Author Note: This is one of my longest fics ever done to put that bluntly. I would like to thank Chickawaii*canine, Dragon Tamer, Dewey lone fighter, saske italian wolf, Cobalt, and Faremirel for their support. And especially Faremirel for the wonderful idea and help. Hope you enjoy!
In Her Parents Eyes: Chapter One
November 12, 1925
Anchorage, Alaska
Alaska was starting to get snow at this time of year. And that meant that the mail dogs would be traveling again. Madame Whitley was a very rich woman in Anchorage. She lived in a two story house with her two pets. She was skinny and had a kind face. Her outfit mainly consisted of pants and plaid shirts. Her dresses were used only for special occasions. She may have been rich but she tried not to act as snooty as some would think rich people would act. She was a widow after her husband had passed away in a fishing incident. Her two dogs were both purebred huskies. She called them Ritchie and Duchess. Ever since Robert had passed she always wanted to be with her family. There was only relative close enough to her that she could visit.
“Dear sister,
I have decided to visit you for Thanksgiving. I know that Nome is far away but I will make it. I will take a train to the closest town to Nome, which I believe is Nenana. I will be bringing my two dogs and my old sled to travel to Nome. Please prepare a room for me if you will. I plan to stay for at least a week, maybe longer. Also, please inform Rosie that I will be arriving. I love you little sister.
Sincerely,
Susan”
Susan folded up the letter and stuffed it in an envelope. She grabbed a stamp from her black, leather purse and stuck it on the envelope and sealed it shut. She headed out of her study filled with books and down a hallway, heading towards the downstairs. Susan stopped midway and looked at a portrait of a man. The man looked in his late 30’s. He had brown hair, a mustache, and blue eyes. Susan looked at the suit that he wore. A tear trickled down her cheek and she quickly wiped it off.
Susan sighed. “Oh Robert… Why did you have to go out on that stormy sea with that terrible storm?” Her hand wiped across the picture. “I wish you were still here.”
She shook her head and put her head in her hands. After walking down the stairs she came upon a basket with two sleeping dogs. She started to gently pet her huskies to wake them up. Duchess stretched but didn’t wake. Ritchie on the other hand, yawned and licked his chops while he awoke from his slumber.
Susan started to speak to him. “Hey Ritchie. Are you and Duchess ready for a trip to visit my little sister?”
Ritchie just gave another big yawn.
All she could do was smile. “Well you and Duchess behave while I go to the post office and the store. I’ll be back later to pack for our trip. We’ll leave in two days.”
With that she grabbed her purse and she put on a jacket and a hat. She waved her hand and headed out into streets filled with snow. After she left Ritchie went over to Duchess.
He nudged her awake. “Good afternoon Duchess.” he whispered.
Duchess shook her head to help wake herself up. “What is it Ritchie?” she questioned.
“Guess where we’re going.” he said trying to have fun with her.
She yawned. “C’mon Ritchie. Out with it.”
He smiled. “We’re going to Nome.”
“Does that mean-” she started.
“That we get to see her-” he cut in.
“And it’s been so long.” she finished.
“She’s such a good girl.” he sighed. “I do miss her.”
Ritchie and Duchess had been with each other for so long that they could finish each other’s sentences. You couldn’t find a pair that was closer together. You could have mistaken the two red huskies as twins if you didn’t know better. They had shared this bond for as long as they could remember.
“And just think.” began Ritchie, “We get to see her right before the holidays.”
Duchess yawned again. “Well it would be wise to catch up on our sleep before we leave.”
Now Ritchie yawned, then he laughed. “Man, yawning is contagious! …But you’re right. We should get some sleep.”
Around fifteen minutes later the front door swung open.
“Burr...” shivered Susan as she came in, “It seems to get more frigid each day.”
She quickly shut the door and started to strip the excess layers of clothing. She brushed some snow that had collected on her coat and hat off. Susan grabbed something out of her coat pocket and put it on a table close to her. She then took her damp outer clothing and hung them on a rail in front of her fireplace so that they could dry. She walked back to the table and grabbed the object. The object was a small box. She opened it and a plastic ballerina rotated up on a platform. A sweet melody played while the ballerina spun around. Susan closed the lid and the ballerina slipped back to where it came and the music stopped.
Susan gave a smile. “This should be a wonderful present for Rosie. I’m sure she’ll love this music box.”
And with that, she went up to pack for the journey.
Two Days Later:
“We have to make it.” Susan huffed.
She had overslept this morning and was going to be late to her train. She grabbed her sacks full of essentials and snatched up her sled.
“Ritchie! Duchess! Wake up!” she called to her dogs.
The two dogs woke immediately. Susan quickly put on her coat and hat and pushed open the door. An old lady stood in front of her. Susan quickly shook her hand.
“Thank you so much for watching over the house while I’m gone Miss Witherwind. I’ve took the liberty of writing down some important things that need to be done in my absence. I’ll be back in two or three weeks.” she swiftly said.
Susan threw the sled into the snow and put her things on it. Duchess and Ritchie came out the door shortly after.
“Come on, come on.” urged Susan impatiently.
The dogs came over to her and she hooked them up to the sled.
“Hike!” she called and the two dogs headed down the street.
She guided them to the train station where the train was still waiting.
“Whoa” Susan said.
The dogs stopped and she uncoupled them from the sled. She ran up to the ticket both, took her things off the sled, and grabbed everything up in her arms. She got her ticket. Then the whistle of the train blew which surprised Susan. The train started to slowly pull out from the platform.
“Oh no you don’t.” Susan said under her breath. “Come on you guys!” she yelled to Ritchie and Duchess.
Even though Susan was weighed down by the heavy items she made a break for the train with her dogs at her heels. She was about twenty feet from the caboose. She dashed to it and jumped from the platform and onto the train. Ritchie followed her act and made it. Duchess was just about to jump when she hit an icy part of platform. She fell to the ground. Duchess started to whimper in pain from her surprise fall.
Susan turned to see Duchess still on the platform. “Duchess!” she cried. “Oh what’ll I do?”
She leaned her head to look in front of the caboose. She had about a hundred feet of platform before it disappeared.
“Ritchie, stay
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