Animal Instinct | Peaky Blinders [Thomas Shelby]

11 - The Docks

For the thousandth time that morning, Vivian glanced down at the note that she had found taped to her door the previous evening.

The Docks, Small Heath. 9am. Don't be late. – T.S.

Much like the rest of the normal population of Birmingham, Vivian never stepped foot on the Docks if she could help it. It was notorious for being a hot spot for illegal back-market trading, thanks to the Peaky Blinders, and because they paid off the cops, the Docks (and the three blocks in either direction) were completely unpatrolled.

Back when Vivian first tried her hand at pick-pocketing, she heard about the Docks and tried to trade some goods she had stolen. She learned the hard way that you weren't supposed to showcase what you were selling out in the open, especially at night. Ever since then, she let Miss Wardrop handle the trading, vowing never to step foot in Peaky Blinder territory ever again.

Yet, there she was, two years later, and it didn't look like it changed all that much. The water was cleaner and clearer, but it still smelled like smoke and sewage, and it was dark and cold, despite it being late morning. Luckily, there didn't appear to be anyone else there, and Vivian wondered if Thomas had cleared out the area.

Don't be late, he wrote in his letter. And yet it was approaching 9:30 and Thomas had not yet arrived.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" No response, other than the water that lapped against the canal.

Vivian began to wonder if this entire thing was just an elaborate joke on her, and she was made to be standing around all day, while the Peaky Blinders laughed somewhere at her expense. Or maybe she had the wrong location. Maybe there was some other location called the Docks in Small Heath that she wasn't familiar with. Nevertheless, it was starting to rain, and she felt stupid and helpless standing there, and she wasn't about to wait around any longer, especially without an umbrella.

Vivian examined the maze of buildings around her, trying to decide if any of them would provide her cover from the rain. She was just starting to walk when a sound caught her attention. It was a voice, she was certain. A faraway and muffled "Stop! Please!"

Before she could even react, Vivian felt a tug on the back of her head as something forcefully pulled the hat off her head, taking a few strands of hair with it. Vivian's gasp of surprise got caught in her throat when she turned to see a large, grey figure standing over her, staring at her with huge, dark eyes. Her heart pounded and it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the thing that stood in front of her.

It was the most beautiful horse she had ever seen. It was a mare, by the looks of her. She wasn't tall, but she was long and lean, and the white and grey pattern on her body made her look like she had floated down from the storm that was raging above them. She had a white halter on that was attached to a broken rope, leading Vivian to believe that this horse had somehow ripped free from her holdings.

No wonder the man had sounded so panicked. It was risky housing a horse in the city, let alone having one roam free. She could get hit by an automobile. Or God forbid, someone could decide to shoot her down, thinking she was a danger to others.

Vivian glanced over the horse's shoulder to see two men still running after her, but they were still yards away, giving the horse plenty of time to flee.

Eyeing the horse's body language, Vivian slowly bent down to pick up her hat. The horse didn't move an inch. In fact, she seemed quite relaxed. Her ears were perked, and her eyes pinned on Vivian, watching her movements. Vivian raised her arm in the horse's direction, testing her reaction. Much to Vivian's surprise, the horse stepped forward and muzzled Vivian's hand in interest, allowing the woman to stroke down her neck and mane, distracting her as Vivian grabbed the rope, even though the horse didn't look like she was about to run away any time soon.