Pain shapes a woman into a warrior
- Anonymous
'That is left for you to decide, Miss Betty - it is about ... your fiancé,'
Betty's face darkened, her eyes grew rounder. 'What's it?' She asked, her mouth still open.
'We should sit down - you should sit down, Betty.' Alexandra offered. She knew Kane was not one to hurry things, but here, he didn't much patient. And looked like he wanted to tell the thing to her face.
'No, first tell me - what is it,' she replied. 'Is he fine? He's not- he's not-'
'No.' Said Kane, 'It's rather worse,'
'Kane!' Alexandra rebuked, 'Not that way, Betty,'
'Right,' Kane agreed hurriedly. 'Not that way. But it is worse. Because, William Atkinson is also engaged to Jessica Quotes.'
There, he had said it blatantly. As though conversing of the day's weather.
Sarah covered her mouth, her eyes wide. She looked at Kane, then at Alexandra and then at Betty. Alexandra lowered her gaze. Kane simply looked at Betty. For a minute, Betty stared back at Kane, her head tilted a bit and her mouth opened.
Then, without a word, she collapsed.
'Betty!' Sarah cried, rushing forward and gathering the pale girl in her arms. 'My - my - goodness.' She knelt down, holding her.
Alexandra looked accusingly at Kane, but he looked quite fine with the reaction. Like it was only an experiment and the result had come out in affirmation with what he had expected it to be. She shook her head at him, picked up the nearest jug of water and sprinkled a few drops of it on Betty's face. Betty shook violently and her eyes flew open. She sat up straight on the ground, her legs folded. 'I don't believe it!' She announced, wiping her face and looking at Alexandra, then at Kane. 'What proof have you got?! William would never do that!'
Kane turned to look at Alexandra. 'None.' He announced. 'No proof. Other than - the word of your Sister-like friend,' he added. And so emotionlessly, so ruthlessly he said the words, as if he didn't have a single grain of empathy in him - when Alexandra knew he did - it surprised her. But more than surprise, it gave her an inch of dread, because Betty was now looking at her - almost like it was her fault the Atkinson had turned out a cheat. Alexandra knelt down by her, 'Betty,' she soothed. 'It was an accident I found out. Jessica Quotes is the Idgardian Commander's daughter. The commander - he knew that Jessica and - and Atkinson were meeting up. That they were engaged. He felt it from the beginning - that William Patrick Atkinson was a two-faced scoundrel. William Atkinson - he - he,' Alexandra stopped, turning away. She couldn't bring herself to say that. Betty had got that property only months ago. How could Alexandra tell her that the sudden fortune had caused her to be cheated?
'He only wanted to marry you for your property, Miss Betty,' Kane continued, like it was another day at the commentary and he was just picking up from where Alexandra had left. 'Which he would lure you into transferring to his name. Once you did that, he had all the intention to abandon you. All this time, he would keep up with his meetings with Jessica Quotes. As soon as he had all the property, he would give to the Commander as dowry and marry his daughter. He needed the dowry because he is just a soldier, no amount of good-looks can fetch him the Commander's daughter. Ten to one, he doesn't have any feelings for Jessica Quotes either. But he will remain her honorary husband for the power and influence and money it gets him. Yes, William Atkinson - is - a - cheat. Mabel found out because - the commander requested her to.'
Betty did not seem to be hearing, her eyes were half-closed, presently they were fully closed. Shaking the slightest bit, she removed Sarah's hands from her shoulder. The younger one tried to resist, but Betty almost pushed her away. And then she shook her head once, eyes still closed. Even years afterwards, Alexandra never forgot the ghostly gray that descended upon her face then. But she was sure it never lifted from her after that. Even before Kane had completed, she got up. Silently, as though in a trance, she began walking back to the corridor - and the cloudy wisp around her seemed to grow darker. The rest of them watched, not moving a single inch.
When she was near the window, she raised one shaking hand, picked up the glass vase lying on the window sill and flung it down onto the ground, where it shattered into a hundred glass pieces.
She turned back, shaking even harder, but her face showed an otherworldly fury, like it had absorbed all the grayness around. She walked over to the wall, and swiped out all the portraits hung there. They fell down, their frames breaking and dismantling. Betty was in a complete frenzy now: she pulled off the cushions, ripped them apart and threw them to the ground, grunting in satisfaction. She tossed the records down. She would have pushed them out of the way, too, but everybody steered clear of her.
Sarah looked around scared, and first ran to get her manuscript and quills to safety.
'Isn't Mother Diana here?!' Alexandra asked her.
'She's off for a trip to Diaplux Hills!' Sarah replied, in a squeak. Alexandra turned to Kane, while Betty upturned the table with the water jugs on it, her hair had come loose, it was hanging around her face ... and Betty looked utterly mad.
'Sarah, leave!' Alexandra told her.
'But-' Sarah began,
'I said, leave!' Thankfully, she didn't argue, sidestepped all the crashed furniture and ran upstairs.
'You - you think we should let her- or we should-' Alexandra said to Kane,
'Let her,' Kane shook his head. 'It is way better than crying and hitting your chest,'
Then Betty kicked a whole bookshelf down.
'Or - I'd say ... let's stop her,' Kane confessed.
They ran to her, as she was in the process of kicking aside harmless books.
'Betty!' Alexandra shouted, putting her arms around Betty's shoulders. 'Betty - listen to me! This is no use!'
'Ge-off me, Mabel!' Betty grunted. 'I said - get off me!' and she pushed Alexandra aside. A few days ago, her push had been weak and easy to counter. But this one was so true, so wild that Alexandra flew backwards and skidded to a halt two feet away from the frenzied girl. Then Betty, if Bethsy Montrail deserved that cute nickname even now, proceeded to push down several cloaks hung to the wall, stepping on them and then pushing aside a lamp, it shattered too, the fire burning in it caught the cloaks on the ground.
'Miss Betty!' Kane yelled, unfastening his own cloak and covering the fire with it - soon, those flames had died down. And thankfully, Betty stopped for a second, her hand hovering on Sarah's thousand-tablet pack of Ink.
'Thank you!' He said when she did. In reply, Betty picked up the thousand-tablet pack and threw it at him. He ducked in time as it flew across him, hitting the wall and falling down, where all the tablets broke.
'Hello!' He waved. 'If you want to do this - show this anger - show it to the person who has cheated you!'
That struck a little too close home.
'You shut up!' Betty screamed at him. 'You- you- you won't tell me what to do and what not to do! Mind your own damned business! And don't you dare show me your face ever again!' She added, to Alexandra.
'Betty-' Alexandra began, 'what did I do?'
'You don't know?! YOU DON'T KNOW?! I get it - you were jealous of me! My happiness - my engagement! You came back to destroy everything, Mabel!' She replied, yelling at the top of her voice. With her yellowish hair hanging around her shoulder, it seemed as if Betty's head was on fire.
'Betty it- it's not like tha-t,' Alexandra said, she was crying again. Sometimes Alexandra hated the way she broke into tears so fast when Betty was concerned. Otherwise, she had a hard shell (sometimes she was hardhearted) and had grown a rather thick skin.
'It is NOT,' Kane agreed, walking over to Alexandra and putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. 'NOT at all, Miss Betty. And we are going, if you do not want us here. Just remember: when somebody nears their destruction, the first mistake they do is to shun their well-wishers. Like you are doing right now.'
This one hit even closer.
Betty stopped her carnage of House Furniture.
She didn't speak. She just looked at Alexandra's red face, biting her lips - Alexandra knew she was already regretting her words. But she also agreed with Kane. Especially because she was not all feeling nice being accused of jealousy by Betty. Which she so did not have.
For perhaps a minute, or more, nobody moved. Kane truly was emotionless, he turned away, as if to leave. But Alexandra did not, she remained staring at the Heiress, trying to convey how hurt she was without words.
'Come on,' he said, trying to pull her away, but Alexandra's feet were rooted.
'Come on.' He repeated. Still, no movement.
'Mabel.'
And this time, Alexandra knew it was enough. She turned herself, and Betty was watching them mutely. They walked up to the door, Alexandra knew Betty was watching her. Kane unlatched it, and she was still watching them.
'Mabel,' Betty finally said. And that was all she needed to, Alexandra raised a napkin to her face, still turned away - wiping the tears she did not want anybody to see.
'Yes, Betty?' She then asked, turning towards her with a dry face.
'I - I don't know why I said that - I don't know anything Mabel - I- I feel I'm destroyed. I feel- everything is over.'
That much was enough. Alexandra didn't care anymore who saw her tears. She flung the napkin aside and rushed to Betty, throwing her arms around the girl. Her tears clung to her cheeks, slowly drying down. But Betty didn't hug her back, she simply broke down completely.
Alexandra had never seen someone bawl in such a heart-wrenching way. Betty was into such a violent production of tears that she gasped every now and then for a bit of air. 'Mabel, why?' She sobbed, hiccupping. 'Am I - hic - not - hic - destined for - even a - a bit - hic - of happiness?! I - hic - trusted him - hic - more than anybody else!' She knelt down on the floor once again. 'I - hic - I hate everything. I - I don't want - to talk to him. I - hic - I don't want to see his face ever again. I - I - will make my own life.' She said, staring at the ground again, no longer crying.
'I will make my - my own life. And - and there will be no man in it!'
'Not even Emperor Liam?' Alexandra asked her, trying to smile through tears. The joke evoked stronger emotions, Betty shut her eyes, more tears streamed down her face.
'He would have never done what William did...' and she shook her head, though her whole body jerked with it. 'But he isn't meant for me, and I don't want to hanker for what is not meant for me, Mabel. I know it. I know no man is meant for me. I... I VOW FOREVER MAIDENHOOD!' She yelled all of a sudden, hitting the floor with her fist. So violently that Alexandra left her, moving away. 'I SHALL ALLOW NO MAN TO COURT ME EVER AGAIN!' She hit the floor again, and Alexandra stood up, turning to Kane - whose eyes were a little wide, as though he couldn't believe Betty was capable of that. 'I AM COMPLETE IN MYSELF! I DON'T NEED A MAN - ANY MAN - FOR IT!'
Alexandra turned to stare at Betty, half wonder-struck, half amazed. Fully shocked. Rather, surprised. And pleasantly so.
'Absolutely, Miss Betty,' Kane agreed, quietly. 'You have everything you need to write your own destiny. You do not need to go hankering after that cheat. I say, throw off that ring. Free yourself of that bondage. It means nothing now.'
'You're right-' Betty sniffed. 'It means-' she said, pulling off the ring, 'NOTHING!' And she flung it away. Betty then turned to Alexandra, 'Did I ever tell you, Mabel - that my dream was to build a family? It still is. Though now, I'll build it my way. And it certainly does NOT include anybody named William Patrick Atkinson.'
And William Atkinson was then abandoned, by both the honorable ladies, like a flea.
A/N: Wherever there was a forward-thinking, stable society, independent women always found their way to it. No matter what time frame it was in. And in the time frame this novel is set in, Dowry went both ways. Even the men gave dowries - in case they fell lower in the social ladder, as Atkinson does, to Jessica Quotes.
Betty, meanwhile, always appeared to be simple, straight, affectionate and old-fashioned. Often, however, we judge a book by its cover. Just because the cover names the book as "for children" doesn't mean it cannot be a good read for adults.
Just because a person is simple, doesn't mean they cannot stand up for themselves. And sometimes, loss of innocence is good. Especially, if it makes way for practicality.