Part 2: Leaving the Nest
Chapter 7: Elizabeth Leaves Home
The next morning was filled with hustle and bustle. It was an early morning, and last night's party should have left her wiped, but Elizabeth was filled with excitement as she saw her things being loaded up into the moving van. Mark Taylor, her wilderness/travel guide, was supervising the whole process outside. The movers all worked for him, and he had assured Elizabeth that all of her things would be sent to the cabin and set up, ready for her arrival.
Suddenly, Austin entered her room in a huff. He looked even more sickly than usual and was furiously smoking a cigarette. He paced like a panther trapped in a cage, slowly going crazy.
“Elizabeth! Don't you see it? Now that you are finally leaving and danger is only hours away? This trip is nuts!”
“I’m eighteen and I will do as I please.”
“This is dangerous. And I’m very uncomfortable. I would force you to stay if I could.”
“No, you would not try to force me to stay just because you are sooo worried about me. You would try to force me to stay because you want me to be your personal travel agent and serve as your fiancé’s wedding planner.”
This was partly true. Austin’s laziness was only topped by his infamous lack of attention to detail—something that tended to shock people, because he was actually a very sharp dresser. Little did they know, he had his own personal stylist. Indeed, he needed a personal staff for many aspects of his daily life. This included someone who could handle all of the nasty details of his elaborate camping trips. Elizabeth was this person. Bizarrely, even at thirteen, when she graduated middle school and became Austin’s permanent traveling companion, she was more organized than him. Once they decided on a location to travel, Elizabeth made all the necessary arrangements. She supervised the movers, worked with their private travel agent, directed the butler to book hotel rooms or homes for them to rent, etc. At first, no one knew what to make of her. This thirteen year old girl was the lady of the house, and they couldn’t understand why her twenty two year old brother/guardian was not overseeing these things. The butler had a word with Austin, but Austin insisted the staff work with Elizabeth. At first, this was much to the chagrin of the staff (liability issues). However, they quickly realized that she was an unusually precocious thirteen year old girl. They thrived under her direction in a way that they never could under Austin. The butler was always impressed by the clear, written instructions that she would leave him. Within a year of her brother pulling her out of school, the house was running more efficiently than ever before. When the staff needed instructions while Austin and Elizabeth were away, they never called Austin. They called Elizabeth. They would all be very sad when she decided to permanently leave home, which would probably be very soon. Austin was getting married in three months and she was now eighteen.
“I can take care of myself, Austin! Watch!”
Elizabeth moved quickly to her nightstand. Before Austin even knew what she had done, she had grabbed a throwing knife off of it. She whirled around and threw the knife about an inch past Austin’s head and straight at a target board on the wall. Instead of sticking to the board, the knife fell to the floor.
"How is that possible," Elizabeth murmured in disbelief. "These are a new set of knives. They couldn't be that dull already."
"You do not throw knives in this house, Elizabeth!" Austin tore the target board down from the wall and picked the knife up from the floor. "It's dull," he said as he felt the blade. "This isn't going to stick to anything."
"I can't believe it. And I already got rid of my old knives. This is so disappointing. I must have ordered a dull set."
Austin rolled his eyes and handed Elizabeth her knife back. He left the room just as Arthur entered.
"The boys and I are finished loading up all the heavy stuff. I've just come up to see if there is anything small you guys needed to load up."
"No," Elizabeth said. "It looks like everything is taken care of. Thanks a lot for helping me set off. I'll carry my knives. A fat lot of good they'll do me on this trip. They're all dull." Though Elizabeth was well trained in the art of knife throwing and knife safety, she was sure her knives were unnerving to most people. An eighteen year old armed with a whole set of throwing knives is hardly a comforting thought for your average Joe or Jane. She strapped all six throwing knives to her right leg, underneath her pants.
Elizabeth exited her room with Arthur and walked him to the door to say goodbye. When she finished, Arthur took her hand and she lingered near him. She had told him that he could stick around until it was time for her to go, but he insisted that he had things he had to do. As she looked on Arthur, she sensed something different about him. His body had changed in some inexplicable way that she couldn't quite put her finger on.