Eloise awoke to the pale light of the morning sun filtering through the thick canopy of forest trees. It was so quiet and she could only hear the wind blowing through the trees and birds chirping. She slowly opened her eyes as she stared around in confusion. She was tired, hungry and every inch of her was was sore.
She was covered in mud and had scars from the branches that scraped her skin. Her clothes were now torn and filthy and there were leaves stuck in her hair.
She lifted her hand to her neck and felt something cold…it was the necklace her mother had given her the previous night.
That's true! Her mother!
"Mother…." Her voice cracked but no sound came out.
She stared into space in shock as she recalled the memories from last night. She wanted to cry but she was too weak. She looked around and saw a tree with fruits. With the little energy left in her, she climbed the tree and brought down as many fruits as she could carry.
She placed them on her dress and held them up as she began to walk. She stopped when she found a stream. She washed the fruits, ate them and drank the water from the stream. It wasn't enough but it was enough to help her regain her energy.
Her thoughts wondered back to the previous night. Who were those men? And why were they attacking the village? What did they want? Are her grandparents okay? Her sister? And her mother…she was killed right before her eyes. Then she remembered how her mother flew; she was confused and didn't think it through. She also remembered her mother's words. "Run my little dove…you're the key. You must survive!"
So she stood up, and began to walk through the forest. She didn't know where she was going but she was moving away from there. She walked for hours and didn't realize it until she saw the sun was setting.
She was tired and drained so she laid down to sleep once again and drifted off into a deep sleep. She had a nightmare…
She was by the river side where she saw a woman standing sitting on a rock, she had a mermaid tail but her face was blurry. Then the woman said to her; "hold on to that necklace, trust no one and survive! The tide carried the curses and the chosen, you're the key little dove." Then she disappeared.
Suddenly, everywhere turned pitch black then she heard screams and wicked laughters and someone said "you foolish girl".
Eloise turned and turned in her sleep the she woke up screaming "NO!" She opened her eyes to see the necklace glowing and she was shocked when she realized it was day time and then she continued her journey, walking without a destination and wondering why her necklace was glowing.
She walked towards the outskirts of the town when suddenly, she was grabbed by a man. Oh no! They caught her.
"We'll aren't you a pretty little thing? You'll fetch good prices when you're older"
Eloise struggled to run but his grip on her hands was just too tight.
"What is this?" He said as he tried to grab her necklace but I burnt him and he just let her have it.
Eloise was thrown into what looked like a wooden cart at the back of the carriage and then they locked it. She screamed but no one answered. She turned and looked around; she saw many children her age and even older. They were dirty, crying and terrified. She sat down as she realized there was no running away for her, placed her head on her knees and wept.
The cart finally slowed down as the light of day faded from the sky. Eloise could smell smoke before she saw it, there was a strong smell of sweat and blood in the cart and something fouled beneath it.
The voices came next, it was laughter; it was t the kind of laughter that would make you laugh or smile. It was the type to make you scared, it was loud and cruel.
When the cart came to a stop, Eloise's stomach twisted into a tight knot.
"Alright you little rats, get out!" A big angry looking man barked, dragging the children with strong and unclean hands.
A boy next to Eloise whimpered in fear, he tried to press himself deeper into the corner of the cart as tears dropped from his eyes but a sharp slap sent him running out. Eloise barely had the strength to crawl to the edge before a hand grabbed her upper arm and yanked her out. Her feet hit the packed dirt hard, knees buckling beneath her weight.
She barely caught herself before falling.
The camp was worse than the whispers of the market square. Everywhere she looked, there were children all scared and terrified. Suddenly, another cart arrived but with older people; like teenagers. They were all chained together and made no attempts to run away. They all looked weak and tired.
Eloise's heart thudded so fast it felt like it would leave her chest.
They were all lined up like cattles in a farm and they were told to walk into a large tent. There were tents camp fire everywhere and no place to run to so she just complied. She entered the tent and though it was too small because they packed many children inside there, she tried to stay optimistic that she would soon leave the place. The ground beneath her feet were cold and filled with bones and bloodstains. She tried not to look down afraid of what next she might see.
A broad-shouldered man approached. He carried a stick that he slapped on his palm as he walked around the tent inspecting the children one by one. His eyes were sharp, greedy and scary.
He stopped in front of Eloise.
"We'll, we'll" he murmured, titling her chin up with the tip of his stick.
His eyes lingered on her face, then her tangled hair, the emerald at her throat, and back to her pale blue eyes. "Look at this one. Hair like spun gold, eyes like glass. Bet the nobles'll crawl over each other for a piece of her."
Eloise's throat tightened. She wanted to spit at him, scream, run. But her legs wouldn't move. Her voice wouldn't come.
"She'll fetch a fine price," another man grunted from behind.
The first one sneered. "Or maybe we keep this one for the private tent first. Pretty little thing like this… someone'll pay extra for the first touch."
The other men laughed, a low, ugly sound.
Eloise flinched but said nothing. She wouldn't cry. Not now. Not in front of them.
They shackled her wrists with coarse iron cuffs, the metal biting into her skin, leaving angry red marks. She was shoved down beside the others, a chain running through each of them to keep them joined together like animals held in captive.
Suddenly, an old woman entered their tent with bread and fish and a cup of water for eat of them. Eloise gobbled the food hungrily; she had been starving. If mother were here she'd have told her to slow down and not rush or she'd choke.
She looked up at the silvery shining moon in the sky as tears poured down her eyes.
"Mother…I miss you so much"
She could still remember the last words her mother said to her.
How she told her to run! To survive! She must survive and find her grandparents along with her sister.
"I won't die here, I know I won't." She said under her breath and let her eyes drift back into the sky.
The moon's reflection got caught in her eyes as she touched her necklace, it glimmered softly once more.
And although she didn't know it yet, something far older than the forest, older than the men who had stolen her freedom, began to listen.
The night stretched on, and Eloise survived.