Ver Sacrum Patris Story

Chapter One

She awoke with a start to someone shaking her shoulder, no one bothered to wake her up for breakfast anymore so she kept her eyes closed in suspicion. Who was this?

“Ruby, wake up, I need to talk to you.” Said the person shaking her. She recognized the sound of her brother's voice and she sat up quickly in surprise.

“Anthony! What in heaven's name are you doing here?! You aren't supposed to be here!” Anthony smiled at his sister and thought how mature she was becoming, quite the young lady, if young ladies still existed anyway.

“I told you Ru, I need to talk to you. Hurry and get dressed and meet me downstairs.” He left the room with a comforting smile for his sister.

Ruby got out of bed and slipped on a pair of trousers that had previously belonged to her brother, she then put a small skirt over top of them so as to still be proper. She put on her red shirt that was too big in the arms and then tucked it in to the trousers. She slipped on a pair of soft leather hunting boots and slid her knives inside them, in these days a smart woman knew how to defend herself and if one did not, well, she was probably happier that way. As Ruby brushed out her hair and then put it in a knot at the base of her neck she wondered what in the world Anthony was doing here, and she found her mind wandering to when he had left; the last time she had seen him. It was two years ago, only a week after their mother had died, Ruby had just come home from visiting her mother's grave to hear her father and brother arguing. It was not surprising, they argued almost every day, mostly over the cause of her mother's death. She some how felt that this argument was different, nonetheless she walked into the house and went to the kitchen to find some food, as she had missed dinner. She greeted Lyna the maid with a smile, and saw that Anthony had left her a portion of the dinner. She smiled happily and sat down in the kitchen to eat it. Ruby couldn't help over hearing the argument that ensued from the other room and it started to dawn on her the caliber of the argument. This wasn't just Anthony telling father he doesn't believe his mother committed suicide and his father telling him no. This was a real argument that threatened to have perilous results.

“I'll leave! I swear I'll leave.” Growled Anthony. His father looked at him skeptically, in a way one might look at a misbehaving toddler.

“Sure you will. And you'll go where exactly?” Anthony's father asked. Anthony considered a moment and then answered,

“Up the mountain. Somewhere.”

His father cursed,

“Anthony if you think you're brave enough to go up that mountain you're more of a fool than I thought you were. What would ever bring you up there?! And all because you think I'm moving on too quickly.” He spat the word “quickly” at his son like it was poison. Anthony's eyes flashed at this and he yelled,

“Moving on? You're more than moving on. You weren't faithful or good to mother ever since she wasn't able to walk! She lost her beauty and you decided to find someone else, but you couldn't do that could you? So you killed her. You made it look like a suicide! But it wasn't, we both know that. You pretended to grieve her, but that's where you're stupid. Grieving your wife's death to only two weeks later have a new lover? That is suspicious enough! And we all know about your drunkenness! Last time you beat the serving maid so severely she left service, and you abuse me! You use me to get your money, people only fear you because of me. I'm done. I'm leaving.” Ruby saw her father get more and more angry during this and no sooner than Anthony had said he was leaving than her father had out his knife and cut a great lash in Anthony's cheek. Ruby remembered screaming and running to him, trying to clean up the cut. She was crying more than her brother and felt all his pain for him it seemed, because he was on his feet and if Ruby had not stood in his way would have probably killed her father.

Ruby shuddered at the memory while she put the last pin in her hair. If Anthony had come back, something must be really wrong. But two years was a long time and a lot had changed since Anthony left. Their father swore to never marry again, but there was a woman who stayed at their house and she tried to be a mother to Ruby, but this woman's definition of Ruby's mother was a woman who slept with Ruby's father and tried to make Ruby wear clothes at the height of fashion and do a lot of nonsense with her hair, to make her “attractive”. The woman, her name was Josephine (but Ruby's father called her Jo) had a daughter named Eileen, who was 17 and four years older than Ruby. Eileen was the kind of girl who would sneak out of the house after hours to go see a boy who loved her as much as one would love a gold fish. Both Josephine and Eileen hated Ruby, for she cared nothing of flirty fancies. Ruby wondered if Anthony knew about the pair of them, and she knew he would hate them as much as he hates father.

Ruby walked down the rickety stairs that led to the small sitting room and she saw Anthony sitting there calmly reading a rather large book. She was surprised, and looked again.

“Where did you learn to read?” She asked him. He looked up from his book,

“I'll get to that eventually. But first we must wait for our father. Now tell me Ru darling, has much changed since I left?” He asked her. She looked at him skeptically, why was he being so serious?

“Quite. Father has a woman who stays here, named Josephine. She used to try and fuss over my clothes but soon gave up on that hopeless case.” Ruby said. Much to her surprise Anthony laughed,

“Quite right too I must say! No one would get anywhere with that. But please sister, go on.” Ruby nodded.

“She has a horrid daughter called Eileen, all she wants is looks, but I'm afraid she ruins the looks she does have with all her paint. Lyna has a friend who comes every-other day, they gossip and talk about the state of things here in Clingdol, unfortunately they don't do anything ABOUT it. I've learned to hunt, and father threatens to throw me out if I don't catch dinner everyday, I don't mind it though, I enjoy the loneliness.” She said. Anthony nodded grimly and noticed the bruise on her cheek,

“Ru, what's on your cheek?” He asked, worried. She didn't want to tell him that it was from father, when she had caught cold and didn't skin the two rabbits because she felt ill. So she came up with a suitable lie,

“I tripped over a bush chasing some rabbits, it's really nothing. It was kind of funny actually.” Anthony smiled, obviously not convinced. Ruby cursed under her breath, she needed him to think everything was okay.

“Well, I suppose you're happy?” He asked her.

“Yeah, except for you know, finding dead corpses in the street, or walking through the woods and almost running into a hanged man. Or seeing those miserable girls walking around in early morning looking for their lives. Yes besides that, I'm totally happy.” She said sarcastically, she needed him to laugh, and he did.

“That was spread thick with sarcasm sister, I suppose too many things aren't all that different?” He said smiling. She laughed for the pure joy of it, and because father had once said to her, if Anthony ever contacted her she needed to make him believe she was happy here, or he'd throw her out to the wolves. She hugged Anthony, and wished she wasn't pretending.