Chapter 6: Chapter 5 - Annette
Anette was born in Melis, a small rural village located on the outskirts of the kingdom to a family of farmers.
She had the same features as her mother, from her brown hair and eyes to her nose and mouth. The only thing that differed was a small mole below her eye.
As it is with farming families, she was one of many children, having four older brothers who would help their parents in the fields.
Because she was their youngest daughter the only thing that was expected of her was to get married and have children. With nothing to do, she spent her days playing with the other children.
Or rather, she tried to. Unfortunately she was too rough and abrasive for the other children.
After growing up with so many older males in the family she had taken on some tomboyish attitudes, often getting into fights or getting too carried away.
Then one day, she heard a young girl crying. After heading over to check things out, she saw two boys surrounding a pretty blonde girl as they looked down at her while she sat on the floor crying.
Quickly jumping to conclusions, she dashed over and confronted them.
When the two tried to explain, she shut them up and the three ended up getting into a scuffle.
After Annette had given those two boys what she would call 'a good thrashing', the crying girl finally realised what was happening and broke them apart.
It turns out Annette had misunderstood, because the three were actually friends.
Embarrassed, she apologised, but as they saw she had good intentions, the others laughed it off and they all became fast friends.
The girl was called Clarissa, and the boys, Abraham and Jeremiah. Even though they had just met and in such awkward circumstances, Annette wasn't the type to get shy or embarrassed. She found out that she was actually older than the others by a year, and so she reveled in her new status as the elder sister of the group.
In the warm spring she would lead them to sneak out of the village into the forest nearby, despite the warnings from their elders, and they would spend their time chatting with one another about their hopes and dreams as they foraged for herbs and berries.
In the hot summers, they would climb up the hill overlooking the village and sit beneath the lone oak tree which stood at the top, cooling off in the shade.
In the cool autumns they returned to the forest, watching the browned leaves twirl in the air as they fell off the branches, like a dance choreographed by nature, and in the winter she would visit their houses as they gathered together, warm by the fire, reliving past adventures.
Those days were some of the best of her life.
And so the years passed.
It was at the age of 12 that Abraham accidentally discovered his potential to become a warrior. When he tried to teach the others the method of channelling mana, they were shocked to find that Clarissa had the same ability, and what's more was that she was even a mage.
Unfortunately for Annette, neither she nor Jeremiah could do the same, but she never felt jealousy, only happiness at her friends' good fortune.
When the rest of the villagers found out about Abraham and Clarissa's talent, they pooled what little money they had to send the two off to the nearest town to learn more about their professions and hopefully bring prosperity to the village.
It was a tearful goodbye.
Annette had never cried so much before in her life. In fact she had never cried before at all, but she felt lucky that she wasn't alone and had Jeremiah with her.
Over the years she and Jeremiah grew closer, until on the day he turned 16, he got on his knees and proposed to her.
Having spent so many years together she had also developed feelings for him, and she quickly pulled him up off the ground and said yes.
That was the second time in her life that she cried.
Two years later and Annette was pregnant with Jeremiah's child. She spent her days blissfully at home as her loving husband doted on her, not letting her move a muscle lest she disturb the baby.
She had even received a letter a few weeks earlier from Clarissa and Abraham which said that they would be returning home to catch up and give her a surprise.
She couldn't wait for the whole gang to get back together again and reminisce, just like when they were children.
Sadly, it wasn't meant to be.
That night, she was woken up by a Jeremiah whom she had never seen before. He looked so panicked and afraid.
Before she even had the time to open her mouth, he covered her mouth and whispered to her,
"Orc raiders are attacking the village. Annette, we have to leave. Now."
Hearing the urgency in his voice and not quite processing his words since she'd just woken up, she hurriedly got dressed and followed him.
It finally hit her when she was dragged outside and she saw an unforgettable sight.
The once calm village was filled with screaming, human bodies and limbs were scattered across the ground. All she could do was cover her mouth as her eyes reflected the raging flames that devoured what she once called her home while being dragged along the hill on which their house was built.
It wasn't until Jeremiah pleaded with her that she finally snapped out of it.
"Annette come on! We have to move!"
Jolted back to reality at his words, Annette ran as fast as she could as they made their way to the forest in the hopes of finding a refuge to hide from the Orcs.
But misfortune never comes alone.
As the forest grew closer, they heard a grunting coming from behind them. An orc had followed them, a twisted grin plastered on its maw as if it were waiting for them to get close to escaping, just so it could take pleasure in crushing their hopes.
Realising there was no way out, Jeremiah pushed Annette away.
"Keep going and don't look back."
Annette in hysterics tried to argue with him,
"Jeremiah what are you doing? We have to..."
But she was cut off by his next words.
"You have to protect our baby okay? Keep him safe!"
Looking down at her protruding belly, her motherly instincts took over her body and she hurried as fast as she could into the darkness of the forest.
She followed his words and never turned to look back, too busy focusing on escaping with their child.
She knew the forest like the back of her hand, and so did Jeremiah.
'He'll be able to escape', she told herself.
She finally hid in a cave which they had found back before Clarissa and Abraham left, and quickly passed out from exhaustion.
She didn't know how long she was in that cave for.
Too tired to move, all she could do was try to sleep and conserve energy.
It was days later when she finally opened her eyes and discovered she was in a carriage. Opposite her were a handsome man with red hair and a beautiful blonde woman, but they looked pale.
It was them. Her childhood friends.
They quickly told her what they saw.
By the time they'd arrived, the village was already in ruins. No house was left untouched, as all that was left were pools of blood and bones.
"When we got there, it was a mess. We think the Orcs had a feast, because we couldn't find any intact bodies. The only thing we found were bones, and the heads of the villagers stuck on pikes along the road. The women were..."
When Annette heard what Abraham described, she wasn't surprised. She knew Jeremiah had little chance of surviving.
Even though she had kept her hopes up.
"I'm sorry, Annette", Clarissa began as she teared up. Her voice was fraught with sobs as she struggled to get the words out.
"When we found you I tried to heal you with magic. Even though you were saved... Your baby..."
Clarissa was practically screaming as what she was about to say slowly dawned on Annette.
"I couldn't save your baby"
In that moment, Annette felt her heart shatter.
She had lost everything.
Her home. Her husband. Her child.
Even though Jeremiah's last words had been to protect their child, she had still failed him in the end.
As all her emotions came flooding out at once, Annette finally let out a wail as Clarissa and Abraham quickly brought her into a hug.
She couldn't remember how long they stayed like that, but before she knew it she was asleep.
That was the last time Annette cried.
By the time she'd woken up she was in bed, in a room she had never seen before. For a second she thought she was dreaming.
Just then, the door opened and Clarissa entered the room with some porridge.
"We wanted to surprise you. Abe and I got married and we bought this house together. Here, I brought you some food. You should eat."
The reality of what had happened came crashing back down on Annette.
There were no words to describe the sorrow she felt, and she had no tears left to shed.
All she could do was lie in bed as her friends took care of her.
Not long after, Abraham led a group of his friends whom he had graduated with at the warrior academy to slay the Orcs who'd raided Melis.
It turned out they were a scouting party from the Demon's expeditionary army, and for leading the force that exterminated them and bringing the news back he was awarded the title of baron.
On hearing they were wiped out, Annette felt no emotions. She had lost too much.
When Abraham and Clarissa moved to their new territory, they brought Annette with them and gave her a role as maid, mainly as an excuse to keep her close and watch over her.
But it was painful.
They missed seeing the Annette they once knew. The older sister who would take them out to play and protect them. But Annette stayed like that for three years.
Things finally changed during the year Annette was 22. Clarissa had gotten pregnant.
Hearing the news, light slowly returned to Annette's once lifeless eyes.
Gradually she stopped staying in bed. No longer silent, she initiated conversations with her two childhood friends and, no longer wanting to be a burden, started on her path of becoming a real maid.
She didn't know exactly why she changed. Perhaps it was her repressed maternal instincts that previously had nowhere to go.
But in any case, Abraham and Clarissa welcomed the change. Even though she wasn't the old Annette, she was getting better.
When it came time for the baby to be born, all Annette could do was worry.
It didn't cry. In fact it looked peaceful. Almost like it were dead.
The doctor, seemingly worried about the same thing, checked to see if everything was alright.
'Thank god he was just asleep,' she thought to herself.
However her worries didn't end there. Because the baby ended up sleeping until the next day.
She and Clarissa had been watching over the baby for the whole night, but when it finally woke up, it went straight back to sleep.
Despite what the doctor said, Annette couldn't help but worry.
But eventually, the baby woke up again once more. This time he looked more energetic. He seemed nervous at first, but once Clarissa held him in her arms, he showed the cutest smile she had ever seen.
When Clarissa gave him to Annette to hold, she was scared at first.
'What if the baby doesn't like me?', she thought.
Thankfully, her worries turned out to be false.
When she took him from Clarissa's outstretched arms, that adorable smile that was directed at Clarissa, was now directed at Annette.
'Is this what it feels like to be a mother?'
She felt a dam of emotions bursting as all she could focus on was this small, fragile thing nestled cozily in her bosom.
Annette let out her first smile in three years.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone