7 - Frannie’s Ordeal - Draft

Frannie screamed and ran towards the door as she saw Juanita being driven away. The officer wrapped both of his arms around her waist to contain her before she could make it outside. Frannie kicked and screamed trying desperately to get to her daughter. The law and biology are meaningless when a mother sees her child in pain. Her only thought is that of protecting them.

Frannie fought valiantly with whatever energy she had left in her small frame to get to Juanita until the futility of the situation and exhaustion overcame her.

Once Frannie had stopped fighting, the officer explained the fate of Juanita before attempting to interrogate her again about Henrietta’s death. It was too late though. Like her daughters before her, she fell silent. The officers gave up and left her alone with her misery.

Bird emerged ten minutes after the police left. He had to get Frannie ready to surrender the last member of her family before the queen descended upon them. Witnessing the complete destruction of Frannie and her girls broke the heart of this reformed killer. It changed him forever.

Frannie steeled herself and memorized every action and word. It was always Henrietta who would prepare her to confront life’s challenges but Henrietta was gone now. There were no promises of cuddles when she finished her task. She wouldn’t be coming home to Henrietta’s face beaming with pride. The love of her life, her best friend, her protector, her life was gone.

Frannie went into the girls’ room one last time to see Darcy. Darcy never even noticed her presence. She stared motionless at one corner of their room. Darcy wasn’t even there. There was simply a shell of her lying vacant and dead on the bed before her. Frannie could relate. She felt the same but she had to force herself to do what had to be done. She was a single mother now. She had to keep fighting, fighting for her girls. Fighting to carry on the legacy of her beloved Henrietta.

Frannie did what she always did when Darcy was hurt, what Henrietta did for Frannie when she was hurt. She climbed into bed with Darcy and held her in silence. She held her so tight that she feared she would break. Only their hearts broke though.

When Bird came in to give the five minute warning, Frannie finally broke her silence. This was the last time that she’d be able to talk to her. She had to make it count.

“Darling, I love you more than anything. You have been the best of daughters and we’ve never for one moment thought of you any differently. You have made us extremely proud to be your moms. We all know reality though. We have always feared this day and did our best to prepare you for it. The rest is up to you now. It isn’t fair or right. It simply is what it is, as Henrietta would say,” Frannie chuckled at that last line. It was one of Henrietta’s words of wisdom that they had openly despised, even though and especially because it was true. Certain things can’t be changed. We just have to push on.

“Henrietta knew that you were destined for greatness. Now is the time to prove her right. You have to fight harder than anyone has ever fought before. The future that we dreamed about is in your hands now. Don’t forget. We will be here, missing you, loving you and waiting for the day that you can return to us. Be strong and be brave, my beautiful princess and beloved daughter. I will always love you and be here for you.”

With that Henrietta kissed her precious daughter’s forehead one last time and squeezed her hand before signaling for Bird. Bird had changed into his finest suit and slicked back his hair to meet the queen. Scaring the queen with his usual street clothes and wild hairstyle would do nothing to further their cause.

He scooped up the lifeless princess and placed her in the back seat of Henrietta’s car. The women had dressed Darcy in the finest of her “princess” clothes, as the family had called them and packed the remainder in suitcases that were put in the trunk. They had styled her hair and makeup in the most dignified way to give all appearances that she was nothing other than the princess of Jahim.

Bird chauffeured Darcy and Frannie to the palace. Nobody spoke. There was nothing left to say. The only thing that was left was the unbearable pain of it all which they each had to bear alone. When the car approached the palace complex, Frannie saw the terror in Darcy’s eyes. Her mouth opened as if to scream but no sound came out. Frannie squeezed her hand and tried her best to console her but nothing could console any of them.

“Darcy, it’s time to pretend. You can do this. You are the princess and are returning home. Everything is fine. Be strong. You will soon be queen and will make all of the rules. Be strong, my love.”

Bird drove up to the first guard tower and spoke to the guard on duty.

“State your business,” the guard said as a matter of routine.

“I am here to deliver Her Royal Highness, Princess Darcy de Narcissus to Her Majesty, Queen Narcissus,” Bird replied with all of the dignity afforded to royalty.

The guard was caught off guard. He was never informed of her arrival and quite frankly had no idea what she looked like. “Excuse me, sir. I wasn’t informed of your arrival. I must speak with my superiors. Please wait here.”

Bird listened as the guard spoke on the telephone. “I have a gentleman here claiming to be delivering the princess to Her Majesty. He’s in one of the crown’s cars. There’s a woman in the front seat and a young lady alone in the back. No, sir. I didn’t check their ids yet. I figured that you should be notified straight away. Yes, sir. I understand, sir.”

The guard composed himself before returning to the car. “I apologize, sir. I need to see everyone’s ids. My superior wasn’t advised of your visit either.”

Bird handed the guard their driver’s licenses. The guard had to look back and forth between Bird and the license several times to see any resemblance. “Your name is Geoffrey Humboldt then, sir?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And she’s Frannie Updyke?”

“Yes, sir.”

“How is that two commoners come to have the princess?”

“I am an acquaintance of Ms. Updyke here who is the roommate of Ms. Henrietta Dawes, the nanny of Her Royal Highness. The police came this morning to notify Ms. Juanita Dawes, the daughter of Ms. Henrietta Dawes of her mother’s death. Since Her Royal Highness was under the care of Ms. Dawes when she died, we have come to discuss the future care of her with Her Majesty.”

“I see. This sounds bonkers to me but we’ll check it out soon enough. My superior is rounding up a photo in order to identify Her Royal Highness. None of us have ever seen her.”

The guard’s superior soon arrived and asked the same questions and a few more. Information began pouring into the guardhouse.

Ms. Dawes was listed in the registry as the Royal Nanny. She held that title for the last fifteen years. Her career was unblemished. The police confirmed the death of Ms. Henrietta Dawes through the fingerprints in her employment file with the crown. She was murdered in a known crack house in the middle of the territory controlled by the Sothside Gang. Frannie Updyke is the known roommate and suspected lesbian lover of Ms. Henrietta Dawes. Geoffrey Humboldt is a minor but known member of the Southside Gang with an extensive criminal record and the suspected leader of the Southside Gang.

Each overheard piece of information stung as it penetrated the haze that enveloped them. They continued to steel themselves for the inevitable. Suddenly the car was surrounded by guards with their guns drawn on Frannie and Bird. Orders were shouted at them from every direction. Get your hands up. Keep them where we can see them. Eyes straight ahead.

They heard the back door open and the rustle of Darcy’s pink, taffeta dress. Darcy despised pink and taffeta but the queen liked it so many of her princess clothes were similar to this. She never let out a sound as they carried her to safety, as the guards called it.

Frannie and Bird never saw the pained expression on Darcy’s face as they carried her away. They never saw her fight to get to her mother in the front seat. The guards made them keep their eyes forward so they wouldn’t see their movements. It was probably for the best. If Frannie had seen her baby girl’s face, she would have surely forgotten about the fifty guns focused on her and moved heaven and earth to get to her. Then the sisters would have lost both of their mothers within days of each other.

Once Darcy was out of the line of fire, they were forced out of the vehicle and onto the ground. They were frisked by the guards before being handcuffed and thrown into the back of an awaiting police car.

Frannie learned later that Bird was interrogated and beaten by the police for over a week before releasing him due to insufficient evidence. He refused to talk. He knew the routine and took their abuse. This was the most violent interrogation he had ever lived through but he expected it. The princess was involved. That demanded the most severe punishment and the police obliged.

Frannie endured her own unique form of torture. The beatings were much less severe considering her family name and gender but it still stung just as much. She was kept awake through hours of questioning. The officers called her dyke, fag, homo and far worse but never her name.

The male officers routinely exposed their genitals and taunted her. You just need a cock inside you to make you a real woman. Why don’t you suck my dick? I promise you that once you’ve had my dick inside you, you’ll never look at pussy again.

The comments were relentless but Frannie just sat there in silence. She was warned about what to expect and understood that she had to remain silent because nobody would understand or care if she spoke the truth.

It wasn’t long before the comments became worse and were combined with assault and rape. Frannie was forced to give eager officers blow jobs at gunpoint. She was pistol whipped if she didn’t comply fully and with seeming pleasure.

Then there were the rapes. Frannie’s underwear was pulled down with the barrel of their guns as they licked their lips in anticipation. They penetrated her in every possible way, finding great delight in their actions.

The worst was when she was gang raped for hours on end. Men seemed to constantly flow into the interrogation room to get their pleasure in any way imaginable.

Frannie remembered little of it though. She had become numb to it all. Her feisty protests, kicks, screams and punches were replaced by a limp body. Her mind shut down to save her from the unbearable pain of it all.

The police released her after they no longer found enjoyment in fucking her lifeless body. Lack of evidence was the official reason. It didn’t matter. Frannie was finally free of that prison and moved on to her next form of torture.

She hired a lawyer to probate Henrietta’s will and give her custody of Juanita. This seemingly straightforward process was plagued with problems though. Frannie’s lesbianism was used by the state to say that she, along with Henrietta had sexually assaulted Juanita and Darcy for years. There was absolutely no proof but they brought experts in child psychology to the stand to claim that the refusal of the girls to speak was indicative of long term sexual assault by the lesbian couple.

Every detail of her life and Henrietta’s life was picked apart and twisted to show that she should be imprisoned and certainly not given custody of Juanita. There was absolutely no way to win. Every argument of their innocence was twisted until it had become part of the evidence for the state.

Frannie was fired from her job while being gang raped in prison. Nobody would hire her after seeing the news reports about her. She soon lost her home and everything that she owned while trying to get Juanita back. She was homeless and destitute.

Bird was still trying to recover from his ordeal two years later when he spotted Frannie wandering the streets. He couldn’t believe his eyes at first. Frannie was such a vibrant, beautiful and classy looking woman. What he saw was nothing resembling her former self.

Frannie was wearing an old pair of men’s work boots that were far too big for her. Her clothing was utilitarian in nature, a pair of ragged, oversized jeans held on by a length of rope and a t shirt that was so old and worn that you couldn’t tell anything about its original color or design. She wore an oversized straw hat that had done little to protect her pale, delicate skin from the elements. She walked bent halfway over with a backpack attached to her that looked to weigh more than she did.

“Frannie?” Bird asked once he had caught up with the lifeless figure.

Frannie smiled brightly at the sight of a familiar and friendly face. Her teeth were filthy and her breath stunk but Bird had known worse. He was just happy that she was alive. He grabbed her and gave her a huge hug. It seemed like he would never let go.

After a few awkward words, Bird motioned them towards a nearby diner. It was the same one where Bird first met Henrietta. They sat down and Bird ordered them almost everything on the menu. Frannie tried to protest at his generosity but her hunger quickly overcame her pride. She heartily and happily gorged herself on all sorts of diner fare.

It wasn’t until the pace of Frannie’s eating had slowed that Bird began asking about what had happened since they last met. Frannie related every detail to him with a calm, detached demeanor that would’ve seemed concerning to anyone who had never endured such hardships and trauma. Bird understood though. He knew that look all too well. He took in every word and plotted out ways to help her.

She finally had a full belly so that was one problem solved. The next was to get her off of the streets. Bird insisted that she come home with him. Frannie protested. She still had her pride. Plus Bird had already done so much for her and endured such hardships because of her. She couldn’t allow him to do anything more.

“Frannie, I’ve never told this to anyone and I probably won’t ever say it again but I love and respect you and your family too much to let you walk away without putting all of my cards on the table. I have had this uncontrollable need to help you and your family since before we met. Meeting Juanita and Darcy just strengthened that feeling. When the meeting went south and Darcy was lying on top of Henrietta,” Bird paused to stifle the tears in his eyes and the emotions that were about to consume him.

“I can’t explain it but it felt like she was my own daughter and I had put her in danger. The grief and guilt consumed me. It still haunts me to this day. To see her body still breathing but lifeless. It’s too much to bear sometimes.

Juanita haunts me too. I could’ve sworn that I fell in love with her the moment I laid eyes on her. She was the most beautiful and amazing person that I’ve ever met. To see her in pain and be a part of her suffering.

You know, I watched the cops take her away from their bedroom window that day. Nobody knows that. I’ve kept that fact to myself. It took everything inside of me to not kill every last cop there and take her away from there. The sight of her beating on the glass and screaming as I watched helplessly. The fact that I did nothing to stop it. It’s hard.

I can’t just sit here and do nothing yet again. I have to right this wrong. I need justice for those girls. Please, let me help. “

Frannie understood Bird’s intense love and dedication towards her daughters. As their mother, she felt the same. Frannie would never deny Bird anything after that moment. She knew that he would always do his best for her girls, protect them with his life and love them like no other.

“I understand. I appreciate it. I’ll do whatever you want because we both want the same thing, their happiness.” Frannie squeezed his hand before wiping a tear from her eye.

Bird left money on the table and stood up to leave. Frannie followed silently behind him. There was no more need for words. They had a renewed energy and sense of optimism after that. They were on a mission to rescue the girls. Nothing else mattered.

Bird’s community rallied around Frannie once more. Someone always seemed to have a couch for her to sleep on or a plate of food for her to eat. Women would take her to various social services and teach her the ropes about how to get help. Food stamps helped pay for the food she ate. Medical help was obtained to treat the wounds from her time in detention that were never attended to. Free legal aid was sought to go through the courts once more to get Juanita home. It seemed like everyone wanted to help Frannie’s cause.

It had been three years since Henrietta was murdered and Frannie’s girls were taken away from her. Three long years of increasing torture and pain but the first battle was finally won. Legal aid had no major problems in getting Henrietta’s will probated and Frannie getting custody of Juanita this time around. It was as if the state was no longer interested in the case.

Although their physical home and those who inhabited it were gone, Frannie still considered this to be Juanita’s homecoming. She was coming home to her momma. That’s all that mattered at that moment. Frannie was overjoyed.