LJ Idol Season 8: Week 18, My inspiration is Belgatherial
Lilah flipped the envelope over. No post mark. No sign of where it came from.
Meet me at the Dirty Dubliner at 5:30 if you want to know the truth.
The truth? The truth about what?
Lilah looked up at the sign. Everyone knew of the Dirty Dubliner; it wasn’t a place for nice ladies like herself. Nonetheless, she slipped the letter into her pocket and opened the heavy door, the smell of smoke and old wood nearly knocking her out upon entering.
She glanced around, not sure of who - or what - she was looking for. The room was full of men, and Lilah found herself in the company of few like her. The brownie at the bar glanced in her direction, then glanced again, obviously noticing the girl wasn’t their typical customer for a place like this.
Lilah pulled up a chair and sat in the corner where no one could come up behind her. As a commoner, she wasn’t able to fend off most attacks with any sort of magical abilities, so she carried a dagger harnessed to her calf.
"Lilah Pettigrew?”
The gruff voice surprised her for a moment; she didn’t see anyone approach her table. A man of about two feet tall pulled himself up on the chair.
"Milo Atkins. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
"Heard so much about me? From where?” Lilah glanced at the man, wondering if she had met him before. One would think you would remember a two foot tall man; they were kind of hard to miss. Then again, she had missed him just a moment before because he wasn’t as tall as her table.
"From researching your mother, of course.” The man signaled to the brownie behind the bar and a drink appeared before him. "I’m a regular around here. Have you ever had their Shepherd’s Pie? It’s to die for.”
"Why would you research my mother? She passed away of old age last year.”
"Oh, no, don’t you see? Elma was really your grandmother. She just never told you. Poor thing, it must be so heartbreaking to know you’ve been living a lie this whole time...”
He motioned once more and the brownie bought him a plate piled high with food. Lilah watched as he dug his fork into the meat and chowed down, wondering if he had forgotten about her.
"And why should I believe you?”
"Because I’m a deputy of the law.”
Lilah chuckled under her breath, trying not to appear rude.
"Don’t believe me? Here’s my badge to prove it.”
Milo whipped something out of his pocket, and along with his badge came lint and a piece of old gum that he left lying there.
"See? Milo Atkins. Private Investigator.” Milo shoveled more food into his mouth. "And I’m here on official detective business.”
"What’s that, Detective Atkins?”
"To talk to you about your mother, I already mentioned that? Didn't I?”
"I already told you. My mother died last year. There’s no one to find.”
"Ahhh... That’s what they want you to think. But I know the truth. Have you ever seen your birth certificate?”
Milo whipped something else out of his pocket, glanced at it and put it back in quickly, watching Lilah carefully before pulling out another piece of paper.
"See? Lilah Pettigrew. That’s your birth date, correct?”
Lilah glanced at the document. It looked real enough, so she nodded.
"Look at the name of your mother. It sure isn’t Elma Pettigrew, because as I said... She was your grandmother. Your mother was...”
"Miriam Weatherford.” Lilah let out quietly as she read the name to herself. "You mean... My mother is...”
"The country’s deadliest rogue witch in history? Yeah, that would be her.”
"I don’t believe you.” Lilah threw the birth certificate down, trying to not let the doubt seep into her brain.
"I have more proof if you’d like to see it? It’s back at my office though, so we would need to take a little trip.”
Milo finished off his plate while Lilah let the news sink in a bit. He was an officer of the law. He had her birth certificate. He had more proof. Maybe Lilah should consider taking a look at what he had to offer in order to make an informed decision. She really didn’t think he had anything which could show her that Elma was anything but her true mother.
"Sure. Let’s go.” Lilah stood up, checked for her dagger against her leg and headed toward the door. "What do I really have to lose?”
Milo smiled and left the money on the table.
"I knew you’d go along with this. You are, after all, your mother’s daughter.”
Lilah wasn’t sure what that might mean, but it didn’t matter. She brushed the comment off and stepped out into the cool night air. She followed Milo down the cobblestone path to a cottage within a stone's throw of the place.
"See why they know me so well, though? I have a bit of a drinking problem... And a food problem... And I kind of have my eye on the brownie that works there. I live so close, it's been a second home to me these days.”
Lilah twirled a piece of her red hair between her fingers, barely listening to the chatter from the tiny man beside her. She nodded her head and chuckled a few times, but she really just wanted to see the proof he had to offer up.
They stepped into the cottage, papers strewn everywhere. Books open on this and that table. They all had one thing in common.
They were about Miriam.
"Very fascinated with this woman, aren't we?” Lilah flipped through one of the books that was littered throughout, which Milo promptly grabbed and put away.
"You could say that. I have been trying to catch her for years, she’s really good. And now I need you.”
"Oh, right, because apparently she's my mother and you think you can lure her in by using me as bait? Uh-huh. I get it.” Lilah rolled her eyes and glanced down at some newspaper clippings with some information highlighted in yellow.
"Here it is." He pulled out a couple scraps of newspaper and some books. "Take this home. It’s the entire history of Miriam Weatherford and talks about Elma Pettigrew, your father and everything else you need to know. Here is my card, give me a ring.”
With that, Milo hustled Lilah out of the cottage and said goodbye as he shut the door behind her. She stared down at the pile in her hands, realizing that she had some reading to do.
ooo000ooo
Lilah sat up late that night, pouring through the materials. One might not jump to conclusions about things so quickly, but in a way... Lilah hoped that maybe Milo was telling the truth.
Lilah was always the invisible girl. She was always average at everything. Average height. Average looks. She could walk in and steal something right in front of the store owner and they would merely look the other way, assuming their eyes had betrayed them.
"Lilah Pettigrew? A thief? Now that's funny!”
She was the sweet girl that everyone had always taken for granted, who no one paid much attention to.
Lilah would love for nothing more than some drama or action to stir up her dreary and dull life. Her mother being the most wanted woman in the world would certainly stir things up. And for once, she might be someone. Someone who mattered.
Even negative publicity was still publicity, right? At least she wouldn’t be invisible any longer.
The books and newspapers painted a rich history of Miriam. Miriam’s mother was Elma Weatherford, but who looked exactly like her mother, Elma. Elma was raped, so she never knew who little Miriams’s father was. As Miriam grew up though, she showed great natural wizarding ability. Elma thought perhaps that could be honed and turned in to a useful skill. Little did she know the evil nestled within her daughter.
At first, it was small things. She cursed her bullies with explosive diarrhea at the most inopportune times. Things didn't turn sinister until her teenage years, when she would use her good looks and charm to get anything she wanted from whomever she wanted.
When her poor mother tried to control her, she fought back by turning her into stone. It wasn't until she realized she couldn't support herself that she turned her back. Things only turned more dangerous, with people who upset Miriam often vanishing without a trace.
When Miriam had a daughter of her own, with a drunk man she met at the bar, Elma knew she had to intervene. She enacted the help of witches all around town to protect the baby. The baby, Lilah assumed, was her. They ran off and were never to be seen again. Maybe that explained why she was invisible to everyone... She was meant to be.
Miriam was banished, but continued to grow stronger in her abilities day by day, eventually becoming what she is today. Miriam was a lunatic who killed anyone who didn't let her get her way. She was the most powerful spoiled brat in history. And because of how ruthless she was, she was also the most wanted.
Lilah kept reading, the excitement building within her. She couldn't get past the similarities she shared with Miriam. They were physically identical down to the almond shaped green eyes and orange-red hair. Lilah started to believe that perhaps Milo was right.
She hoped that perhaps it was magic keeping her invisible; it was magic keeping her to her boring life and holding her back. Perhaps the truth really could set her free.
ooo000ooo
She walked over to Milo’s cottage and knocked on the door. She saw him glance out the window before she heard him unlocking several locks. He threw the door open, ushering her in with a smile.
"I knew you’d be back! I just knew it! Would you like some brandy? Some gin?”
"Uhh, I don’t drink. Besides, it’s ten in the morning?”
"Oh, is it? I wasn’t aware.” Milo swung back his glass and guzzled down the liquid.
"I wanted to talk to you about my mother...”
"Miriam, you mean? Your real mother?” He rubbed his hands together, his eyes were almost bulging out of his head.
"Uhh, yes... I guess...” Lilah wasn’t exactly sure why his excitement worried her so much; he seemed pretty anxious and happy that she was there.
"Well, it seems that today is your lucky day. Would you like to meet her? She stopped by this morning and would love to meet you!”
"What do you mean? I thought you were going to use me to find her?”
Milo motioned toward the door where a dark figure stood, a smile stretching from ear to ear.
The figure spoke.
"No, my dear.... It was you we were trying to find all along.”
(This week in therealljidol, we had to use a fellow contestant as inspiration. I chose belgatherial because she recently started talking about her fantasy noir piece and it inspired me to try my hand at my own fantasy noir. Basically it is fantasy laced with film noir concepts, something I'd never done before. It intrigued me and I had a lot of fun with this style, I would love to expand upon this piece in the future. Thank you to her for showing me something new. Please check out the group for other amazing entries inspired by others.)
Meet me at the Dirty Dubliner at 5:30 if you want to know the truth.
The truth? The truth about what?
Lilah looked up at the sign. Everyone knew of the Dirty Dubliner; it wasn’t a place for nice ladies like herself. Nonetheless, she slipped the letter into her pocket and opened the heavy door, the smell of smoke and old wood nearly knocking her out upon entering.
She glanced around, not sure of who - or what - she was looking for. The room was full of men, and Lilah found herself in the company of few like her. The brownie at the bar glanced in her direction, then glanced again, obviously noticing the girl wasn’t their typical customer for a place like this.
Lilah pulled up a chair and sat in the corner where no one could come up behind her. As a commoner, she wasn’t able to fend off most attacks with any sort of magical abilities, so she carried a dagger harnessed to her calf.
"Lilah Pettigrew?”
The gruff voice surprised her for a moment; she didn’t see anyone approach her table. A man of about two feet tall pulled himself up on the chair.
"Milo Atkins. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
"Heard so much about me? From where?” Lilah glanced at the man, wondering if she had met him before. One would think you would remember a two foot tall man; they were kind of hard to miss. Then again, she had missed him just a moment before because he wasn’t as tall as her table.
"From researching your mother, of course.” The man signaled to the brownie behind the bar and a drink appeared before him. "I’m a regular around here. Have you ever had their Shepherd’s Pie? It’s to die for.”
"Why would you research my mother? She passed away of old age last year.”
"Oh, no, don’t you see? Elma was really your grandmother. She just never told you. Poor thing, it must be so heartbreaking to know you’ve been living a lie this whole time...”
He motioned once more and the brownie bought him a plate piled high with food. Lilah watched as he dug his fork into the meat and chowed down, wondering if he had forgotten about her.
"And why should I believe you?”
"Because I’m a deputy of the law.”
Lilah chuckled under her breath, trying not to appear rude.
"Don’t believe me? Here’s my badge to prove it.”
Milo whipped something out of his pocket, and along with his badge came lint and a piece of old gum that he left lying there.
"See? Milo Atkins. Private Investigator.” Milo shoveled more food into his mouth. "And I’m here on official detective business.”
"What’s that, Detective Atkins?”
"To talk to you about your mother, I already mentioned that? Didn't I?”
"I already told you. My mother died last year. There’s no one to find.”
"Ahhh... That’s what they want you to think. But I know the truth. Have you ever seen your birth certificate?”
Milo whipped something else out of his pocket, glanced at it and put it back in quickly, watching Lilah carefully before pulling out another piece of paper.
"See? Lilah Pettigrew. That’s your birth date, correct?”
Lilah glanced at the document. It looked real enough, so she nodded.
"Look at the name of your mother. It sure isn’t Elma Pettigrew, because as I said... She was your grandmother. Your mother was...”
"Miriam Weatherford.” Lilah let out quietly as she read the name to herself. "You mean... My mother is...”
"The country’s deadliest rogue witch in history? Yeah, that would be her.”
"I don’t believe you.” Lilah threw the birth certificate down, trying to not let the doubt seep into her brain.
"I have more proof if you’d like to see it? It’s back at my office though, so we would need to take a little trip.”
Milo finished off his plate while Lilah let the news sink in a bit. He was an officer of the law. He had her birth certificate. He had more proof. Maybe Lilah should consider taking a look at what he had to offer in order to make an informed decision. She really didn’t think he had anything which could show her that Elma was anything but her true mother.
"Sure. Let’s go.” Lilah stood up, checked for her dagger against her leg and headed toward the door. "What do I really have to lose?”
Milo smiled and left the money on the table.
"I knew you’d go along with this. You are, after all, your mother’s daughter.”
Lilah wasn’t sure what that might mean, but it didn’t matter. She brushed the comment off and stepped out into the cool night air. She followed Milo down the cobblestone path to a cottage within a stone's throw of the place.
"See why they know me so well, though? I have a bit of a drinking problem... And a food problem... And I kind of have my eye on the brownie that works there. I live so close, it's been a second home to me these days.”
Lilah twirled a piece of her red hair between her fingers, barely listening to the chatter from the tiny man beside her. She nodded her head and chuckled a few times, but she really just wanted to see the proof he had to offer up.
They stepped into the cottage, papers strewn everywhere. Books open on this and that table. They all had one thing in common.
They were about Miriam.
"Very fascinated with this woman, aren't we?” Lilah flipped through one of the books that was littered throughout, which Milo promptly grabbed and put away.
"You could say that. I have been trying to catch her for years, she’s really good. And now I need you.”
"Oh, right, because apparently she's my mother and you think you can lure her in by using me as bait? Uh-huh. I get it.” Lilah rolled her eyes and glanced down at some newspaper clippings with some information highlighted in yellow.
"Here it is." He pulled out a couple scraps of newspaper and some books. "Take this home. It’s the entire history of Miriam Weatherford and talks about Elma Pettigrew, your father and everything else you need to know. Here is my card, give me a ring.”
With that, Milo hustled Lilah out of the cottage and said goodbye as he shut the door behind her. She stared down at the pile in her hands, realizing that she had some reading to do.
ooo000ooo
Lilah sat up late that night, pouring through the materials. One might not jump to conclusions about things so quickly, but in a way... Lilah hoped that maybe Milo was telling the truth.
Lilah was always the invisible girl. She was always average at everything. Average height. Average looks. She could walk in and steal something right in front of the store owner and they would merely look the other way, assuming their eyes had betrayed them.
"Lilah Pettigrew? A thief? Now that's funny!”
She was the sweet girl that everyone had always taken for granted, who no one paid much attention to.
Lilah would love for nothing more than some drama or action to stir up her dreary and dull life. Her mother being the most wanted woman in the world would certainly stir things up. And for once, she might be someone. Someone who mattered.
Even negative publicity was still publicity, right? At least she wouldn’t be invisible any longer.
The books and newspapers painted a rich history of Miriam. Miriam’s mother was Elma Weatherford, but who looked exactly like her mother, Elma. Elma was raped, so she never knew who little Miriams’s father was. As Miriam grew up though, she showed great natural wizarding ability. Elma thought perhaps that could be honed and turned in to a useful skill. Little did she know the evil nestled within her daughter.
At first, it was small things. She cursed her bullies with explosive diarrhea at the most inopportune times. Things didn't turn sinister until her teenage years, when she would use her good looks and charm to get anything she wanted from whomever she wanted.
When her poor mother tried to control her, she fought back by turning her into stone. It wasn't until she realized she couldn't support herself that she turned her back. Things only turned more dangerous, with people who upset Miriam often vanishing without a trace.
When Miriam had a daughter of her own, with a drunk man she met at the bar, Elma knew she had to intervene. She enacted the help of witches all around town to protect the baby. The baby, Lilah assumed, was her. They ran off and were never to be seen again. Maybe that explained why she was invisible to everyone... She was meant to be.
Miriam was banished, but continued to grow stronger in her abilities day by day, eventually becoming what she is today. Miriam was a lunatic who killed anyone who didn't let her get her way. She was the most powerful spoiled brat in history. And because of how ruthless she was, she was also the most wanted.
Lilah kept reading, the excitement building within her. She couldn't get past the similarities she shared with Miriam. They were physically identical down to the almond shaped green eyes and orange-red hair. Lilah started to believe that perhaps Milo was right.
She hoped that perhaps it was magic keeping her invisible; it was magic keeping her to her boring life and holding her back. Perhaps the truth really could set her free.
ooo000ooo
She walked over to Milo’s cottage and knocked on the door. She saw him glance out the window before she heard him unlocking several locks. He threw the door open, ushering her in with a smile.
"I knew you’d be back! I just knew it! Would you like some brandy? Some gin?”
"Uhh, I don’t drink. Besides, it’s ten in the morning?”
"Oh, is it? I wasn’t aware.” Milo swung back his glass and guzzled down the liquid.
"I wanted to talk to you about my mother...”
"Miriam, you mean? Your real mother?” He rubbed his hands together, his eyes were almost bulging out of his head.
"Uhh, yes... I guess...” Lilah wasn’t exactly sure why his excitement worried her so much; he seemed pretty anxious and happy that she was there.
"Well, it seems that today is your lucky day. Would you like to meet her? She stopped by this morning and would love to meet you!”
"What do you mean? I thought you were going to use me to find her?”
Milo motioned toward the door where a dark figure stood, a smile stretching from ear to ear.
The figure spoke.
"No, my dear.... It was you we were trying to find all along.”
(This week in therealljidol, we had to use a fellow contestant as inspiration. I chose belgatherial because she recently started talking about her fantasy noir piece and it inspired me to try my hand at my own fantasy noir. Basically it is fantasy laced with film noir concepts, something I'd never done before. It intrigued me and I had a lot of fun with this style, I would love to expand upon this piece in the future. Thank you to her for showing me something new. Please check out the group for other amazing entries inspired by others.)