Love and Hate

1860

With his immense length, Robert Wattson towered above his bent cotton plantage workers. "C'MON PICK FASTER, I AIN'T HAVE ALL DAY!". He pushed and kicked his way through, what he mentioned to visitors as his "sea of black coffee". As he reached his house's porch he noticed a black boy in his twenties sitting on the steps and rubbing his knees. "What are you doing boy? GET OUT THERE AND PICK THAT COTTON!" he yelled. The boy answered "But suh my knees hurt, I can't do no more.". At this Robert Wattson pulled up the boy by both hands and gave him a good kick in the gut. The boy flew a good four yards before hitting the gravel covered ground. The boy sprawled himself out on the ground, gasping for air. 

Wattson was just about to turn around when his attention was caught once again, this time to a figure of a woman running out of the plantation. "Arthur, oh my lord Arthur!" she cried. The woman bent down to the boy and stroked his chin. Robert was suddenly reminded of a quote he once heard, "Love conquers all.". This he knew was untrue, he had mercilessly killed a black couple up north. They had loved each other, but alas they both perished to Robert's hatred.

Robert was snapped back to reality as he saw the mother and son hug each other affectionately. He gave a good look at the woman, something he rarely did to his slaves. He looked into her tear filled eyes, and saw beauty radiating from them. His stone like expression weakened at once. He said the words without even thinking "If he can't do work out in the plantation, then I could train him into a butler if ya want.". The woman looked up at him with raised eyebrows "Really suh?" Roberts harsh tone was back "Yeah, take it or leave it!".

And so Arthur Mckinley became the butler of Wattson Manor. The first day was miserable, what seemed like a saving grace in the form of mr Wattson turned quickly into a disaster. It was as bad, if not it was worse than picking cotton. Arthur woke up six o'clock every morning, and he worked to 4 o'clock in the morning which meant he got 2 hours of sleep every day. During his horrible time as the butler he endured a lot of pain, he got kicked for doing something wrong, whipped if he heard something he shouldn't have heard. On the bright side his english became a little better, his accent was now starting to sound like that of a white Texan. But that was the only good thing about working in this place.

 One eventful day Arthur found some pesticide lying on the kitchen counter. The maid had told him about a poison called "strychnine" found in pesticide, she was an educated woman, she went to school and all. He glanced at the pesticide and then at the boiling kettle on the stove. He looked around nervously. He grabbed the pesticide and advanced to the kettle, but he was quickly stopped in his tracks by the sound of footsteps approaching. 

The frame of Robert Wattson appeared near the door, he looked at Arthur with raised eyebrows, realizing what he was seeing Robert leaped at Arthur with seemingly superhuman speed. Roberts' hand swept over Arthur's face, and the next second Arthur was on the floor while Robert was wheezing. "What the hell are you doing you....you.." said Robert in a low dangerous voice.

For six months Arthur was shut in a cupboard after he got caught trying to put strychnine in mr Wattson's kettle. Arthur sat in the cupboard wondering why he wasn't dead already. He was given little food that was given to him in the brief seconds the door to the cupboard was open. and the water smelled horrible, it must have been water mixed with sewage, for he was not feeling healthy, but then again had he ever felt healthy? 

Finally the doors opened for more than a few seconds. And at the end of the door was Robert Wattson, a Robert Wattson that Arthur had never seen before. He had a full beard, his eyes were red and puffy and in his left hand was a bottle of chianti red wine. "Ya may come out now, ain't gonna be useful sittin' there all day long are we?". If Arthur was strong enough he would have gotten up and shoved that bottle down Robert's mouth, but he wasn't. In fact he felt like he was blacking out.

The next thing Arthur knew he woke up in one of the many bedrooms of the mansion. Before him was the maid, she said "You was out 6 hours, if I didn't know any better I'd pronounce you dead!" He looked around the room before asking "Where is everyone else?" The maid answered after a long pause "He fired them all, 'even freed the slaves and send them up north." "What? But why?" "It all started a couple of weeks ago, Mr Wattson felt ill, he had the doctor come over and check on him." 

Another long pause "Mr Wattson was diagnosed with lung cancer." There was absolute silence in the room. "Now Mr Wattson knew cancer was deadly, unfortunately, the verdict drew him insane, he started thinking that cancer was somethin' you get from...from...well....women." "But, why would he think that?" Arthur asked. "Well, he had an intimate relationship with your mother." "WHAT?" Arthur exclaimed. "And unfortunately, in rage and confusion, he killed her." Arthur didn't know what to think "He left her a will and all, well I guess, technically, you would be the new master of this manor in time.". With these words, Arthur had only one thing in mind, he would avenge his mother by putting an end to this wretched man, as well as taking all the money, which would then be rightfully his.

2 days later

Robert Wattson was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, looking across his room, it was very beautiful, he had a nice bedroom. Stuffed minks, the head of an elk, and a portrait of the Confederate general Samuel Benton. The doctor had just been around, he had declared that he had three days to live, three days...three days lying in a bed, waiting for the end to near. He should probably change that will, now that woman is dead and his end fastly approaching, no one is going to benefit from it....unless....Robert was snapped back into reality, at the end of the door it was the boy. He came to the bedside. "I brought you a glass of water sir.". "Thank you my boy, thank you." 

Robert gulped it down greedily and he sat there chatting with the boy as if nothing ever happened. It must have been a half an hour at least. Suddenly, his body started to spasm, was he having a stroke? Wasn't he diagnosed with cancer? Then the boy got up and began speaking "I know what you have done to my mother" he said, completely ignoring the shaking body of Robert Wattson. "Now I have come for both my revenge and my money, I have just learnt that exposure or consumption of strychnine, yes the same thing i tried to poison you kettle with is a horrible and painful way to go. In two hours the pain will end, and so will your life, I am going to dump your body in the lake where nobody will find you." He turned and headed towards the door "Oh, and I might need to dispose of that maid to, just in case, she was a good friend, oh well.". And with that Arthur Mckinley walked away, leaving Robert to his doom.

Moral: Life is fair because it is unfair to all, and inocence can easily get corrupted by evil.

I was going for a more dark and depressing moral like, love fades or love doesn't always conquer all. But due to issues with time that didn't happen.