Be You Bravely

Chapter 5 ~ Papers and Pamphlets

Author's Note 

I'm sorry this is all so depressing. You see, in my mind I have this wonderful (well I think it's wonderful) story, and so I can look past all the death and sadness because I know what lies ahead. Then I realize that you don't know what lies ahead. 

So please bare with me, and know that brighter days are ahead...

On a note of my spelling and grammar, I am typing this on a touchscreen, which for anyone who types on a touch screen knows, is quite tedious, and sometimes the screen doesn't respond to my touch.... So there, that's my excuse.... 

Enjoy 

Depicted in my mind, a picture of perfect happiness, memories of Frank and I swimming in a sparkling lake. You know those memories that lie safely in the special places in your heart? Well this was one of them. Frank grabs my arm and pulls me under the water, as the coldness rushes over me, I open my eyes under the water and my eyes fall upon his face, which is also under the water. The way his face is set makes me burst into fits of laughter causing me to swallow the water. He pulls me up and lifts me to his shoulders. Though we are the same age, he is taller than me. We laugh together because we know that if our mother saw us, we would both be grounded for the rest of eternity! The sun is setting in the back round, the last rays of the day stretching across the lake that we swim in. Peacefully, on the banks of the lake lies our families Labrador puppy, Setter,  is sleeping. As the last rays slip behind the horizon, and the moon replaces the sun, we decide it's time to go home. I scoop up the puppy, who snores now in my arms, as Frank carries our wet towels up the hill. We stand on the top and observe  the house on the next hill a mile away. Past the horses we look, past the avenue of trees leading up to the mansion. Setter wriggles in my arms, I drop him and he bounds down the hill and up to the house. Frank and I gleefully follow suit. 

A finger snaps, and I'm awoken from my daydreams. 

Mother is giving me a stern look, as if to tell me to concentrate. Vaguely, I hear a man speaking in a stern, gruff voice. Then I remember; I am sitting in a lounge chair in our house, with the whole staff standing behind me, the rest of my family is seated randomly on couches around the room. A very buff, officer who looks to be about fifty years old is standing in front of us all. He is holding a pamphlet in his hands. Looking down to my hands, I see that I too am holding one. Yes, Opal had handed them to me when I was called from my room where I was reading, to the lounge for a meeting. But this wasn't' just any old meeting. This was about bombs, what to do if one went off, or if one was dropped, where to go if the sirens went off, how to treat solders if they came to our door.

I wasn't paying much attention because as the big man had stated when he began his speech, all that he was saying, was in the pamphlet anyway, so I didn't quite understand why he was wasting his breath. Beside me, Jack one of our footmen, shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Clearly, he was as bored as I was. Slowly, I glanced at him. He was already looking at me. Feeling a blush creep to my cheeks, quickly I looked away, to see Frank glaring at me fiercely. Oh dear. He obviously had the wrong impression of what had just happened. Frank must of thought I was, as he called it, romantically involved, with Jack. He always came up with these insanely impossible arguments that I was involved with one of the footmen. If it wasn't Jack, it was Paul, and if it wasn't a footman, it was the gardener, Chris, or our driver Tony. That was one thing my mother and him have in common, they are always suspecting me of being up to no good. Which, in their defense, is often true, but when it comes to men, that is never the case. I couldn't be bothered to notice them in the slightest. 

"I heard they'll be hiring woman as nurses. I think I might sign up! I want to help!" 

Quiet whispers from behind me pricked up my ears. 

What was this? Hiring woman as nurses? Could anyone sign up? Would I be able to join? The questions burned in my mind. Quickly, I scrolled through the pamphlet for any sign of hiring nurses. Nothing! Stupid pamphlet. Full of useless facts and tidbits about war, but nothing about hiring nurses, which was important! Well, I suppose the facts about the war are important, but I was desperate!

Looking up I saw that the man had stopped speaking. He was asking if there were any questions. No one asked any, so he saluted, turned on his heel and walked out the room. Just like that.

Wait! I cried out in my head. Mother would skin me alive if I had asked if I would be able to be hired as a nurse in front of anyone, so I devised a plan.

Servants slowly started filing out of the room.  I saw Viola, who had been whispering about signing up as a nurse, slip out the door, so I followed. Surely she would lead me to where I could find out more about signing up. She scurried to the man who had given the boring presentation. Hiding behind the door, I heard her ask, "Where can I sign up to be a nurse?" 

Silence.

"Have you ever had any past training as a nurse?" A gruff voice replied after some time.

"No, do I need any?"

"Ha! Of course! What did you think? The wounded would just magically heal themselves? Huh?"

"Well, I haven't. I want to help. Tell me where I can train!"

More silence. This was my chance.

"Sir.... Good day, my name is Alexandra, I too would like to inquire about signing up. I have no prior training, but as my fellow maid Viola has said, I want to help." 

Viola's face had a confused look on it. The man also gave me a look of confusion.

"You? You're a maid? You speak so..... eloquently, for a maid that is!" The man spoke, eyeing me skeptically.

"Yes sir, thank you sir." I elbowed Viola in the ribs just before she opened her mouth to unintentionally give me away. 

The man eyed us both. 

"Well, you look fit and healthy... here," he reached into his suitcase which he was holding in his hand and pulled out a wad of papers, " take these, it has all the information you need." 

"Thank you sir." Viola gushed as she reached for the papers, but just as she was about to take them from his vainy hand, he pulled them away.

"Mind you, I hope for your sake that you have a strong stomach, you're going to need it." 

Before he changed his mind, I grabbed the papers from him. 

Nodding his head he walked away.

"Miss, are you really going to sign up?" Viola questioned me as we walked up the stairs to the front door.

"Yes. I can't live here anymore, listening to mother's incessant chattering about boring facts and tidbits about eligible men in the area, when I can be of real help, by nursing." 

"Yes, Miss.... only... oh never mind me. You should do what you think best. Good'ay Miss." 

She curtsied and hurried into the house. Deeply, I breathed in, and out as I walked in through the great doors and closed them. Leaning against the mahogany wood as I staring at the papers in my hands, picturing myself heroically saving the lives of wounded men, I stood taller and walked up the stairs, my hand trailing the patterns on the rail. 

"Yes," I muttered to myself, "This is right, I can do this." 

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