Hanna- part 3

Time passed slowly and before long I heard another engine pull up near the building.  I glanced up expecting a bus, finding only a simple family car from the early 2000’s, now unseen as fuel prices were impossible to pay by the citizens.  I stared at it for a long while before I realized a man got out of the front door and came toward me.

He looked like a bodyguard or spy out of an old movie, tall, muscular, fairly good-looking, and dressed in a crisp black suit, contrasting with his fair skin and pale hair.  He looked at the address on the door and at a paper in his hand before addressing me.

“Is this the Trenten residence?”  He asked with a deep voice, I knew his eyes were watching me carefully from behind dark sunglasses.

I stood quickly and nodded.  “I am Hanna.”  I extended my hand.

“I apologize, Hanna, for being late.”  He took my hand in a firm grasp and removed his sunglasses to peer at me with warm eyes.  I relaxed enough to return my thoughts to why he was here.

“Father and Daisy left already, may I leave them a note before…”  My voice faded off.

“Of course, do you have all the paperwork?”  He asked formally, holding his hand out.  It was only reasonable that he needed to check everything, be sure I truly was the bride that his employer bought.  I mentally shook the thought from my head before pulling a thick packet from my plastic tote and giving it to him.  He read through things silently while I wrote a slightly lengthy letter to my father.  “You should give him this too.”  The man gave me a business card with an address, I presumed of where I would be staying.  I paid little attention to it and folded it in with the rest of the paper before slipping it through the mail slot in the door.

I looked at the man, still not fully coming to terms with everything.  He tried to smile at me, but quickly turned to reach for my things.

“No!”  I said quickly, pulling the tote from him.  “I can get it.”  I tried to sound confident but the driver smiled and took it from me again.

“Is there something in here you would rather me not find?”  He laughed.

“No, it’s just, I have a few things in there that I’d…”  My voice faded off as he opened the container and looked inside.  Aside from the simple things like my toothbrush and combs, several thick books stacked neatly took up most of the room, but the most embarrassing of all was the stuffed animal that I had carefully placed inside.  It was worn thin and had very little fur left, the tail had been stitched on multiple times and one of the eyes was off center from having been sewn on poorly by hand not long after my mother died.  I looked down, my face warm.

“A cat?”  He asked before putting the lid back on and lifting it easily.  “Do you like cats?”  He laughed slightly.

“Not particularly, not real ones anyway.”  I said, still not meeting the man’s eyes.  “My parents gave it to me when I was very young…”

“I see, is there anything from this box or your bag that you would like in the back with you, it is a long ride?”  I nodded and pulled an old blanket from the duffle bag and one of my favorite books from the tote once he set it down again.  “You like to read?”  He asked trying to make conversation.

I nodded and stuffed everything back inside the tote before resigning myself to my fate.  My mother’s letter was safely tucked into the book I held.  “I know I should have sold them, but I was selfish and father agreed to let me keep these ones.”  I held up an old popular book from before the stock market crashed and authors quit writing.  The man smiled and picked up my few belongings and walked toward the car.  I waited a moment before following, my fears rushing through my thoughts.  ‘This was it.’  Whatever ‘it’ was, I was unsure but it left me feeling overwhelmed again.

I slid into the backseat through the door the driver already held open for me and bucked myself in.  I watched as the buildings sped past in silence, time warping for me.  I didn’t notice we had left the city until we came to a stop near the old railroad station.  It was still in operation and was usually used for cross-country travels, sending children to stay houses and moving entire families to the country sides where all farm work was now done by hand once more.  The driver waited for me to get out before handing me a ticket and going and getting my things loaded on the train.  I waited for him to return before asking why we were taking the train.

“Mr. Alexandria prefers the train for travel; I thought it best to take you home this way.”  He smiles so kindly I couldn’t help but grin a little.  “You must have many questions, but can it wait until we are seated?  The train should be leaving soon, and I’m sure to lose my job if I don’t bring you back on time.”  He took my arm and escorted me onto the train in a manner rarely exercised anymore.  I felt like I was living a story.

The train was strangely comforting, swaying slightly and curving with the land.  I stared out the window of the privet compartment for near an hour watching the country pass by before turning back to the driver, whom I realized I did not know his name.

He seemed to sense my question and smiled again.  “I’m sorry, I was so worried about being late that I forgot to introduce myself.  I am Kane Forthner, Mr. Alexandria’s personal attendant, but please call me Kane.”  I nodded looking at him again.  I realized he was not much older than I was, maybe in his late twenties.  “Now, what would you like to ask?”

“I’m not sure what is my right to ask, and what would be…”

“Ask anything, if I think it unwise to ask, I will simply tell you so.”

I looked out the window for a moment.  “Who is Avery Alexandria, what kind of person is he, I guess I what I am asking?”

“I’m afraid your first question I cannot answer,”  Kane said, his eyes serious.  “It would be a biased opinion and he has specifically asked me to refrain from telling you anything like that.  He said he wanted the two of you to learn about each other together.”

I nodded, understanding but still frightened slightly.  “Where are we going, then?”

“Mr. Alexandria has land in the old state of Nebraska, he has been moving his belongings there for near a month, finding it more comfortable than the family estate back in England.”

The questions did not last long, I found that many of the things I asked about were ‘out of bounds’ questions that my ‘husband’ wanted to talk to me himself about.  I finally settled on asking about Nebraska, a place I had never been.  I had grown up on the east coast line, moving so often I no longer remembered the names of towns until we settled back in the town my mother grew up in.

“It has interesting weather, bitter cold in winter, terribly hot in summer, but Mr. Alexandria seems to like it.  I have lived there since I was a kid, worked the fields along the southern border.  It is a quiet place to live now, most people moved to the coasts, but the plague has never claimed many lives there, so it is a healthy place to live in my opinion.”

I nodded and looked out the window again.

“You said your parents were gone, why didn’t they stay to see you off?”  Kane sounded concerned and I instantly understood that this man had a caring nature.

“I told father to leave, he wanted to stay but his job is more important, the children went to school, and Daisy and I never got along, she seemed overjoyed to have to leave early for work.”

“It’s too bad your mother and you don’t get along…”

“Daisy is not my mother.”  I said flatly.  “She is my father’s second wife.  My mother’s name was Karen, the plague took her two years ago.”

“I apologize for being so heartless; I guess I don’t know much about you.”

“Well, there’s not much to know, Hanna- age eighteen, graduated from high school two years ago, worked in the bakery on fifteenth avenue since then.  My mother died, I was an only child, and my father remarried and gained two more children with one on the way.”

“I have to apologize ahead of time, but you sound heartless when you say it like that.”  Kane said, watching me carefully.

“It’s not that, just that that life is over for me…”  I stared out the window still.

“You miss your mother.”  It was not a question.  “I don’t blame you for hiding your pain, but be careful not to hide your heart; Mr. Alexandria wouldn’t like it either.”

I looked up at Kane for a moment before returning my gaze to the scenery outside.  “Thanks…”  I said, truly grateful that someone had said something like that, but frightened that this Avery Alexandria would find me distasteful and send me away.

“I’m listening, if you want to say anything.  I’m not planning to report back every word you say to Mr. Alexandria.”  Kane waited for me to speak but I continued to stare outside.

I found sleep pulling at me at last.  I pressed my head against the window and whispered quietly.  “I’m frightened.”

The train was still swaying gently and the sun was setting when I opened my eyes.  I was curled up on the seat, my blanket covering me and my head resting on a make-shift pillow, my hands still wrapped tightly around the old tattered hard-back book.  I sat up and stretched my stiff muscles, looking around for my escort.  I didn’t have to search long; Kane opened the small door and entered carrying dinner.  My stomach growled audibly and I smiled weakly in both embarrassment and gratitude.

“You slept quite some time,”  Kane said, passing me one of the boxes with our dinner in it.  “I was beginning to wonder if I should call for a doctor at the next stop.”

“I haven’t slept more than eight hours, nothing to be worried over.”  I yawned before bowing my head over my food in a small prayer of thanks.

“More like thirty-some hours.”  He laughed at my startled expression.

“I guess it makes sense, a lot has happened in less than a day.  I picked up the mail on my way home from first shift, confronted my father and Daisy, and was off to the registrations within an hour.  I, I haven’t slept since then, I don’t think.”

“Nerves?”  I nodded.  “We had hoped you would have had more warning, but it seems the post is slower than usual.”  He reached forward and I froze for an instant before realizing what he was reaching for.  Kane had given me his jacket as a pillow.

“Thank you.”  I said quietly.

“Part of the job, keep you comfortable.”  He smiled and waved my comments away.  “You talk in your sleep.”  He grinned at me.

“I know, my mother always said I did.”  I had a conversation with my mother while I slept.  I knew it was nothing more than a dream, images created by my mind to put me at ease, but it was still like having her there.  In my dreams she told me all would be well, but she said this from behind a thick veil that separated us the last time I saw her, only a few days before she died.  I still recall the horrific scent of death and illness that consumed the valley where the quarantine was located.  My father had to pull serious strings and call in the last of his favors for us to go see her.  It wasn’t a pleasing memory, and the trip only seemed to make things more difficult on my father.

“Don’t worry, like I said, I won’t tell anyone.”  He crossed his fork over his chest in an age old sign of promise.  I was surprised at how grateful I felt toward him, like I had known him for years.

After the lights came on in the train car I felt restless.  “How much further?”

“We should be at the house by morning, our stop is the next one, maybe another hour or two.”  I nodded and stood to ask one of the train attendants where the lady’s room was as she came to collect the remains of dinner.  She seemed relieved to see me awake and I wondered if Kane had asked her if he should do something about my sleeping for so long.  The woman led me to the back of the car and told me she would wait for me outside the door.  Something in her tone made me worried.

Just as she had said, she waited for me until I opened the door, feeling refreshed after washing my face and getting the chance to walk a little.  She waited for me to step beside her before asking if I was alright.  I realized what she must be thinking.  A young woman still in a school uniform, accompanied by someone that looked like a high end security guard, the image was a bit racy.

“I’m just nervous, that’s all.” I said, hoping to ease the woman’s fear.  “I am to meet my husband for the first time soon, and it’s been a long journey.”  She seemed to except my answer and relaxed some what.

“I didn’t realize, forgive my suspicion, but it appeared that this man had brought you here against your will, drugged you or something.  I guess being sent to an arranged marriage would wear anyone down.”  She opened the door for me and gave me a small smile before leaving.

“What was that all about?”  Kane asked.

“The restroom?”

“No, what she said.”

“Oh,” I laughed.  “She thought you kidnapped me, probably on my way to school or something.”

“I guess it does look strange.”  He laughed a little himself.  “You said you graduated two years ago, but why do you still wear that thing?”

“It’s the only thing I could find that was acceptable to meet someone in…”  I looked down at the hem of the skirt.  “Work clothes don’t stay clean for long and most of them I left for the children…”  I realized I was blushing again.

“It’s alright; Mr. Alexandria figured you were not of the upper class as it was, what with your ‘asking price’ being so low.”  I squeaked in surprise and turned yet another deep shade of red.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound, I mean it’s just…  Everything will work out, and I am sure Mr. Alexandria will love you even if you came to him in a potato sack.”

I said nothing, my thoughts consumed in a swirling turmoil of everything.  I found myself shaking again in fear and held the book tighter to my chest, hiding my shivers.  I didn’t know what to expect, and neither, it seemed did Kane or Avery Alexandria.  What if he didn’t like what he found, would he send me back, or to the fields, or sell me to his friends like that woman who had spoken to me Monday.  My thoughts carried me until the train screeched to a halt outside an old fashioned train station.

The first thing I noticed was the warm crisp smell, the harvest of the fields as Kane led me out side.  Lightning flashed across the sky, lighting the land with a purple-green hue.  I jumped and dropped my book as I covered my head with my hands.  I never liked storms, not even the rainstorms of early spring.  I counted to sixteen before thunder came rolling across the land.  It seemed to be a sign, a fearful sign.  Was fear all I would find in this place?

I hadn’t realized I had fallen behind until someone asked me if I was lost, I looked around for Kane, but my escort had already left the platform and I had no idea where he went.  I looked around frantically, scooping up my book, checking that the letter was still tucked inside.  Another man stepped closer to me to be heard over the train now leaving again.

“You’re a pretty thing for these parts, what brings you here?”  I stepped back, unnerved by the man.  I could handle the perverts and thugs on the streets back home, but that was because I knew what to expect from them and how to deal with it.  This man, covered in dirt and smelling slightly of manure was unfamiliar to me and found myself helplessly scared.  My steps brought me against the chest of another man, younger than the first, but with a more rugged and unknown look to him.  I quickly jumped away and continued to back away as the two men faced me.  My foot slipped and I felt myself fall backwards off the platform.  I uttered a slight scream and instantly found myself being pulled upright again.

Hands grasped my arm, rough hands of a worker.  “Are you sure you don’t need someplace to stay?”  A deep voice asked.  

The moment I caught my balance, my wits came back to me.  “NO!”  I planted one foot slightly forward in a fighting stance and threw my weight into a movement that brought the person who held me over my head and crashing onto their back in front of me.  I turned quickly to scan for other threats, only to find confused and laughing faces watching me.  

“Lady Hanna?”  Kane’s voice cut through the laughter and the roaring in my ears.  He stepped around the corner looking for me and started to laugh too.

“She yours?”  The first man asked.

“No, she’s my charge, but it seems she can handle herself.”  He leaned down to offer a hand to the man I had just slammed to the ground.  “Are you alright, Jonathan?”

The man finally seemed to catch his breath, between laughing and gasping he managed to take Kane’s hand and let him pull him up.  “Yeah, little bitch caught me off guard.”  I narrowed my eyes at the man and he held up his hands.  “Dogs around these parts are tough, a strong female bitch is a worthy adversary, take it as a compliment, sorry if you don’t understand.”

“She headed up to the manor?”  The third man asked, glancing at me warily.

“Yes, and we are running late, Adam, Jon, Doug, sorry for any trouble.”  Kane motioned for me to follow.  Another car, much like the family car he had along the coast cities, was waiting in the row of busses and trucks.  He held open the door, assuring me my things were in the trunk.  I nearly leapt into the back when lightning flashed overhead.

“You don’t like lightning?”  Kane asked as he started the engine.  I shook my head as I waited, eyes closed tight, for the thunder.  It came after only a few seconds.  “I’m afraid that is something you will have to get past, it storms here nearly every other day, good for the crops.”  I nodded sullenly.  There were many things I would have to get over, first and foremost, the arranged marriage to a complete stranger.

“Will he be there?  Mr. Alexandria, I mean?”

“I doubt he’ll be back until later today, we actually did make good time, I just told the guys we were late to avoid having to explain the situation.  I really must apologize for Jon’s words, he doesn’t think.”

“It’s nothing more than a word…”  I said, putting the ordeal behind me.

I watched outside for a moment before the lightning flashed and sound instantly rocked the car.  Biting my lip to keep from making a sound, I hugged my book tight and tried to sleep, or at least appear to sleep.  My mind was so chaotic there was little chance I would rest, and with the rain now starting to pour down I knew I couldn’t sleep even if I tried.  I tried to keep my mind off everything and found myself reaching for my mother’s letter, a source of comfort since the day it came.