Discovery
DiscoveryI was being chased through a hazy
forest by hounds. I ran as fast as I
could, jumping over fallen trees and over ditches. I kept looking over my shoulder from time and
reached the edge of a cliff, I was fixing to jump, when a large wall of fire
appeared in-front of me. I woke up hearing the cell door open and was breathing
heavily. "How many days do we have until
we reach shore?" I asked the guardsman standing up and flicked my tail. "We've been at sea three days now." I started
to undo the bandages around my paw and head.
My dizziness was finally gone, and my stomach felt empty from the lack
of food, but my mind finally felt clear for the first time in a very long
time. I also felt I could see clearer
than normal as I blinked my cadet blue eyes trying to see if I was dreaming or
if I was awake. I looked around me and
realized I was in the brig and for the first time, I felt regret...I flicked my tail and wrapped my
arms around me hiding in a garbage can trying to get warm. "I should have never run away from Mr.
Thompson's." I thought to myself as I looked at the icicles hanging from a
small railing of an alleyway balcony. I
felt my stomach growl and rumble as I slowly crawled out from my hiding
spot. Most of the carts that usually had
food were no longer on the streets due to winter, and it was during a harsh
winter too. I made my to the street and
looked around as the wind started to pick up and blow against my small
body. I started walking in the direction
the wind was blowing to see if it might show me a place to find food. I walked by several townhouses and fought
back tears seeing families eating a warm meal together. I wanted a nice warm meal, and had a home,
but ran away when I felt like I was going to be given away. I perked my ears hearing footsteps and felt
my eyes go wide in terror seeing Mr. Brinkley approach. I didn't waste any time and did my best to
take off running, but my feet started slipping under me from the frozen
cobblestone and my shoes lacked grip on the soles. I made my upstairs to the deck and
the main gallery where food was being served after returning to my cabin and
cleaning from my sobering experience. I
knew better than to gorge myself to keep from getting sick and fixed up a small
plate of bread, meat, vegetables, and fruit and grabbed a glass of water. I sat down at a small table away from most of
the other passengers and glanced around dejectedly feeling remorse for being in
exile. I guess these long lost "feelings"
were just surfacing due to the lack of drugs in my system. I glanced up a few times just to see if I might
find Mr. Thompson and speak to him once more, but failed to do so and ate my
meal in silence. I sat there for several
minutes before I went to get another glass of water and was roughly bumped into
by a pompous female tabby cat. "Watch
where you're going dog!" Judging by her
yellow sundress and matching hat, I could only guess she was from New Britain
and her accent was one I had never heard from before. "You must be from New Britain, the Southern
Lane area?" She looked at me and hissed
a little insulted. "I'm nowhere near
that those parts, I'm from Middleton." I
smirked a little trying my best to be nice and respectful, but I couldn't allow
myself to get insulted by a feline. "Apparently
you are not familiar with foxes and other canines walking freely about without
a master holding their leash." She looked at me and narrowed her eyes in
anger. "If I had my way dogs would be
put down and cats would be left to rule."
I felt my anger rise a little and flicked my tail. "Listen cat, I am not a dog, I am a fox. I'm vicious, crafty, and I am not the fox you
want to cross." She was surprised to
hear a fox challenge her like that. "Please
excuse me." She said timidly and went to walk past me, but I was still angry
and wanted her to know I wasn't one to cross as I put my foot out at the last
minute forcing her to stumble a little.
She looked back and gulped deeply as I opened up my coat to reveal a
small green, yellow, and black flag sewn in my coat. "Remember the Revolt." I muttered to her and immediately felt the
stares of other felines and some foxes come upon me. I made my way outside of the gallery and to a
small bar area and sat down reaching into my coat and took out a small silver
case and opened it removing a cigarette and put it to my lips. I closed the
case and returned it to my coat when I looked at the calendar and smiled as I took
a book of matches and lit one placing it to the cigarette and as the smoke
cleared, I felt I was back in London...I was carried inside the gates of a
workhouse roughly by Mr. Brinkley and even though I kept trying to get free, he
still wouldn't let go. "Oy, look at te
little runaway." Some of the older and
wretched associates said to me as Mr. Brinkley returned me to the textile
floor. "Welcome back you pathetic dog!" A rather large mastiff said wearing a pair of
black pants and a plaid shirt with red suspenders and had a cigar hanging out
of his mouth. "Back to Work you 'ittle runt!" Mr. Brinkley said as he tried to
kick me, but I quickly moved out of the way and hurried over to a weaving
machine that threaded the silk and other types of material to make fabric that
was to be sold to merchants and dress makers. No sooner did I start working
that a loud cry pierced my ears forcing me to lower flatten my ears as turned
my head and winced seeing a young coyote holding a crushed and bleeding paw and
cried loudly. I knew the dangers of
working in a workhouse, there were accidents waiting to happen especially with
so many children working around large machines and some not having experience
at all handling the equipment. Fortunately I had a general idea from understanding
gears, levers, and pulleys from my school lessons and Saturday tutoring
sessions and was able to keep my limbs intact while other children weren't so
fortunate.My shift must have just started as
a whistle sounded signaling an end to it. It might have been warmer inside the factory,
but I would have rather faced the cold harsh winds and weather than the cruel
and horrible treatment that went on inside these stone walls. I had escaped this place once before and I knew
how the systems worked, to a point I could easily find an escape route before
anyone knew I was missing. As my shift made our way to the rest hall, I spotted
a nearby laundry chute and ran as hard as I could to it before the foreman
could catch me. I climbed in quickly and
slid all the way down to the bottom and instead of landing on soft laundry, I was
forced to land on concrete floor, fortunately I had the wits about me to land
on my feet since it was only a small three foot drop to the floor. I quickly hurried over to a window in the
basement and grabbed a small piece of wood proceeding to break it, and no
sooner had I broke the window, I felt a hand grab me from behind and cover my
muzzle. "Shh, you're okay lad, I'll help
you escape." It was Ray and I was so
happy to see him. "What are you doing
here?" I run an underground escape
system from workhouses, and I normally frequent the laundry section since that's
where most runaways can be found." I
wrapped my arms around him, pleading with him.
"Get me out of here!" I cried
into his coat as he held me close. He
picked me up without any issue and quickly carried me outside to a waiting
carriage. "Take him to Lord and Lady
Wilkins's, he'll be safe there." I had
no idea who they were, and watched in horror as Mr. Brinkley and two other men
were fixing to attack Ray and he didn't have much hope as two of them grabbed
his arms preventing him from fighting back.
No sooner did the carriage start down the road; I jumped off spotting a
lead pipe lying by a gutter and grabbed it.
I hurried over to one of his attackers and clocked him in the side of
the knee as hard as I could. He let out
go of Ray immediately as I readied myself for another strike, but was caught
with a strong kick to the side of the head, knocking me to the cold ground and
hit my head on the icy cobblestone splitting my head open. I did the best I could to stay conscious, but
felt a kick to my side taking the air out of my lungs as I slid across the ice
and hit the iron bars of the gate knocking me out cold.I finished my cigarette and
scratched the back of my head thinking about my past and how alone and cold I was
at times. I smirked as my ears perked up
hearing someone start to play on the grand piano in a nearby room. I couldn't help but smile to myself and stood
up making my way to where the music was coming from and to my surprise, Mr.
Thompson was sitting there playing a very lovely melody. I took a nearby seat and proceeded to light
another cigarette as he continued to play and the melody seemed to be doing a
number on my mind as I could have sworn my mind was drifting off into a
forgotten dream of warmth and love.
Music was a definite way for my mind to gain clarity and I could feel an
aura surround me and take my mind off my trouble as I listened to Mr. Thompson
play the melody and I soon felt my tail sway to the tune relaxing my body in
the process.I slowly started to wake up and let
out a small groan of discomfort as I turned my head slightly and opened my eyes
to the sound of an unfamiliar yet soothing voice, "Rest easy my child, you've
had a rather rough few nights." It was
an older red fox vixen with bright scarlet red fur wearing a sparkling white
dress and a diamond necklace around her neck. "W-where am I?" I groaned out and
tried to sit-up as she put a paw on my shoulder trying to get me to lie back
down. "You're in Berkshire, home of your
Uncle Edgar Wilkins and I'm your Aunt Margaret." She smiled warmly to me as she
grabbed a cold damp cloth and wiped my face with it. "You are very, very fortunate to be alive
little one, that knock on your head almost cracked your skull." I was a little dazed and glanced around the
room. "The medicine will wear off in a
little bit, but right now you need to stay awake." She said as she slowly undid the bandage, and
removed the gauze. I let out a few small
groans and cries of discomfort from feeling dried blood and fur stick to the
bandage. "Oww, ungh, please stop!" She grabbed the cloth again and dipped it
into a small bowl of water proceeding to clean the wound and examined it for a
moment. "You have quite a few stitches,
but with your heritage, you should heal up quickly." I looked at her a little confused. "What do you mean heritage?" I asked my voice cracking a little from being
so tired. "Your parents never told you
about being able to heal your own wounds or recover from injuries?" I shook my head. "All Wilkins have a regenerative ability on
top of other skills. Some have fast
reflexes, others are excellent marksmen and horsemen, and there are a few who
also have the ability to use magick." I
looked at her as I yawned and closed my eyes before she put the cold cloth on
my neck making me open them. "What's
ma-jeeck? You mean like magicians?" She
smiled and rinsed the cloth off in the bowl and proceeded to use wipe my
forehead getting the dried blood out of my fur.
"Not like magicians, they use magic.
Magick is used by mages, like the story of Merlin." I looked at her blinking a little. "I thought he was a wizard." She took a clean bandage and some gauze and
wrapped my wound and head. "Wizards,
witches, and mages could all be called the same thing. Some mages use their powers for good, others
for evil." It was a bit much for me to take in
at the moment as my Aunt Margaret went into great detail explaining how witches
and wizards were burned at the stake for using dark or black magic, as she
called it, by mages who opposed the use of black magic and preferred white
magic such as medicine and potions. I wanted
to close my eyes and drift off to sleep, but each time I did she would put a
cold cloth on the back of neck to keep me awake. "I'm sorry, little one, but I can't let you
fall asleep." She frowned as I started
to struggle a few times to lie down and fall asleep. "I'm tired though." I whined and let out a few whimpers. "Whimpering is not going to help you; I'm not
going to let you fall asleep until the doctor sees you." I let out a small growl and was met with a
quick pop on my nose by her paw. "Don't
you growl at me young man, you might be injured, but I expect you to show me
respect, is that understood?" I nodded
to her as she frowned at me. "I asked you a question young man, you may be
injured, but I'm not afraid to take you over my lap, is that understood." I replied dejected and defeated, "Yes ma'am."
After our small argument, she went back
to explaining how some Wilkins were able to use chemistry to make potions and
other curatives while others were able to craft weapons and items using
alchemy. "What's the most powerful type
of mage?" I asked as I started to come
around a little bit, the medicine was starting to wear off as I felt my head
start to ache a little bit. "The red
mage is the most powerful type. They are
balanced not just in one ability or skill, but several and there a few red
mages who can perform powerful magick spells and summon great beasts to aid
them if necessary." Mr. Thompson stopped playing the
piano and I applauded him as did other passengers when he stood up and took a
bow before glancing at me and motioned for me to play on the piano. "Care to entertain us Alexzander? There was a
time when you played the piano masterfully and even created your own
compositions." I closed my eyes and
extinguished my cigarette, how I longed to play the piano, but there was an
ache in my heart that kept from moving in my seat, and I frowned deeply knowing
that I wanted to play, but my heart was keeping me at bay. "Music soothes the savage beast, and heals
the wounded heart. A simple melody makes
all the difference in an individual's mood and behavior." Mr. Thompson walked over and sat down next to
me as I sighed and stood up and made my way over to the piano giving to his words
and request. "I cannot deny a request to
play one of my compositions." I had
created many in my young lifetime, I was in my early twenties, and lived a
rather adventurous life while in England and faced death numerous times. I flicked my tail and sat down as I started
to play a unique variation of Moonlight Sonata and Fur Elise at the same time
that created a rather melancholy tune and an upbeat tempo."What is your ability Aunt
Margaret?" I asked as I sat up and
leaned back against the headboard of the bed I was in. "I use music to soothe a person's mind and
body. Music is very vital to a person,
without it a person cannot dance nor feel the effects of the melody and the
lyrics won't reach a person's heart."
She looked at me and flicked her tail smiling warmly as I felt very safe
around her. "Do you know how to play any
instrument or sing?" I shook my head. "No
ma'am, I don't know how to sing nor play an instrument." She leaned down and kissed my forehead as I let
out a small moan feeling my head start to hurt a little bit. "Could I get some medicine for pain? My head is starting to hurt." She frowned and sighed deeply getting a small
vial that contained a bright purple liquid.
"I do have a potion, that might help with your pain and heal your wound,
but I don't know how much to give you and I don't want to give you too much
that might do more harm than good." Just
then the door to the bedroom opened and a very tall and large red fox walked in
wearing a black and white tuxedo with a top hat and held a cane in his paw as
he walked over to my Aunt Margaret. "Glad
to see you awake; you gave us quite a fright."
His voice was very deep and booming I felt my fur go on end from fear
and gulped. "H-how do you do sir, I'm
Alexzander Monroe." I said very
nervously and started to cower under the sheets. My father was a rather tall individual, but
he was also very lanky, this gentleman was tall, large and had a voice that
sounded like an oboe. He walked over and
very gently patted my shoulder. "I'm
well aware of who you are nephew." He
smiled warmly to me and knelt down looking me in my eyes. "I'm going to do everything I can to protect
you and keep you safe. I'm also going to
warn you that I am going to be firm with you, but fair. I won't hesitate to switch you or punish you
should you misbehave, but your Aunt and I are also going to spoil you rotten
and introduce you to some very powerful people and family members." I smiled warmly hearing that and leaned my
head against his paw as he gently rubbed behind my right ear. "Let me give you a potion, and see how your
body reacts to it." He took the vial
from my aunt and took the top off before holding my nose and very lightly
tilted the vial to where two drops landed on my tongue and I had no choice but
to swallow and scrunched my cheeks closing my eyes at the bitter tasting
fluid. "Now let's see the results." He put the top back on the vial and smiled as
I felt my headache go away and started to rub at my wound and lick my lips "Could
I get something to drink to get this taste out of my mouth?" My aunt proceeded to remove the bandage and
gauze to look at the wound and watched as the smaller parts of the cut started
to heal instantly while my uncle handed me a small glass of water. "Seven stitches," my uncle said as he looked
at the wound and frowned. "I hope you
learned a lesson young man, don't ever interfere with a grown man's fight, and
don't ever put yourself in a situation that you could get hurt. Accidents are one thing, but foolish heroics
are another." He rubbed my shoulder as he said that. "You should be back on your feet by tomorrow."I finished my song and the audience's
responses were a look of amazement and wonder as the applauded me. I had changed before their eyes from a
criminal, to a musician. Mr. Thompson
walked over to me and smiled warmly seeing the audience's response. "It's amazing how all you needed to do was
sober up and let people see the real you."
He smiled warmly to me, and I smiled back weakly to him. "Sorry about last night." I said almost shocked that I had said that
and he looked at me just as shocked as he flicked his tail and smiled as we
left the piano room and walked out to the deck.
"It's funny how all it takes is one little slip and everything comes
crashing down." He smiled at me as he
leaned over the rail. "I know what you
mean by that." He looked at me let out a
small chuckle. "I'm actually glad you
left my care, you wouldn't have had any sense knocked into you had you stayed." I wanted to say something, but was completely
caught off guard by his comment, and let out a small chuckle myself, but as
with anything in my life our laughter didn't last long as we heard a loud bell
toll on the ship and my heart sank as I watched him remove his hat and lowered
his head in silence. It was the sound I heard
far too often in my life and it was the sound that brought back very painful
memories...