Future to Past

{-Chapter Eight-}

Seraphina had another day off, John having taken his children out to play games with them, he didn't want to lose them all, they were his children and he needed to step up. So, Seraphina was in the sitting room reading her book, with a small pot of tea beside her. She would occasionally fill her cup up with tea before taking a sip, it was just soothing, but it was making her a bit paranoid, the silence was something that her father used to use against her. He would sneak up on her before hurting her badly for something she hadn't done.

Tommy was still in his room upstairs, just waking up from the haze the drugs would give him, so as he shook his head before drinking whiskey, washing away the foul taste in his mouth. He stood bare ass naked before changing into his favourite suit. When he stepped out, he walked down the stairs not making a noise, so when he saw Seraphina, he softly called out to her.

He was not expecting to see her jump dropping the tea all over herself and dropping to the floor, curled up in a ball. He was by her side quickly whispering soothing words to her and apologizing for startling her so badly. When she had calmed, she looked up seeing Tommy, then the mess on the floor. "Oh, I'm sorry." She whimpered, before trying to clean the mess up, Tommy knew she was probably still in a memory, so he gently took her hands and pulled her to her feet, her head now resting against his chest as he shh'd her gently.

Seraphina quickly calmed down as she listened to Tommy's heartbeat, it was soothing to hear one thing, she could feel his warmth, she could feel the way he rocked them back and forth, she could smell the alcohol and drugs on him, and she could feel the smoothness of his suit. "You're alright darling." He whispered to her kissing the top of her head. Seraphina breathed out softly before pulling back.

"I'm okay." She said gently, she smiled sweetly at Tommy who rested his hands atop her cheeks.

"Are you sure?" He asked. The girl nodded her head, so Tommy let her go before going into the dining room and making himself something to eat. Seraphina following behind him. "What are you doing today?" He asked her.

"Nothing, John's got the kids, Polly took Finn and Ada with her, Arthur is somewhere in the other side of the house, Polly told me not to interfere with him." She answered honestly. Tommy hummed before an idea came to him.

"Would you like to go riding?" He asked her.

Seraphina was a bit surprised as she didn't know what he truly meant for a second but then it clicked. "Like, horse riding?" She asked. He nodded his head in response. "I would love to, but I don't know how to ride a horse." She stated.

Tommy smirked. "I'll teach you, when we got out, though I'll keep you attached to my saddle, so nothing happens to you."

Seraphina's smile lit the whole room up as she ran up to her room and put on some pants and a shirt instead of the dress she was originally wearing. Slipping on her boots she ran back down to see Tommy waiting for her at the door. "I'm ready!" She squealed as she slid across the floor. Her eyes were sparkling with pure excitement. She had always wanted to ride a horse, be free as the majestic creature would take her from place to place. The wind in her hair. It sounded magical.

"Come on then." Tommy said making her put her cap and coat on. Slipping her arm around his, Tommy led her to Charlie Strong's yard. The two, chit chattering away, well Seraphina was doing the talking, Tommy was just listening to her, he was happy to see her being more expressive with the family, when he had first seen her, it really did break his heart that she was so terrified that whoever hurt her was still coming for her. Now, now she was free, the person who hurt her was gone from her life, she could do whatever she wanted now. Well, only if he said it was okay, she was still a little bit naïve to the world outside.

When they got to Charlie's, Tommy pulled her to the stables where he told her to calmly walk up to the horse to see if one of them would choose her, after all a horse chooses their rider. She walked slowly through the stable as Tommy watched her carefully, he had to make sure she didn't get too close to the one they had recently bought, he was a wild one, refusing anyone.

"Tommy!" Charlie called out to his nephew, Tommy glanced at his uncle before going over to him, he was sure that Seraphina would be alright.

Seraphina was feeling a little let down when she walked past the horses, all of them walking away from her, or turning their backs on her. She sighed feeling dejected, when she spotted a beautiful black horse, with a black mane, it was a beautiful strong looking horse. She smiled softly as she went over to him, "hello." She greeted, holding her hand out to the horse.

The horse huffed, before sniffing the girl's hand, it was like a connection was made between them. She smiled as she ran her hand over the horse's face, feeling a form of comfort. "Have you been hurt too?" She asked softly as she opened the gate walking inside. The horse knickered, as Seraphina stayed where he could see her. "I was hurt too, my dad was the one who hurt me, he said I was a mistake he had to teach me what happened to mistakes." She whispered, the horse knocked her a little, catching her attention. She giggled as the horse started nibbling her hair. "You're a gorgeous creature you know that." She said softly.

"Seraphina!" Tommy called out, not seeing her in the stables.

Seraphina's head popped out from the wild horses stable, and he froze, she didn't seem to be hurt, but for all he knew she could be faking her happiness. "I found my horse Tommy, and he's the sweetest thing ever!" She called to Tommy. The man walked over seeing the horse, not bothered in the least by Seraphina the horse looked happy to have her there.

"Seraphina, is he comfortable with you?" Tommy asked.

"Well, I would assume so, he hasn't been mean to me at all, he's actually quite sweet." She said smiling softly at the horse.

Tommy watched as the wild horse nuzzled into her hair making her giggle loudly. "Well, he does need a name you know." Tommy said to Seraphina.

Seraphina's eyes flashed over to him, wide eyed. "Does that mean I can name him?" She asked. When Tommy nodded to her, she turned to the horse once more, looking over the horse. She needed to give him a strong name, she thought over the names she had remembered reading in her history books. A name instantly popped into her head. "Atlas," she said smiling.

Tommy frowned at the name. "Why Atlas?" He asked her, curious.

"Atlas was one of the most famous Titans, the son of Iapetus and the Oceanid Asia or, possibly, Clymene. He was the leader of the Titan rebellion against Zeus, and he got a fitting punishment after the end of the Titanomachy: he was condemned to eternally hold up the sky. Only once, and for a very brief period, he was bereaved of this burden by Hercules." She said gently. "He's a strong horse that will have to carry me around."

Tommy hummed in understanding. "Well then, it's about time we saddle up." He said before handing her the saddle, Seraphina grinned as she got Atlas ready to ride out into the open.