Once I was Elina Ettaline Sonnet, living happily ever after with my family. Two disasters struck, one taking my mom and then the other taking my brother. He was everything I had after my mom died. I did everything for my brother, Aston was my world. Now I knew that I wasn’t going to live out a happily ever after. I was destined to be miserable, a servant sold by a man she called father.
I was fresh out of tears when they brought me into the throne room. My nose was red and running, my eyes were sore from the crying, and my head was facing down to hide what happened. The dirt on my face from Aston in the garden and the blood from the cruel debt collector.
I was dragged in, crying. After a three hour car ride one would think that I couldn’t cry anymore. I still had plenty to cry aboutand plenty of tears.. Now I was standing in front of the man who ruined everything. I would never get to see my brother again. It was the king’s fault I was torn from him. I would hate him forever for it.
The debt collector walked forward, holding himself high while I was forced forward with my hands behind me and the guards holding my arms tightly. I kept my head down. Each time I tried to raise it the man would smack me. I didn’t want to get hit anymore.
“Payment from the wood worker that is three months late, he said all he had was his daughter to pay for it. She put up a fight, but we got your property here safely.”
I picked my head up. “PROPERTY?” I shrieked. “YOU LITTLE FOUL MAN!” I fought against the guards. “ YOU’RE THE DEVIL’S FRIEND! YOU LITTLE-”
I twisted against the guard’s grip. They struggled to keep me from kicking them. Their solution was forcing me to kneel. I screamed at them and tried to escape. I wasn’t property. I was a human, not some object.
“My apologies, your Majesty, excuse me for a minute.” The debt collector pleaded.
He turned to me, still cursing him for what he said. He stood in front of me, holding his chin high. He raised his hand, backhanding me. I whimpered and faced the ground. I didn’t scream or shout. I started silently crying, making no sound. It seemed enough to satisfy the debt collector.
“Like I said before, we had some difficulty acquiring her.” The debt collector explained. I hated that man more than the king and my father.
The king grunted, at least I thought it was him. I wasn’t looking. I wouldn’t dare pick my head up again. Not to suffer more abuse from that man. I stayed quiet, crying. I didn’t have much else that I could do. I felt the heavy stare of the king. It weighed down on me. I didn’t know how.
“What is your name?” He asked. I didn’t answer, not at first. The debt collector started gripping my hair.
“Ettaline.” I whispered.
“Ettaline what?” The debt collector asked.
He tightened his grip on my hair and started pulling my head up. Angry tears spilled down my face. This time I wouldn’t be forced to look up. I picked my head up and made eye contact with the king.
“Sonnet was my mother’s name.”
He seemed to understand. I wouldn’t want to be called by Papa’s name. Not when he sold me. He nodded slowly. He stood up from his throne. He was tall and not fat like I would have imagined. He didn’t wear any jewels except a ring and his crown. He gave me a smile that wasn’t happy, but more pitiful.
“Ettaline Sonnet, what’s your aatma?” He asked.
Aatma. It was a gift that everyone had, different depending on your heritage. Mine came from my mother. Like her I was a Seeper, someone who could slip into the mind and erase bad dreams or memories. Aston was a Whisper like Papa, he could speak to animals. Normally nobody asked that question unless they really cared about getting to know you. I would have wiped the tears away if I could.
“Seeper.” I muttered. He broke into a smile.
“I haven’t met someone like you in a long time. I’m a Burst. Not as cool, but I wouldn’t want to trade it. Would you trade yours if you could?” He asked.
He was so friendly. I didn’t understand that. I was sold to him, the debt collector was cruel and so were the guards, but he wasn’t. He was different. It was like he actually cared what happened to me. I slowly shook my head.
“No sir.”
He smiled again. He looked really kind. He rubbed his beard as he walked. “How old are you?”
“Fourteen.” I answered. His smile fell. He stood in silence for a while.
“You’re a year younger than my oldest son. He wants to have a career in the medical field. He wants to save people.”
He gestured to a boy standing by his throne. The boy looked a little awkward standing there. He tried to stare forward, emotionless, but failed when his father pointed him out. He gave an awkward wave. He didn’t look bad.
“What do you want to do in the future?” The king asked.
My heart dropped the moment my answer came to me. I stared at the ground as the tears started forming in my eyes. I knew the answer. I knew what I wanted to answer. I couldn’t look him in the eye while I answered.
“See my brother again.”
Silence filled the hall. I started crying. I knew it wouldn’t happen. Everyone in the room knew that. Nobody wanted to tell me that it I wouldn’t see him again. The king cleared his throat.
“I believe I can handle it from here Mr.Frow, thank you.” The king said.
“But my king!”
“That’s enough Mr.Frow. Thank you. Oh and if you would take your guards with you and uncuff Miss.Sonnet.” The king said.
His voice was stronger and hard, leaving no room to argue. The guards let go of my arms and grabbed the cuffs. I listened as the lock clicked. The cuffs loosened and were taken away. I rubbed my wrists and looked back to make sure that he was gone. I stood up shakily. I wiped away the tears with the back of my hand, wincing as I brushed under my eye.
I started thinking back about how I left. Aston and I, screaming for each other being forced apart. The coldness that Papa showed me. He didn’t care about me. I lost my whole family in a day. I started crying again. I wiped the tears away again.
“Miss.Sonnet?” The king asked.
I looked up. I felt so small compared to him. He was raised on a platform with glittering jewels. I was in a mud covered dress. Nothing compared to him. The king waved to his son as he walked down the steps towards me. The prince followed. I went back to rubbing my wrist. I looked up as they were a few paces from me. I took a small step back. The king stopped his son from walking any closer.
“Ettaline, I have to go attend to a few things right now, is it alright if I have Edward help you get cleaned up and then show you to my study?”
He made a gesture to his son. I gave a small nod. The king smiled and walked off. It left me and the prince standing awkwardly in the throne room. I rubbed my arm, waiting for something to happen. The prince cleared his throat. I glanced up at him. He looked sad.
“This way,”
I followed him at a distance. He walked ahead, occasionally glancing back. I kept rubbing my arm and keeping my eyes down. I wasn’t paying attention. I was thinking about my brother again, wiping away the tears. I slammed into his chest, unaware that he stopped. I quickly stepped back.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
He raised his hand. I flinched and turned my head away, shutting my eyes tightly. I was expecting a slap. It just never came. I peered towards him. He slowly pulled his hand away with a frown. My heart was beating so fast.
“Why did you flinch?” He asked.
I gripped my wrist tightly. I didn’t really answer. He stretched his hand out again, carefully placing it on the side of my face. His hand was soft and warm, not sweaty. I looked up at him, what was he doing? Even his brown eyes had a warmth to them. His thumb brushed against my cheek, startling me. He pulled his hand away.
From his expression I was expecting a rude or very personal question to be asked. Like what’s your soulmark, it was something nobody discussed. If you asked that you had no manners at all. It was the most personal question you could ask. He at least had some manners.
“You don’t have to be scared. My dad’s really nice. Come on, he wants you to get cleaned up.”
I followed him further down the hall and into a really big room. Rows of bed lined it all, each with a curtain that could be pulled around it for privacy. He dragged me past all of them and to a small side door. He opened it, revealing a private room. He waited for me to walk in before closing the door.
“Hey Dr.Lion!” He shouted. “My dad wants you to check someone out.”
A door opposite from us opened. A man stepped out with a smile. He looked funny with the big white coat and the glasses on his head. His black hair was a little messy. I didn’t like how his eyes went directly to me. They didn’t leave me even as the prince spoke. The man kept staring. I felt uncomfortable. He was starting to scare me.
I stepped back and reached for the door. I fumbled to find the handle. I glanced back for it. The prince’s arm wrapped around my waist instead and pushed me away from the door. I looked at him quickly. My heart was pounding quickly. I didn’t want to be here with that man.
“He’s not scary. Dr.Lion’s really nice too.” The prince said as he led me farther from the door. “Dr.Lion, this is Ettaline. She’s a new servant.”
“Why what happened to your face? Did you fall?” The doctor asked.
I didn’t answer. I really wanted to get out. Tears started forming in my eyes. I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t like that man. Something about him scared me. I tried to stop walking towards him. The prince kept pushing me on and answered for me.
“Mr.Frow brought her in.” He said.
The doctor’s eyes widened in surprise, before nodding solemnly. “Ah.” Was all that was said. He held his hand out to me. “No wonder you’re scared. Frow is a mean man. How about we help you sit down and then we can take care of what he did?”
I moved slowly, keeping a cautious eye on the man. I had to climb up onto the elevated bed. The prince raced to a sink in the corner and began washing his hands. The doctor hummed as he opened several drawers and pulled out mysterious tools. I scooted back with each one that he pulled out. Eventually I was on the edge of the bed.
“Let’s get you cleaned up.” The doctor said.
I was nearly gasping for breath as he stepped close to me. The doctor ignored it and unwrapped a wipe. I watched him carefully. I didn’t trust him. He turned to me. The doctor looked behind him to the prince who was putting on blue plastic gloves.
“Prince Edward, can you come over here?” He asked. The prince nodded and jogged over with a smile. “She’s a little scared, be a friend and sit with her please.”
He rolled his eyes as he climbed up and sat next to me. The doctor showed me the wipe and grabbed the prince’s arm.
“Hey!” He shouted.
“Relax, I’m just showing her that it won’t hurt.” The doctor wiped it against his arm before grabbing another one and turning to me. “I’m just going to clean away the blood so that we can see what we’re dealing with.”
He put his hand on the back of my head and began wiping the blood away. I did flinch. My heart was pounding fast as he helped. I started shaking at one point. He took that as his leave.
“Edward, can you put bandaids on her cuts while I get some ice packs?”
The doctor gave me a smile before leaving. It sent a chill through me. I watched him walk across the room and through a door. I did not trust him. The prince opened a drawer and pulled out some decorative bandaids. He took them out of the wrappers and reached towards me. I flinched away and shut my eyes. Everything in me told me to run and call for help. He just pressed the bandaid over the cut on my forehead.
“You’re weird.” He told me. “You keep acting like I’m going to hit you.”
I peeked my eyes open and glanced at him. “Are you?” I whispered.
He shook his head. He put another bandaid near my cheek. He pulled my skirt out of a bunch. It was coated in dry mud. My hands were too, from the last time I’d get to play with my brother. The prince grabbed my hands and reached for a rag, but froze. He ran his thumb over my palm.
“I know how you feel.” He said quietly. He didn’t explain after that. He just cleaned the mud off my hands and then the doctor came back. I’d rather be alone in silence with the prince.