Forsaken [Penny Dreadful Fanfiction || Victor Frankenstein]

Chapter One - Fate

It was almost too quiet. Sure, it was late morning on a misty Tuesday in the middle of a coffee shop in London. Quiet was to be expected. But this... This was the kind of quiet that made your ears ring and your eye twitch. The kind of toe-curling quiet that could shatter a window with its intensity.

Alice Honora Winsett sat quietly at a small wooden table near the window, set up for two. Even her seat near the window would not allow her the relief of hearing some sort of noise. After a moment she set down her delicate tea cup with her delicate hands and found that if she focused incredibly hard, she could hear some noise, though severely muted.

A sense of panic set deep into the pit of her stomach. It wasn't enough for her to be seriously scared but it certainly worried her. Alice absentmindedly turned to tapping the table's polished surface with her nail. Very gradually, the tapping sound faded into something audible. It shifted to its normal volume shockingly fast and it nearly sent the poor woman tumbling out of her chair.

She quickly withdrew her hand from the top of the table and gathered up a few coins from her coat pocket. She placed them on the table and stood, hastily leaving the cafe behind.

Alice walked quickly with her head down toward the docks. She'd always had something for the ocean. Perhaps not a love but something of an attraction to it. Instead of the smooth walk home she rammed into the back of a poor gentleman. The woman raised her head and her eyebrows shot up. She was fast to apologize, sputtering out a stumbling apology. She blushed bright with embarrassment, ashamed of her foolishness and lack of poise. Something a lady should always have.

"Miss," a man's voice with an American accent sounded, silencing her immediately. "It's alright. Just watch where you're walking next time."

The man gave her a smile. One that wrinkled the skin outside his narrow eyes and only seemed to brighten that dark Tuesday morning. He was certainly American with his tan skin and harsh southern accent. He held himself taller and seemed to have broader shoulders. His facial hair was fairly rough as well. But in a good way. Somehow.

Alice shook her head and tried to laugh at her silliness. "A-ah I'm terribly sorry. I'm afraid to admit I'm quite the klutz."

Just then Alice noticed the three other people staring at her. A woman with unruly burgundy hair and a round face with kind eyes. She had herself wrapped up in cloths of all different textures and patterns. That woman had a sense of wild beauty about her. As if somehow feral could be elegant. Yet in a way it worked.

Two other men stood by. One looked particularly tired. He had a small build but perhaps it looked that way because he was very slightly hunched over in exhaustion. The skin under his eyes hinted at the lack of sleep. Yet his pale face was beautiful and narrow. He was a very slender man. Next to him stood a far heavier built man. With an incredibly kind face and a sweet, innocent smile gracing his cracked lips. He, too, was pale. But his skin was more of a ghostly pale. Almost as if he was sick or not quite alive. Though such a thing would not surprise anyone in London. Disease was nothing new.

"It seems I've ruined your conversation with your friends as well," Alice turned away from the American man and toward his friends. "I'm sorry about that. I suppose I must get going."

"At least let us introduce ourselves?" The voice of the American man stopped her from leaving and she nodded reluctantly, shoulders tensed up in uncertainty. "I'm Ethan Chandler and this is my friend Brona Croft."

Alice shook each of their hands, a friendly smile pulling at her lips. "It's very nice to meet you Mr. Chandler, Miss Croft."

The slender man stepped forward a bit and held out a hand. "I am Doctor Victor Frankenstein and this is...Proteus." He looked over at the bigger man almost nervous, as if a child in the middle of telling a very big lie. Though Alice didn't question it further and shook their hands, noticing how cold Proteus's hand was. "And your name?"