His Sister Orla

05

It had been a little over a year since the Shelby men had returned from France. The business was booming, bringing in more money than it ever had. Tommy was slowly taking over, for Arthur was struggling with his mental health. The nightmares of war haunted his thoughts on more days than not. Arthur usually drowned his sorrows in whiskey and women, but it did no good.

The war troubled Thomas as well. He hardly slept due to the shovels and picks trying to bust through his bedroom wall. Opium used to help; however his body had built up a tolerance over time.

Orla, now 15 years of age, was excelling in school. Her mind was sharp as a tack and she never skipped a beat. It did not matter what task she attempted, she was brilliant at achieving her goal. She held the brightest smile and happiest soul in all of Birmingham. Her only downfall was that she could read Thomas Shelby like an open book.

Tommy and Orla's relationship had always been a truthful one. There was no secrets between the siblings. Tommy found that Orla was wise enough to handle the truth, just too innocent for certain elements of it. Tommy kept Orla from seeing her brothers bloody and battered. She never seen the boys bleed from a violent act, and this was because of Thomas. He thought she didn't need to see that particular side of the brothers and Orla was grateful for that. She had heard of how her brothers used violence together what they desired, however she had not one horrific memory.

Orla knew of Tommy's unlucky fortune that fell into his lap and she also knew of the new visitor that graced Birmingham with his presence. Inspector Campbell was under the impression that Arthur led the family when he first arrived, therefore it was Arthur's face that took the worst of the conversation held between the inspector and himself.

Arthur had stumbled into the house that afternoon covered in his own blood and the finest mud Birmingham had to offer. The ladies had been in the kitchen when Arthur made his appearance. Polly had sent Orla into the betting shop to fetch John, who then sent for Tommy.

Tommy, once hearing the news of his brother's misfortune had been quick to jump into action. Making his way to the Garrison, Tommy's mind flooded with thoughts of his Orla. He wondered if Orla had been there or if she had seen anything. Orla Shelby was not weak, he knew this. However, Tommy would always protect her as well as he could. He had promised their mother to do so.

When Grace Burgess arrived in the city, Orla was the first of the Shelby clan to know. The young girl had been walking from home to school when she noticed the blonde heading towards the Garrison. Orla thought she was beautiful, which was extremely odd, considering the location she was in. Birmingham was not where nice girls went. Nice girls ran far from Birmingham. When Tommy first encountered Grace, he thought she was an odd character. She had turned up in his wretched city, with no history or evidence of a past life. He was infatuated with her from the start. She did not fear him like the other women did. However, he knew she was a liar, just unsure of the truth she was hiding.

Tearing himself from this mind, Tommy busted through the doors of the Garrison and requested an entire bottle of rum. Few words were exchanged between the barmaid and Thomas, and once he had what he needed, Tommy Shelby made his way to the family home.

Author sure liked to whine, Orla thought. He made rude comments toward Ada as she was trying to help him and when she came back with the "I'm a trained nurse" comment, everyone laughed. John was the one who, through his own giggles, reminded Ada that she was thrown out of the first aid class for giggling. She had only learned how to stop someone from choking and Ada of course made idle threats toward Arthur about choking him once he smarted off again. Polly and Orla were the only two in the room who seemed to keep their composure and tend to the injured man in the room.

Tommy eventually made his way into the house and immediately took over. Pouring the alcohol over the damn rag, Tommy questioned his brother as to "what the fuck happened".

Arthur had started to speak, but he was cut off just as quickly. Pointing his finger at Orla, Tommy asked her to leave the room. Even though her aunt had protested, Orla got up and did just as Tommy said. Leaving the room she heard Polly's argument. "Thomas, she is family. She is old enough to hear this!" Polly had been trying her best to get Tommy to involve her more. Polly kept throwing up in his face that he was younger than Orla is now when he and the boys started to get involved in the gangster activities. "Pol, not now. Arthur, what the fuck happened?"

Sitting just on the other side of the wall, Orla and Finn were propped up against the counter. Zoned out in her own little world, Orla's mind wandered. She thought of her brothers. She was concerned for Arthur. She knew he was always fighting and she imagined that he got his face smashed quite often. She had heard the stories from girls at school that Arthur whored around more than anyone else in the bloody city. Orla could not confirm nor deny these accusations; She truly did not know. Tommy had always kept the gory details of the family from her. She was thankful for this, she was just realistic. Orla and Tommy both knew that he could only keep her out of the loop for so long.

Orla, unlike Finn, who had his face as close to the wall, was not trying to eavesdrop on the conversation in the other room, her family was just so loud. She couldn't have not heard them.

"He said Mr. Churchill sent him to Birmingham."

"National interest, he said."

"Something about a robbery."

"He said he wants us to help him."

"We don't help coppers."

"He knew all about our war records."

"He said we're patriots like him."

"He wants us to be his eyes and ears."

"I said I said we'd have a family meeting and take a vote."

"Well, why not? Hmm? We've no truck with Fenians or communists."

"What's wrong with you?"

"What the fuck is wrong with him lately?!"

"If I knew, I'd buy the cure from Compton's Chemists."

Hearing the voices halt and footsteps throughout the house, Orla and Finn rose to their feet. "Orla Mae, come on, we're leaving!"

As Orla walked back into the room she was removed from, Polly turned to look at the young girl. Polly was mad, Orla knew this. Polly wanted the girl to see the real world. She wanted Orla to see just how bad her brothers were, especially Tommy. The entire family knew that Orla was too good for this life, therefore in Polly's mind, if she could make Orla see just how devilish Thomas Shelby truly was, maybe she would be willing to give up the Birmingham life. Polly could see Orla being courted by a rich young man in America, walking up the streets of New York City or Boston. Orla was a diamond in the family's eyes. She was an absolute gem and they all wanted the best for her, because she was worthy of those things.

"Child, you do not have to follow orders like a soldier. Thomas is not your father. He has no right to order you around the way he does! You have just as much of a right to been involved as he does! I swear I might end up kil-". Cutting off her aunt's rant, Orla defended her brother. "Aunt Pol, I listen to him because I respect him. Perhaps you should as well." And with that, Orla slipped into her coat and went out the door to join her bother.

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