Prologue
“What can we get for the girl?" A woman with rotten teeth questioned a scrawny old man who seemed to barely be able to move without shaking. The girl in question trembled from the icy air around her, and it was apparent she was wearing only rags and trash as clothes.
It was also clear she hadn't been bathed in a good while as her pitch black hair was stuck in knots around her head, seemingly held together by dirt and grime. The man felt a disgust rise in him but the girl's green eyes met his and he knew what must be done.
The old man scoffed at the woman, "You'd go so far as to leave a child for some coin? Fine then, I could utilize some helping hands, can't even keep my own straight." The last part came out mostly a grumble as he gathered the woman's coins.
The young girl gazed up at the woman, her eyes filling with tears. "Are you coming back mama?" She asked, her voice harsh from a lack of water.
She looked down at the young girl and didn't say another word, there wasn't a single emotion on her face as she handed the girl over, collected her coins, and walked away.
"What's your name child?" The old man almost demanded, gently pulling her into the tent behind his merchant stand. "Anne, take over for me dear." He coughed violently in between his words, scaring the girl. "We've got a new member." He huffed.
Anne was an old woman, presumably his wife, who was rather plump in her body but had a very thin face which looked almost strange to the young girl. Her hair was a striking white, not a grey hair in sight, and her eyes were a warm brown. "Sir, yes sir!" She joked to the old man walking up front and calling out to oncoming people, looking to purchase or trade.
The young girl finally croaked out an answer for the old man, "Moneta, sir."
The old man did his best to crouch to her height.
"Moneta, what a beautiful name. I wish I would have used that one on one of my children." The old man smiled shakily at Moneta "You're in my care from now on young girl hopefully you'll be a bit happier here."
"Do you have a name sir?" Moneta asked softly.
"Doesn't matter much ma'am, I won't be here much longer." He said grimly. "I'm old and this winter is the worst we've seen yet," he smiled "I just hope to be able to stick around long enough to treat you like a proper human being. You don't deserve the life your mother gave you, no one does."
Moneta gazed up at the man no longer feeling any fear she had felt when she first walked into the tent. And for the first time in a while, she smiled.
Without another word the man gave her a blanket and sat her down on a small pallet of more blankets and pillows.
"I use it when I get dizzy sometimes." he placed a cup of water along with a plate of bread, cheese, and a small portion of meat next to the pallet. "It's all we can spare until we pack up to go home, I'm sorry I know you must be starved. When we arrive home, Anne will help you bathe and we should have a nice comfy cot for you to sleep on and I promise more food for you."
Moneta was unsure of how to respond to everything that was happening, her old life and family was gone. Although it had been replaced with promises of food and comfort she still felt a sadness in her heart.
"Thank you, sir." She was able to muster up before grabbing the cup and chugging half of the water.
The old man nodded and left the tent as Moneta started scarfing down her plate.
Before long she was drifting off on the pallet while watching the darkening sky peering in through the crack in the tents curtains.
At this very same moment a little girl is peeking through the castle windows while she's meant to be studying. Her mother and father will be furious she's "peasant watching" again but she can't help it. Most of those people have their own free lives where they roam and do as they please and she yearned for it.
She yearned not to be stuck behind these walls, but nothing could change, even if there was an event somewhere she had to stick by her mother and father's side.
It was suffocating.
Her own brother even got to run around outside the castle gates every once in a while. But she was meant to be queen someday. She inherited the family powers and not her brother so she must, it's her destiny.
Or so her parents told her.
She actually hadn't the faintest clue how they knew she had the family powers, she certainly didn't feel powerful and hadn't even had an awakening yet. Apparently her father reached his at age six and here she was eight years old and still awakening-less.
She felt like a lousy princess.
"Mistress Leora, please get from the window and do your studies." Her servant, Kassandra, spoke suddenly startling young Leora. She hadn't even heard the woman enter the room yet there she was, like always.
Kassandra had deep blue eyes that almost frightened Leora most times and shiny brunette hair that was always neatly pinned up in a tight bun. The woman was very tall and skinny and to Leora's child eyes she looked like a beautiful giant.
Leora, on the other hand, had blonde hair so bright it almost looked white and deep grey eyes. She had never much appreciated her appearance, she liked how Kassandra looked much more.
"Sorry Kassandra." She said with a small pout as she walked across the room and back to her small desk she used for her studies. "Your mother and father have very important business to attend to tonight again." Kassandra sighed setting down a cup of water on the desk for Leora.
"Not like it's any different than the last week." The young girl huffed, as much as she hated being trapped with her parents she also hated being trapped here without them. At least when they were here she got bed time stories from her father while her mother tucked her in.
Later that night she lay awake in bed, having to go untucked and storyless, and her heart ached with the possibilities swimming around in her mind.
The possibility of who she could have been, the lives she could have lived. If only she weren't stuck here, if only she could run.
