Maurice was smart for a little girl, she knew at that moment her world had ended, and had to escape the grasp of that lunatic of a man after what he had told her.
The queen had sent an order for her mother to be stoned to death how agonizing it must have being for her mother and now she'd work for him till she becomes of age, was that even allowed.
At the middle of the night she waited impatiently for the moon to rise and the cricket to crick, she picked nothing but her mother's hair scarf and her beads abandoning every other thing, she made her first move, peeping through the door to the dim hall way, she walked down the stairs quietly, she heard a low murmuring from the third room she passed, she immediately took off her shoes, tip toeing her best through the darkness to the yards door, finally reaching the knob, the voice in the background sent shivers down her spine, her heart leaped in lost hope, she turned, startled to her bone.
"You are as sneaky and tacky looking just like your mother, a spitting image of her cumbersome personality or more than her, maybe you can fetch me more prizes mmmm.... Master Ski moved from the darkness.
"You look just as disgustingly perfect, you will make up for her sins all of it just after I have molded you to my taste, you shall make unbelievable sacks of golds", he chuckled wickedly while walking towards her.
"Slap", He slapped her across the face.
The little creature fell to the ground a few drops of blood fell from her nose and coughed out a few portions too, pulling the child by the hair, he dragged her back to the room locking her up.
No food was given to her even the next day, she cried uncontrollably and had gone numb finally loosing consciousness after almost a week of starvation and filth, she was given meals enough to keep her alive.
A few weeks gone and she was finally able to step out, she was fed properly, instead of the half meals, she had stubbornly refused to work for the man, the maids in the estate had thought at first she was brave but with constant retributive punishment she suffered, in time they thought that such idea was rather a foolish one, the pitied they child and coerced her to comply to evade the callous rounds of various whippings and imposed negligence of their master's orders.
It was almost six months already since she had been under master Ski, the fed her almost nothing but enough to keep her alive every time she refused.
Finally, she conceded and he brought her out of the cells underground, as the maids took care of her by the order of their master, her entire body except her face was a Canva covered in scratches, such like she had contacted some severe skin disease, as bruising and infected wounds were dried and scarred.
The young Master Ski had met her eating in the room, eat up now this might be your very last dear, he gave her quite a stare up, pulling up his lips for a smirk, you will fetch me a few sacks or a sack of gold.
"What is your name?" Master Ski asked, My name is Maurice.
"No, its not good enough!". He deadpanned.
Nevertheless, she was dressed neatly and her hair combed and was taken by a carriage, Maurice and Master Ski sat at the opposite ends each staring at different spots, one seemed to enjoy and the other seemed lost and numb.
Finally arriving at her supposed destination, she was alert to her surroundings, realizing she was being sold after a few minutes.
Over thirty minutes has gone with the man, the host, she was taken up the stage for display, this was an auction for children, they were items and finally over a hundred and fifty pieces of gold coins was claimed by master Ski, she was being was sold to an old haggard pedophile.
Maurice was finally released from a thin shackle and pulled to the back with another boy the man purchased.
The boy was older, a young teen maybe, they sat in silence for long and his voice cracked, what is your name.
She did not respond immediately, its Maurice.
Do not give up your name that easily, that is the last thing you may ever have that is real, true and yours. get a better name.
she was confused, she did not understand.
The place went silent, they both awaited their fate.
She saw how unguarded the room was and the thought of escaping filled her mind, unlike the boy who was still shackled, she paid no attention to him as she dragged tables together to make a good height for her to escape from the window, as much as she wanted to ignore him, she asked if he wanted to follow her but he shook his head in disagreement and only watched her, on her timing the young boy heard the footsteps coming and could only do one thing, stall them.. he blocked the handle with the wooden chair closest to him running to Annika and pushing her over without warning.
Maurice was shocked by the sudden movements, she sprained her ankle but it did not stop her, she knew from his agonizing screams from getting caught saving her, she picked her self up forgetting her bruisings and injuries, she ran to the forests instead of the road, as the room was located at the back yard facing the forest, she ran as fast without stop, she ran for something she thought was an hour or more.
Maurice walked this time till the night sprawled it's ink on the sky, she was exhausted and lost her to her surrounding, she lost consciousness falling down a slope behind a tree, she was lucky enough to not be found a few minutes after she passed out, a few groups came in search of her, sent out search party, different areas and fortunately enough the tree vines and bushes hide her in their embrace.
She finally woke up to the high disregard of the light piercing through her lids, her body ached as she had never experienced such complete exhaustion and thirst, upon realizing she was in a moving cart, she dashed up to meet a passel of young pigs at her sides, she looked to the driver and realized that however if she was captured or saved it was by an old man, he rode deep into a clearing in the woods and a small cottage could be seen ahead, she relaxed a bit believing he wasn't from Ski.
Ahh child you are awake, what is your name he said, he noticed the young girl he saved from the deep was awake.
Its ANNIKA!
They finally got to the little hut that the old man lived with his wife in the forest of Hermosa and eventually she was raised as theirs, they took care of her. They were unable have babies of their own, they brought her up as their own.
Mrs Lanai was labelled a witch and whore for protecting a banished consort of a certain lords harem, Mrs Lanai was kind enough to offer aid, when the certain lord knew of this act against him, he pulled strings on her reputation. The angry women rioted casting her out in the claims that she colluded with the ways of debauchery to allure their men and Mr Lanai bewitched by her poison, casted aside by her aid, she was unable to defend herself even the woman she aided abandoned her, the woman disappered, she was married to her husband by then but Mr Lanai knew and loved his wife
They decided to make a home outskirts of town close to the forest and there they lived for years, with the villagers knowing that the old couple took in a young child after many years, they believed it was the missing concubine's child. She wondered if Ski and his men ever stopped looking for her. Annika had already been labelled as a witch from her early age of attracting young men with her unravelling beauty.
The day started earlier than usual but it wasn't surprising for the people of Hermosa, as they were majority of indigenes who could afford or manage to move away from the community to the nearest communities, there was the matter of security in the kingdom.
The current states disaster and high rise of invasion in the kingdom's borders had increased subsequently, crimes, draught and wars was drawing closer to the kingdoms border and Hermosa is the city at the border,
The distribution of order to evacuate the village was given by the province to leave immediately or have themselves to be blame, they average people had since gone and the people struggled to get shelter over their heads in the safest village in the mountains.
Miss Annika walked out for her daily routine, she spent some time in the village library reading on politics and economics, she goes to the wool store and got a few yarns, got back home to pick up sticks, milk the few cows and feed the pigs.