31 Plays in 31 Days, #5 - "Continual Practice"

[breakinglight11]

This is a weird one. It's a scene I scribbled to see how it might work, as I had a wild hare of an idea that kind of works into something I want to deal with in Mrs. Hawking part 6. I want to keep the character of Mrs. Frost present-- I joke I might transition her story role from James Moriarty to Hannibal Lector --for several stories because I like her so much.

But this idea... it's a little twisted, and comes from a pretty deep dive into Mrs. Hawking's psychology. And, truth be told, a lot of my own. Mrs. Hawking is something of a power fantasy for me, so a lot of stuff I think about or wish I could do shows up in her. Still, she rarely reflects my issues so... directly, let's say... as she does here. While I think it's very in character, she's angry here about something I'm angry about. This idea needs more development, but I think I can use to to accomplish an idea I'll eventually want to include in the sixth story.

Day #5 - "Continual Practice"
From Ripper
By Phoebe Roberts

London, England, 1888

VICTORIA HAWKING, lady's society avenger
ELIZABETH FROST, her nemesis
~~~

MRS. FROST: It wasn’t as if dear Reginald ever took the path of least resistance. After all, he married a woman who hit him in the first moment she ever laid eyes on him. Was that the last time?

MRS. HAWKING: Was what the last time?

MRS. FROST: That you struck him?

(MRS. HAWKING looks away.)

MRS. FROST: Oh, it wasn't, was it? Fiery young fool that you were. But surely he never struck back. Heavens. Did you know how lucky you were? If he'd wanted to, what do you think he could've done? Of course he never knew how dangerous you were. I'm curious. Do you think you could have beaten him? Did you ever wonder, over the years— if, with no holds barred, you could have taken him?

(MRS. HAWKING looks back at her.)

MRS. FROST: Of course you did. Oh, I know you so well. He wasn’t just any soldier, he was a warrior too. Of course you wondered.

MRS. HAWKING: I didn’t wonder. I knew.

MRS. FROST: How? Surely you never really tried him.

MRS. HAWKING: I didn’t have to! I was in continual practice. I remade myself, honed into a weapon! He went soft in his age. Grew fat, drank more— did Nathaniel ever notice that, I wonder? I certainly could have beaten him. I know I could.

MRS. FROST: And when he was a fit young hero? Instead of a broken, middle-aged wretch?

MRS. HAWKING: Even then! I told you, I remade myself! I had to. I had to. Because, to be equal to it, I had to work, and practice, and struggle every spare moment to turn myself into a weapon. Because… if I had not… any man with no greater strength or skill than what was in his body by the grace of God could wreck me. Reginald was a warrior, blast him. But he was a man, so he didn’t have to be. I did.

MRS. FROST: Were you— were you hoping he’d fight you? Were you looking for the chance?

MRS. HAWKING: What good would that do me? It would have revealed everything. Only a fool would have wanted that.

MRS. FROST: Nothing you ever wanted was good for you. But it was foolish. As if he’d ever have raised a hand to you. He loved you, poor devil. And he wasn’t that sort of man.

MRS. HAWKING: No. But he also thought if he did, I’d break into pieces. I wished, just once, he knew that it was he that would have been the one to break.