A Rogue's Tale

Gift of Friendship: Part 3

Sometime later, she woke up to find herself in a nice room lying in a warm soft bed. She wiped the sleep from her eyes. At first thinking that she was at home in her own room, but when she looked around at all the grand furniture and freshly painted walls of yellow and cream. Even the rose-colored carpet looked brand new. She realized that this was not her room.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of a woman ranting outside the door. She heard a creak and realized the door was slowly opening to reveal a middle-aged woman with long dark braids. Anna Marie was scared at first, as she clutched onto the quilt on the bed, but the woman only smiled at her as she carried a tray of food.

"An' how are you dis mornin'?" the woman asked. "Must be hungry by now. Done slept de mornin' away." Anna saw the clock on the wall that read 10:10. She never in her life slept this late.

She eyed the scrumptious breakfast before her and said, "Ah am hungry, but..." She thought for a moment. "Where am ah?"

"De LeBeau estate," the woman said. "Jean-Luc brought you two home last night. Don' you remember, chile?"

"Yeah, ah think so," Anna Marie said. "Who are you?"

"Dey call me Tante Mattie. I take care a all de children here," she said, placing the tray in front of her. Anna Marie dug in without a second to lose. "You eat all dat up. No leftovers. Hear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Anna Marie said. "Where's Remy?" she asked. "He okay?"

"He's fine. He out playin' wid de boys. You can go out after you finish your breakfast. Dere's some clothes in de bottom drawer dat should fit you. Been long time since we had a little girl in de house."

Tante Mattie left the room while Anna Marie finished her breakfast. She was still wearing her butterfly necklace, the one that Remy had won for her. She looked out the window to see Remy playing with the other boys. She was anxious to be out there with them. She quickly ran over to the dresser and opened the drawer. She found some t-shirts and shorts and there was a pair of green sandals with a flower print sitting by the closet door.

She picked out a dark green T-shirt with butterflies printed on it. It would go well with her necklace and a plain pair of black shorts. She put on the sandals and went in search of the bathroom and found that she had a private bathroom that was on the adjacent side of the closet.

When she was finished, she was about to take her tray down to the kitchen, assuming she could find it, but before she could leave the room there was a knock at the door.

"Anna," the sweet voice of a woman called out.

The woman entered and Anna Marie was mesmerized. She was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, with her long brown hair slightly curled and deep brown eyes. She was a thin, small-framed woman wearing a flower print sundress and white sandals with a slight heel.

Anna Marie stood there silently as the woman approached. "I see you finished your breakfast," the woman said smiling at her. "I guess you want to go out and play with the boys."

"That would be nice," Anna Marie said, a little nervous. "Ah was about to go look for the kitchen t'take my plate."

"Oh, don't worry about that," she said and the women picked up the soiled plate. "You go on and play until lunch time. I'm Marianne LeBeau, by the way. Oh, and don't worry, you're safe here."

To Be Continued...