Chương 2: Under the umbrella

Year 1778

Rain poured down over the land of Bonelake.

Each drop followed by another made the view of one village dark and dull, making it difficult for those standing outside to see what lay ahead of them. Water flowed down the cramped street, carrying the mud and dirt past a young girl who stood under an umbrella with her aunt and uncle.

Her jade green eyes darted left and right, squinting tightly in an effort to see beyond the darkness and the rain.

"Aunt Marion…do you think he will come? The rain is getting heavier." She placed more strength into her arms to keep the umbrella steady.

"He will come, Penny."

Penny's mother had passed away seven months ago, and since then, her maternal relatives took care of her.

Her aunt rubbed and wrung her hands together. The rain was getting heavy, and the wind did not help, making it impossible for the umbrella to stop all the rain from reaching their legs and shoes. Her aunt gave a look to her husband standing next to her. Pressing her lips into a thin line, they waited for the expected man to arrive.

They had been standing there with a sack of potatoes and turnips which had to be sold to a customer today. They owned a little shop at the corner end of the village market. The shop did not fare well.

Her Uncle Larry worked hard, waking up early to be the first shop open and last to close, but regardless of what he did, the income was less than predicted. After all, its location was distant when compared to the other spots making their shop a last resort for the locals and affluent buyers.

A messenger had sent them an urgent request for their vegetables an hour ago, claiming that they would arrive to purchase them shortly, but even after an hour had passed, no one had come. Penny wondered whether the man would even come with such awful rain flooding the streets. Perhaps it was a wealthy person who was holding a party for others like him. People whose statuses were too high for her family to speak with.

"Are you sure he's coming?" Penny heard her Aunt Marion whisper to her Uncle.

"Let me go check the market to make sure they aren't there," he replied, readying himself with the umbrella only to have his wife grab his shirt.

"I will come with you. I don't want to find you later on the ground with your back thrown out. Penny, dear," Aunt Marion turned to look over her shoulder to meet her niece's eyes that stuck out radiantly in the gloomy weather, "Your Uncle and I shall go see if the man is waiting for us at the market's entrance. Stay here so that we don't have to come looking for you next. Okay?"

"Let me go look instead. I'll be much quicker," the young girl promised, only to have her uncle shake his head.

"The last thing we want is for you to be getting lost. Do as you are told," Uncle Larry's words were sharp and left no room for rebuttal.

He had always been sharp with her, which often made her wonder whether he was opposed to her staying with them.

"Don't worry about the vegetables. I will safeguard them," Penny gave a reassuring smile to have her aunt return a small nod to her before scurrying away with Uncle Larry under a single umbrella.

The rain continued to pour with a soft thunder growling above her. The rain was common to the people who lived in Bonelake as the sunny days were sparse in comparison.

The tower bell rang loud enough to compete with the rain and thunder. The sky darkened further as a carriage passed by her without stopping, not caring to ask why she was standing alone in the rain or if she needed assistance.

She took a step back under the worn-out, little roof that helped reduce the pressure on her black umbrella.

The wind grew more powerful, making it more difficult to shield her feet and the bottom of her dress from getting wet. As she stood there waiting for her uncle and aunt to return, all the while keeping an eye out so that she did not miss the customer who had agreed to come to purchase the goods, another carriage passed by, jet-black in colour.

Due to her unfamiliarity with carriages, Penny did not know to whom each one belonged to as they all appeared relatively identical in design and colour. Such luxuries generally belonged to men and women of the upper-class. The most contact she had with this transportation mode was travelling in a local carriage that was packed with other commoners, ferrying them from one village to another.

What Penny failed to notice was that this particular carriage had stopped around the corner of where she stood.

"Master, is everything alright? Did you drop something?" asked the coachman who was ordered to pull over.

The man inside the carriage did not reply, ignoring his coachman to stare at the young girl standing alone under a flimsy umbrella and a rickety roof that was filled with more holes than cover. Unperturbed by the rain that hammered down whilst she stood, her hands clutched tightly onto her final form of defence. Her eyes periodically scanned around, looking for something, until a loud rumbling reverberated through the clouds.

Raising her face to look up at the sky, the master of the carriage saw a smile that moved him.

She was a beautiful young maiden, her blonde hair tied into a single braid that rested on her shoulder. When the wind hit her face, her slender fingers tucked away the unruly strands of hair that covered her face.

Despite the heavy rain and cloudy day, he could still see her quite clearly.

Her features were rather delicate and to his liking, and if he could, he would have gone over to speak with her, but he had other matters to attend to. Pressing matters which needed his attention.

Seeing his master settle back into his seat, the coachman asked him, knowing that he might not receive an immediate reply, "Shall we leave, Master?"

Damien breathed a single word, "Yes," taking one final look at the girl who had caught his eye.

Tired of being out in the rain for so long, he was thankful that he could resume their journey to some shelter, hurriedly pulling the reins to rush the horses onward.

Penny continued to wait in the rain until she felt it had been too long since her uncle and aunt had left her here. She grew worried, fearful something had happened to them. She wondered whether she should go look for them to make sure they were okay. Her aunt and uncle were no longer young, and the rain could have caused them to slip and fall.

Before she could decide, she saw a figure through the rain, walking towards her with an umbrella. It was a man wearing a large coat over his body. Penny guessed that he was the customer in question.

He was late!

Penny disliked that just because they were poor, and others could treat them however they wanted. Their time was just as important as theirs!

The man approached her, and when he was close enough, she berated him, "Mister, it's an hour past the time we agreed on. Don't you know the vegetables will soak in the water due to your carelessness? You will have to pay extra for wasting our time." She raised her brows accusingly to make sure he understood what she said.

The man stared at her, his black eyes inspecting her from top to bottom, causing her discomfort.

"Where is your uncle?"

He had a scar that ran across his mouth that made her wary of him.

"Because of your tardiness, they left to search for you in the rain, but they should be back any second now. You are Mr. Joseph, right?" she inquired full of suspicion.

"Yes," he said, scanning the vicinity to ensure no one was present.

Most of the villagers had taken shelter under their homes to avoid being drenched and catching a fever.

"Your goods are right here. Pay up, and you can take it." She patted the sack of potatoes and turnips that were stuffed inside the sack.

The man stared at her, a smile forming on his lips.

"The payment has already been made…"

Since when? Penny gave him a look of doubt as she pondered his claim. Maybe the man trusted her uncle, and they shared a business history with him. As unlikely as that sounds, it was still technically possi—WHOA!

Suddenly, instead of taking the sack next to her, the man seized her wrist and dragged her towards him.

"What are you doing, Mister?!" Penny was startled by this sudden change. "Let go of my hand," she said firmly as she tried to pull it out of his grip, but he was too strong.

Unable to pull away from him, she picked up a rotten carrot she had previously placed on the slab to throw away later. Taking hold of it, she jabbed it right into his face, digging into his eyes and making him yelp in pain. He instinctively let go of her hand.

Without pause, she closed her umbrella and smashed his head with the edge of the handle as hard as she could before sprinting away. With the countless puddles that littered the ground, every step she took was accompanied with a large splash. One of her hands held the front of her dress as she made a mad dash through the streets.

She heard larger and more aggressive splashes chasing her footsteps. Unfortunately, the attacker was persistent in following her. She ran with all her might, turning into alleys and crossing the little streets until she found a large pillar located past a corner to hide behind.

Penny gasped for air. It had been ages since she had last run so desperately.

The last time occurred when she was being chased by a cow. She had not done anything to anger the bovine. The animal disliked her for no apparent reason and seemed to pursue her out of boredom. To her joy and her aunt's dismay, the cow was sold two months ago.

Hearing the splashing sound approach her hiding spot, she covered her mouth and pulled her wet dress between her legs, praying he would pass the pillar without stopping.

She could feel her heart pounding against her chest.

When the man stopped to see where she had gone, she carefully peeked from the edge of the pillar. This alley led to a three-way fork, and from the man's perspective, she could have picked any one of them. Penny did not care which he picked as long as it was not the fourth option, the spot behind this pillar!

Thankfully, the man picked the second route.

Penny squeezed out of her hiding spot before running back to her starting point, hoping her aunt and uncle had returned by now. Reaching the storefront, they still had not returned, leaving her clueless about what she should do. Taking into account that she was unable to carry the sack of vegetables very far and that the rain had most likely ruined the entire bag by now, she decided to leave it here.

Since she was already drenched, she did not bother with the umbrella and began walking home directly, letting rain flow onto her head and dress without reservation.

A quarter of the way home, she suddenly had a bad premonition. She paused and suddenly turned around to see if someone was following her, but when she saw nobody behind her, she let out a sigh of relief. When she faced forward again, all she could see was Mr. Joseph standing in front of her. Not a second later, his hand came right at her, and she blacked out.

Thunder growled in the sky as the wind changed directions, and the rain finally came to a stop. In only a few minutes, a young girl was abducted with no witnesses.

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Chương 3: Given away

Awoken by the sound of thunder and rain, Penny tried her best to see past her heavy eyelids until she could barely make out the shape of metal bars in front of her. She blinked once, then twice before pushing her torso up from the wet floor. The little window in the wall allowed the rain to pass through and form a puddle in the room.

Confused as to where she was, she stood up and looked around. She was in an enclosed room with three walls made of stone, metal bars for the fourth wall, and a single-window with metal bars that prevented anyone from coming in or going out. The room was much smaller than her room at her aunt's place.

There was no light source in the room, but ahead of her, she noticed light spilling through the bars from a lantern that must have been placed on the ground.

Going to the railing, she searched for a way out. When she found a door, she pulled and pushed as hard as she could, but the iron gate was locked.

She tried to remember how she got here, but the last thing she could recall was hurrying back home only to run into Mr. Joseph on the way before being knocked out.

"Is anyone out there? Hellooo!" Penny shouted, not knowing whether she would prefer hearing a response or not. She wanted to know where she was and why they brought her here, but she knew none of the answers would ease her mind. "Hello! Anyon-"

"Stop screaming," came an annoyed voice from behind her, nearly making Penny jump in surprise. She had not expected another person was here as well. "Are you trying to put me in trouble?"

Penny's head jerked to a corner of the room where the frame of a woman emerged from the shadows.

The woman had fiery, red hair that had been tied into a braid similar to hers. Only Penny's hair was well-groomed and her dress wet, yet neat. In contrast, this woman's entire appearance could only be described as ragged, the color of her clothes a dirty, faded white. Aside from her hair, the strange woman was average looking in all aspects.

Penny looked around the room to ensure no one else was here before turning back to the woman for answers.

"Miss, where am I? There must be some misunderstand—" The woman's sudden and unrestrained laughter interrupted her.

"Miss? Miss!"

She sighed.

"How long has it been since someone addressed me in such a way…?"

The woman gauged the young girl who had been imprisoned alongside her. It had been a long time since the woman had company. The last one had been a boy that kept yapping until he was moved to another level.

"What's your name, girl?"

"It's Penelope…but most call me Penny."

The woman gestured to the room imprisoning them.

"I am Caitlin, and this beautiful place you see here belongs to the slave establishment. You are in one of the many cell rooms that are allotted to us slaves."

Penny frowned upon hearing this.

It was impossible. She was not a slave, so how could she be in the slave establishment? Did her kidnapper sell her off immediately after capturing her?

"Miss Caitlin, this is all a misunderstanding. You see, I am not supposed to be here." From what she knew, slaves were usually sold for money as a trade. It was one of the easiest and quickest means to make money. Though it would not make one rich, it did help the slave establishment keep running as a middle man along with receiving a sizable commission from the buyers.

The woman went to walk back to the darkened corner, and now that Penny's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she saw the woman lying on the ground.

"None of us are supposed to be here. At least, most of us aren't, but people can't be trusted. Going by your reaction, you don't know who sold you, do you?"

"I do!"

How could Penny forget that wretched man's face and name?

She was incensed.

Caitlin looked at her approvingly. For a little girl who had been thrown into the slave establishment without warning, she was a better spirit than the rest who entered this place. Either the girl was a sheltered child who was truly ignorant of what went on here, or she was trying to keep her own spirits up.

"It was a man with a scar on his face. His name was Mr. Jose—no, Joseph. He was supposed to buy a sack of vegetables from my family but because he was late to pick them up and it was raining, my uncle and aunt went to look for him."

"Let me finish your story for you. This uncle and aunt of yours didn't return even after a good time had passed, but the man whose name you think is Joseph arrived."

Even in the darkness, Penny discerned the blatantly bored look on Caitlin's face.

With a sigh, she continued, "What happened to you is not uncommon. Congratulations! You were sold by your relatives." Her satirical tone was unenthusiastic and detached.

"They would never do that!" Penny was deeply offended that the woman would accuse the relatives who had taken her in after her mother had passed away. "It was that man Joseph or whatever his name is who should be caught and hanged for bringing me here!"

How many girls and boys had cried out similar words, hoping their words could save them from this place? It was always the young ones who cried and wailed. Screaming for the same people who had sold them off, begging to be saved, promising to change their behaviors, sometimes lacing their words with curses.

This place had not affected Penny yet, but her spirit would be broken eventually, of this, Caitlin was certain. She would not waste her breath explaining further. Reality would hit her eventually even if she did not help it along.

"Miss Caitlin," Penny crawled over and sat next to her, "Is there a way to escape from here?"

When Penny asked this simple question, Caitlin began coughing uncontrollably before transitioning to laughter. With one hand holding her stomach and the other covering her eyes, a good ten seconds had passed before she could regain control of herself. She sat up straight, back against the wall, and cleared her throat, prompting Penny to lean in with anticipation.

"Do you think I'm here to enjoy the scenery? If I knew a way to leave, I would not still be here, rotting in this stinky, little shit hole."

Penny gave it some thought, undeterred by her response. She pressed her lips into a thin line and gave Caitlin a resolute look. "Is there an escape from here?"

The older woman stared hard at the little girl before returning a single nod.

"If you are asking about an exit, then, yes. Doesn't every building have an entrance? This one has a single door where they bring slaves in and out, usually with two guards stationed at the entrance."

Penny's shoulders slumped. This was the same thing as saying there was no escape.

That night, Penelope could not sleep. She pondered over her situation and the name of this place: the slave establishment—a place of slaves. Slaves! The very word filled her with dread, forcefully shutting her eyes.

She did not wish to be here and end up like this woman, whose back faced her as she slept on the cold, hard ground without a worry, having accepted this fate. No one wanted to be a slave!

Penny vaguely knew the slave establishment was located far away from her uncle and aunt. Her relatives did not have children of their own, so her aunt had taken her in to fill that void in their life which was why Penny refused to entertain the thought that they had sold her into slavery. At least, she tried for the first few hours, but, over time, Caitlin's words echoed over and over again in her head.

Penny was not a naive, little girl.

She had the ability to haggle with street vendors and, when necessary, she also had the ability to steal from them with none being the wiser. More importantly, she was usually very good at reading people. Due to her limited options for entertainment, she would pass time scrutinizing any passerby as they walked past the front of the little house her uncle and aunt owned.

Because of this skill, she had grown wary of Joseph before he even grabbed her wrist. But her Uncle and Aunt…

She had heard stories of how one's own family would sell their children to the slave establishment so that they could obtain a good amount of silver coins, but never had she expected her own family would do such a thing.

When did they plan for it?! Why didn't she notice!?

Penny stared at the opposite wall in anger.

The house was small, consisting of a kitchen, a hall and a storage room to keep the vegetables they harvested. She was always there with at least one of them. The walls were too thin to hide even their whispers, let alone their conspiracy of selling her off.

Was a little silver worth more than her freedom?

The anger that had peaked slowly came down as sadness and betrayal engulfed her.

Hugging her knees tightly, she looked up at the barred window that was so far up, she would be unable to reach it even if she stood on Caitlin's shoulders. It gave her a small glimpse of the outside sky.

She thought about her mother and missed her dearly. Her mother would never have sold her!

When she saw her dead mother being carried in a coffin to the village cemetery, Penny shed countless tears, wailing the entire time. Remembering now brought tears to the rim of her eyes, but not a single drop fell as she blinked them back.

Her mother raised her all alone. Her heartless father had left them one day when she was a baby, never to return.

Lost in her memories, Penny rested her chin on her knees. While staring off into space, she heard a scream outside. Startled and scared, she raised her head, eyebrows furrowing.

Getting up, she walked towards the iron bars without grabbing them.

The bars were old and rusted to the extent that they had turned patchy, orange in color. Red films from the bar of rods that looked peeled away from the many months and years that passed by.

Stepping a little closer, her heart trembled when another scream was heard. It was a shrill, painful cry that made her extremely uncomfortable. The woman had cried out as if she was being tortured in an excruciating manner.

"She's a slave..."

Turning around, she saw Caitlin had stopped sleeping on her side and was now lying on her back with her hands resting on top of her stomach. She frowned at her response before looking back at the empty corridor in front of her.

Penny could not help but ask in a whisper, "What are they doing to her?"

She squinted her eyes to see the end of the hall, but her vision was incapable of passing through the darkness. Based on the visibility of the night sky and the fact that no one had walked by to check on them, Penny assumed the hour was long past midnight. Why would someone be tortured at this hour?

"They're torturing the ones who misbehave. Slaves here are nothing less than animals raised by a farmer for the purpose of selling for a decent price. What you've heard about the slave establishment outside does not come close to scratching the surface," the woman's voice was solemn as a dispirited sigh left her lips. "You cannot imagine the things that go on in here…the slave traders here are much worse than those who brought us here. What you are hearing right now is a normal, daily thing. There is always one or two of us who are defiant and unyielding…" the woman paused to contemplate whether she should say the next part, "...it is always the new slaves that undergo the special treatment. So you think twice before you think about escaping, girl."

Penny narrowed her eyes this time, dejected from what she just learned. "What will happen if I get caught?" She held her breath waiting for Caitlin to answer. The screams that were heard from outside had filled up the silence in the little cell they were in.

"You will wish the thought had never entered your head in the first place."

Slavery in the four lands, especially here where the pureblooded vampires were in control, was a legal and thriving business. The entire industry took place in the presence of the law which was maintained by the Council.

When people went missing, the blame was often placed on the notorious black witches, rightfully so. They usually kidnapped men, women, and children for their witchcraft and other personal needs.

Even though her relatives had traded her, Penny had decided she would not stay here too long.

She would escape, and she would do it soon.

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