There were sounds, quiet sounds, then violent ones. They filtered up from the kitchen and made their way to her bedroom and it scared her. She heard the sounds of heavy feet on the stairs, slowly making their way towards her as they seemed to stop at the other room along the way.
Alice scrambled out of bed and hid under it, something was wrong. A pair of feet stopped in front of her door as it slowly swung open, light entering the room. Those were not the boots her father wore, he took care of his things, he said they lasted longer when you did. The scent of stale alcohol and smoke wafted in as the man entered, moving towards her bed. She couldn’t see what he was doing but a muffled mutter reached her ears, “S still warm.”
Suddenly an arm reached under the bed, dragging her out by her leg, she screamed in terror as the grip was shifted to the back of her neck and she was lifted like she weighed nothing, she kicked and tried to hit him, but it was like a wall. A rough bearded face looked at her, "Shut up.” He growled at her, giving her a slap before he threw the small girl over his shoulder. Alice stopped, dazed by the slap as he carried her downstairs.
“Got ‘er, boss.” Her captor rumbled to a person she couldn’t see. A hand dragged her down from the shoulder, she tried to run as soon as her feet hit the floor, bit the large hand grabbed her neck again, holding her there. She could see the room now, there were two men, as rough as the one that had her in his grip and another that seemed to be the boss, he was better dressed and seemed more refined. She looked at him and he smirked at her in an unsettling way before looking behind him, “So this is your delightful daughter, Marcell.” His voice was smooth, but menacing, she started, that was her fathers name, she tried to look around behind the man but the hand on her neck made it hard to move. She struggled, it seemed to please the sinister man, “Oh yes, your father is here, but you’d best to say goodbye to him, little one.” He stood to one side to let her see her father, bound to a chair and bloody, he tried to speak, but he couldn’t, blood oozing from his mouth. He strained against his bonds, tears running down his face, knowing he couldn’t do anything.
Alice screamed for him, another slap, harder this time. Her head knocked back and she dazedly saw another man walk in with something in his hand. The sinister man, let out a small laugh, “You see, Marcell, you failed to repay and report what was needed. You took from us, he’s not happy. So we’re taking from you, with interest of course. A few more years on her and some filling out and she’ll be an expensive little piece to buy. Wait for it, Marcell, shh, listen…”
Hands took her shoulders and something was slipped around her throat, the sinister man grinned as the light sound of the lock was heard, “That’s the sound of your daughters freedom being taken away and it’s all because of you.” Alice felt them let her go and she tried to run to her father’s side, only to be stopped a few steps away, pain bringing her to her knees…
Alice awoke from the dreamed memory, the men had dragged her from the house two years ago in the dead of night, they’d burned it, her father still inside, they told her that he’d be joining her mother soon. Despite the threats, she’d ended up working in a large house for most of that time, the master always looking at her oddly though, like he was waiting… Disobedience had been harshly punished, beatings, twice she’d been whipped viciously after attempting to run away. Now she was on a slave ship, bound for someplace else…
She pushed herself up from the damp straw on the floor of the cell and leaned against the bars, a hand reaching up to touch the band of metal that encircled her neck. It had no end, no hinge… It was as if it had been made there, sealed. Magic had locked it, sealing the band shut, she’d tried to cut it off once and the pain felt it would kill her. A noise, a thud of a body hitting the deck, then another… The guard disappeared to investigate, probably glad to get out of the reek of bodies below deck in the still air. He never returned. Soon there was silence except for the sound of the cells being unlocked… It had to be a trap, but what if it wasn’t?
Alice silently got to her feet, she cautiously opened the cell door and stepped out, none of the others had awoken yet. She crept towards the stair to the deck, listening intently for any movement as she made her way up. Silence greeted her, along with bodies, the crew were strewn about, dead, every single one of them.
A sound got her attention, a raven let out a harsh caw and took off from the railing, gold flashing on its beak and claws as it disappeared into the mist. Alice looked over the rail, the shore wasn’t far, there was a city looming out of the fog, Lion’s Arch? She rummaged through the pockets of several of the bodies, taking any gold she found on them quickly, a dagger and a filthy scarf before diving overboard.
--- This is something I wrote some time ago for one of my GuildWars2 charaters, Alice.
