Little Toy Soldiers

Whenever I try to think about it, my brain doesn't let me. It's like there's this kind of bubble, and I just keep running and bouncing off it again and again. What I do remember is fragmented. A jumbled up recollection of events and sounds. I can remember my mother's screams and the sound of flesh hitting flesh, metal hitting bone, the silence that came afterwards. I can remember the stitch in my side and my breath misting in front of my face as I ran away, ran to the only place I knew where to go. I can remember Polly ushering me inside the betting house and not being able to hear anything but the blood rushing in my ears. I couldn't cry. I wouldn't let myself cry. I had to be tough. My mother used to say that I had to be tough. Her words were all I could think about that night as I fell asleep in front of the fire.

Informally adopted by the Shelby family after the death of her own, Essie becomes increasingly involved in the business as she grows older. She flourishes under the responsibility of handling smaller betting businesses at the races, enjoying the freedom she has. But, everything is about to change.

*I own none of the dialogue, characters, or storylines taken from the Peaky Blinders series.