The Forced Marriage | Peaky Blinders

Running Away.

Erin wanted to leave.  Her strong mind decided swiftly that Small Heath wasn't home nor was it ever going to be. Her thoughts bit at her mind all night, leaving the young girl with no sleep. She was left with time- time to make a plan. 

___

It was very early. The morning sun had not yet reached Small Heath, giving Erin a perfect opportunity to leave without being noticed. 

She yawned as she dragged her body out of the bed, doing best to keep silent. Erin reached across the room to the suitcase still full of unpacked clothes. Still wearing the clothes from the night before, she slyly crept out of her room and down the stairs, avoiding the creaky steps.

Erin had recollected a few moments to which Tommy had put the door keys in an obsolete biscuit jar, not knowing she had even noticed. So she reached up to one of the familiar kitchen shelves and reached for the jar, collecting the keys and a few biscuits for the journey back home. 

Slowly reaching forward, Erin placed the key into the keyhole, pleading it was the right key. To her relief, the oak door opened and the polluted air became a comfort to Erin.

___

It was very cold. The frosty haze began nibbling at Erin's skin. In the darkness of the early morning, all the houses seemed to be staring at her, leaving Erin with a fear in her stomach.

 As she walked through the isolated roads, Erin remembered her father mention the Lee family. The family inhabited a field outside the Small Heath and they would probably help her. 

But then she remembered- how her own father kicked her out.

'Would they do the same? Where is the gipsy loyalty...' She thought.

Doubt grew in her mind, she began thinking about the negative consequences. However, Erin knew that if she wanted to get away, they were a good starting point.

___

Once Erin had found her way out of Small Heath, she glanced across the large clearing which was populated by many tents and caravans. Her anxiety made her thinking difficult and the pulse in her heart made it impossible to focus. Yet she still managed to cross the field. As she was walking, many people gathered outside their makeshift homes to snarl at the young girl.

Erin walked into the centre of the camp and stood, waiting for someone to come up to her. An older woman with black, long hair with braids with jewels and cryptic eyes appeared coming out of a caravan.

"Who are you?" She asked bluntly. 

The woman began circling around Erin, eyeing up her outfit.

"I'm Erin Cullen." 

The woman's eyes lightened as the name once familiar to her was mentioned. "Ah yes. I reckon your father is John Cullen?" The woman smiled.

"Yes, I'm looking to stay for a while? I've run into a problem with Tommy Shelby and he's keeping me hostage." 

The woman's face dropped and the smile turned into a look of shock. She began to transform blood-red. "Tommy Shelby! You dare come here with his name in your mouth! You'll start a war with the Blinders and us!" 

Erin stammered. "I'm... so..."

 The woman made hand gestures to the nearby men, signalling them to come over. "Stop arguing cuz' I don't want to hear it. We're gonna have to secure you up till Tommy comes and gets you." She hissed.

Erin was thrown into an unoccupied caravan by the men and they tied her hands behind herself with some thick rope which was harsh on her delicate, light skin.