Abandoned half of an umbrella

Lucille strutted down the street with her long, sturdy umbrella. It didn't matter to her that it wasn't raining, rain and hail were the least of her concerns. Her umbrella had so many uses, one of which was that it helped her walk with a confident air when she used it like a walking stick. She'd strut about, pointing the tip of her umbrella in sync with the tip of her high heeled foot, creating an elegant line that then clacked down onto the concrete with a satisfying noise.

Some of this caused some stares, but Lucille welcomed them. She thought she looked rather dashing in her long blue coat and bright red hat, so let them admire her. Lucille knew that some people probably thought she looked rather odd and were not, in fact, admiring her, but none were so bold as to say something so she took it all as admiration.

As she continued her walk, the sun slipped farther and farther behind the horizon, signalling the coming of night and the rise in danger that accompanied the darkness. Lucille picked up her pace a bit so she could get to her destination as soon as possible. The clacking of her shoes and umbrella picked up in tempo even more as she saw a man in a dark trench coat appear at the top of the street she was on. It increased even more as he began to advance with an almost supernatural speed towards her.

"Hello, young lady." The man in the trench coat had a gravelly voice singed with violence.

Lucille tried to stride past him, but the man in the trench coat grabbed her elbow.

"I was speaking to you, young lady."

Lucille tried to remain calm. "Release me, good sir."

"Oh I have no intention of doing that, my pretty."

In a swift movement, Lucille pressed the tip of her umbrella hard into the ground to release the switch keeping its two parts in place. In a practiced elegance, she withdrew flipped the umbrella into her hand, clasped the top, and removed a long blade from the handle of the umbrella. The cap of the umbrella splayed in front of her like a shield and the fine blade pointed out of the middle.

"Perhaps you'd like to reconsider, my good sir.

The man in the trench coat blinked for a moment and then made a movement towards his own pocket. Without waiting to see what was in it, for when did a man in a trench coat ever have a welcome surprise in his pocket, Lucille brought the tip of her blade under his chin.

"Make a move that isn't fleeing from whence you came and you'll have a closer shave than you'd like."

Frozen, the man seemed unable to make a move, so Lucille pressed the blade just enough to get a pinprick of blood. With a cur-like howl, the man took off running in a confused and zig-zagged path. But the path was away from Lucille so she was pleased. About to resheath her weapon, Lucille heard a rustling in the plants closeby. She approached slowly, setting down the handle of her umbrella blade that doubled as her sheath on the small fence keeping her from the plants.

Within a bush, Lucille spotted a small, cowering child.

"Please don't hurt me, ma'am."

Lucille smiled, "My dear child, you have nothing to fear from me. Come, take my hand and I'll get you somewhere safe."

The child hesitantly looked at Lucille's blade. "Where'd you get that?"

"That's a story for another time. Now come along, the darkness is descending."

(Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)