BOUND

Chapter 1

Gwen opened her eyes as she sat up and she held her head as she looked around. She was seated in a room of about 100 people

"Where am i?"she asked

"You're on a ship"a lady replied

She looked around again, everyone looked poorly groomed

"To where?"her voice wavered

"I'm not sure"the lady replied"we've been on this ship for three days"

Gwen felt tears run down her face, she felt lonely for the first time,her parents would be happy to be rid of her, she drew herself into a ball and wept softly, had she died at birth,all this would have never happened. She wished she was never born,in her next life,she would have a lovely family who loved her.

"We've arrived"The lady beside Gwen said as she nudged her awake

"Where are we?"Gwen asked

The door opened and everyone trooped out, as they came out, their hands were put in chains that connected to their feet and then joined to each other. A guard stood and watched them come out, once it was Gwen's turn, she asked the person chaining her

"Could you please tell me where we are?"

"Niagra Falls"came the reply

Gwen froze before the guard pushed her forward

"Move"

She bit her lip to prevent her whimpers from being heard,she was so far from home,far from England, how would she even return home but the question was where is home?, the guard pushed her again, this time more forcefully, she turned and looked into the cold, harsh eyes of the guard but turned away when he snarled, her feet was compelled as she took slow steps and started moving. The journey was extremely long but the prisoners had no idea where exactly they were heading.

The prisoners were led through a long empty path for an entire day and when it turned dark they camped out. The guards set up some tents and people were piled into it accordingly to their sexes. Gwen was curled up in one corner when a girl approached her

"Are you okay?"she asked

Gwen didn't answer, she just shifted

"My name's Savriti, what's yours?"Savriti asked

Gwen hesitated then answered

"Gwendoline"

"I'm 14, how old are you?"Savriti asked

"I'm 13"Gwen replied

"Do you wanna be friends, Gwen?"Savriti asked

"I've never had friends before"Gwen replied

"Why?"Savriti asked

"I don't know, i wasn't very conversative, i guess" she answered

"Then it would be an honour to be your first friend"Savriti said with a slight bow before they burst into a fit of giggles.
As they sobered up, Savriti engaged Gwen in a conversation about her hometown, India. A few minutes late, they slept off.

"What is it?"Gwen yawned as Savriti shook her

"Wake up, they're calling us out"Savriti said

"I wanna sleep"Gwen whined as she tried to settle comfortably

"Wake up Gwen, the guards are coming"Savriti said more persistently

Gwen sat up and rubbed her eyes when she heard the guard yelling for them to come out . She followed Savriti and joined the other people who were captured, outside, she moved slowly as they all started walking, they got in line as they cuffed them. She was feeling sleepy and still dressed in the white gown she had worn on her birthday but it had brown spots all over, she had lost her shoes somewhere along the way and had bruises on her feet.

They stopped beside a lake where everyone washed their hands, legs and face. Some even gulped down the water from the lake, the only food they had since they were on the ship was a plate of thin watery soup.

"That's enough"a guard called out

"Get a move on"

They pushed the troop up and the journey continued. Gwen was feeling weak and her steps slowed, a guard poked her with a stick

"Move faster"

She tried to quicken her steps but it was no use, the guard poked her again and she increased her pace but to no avail, the guard poked her for the third time but this time she fell to the ground. A guard grabbed her arm harshly and hurled her up then pushed her forward. Her hair was all tangled up, her eyes looked extremely dull, her skin was paler than before and her lips cracked. They trudged on stony paths, the sharp edges of the stones pricking her feet and the grasses left small cuts on her body. They stopped to rest for a while before embarking on the journey again. Her hair caught up in trees but she managed to unwind it. They continued their journey into an unknown area, they passed Niagra Falls and continued further.

Night was fast approaching but the guards insisted they go further, the prisoners tried complaining but were soon silenced by the guards causing them ito cower in fear. They continued for a few more hours before finally settling down.

"I thought we were going to go on forever"Savriti said as she settled into the corner of a small tent that held about 25 ladies

"We should get some sleep"Gwen said

"Sure goodnight,Gwen"Savriti replied

"Goodnight Savriti"Gwen replied

But Gwen didn't sleep immediately, she stayed awake thinking that if she had never been born an orphan, would her biological parents have loved her. She knew her real mother had died at her birth but where was her real father? Was she that disgusting that he had left before she had even been born?Was she so awful that her mum hadn't strived to live for her sake. What was so wrong with her that her adopted parents hated and despised her? What was her purpose in this world? She cleaned the tears that rolled down her cheeks and willed herself to sleep but sleep was evading her. She stayed awake staring into the night wishing she had a lovely family with brothers and sisters and grandparents. Anytime her adopted family, the Walters' travelled with Maria, they always left her behind . 'Gwendoline Walters', she scoffed at her name, she had never felt part of the family. She closed her eyes and this time,sleep came embracing her into the night.

The journey was long but they arrived at last, Savriti and Gwen looked up at the sign which held the initials
'F.M.F.T.A.O"