~ Shadamy ~ We Fall Together ~

Chapter 2 ~ Cherished Letters

Dear Rose,

My heart sunk as I saw you step into that carriage, but know that I shall not give up. I promise to to tell you from the bottom of my heart how much you mean to me as much as I can. It can only be hoped that you come back soon that Cream and I would not suffer from the kindness we missed from you. I hope you're doing well, and I can tell you that I am quitting my job to work for your Father, and join the express, travel the world! Doesn't that sound amazing? I wish I could take Cream with me, but she is very reluctant to leave the safety of Mr Rose's house. Smiling to myself, I will travel through the many hearts England holds and come back for you with many riches beyond the mountains. I only hope you would feel the same way when we meet again. In my next letter, I hope to fit in as many experiences as possible.

From, Shadow.

I sigh and idle on the side of the road. Yes, I have joined the express but I have been told it'll take a while before I can join. So, while I cannot do anything else, I sit on the side of the street to beg for money. It doesn't take long before a mail officer finds me to deliver a letter. I caress the rim of the partially opened letter, the scent of Amy comes from the paper. I smile to myself as I open the letter, revealing lovely handwriting from my Rose.

My dear Prince,

Long have I wanted to tell you that I had loved you from the moment we first locked eyes. It's been such a bore without you here, many of these girls mistreat me for my behavior, but if I can't see what's wrong with me, then why should I care? I've been to ever lonely without having Cream to talk to, the girls here are nothing but looks and gossip. I can't wait until I'm home and allowed to dig my fingers through fresh soil, it's been so long since I last got muddy. It's very sad to hear that you've quit the job, but as long as you come back for me, I guess I can let you off the hook. Just make sure you check up on Cream every once in a while whenever you make your trip back home, don't want Cream to feel the same loneliness I feel. I miss both of you with all my heart and hope to see you soon! I can't wait to hear about your travels Shadow, it'd be nice to actually know what's going on outside than in this ugly building.

With love, Amy.

I chuckle lightly at Amy's anger towards the other girls. She is a fighter, not very fond of acting like a lady unless it is in-front of her parents. All I can do is tell her to stay strong in my next letter, yet I don't want to write another until the express starts, which will hopefully be soon. As I began to neatly fold the letter into my pocket, I hear men from the entrance of the train station. They call for the new employees, which my eyes light up to the shouts. I run to the men who were about to board a red train.

"You're in that cart. Has a bed, and food. Glad you could join us, kid." A red hedgehog says with a big smile. He pulls out his hand, revealing his gloves being insanely dirty, he looks at me, expecting me to shake his hand. "Things are going to get dirty, kiddo. Might as well start off with something small... Unless you're not up to the challenge." He says with a small frown.

"I am prepared." I say as I firmly grab his hand, shaking it politely. "When do we leave?" I ask.

"When you're ready," He replies. I nod, asking permission to leave for one last thing I needed to attend to. I decided to keep this from anyone until they saw his grave. I'm still considered a child, and without their parents, they're just a bother. I don't intend to work for Mr Rose without my Father, his illness was lethal and Mr Rose wouldn't help us buy any medicine. Thus, led to the death of my Father in his own bed, his lifeless body in-front of me. His funeral is today, the only time they get the chance to bury an old corpse. I'd rather be the only one to see my Father's coffin that I spend the last of my money on. Tracing the rim of his coffin, tears form quickly as the priest lightly pats my back. Cream's head pokes out from the bushes, her hands cupped together. Her eyes are filled with tears, but there are glances of disappointment.

"Why didn't you tell me, Shadow? I thought of him as my own Father as well..." Cream sniffs. I close my eyes, giving Cream a small hug. She easily forgives me but doesn't let me go back to the train station without a gift. "These two rings belonged to my father," Cream says. "He always wanted a son... But he got me instead. He saved these rings for nothing, so, I want to give them to you."

"I can't take those Cream..." I say pitifully.

"It won't hurt me, Shadow... It pains me to see these rings on my box collecting dust. I want my best friend to take these, for luck." She says with a sweet smile. I smile back as I hesitantly take the rings. "We're only fourteen, but with your mental age, I'm sure you can fool anyone." Cream giggles.

I wave to her as I leave to the station. Men that will be working with me until I'm eighteen await me. I say eighteen because that's when Amy comes back, I hope to be the first one to see her when she comes home. I hope to make her mine. I slip into my own train cart, straws of hay everywhere near the blankets that is likely my bed. I sit in the corner, feeling the bumping below as the train starts to move. Hearing other men shout and clink glasses of what I presume beer, it somehow put me to sleep. I open the door slightly to reveal train tracks that the train is running on. Wind races by my face as many trees pass by without an ounce of smoke nearby. This is what it's like outside the hustling city. I take a piece of paper and set it down on a box to write on, the constant shuffling of the train makes the hand-writing much more difficult to read. 

My Dear Rose,

I greatly apologies for my hand-writing, the train ride is a bit sickening itself. Our first stop is a nearby town, my job is to do what I always did in life, basically serve someone. More specifically selling items that may be of use to poor families that are unfortunate like myself. I like to believe I'm doing the right thing. There's something that I'm not proud to address in this letter. My Father passed after you left, I'm sorry I never told you sooner. I couldn't handle the funeral, the only thing that kept me stable was Cream. Remember those rings she kept on top of that wooden box? You out of all her friends should know that it belonged to her father. She gave them to me, and I would hope you could shed some light on the whole story behind this. Anyway, I still miss you, in the next letter, I should tell you about some of the people I meet, since you don't talk to many people.

Love, Shadow.

My new home is the train station, any letters that may be from Amy would be delivered to my next location on the train. I sigh and rest my head on my pillow, the train finally not bumping around every time. I could only think of Cream and Amy, my two best friends that have been there most of my life. There's always been that happiness whenever we got the spare time to play around in the backyard, when Mr Rose and his wife were out of the house of course. It was fun to play all day without any grownups telling us what to do, and Amy's smile was mostly the light of my light.

It wasn't long before the cart door swings open to reveal a bunch of people I did not recognize, handing their money to my boss who's selling gifts from what looks like other countries. I quickly get to my feet and get ready to load more precious cargoes. I pull my gloves on and get myself dirty in the mud.

I couldn't wait for another letter.