Blades & Ballots - Chapter 20
Characters: Katherine Winchester (OC). Evie Frye. Samuel Frye (OC). James Frye (OC). Philip Winchester (OC). Nellie (mentioned). Jacob Frye (mentioned). Jack the Ripper (mentioned)
Word count: 2.1k
Warnings: Some swearing, nothing much
Previous chapters: Previous chapter
Authors note: I'M FINALLY BACK WITH THIS SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!
Meanwhile, Katherine and Samuel are on the train going to London. "I can't believe he would go against my wishes and go to London. Foolish boy." Katherine mutters.
"He takes after father." Samuel tells her.
"Foolish?" Katherine murmurs, staring out the window as rain streaks the glass.
"Yes. Brave. Reckless. Just like Jacob.". She pulls her coat tighterālike sheās holding herself together.
"He doesnāt know what Jack does to people who fight back," she whispers. "To familiesā¦"
Samuel watches herāthe pain in her eyesāand stays quiet. But Katherine isnāt just afraid. Sheās angry. And somewhere deep beneath that grief?. A fire begins to stirāthe one her father tried to bury when he said women donāt hunt. Wellā¦ Men don't get to decide what a Winchester can do anymore.
After an hour they make it to the London train station. "He probably went to the house." Katherine says. Samuel follows his mother closely. They step onto the platform, ducking through the crowd as rain beats down in the gray gloom.
"Iām going straight there," she mutters. "You check the rest of town."
āBut mother, thatās not safe,"* Samuel argues, catching her arm. "What if Jack's men are there too?ā
"Don't worry. I can handle them... now go." She reassures him. He runs in the opposite direction while she goes to their home. Samuel looks back at herāworriedāthen jogs off down another street.
She walks the deserted lane, breath billowing white in the cold. A sharp wind whips past, making her shiver as she reaches the house, heart hammering in her chest as she climbs the porch steps. She's almost home. Almost.
Until her breath hitches. "Oh Godā¦". She pushes the door open and enters the home. Papers scattered and old, dry blood on the floor. The living room is a disaster zone: chairs upended, books and documents scattered. The scent of old blood heavy in the air. Her breath shuddersāa sharp, cold exhaleāas she steps forward, eyes scanning the wreckage. Thenāthe dining room. The hallway. The kitchen. "Jamesā¦" Her voice breaks.
But there's no answer. Only silence. She continues through the home, and then she sees the fresh blood and drops to her knees. "God, please no." She mutters. The kitchen floor is dark with fresh blood. Just a few dropsābut enough to make her heart nearly give out.
āJamesā¦" She whispers his name, half prayer, half curse, "Where are youā¦?". She goes to her son's bedroom. It's still in tacked, just a missing candlestick that was on the nightstand. Her knees almost buckle. The bedroom window is cracked, curtains fluttering in the wind. He was here. But he isn't anymore. "Noā¦ no nononoā".
She buries her face in her hands. "I promised to keep them safeā¦". She goes to hers and Jacob's bed, reaches underneath it and pulls out a metal box with a revolver in it. "Never come between a woman and her family, Jack." She mutters.
What happens when the Assassin meets a Hunter? No one knows because that story hasn't been told... yet.
She loads the revolver with steady handsāeach click of a bullet into the chamber like a vow. "You took my husband," she whispers to the empty room. "You took my sonā¦"
She slides the last round in, cocks the hammer. āNow youāre about to find out what happens when a mother hunts back.". And for the first time in twenty yearsā
Katherine Winchester stops waiting. She begins to move. Not as Jacobās wife. Not as a woman from high society. But as a Hunter. And London will soon learn that some monsters arenāt found in the shadowsā¦ They walk right into hell with fire in their eyes and vengeance on their tongues.
Meanwhile, Samuel walks the streets of the Strand. Looking around searching for his twin. A boy who looks exactly like him. He walks faster, peering into alleys, ducking under arches, weaving through the crowded sidewalks. All aroundāhorse-drawn carriages, vendors selling fruit and paper flowers, people shouting the day's newspapers, and everywhere, the rain fallsācold and relentless.
"Damn it allā¦" he mutters, āWhere are you, you idiot?"
From the opposite side of the street. 3 men dressed in all blue stare at him. They're not police constables, they're dressed in blue suits, similar to what the Rooks wore years ago but in blue. He hears one of them mutter to the others, "Is that the Frye boy?."
He freezes, blood going cold as he hears the man's voice. He turns slowly, and sure enough. Three men stare at him from the other side of the street like they're seeing a ghost.
"That's him alright," one of the men remarks, āThe spit of his fatherā¦ā
He turns away, down an alley. Sure enough the men follow him. He ducks into the alley, boots splashing in filthy puddles as he weaves through the narrow passage. Behind himāfootsteps. Fast, heavy. They're not even trying to hide it anymore.
"Oi! Frye! We know you can hear us!"
He picks up speed. Thenāa dead end. Brick walls tower on three sides. No doors. No windows. Just trash bins and old crates stacked high. Trapped.
Samuel turns around just in time to see the men step into view at the mouth of the alleyāgrinning like wolves whoāve cornered their prey. "Shit." He mutters, he looks around for something to defend himself with.
The men laugh as he frantically looks around. "Nowhere to run, boy," one of them chuckles. "Best just come with us nice and quietāā
"Oi! Assholes!." A voice shouts, they turn around and sees the same boy behind them. Its James. The men freezeāeyes darting between the two identical boys.
"What the bloody hellā¦?" one mutters, confusion twisting his face. āGoddamn twins!.ā. James smirks from behind them, arms crossed. "Yeah. Try grabbing us both." Samuel grinsāwild and reckless. And at that moment?. They remember theyāre not alone. Evie appears on top of a building.
"Boys," Evie calls down from above, voice laced with dry amusement. "Perhaps now isnāt the time for sibling theatrics?". She flips gracefully off the roof, landing in a crouch beside themāHidden Blade already extended.
James and Samuel exchange glancesā¦ then nod. The men take a step backāuncertainty flickering across their faces for the first time. Evie tilts her head. "Run along now," she says sweetly. "Or I start cutting."
The three men exchange looks. "You win, lady,"* one man mutters. "You winā¦". The men slink away into the shadows, muttering darkly. James watches them go, heart hammering. "You okay, Samuel?" he asks, looking over at his brother. "Mother is upset with you." Samuel tells him. "She's gonna have your neck once she sees you."
James wincesāa pang of guilt twisting his stomach. "Yeahā¦ I guess I deserve that one. She's not the only one mad, huh?" he says with an awkward half-smile.
āI'm pissed too. You're an idiot."
James winces again, "I knowā¦"
"I don't think you realized the trouble you could've gotten into." Samuel scolds his younger twin.
āYeahā¦ yeah, I know," James says, running a hand through his hair. "Believe me. I know. You don't need to lecture me too."
Evie listens to the two brothers bicker at one another. Reminding her of herself and Jacob. She smirksānostalgia flickering in her eyes. "Oh, this is familiar," she mutters under her breath. Then she claps her hands togetherāsharp, decisive. "Enough bickering," she cuts in. "Your mother is probably tearing London apart looking for you."
James grimaces, "...She's here?". Evie gives him a dry look. "You really thought she wouldn't come after you?"
Samuel snorts. And for the first time since this mess startedā¦ James actually looks worried.
Meanwhile, Katherine walks down the street looking for her boys. Revolver in her purse. Keeping an eye out for any of the Ripper's men. The streets are crowded, people hurrying along. Horse-drawn carriages rumble through in a steady stream, splashing water in their wake. The sun's gone down, and the rain falls harder.
But she doesn't break her pace. Every muscle is tight, every breath sharp with anticipation. She doesn't have time to rest. Not until her boys are safe.
Back to Evie and the twins. "So what are you gonna tell mum when she sees you?." Samuel asks James, as they walk down the sidewalk with Evie next to them. James grimacesānot sure how he's going to explain this one. "Uhā¦" he stammers. "The-the truth?ā. Samuel snorts.
"She's gonna strangle you."
James sighs, "I know... I just hope. She knows why I did.ā
"She will, but that won't save you from getting chewed out for it in the process," Samuel points out. "You know how mother is.". As they walk, Evie sees more of the Ripper's men. Across the street, at the end of the block. Nearly surrounded by them. The twins don't even notice their being watched. "How can you be so damn calm about this?"* James snaps, glaring at his brother. "You're enjoying this."
"Maybe a little," Samuel admits with a grin. "It's not every day watching you make an ass of yourself is this entertaining.". Evie keeps her eyes open, looking around as they walk. Her and the twins stop at a corner waiting for carriages to pass for them to cross the street.
She looks to the opposite side of the street and sees 4 men. "That's them... let Jack know." One of them tells another, before he takes off.
James glances across the street, frowning. "What the hell are they up to now?" he mutters. "Are they following us?ā
"It seems so." Evie responds. She looks forward and sees 3 more men. James frowns. "Bloody hellā¦ it's like they're everywhere."
"Jack has a grip on London." Evie tells them. "He controls nearly everything with fear.ā She grips both boys by the shouldersāhard. "No more streets. No more crowds. You stick to the rooftops nowāif youāre coming with me." Her eyes lock on James. "And if we see your mother before Jack does? Consider it a mercy."
Meanwhile Katherine walks the streets looking around for her boys. "Where are they?." She asks herself. At this point she's not angry at James for sneaking out, it's now replaced with worry for both of her boys who are now missing. Night has fallen completely now. The only light comes from shop windows and street lamps. She moves faster as the shops go dark, the sidewalks getting empty. "Please be safeā¦"* she whispers, over and over, like a mantra. "Please please pleaseā¦". She has to get to safety, or at least into a building with people around, the streets are dangerous at night. She unknowingly goes into a brothel. The brothel is warm, filled with candlelight, music from a piano in the corner. Women in corsets and lace move between tables, their voices soft and teasing. She stands frozen at the entranceārevolver still tucked in her purseāher face pale as snow. "Iā¦ I didnāt knowā¦" she whispers.
A woman approachesāred lips curved into a knowing smile. "Youāre not here for fun," she says quietly. "Youāre hunting.". Katherine doesnāt answer. The woman leans in. "Then let me help you. Jackās been asking about two boys. Twins. And a woman with black hair who walks like sheās ready to kill." Her blood runs cold. "When?" Katherine demands. "Where are they?!ā. The lady pulls Katherine aside. "I don't know for sure, but they were seen with a woman wandering around Whitechapel." She tells her. "Jack's men have been patrolling the streets looking for them.ā
"Why?" Katherine presses. "They're just boysā¦ what possible reason does Jack have for hunting them?"
"Jacob Frye is your husband?." She asks. Katherine stiffens. "Yes," she says, hand slipping into her purse. "Why?ā
"I believe Nellie is acquainted with him." She tells her. "He used to help many prostitutes and other people around Whitechapel."
"That sounds like him..." she says, a faint smile touching her face despite everything. āAlways has to be a hero, that man."
"I need to get to Whitechapel." She says she steps out of the building and runs into a familiar face. One she hadn't seen in a long time. Her older brother Phillip. "K-Katherine?." He mutters, his voice shaky and somewhat slurred. He smelled of whiskey and wine on his breath and person, "Phillip?"
She stops in her tracks, eyes going wide. Her older brother is standing on the sidewalk, swaying slightly, his eyes red and glazed. He's drunk, or has been drinking at least. He sees where she stepped out of, "Why were you in a brothel?."
āIts not important" She takes his wrist, starts to pull him away, "Come on. We need to get off the streets before-ā*
āMr. Philip Winchester, is that you?." A prostitute calls out to him from inside, "I'm needed somewhere." He tells her, going into the brothel. Her 2nd eldest brother was always a drinker and messed around with nearly every woman in London, and back home in Nottingham. Probably has several children, bastard children that not even he knows about, children out there raised by a single mother who donāt know their father.
