𝖜𝖍𝖎𝖘𝖐𝖊𝖞 𝖒𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖘, 𝐭. 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐛𝐲 ¹

✧ 01 ✧

𝐍𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐓, 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐃𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐏 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐋. The moon hung high over her head as she made her way through Birmingham. The dense smog and ripe stench of human waste stung her nose. It seemed she had gotten too accustomed to the clear air of Canterbury.

Nonetheless, the burning stench of Birmingham was familiar and therefore a comfort to the young woman as she made her way through the bustling city. Birmingham was her home and to be back in it was a relief.

She shook her head, her curls bouncing slightly as a chill ran up her spine. It wasn't necessarily cold, it just seemed that Nellie could never get warm nowadays. It was like death hung around her, his cold aura seeping into her bones.

Her mother told her she was cursed shortly before she slipped away. She said the events of her life proved it, showing that Nellie would never be able to cast away the shadow her father cast upon her from the moment she was born.

Gretchen Allyn hated Nellie's father, Alfie, with a burning passion. She told the story many a time to young Nellie, recounting how she let herself be whisked away by a charming man who promised her the world.

Instead, all she got was five needy children and a gangster of a husband. But Nellie didn't feel the same way. Her family meant everything to her, and losing nearly all of them in a single night shattered the girl into a million pieces.

Nellie inhaled sharply as the memories came back to her, her hands curling into fists in the pockets of her overcoat.

Her two oldest brothers died in the war, the other and her only sister were killed the night of the raid. Then her mother caught a sickness she couldn't shake and now all that was left of the once-great Allyn family was the eldest daughter: Nellie.

She sighed as she pulled her coat tighter, the sadness of her family's death hanging above her head like her own personal storm cloud. Cursed or not, Nellie didn't blame her father for the events that transpired.

Her father loved her and her siblings and had he lived long enough to see their downfall, it would have broken the man the way it did Nellie. The Allyns were close. Family was everything.

Pushing away the heavy sadness that began to cloud her heart, Nellie looked around as she neared Watery Lane, the location of her home. She slowed down as cheers and bustling shouts reached her ears. For such a late night, it sure was busy.

Her brows came together in mild confusion as she took notice of the smoke billowing over the rows of houses that made up Watery Lane. She quickened her pace, a dash of worry striking her in the heart.

When she rounded the corner, she was shocked to see a crowd gathered around a raging bonfire that lit up the night sky. A pinch of relief soothed Nellie. She was glad to find that it was simply a bonfire and not a home that was painting the night sky orange.