43. Inverse

Just when things seem like they hadn't changed since Brooke was taken from home, she sees a side of Mary never seen before. Maybe her judgement of her was wrong.

             The next evening, Brooke decided to visit her father’s house. Despite her dislike for Mary and her daughters, she needed to know what happened. Rogue gave Brooke a black, silk cloak to hide her. She did not want anyone, but her stepfamily to know that she had returned to Alagracia. She waited for the sun to disappear below the break line. She asked Rogue to keep an eye on Meredith. She didn’t trust the princess not to run off on her own.

Brooke stepped out into the warmth of the night. She strolled from the mountains into the rural buildings. The townhouse neighborhoods, the gas station, the diner, and the movie theater her father owned, she passed them all.

Royal guards walked the rural streets, tromping in their uniform boots, rigid and stern. Brooke had never seen guards patrol the rural side. The royal family didn’t care for country people. Brooke slipped past them relying on her small stature to blend. The sky was moonless, but silent as she pressed lightly in her shoes as if every step possessed the potential to sound some kind of alarm.

            Brooke finally arrived at the cement bridge. She released the breath she held back as she tried to hide from the guards. The sea rocked against the peninsula noisily. She glanced at the mailbox, where she received her confirmation letter. Mashing her lips together, she knocked on the door and waited.

            Lucy answered and she stood in the archway with wide eyes as if Brooke was a ghost come to haunt her. She had on boxers and a tank top. Was that Brooke’s tank top? Brooke shook her head and focused. She opened her mouth to ask for Mary, but Lucy screamed and attempted to slam the door close. Stupid girl. Brooke stopped the door with her foot and shoved her way inside the house. She didn’t have time to play with these people. “You’re supposed to be dead!” she exclaimed.

            “Do I look dead to you?” Brooke scoffed, wishing the girl would calm down. Lucy looked frightened and Brooke’s irritation rose. No one was in the living room. “Where’s Mary?”

            “What’s with the commotion?” Fannie entered the living room, dressed for a date apparently, and her mouth clamped shut. The bangles around her wrists clattered in the silence that fell. “Brooklyn?”

            “In the flesh, anyone gonna answer my question?”

            “Why so you can murder our Mom too?” said Fannie solemnly. 

            “Or how about I start with you if you don’t tell me where Mary is!” threatened Brooke, waving a fist at the woman. She wanted to know one simple thing. Lucy flinched and she reminded Brooke of the elfin servants.

Fannie glared at Brooke. “You gonna kill us next, huh killer?”

            “I’ll call the guards!” Lucy fired back. “Put you back in jail where you belong.” Brooke wanted to wring the girl’s neck for that, but she cleared her throat instead.

            “Enough!” yelled Mary as she stood in the arch towards the kitchen. Mary looked worn, her eyes tired and her forehead creased with wrinkles. She hated wrinkles. She wore a pink housecoat wrapped around her body. She sniffled as if she had spent the last hour crying. Her face was puffy and her nose was red. “What did you come here for?” she asked wearily.

            “I want to know what happened to my father.”

            Mary motioned for Brooke to sit on the couch. At first Brooke thought Mary would accuse her of stuff, but she said exactly what she wanted to know. “Your father and I came back from a romantic evening and palace guards stormed in here demanding Ben. My daughters and I were so frightened and traumatized. They hurt Ben and they tried to hurt Lucy. They threatened to take us all in, but Ben stopped them and volunteered to go with them. They had no reason or none they would tell us. Ben was so brave and…” Mary cried into the palm of her hands. Fannie and Lucy went to comfort their mother. Brooke expected Mary to be gone by now, or out shopping with her father’s money, but no, here she was distraught that her father was gone. Brooke had never seen this side of Mary. Did she really love her father? Had she judged the woman wrong? “I know what you’re thinking and I get it, I really do, Brooklyn.” Mary rarely said her name this way, soft and not mocking. “I get that you thought I was in love with Ben’s wallet and at one time, I was, but…”

            Brooke placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder and she looked Brooke in her eyes. “I’ll rescue Ben,” she reassured.

            “I’ve been praying for someone to,” Mary replied with a smile as tears ran over it.

            Brooke left the house and journeyed back to Rogue’s house. She petted the dog, and Meredith opened the door. “How’d it go?” she asked.

            “Weird,” Brooke said as she entered the cottage. She tossed the cloak on the sofa chair. “Apparently, your father’s guards took my father without so much as a reason and threatened my step family.”

            “I a-”

            Brooke cut her off. “Mary really loves my dad, which is surprising; I took her for a gold digger.”

            “Perhaps she changed or maybe you looked at her wrong.” Brooke snorted and rolled her eyes. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, I’ve learned that appearances are not always correct.”

            Brooke nodded. “Meredith?” She turned to Brooke. “Let’s confront your father together, huh?”

            Brooke met Meredith’s eyes, fierce and a burning, ember violet. “Sure.”

Author's Note

Dear Reader,

I thought it would be dull if everyone was the same. I liked the spin I put on Mary; I think it makes her seem real and dynamic.

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely JazzSoulKeke,

God bless