Bambi and the Duke

The little girl stared outside the window, the rainwater streaking down from the windowpane in thin blurry lines. She stood there before feeling a hand on her shoulder. A small gasp escaped her lips and she turned to look at the housekeeper who stood there with a gentle smile on his lips.

”What are you doing here, Vivi? Enjoying the rain?” asked Paul who had only been passing through one of the corridor’s of the mansion when he found the little girl staring at the window.

”I like the rain,” the little girl whispered, bringing up her hand to the window, she started to draw.

”I see you have been making good use of your drawing classes. What is it? It looks like a cloud,” said Paul who stepped closer to have a look at the glass where she had run her finger that had started to fog up again.

”It is Billy,” she frowned, unhappy that he had failed to guess what she had drawn.

”Oh, my! That’s Billy! Yes, yes, how could I forget that,” Paul wanted to laugh at the lovely drawing but when he saw the little girl frown he had quickly cleared his throat, ”You see I thought this was the cloud, I just happened to miss the two-ah horns.”

”Leo would have guessed it,” Paul’s heart broke as she said it.

The young master of the Carmichael mansion was being missed by everyone and he knew the little girl missed the boy too. He was her only friend or was it the other around? It was hard to say as Mr. Carmichael’s son never mingled with people, not that he didn’t but he usually observed and that was what Paul observed.

After he was sent away, the house had turned even quieter than before. The two little young ones had spent their time together here, getting attached to each other.

”Where is he?” little Vivian turned completely to face Paul who had crouched previously to look at her drawing which had almost been erased due to the continuous rain.

”It will take time for him to return back, dear. He’s studying at the Lord’s mansion as well as Mr. Rufus’ mansion so that he can become a great man,” answered Paul, trying to keep his words as simple as possible. There were times the housekeeper noticed on how fast the little girl was in a few things but there were also times when she was slow to understand. She was, after all, a little girl and someone he had started to take under his wing.

”But Paul...”

”Hmm?” Paul leaned closer to hear what she was saying. A lightning-struck outside far away from the mansion and soon thunder followed it.

Little Vivian’s lips tightened and then opened to say, ”Leo is already great,” her words were innocent and Paul stared at the girl for two whole good seconds before chuckling.

”He is dear.”

”Why you laugh?” the girl looked worried as well as confused as to what happened.

”Do you know just how adorable you are?” the housekeeper asked, ”Come, Martha has cooked something special for your birthday,” since the time when Vivian had only arrived at the mansion, the servants along with Leo had decided to pick a day randomly and celebrate her birthday. Little Vivian had been looking forward to celebrating the birthday she had never got to celebrate, especially with her dear friend Leo but he wasn’t here. It saddened her extremely that he hadn’t come.

Did he find new friends and didn’t want to talk to her? it made little Vivian wonder as Paul caught hold of her hand, walking with her to the kitchen were some of them were waiting for her.

After celebrating her birthday with four other servants with an apple pie, Vivian was taken back to her room in the servants quarters to sleep but little Vivian never fell asleep. She laid on the bed, playing with the bedsheet as she ran her finger round and round before getting up and stepping out of the room. Going straight to the glass room which she had often spent with Leo, she sat down looking at the rain that fell up on the roof. The sky looked beautiful as she stared at the light that brightened and dimmed every now and then.

Taking the music box, she twirled it around more than necessary as if doing it would let the box play for eternity. Placing it on the cold floor, she spent her time listening to the music as well as the sound of the rain and thunder.

Little Vivian remembered Leo’s promise to her during the time she and he had gone into the forest. Though Leo hadn’t asked her to come along and had left the mansion at noon without any of the slave’s notice, little Vivian had caught his shadow and had slipped out of the mansion to follow him. It was the same routine every time, where Leo went the little girl followed diligently.

But things hadn’t gone well and she had got lost. Wailing her eyes in the name of Leo until he found her in two minutes of time.

”What were you thinking following me?” young Leonard had asked her.

”Leo,” little Vivian sniffed, looking down at her knee which was bleeding. Her eye had turned red due to the tears along with her nose.

”You dummy. This is why you don’t follow people blindly, especially without knowledge,” the young boy came closer to inspect the wound and then say, ”It doesn’t look that bad. A little wash and a few days should make it all new,” he then had turned around to sit and bring his hands back, ”Hop on.”

”You give me ride?” the tears that had been falling out of her eyes suddenly stopped at the thought that the boy was going to let her ride on his back.

”Hurry while I am still nice,” he scolded her yet waited when she moved around slowly, scrambling on the ground before wounding her hands around his neck, ”Ready?”

”Ungh,” she responded as if to tell yes. And she was lifted up in the air, with her hanging on his back like a little monkey. After the boy had carried the girl a few steps, the little girl asked, ”How did you find me?”

”You are never quiet. Anyone from the other land can hear you wailing that loud,” the boy muttered under his breath. The little girl adjusted in his back so that she could see the view in front of them. It made her happy that her friend had found her in the forest. She had been scared.

”Leo, you always find me,” she said happily, her tears evaporated in the wind and a smile plastered on her small face with the joy of the ride she was getting.

”Of course, I will. Even if you fall and hide somewhere deep I will find and pull you back.”

”Really?” she leaned to look at his face.

”Yes, now stop moving around before I drop you.”

And this had happened three days before Leonard was sent away from the Carmichael’s mansion. The little girl’s memories were interrupted by a loud growl in the sky, the growl deep and darker making the shadows much scarier which she hadn’t taken into account before coming to the glass room.

Getting up quickly, her little feet made way out of the glass room but instead of going to the servant’s quarters. She went to the other room and fell asleep on the bed.

Mrs Carmichael, who hadn’t been able to fall asleep herself during the same night, took a stroll around the corridors before coming upon her son’s room. She missed her son but she knew it was for his betterment that he was sent away. Noticing the door open, she went to close it when she caught sight of a little body on the bed sound asleep.

Walking inside the room she saw it was the little girl whom her son was attached to. She stared at the girl for a minute, a smile coming upon her lips at the thought of what the future held. Going around the bed, she pulled the blanket and covered the girl with it before closing the door quietly shut behind her.