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Himley the Mad hatter

Female Reader x Male Monster

Ages ago, my family lived in Tea Country. We were not rich like most of the people there, but my parents made a decent living. My mother was hired to perform elaborate tea services in the homes of the wealthy. Despite the need for such things in Tea Country, my mother's income was low. My father was a handyman who performed various odd jobs and services for the rich folk. He repaired more than his fair share of mansions.

Both my parents gathered many secrets from the people they worked for. My father was privy to many a secretive talk, and my mother had integrated herself into society despite her status. They supplemented their income by blackmailing those above them. This earned a more comfortable living for me and my family, but it was a dangerous one, and a living they hid covetously.

My father had an assistant, a young man who always kept his face hidden. He had taken pity on him and offered him a job, which he worked well at. He was much older than me, but he appeared to be much simpler. He rarely spoke and was timid and meek, but I always tried to be kind to him. I shared my sweets with him. He never lifted his hood to try them, but merely pocketed them for later.

When I was ten, I was coming home from school, skipping up the path to my house, when I saw dozens of constables surrounding my home. I stopped and hid, ducking into bushes while I watched my home being ransacked. My mother was dragged, kicking and screaming, from the house, and my father was tossed unconscious onto the ground. I held my breath while I mustered the strength not to cry, lest I be found too.

I could hear my mother screaming from the back of the jail cart. My father still lay on the ground, unmoving, while the constables walked around him. Then I saw our family helper walk out of the house. He stood with an officer, who was speaking to him. I watched as another man walked up and handed our helper a huge sum of money.

"This has been a big relief to us. Thank you for leading us to them," the officer said.

The helper looked down at the money in his hand, then shrugged. "It was nothing. All I did was earn their trust, and when that was sealed, it was easy enough to go unnoticed." He tilted his hooded head up to the house. "They thought I was stupid."

I gasped in horror. He betrayed my whole family, like it was nothing more than a day's work.

"There was a girl," the officer said. "Their daughter. Do you know where she is?"

The helper turned and looked around. "She should be coming home from school by now. Undoubtedly she ran."

"We'll begin searching for her," the officer replied.

I stayed hidden in that bush for hours. Eventually, I fell asleep as night crept in. I woke due to the cold, peering out from my hiding place to see the garden and lawn trashed and kicked up. My parents were gone, taken to jail, where they would probably be tortured or worse. I heard my mother screaming as they drove away. I was uncertain whether my father was alive or not. He had never moved.

I emerged from my hiding place, crawling out and slowly approaching the front door, which had been open the whole time. Inside, my house had been ransacked. Things had been tossed aside and ripped from the shelves, furniture was turned over, and everything felt empty. As I wandered through my home, I saw signs that people had already come through to steal what belongings remained. My room was picked clean, my toys and clothes mostly gone.

I crawled under my bed, where there was a loose floorboard. Opening it, I found what was hidden was still there. I took everything out, tucking it into my arms. It was all I had left.

"There you are, Penelope."

I nearly leapt from my skin and scooted back into the wall.

Our family helper was leaning over the bed, looking down at me. I wanted to be mad. I wanted to be vengeful. But all I could be was terrified. I didn't want to be dragged away like my parents. At that moment, I would have rather died.