After the Dust Has Settled
written by Ella Lehane
Vivian hadn't had a visitor in a long time, at least not until Andy and Aquila crash-landed outside of her father's estate. Though she's busy trying to fill her parents' shoes as host the best she can, they are both much more interested in finding out her life's secrets... secrets she might not want to know herself. (Original short-ish story)
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
8
Reads
511
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
A crash woke Vivian up. She waited, unsure if she’d dreamt it, but hearing nothing else, she decided instead to focus on breakfast.
Oatmeal. She hated oatmeal. Well, not really, but there was only a certain amount of times that a person could eat oatmeal without becoming sick of it, and though she could not with any certainty remember exactly how many times it had been that she’d eaten oatmeal, she was certain that it had been far too many. Still, it was breakfast, and she had skipped dinner the previous night, preferring to host a longer tea party than usual.
She ate her breakfast on her bed, and drank her juice. It was apple juice, which she liked, so maybe her morning wouldn’t be as terrible as her breakfast had originally indicated.
Yawning, she got up, leaving the dirty dishes where she’d found them. After finding her slippers, she went to the bathroom and looked for her hairbrush. Once it was found, she stepped on a stool and looked at herself in the mirror as she brushed her hair. A girl, nine years old, as she knew, peered back at her, eyes sleepy and hair messy. Her eyes were honeyed brown, and her hair curly, white-blonde, and reaching just a little past her shoulders. She studied her appearance critically. She was pretty, she decided, as she did most mornings, but not too pretty. Her eyes were a little too far apart, and her cheeks a little too round, but her nose was pretty small and nicely shaped, so it wasn’t too bad. She finished brushing her hair and changed into the clothes that had been laid out for her: a white dress with purple flowers, and light purple shoes to match.
She went downstairs. Hearing a noise in the kitchen, she walked there, but the noise separated into voices, and she backed away, and walked into somebody, or something. She whirled around and found herself standing next to Miss Edith and Miss Holly, both with wide-open mouths and eyes. She saw Miss Holly put a hand to her lips, and motion for her to come towards her, into the dining room. She did, and once the door had closed behind them, Vivian spoke. “Who are they? What’s happening?”
“We don’t know any more than you do,” said Miss Edith, acting as though nothing out of the ordinary was happening, but her wide eyes indicated the contrary. “There was just an awful noise.”
Miss Holly nodded, fear in her eyes. Her hands were shaking a little, and clinked as she clasped them together. “I heard voices, and thought it was you and Miss Holly talking, but just when I was about to join you, I saw Miss Holly walk downstairs.”
“They haven’t left the kitchen in all this time, from what we can tell. We’ve been hiding, waiting for you,” Miss Edith said, her small mouth twisted out of shape.
“What are we going to do?” wailed Miss Holly.
“Calm down, Miss Holly! For all we know, they might be friends of father’s. I’m going to go greet them. You two stay here if you’re frightened,” Vivian announced scornfully, looking down at them.
She raised her head high, as she had been taught, and, shoulders thrown back, opened the dining room door. Her hands shook as she reached towards the handle of the kitchen door just past it.
Before she could reach it, the door was wrenched open. Standing in the doorway were two people, taller than she could remember seeing for a long, long time. The woman, strangely enough, was the taller of the two, and reminded her for a fleeting second of the guests her parents used to invite over for dances, with her dark, beautiful skin and long, elegant neck. The image disappeared as soon as Vivian realized what the woman was wearing. Instead of wearing a long, silky gown, like those women had worn, she was wearing what looked to be a uniform, a dirty beat-up old thing with dark brown pants, a man’s shirt, and an aviator hat that hid most of her short, black hair. The man was wearing something similar, but instead of the hat, he had a large, dark coat over his uniform.
She had the time to notice this because as soon as the door opened, they all stopped and stared at each other, not moving for quite some time. The woman seemed astonished to see her. The man looked like very few things would cause him to be surprised, but still stared.
The woman was the first to move. She rushed towards Vivian, kneeling down slightly so she would be closer to her height, and stared into her face, holding it in her hands.
The second her hands made contact with her skin, Vivian shuddered, her haughty expression crumpling, and the woman immediately pulled her into her arms, holding her tightly. They stayed like this for a moment, but Vivian soon pulled herself away.
“Who are you?” asked Vivian, smoothing down her dress nervously while she stared at the two strangers.
The woman answered first, standing as she did so. “I’m Andromeda Axis. Andy. This is my co-pilot and best friend, Wolfgang Aquila. Wolf for me, Aquila for everyone else. But that’s not important. Who are you? What are you doing here?” Her voice was loud, possibly a bit louder than it should have been, but it fit strangely well with her tall body.
Vivian stared at them, confused at the questions. “What do you mean, what am I doing here? I live here! I’m Vivian, a lady of Erstwhile estate. What are you doing here?” she said, more shrilly than she would have wished.
“We’re pilots, sort of. We had some engine trouble, so we had to crash land,” explained Andy.
Vivian wasn’t entirely sure how to react. Fortunately, her etiquette lessons kicked in. “Do you want to stay here until you fix it? I’m sure my parents won’t mind. We have some guest rooms you could stay in, and we could have dinner later.”
“That would be incredible, thank you,” said Andromeda, “but only if you’re sure your parents wouldn’t mind.”
“I would ask them, but they’re sleeping right now. But I’m sure they’d say yes. Do you want me to show you to your rooms now, so you can wash off?”
They both nodded, and a while later they were upstairs and in front of their rooms. It would have taken less time, but Andy kept stopping to ask questions. She was especially curious about her parents’ room after Vivian made the mistake of pointing out which door lead to it. She almost opened the door, but stopped when Aquila put a large, paw-like hand on her arm. She let go of the handle then, and instead started asking questions.
“Do they always sleep in so late?”
“I guess. They sleep a lot. They don’t leave their room too much anymore.”
“Anymore? Were they different before?”
“We used to have dances here, often, huge parties with people in fancy clothes, and tall shoes, and there would be more girls my age. There hasn’t been anyone my age here for a while, and my parents don’t host dances anymore. I don’t really have anyone to play with, except for Miss Holly and Miss Edith. They were actually the ones who told me you were here.”
“Miss..? Who are they? Servants?”
“Not really. I’ll show them to you during dinner. But first you have to wash up.” And with that, she opened the door to both of their rooms, and pushed them inside. “Dinner is at 7:30 in the dining room!” she called out, closing both doors behind them.
Oatmeal. She hated oatmeal. Well, not really, but there was only a certain amount of times that a person could eat oatmeal without becoming sick of it, and though she could not with any certainty remember exactly how many times it had been that she’d eaten oatmeal, she was certain that it had been far too many. Still, it was breakfast, and she had skipped dinner the previous night, preferring to host a longer tea party than usual.
She ate her breakfast on her bed, and drank her juice. It was apple juice, which she liked, so maybe her morning wouldn’t be as terrible as her breakfast had originally indicated.
Yawning, she got up, leaving the dirty dishes where she’d found them. After finding her slippers, she went to the bathroom and looked for her hairbrush. Once it was found, she stepped on a stool and looked at herself in the mirror as she brushed her hair. A girl, nine years old, as she knew, peered back at her, eyes sleepy and hair messy. Her eyes were honeyed brown, and her hair curly, white-blonde, and reaching just a little past her shoulders. She studied her appearance critically. She was pretty, she decided, as she did most mornings, but not too pretty. Her eyes were a little too far apart, and her cheeks a little too round, but her nose was pretty small and nicely shaped, so it wasn’t too bad. She finished brushing her hair and changed into the clothes that had been laid out for her: a white dress with purple flowers, and light purple shoes to match.
She went downstairs. Hearing a noise in the kitchen, she walked there, but the noise separated into voices, and she backed away, and walked into somebody, or something. She whirled around and found herself standing next to Miss Edith and Miss Holly, both with wide-open mouths and eyes. She saw Miss Holly put a hand to her lips, and motion for her to come towards her, into the dining room. She did, and once the door had closed behind them, Vivian spoke. “Who are they? What’s happening?”
“We don’t know any more than you do,” said Miss Edith, acting as though nothing out of the ordinary was happening, but her wide eyes indicated the contrary. “There was just an awful noise.”
Miss Holly nodded, fear in her eyes. Her hands were shaking a little, and clinked as she clasped them together. “I heard voices, and thought it was you and Miss Holly talking, but just when I was about to join you, I saw Miss Holly walk downstairs.”
“They haven’t left the kitchen in all this time, from what we can tell. We’ve been hiding, waiting for you,” Miss Edith said, her small mouth twisted out of shape.
“What are we going to do?” wailed Miss Holly.
“Calm down, Miss Holly! For all we know, they might be friends of father’s. I’m going to go greet them. You two stay here if you’re frightened,” Vivian announced scornfully, looking down at them.
She raised her head high, as she had been taught, and, shoulders thrown back, opened the dining room door. Her hands shook as she reached towards the handle of the kitchen door just past it.
Before she could reach it, the door was wrenched open. Standing in the doorway were two people, taller than she could remember seeing for a long, long time. The woman, strangely enough, was the taller of the two, and reminded her for a fleeting second of the guests her parents used to invite over for dances, with her dark, beautiful skin and long, elegant neck. The image disappeared as soon as Vivian realized what the woman was wearing. Instead of wearing a long, silky gown, like those women had worn, she was wearing what looked to be a uniform, a dirty beat-up old thing with dark brown pants, a man’s shirt, and an aviator hat that hid most of her short, black hair. The man was wearing something similar, but instead of the hat, he had a large, dark coat over his uniform.
She had the time to notice this because as soon as the door opened, they all stopped and stared at each other, not moving for quite some time. The woman seemed astonished to see her. The man looked like very few things would cause him to be surprised, but still stared.
The woman was the first to move. She rushed towards Vivian, kneeling down slightly so she would be closer to her height, and stared into her face, holding it in her hands.
The second her hands made contact with her skin, Vivian shuddered, her haughty expression crumpling, and the woman immediately pulled her into her arms, holding her tightly. They stayed like this for a moment, but Vivian soon pulled herself away.
“Who are you?” asked Vivian, smoothing down her dress nervously while she stared at the two strangers.
The woman answered first, standing as she did so. “I’m Andromeda Axis. Andy. This is my co-pilot and best friend, Wolfgang Aquila. Wolf for me, Aquila for everyone else. But that’s not important. Who are you? What are you doing here?” Her voice was loud, possibly a bit louder than it should have been, but it fit strangely well with her tall body.
Vivian stared at them, confused at the questions. “What do you mean, what am I doing here? I live here! I’m Vivian, a lady of Erstwhile estate. What are you doing here?” she said, more shrilly than she would have wished.
“We’re pilots, sort of. We had some engine trouble, so we had to crash land,” explained Andy.
Vivian wasn’t entirely sure how to react. Fortunately, her etiquette lessons kicked in. “Do you want to stay here until you fix it? I’m sure my parents won’t mind. We have some guest rooms you could stay in, and we could have dinner later.”
“That would be incredible, thank you,” said Andromeda, “but only if you’re sure your parents wouldn’t mind.”
“I would ask them, but they’re sleeping right now. But I’m sure they’d say yes. Do you want me to show you to your rooms now, so you can wash off?”
They both nodded, and a while later they were upstairs and in front of their rooms. It would have taken less time, but Andy kept stopping to ask questions. She was especially curious about her parents’ room after Vivian made the mistake of pointing out which door lead to it. She almost opened the door, but stopped when Aquila put a large, paw-like hand on her arm. She let go of the handle then, and instead started asking questions.
“Do they always sleep in so late?”
“I guess. They sleep a lot. They don’t leave their room too much anymore.”
“Anymore? Were they different before?”
“We used to have dances here, often, huge parties with people in fancy clothes, and tall shoes, and there would be more girls my age. There hasn’t been anyone my age here for a while, and my parents don’t host dances anymore. I don’t really have anyone to play with, except for Miss Holly and Miss Edith. They were actually the ones who told me you were here.”
“Miss..? Who are they? Servants?”
“Not really. I’ll show them to you during dinner. But first you have to wash up.” And with that, she opened the door to both of their rooms, and pushed them inside. “Dinner is at 7:30 in the dining room!” she called out, closing both doors behind them.
