//------------------------------// // Chapter 26: Intuition // Story: The Private Scrapbook // by Cadabra //------------------------------// Chapter 26: Intuition The Faction of the Stud had been gone for over a month in Baltimare. From what was known, the pegasi from Cloudsdale had to fight off a wave of snow storms which covered Baltimare in several feet of snow. Clearing the ice and snow was a high priority for the weather pegasi, particularly around the docks so that ships could come in from sea. Apparently, the extra time had proved to be an advantage over a rival gang known as the Brotherhood of Steeds. Smithy heard all of this news from behind the locked door of her bedroom. Due to him no longer trusting his slaves with his wife while he was away, Stinking Rich had hired Keen Eye, a temp worker body guard from Canterlot to make sure Smithy was safely kept prisoner in her own home. She was to be kept in her bedroom at all times, only coming out for accompanied short restroom breaks. Her meals were brought to her, her mail brought to her, and nothing more. Even her parents were sent away while he was gone for fear of them upsetting his emotionally fragile wife. As far as Smithy was concerned, she may as well have been stuck in Foalsom Prison. One day, Keen Eye brought a letter from Stinking Rich for his captive to read. He opened the door slightly for Smithy to take the letter he had received, only to find that she hadn’t bothered keeping the room or herself tidy. He gagged at the horrid smells coming out at him. Smithy smiled sweetly as Keen Eye lost his composure. “Potent enough fer ya?” she giggled, glad to have gotten to the temp guard who had fought her tooth and nail to keep her a captive in her own home for over a month. Keen Eye shot her a dirty look as he put a handkerchief over his nose and mouth to block the odor. “Your husband is coming home tonight, Mrs. Rich,” he said with a matter of factual tone while trying not to gag. “I have been informed that you are to be cleaned up for his arrival, and so must this room.” Smithy couldn’t help laughing in Keen Eye’s face, glad to know that the smell coming from a lack of oral hygiene repulsed him. “I’m gettin’ a visitor here in Foalsom Prison?” she joked. “Well, fiddle dee dee! Y’all better get a move on! When’s the warden comin’ to visit lil’ ol’ me? Think he’ll bring flowers?” Keen Eye rolled his eyes as he waved for Lizza and Tess to come retrieve his burden. “You two are to clean her up,” he instructed. “And send some slaves up to do something about this unruly smell!” Smithy couldn’t help feeling elated be back among the slaves again. She felt bad that they would have so much work ahead of them due to her stubbornness, but it would be worth it to get some information out of them. On the way out, she saw Amos and Homer walking by with cleaning supplies in their mouths. “Howdy y'all!" she said enthusiastically, noticing the two slaves stop in their tracks and bow before her. “Oh, stop with the formal get up. It's just me! How y'all been? Amos, how's yer boy? He been busy playin' with Kizzy? I ain't seen him or Tiny 'round, least not from mah bedroom window." Smithy's ramblings were cut short by Homer pulling Amos away. “We have work, misses," Homer said flatly, doing what he could to keep Amos calm and away from Smithy. In spite of the efforts, Smithy could hear Amos choking back a sob. “Did I say somethin' wrong?" she asked as Tess and Lizza lead her out on the porch. Tess eyed Lizza, who rolled her eyes at Smithy's ignorance. “That is not for you to question, misses," she said, her eyes telling Lizza not to speak. "What you are to think about is being clean. We have prepared a tub for you." While she still had questions about what had happened in the house, Smithy couldn't help feeling better by being outside. It was chilly for an early spring day, but she found the fresh air bracing compared to the stifling room she had been cooped up in for a month. “We got so much catchin’ up to do girls!” she exclaimed like a school filly as soon as they were out in the yard, expecting to return to the pleasant conversations she shared with Tess and Lizza during her pregnancy. “I ain’t had a proper time to hear from y’all! How’s Kizzy? Has she gotten big? I bet Bladire just loves that lil’ Kizzy!” Lizza looked uncomfortably to Tess at the mention of her fellow zebras. “Misses,” she said calmly as she pumped water into a washtub. “We must clean you.” Smithy was shocked at the sudden formality in her voice. “Lizza, it’s me,” she smiled. “Ya don’t have to be all stiff ‘round me, after all we been through together.” Lizza gave Smithy an even, unemotional look. “Misses, the tub,” she instructed, putting a few drops of rose scented oil in the water. Smithy watched the oil swirling around Lizza’s reflection in the tub water, noticing the hint of anger in the zebra’s reflected expression. “Is there somethin’ wrong ya wanna talk 'bout?” she said with an encouraging smile. “It’s been so long since I had somepony to talk to, and yer the only ones I got ‘round here and…” “MISSES!” Lizza cut her off, her tone harsh and unforgiving. “Your bath!” The tone snapped Smithy into obedience, allowing her to step awkwardly into the tub of water. “Brrrr! It’s kinda cold, don’t ya think?” she said, trying to make light of the chill in the water. She couldn’t help thinking that her friend’s behavior was perhaps a bit chillier, especially after Lizza dumped a bucket of water on her head. “You must ready yourself for Master Rich,” Lizza explained as she pressed a bar of soap hard into Smithy’s back, rubbing her coat nearly raw. A baby’s cry was heard while Smithy was in the bathtub. “Is that Kizzy?!?” she shot up from the suds. Lizza and Tess shot each other an uncomfortable look, wordlessly communicating their concerns. Tess lowered her head as she backed away from the tub. “I will return,” she said without looking either in the eye before running for the slave’s quarters. Smithy watched closely as Tess ran off, trying to pay attention to where her daughter was being kept. “Somethin’ awful strange is goin’ on ‘round here,” she said, hoping to get some answers now that she and Lizza were alone. Instead of getting an answer, she got another bucket of water poured over her head. “We must rinse you clean, misses,” Lizza said, bucking the tub over with Smithy still in it. “Under the pump. You must be clean for Master Rich.” It was unseasonably cold for early spring, and the pump water was freezing. Smithy was trying to protest, but Lizza was busy pushing her head under the icy downpour. Anytime she was able to come up for air she noticed a twisted smile on Lizza’s face. She could have sworn it looked like Lizza was enjoying this, which was beginning to scare her. Tess put a quick stop to Lizza’s maniacal water pumping. “She is clean,” she commanded as Smithy dashed behind her for protection, gasping for air. “We must dry her and dress her now for Master Rich.” As soon as she could breathe better, Smithy looked into at the expressions on each of the girl’s faces. She could read that they were at odds with each other over her. “Where’s mah baby?” Smithy commanded, standing up strait in spite of the fact that she was shivering from the cold. She could see the slaves turning blank expressions upon her, which just annoyed her all the more. “I know she’s someplace warm, ‘cause she’s a baby and she needs to stay warm. Take me there so I can dry off and see mah baby.” Smithy hated the tone she had to take in order to get what she wanted. It was the voice of a slave owner. It stung to watch the girls nod obediently to her as if she was their master instead of their friend before leading her to the slave’s quarters. The downstairs quarters had a strong, earthy smell, but it was warm. Scanning the room quickly, Smithy noticed the little bundle swathed in rags resting on a straw filled mattress. “Kizzy!” she exclaimed as she scooped up the baby, showering the tiny girl with kisses. Tess looked uneasily at the situation, while Lizza looked bitterly at the display of affection. Smithy looked at the two of them with a big, goofy grin as she held the smiling baby up. “Look! She’s got mah nose!” she cooed, overjoyed at the resemblance. Lizza rolled her eyes at the tender moment before determinately approaching the mother and child. “She has her father’s stripes, misses,” she explained bluntly as she held her arm out to take the baby away. “Now let me take her, misses.” Smithy’s smile faded at the mention of Bladire. “Where is he?” she asked seriously, holding tightly to her daughter. Lizza’s gaze didn’t even flinch as she moved in closer. “The baby, misses,” she replied flatly as she reached out for the little one. Smithy held even tighter onto her child, refusing to part with it until she got the answers she was looking for. “Where is Bladire!?!” she hollered, using that awful slave driver tone again. She was surprised to see anger rising in Lizza’s face as the zebra grabbed Kizzy’s rag blanket in her teeth. “The baby, misses!” she replied meanly, pulling hard on the mouth full of blanket. Kizzy began to scream as the two women fought over her. Fearing for what the screams might cause, Tess ran outside to get Keen Eye. Within minutes, the two women were separated by the temp guard. “I thought I told you girls to clean Mrs. Rich, not dirty her up down here!” Keen Eye bellowed to the frightened zebra girls. “Just for that you two are denied meals until further notice. Do I make myself clear?” Not having any of this macho nonsense, Smithy strode up to the pompous guard. “Maybe y’all can answer mah questions,” she ordered. “Where’s this baby’s father? Nopony’s willin’ to tell me what I wanna know!” Keen Eye looked down his nose at the yellow and black striped baby crying in Smithy’s arms. “Lady, I have no idea who you’re even talking about,” he explained. “All I know is that your husband put me in charge of you and this household while he was away. That’s all I know, and all I care to know. Now if you’d please cooperate with me for once in your life, lets get you ready for your husband so I can finally end this ridiculous assignment.” Being predictably stubborn, Smithy backed away from the guard. “Y’all are hidin’ somethin’!” she hollered like a mad woman. “I’m not goin’ anywhere 'til I find out what happened to Bladire!” Dodging past the guard and the slaves, Smithy made a run for it while holding Kizzy’s bundled blanket in her teeth. Keen Eye was in hot pursuit of his run away captive, even as she ran head first into the Everfree Forest. Knowing her way around the forest, Smithy was quick to out maneuver her pursuer. The gained distance was a small comfort, but Smithy knew that the baby’s crying would eventually attract Keen Eye to her should she slow down. Her hooves continued to race as quickly as her mind was. Where could Bladire have gone, and why wasn’t anypony telling her anything? Smithy got her answer far sooner than she expected the moment she tripped and fell over a very large tree root. The root belonged to the tree she had sat under the night she signed her husband’s contract, and from its branches swung a body dressed in a slaves overalls. The cold had preserved its black and white striped coat, and even the milky whiteness in its poison joke blinded eyes. Smithy stood frozen to the spot, her eyes leaking as she watched Bladire’s body rocking gently from the noose around his neck.