Before Violet

6554321

      6554321 was her identification number.  When it was called, she knew she was being called to attention.  When it was called, she knew it would be followed by an order, an order that may or may not be very easy for her to perform, but do it quickly, she did.  If it was not performed to perfection , she was ordered to perform it repeatedly until perfection was obtained.
        This was life as she knew it to be. She was not beaten when an order was not completed to perfection, only ordered to repeat it until it was.  Neither was she praised when the ordered task was mastered.  She was simply given new orders she was to perfect as quickly as possible. 
        One order she was never given was to speak. Therefore, she did not learn. Complete silence, however, was a perpetual order at all times.
        But then came the attack from the army of Gardonia.  All of those in her training troop were whisked away. Their commanders shot dead.  She saw her own commander take a bullet in the chest, as she took refuge high up in a tree, where she had been ordered to keep herself.
          Then, after only an hour, her training camp was deserted save the corpses of the dead.  She climbed down, and immediately took inventory of her resources, relying upon her previous training to survive.
           There was not much left that had not been destroyed. She would have to ration and hunt in order to keep herself alive.  That was four months before the foreign ship wrecked on the beach. 
       The crew had survived the wreckage, including the one they called Captain Baugainvillea. He was tall, with long hair that snaked over his shoulder in a plait, tied off with a blue ribbon.  He wore an eternal  scowl and shouted many curses at his men.  He ordered his men to scout the beach, and she found herself caught by a couple of them.
        They said things to her that she did not understand but in context to how they said these things and began trying to rip away her clothes, she knew she was in real danger.  She lashed out and in only a few strategic moves, they lay dead on the ground.  Others of the crew joined, and in less than a minute, she had disposed of them as well.
The Captain was in a fury when he found her among the dead crewmen.  She would have killed him, too, if it weren't for the fact that as the Captain, through him was the only way out of this scavenged war zone. She needed to keep him alive. 
         A ship did come for the Captain, and by this time he had come to realize what she was.  She was a Sicard Bio Specimen, or just a Sicard for short and apparently highly valued for her many battle skills.  She was also being kept a secret.  The Captain had her secretly shipped in a crate to the port city of Leiden.
She kept to the crate where she was ordered to rest, and she was there when she heard adult males argue about her in low voices. She was then ordered to come out.
The Captain stood with an other adult male.
This other adult male, although similar to the Captain in features, was in a military uniform.  His voice was softer, at least, in comparison to the Captain, his face seemed less hard, and then there were his eyes. They were a color she had never seen, a blue, mixed with a rich green. It made her catch her breath when she looked into them. And then he had grabbed her up against him when the Captain forced her to bow low to the floor in respect.
           She was held fast to him as he fiercely admonished the Captain for treating her in such a manner. She did not understand any of this, at all, as she felt the warmth of his wool tunic at her cheek, and smelled the clean scent of shaving soap. She wanted to remain there forever.
But she was gently told to lay back down in the crate. Then the real conversation began in earnest between the two adults, who were bound to be of the same bloodline, given their resemblance.
         "You've began a very dangerous game, Dietfried. You should not have brought her here at all. If caught with her without dispatch papers, we could both be court marshalled."
         "I had no intention of bringing it anywhere. My intent was to discard. It completely destroyed my crew, Gilbert."
        "She attacked them??"
        "Well. . .out of self-defense. They were looking to assault. . ."
         "Assault?. . . Don't you mean Rape?"
          "Call it what you feel you need to, little brother. The point is that my crew is dead."
           "Your own damned fault for having had no true command over them. You sicken me!"
            "Will you just shut the fuck up?! Although I was within my rights to discard, I brought it  to you. We'd be wasting an opportunity to use a nearly completely trained Sicard weapon if I had not. We'll see what level it is at in training. Then it can be with you in battle."
           "And the dispatch papers?"
"Don't worry about them. The high officers will see to everything we need to make use of it."
"No."
"And what could you mean, NO?"
"I can't take a little girl into battle, Dietfried."
"That's for your superior officers to decide, isn't it? Besides, fighting in military battles is what it is bred to do. It is useless for anything else. It kills anything on demand. It has no emotions. It is the perfect soldier. Father would have been amazed to see what had become of his financial investment in Sicard Bio. What would he say if he were alive now to listen to you refusing its proper use? A perfectly good specimen to. . ."
"ALRIGHT! Alright, just. . . Stop it! I will NOT have you discard her."
"So, you'll take it, then?"
"I will not be able to keep her here in Leiden if I do."
"Then take her to Abbot Hall. Haven't you been meaning to spend time there? It was always your refuge growing up. Mrs. Harden would help keep the rest of the staff out of your business until you can bring it to be assessed by the high command."
". . . Fine."
"Good! Very good! You've made a wise choice, little brother, as always."
"Just. . .go away, now, Dietfried."

*. *. *.

My grandfather grimly opened the file labeled '6554321', after I had taken my hand off of it and eased back into my chair. Leon sat frozen, glaring at the elderly man sitting behind the desk. We all three sat silent until Grandfather closed it again, then looked up past our heads and smiled sadly.
"Did not hear you come in, Violet." he replied.
Leon and I snapped our heads around to see my grandmother at the threshold of the study, looking at the three of us in turn. Leon stood up immediately, but seemed to be at a loss for words. He merely bowed.
My grandmother acknowledged his bow with a nod. She gave me a small smile and reached out to touch my hair.  "Well done, Hyacinth. It seems you have completed your mission."
           "Thank you, Grandmother." I replied, a shiver running down my spine, hearing her use of military terms.  I was far more aware of them now.
            Grandmother then looked at my grandfather, and an expression of concern crossed her face.  The file with the wolf's head was in full view on the desk.
            Grandmother turned  to Leon. "What is the meaning of this, Leon?"  Her tone more curious than accusatory.
             "I went searching for more than manuscripts and a celestial document." Leon confessed. "I had been given information about possibly finding the lost files of the Sicard Bio Corporation.  I had an idea that you might be on file. My idea turned out to be true.  That file is yours, Violet."
             My grandmother stared at the file for a moment making no move to retrieve it. The rest of us said nothing, but I could see Leon's face working into a fury.
              But then Grandmother Violet lifted her hand to halt such an outburst, and Leon froze, just as he was opening his mouth to speak.
She shook her head.  "I will not allow your judgement of us, Leon," she replied, calmly.
            ". . . Never, ever judgement of you, Violet." Leon said, defensively.
            "Judgement passed upon my husband is judgement passed upon me, my son, and my grandchildren. This I will not allow."
             Leon stood from his chair. "But. . .justice for your treatment, Violet! Justice for the others! The files of the others are in the depths of that cave, and I want to find any who might be still alive."
           "As for the others, do as you feel you must." my grandmother replied. "I can not and will not speak for then.  If they survived the war, and were given less than I, justice they should have.  As for me, justice was served long ago with the love and care I have received from my husband. Atonement has been made for him and Captain Baugainvillea who has graciously made our son his sole heir."
          By this time, Leon had calmed himself, and now only looked disheartened.  "I apologize, Violet.  Again, your honesty is unwavering, and I've always respected that about you above all things and I will respect it now."
         "My appreciation on behalf of myself, and my family, Leon.  But you must never forget, if I had not began as a serial number, the outcome of my life would have been different, of course, but certainly no better."  She reached out and gently touched my head, then looked at my grandfather and smiled the smile she reserved only for him.
"As for the other serial numbers on those files, please do your best to find them. If there is any way we can assist you in doing this, we will do it."
Leon came to my grandmother and knelt down on one knee and took her mechanical hands into his, then lay his forehead against them. His eyes were squeezed shut.
My grandfather quietly stood and signaled for the both of us to leave the room. We then shut the door.