Orphans of the Storm (Closed thread)

"Here, sister. Let me help you down. Careful, careful now." Henriette smiled a thankful smile to the driver as she exited the carriage with Louise, one hand raised to keep hold of the blind girl's, offering the safety of her touch. "Thank you again, Monsieur. The hotel looks beautiful. I'm sure the beds will be wonderful for Louise... Oh, come on now, you silly thing! We are keeping this man from his work!"

"It's a far step," Louise whimpered, her foot searching hesitantly before finding the little ledge, slowly easing down. "I am sorry, Sir. I'm trying. Forgive me."

The two were far from home in this expedition, leaving behind their family in Luxembourg to travel to Paris. Henriette was certain that someone could help her sister here. Doctors with more experience, someone who could provide this girl who she had always known as family the chance to truly see those who loved her so dearly. As the Sisters had taught them since the day they were found, there was nothing more divine, nothing more pleasing to God, than to help another human being in need. Whenever she found caring for Louise especially trying, she would recall the question of the righteous in Matthew: "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you"

After that, she would focus on His loving and gracious answer, which she knew was her call and duty. The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" While Louise could not see, Henriette could be her eyes, her view of the world, her connection to that which she could not see. Perhaps, one day, the Lord would recognize her and her good deeds.

Before the orphanage, Louise had been shown how indifference of the world and the cruelty of the people in it. She was often left unchanged for days, blindly clawing at the walls and crying. Crying out for affection, for a kind word, or just a loving caress. Eventually, she learned that crying was useless, that her tears would always be unheeded. However, one day, she did learn what it was like to be held. Shortly after she had learned to walk, her parents--or at least she assumed they were her parents--picked her up and placed her in a marketplace somewhere with a simple bowl. They told her that it was time to help the family recover the money they had lost caring for her the few years since she was born and that she had to earn her place in the household. After a few hours of stumbling around the loud street and being bumped and pushed by strangers, the Sisters had found her and brought her to the orphanage. Then she met Henriette.

Louise was sure she would have been lost without her. Henriette showed her that people could be kind. When the other children teased her for her blindness, Henriette came to her defense. While dressing had always been difficult, Henriette helped her change and groom. During meal times, Henriette made sure she got through the line and did not go hungry. True, they were not siblings by blood, but by emotional bonds, they were as close as any siblings could ever be. She loved her sister very much.

"Thank you, thank you again, sir!" Henriette smiled to him yet again, bowing her head courteously as she took up the two bags from the carriage, setting them beside her long enough to help Louise find the edge of her sleeve. "Hold tight to me. There are stairs...," She explained, picking everything back up and leading her sibling inside the hotel. "Oh, Louise, it's beautiful. Do you smell the roses? There's a whole dozen, right there on the desk. Pink and red, and white as well. Sir! Sir, excuse me... I was looking to get a room? Just the two of us, yes."

Henriette was in the midst of handling their accommodations as Louise wandered, her hands slowly guiding her across the room. She found the vase her sister had spoke of, taking a deep breath of the scent. Ohhh. It really was beautiful.

"We're upstairs, Louise. Our bags are being brought up for us. Are you hungry?" Henriette laughed as Louise gave a quick affirming nod, taking her sister's arm. "Very well then! Let's see what we can do to solve that!"

In the lobby of Suivre

Teivel's looks and demeanor did little to hide his years. He was thin and his straggly white beard and hair framed a wrinkled and sunken ruin of what was once a handsome face, doing little to distract from his worn and weathered cheap black suit and the stale odor of the maize cigarettes he had been smoking since his days in the Navy. He sat behind the main desk of Suivre, as he did most days, hunched over in complete boredom.

The economic crisis and social unrest that accompanied it had slowed business to a crawl. Wealthy travelers were too frightened to brave the streets of Paris these days and very few other people had the means or need to give Suivre their custom. This is why he had been forced to seek... other streams of revenue, mainly through the patronage of the Marquis de Praille.

Teivel had his copy of Les 120 journées de Sodome on the table and was leafing through it with one of his thin, calloused hands. The other was under the old black oak desk palming his cock through his pants. He was getting excited. Just as he considered going to the back of the hotel to more aggressively relieve himself, he noticed that his partner, Alphonse, had arrived with two young women in his carriage.

Alphonse wasn't very bright. He was a large, swarthy man in expensive clothes that clearly betrayed a naive sense of refinement. His sub-intellectual eyes made his company less than bearable to Teivel. Still the old man recognized he had his uses. One was brute, animalistic strength, which came in handy when patrons tried to leave Suivre without rendering payment for their accommodations or when other circumstances called for force. The other was the way his lack of higher faculties made tipping his hat to signal that female guests were unaccompanied and from out of the area an instinct as natural as breathing.

One of the girls was blind. She was grabbing the other girl's arm and seemed ill at ease navigating unfamiliar areas. Oh, this was going to be easy. So very deliciously easy.

Mephistophelily said:

Sir! Sir, excuse me... I was looking to get a room?"

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Teivel couldn't help looking at the sighted girls narrow waist and small, ideal breasts. There was just enough to get a good handful on either side. As his eyes trailed up to her slender, pale neck, full red lips, and baby-like face, he knew that she was just the Marquis' type and would fetch a good price. Snatching her without the blind girl noticing would be child's play. He hoped that he could have a little fun with her during her transfer.

The blind girl wasn't bad either, but Teivel didn't know anyone who would buy a girl with maintenance issues like blindness. Perhaps he could find other uses for her once the able girl was handled.

"So, it is just the two of you, Miss?"

Mephistophelily said:

"Just the two of us, yes."

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Glancing back to the man behind the counter, Henriette offered him a sweet smile, escorting Louise outside. "The steps," She reminded the other, delicately taking her hand and letting her take the little drops cautiously. "Thank you, Sir!," She called back to the man inside, smiling again as she waved to him. "We shall return within the hour!"

Louise laughed with that, shaking her head. "Always so punctual, aren't you? Things do not need to always follow a schedule."

"If they did not, we would be lost. I only do it so that you know where I am, at all times. I would never leave you to yourself, Louise." Henriette wrapped an arm about the other's shoulders, kissing her cheek gently. Her sister, not true sister, but closer than blood could ever possibly make them. The girl that her world revolved around, her safety, happiness, and health the biggest parts of Henriette's life. "I can hear your stomach, sweet sister. We should find you something..."

Taking her hand, Henriette helped Louise to the covered pathway between the buildings, shivering a bit. It was cool in these little passages, the evening's darkness sending a chill to the air. "It's getting dark," She noted to Louise. "I apologize now if I seem to be slow going."

"Not a concern for me," Louise laughed, squeezing her hand. "Just don't lose me."

Leading her down the path, Henriette took a breath, sighing happily at the smell of roasted meats and freshly baked bread. Oh, that was wonderful. Her own stomach began to speak on its own interests in the smells, encouraging her feet to move a bit faster. "Do you smell it? I bet it tastes even better!," She called to her blind companion, laughing again as she led her onward.

Louise was hesitant on this new speed. Hadn't her sister just said that the pathway was getting dark? if she were to trip, then she would certainly follow after. "Slow down, slow down...," She warned meekly, trying to keep up.

"Oh, don't worry! Just follow my steps!"

Mephistophelily said:

Glancing back to the man behind the counter, Henriette offered him a sweet smile, escorting Louise outside. "The steps," She reminded the other, delicately taking her hand and letting her take the little drops cautiously. "Thank you, Sir!," She called back to the man inside, smiling again as she waved to him. "We shall return within the hour!"

Louise laughed with that, shaking her head. "Always so punctual, aren't you? Things do not need to always follow a schedule."

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Teivel was pleased. They were on a schedule, that would make things easier on them. A routine would allow him to plan and time the perfect capture. He took a long drag of his cigarette and adjusted his throbbing erection. He would definitely have to sample the sighted girl's goods in a way that wouldn't lower her price with the Marquis. For now, he signaled Alphonse to follow them on foot and see where they went and what they did and returned to his reading.

Taking her hand, Henriette helped Louise to the covered pathway between the buildings, shivering a bit. It was cool in these little passages, the evening's darkness sending a chill to the air. "It's getting dark," She noted to Louise. "I apologize now if I seem to be slow going."

"Not a concern for me," Louise laughed, squeezing her hand. "Just don't lose me."

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Alphonse lumbered behind them a few minutes in his garish;y styled, yet expensive, driver's clothes. Even a person of his limited intellect could tell that the excitement of the city was getting the best of Henrietta and that Louise was having a hard time keeping up. He made sure to keep a distance, but not too much of a distance. Teivel would be pleased if he managed to capture the girls tonight. He might let him touch one, or maybe both, of them.

Louise was hesitant on this new speed. Hadn't her sister just said that the pathway was getting dark? if she were to trip, then she would certainly follow after. "Slow down, slow down...," She warned meekly, trying to keep up.

"Oh, don't worry! Just follow my steps!

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Then it happened. A crowd crashed through the narrow streets of the market place and Louise and lost her grip on Henriette. The sister's came apart and Alphonse hurried towards the sighted girl.

The sudden burst of people brought a surprised cry to Louise's lips, hearing the flood of footsteps rushing their way. "Henriette!," She cried, clawing for her sister's hand as the bodies pressed against her, rough hands unconcerned on the proximity of the two separating them from their entwined fingers. "Please, stop! Please! HENRIETTE!" The blind girl was nearly sobbing now, frightened at being so cruelly ripped from her line.

Her sister was fighting as well, pushing and forcing her way back toward her frightened companion. "No, please... I need- Oh, please let me- I'm trying, Louise, I'm trying!"

These people were lost to their own little world, oblivious and uncaring to the dilemma they caused for the two girls. Henriette grimaced, gasping as an elbow found her ribs and shoved her back, landing against the far wall of the little pass and losing her balance, nearly falling to the ground.

Louise was still crying, frightened over not hearing her sister's voice any longer. "Where are you? Where are you?!"

"I'm- I'm trying...," Henriette gasped, pushing from the wall. Her stomach hurt. That arm had jabbed in quite hard. "Please don't cry. I'm coming..."

Her sister's sobs broke her heart, making Henriette even more determined to get past these people. She certainly couldn't bring herself to simply shove back through, but she had to get around somehow. The sound of those cries overwhelmed her ears, the echoing footsteps around her seeming nonexistent.

The White Knight and the Beggar

The Chevalier de Vaudry had just been on his way to Suivre to arrange this month's protection payment for his family's estate. Revolution was sweeping the world, the Americans had recently challenged the rule of the English throne and France's participation in that revolution had led its people to start questioning the justification for its own monarchy's rule. A shortage of goods in the streets and the horribly contrasting opulence of the French court did nothing to help quell the whispers of revolution and class warfare. It was becoming dangerous to be a man with means in Paris, which led normally honorable men like Vaudry to deal with wretched scum and villains such as the Marquis de Praille and his lapdogs.

The commotion ahead of him caught the Chevalier's attention. There was a rather attractive blonde girl on the ground, seemingly on the brink of tears. And there was Alphonse. The poor girl was probably alone, from out of the area, and a guest at Suivre. Vaudry had heard horrible, horrible rumors about the sex trade that the hotel operated and of the rather lewd and degrading predilections of the Marquis and those with whom he kept company. While the Chevalier counted on this slime to provide bodies between the pikes and torches of the mobs and his own family, he did not intend to be party to something like that. He could do something.

Vaudry struck his foot out just as the tunnel-visioned brute Alphonse was closing in on the poor girl, sending him face first into the cobblestones of the street.

"Alphonse, is that you? Oh, I am so, so sorry. Here, let me help you up."

The Chevalier helped the garish hulk to his feet and patted him on the shoulder, noticing that Alphonse was anxiously looking around him, trying to keep his prey in his sights.

"My dear man, I am so glad I bumped into you. I have this month's payment with me. Would you please be kind enough to run ahead and alert Teivel while I finish my business here? I'm sure whatever you're doing now can be postponed, just as I am sure that our business cannot."

Alphonse sneered and grudgingly marched back to the hotel. Vaudry, on the other hand, turned back to the poor girl and helped her to her feet.

"Madame, I am the Chevalier de Vaudry. It looks like you are in some trouble. How can I be of service?"

Meanwhile, Louise had been knocked and buffeted by the crowd and started to panic. This was too much like her life before the convent. She felt the walls closing in on her and dropped onto her knees and began to cry.

Jacques Frochard was a busker who frequently performed at the marketplace near the hotel. He had witnessed the entire ordeal from the vantage of his makeshift stage of a crate and had kept on eye on Louise. He wished he could tell himself that it was merely because she was blind and he wanted to make sure she was all right. However, truthfully, he had never seen a woman quite as pretty as Louise. He could probably not look away from her if he had wanted to, which he did not. Her tears moved him to action. Jacques hopped off the crate and made his way through the crowd. He knelt next to Louise and offered her a handkerchief.

"Please don't cry, miss. It is such a horrible thing to see something so lovely so distressed. Tell me how I can help you."

Henriette's eyes raised as she heard the voice; a gentle, calm sound as a hand was offered before her. Taking it and getting back to her feet, she quickly glanced around, her heart nearing her throat. "My sister... Please, sir. My sister- She's blind, and was separated from me by all those who passed. I must find her, please." Her voice was in shambles, a varying collection of nearly whimpers and broken speech. She couldn't think of what would happen to Louise without her, or she without Louise. They had become so dependent on each other... Henriette on her for the promise of companionship, someone to always be there... and Louise on Henriette to be her eyes, her guide.

She tried to calm her tears and overwhelming emotions, taking a deep breath as she looked back to the man, truly seeing him for the first time. He looked so out of place here, in the middle of this alleyway, in the middle of these people. He didn't wear the clothing of a common man... Henriette's eyes widened, realizing now what he had said his name to be. Chevalier de Vaudry? A nobleman... Helping the likes of her...?

"Please, Monsieur," She asked softly, tightly gripping his hand. "I only ask of you help in finding my sister, and if you can bring it in your hear to help us to our hotel, I would be eternally grateful..."


Louise, however, was having troubles of her own still. Disheveled at all the motion surrounding her, she was no longer sure as to where she was, the distance between herself and Henriette. Collapsing to the ground in a torrent of tears, she gasped as someone came to her side, at first thinking it was her sister... No, this was- a man. He held a cloth to her hand, Louise quickly taking it and blotting her tears.

His words were kind, and brought a faint smile to her lips though tears still leaked from her eyes. "I cannot find my way. I cannot find my sister. I am lost, and very afraid, sir. I don't know this city at all, and am so scared..." She felt her lip starting to shake, tears forming up once again. "These people see me even less than I can see them... They take no heed... They will trample me, I just know it..."

Setanta84 said:

The Chevalier de Vaudry had just been on his way to Suivre to arrange this month's protection payment for his family's estate. ."

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