Flower - Downton Abbey [1] [UNDER EDITING]

Chapter 1 - Father

[ORIGINAL CHAPTER]

My mother died of illness when I was a small child, and I never met my father, but I enjoyed my childhood. I grew up on a farm with my cousins and had a typical childhood. On my mother's side, I was raised by my aunt and her husband, who were the closest I had to parents, and I adored them for it. We didn't have much money, but we were content; my younger cousins and I used to spend our days running about on the long, lovely fields outside our house, sword fighting with sticks and exploring the forest.

Every day when we returned home from playing, we would smell dinner from miles anyway because my aunt was an amazing cook and her food was to die for. When we walked in the door, my aunt would greet us with a hug and a kiss on the top of our heads before us running to the dinner table and sitting down excited for that day's meal. My uncle would then walk through the door, taking off his boots and kissing my aunt before we all sat down to eat dinner as a family.

Dinnertime was always my favourite part of the day since it was always full with laughing and love. When my uncle became ill, I had to take over the farm because my aunt would spend all of her time caring for him, but he died when I was 13 years old. My cousins and I sat outside their bedroom door that day, and while I listened through the door, I heard my aunt crying, which indicated he had left. As my younger cousins sat there crying, I tried to console them by hugging them firmly and telling them everything would be fine, but I knew it wouldn't be. My aunt's behavior changed after that day; she would spend the entire day in bed, unable to move or speak, forcing me to leave school and devote my time to running the farm and caring for the children. I also tried my best to care for her, but she too became ill with an illness similar to my Uncle's, and she became worse one day.

That day, I walked into her room and sat down next her on the bed, and she handed me a box. "What's this?" I said, puzzled, as I looked at her. "Just open it," she said, beaming as brightly as she could. As I looked through it, I found some things that belonged to my mother. "This box will help you in finding your father," my aunt continued, her voice trembling. "How," I said, still confused, "you will figure it out," my aunt responded, and that was the last thing she said to me before making me promise to find my father and return for my cousins when I was ready.

People came to take us away as she died, believing that I couldn't take care of them myself because I was only 16 years old, despite having done so for years. I barricaded myself and my cousins in our bedroom, filling my rucksack with items. "You're just making things more difficult for yourself." I knew they'd take it eventually, so I needed a head start.

So I slung my bag over my shoulder and leaned down to my cousins, "I have to go, but I promise I will be back for you when I can," I said, placing a hand on each of their cheeks as tears streamed from their eyes, as did mine because I didn't want to leave them behind, before kissing each of their heads as my aunt used to do when we arrived home.

Before I opened the bedroom window and looked down at the large jump in front of me, I looked back as the door flew open, with police officers standing in the doorway, before I jumped out and landed on the ground. I started running for a while until I was clear, then I sat down and took the box out of the bag and started looking at the contents, there was some money, not much, a letter, photograph, and a map so I put everything back in the box except the letter and started reading it.

It began with "Dear Elizabeth, if you're reading this letter, it means you're old enough to learn the truth about everything. When I was not much older than you, I got a job as a servant in the Crawley household, which was seen as an honour in our family, but it wasn't as it seemed I had an affair with the lord of the house, Robert Crawley, but I ended things when I found out I was expecting you and I left, because he was married and no one would have believed who your father was but you need to know who he is and have a father in your life, Your mother".

After wiping the tears from my eyes, I stuffed the letter back into the box and walked until I reached a store, where I purchased a lantern and matches to light my path because it was getting dark, as well as some food for the long trek ahead. Because it was going to be a lengthy journey, I used the lantern to light up the map so I could see where I was going. After a time, I became tired and my feet hurt, so I went for a walk into a nearby wood before settling up for the night.

Because it was cold, I used my bag as a cushion and covered myself with my coat before blowing out the lantern and falling asleep. The light pouring into my eyes woke me up the next morning, so I rubbed my eyes before getting up and packing everything into my bag. I sat there for a while before eating the last of the food in my bag since I was hungry and needed the energy for the remainder of the journey.

After eating, I got up and went for a walk with the map in my hand until I reached a village close to Grantham Manor. As I walked in, I noticed children running and playing with smiles on their faces, people walking around, and the smell of freshly baked bread hit me, making me take a big sniff, which made me even more hungry.

But I grinned as I continued walking till I reached the village's end and saw a big home. I stopped outside in awe since I had never seen anything like it before and couldn't believe my father lived here. I stood there for a few moments before walking through the open gate and up the path until I reached the home, where I stepped up to the door and took a deep breath to calm my nerves since my heart was pounding within my chest. But for a split second, I have second thoughts and move away from the door before remembering that I had to go through with it.
End Of Chapter 1