Justice for Jennette | wmmap

13- Where paradise ends

Jennette heads home. 

Jennette brushed the dirt off her dress, of course not fully, evident by the noticeable stains on her wrinkled white shirt and previously clean skirt. She looked to Wally, who seemed to be dealing with her own clothes, which were already roughed up but were even dirtier now.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through them, flipping hair and swaying skirts but Jennette didn't care, she only cared about how much fun she just had. Never once in her two lives did she ever feel such joy.

And Wally, well, Wally still looked admirably pretty in the sunset. Albeit she'd just been in a fight and her clothes were anything but neat. With the wind in their faces, their hair, their clothes, practically moving them, Jennette and Wally laughed. 

Jennette was 11 when she made her first real friend and when she got into her first fist fight. Though, technically she was 29. Jennette inwardly chuckled at the realisation. She was 30 by the time she'd made her first true friend, and when she had that much fun.

She wanted to laugh out loud but she was afraid of freaking Wally out over laughing so hard over, to her, nothing. After the wind had blew, and everything was once again calm and tranquil, Wally spoke.

"Well, I guess it's time for you to go huh? Can't have a noble lady like you out in the streets late at night, can ya?" She joked, a hand reaching for the top of Jennette's hair but all she does is retract it after some slight hesitation. 

Jennette feels nothing touch her, except the feeling of a hand ghosting over her to give her a head-pat but it's okay, she appreciates Wally's gesture nonetheless. She nods as a response to Wally's statement.

"Yea, I'm not sure how happy Mr. Alpheus will be after he sees me like..." she looked to her clothes, and then back to Wally, "-this." She giggled sheepishly, Wally joining in soon after.

"Preach! My grandpa is gonna kill me when he finds out I got into a fight again." Wally sighed comically, making Jenette laugh.

"Right, right, enough!" Jenette yelled through her fit of laughter, catching her breath before being able to talk again, "I'm off now, I hope to see you again soon, Wally." She told, a look of promise in her eyes.

Wally could only smile back. "I hope to see you again too, Jennette." She told before bowing and running home.

Jenette watched as her first friend ran into the shadows. Further into where Jennette couldn't see, a soft smile etched on her face as she did but the smile was dropped when she turned to make her own way back home, alone.

Okay, not entirely alone. She still had Raven after all. Oh, right, Raven! Jenette thought as she looked at her bird in a pouch. It's a miracle that Raven survived that fight, and without a scratch on it's body too.

Jennette sighed in relief at the note that her bird is alright. "Sorry, I forgot you were in there when the fight happened."

The bird could only let out a sharp 'caw' in response.

People say 'home is where the heart is' but what if your heart is not at the place you consider home? That is the dilemma Jennette is facing. She can't seem to find love, family or friendship in the Alpheus household and she doesn't know what to do about it.

She doesn't know if she's going to do anything about it, she won't do anything about it...most probably. She's finally made her first friend, outside of the Alpheus manor, away from nobility, away from her old life, in some place new, in the busy streets of Obelia.

She was something of an alien planet, something Jennette never knew she could have. With Wally, it was fun. That was it, fun. Just fun. There was no worry about tomorrow, today, yesterday or anything of the sort.

It was just fun. She made a mental note to try and see Wally again tomorrow as she made her way back to Alpheus manor.  The walk back felt longer than it should've. Each step making Jennette's heart ache.

She guessed now that she's had a taste of real fun, she no longer wants the crippling feel of sadness and disappointment that lingered at the Alpheus manor. She groaned and sped up her walking, choosing to just suck it up.

When she arrived, she opened those big, white, wooden doors, peeking her head through the gap to see if anyone's in the room. Empty. As expected. The servants had probably gone home by now so the only people that should be here were uncle, Ijekiel and maybe some guards.

She sighed in relief, imagine the trouble she'd be in if Roger saw her like this. All dirty and just out of a fight, he'd lose his mind and have a heart attack right then and there! But of course, the world always had it's way of making her nightmares come true.

"Jennette?" A voice from upstairs called. It didn't take Jennette more than a few seconds to figure out who it was.

She inwardly cursed. She didn't know what to do. Should she answer back? But that'll get her in trouble. Oh, but not answering back would get her in trouble too. 

"Jennette!" Another call, this time louder. It made Jennette panic.

"U-uh, yes! It's me, uncle!" She yelled back, sweat already forming in the back of her ears.

She just knew she was going to get a scolding. She heard footsteps coming from the stairs, drawing closer to where she was. There, she saw Roger Alpheus, with a stern look on his face that showed he hadn't got any rest from doing his work.

"Where have you been? Why are you back so late and why-" His questions coming to a halt when he got to the bottom of the stairs, his eyes widening so much Jennette thought they were gonna pop out of their sockets.

"Why is your dress dirty?! Look at you, you're filthy! Jennette, what happened? Did someone try to mug you? Did they attack you? Jennette, answer me!" He shouted, all of the questions confusing Jennette.

"I-I'm fine, uncle. I just need to go get some rest!" This was the first time Jennette had ever raised her voice against Roger Alpheus. 

She pushed him away as she ran for the stairs, eager to make it to her room while ignoring Alpheus' calls. The multiple shouts of "Jennette!"s could be heard, but they never fully land on Jennette's ears.

She didn't hear anyone coming after her, just calls of her name. When she reached her room, she shut the door behind her and locked it. Looking at the lock solemnly and regretting doing what she did.

'But it wasn't so bad now was it?'