Peril

Chapter 6

“Back when I was growing up, we were free people living deep in the woods with the other people who were in hiding. When I was about four years old, my mother died after giving birth to my younger sister Loretta. I don’t remember much about my mother, more like I remember the idea of her. My father was completely heart-broken. They were so in love. Everyone who saw them could tell, and they never failed to say something about it.

I remember one night, I couldn’t sleep so I went to the kitchen to grab a cup of water, when I saw my father sitting at our wooden table. He was staring at our entire inventory that was laid out on the small surface. There was a deep frown on his face, and he was running his hand through his hair. I didn’t say anything and I went back to the room I shared with Loretta, Matthew, and Daren.  We never had much, but at that moment we had almost nothing. With four mouths to feed, plus his own, my father didn’t know what to do. He began trading my mother’s things at the market for food and other things that we needed.

Daren and Mathew would go into town to perform. Daren would do magic tricks while Mathew would pick-pocket from people who stopped to watch. Whatever they got, they would give to my dad so that he could sell. Once I got old enough, I would help them in any way I could. I would help Daren perform his tricks and stash the things that Mathew stole. One day Daren found an old guitar. He spent days fixing it up, making it look brand new. He traded his baseball cap for some new strings, he stole some drugs for a man for a tuner, and he ran messages for another guys for guitar lessons. He did everything he could to get good at playing and he did. Eventually he taught me to play and I got just as good as him. The two of us would go into town and he would play and I would sing while Mathew continued to pick-pocket people.

For a while, we survived off of this life style. My dad would do odd jobs here and there, while my brothers and I took turns taking care of Loretta and going into town. It wasn’t ideal but we were okay. But then one day that all changed. I’ll never forget what happened. The royal guards came to the underground village where we lived and burned us out. Everything was on fire, and I almost didn’t make it out alive. I was in bed sick for a week after that. Anyways, we were all captured. The guard that caught us though, had somewhat of a heart and sent us all to the same master. But he was so cruel. He starved us and beat us. And he… he even…” The water works started as I stared at the ground. I quickly turned my head so he wouldn’t see them. I didn’t want to seem weak in front of Harry.

Harry saw them anyway and his eyes widened, “He did what love?” I didn’t answer him, but instead of getting mad at me, he stood in front of me. He gently wiped the tears from my eyes, and took my face in his hands. “What did he do to you?” He asked again.

“He raped me,” I whispered softly, casting my eyes down to my feet. Harry sucked in a sharp breath. Before I could even process what he was doing, he wrapped me into a caring hug. I sobbed into his shoulder. I could still feel his rough hands on my small body. I still remember the ropes chaffing against my wrists and ankles. I can still hear his disgusting moans loud in my ears as he took away my innocence.

“It’s okay love. It’s okay. I’ve got you,” He cooed, playing with the strands of my hair. “What was his name? Who did that to you?”

“Master Joseph St’Jameson,” I answered, once I finally calmed down.

Harry’s face was hard as he made a mental note, “Continue your story, darling.”

“After a few months, he became… bored with me, so he sent us along to the next Master. This one was worse than he was. He didn’t rape me, but he beat us for the smallest things. I’ve the scars on my back to prove it. We bounced from master to master for a while until we landed with Master Christopher. He’s great, but he surely has his moments.