FOR THE ONE WHO STAYED ─ A peaky blinders fanfiction
━ IN WHICH, Elizabeth Shelby has to come to terms with the fact that sharing a name does not necessarily mean family.
━ AND IN WHICH, a father and daughter must learn how to find each other again...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
☾
1909
Effy Shelby was looking at the magic drawer Tommy told her about. Why it was magical, he didn't say, but Effy could always work out something. Finn toddled into her and Ada's room, slumping next to his niece, who was holding a stare down with the drawer by her bed.
"What you doin', Eff?" He asked in a squeaky voice.
"Tryin' to make the drawer fly."
"Why?" He asked again, frowning.
"'Cos it's magical." She answered, squinting, her eyes still focused on the worn-out cabinet.
"Says who?"
"Dad."
The two sat in silence, little Finn eyeing the five-year-old Effy, and he wondered if the drawer was the magical one, or the girl sitting before it.
Loud footsteps snapped them out of the wonders of the drawer, but the footsteps turned into loud barging. Although she was small, Effy knew exactly who it was. He was drunk, she could tell by the way he walked and the noises. Grabbing the banister like his life depended on it.
Effy wasted no time to jump on her feet, and looking around, her eyes landing on the magic drawer. She got behind it and started pushing the heavy cabinet in front of the door, like a shield. Maybe that's where the magic was.
The handle rattled furiously, the children could almost see hands going through the door.
"OPEN UP, YOU LITTLE DEVIL!" The yelling made her stomach shift, but she held her ground. Effy heard the faint shouting of Polly, too.
But the drawer wasn't as heavy for a grown man as it was for a little girl, and the door burst open eventually, pushing the cabinet with itself.
Effy grabbed the little boy and stood in front of him, like a shield.
But the man wasn't interested in Finn, but the girl with a dangerous look to herself, a glower she could kill with. But not him.
Arthur Sr got a hold of her arm and dragged her down the stairs with four long strides, but she could still hear Finn screaming. It all happened so fast, she couldn't get out a sound with that lump in her throat.
"I've had enough of your thieving" He gritted through his teeth, along with other curses she would patch her ears for.
Why he was so mad, Effy couldn't understand. He was the king of thieves after all. All she did was take a few bob from Mr Morey from the pub. He was fancy and rich, it wouldn't have made a difference. And it was for Finn to buy him a chocolate.
Arthur Sr was dragging her towards the front door, not deigned to acknowledge his mad sister attacking him. Polly was strong, but not even she could put up a fight with his brother, and pulling the little girl the other way would hurt her more.
