Pain of the Past (a Preminger fanfiction)

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"Madam Carp's Dress Emporium," Preminger read, trying not to sound too unimpressed. He stood shoulder to shoulder with William, looking up at the modest sign above the door.

"Looks can be deceiving," William winked, stepping forward through the entrance. It was evident rather quickly that was not the case here. Several elegant ball gowns lined the room at first glance, but that was where the sophistication ended. Humble gowns and shirts filled the rest of the small space, all arranged around a small sitting area where their host was residing.

She was a young woman, Madam Carp, Preminger presumed. She was round and soft featured, with deep red hair wrapped up beneath a wide brimmed hat. Her clothes were also modest, but her demeanor suggested she belonged in much higher social standing.

Over her shoulder she cast a cold glance in their direction, busying herself with a pile of mauve dresses. William gave her a passing nod, his hand against Premingers arm as he guided him to an old staircase hidden in the back of the store.

"Madam Carp," He clarified in a soft voice. "She's a cold broad, used to be pretty well off from what I heard until her parents estranged her."

"Why?"

"Refused an arranged marriage from what Vanessa said. She's something of a nasty woman, but she turns a blind eye and thats the best we can ask for."

At the top of the stairs, a lonely old door rotted on its hinges. It let out a loud groan as William pushed it open, guiding Preminger inside to a small, single room very similar to his own. The first thing he noticed was the warm smell of bread that wafted through the air. Across the room there stood a wood stove by the single window with a heap of blankets beside it.

Standing in the middle of the room was a woman. She was young and slender and a headful of dark hair spilled over her shoulders. Her pink lips parted slightly as they entered.

"William, I didn't expect you to be back so soon." She remarked, her dark eyes gliding to Preminger as she spoke.

"Vanessa, this is Preminger." William introduced, gesturing kindly as her face softened.

"Preminger, how nice to finally meet you!" She exclaimed, extending an arm as she crossed the room. Preminger took her hand cordially, hoping his face did not flush too noticeably. He was not used to being an expected guest.

"Preminger, this is Vanessa. She and her husband Erik have been housing me since I came here. Their generosity has been a great help in our efforts."

"Yes, well," Vanessa brushed a dark strand of hair from her face, moving towards the wood stove. "Anything we can do to help bring change."

"We do some domestic work in here and like I said, Madam Carp mostly turns a blind eye to it. Small things really, planning, gathering intel, relaying messages sent from other towns." William explained, moving to the pile of blankets by the stove.

"Here," he said, removing a folded piece of parchment from the fabric folds. "We can have you get started right away. I assume you're more well read than Vanessa, Erik, and I combined."

Preminger shrugged modestly and looked over the parchment. It appeared to be a list.

"Well that will certainly come in handy. I can only take so many more nights stringing together senseless letters by candlelight." Vanessa said with a shake of her head. Her dark hair rippled down her back as she did so.

She moved across the room and opened the hatch of the stove, removing a loaf of bread from the fire and placing it on the window to cool. It smelled heavenly, and Preminger felt his stomach clench. As though reading his thoughts, Vanessa turned to him with a generous look.

"Will you be staying with us to eat, Preminger? My husband should be home very soon now."

"I appreciate it very much," he cast a look to the sinking sun out the window. "But I really should be heading back. The boys will be waiting up for me."

Vanessa nodded understandingly, offering him a kind smile.

"Well it was very nice to finally meet you. I hope you will be able to meet Erik next time around."

"Certainly," Preminger responded.

"There'll be plenty of time for that," William chimed in. "You're going to see a lot of this place in the coming days, my dear friend."

And with a nod, they left Vanessa and headed back down the stairs.

"And so this is where it begins." William beamed, offering Madam Carp a genial look which she did not reciprocate. They stepped outside. "This is where the first seeds of rebellion are planted. Are you excited?"

"I don't know if excited is the term I would use. I still feel like I'm following you blindly."

At this, William threw his head back and laughed and Preminger couldn't help but soften at the bright sound. 

"Yes I can imagine that would be a rather uncomfortable place to be. But it is exciting, grabbing life by the ropes, running on the edge,"

"Death by execution." Preminger offered. William brushed it off.

"You're too hung up on that. Many of us have stood trial before and escaped with our lives. I escaped right from under the gallows myself!"

Preminger cast a shocked a wary eye,  "You were meant to be hung? What for?"

"Oh, harmless things. Refusing to pay the king his tax, alleged conspiring against the monarchy, ...sodomy."

Preminger nearly choked on his own breath, his mouth agape as he looked for some sort of appropriate response. Rebuke? Inquiry? General surprise? He'd met many sorts of people in his days in the mines, prisoners and the like who had angered the authorities enough to be condemned to those earth prisons, but he'd never associated William in any way to them. Especially.... William had already carried on, offering no further elaboration.

"My point is, it's part of the job. Sacrifice for the greater good. Change can't come without risks, Preminger, and our people deserve to live in a world where its not a crime to simply exist. People like Vanessa and her husband, honest hard workers who deserve more in life than poverty and servitude. We have the power to change that." He rested a hand on Premingers shoulder and looked in his eyes and to Preminger's surprise, he did not find himself pulling away.

Maybe William was a hardened criminal who had made rather controversial decisions in his past, but somewhere in his gut, Preminger felt he could trust him.

"Truly, I'm glad you've decided to join us. Your mind will do us a lot of good around here." He turned his head, looking out to the red sky on the horizon. For a moment, his face was slackened with peace. It was a look Preminger had not yet seen on him.

"Tomorrow morning," he finally said. "We'll meet back here around dawn. There's great work to be done."

And with a gentle smile, he turned back to the house. Preminger stood for a moment, his gaze lingering on the chipped paint of the door as it closed lightly behind him. Then with a sigh, he turned, walking away towards the setting sun.