Alliance

The Struggle

~Chapter One~

The sunny weather in River Valley, Ohio, was the least of Victoria Elven's worries. Granting the sunlit midair invading her room beckoned her to slip outside for a stroll, it was not enough to tempt her to leave. Rose and Clark Jewels had come for a visit, and something smelled fishy about their sudden arrival. After having greeted them kindly, Victoria excused herself to her room. Her worries began to build as she closed the door behind her, wondering what could be the matter. Her mother and father had been acting a bit odd recently, but she was still unaware of the situation. She did not like to pry nor ask questions, she figured they would soon explain their unusual behavior.

Her father, Jonathan Elven, was a kind man, one who shared his thoughts and ideas with his daughter. However, he too had begun to act distant and a bit distraught. Her worries only escaladed when she noticed his interest for the family business lessen. Their bakery had begun to lose money, and his visits to the old building were less frequent. Victoria had not dared to ask any questions even after she noticed all of this sudden change. Rather, she picked up the slack where her father surprisingly was failing. A week had gone by and Victoria was near the brink of breaking tradition and marching up to her father for explanations.

Inching closer to her door, she pushed it open and slipped out of her room. She had never dared done anything like this, but what was so devastating that her parents refused to tell her? Quietly walking down the hall, she reached the top of the stairs and knelt there. Her heart accelerated as she quietly tugged at the hem of her blue pencil skirt trying to inch closer to listen. Only muffled voices vibrated from the living room up to the staircase, forcing her to move down further, just enough to hear. She could not help but to cave into the curiosity of it all.

"Then it is agreed, we shall come by tomorrow evening to discuss matters with your daughter further. We hope she can understand that we do not want her to do anything she does not desire." Mr. Clark said.

"Jonathan wait, is there no other way?" her mother suddenly intervened.

"Bellen, you and I both know there is no other way, I shall talk to Victoria myself." he replied.

"I can't...I can't do this to her, she deserves so much more than this," her mother wept.

Victoria felt her gut knot as she heard her mother weep, and it irritated her more to feel left out on their conversation. If she had grown up with wits and bravery, she would have marched down those steps and demanded answers. Nevertheless, it was not so at all. She had been born with a weak heart, frightened to make a stand at all. Disgusted and ashamed for having thought such vial thought's she stood and quietly walked back into her room.

What on earth is wrong with me? She thought.

Stepping inside her room, she let out a faint sigh and gently removed her squared glasses, placing them down unto her bureau. Settling over her bunk she brushed her brown lose strands of hair aside and reached for a rosary inside her jewelry box. Her hands clutched tightly to the black beaded rosary her Aunt Francis had given her on her third birthday. Victoria grasped the trivial carved figure of Christ in her hands, wanting somehow to evaporate. She inhaled a deep breath and forced her trembling body to relax. Shifting uncomfortably in her bunk she set her clutched hands over her skirt, slowly smoothing out her curled fingers. She wasn't big on religion but the rosary brought her comfort of some sort.

She tried to focus her eyes on the cream-colored wallpaper but her tears came before she could make out the tiny little engraved designs on the wall. Faint footsteps approached her door and she wiped at her foolish tears hoping to seem nonchalant.

"There has to be some other way we can fix this," her mother suddenly whispered. They stood outside her door. Their muffled argument had begun to pull the last string of her nerves apart.