Defiance

 

            I gasped as Mother cinched my corset tighter.

            “Is this entirely necessary Mother? It’s just the Smythson’s Ball. They live right next door.” I had been arguing all afternoon with her about my attendance at the ball. I really wasn’t up for another public event this week. I hated having to act like a ‘proper Manhattan girl’.

            “Yes, dearest daughter, it is. You are going to turn 17 in two months, and if you aren’t courted by one of the young bachelors of New York by then, you never will. Not with your disobedience anyways. And you don’t want to tarnish your Father’s good name, do you?” It obviously wasn’t a question, but a statement.

            Honestly, I wish I could spit on my Father’s name and live as one of the poor girls down by the docks. I could wear my hair however I pleased; dress however I pleased; do whatever I pleased; say whatever I pleased. I wouldn’t have to worry about my family’s reputation or act like one of the snobby girls obsessed with money and possessions or marry someone I didn’t like because it looked good in the papers. Not that I would ever tell Mother any of this.

            “No Mother. I would never ruin Father or you or my brothers like that.” I said robotically. It was the ‘appropriate response’ for a ‘young lady of my stature’.

            She handed me a pair of long chandelier pearl earrings to put on. Then she put the matching necklace around my neck and clasped it in the back. The heavy jewelry had many pearls on the gold chain ending in a point on my chest, accentuating my cleavage. Mother always wanted to show off my shape. I put in the earrings and stood up from my vanity.

 

            Walking down the stairs of the Smythson’s mansion, I heard the doorman announce my arrival. Immediately my best friend, Sir Alexander James, looked up at me and smiled. I felt a warm glow surface on my cheeks as I smiled back at him. When I reached the bottom of the grand staircase, Sir Benjamin Edward III greeted me with a kiss on my fingertips.

            “You look absolutely splendid my lady. Would you care to dance with me this evening?” He said in his large “I’m important” voice. This was the mechanical question every young man asked every young girl in the dance of courtship.

            “I would be honored to dance with you Benjamin;” I replied. This was the response every young lady gave to every young man who fancied her enough to ask her to dance.

            I rested my hand in the crook of his elbow as he led me to the middle of the large ballroom to dance. We began to waltz and I let my mind wander as I felt the rhythm of the step. After a few minutes, I was jostled from my thoughts when Alexander approached Benjamin and I.

            “May I interrupt this dance Ben? It is of utmost importance I talk to Miss Victoria straight away.” Alex was so calm when he lied through his teeth. Not that Benjamin would notice. I was the only one who could read Alex at all.  After Alex and I were off the dance floor and away from earshot I let out the breath I didn’t notice I had been holding. We stopped on the balcony overlooking the sea.

            “So what’s the emergency?” I asked.

            “You looked miserable. So I decided to be a knight in shining armor and save you!” he chuckled and I laughed along with him. I rested my head on his shoulder and looked at the stars.

            “I’m lucky to have you for a best friend;” I whispered, not sure if he even heard me.

           

            “Oh Victoria! Sir Benjamin Edward proposed to you last night! That is so incredibly wonderful! I can’t believe it! Oh! I must get started on the wedding arrangements straight away!” Mother was so bubbly, I couldn’t believe it. She hurriedly left my room bringing the maids with her.

            I rolled out of my bed and sat down at my vanity. I looked at myself with my long hair over my shoulder. I picked up my brush and started removing the tangles from a night of tossing and turning. As I sat, I watched my reflection in the mirror. The long wavy golden strands framing my face and neck and shoulders. I stopped brushing and sat the brush down on the vanity.

            I opened the bottom drawer of the vanity and pulled out the pocket knife my real father had given me before he was “accidentally” murdered. Mother and Father had him murdered when I was 8 years old. He broke Mother’s promise (really an order) to tell no one and to never seek to find me �" and paid with his life.

            A single tear rolled down my cheek at the memory. I opened the sharp knife blade, accidentally slitting my index finger. Mesmerized, I watched the blood trickle down and stain the lilac night gown I was wearing along with soaking into the wood of the vanity and onto the plush white carpet Mother had paid so much to have in all the bedrooms. With my bloodied hand I grabbed hold of my golden hair and sliced it off with the knife. I let go of the hair and spread all across the room, carried by the breeze from my open balcony doors.

            I smiled and laughed at the thought of what I had just done. Mother would be so upset. Father would call me disobedient. Benjamin would probably remove his proposal. Then Mother would kill me. But Alex would say it looked better this way. Alex would have helped me cut it if he were here. Alex would bandage my cut finger.

            My trail of thought ended and I walked across the room to my chest. Reaching between the two stacks of neatly folded dressed I found the wooden bottom of the chest and pulled up the pair of trousers and the men’s shirt from the bottom of the stacks. I donned these items and slipped out my balcony, climbing down the vines on the side of the house until I could jump to the floor. Still holding my knife, I ran down the street until I got to Alex’s family’s home.

 

            “Alex?” I called as I walked through the sitting room attached to his bedroom. I didn’t hear any response. “Alex?” I called again. Then I pushed open the door to his room, it was unlocked like usual.

            In the middle of the bed was a lump with a mop of brown hair poking out of the covers. I giggled at the sight and crossed the room to the bed. I jumped onto his bed and leaned over to him.

            “Hey, Alex. Get up! I have a surprise for you!” I said exuberantly. He groaned and rolled over to look at me. His eyes opened wide in shock.

            “Your hair!” He was practically yelling.

            “Do you like it?” I asked casually.

            “It’s just so different. I can’t believe you did that! Do you want your mother to murder you? Is this because Benjamin asked you to marry him?” He paused. “Its uneven. Here, give me that knife. Let me fix it.” I smiled. This was the Alex I knew and loved.

            I handed him the knife and he snapped it open and gently cut hair off of one side of my head. Then he sat up on his knees and cut what I assumed were layers into the back of my hair. After a while he would stop for a moment or two, and then restart. He stood in front of me when he finished and handed me back my knife.

            “You look… Cute with short hair. Defiant; but very cute.” He smiled at me and kissed my forehead. “But you should get back home. I’ll be over as soon as I’m dressed and my mom can stuff food down my throat. He hugged me and I left.

           

            I was crying so hard I could barely make out Mother’s figure through the stream of tears. She was kicking me out of the house. I had always hoped she would. But I never thought she actually would. Now what?

            She found me sneaking back in and was not only just appalled at my hair, but my men’s clothing, sneaking off early in the morning, and risking the loss of my marriage proposal. And she no longer wanted to be “disgraced by a disobedient daughter”. Father agreed with her. And I couldn’t step foot in this house ever again.

            I packed a few things and left. By this time, Mother was crying on Father’s shoulder and my brothers just gawked at me. I didn’t once look back at them.

           

            I walked along the street without acknowledging where I was going, but I found myself down at the docks. I stopped, unsure where to turn when I saw Alex standing on one of the ships directing the sailors where to load the crates.

            I walked up to the gang plank and stopped at the bottom. Alex saw me and motioned for me to come up.

            “What’s wrong? Have you been crying? What did your mother do?” He was so worried about me.

            “She kicked me out. And I shouldn’t be here. I don’t want to ruin your life too.” The tears starting streaming down my face once more.

            “Shh. You could never ruin my life. Best friends stick together. If you’re homeless, so am I. That’s what best friends do.” He hugged me and didn’t let me go. I closed my eyes and tried to relax in his strong embrace.

            A gunshot startled me from my trance. I heard screams and panicked people all around me. Alex screamed in agony and fell to the ground pulling me with him. His blood was everywhere, soaking through his clothes and mine. I was so shocked I couldn’t process what was happening.

            A shadow appeared over us and I looked up.

            “You! How could you? We were to marry. I should have known you would have rather had him than me. Well? Now you can’t have anyone and neither can he!” and with that another shot rang in my ears and I fell back. The pain shot through my chest. I was dying. It was the end.

 

            Friends last even beyond the end…

Reviews

[Barbara Walker]

The concept to this story is good, but I couldn't make sense of the third paragraph re "finding her". If you were to tighten up this writing and go into motivation more deeply, it could be a great story.

[DeliriousCerises]

A very unexpected end. I liked the concept, perhaps you could foreshadow the homicidal rampage of Victoria's husband-to-be. I felt like it came out of left field. The families were so afraid of appearance, it's strange to think Benjamin would shoot two people in broad daylight. I like the writing style too. Kind of a free floating timeline.