The Woman With Eyes of Amethyst

Chapter I

Valentina's Pov

Life was good. For a time. I was young and carefree like every other child in the village, not concerned with the ills and bruises of the world outside of my little bubble. I played and laughed in the green meadows that seemed to be boundless and never ending. We picked daisies and daffodils still fresh with dew drops on their seemingly perfect cotton white petals. Wrapping pretty ribbons around them to present to our adoring mothers.

We were wrong though. Those meadows were never endless, and those petals, never perfect. But children grow up and when they do they realize this, and so many other awful truths.

I was ten when my father died, leaving my mother, me, and my sister alone in the world. And believe me the world does not treat widows well. It hardened her, my once sweet mother, into a shell of her former self. A bitter, hard, cruel shell that slowly began to despise her only two daughters seemingly, just for being alive.

I was around fourteen when the boys started to chase me and the girls began to target me. I suppose it wasn't so bad, most days they left me alone but that's because most days I was successful in avoiding them. The worst was Thea, she was the only one who would get physical, and pretty much the ringleader of the group. I suppose she was jealous of the fact that the boys payed more attention to me than her. I wasn't sure why that was, but more than anything I wanted them to stop.

As I aged it perpetually got worse. "Look who it is" I looked up from my task, "...The town whore." 

I turned around to see Thea and her group of followers gathered around me. I smiled my sweetest smile,"You know Thea you ought to invest in a mirror, that scowl doesn't look good on you." I turned back to the well,"your starting to get wrinkles." 

I knew I shouldn't provoke her, but it was just so much fun.

 "How dare you turn your back on me when when I'm talking to you!" she practically screeched.

 I stayed facing away from her, "Ah but this is just a much better view. This well was obviously made by someone who knew what they were doing, lovely architecture truly" I pretended to marvel at the dismal and honestly pretty ugly well.  I realized it was childish, to insult her appearance, she wasn't ugly after all, but it's what seemed to set her off the most.

She snarled at me "You bitch!" she motioned to the other girls. "grab her." Erma and Pelin, two girls as big as boulders came at me, I tried to run but I just wasn't fast enough. 

They grabbed me by my shoulders and started hauling me to the water trough. I pulled against there tight hold, and even tried biting them but I was weak and I couldn't fight back, that just served to fuel my anger. I hated being weak. 

"Got anything to say to me?"the girls stopped me right in front of the water trough and Thea. I kept my chin high and stared straight into her dark empty green pits, my pride was to much to submit. She narrowed her eyes and slapped me across the face with her ring. It was all I could do not to let the tears I had brimming in my eyes fall.

Before I had time to regain my composure my head was forced under the murky brown water. I couldn't stay calm, I couldn't  think. My bodies instincts kicked in and I fought against them. I thrashed and kicked but I was losing air and fast. I was suddenly brought back up and I took a painful breath of air before I was forced back down. 

I hadn't had time to close my mouth and I breathed in the water. It was painful, so painful as I wildy tried to grab onto something to get me out of this. My lungs were burning and my mind was whirling, this couldn't be how I died, I wouldn't let it. It felt like ages before I felt my body start to go limp. I felt calm, in a strange way. I felt nothing and everything at the same time in this one little moment. I didn't think of life or feel regret over something I could have done. I can only describe what I felt at that moment as empty. But even that was better than the pain, and I welcomed death. I had never thought of it before but it seemed so easy now.

I was pulled out of my false reality by Erma and Pelins strong hands. They shoved me to the ground and I think one of them kicked me in the side, but I could barely feel it. All I could focus on was the ripping pain in my lungs, and the burning in my throat from the intake of oxygen. I curled into a fetal position and hugged my legs. I felt pathetic, I should have been able to fight those girls off. But I couldn't. 

I lay there for what felt like ages before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Cullen, probably the only true friend I have ever had. He didn't say anything to me but helped me up and started to bring me to his house. 

I knew my mother wouldn't be worried, she could care less about her two youngest daughters. Ember however...

 "Cullen, stop we have to back I can't leave my sister alone in that house. God knows what state my mothers in, and if she comes home today she'll take it all out on Emmy"

My mother didn't come home most nights, but when she did, she was cruel and wretched. Usually, I could protect little Emmy. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if she ever got hurt, especially if I could stop it.

-----

When Cullen and I arrived, Emmy ran through the door-if you could even call it that- and grabbed us both in a tight hug. "I thought you were never going to come back!" it was only then that I noticed the tears streaming down her small sweet face. I hugged her closser "It's Ok sweetie, I would never leave you."

She stepped back for a second and that's when she noticed my hair was wet. "What happened to you?" she looked up at me with her wide, watery blue eyes. Then, she turned to Cullen and pointed her little finger straight up in his face"You told me you would take care of her Teddy!" 

she had a knack for creating adorable nicknames for people and Teddy was his. I had asked her  why once, and she told me that every time she saw him she just wanted to squeeze him like a little teddy bear.

He bent down to meet her eyes and put his hands on both her shoulders, "I know button." He used his equally as affectionate nickname, "and I'm so sorry, I should have. That's why I'm going to make it up to both of you." I saw her eyes light up as she thought of all the possibilities. 

"Your going to get a real home, with a real family." No...I couldn't believe it. "really?!" Ems eyes lit up. "yes really" he nodded once. She flung her arms around him, pulling him tight, then came to hug me in turn, and finally began to run to town in the direction of Cullens house.

I turned to him and hugged him for what felt like ages. "your parents finally agreed to adopt her huh?" I whispered into his shoulder. "Yes, they really did" he whispered as we broke apart and began to walk towards town hand in hand. "They adopted you too, sorta, but your going to have to earn your keep. working both your current job and apprenticing at my parents clinic." Both of Cullen's parents were healers, and were highly respected in our village. "Maybe things will start to look up for us." I smiled up at him. "I think they will," he smiled back at and squeezed my hand, "I think they will" he said it again but this time more to the stars then to me.