Running.
It was something that Raelynn had grown accustomed too. Running from the past and people from it. What happens when she gets settled in someplace she can call home? Will she accept it? Or will she take her brother to unknown lands?
She was...
Static sounds clogged her ears, blocking out her environment, while her thoughts ran rampant. She stared at her hands that were folded neatly in her lap, panicking silently. Her fingers were red from where she had picked them raw, nerves slowly getting the better of her, no matter how hard she tried to push them away. As soon as the words reached her ears, her cold expression shifted. The nervousness and unease was displayed clearly across her features. Her eyebrows were scrunched in thought, and her eyes born into the calluses on her hands. She had never been this afraid, nor not in complete control of her situation. For the first time, she was afraid of being alone, and of not being able to stop it from happening.
A huff of annoyance from across the table pulled her out of her downward spiral of thoughts and emotions. She pulled her head up, staring at the aged woman across the table. It seems she had a gray hair for every day she had lived, which clearly had been much longer than the girl herself had been alive. Thin eyeglasses hung from the woman's nose, yet another sign of her old age. The woman wore a outfit that covered nearly her entire body, which was customary to nuns.
"Did ya here me girl," the old nun questioned, "your brothers gonna be goin' to another home."
Growing more anxious, the young woman questioned shakily, "Why? Why can't I go with him? We've always been together..."
"Cus, he's still young. Your almost old enough to be thrown to the street."
To end up someone's whore. Was the unsaid explanation, the girl could see it in the nuns eyes. Everyone seemed to judge the girl, because she was a motherless, fatherless orphan. Her mother was a gypsy, a nomad, which meant she was dirty. And by proxy, so were her children. The girls brother would be able to join the army, or become an apprentice to some hard-working man. But she could do nothing. No one would want her for a wife, or a mother.
"How?" The girl asked quietly.
"What?"
"How can I keep us together?"
The older woman pressed her hand to her forehead, rubbing the creases between her eyebrows in frustration. "The only way.. is if someone wanted the both of you's. But no one wants two dirty orphans."
The girl, who seemed to think for a moment, straightened up quickly. She had a determined look on her face... A look that said she knew something that the older woman did not.
She debated not exposing the secret she had kept since she was nearly a babe, but the threat of losing her brother was now more important. Before she was orphaned, her mother had given her a letter, addressed to her father. Years later, when she was 10, she broke it open. Her mother's neat handwriting explained the story of the girls life. How she was born after her mother ran away from her parents judgment, of being a unwed mother. At the time, she couldn't understand how her mother could've put her child at such a risk. However, later she understood.. the judgments of society can bring more fear than trying to survive on your own.
Squaring her shoulders, and holding her head high, she spoke his name for the first time, "Thomas Michael Shelby."
Again, perplexed at the girls answer, the nun questioned, "What?"
"Our father.. His name is Thomas Shelby. If he survived the war, he'll want us. Both of us."
"Raelynn, I highly doubt he is your father. After all, it's not like you share his name," the nun added condescendingly. She returned to writing on her documents, before concluding, "so you best be sayin your goodbyes, he leaves tomorrow morning."
Clenching her fists in anger, Raelynn shoved her chair several inches backwards. Her hands slammed on the table, as she leaned over it, pushing herself closer towards the nun. "No!" she barked, "You are going to contact the man, and tell him he has two children in Leicester."
The two people stared off for a minute, both glaring at each other, not wanting to give in. However, the nun finally understood that she could not sway the girls determination. So, she merrily nodded her head while sighing yet again.
A triumphant smirk found its way on Raelynn's face, before she spun on her heel and walked towards the door. Glancing over her shoulder, she called out, "Oh, and Sister Catherine."
"Yes child."
"You should know, that the only reason this place is still standing, is because my brother needs a place to sleep." The girl spoke softly, as a blank look clouded her eyes. "If we ever, for some reason, get separated.. I will burn this fuckin place to the ground. And if I'm honest with you, I don't give a damm who's in it."
Not bothering to stay and see the horrified look on the older woman's face, Raelynn stepped out the door, shutting it behind her. She now had to tell her brother about her father, and how she knew who he was their entire lives. She knew for a fact that he wouldn't be mad at her, for keeping it secret. But she knew he would be angry at how the nun had spoken to her, and the fact that they tried to separate them. The idea of separation always angered him, and truly scared Raelynn. After all, they only had each other. Even if her so-called father did take them in, it would be a long while before either of them trusted him.
However, that wasn't the only thing that plagued the girls mind. She also knew of her father's criminal activity. How he apparently runs a underground society called the Peaky Blinders. Her concern was that her or her brother would be harmed because of her father's reputation. Or, that her brother would become a criminal like him. Currently, he was a smart boy. A kind one too. She didn't want to ruin that. To see him be tainted by the harsh world that they lived in.
She mindlessly walked the halls of the quiet children's home. To be fair, she and her brother had lived there for over two years now, and knew the layout of the building entirely. Soon, she arrived at an old, beaten door. The paint chipped around its door knob and hinges, showing its age by the wear of everyday use.
Taking in a large breath, she pushed open the door. She looked at her brother, who laid across their shared bed, before announcing, "Dorian.. I have news."
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First chapter done!!! I'm super excited to develop Raelynn and Dorians relationship!! I know how I want the story to go in the beginning, but I'm not sure how I'm to write it later on. If you have any ideas or any suggestions, please comment!
Also, this is my first first fanfiction. So please keep that in mind while reading! 🫶
PS. The picture at the top is supposed to be Raelynn. It is not mine, I got it from Pinterest: at https://pin.it/2uuc4USVg.
