military Defeats and Heroes of War I
stood up from my small desk and walked over to it and was immediately intrigued
by it. I skimmed through the pages, and
then I saw it. "Horatio Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar" I immediately sat down
and began reading about how Viscount Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson defeated
Napoléon's forces at Trafalgar and his other military victories. "I see you
found a book you're very interested in."
Nanny smiled seeing my enjoyment and flicked her tail from side to side.
I read the chapter within thirty minutes and went back to my other lessons. I
enjoyed Saturdays with Nanny, they were a chance for her to provide extra
tutoring for me and spend a whole day with her and Monday would be the day my
parents were heading to France. I smiled
warmly to her as I finished my lessons. It was still early in the afternoon and
I wanted to go to town, she had rewarded me for my hard work the previous week
by giving me a few pounds and silver coins.
"Nanny, could we go to town? I'd like to buy a sword." She smiled and glanced at the clock on the
wall, but that smile faded as my mother walked in and glanced around nervously
and closed the door behind her quickly she bent over a little and patted her
thighs. "Alexzander, come here my
son." I hadn't heard her call me that in
a long time and held her arms out for me, and I immediately hurried over to her
arms and nuzzled her gently. "Mother, what's wrong?" My voice was cracking from nervousness. "I
have something for you, and I want you to know that I love you with all my
heart, I wish I could say the same for your father. I'm so sorry for how I've
been treating you my son. I hope you can forgive me." Tears filled my eyes as she handed me a small
envelope, and tears filled her eyes as she held me tight and then looked over
at Nanny. "I'm leaving you some money to
take care of him and yourself. I don't
want John knowing about this. I'm sorry
for this Ms. Vivica." She gave me a
small kiss on the forehead and composed herself to a point where she was now
frowning and walked back outside of the library adjusting her dress. "Take the runt to town and do what you will
with him," Mother said as she took my father's arm and walked into the parlor
where two other gentlemen were I didn't recognize them at the time, and it
wasn't until later that I discovered they were the Judge and Mayor of London. I woke
up in a cold damp cell, my paw was bandaged up heavily and I could feel a heavy
bandage on my head that wrapped around my left ear and forehead. I opened my eyes to the sight of steel bars,
and that's when it hit me I was in the brig. "If you would control your temper,
you wouldn't be in there right now." It
was Mr. Thompson, the gentlemen I stood toe to toe with earlier. "You're lucky I was sobering up." I said as I
got to a knee grimacing in pain, I must have been flogged, or it could have
still been the withdrawals I was suffering on top of the headache or a
combination of my busted hand and everything else piled up. "Just as defiant as ever, what happened to
the bushytailed fox I took in years ago?
The young fox that was always yes sir no sir and followed the rules. I took you in when no one else would and this
is how you repay me?" I gritted my teeth and stood up slowly making my way
slowly to the bars, the dizziness had faded away, but my ears were ringing as I
flicked my tail. "I did what I had to
do. I had to leave." I looked at him as I rested my arms on the
crosslink bars holding myself up. "And
you see where running away has led you.
Here you are an exile now from England." He flicked his tail rather
upset. "I did the best I could to raise
you, for the brief period of time you lived with me, but something happened,
and you never told me what though that would cause you to leave my home and my
care." I looked down at the ground and closed my eyes. I wasn't about to break
down in tears, I had held onto my resolve for a long time, and I focused my
tears into anger thought back to that day.
"It's not what happened, it's what didn't happen." I said and looked
back at him. "I'm going to tell you what it was and you tell me who was wrong
and who was right." Two
years had passed since that day in the library, and matters between my parents
and I had deteriorated to a point there was no reconciliation. I had become angry and bitter at them for not
supporting me enough and I was tired of it. I also took to avoiding them at all
costs and if any words were spoken, I made to keep them short and did my best
to not cross them. I might have been
eight years old, but my mindset was that of a teenager. I had already jumped several grades and was
on the verge of skipping a few more. I
was a fast learner and took everything to heart and applied it to life and
found simple solutions to complex equations through shortcuts and was beginning
to take a liking to chemistry and found myself in front of my father's
chemistry set. "What do you think you're
doing?" It was father's voice and he
wasn't very happy with me. "I'm working on a chemistry solution." He walked
over and roughly grabbed my tail pulling me off the small box I was standing
on. I grimaced in pain, but didn't allow
tears to form ever since he told that "only vixens cried" I narrowed my eyes as
I fell back and quickly regained my balance when he released my tail landing
with both feet on the ground. "Did I
give you permission to use my chemistry set?"
"No sir." I replied as I started
to breathe heavily and flicked my tail as I pinned my ears back. "Leave the fox alone, John if he wants to
burn the house down, then let him." It was the voice of my mother's. She walked into the room and over to my
father she had small bump developing in her midsection and had been showing for
a few weeks now even though she did her best to hide it. "Things are changing, boy. You're no longer going to be the only child
here and it would be in your best interest to start following my rules, unless
you'd prefer to live on the streets." I
glanced over my shoulder towards the door and did my best to keep from
retracting my claws, the ultimate sign of defiance and a sure way of getting thrown
out into the streets. "I've been thrown out more times than I can count, and
I'm sure I could survive on my own." I
said defiantly as I turned back to face him and quickly found myself being
lifted up by my shirt and vest to look my father in the eyes. I didn't turn my head at all and stared right
back into his unlike I had in the past.
"You little cuss! I could break you in half if I wanted to and I
wouldn't have any regret about it!" I stared straight back and
something inside of me snapped. All I remember was being dropped to my feet as
I felt blood on my paw and my father holding the side of his face in pain as he
smiled evilly as he stood up and I felt my blood turn cold as I watched the
cuts on his face heal almost instantly, and his eyes were burning a bright red
as if there was a flame in the middle of his pupil. My eyes went wide in horror
at what I had done and what I had just witnessed. "Foolish boy, I think it's time for you learn
a valuable lesson." I started to back up
towards the door, but stopped in my tracks as I saw my father grab a leather
whip from a small wicker basket and bent it to where the end was at the handle
and cracked it a few times looking at me.
"Remove your vest, shirt, and tie, boy!"
I couldn't move I was frozen in fear and horror. "Elizabeth, leave us and lock the door on
your way out. We're not leaving this
room, till he learns his place." My
mother nodded to him as she walked past me, and I could have sworn I saw a tear
form in the corner of her eye as I didn't budge from my spot and heard the door
lock behind me as she left. His fur was
on end as he released the end of the whip and cracked it over my head forcing
me to lower my head a bit to keep from getting caught with it and still I
didn't budge. "Remove your garments boy,
before I beat you to death!" My father half yelled, half shouted as his ears
flattened and cracked the whip again this time catching my shoulder forcing me
to grab it and cry out in pain as I put a paw it, I felt the whip crack again
this time catching my arm. "Father, please
stop!" My cries fell on deaf ears as he
proceeded to whip me, not caring that he was destroying my clothes as his eyes
burned in fury. This went on for what felt like
hours, he had beaten me to a point I was lying face down on the floor, my voice
gone from crying out and pain wrecking my body as blood was beginning to seep
through my tattered and torn clothes, when finally he stopped and walked over
picking me up roughly by the scruff of my neck forcing me to my knees looking
me in the eyes with the fire still there "Have you learned your place boy?" He
backed slapped me when I didn't answer. I was drifting in and out of
consciousness. "Y-yes s-sir." I muttered on the verge of passing out. He let go
of the scruff of my neck as I fell to the floor at his feet. "Foolish, foolish boy! You will spend the
night out on the streets tonight, and if you don't return tomorrow, it wouldn't
break my heart at all! I have another
child on the way that would take your place, and perhaps have a bit more worth,
you worthless little cuss!" He proceeded to drag my body by the throat to the
door and knocked on it with the whip once he wiped the blood off the whip onto
my pants, the only part of my clothes that didn't get destroyed. Mother opened
the door and Nanny almost fainted seeing me, but was able to land in a nearby
chair. "Save your tears for this foolish
dog, ladies, he's a lost cause and has been a thorn in my side for far too
long." He dragged me to the door as I
opened my eyes and did my best to stand up but he roughly slammed me against it
knocking the air out of my lungs as I started to gasp for air and my eyes went
wide in pain from the lashes on my back hitting the door at the same time. I felt my vision start to blur and watched as
mother stood beside Nanny not really showing any concern at all for me, while
Nanny buried her face in her paws crying. The last thing I remember before I
blacked out was hearing the door open and landing on the cold wet pavement as
rain began to pour down. "You will soon
be on the streets for good, boy!"When I came to I let out a loud cry
of pain feeling a liquid being poured on my back as I did my best to fight back
the tears. "Easy lad, easy does
it." It was Ray's voice, and I weakly
turned my head to him as he put a paw to the back of my head as I watched Ms.
Rosetta tend to my wounds. "Do I even
want to know what happened?" Ms. Rosetta asked me as a tear rolled down my
cheek. The pain was unbearable, but I was thinking about the anger I had for my
father and my mother at this point and weakly flicked my tail feeling my fur
start to stand on end. "Ray, I'd like a word with you." It was Mr. Shade. I felt Ray's hand leave my head and watched
as he walked out of the room leaving me and Ms. Rosetta, but soon the pain and
torment overtook me as I blacked out once more."You still haven't answered my
question. What happened that would cause you run away like you did?" I looked
at Mr. Thompson my anger growing as I glanced up from the bars. "My father nearly beat me to death, and all
you care about is what happened?" He
walked over and grabbed my muzzle making me look into his eyes. "Tell what
happened between us, I'm not concerned with what your father did to you. What did I do wrong that would make you run
away?" He looked into my eyes trying to see what I was thinking, but I was a
brick at times and other times I was granite. I had been returned home and even
though I moved from the nursery to a room of my now, it was anything but the
same not sense the beating I received from my father. I focused more on my grades than anything
putting the incident behind me and never really spoke to anyone about it. I was at a breaking point with my parents and
I had enough. One night, my parents
spoke to me "Alexzander, tell me what you learned from that beating?" My father asked as he wickedly smiled at me,
I had just walked past my parents on the way to the stairwell leading to my
room when he stopped. "You're master of this house." I said as I started to
head up the stairs. "What do you think
of your mother and me?" I felt my blood boil, and my fur stand on end as I
stood at the base of the steps and quickly hurried back into the room with my
parents, the anger and hatred showing in my eyes as I looked at my father and
mother. "I hate you." I said softly
lowering my head to him afraid of what he would say or do. "What did you say?" My mother put down her stitching and looked
at me with a confused look on her face.
I started to breath heavily and in a fit of anger and rage I cried out
as I looked at them both "I hate you and wish you were dead!" I stormed out of
the room. "You know the rest of the
story." I said, I wasn't about to relive
the nightmare of finding them both dead a few days later in the street and
found myself locked up for their deaths. "I spent days in that prison waiting
for my trial and knew I was innocent, but the judge said I was not guilty,
instead of an innocent verdict." I
looked at Mr. Thompson and turned my head away as my ears flattened in shame as
I felt my tail wrap around my leg and tap against the bars just a little.
"After my trial I was sent to a work house and spent time in and out of
boarding schools. More nightmares and
they continued until we crossed paths."
I looked at Mr. Thompson as I said that, and he smiled weakly at me and
flicked his tail as he brushed at a fly that was hovering over his ear. "How
could I forget the day we met, it was very eventful." I said and flicked my
tail as I looked up at him.I had found myself digging around
garbage looking for food and I felt rain start to fall on me as I let out a
small growl of disgust as I crawled under a small awning trying to get some
shelter from the rain. A few minutes
later, Mr. Thompson was making his way down the cobblestone path way holding an
umbrella and spotted me under the awning, he stopped in his tracks and was
standing a good three feet from me when he flicked his tail and motioned for me
to come over. "Come here lad," He had a
rather friendly tone in his voice, but I had been tricked by several other
foxes before and led to either a boarding school or workhouse and I wasn't
about to be tricked again, I just stood my ground and tried to play dumb as I
glanced around while he took a step closer and immediately recognized me. "You wouldn't happen to be Alexzander Monroe
now would you lad?" "Yes Sir." I
responded, still very leery to approach him and backed myself against the wall
behind me, before a cold drop of water landed on my tail making me jump. "How
would you like a hot meal and a warm roof over your head, and I'm not talking
about a work house or boarding school. I'm asking if you would like to come
home with me, My Prince." I didn't know what to think and was very
cautious of walking towards him at first, but when he referred to me as "My
Prince" I didn't think twice and immediately hurried over to his side. My clothes were worn out and torn and my
shoes were being held to by pieces of string and yarn that were tied around the
soles and over the top. He pulled me
close to his side and put an arm around me as he led down the street. I flicked my tail nervously holding on
tightly to his arm and as we passed by a nearby workhouse, I let out a small
growl of anger and betrayal. "It is okay
lad, you're not going here." No sooner
did he say that, the gates to the workhouse opened as a grey wolf with white
streaks over his ears and face approached us.
He wore a dark black suit with a grey vest and held a slender cane. "Thank you for returning this runaway fox." I started to pull away from Mr. Thompson, but
he held onto me tightly and smirked at me as he looked at the wolf. "Who are you my good sir?" Mr. Thompson asked
flicking his tail as I continued to pull away.
"I am Mr. William Brinkley, the owner of this establishment, and that
fox is a runaway." Mr. Thompson pulled me
to his side as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder pulling me as close to him
as possible and held onto me tightly wrapping his tail around me taking a
protective stance as I calmed down some.
"I am Mr. Harold Thompson, owner of Thompson Textiles and Fabrics, and
this young fox has ties to the throne." "That's
nice and everything Mr. Thompson, but I'm afraid you're going to have to return
that runaway to me regardless of his dealings with the throne." Mr. Brinkley took a step forward towards me
and as he did, Mr. Thompson caught him with a strong left knocking him to the
ground. "Maybe you didn't hear me Mr.
Brinkley, this young fox just happens to have ties to the throne, in other
words, mess with him, you mess with me."
We continued on our path as I looked back over shoulder seeing him pick
himself up slowly. "For King and
Country!" Mr. Thompson called out as he took his hat off seeing a Union Jack
fly overhead and glanced at me, trying to get me to finish our country's
motto. "God Save the Queen!" I chirped out
as we made our way to his home."Do you remember me introducing you
to your family members?" I nodded and looked
up to face him. "Odd that you mention
that, because it's what you proposed that caused me to run away from your care." He quirked an eyebrow intrigued by my
comment. "What did I do that would cause
you to run away?" I flicked my tail
against the bars getting a little irritated and slammed the pads of my paws
against the bars in anguish. "You were
going to give me away to someone I had just met, when I wanted to stay with
you!" He approached the bars, but made
sure to keep his distance. "They were
your family and after you ran away, you were almost killed had it not been for
your Uncle Edgar and Aunt Margaret!" I
bit my lip and turned my back to him as I turned my back to him retreating to
the corner of my cell away from him and away from the light. "Run away like you always do and have you
coward!" I didn't respond, for a moment.
He struck a nerve forcing me to remember my Uncle Edgar and Aunt Margaret;
after all they were ones who helped me find my footing and started me on my
path of redemption after living through nightmare after nightmare. "I'm not the one who didn't have the guts to
be a father!" I yelled out at him and I watched as he lowered his head in shame
and shook his head. "I was only doing
what I felt was best for you, Alexzander, I never meant for this to happen." I watched him walk off in sorrow from the
brig and back up to the stairs to the deck, leaving me to face the consequences
of my past actions and sins as I proceeded to rest my head back against wall of
the physical and mental confines of my cell...