Can You Believe What They've Done To You?

And so I hold tight to any hands I see.

January 21st 1836

When I awoke, I was in a bed I had never seen before in a place I had never seen before. The room was painted a soft pink adorned with finely painted roses. Engraved onto the picture rails were tiny cherubs and the ceiling rose was quite something to behold, I must say. In the middle of it hung a large, golden chandelier absolutely dripping with crystals and beads. The carpet was cream and extremely soft to the touch. But the real beauty was the magnificent fire place on the left wall. It was engraved with ivory flowers and swirling patterns that glowed as the fire burned up in its core. Atop the mantle piece sat various vases filled with roses, lillies and baby's breath. Next to the fire place stood my battered old vioin case which, although beautiful in my eyes, looked an eye sore in comparrison to its surroundings. I looked about the over sized bed I lay upon. The soft cream silk covers and matching pillows edged with lace were splattered with dirt from where I had been laying. I sat up and tried to brush off the dirt, feeling quite awful for causing such a mess, to no avail, of course. I stood, carefully slipping my battered boots onto my feet and carefully tieing the laces. Just then, the door slowly opened, causing me to stand up straight. A maid stood before me, smiling politely and shaking her head. 

"Oh, my dear boy." She did laugh. "We can't let you walk around in those tatty ol' things." She quickly made work of taking off my boots and placing them gently to the side before walking over to the large oak wardrobe that stood snugly in the corner of the room. The maid then pulled out a fine black suit with a matching black shirt followed by a pair of shiny black boots. She then closed the wardrobe, handing me the garments with a smile.

"Here you are! some nice clean clothes for you to wear! Can't have you living in rags during your time here! But first..." She lifted my head carefully with her hand, inspecting me. "We must clean you up!" I watched her briskly walk away before returning a few moments later with a large tin bucket filled with warm soapy water and a cleaning rag. The maid then began to remove my clothes. I tried to resist, backing away across the room. I didn't want new clothes. I didn't want to stay here in a place I didn't know with a person I didn't know. Finally, I came to the realisation of my situation. This kind lady had taken me away from the horrors of home and offered me comfort, a new life. But what if she took me home? I don't suppose she knew where my home was anyway... I finally gave in, deciding that this life was better than my previous one and slowly walked back towards her.She removed the rest of my ripped and dirtied clothes and began to wash my body. It felt good to be clean for once...

She then picked up the suit and began to dress me. I had never worn a suit before. It felt strange at first, but I soon became accustomed to it. Once I was dressed, the maid smiled once more before holding out her hand. "C'mon then, sir."

"L-Laurence. M-my name is Laurence." I stuttered.

"Alright then, Laurence, come with me."

I looked back at my violin before walking over to pick it up. I then looked at the maid before reluctantly shuffling over to her. I refused to take her hand she frowned at me, but I did not care. I did not even know who she was.

We walked down long corridors and I felt like I was in a palace. Everything was shining with gold and ivory. It was beautiful, if only I knew where I was.

Before long we had reached a room that could only be described as a music room. In the far corner of said room sat a most charming grand piano, whilst in the corner opposite sat an equally charming harpsicord. Yet, it was the piano that drew me in...

At the piano sat a rather angered looking man in a fine suit and top hat. Around him stood at least twelve girls, all dressed in silk dresses of varying colours with tightly laced, almost painfully tight looking, corsets. They must have ranged between aged 10 and 15 and each of them had a violin and bow in their hands.