Alone✔

Chapter 1

"Come, Katherine, come!"

Amelia Steadworth, a beautiful woman loved by the people ran into her daughter's room. She possessed beauty far younger than her age and influence on the people as much as her husband, Thomas Steadworth, but no amount of influence could change the people's mind. There was nothing persuasion could do anymore.

The people had come for her child. Her little sweet child. At first glance, Katherine Steadworth was a beautiful child taking most of her mother's exotic features and less of her father's. Her skin was as white as snow. She had blue doe eyes, pouty pink lips, and a straight nose. With her long jet black hair, Katherine could easily be mistaken for a porcelain doll, a very pretty doll.

But beneath the beauty, there laid a wicked evil force in her. Katherine was not like any other child. She might be as sweet and graceful as any other but she wasn't. Beings die at just a touch. She had the touch of death as the villagers called it. They called it a curse. The curse manifested itself when she was just five. She and some village children were playing with rabbits, the children's parents watching them.

Katherine's attention had been captured by a rabbit. Its fur was white reminding her of her. It regarded Katherine carefully and timidly as she took little cautious steps towards the rabbit.

Katherine had always wanted a rabbit like that one. It was perfect. She was going to take him home, take care of him, and name him snow.

She dropped to her knees and regarded the animal with curious eyes. It didn't run, it couldn't. It just stared back at Katherine, spellbound by her little blue inquisitive eyes. She reached to touch the rabbit and still, it didn't run. It stood there, observing Katherine.

Slowly, her little hands found the soft fur of the animal and she smiled in delight. She touched the animal as she had seen papa do to the horses. She reached to pick the rabbit with her two hands but found out that the rabbit wasn't moving at all. Her little mind convinced her that her little friend was sleeping so she left him to sleep and went to meet the rabbit owner that she wanted the rabbit.

The owner of the rabbit came to see the rabbit little Katherine had taken interest in but found out that the rabbit was dead. The rabbit owner was confused. All his rabbits were healthy as he usually fed them well and they had shown no signs of illness.

Nevertheless, he gave Katherine another rabbit but she was too happy to notice. She went home with her new friend tightly in her arms.

"Mama, papa. Look what I got!"
Little Katherine said showing her parents the already dead rabbit. Her parents were worried when they found out the rabbit was dead. They convinced Katherine that her new friend was sleeping as he was very tired when she got sad that her new friend wasn't playing with her.

Thomas met with the rabbit owner to ask about the rabbit gifted to his child but the farmer told him that at the time of presentation, the rabbit was alive.

That was how everything that came in contact with Katherine's hand died slowly. Her parents grew worried as the glove they made for her started to have little resistance to her ever-growing powers. Soon the whole town heard of this and their awareness led to this moment.

Amelia wore a black coat and quickly wore one for the sleepy Katherine.

"Take her to the cottage, she would be safe there," Thomas advised his wife, kissing his lovely cursed daughter goodbye.

"I will, my love. Be safe." Amelia replied and then rode as fast as lightning to the cottage hidden deep in the forest.

"Mama."

Katherine made feeble attempts to capture her mother's attention but her cries were not enough as the wind carried her fearful cries with it. The air was chilling and kept on smacking Amelia in the face in an attempt to keep her from getting to the cottage.

The silver moon gleaming at Amelia as she rode her little angel to safety served as the only comfort against the harsh cold wind of the night. She won't allow them to take her little angel from her even if she had to protect her with her own life. No matter if everyone thought her as crazy and her daughter, cursed, no matter if everything her little angel touched died.

As quickly as they came, Amelia hid Katherine in the cottage.

"Wait here for mama, okay? Mama and papa have something to take care of." Amelia smiled at her daughter trying to disguise her fear and nervousness.

"Promise?" Katherine feebly uttered. She was a shy little child. Amelia's eyes softened as she choked on a sob and hugged her daughter's tiny body tightly carefully avoiding her gloved hands.

"Promise". She ran to the horse hidden in the bushes to ride back to town.

With fearful eyes, Katherine watched her mother leave her and never had she felt so alone and scared. She had never been left alone before. She was a little girl alone in a big big world.

A little girl who couldn't own pets as they would die by her mere touch, a little girl who couldn't play with other children because their parents had tagged her a monster and feared for their children's lives, a little girl who was laughed at for being different.

Of course, Katherine was too young to understand all these and so, she didn't really get bothered by them as she had mama and papa.

She walked around the little cottage and decided that she liked it. She strolled near the wall and a writing drawn on the wall piqued her interest.

"A-l-o-n-e, Alone" she pronounced, already feeling proud of her achievement. She busied herself with other features of the little cottage that housed the little girl to satisfy her curiosity while repeatedly saying the new word learned and waiting for her mama.

Of course, she had no idea what the word meant but as she grew up, she got to comprehend. Little Katherine grew up beautifully well but all alone.

Yay! The first chapter. I hope you love it. Please tell me what you think.

Keep on shining 🌟 🌟 🌟
Yours Crazily,
ME, XOXO