As the youngest Shelby child and twin to Finn Shelby, Kezia has spent the last 4 of her 10 years locked away for her mental defectiveness.
She returns to Small Heath under the legal guardianship of her brother, Thomas Shelby. Despite knowing she's s...
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Btw I had to un-publish the last chapter (chapter 15) because I added a bit to the end so please go reread! The draft I had saved on here wasn't the most current 🥴
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Kizzie followed the drag marks in the dirt. Like bloody tire tracks.
The cold air smelled of woodfire and copper. Brown tents dusted with snow and shaped like cottages littered the area. In the distance, gunfire could be heard.
Like before, Kizzie had no control of her legs. They followed the trail like a hound. Male voices from inside the tent had her heart jump—especially the gruff, mumbled one. She moved the tent flap and walked in.
"Damn shame," one of them said. His uniform was almost identical to the others, aside from the white cloth wrapped around his bicep sleeve.
Kizzie almost tripped over the broken, bloody stretcher near the flap. On a table next to the man was a dead body. She recognized him as the companion in the dugout with Alfie. His eyes were open but filmed over white like a fish. The right was swollen double the size and red as a cherry with built-up blood. Kizzie followed the man's face down, where a large bump started from his tear duct and traveled down the bridge of his nose. Something metal and flat, like the end of a nail, poked out from his nostril opening. Bloody bits of brain kissed his upper lip and made a trail back up his nose.
"We'll get him cleaned up," the medic continued. "Thank you for helping to bring him in, Captain."
Kizzie turned and found her soldier already staring at her. Hair and beard longer than before.
"Least I can do." The others in the tent began getting the body ready, so they couldn't see the man looking at nothing. "I'll be out by the fire."
Kizzie followed him. His gold and yellow pulsed like a heartbeat. He was guarded--she saw it in his shoulders. At one point, he peeked behind to see if she still followed. The action reminded Kizzie of dogs on walks. Where was he making sure she followed to?
He looked much scruffier and Kizzie wondered how much time had passed since she saw him in the trenches. He sat on a lone log further away from the crowd, where food rations were being prepared. Steam from the pots drifted up into the gray clouds. Another storm was coming... France must not have a lot of sunshine.
"Been awhile."
She almost missed what he said. In time, she was sure she'd better understand him. If given the opportunity. Pain raked her chest at the idea. She hadn't seen him, in real life, in weeks. Did he wonder where she went? Did Cyril miss her? Was his Challah bread selling?
Alfie shifted uncomfortably, almost as if he picked up on her internal war. His colors trembled and extended out. "You don't talk."
"I'm not good at talking."
He found her eyes. Clarity. Or relief, maybe, painted his handsome face. With his hair and beard a tangled and dirty mess, he looked so much older than he was. Kizzie wondered his age and how close in years he was to her brothers.
Kizzie was worried about speaking. Being woken up by her own voice drowned her in anxiety. But the need to be heard by him was primal. Satisfaction warmed her soul at his surprise. He was not a man easily shocked.
"Why'd you kill him?" It wasn't an interrogation. Genuine curiosity. He could not hide his truth around her, it seemed. Kizzie wondered if it worked both ways.
"Because he's a fucking wop."
A wop. She knew that word. And up until recently, she didn't know it was a mean word for Italians. She heard Arthur and John use it all the time. She once said it in front of Tommy and he got upset. Explained what it meant and how she had no business ever saying it.
"Got into an argument," he explained. "...I saw your face lookin' at him. Didn't faze you much. You've seen violence."
"Yes."
Like a balloon, he seemed to grow in size from her confession. "Done to you?"
"No, just seen and heard it. My family and when I lived at the hospital."
"You don't look sick."
"My brain is sick. You can't tell?"
"All I see is a girl."
Kizzie looked away. Just a girl. No one ever just saw her. Her oddness was so obvious to others, especially when she spoke; Kizzie prayed to never have the chance to hear her own voice.
"Does it matter to you that I'm stupid? 'Schizoid'?"
"You ain't stupid. People call me stupid. Do I look stupid?"
Him?
Who could ever call him stupid? He was perfect.
Alfie's eyes widened, those dark denim blues exposed to the cold air. His colors trembled and grew brilliant as the sun. "Perfect, aye? Never been that before."
Oh!
Kizzie's throat closed. She said that outloud? She had gotten good at being mindful of how loud her thoughts could be. "I..." Didn't mean it? Because that would be a lie. "I'm sorry if I upset you."
Her soldier kept his stare strong. It hovered over her face, her frazzled hair, dusted with falling snow. Puffs of cold air left his powerful chest. She wanted to relieve him and tell him he'd live. That they'd meet again, as temporary as it would be. And maybe something in her eyes told him that.
The snow fell harder. A flake landed on his eyelashes and he jolted back, as though it had woken him up. Further down the way, a line formed for food. Kizzie followed his sight and swore she heard his tummy rumble. He tucked his chapped lips into his mouth before exhaling through his nose.
Contemplation.
"Go ahead," she told him. "I'll be here when you get back."
If that's what he wanted.
Alfie whipped around to face her again. He almost appeared younger, like a child. "Promise?"
"I promise."
Author's Note:
I'm using Tom Hardy's role in The Revenant for Alfie's wartime look. He was such a scruffy shitbag in the movie but goddamn was he not fiiiiine!
Thank you for all the love this has been getting! Hard to think this has almost passed 2k reads. I know it's technically not a lot but I wasn't expecting to hit even 100 reads! Peaky Blinders isn't super popular right now the way House of the Dragon is.
We're only a chapter away from being done with season 1. I'll have it out later (it's currently 12:30am and I need to get to sleep lol). Then we're off to season 2 with more present-day Alfie! 🥰
