The Hand of Kindness

At sixteen, Emerald's life has become a painful existence. After her father's death, her mother remarried a brutal man who was not afraid to strike her. Finding the courage to leave home and seek a better life for herself, Emerald runs away. When she sees a position at a school for girls run by the mysterious Lady Alana, she knows it's a matter of time until her stepfather finds her and drags her back to his home.

Content Warnings: mentions of abuse

Excerpt

"Emerald, you better show yourself, or I'll show you my belt." A man bellowed.

Emerald crouched in the bushes, tucking herself into a tighter ball. A thick strand of her ginger hair fell across her freckled face, but the fear of her stepfather's belt kept the rest of her still. In the pocket of her skirt, she clutched her Grandmother's handkerchief. When her father gave it to her he told her that her Grandmother had a fairy put a protection spell on it. Emerald didn't know if that was true or if her father made up the story to calm a scared child, but she prayed that it was true.