Maria

Chapter 1

Deep in the night as the stars shone and the moon glowed a young adolescent child was breathing what would seem her last breathe. Hidden among bushes within the menacing forest she lay. The trees clustered so tightly together becoming an impenetrable barrier against the moon's light. Her body riddled with wounds lay limp under the thicket of bushes, her strength gradually fading as she felt her body grow cold. Her breathing was uneven and rough each breath causing unimaginable pain to rack through her. She ground her teeth together not letting a sound out.

She knew her situation was bad. She was losing too much blood, if the bleeding was not stopped in time she would bleed herself to death. Even if by some miracle she managed to stop the bleeding that could not guarantee her survival. Her wounds could get infected or she could get attacked by a predator. There were many ways she could die. She wondered if she would die from her wounds or be eaten by any passing wild animal that was attracted to her blood.

As she was drawing her last breaths she began to reminisce her life. She was from a well renowned and wealthy family, the Austeria Family. They were among the elites of the nobles and were very influential. Her father was a Marquess but unlike how it was a hundred and fifty years ago he did not have the power to govern the land he owned. Citizens living within his territory were not obliged to pay him tax neither was he responsible for his territories upkeep. In a way he could be seen as a land owner. The Austeria Family was also heavily involved in the business world. They owned hundreds of stores from a variety of industries that had branches all over the Kingdom of Irano.

Growing up Maria suffered a torrential amount of emotional and occasional physical abuse from her peers. This was because of the situation surrounding her birth. You see, her father was a married man and her mother, sadly, was not his wife. Everyone said that her mother was an orphan maid servant that had seduced the master of the Austeria Family when he was drunk. That she was a gold digger. However Maria knew better, her mother had loved her father for almost all her life. She had devoted her life to making him happy as she stood in the shadows. Even on her deathbed she still loved her father.

As she thought of her mother she could not help the tears that slid down her face. Her poor mother had suffered all kinds of humiliation and insults and had died when she was seven. Her mother had had a weak constitution and giving birth to her had caused her to weaken even more. The doctors proclaimed that she would not be able to survive more than a few months after giving birth. Her mother proved them wrong, although she had a weak body she was anything but. She was a fighter and against all the odds lived for another seven years.

To Maria her mother was her hero. She taught her determination, strength, preservation, love and so much more. At her deathbed she held her hand and told her to be strong. Her mother’s words and memories were all that kept her going after she died. Whenever she was bullied she would not cry no matter what she was called or what they did to her. She would stand tall and look them straight in the eye. Whenever the loneliness became too much for her to stand she would remember her mother’s radiant smile and feel comforted.

Her childhood was very lonely, all the other young children rallied under her older step sister would bully her. Her father, although he acknowledged her as his daughter publicly, wanted nothing to do with her. To him she was the glaring reminder of his past mistakes and short comings. Her step mother hated her to the core and she did not hide it. Both the mother and daughter did all they could to make her life miserable. The servants of the household followed their masters and made sure to make her life difficult.

Whenever her family went to attend outings and balls she would remain at the mansion. Although she was known as the daughter of Marquess Austeria it was widely known that she was an illegimate child that was not favoured among her family. At meals she would not be allowed to join them but instead had to eat in her room alone so as not to ruin their appetite.

Her only solace were her non human companions. They were the mice that crawled around the mansion, the birds that flew by her window every morning, the hounds kept for hunting and the horses kept in the stables. Her friends became every animal she came across. Most times they would either run away from her or attack her. To them she was probably a crazy human that stared at them strangely.

Thinking to this point she could not stop the giggle that slipped through her lips.

Ah, those were good times. Those animals must have thought she was creep, she thought. She didn’t mind it when the animals scratched her or ran from her, she would stubbornly call them her friend. Everyone thought she was weird but she didn’t care, after all nobody liked her, they all judged her. That was why she loved animals, when she looked into their eyes she saw no judgement.

Earlier that day, when she was told that she would accompany the rest of her family to a ball she was ecstatic. She had thought that maybe she would finally be accepted by her family. She had wore a pale green ball gown with a high neck line, long sleeves and embroidered with floral patterns. Her waist length silky black hair had been tied up in a neat bun held together by an elegant silver hairpin. Her hopes of being part of the family was crushed when she learnt that they had already left an hour before the time they told her. She had felt depressed and with her head hanging low she walked back towards the mansion. Imagine her surprise when she was stopped by a servant and told that her step mother had ordered them to take her to the ball when she was ready.

Oh how hopeful she felt at that time, she did not know that it was all scheme cooked up by her step mother. She was not taken to the ball, no, fate was crueller than that. She was taken to an unknown location at the edge of the forest and stabbed repeatedly. The carriage driver then dragged her limp body deep into the forest and hid her under the bushes where she lay now.

She knew that her step mother always despised her, she just didn’t think that she would go this far. It was ironic how an hour ago she had thought that she was finally being accepted into the family. Despite how independent and cold she acted deep down all she wanted was to have a family and be loved. Reality was cruel.

Blackness of a new kind encompassed her. It as not the darkness of the night, no it was far worse than that. It was an emptiness, a void that was slowly swallowing her bit by bit. Her eyes gradually closed and as she no longer had the strength to remain conscious.