Gabriel

All alone she was living in a world without an end or beginning. She lay in a ball on the cold floor. Her skin was covered in bruises. They robbed her of everything in one night. She used to be a good person.

Back then, she lived the charmed life. Gabriel grew up in a high society world. When her mother died, her father gave her anything that his daughter wanted. As Gabriel got older, her father taught her how to be independent. They never had servants in the house. It was mostly her and her father. Gabriel couldn’t have asked for more.

“One day, you’ll grow up and get sick of your old dad,” her father told her. His daughter giggled as she fell back on the grass.

“No!” she said. “Never! I will love you forever!” Gabriel rushed forward and hugged her father. He kissed her on the forehead.

“I love you, sweetie,” he said.

“I love you too, Daddy,” the little girl said.

---------

By the age of eighteen, Gabriel was to be married. Her father talked to her about the decision he made for her.

“Why do I need to get married?” she asked.

“I only want to keep our family life going,” her father explained. “Please do this for us?” His blue eyes were enough to melt her heart. Gabriel lowered her head.

“Alright,” she said. It took two years to find the right suitor. Gabriel was married off to a wine merchant eight years older than her. He made a decent amount of money every year. The gentleman had been married before, but it ended in divorce. Gabriel’s father gave them his blessing.

“Treat my daughter well,” he told the merchant on their wedding day.

“I will,” Julian, the wine merchant, said. The couple had a small ceremony in the English countryside. Only their families and the minister were there in the light rain. Gabriel and Julian lived a quiet and comfort life in London. Five years into the marriage, her father died in his sleep. After the funeral, things grew worse.

--------

England took a nasty turn with its economy. World War I had wiped them out in spirit and money. Most of the poor struggled to find something eat or take shelter. Only ten families still had the money to get buy. Overtime, the common man began to hate said families. It wouldn’t be long before the attacks on them took place.

Gabriel and Julian were hit the worst.

It started with the rumors. The couple tried to ignore them, but the common man grew smarter. They would whisper stories about Gabriel being a whore to random drunks that would end up not remembering the source of the stories. Pretty soon, former nobles jumped on with the slander. Gabriel tried to defeat herself to no avail. The talk put a strain on her marriage.

“I have never been unfaithful to you!” Gabriel said in an argument. “You can’t surely believe otherwise.”

“Of course, I don’t,” her husband said.

“Then what is it?” she asked.

Julian sighed. “It’s not that easy.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “And why is that?” Julian handed her divorce papers. It didn’t take long for his wife to figure out what they were.

“You must be joking!” she shouted.

“This is the only way to save face for our family,” he said. “I still love you, but we need to survive. This will only be until things get better.”

“And what if they don’t get better?”

Julian took Gabriel by the cheeks. “Please bear with me for a little bit. I promise things will get better when this is all over.”

“I won’t sign it,” she said.

“Please? Just make this easier for us.”

“No!” After about six days, Gabriel finally relented. In July seventh, 1936, the couple “divorced”. (They didn’t fully divorce; it would only be temporary until the country got back on its feet.) Julian headed to Paris in an attempt to secure their future. He kissed his ex-wife on the forehead.

“I won’t be gone too long,” he said. “I will come back for you when this is all over.” Gabriel looked at him rather bitter before he left. However, the night turned for the worst when a group of poor, angry men stormed into the half-vacant house.

----------

-Now-

Gabriel shivered in ball on the floor. Her body was bloodied and bruised. She swore to herself revenge on those men who attacked her.

“I can help you get revenge,” a deep voice whispered in the darkness. Gabriel didn’t lift her head.

“How can you do that?” she asked.

“I will give you the power,” the voice said. “All you have to do is give yourself over to me.” She drew her mouth closed and held her hand to her chest.

“Alright,” the battered woman said. Gabriel reached out her hand and the tale of darkness began. She opened her eyes and began her hunt.