OSTRACIZE | GILBERT BLYTHE

80

A/N: go and check out my bellamy blake book called 'LAW' if you haven't already! thank you all for the love n support!
love you all
emily x

James looked in his mirror as she straightened out his medals. It was Ernest's funeral today. The house had been eerily silent all week. Nobody had said a word to eachother.

Ellis hadn't left her bedroom.

James walked out and was greeted by her brothers all in their uniforms, expcept Carter who was in a suit and tie.

"Someone should get Ellis." Franklin said, as there was a knock at the door.

"I hope you don't mind. We came early. We wanted to see how everyone was doing." Gilbert said as he and Bash walked into the house, Delphine was asleep in Bash's arms.

"How do you think were doing? Our brothers dead." James snapped, glaring to the boy.

"JAMES!" Franklin shouted angrily at his brother. "Will you get Ellis?" Franklin looked to Gilbert pleadingly.

Gilbert nodded and walked over to her bedroom. She hadn't spoken to him since the fair, he found that Ernest had died from Patrick.

"Ellis?" Gilbert said as he knocked on her bedroom door before slowly opening it. He smiled sympathetocally at the girl.

She was sat on her bed, staring at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were bright red and she had tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Oh Ellie." Gilbert took a seat beside Ellis, he grabbed her hand and gave her hand three light squeezes. "Franklin sent me to come and get you." Ellis nodded and stood up. She tried her hardest to wiped the tears away, but they kept falling.

"G-g-Gil-"

"Don't worry, I won't leave you." Gilbert reassured the girl. Ellis was glad that he understood what she meant.

~

Ellis watched as the casket was lowered into the grave. This wasn't right. It wasn't his time.

She hated herself for not been nicer to him when he tried to apologise to her.

She hated that they weren't closer.

She hated that she didn't tell him that she loved him more.

Ellis couldn't help but feel like she had let Ernest down. Like she was a failure as a baby sister. She looked over to the rest of her brothers who were wiping away their tears.

They tried to stay strong but she could see through it.

She didn't think that many people would show up to his funeral, but most of the town did. It felt strange to see them all there, especially since barely any of the town showed up for her Pops.

Gilbert's arm snaked around Ellis' waist as she covered her mouth to prevent herself from sobbing. He pulled her into his chest and held her tightly. His hand raked through her hair as he made sure that she couldn't see the casket be lowered.

He wasn't sure he'd ever seen the girl so broken, except for when she was told about Mary's death.

Carter ran his hand over his face to wipe away his tears. Cole came to the funeral to show his support, which he was more than grateful for, but it wasn't as if they could be themselves. It wasn't as if Cole could hold his hand through this hard time, like Gilbert could for Ellis. Carter was glad his sister had Gilbert today.

Carter watched as his brother was lowered. This is why he hated the army. Too many lives were lost. His eyes flickered to his Dads and Pops graves. He wondered how they'd react now.

Reuben couldn't begin to explain the pain that he was feeling. He'd lost some of his best friends. He'd lost his dad. And now he'd lost his brother. All because of the army that none of them wanted to join.

It was all because Pops made them.

When their father died and Pops started looking after them, it was drilled into them that they'd be a good soldier and listen, do as they're told. He made them practice drills and 'play fight', so they'd know what it was like in the army. But nothing that he told them could've prepared any of them for what they saw.

Reuben was haunted by the memories every night. He was sure that his brothers were too, although none of them spoke about it.

Patrick couldn't pull his eyes away from the casket, that was his big brother. His protector. When they were kids he remembered listing to Pops tell his army stories to both Ernie and himself. They both loved them. After he told a story, Patrick and Ernest would run to Patrick's room and reenact the story.

He couldn't believe that he was dead now. He remembered the day that he received the letter. He broke down sobbing and requested that he and his brothers could go on immediate leave.

Franklin looked over to Gilbert and Ellis. She was definitely hurting the most. She hadn't left her room or spoken to anyone all week. She refused to eat anything unless it was brought to her room and left outside. She'd only open the door when she knew none of them were lurking.

Franklin tried to talk to her multiple times, to get her to open up about how she was feeling. Really he was just lonely. He knew he had his brothers, but he couldn't bring himself to talk to them about Ernie.

His big brother. Their big brother.

Another dead body in the family plot, James thought.

Everyone believed that Ellis was hurting the most, but nobody knew how much he was hurting. James knew that Ernest was dead because of him.

If James had listened and followed the instructions given, Ernest would still be alive. James was just too stubborn and hated doing as he was told.

He was reckless and impulsive and normally he didn't care who he hurt in the process. Until it came to his family. His family was really all he cared about, his family and Mabel.

James knew that all Ernest really wanted was to be apart of the 'core three' as their dad used to say.

The 'core three' consisted of James, Carter and Ellis.

The three of them were inseparable since the day Ellis was born. James knew that Ernest was jealous of that, so he teased him for it. Driving his brother further and further away. Until they decided they hated each other.

James wished that he didn't drive his brother away. He wished he was still alive. He wished that he did as he was told. He wished that he was just a good little soldier.