Another Crawley: A Downton Abbey Fanfiction

Chapter Six

*Alice's POV*

I woke up in an unfamiliar bed. A woman, maybe in her twenties, was sitting in a chair next to the bed reading a book. "Wh-Who are you?" I asked. She jumped in her seat, startled at me speaking. She turned to face me and smiled.

"I'm Lady Sybil Crawley." She said. "I'm your sister." She smiled and stood up. As she walked over to the bedside table she continued talking. "How are you feeling?"

"I-I'm feeling ok-okay..." My voice seemed to leave me all of the sudden. I had no idea my father had other children. It makes sense since he is an earl, but it never crossed my mind.

She smiled and handed me a glass of water. "No pain?" I shook my head. Big mistake. Pain swelled through my head. "It's okay. Lie down. I'll fetch for Dr. Clarkson." She walked over and rung a bell. Soon a lady in a maid's outfit came into the room. "Anna will you please have Carson call for Dr. Clarkson and bring a tray up here." Anna nodded and was about to leave before Sybil added one last thing, "and please tell Papa that Alice is awake!" Anna nodded again and left the room closing the door.

The thought of seeing my father made me sick to my stomach. Anxiety rose through my body. So much that I was shaking uncontrollably. "I-I have to g-go!" I tried to stand up but immediately fell. Sybil tried to catch me, but I was already on the ground. I tried to stand again, but to no avail. Tears were falling down my face in rapid succession. "I-I have to go! I-I can't have him send me back!" I kept trying to stand, but always got the same result.

"Alice please calm down." She kneeled down in front of me. "No one is sending you anywhere." Sybil wrapped her arms around me. Sobs shook my body. It was calm until the door opened. We looked up to see my father and another older man standing there. In my hysteria I thought it was my uncle.

"No! Please! Don't send me back home with him!" I screamed trying to back away. Sybil turned to our father and gave him a pleading look before turning back to me.

"Alice look into my eyes." Sybil stated calmly trying her best to soothe the panic in me. But I couldn't look into her eyes. They were fixated on my father and the man my brain convinced me to be my uncle. "Alice please look into my eyes." As I forced myself to look away, I could see the look of hurt in my father's eyes. I managed to force myself to look into Sybil's eyes. "It's going to be okay Alice. It's okay. You are safe. We won't send you anywhere." Sybil's voice was calm and soft. My breathing returned to a more normal state. I felt exhausted. Sybil turned to the men standing in the doorway. "How long till Dr. Clarkson arrives?"

As she spoke a man with white hair, mustache, and a bowtie walked into the room with a tall young man with blonde hair and dressed in the clothes of a footman entered the room. "I'm here. How is our patient?" The man with the mustache asked as he walked in placing his bag on the dresser.

"She's a little overwhelmed." Sybil said looking up to the doctor. "William may I have some help getting Alice back onto the bed." The young man, known as William, walked towards me. I shrunk back into the corner. William stopped and kneeled down to my level next to Sybil.

"It's okay my lady. I'm just going to help you onto the bed so Dr. Clarkson can get a better look. Alright?" He held out his hand and gave me a sweet sincere smile. Sensing his kindness I reached my hand out and placed it into his. He took a step forward so he could put his other arm on my back. I pushed with my legs to try and stand up, but struggled. William seeing my struggle, helped by having me put more weight onto him. Together I was able to stand and get to the bed. After laying down on the bed he went to leave, but I gently grabbed his hand to get him to stay. He smiled and stayed next to me.

The doctor walked over to the side of the bed after helping Sybil stand up. "Hello Alice. My name is Dr. Clarkson. I just want to make sure you are okay." He gave me a kind smile. I looked to both Sybil and William for support. William let a small smile reach me before going back to standing in his proper stance. Sybil smiled a large encouraging smile. "Does anything hurt?" Dr. Clarkson asked as he sat down next to me.

"M-My head..." I stuttered still unsure of all of these new people. The doctor nodded. My eyes kept wandering around the room keeping an eye on where everyone one was.

"Lord Grantham it might be helpful if it was just Sybil and I here for the examination." Dr. Clarkson said turning to face my father.

"Yes that is for the best." My father said with a hint of sadness in his voice. He turned to the man next to him. "Carson have a tray brought up for her." The man, who I can now see clearly is not my uncle, nodded and left the room. My father followed shortly after. William went to leave, but I grabbed his hand. He looked at me confused. We locked eyes and I sent a pleading look to him. He smiled and stood to where he was previously.

"Alright Alice," Dr. Clarkson said trying to regain my attention. "How do you feel? Anything hurt?"

"I-I feel tired... My head is throbbing and my heart is racing faster than a horse at a gallop." Dr. Clarkson nodded and made a note into a journal Sybil handed him previously. "I'm confident you have a concussion. You will need to stay on bed rest for at least a week. Depending on how you are feeling you can start to go on walks, but nothing exciting." I nodded before letting out a large yawn. "I will give Sybil some medicine she can give you for the pain if needed." I nodded again. He smiled and left the room.

"Why don't you get some rest Alice?" Sybil suggested. "If you need anything just ring this bell," she said as she set a bell onto the bedside table. She smiled at me and pulled the covers so I was more covered. "We will let you be." Sybil turned to leave. So did William.

"C-Can Wil-William stay?" I asked meekly. Sybil stopped and turned to William.

"It should be fine, if William is alright with it." Sybil responded looking at William.

"It's fine milady. I don't mind. It'll be a nice change of pace." William smiled at the two of us.

"Alright. I'll let Carson and father know." Sybil said smiling. She turned to William. "If anything changes for the worse, I'm just a shout away." Sybil added before leaving. William seemed to relax before sitting down in a chair.

"So your name is William?" I asked trying to get to know this man I felt strangely comfortable with. "Y-Your voice... It-It sounds fa-familiar." I stuttered.

"I was one of the men to help find you." He said. I looked at him confused. "You fell down a hill during the storm. There was a rock at the bottom. We think you hit your head on that."

"I-I can't remember. The last thing I re-remember is bumping i-into a man n-named Mr... Bates? I think that was his name." I tried to focus on remembering what happened but it only made my head hurt worse. My face contorted in pain.

"Easy now." William said sitting up. "Dr. Clarkson said to rest. Why don't you fall asleep." I looked up at him. Confused at why he was being so nice to me.

"Wh-Why are you be-being so n-nice to m-me?" Words my uncle said went racing through my head.

'No one likes you; you will die alone, he's just faking it.' I blinked my eyes a few times trying to clear my head.

"I-I sh-should. Do you know any good stories?" William looked at me confused. "You know, fairy tales, legends, and myths?" I said clarifying.

"Oh!" He said with a smile on his face. "I only know the ones my mum used to tell me as a boy." He looked down sadly when he mentioned his mum. "Sorry." William said snapping out of his sadness. "I haven't talked about her much since she..."

"I understand. I never met my mum. Was raised by my aunt and uncle." I said looking down. "Maybe telling one of her stories will help. That's what my aunt did with me when my mom passed away." William smiled and started his story. I only heard a few minutes of it before I was out like a light.