Maude sat down on her bed in the attic of the Holloway manor after bathing. At fourteen years old, the training that her father had her doing was positively brutal, and took a toll on her body day after day. Instead of growing womanly curves during the start of her puberty, she was bulking up instead.

Today had been no different than every other day for the last two years. Her hands throbbed with unhealed calluses and blisters from gripping her sword all day. Her stomach growled angrily, and she thought she felt the sides of it rubbing against one another.

Maude’s step-mother, Zara, would have a maid come to fetch Maude once the “main” family had finished dinner. Ever since Maude had turned 10, Zara had refused to let Maude eat with the rest of the family, claiming that it was causing Callum too much stress. Maude’s father had obliged Zara, and Maude became the black sheep very quickly. Though her father did not like her, Zara was allowed to do pretty much whatever she wanted, and had ended up being the person that Maude wanted to deal with the least.

Her sword saint awakening had changed nothing. In fact, in some ways, it had made things worse. They all wistfully told her how much they wished Callum had gotten the powers instead of her. She felt the same. If it let her live a more peaceful life, she’d gladly hand her powers over to Callum.

What is taking so long? She thought. Her stomach rumbled mercilessly. Surely the maids aren’t playing a prank again.

She gritted her teeth. If she went down to the dining room and if it wasn’t time for her to eat, Maude knew she’d be running the risk of getting into an argument with her step-mother. That was never a pleasant endeavor.

But if she just sat and waited, there was also a chance that a maid was being particularly nefarious and was intentionally not informing her that she could come and eat.

She stood up on her legs that were shaking from a combination of over-exertion and hunger. She tried to pace around the room to help her clear her thoughts and come up with a plan of action, but her physical fatigue was overwhelming her. She felt so weak she could barely stand.

That’s it, she decided. If I get into a small fight with Zara, it will be alright, so long as I get food into my belly sooner rather than later.

Maude gingerly started down the hallway to the stairs, and began to make her way slowly towards the dining room.

As she passed her father’s office, she noticed there were several maids rushing around in the area. That was never a good sign; normally that meant the start of dinner was happening soon. It was late enough that the rest of the family should have finished dinner just about thirty minutes prior.

Maude swallowed hard, and considered going back up to her room. Maybe she could manage to wait just a little bit longer...

She shook her head at herself. There was absolutely no way she was going to be able to hold out much longer. She was feeling faint from the exertion it was taking just to maneuver towards the dining room.

“Excuse me,” she said, weakly to one of the maids. The maid glanced at her, their eyes met, and then the maid looked away with disgust. Maude’s heart dropped into her stomach.

“Excuse me,” she said to a different maid. That maid flat out ignored her, didn’t even bat an eye at her small voice.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

It’s no use, she growled in her head. I should just go down to the dining room and check myself.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Maude continued her journey through the manor.

After about five minutes of slow, painstaking movements, Maude was facing the double doors that entered the main dining hall. She paused and listened.

There seemed to be very little noise coming from the room. She didn’t hear the clinking of silverware or plates, or Zara’s boisterous laughter coming through the doors. She didn’t hear Callum asking his mother to cut up his meat for him either. In fact, it was safe to say that the dining room sounded not much different from when Maude was in it, dining alone.

It was just a prank, then, she thought. Fucking bastards.

It also explained why none of the maids wanted to talk to her when she tried to ask.

“Okay,” Maude said with a heavy sigh. She gently opened the door in front of her, and was greeted by Zara sitting near the head of the table.

Son of a...!

“Maude,” she heard Zara’s snooty voice say, as Maude turned to close the door. “What are you doing here so early?” Zara asked.

“I um, uh,” Maude said bowing to her step-mother. “I thought that the maids had neglected to tell me about dinner again.” Maude paused. “I’m sorry, Mother. Please forgive me. I will leave now, and come back later.” Maude bowed again, and started turning to leave.

“Later?” Zara asked. “What makes you think you should come back later when you’ve come so early for my dinner?”

Maude swallowed hard and felt her palm sweating against the door handle. I should have just waited, she thought.

Zara stood up on her tall high heels, and her evening gown glittered as if to brag that it was worth more than everything Maude owned.

Maude took another step back into the hallway. Her head was starting to spin.

“You know that you’re supposed to wait for a maid to summon you, but here you are, without a maid.” Zara crossed her arms. “Why?” she demanded.

Maude flinched and took another step back. “I am sorry, Mother, I was just very hungry after a long day of training.”

Zara grabbed Maude’s wrist, pulled her into the dining room and flung her towards the floor. It was unexpected enough that Maude stumbled and fell.

“Foolish girl!” Zara yelled. “Who do you think you are?”

Maude managed to look up, just in time to see Zara’s hand headed for her face. Two slaps burned Maude’s cheeks. The dizziness Maude was feeling intensified. All she wanted to do was escape from this situation.

“You think you are the top dog of this house?” Zara asked Maude. “You couldn’t be more wrong. You are absolutely fucking worthless. Spending money on your existence is a fucking waste.” Spit was spewing from Zara’s mouth onto the floor in front of Maude. She could see the tiny droplets slightly darkening the floor in front of her.

“The only reason you’re still alive is because of your sword,” Zara continued. “Otherwise you would have been dead long ago. But mark my words, you are absolutely inadequate, despite your capabilities.”

Maude was trying to focus on the number of spit dots on the carpet. They were surprisingly difficult to count.

Zara’s foot met Maude’s shin, and she winced, but did everything in her power to hold back her reaction. Zara was the type of person who was fueled by how others responded to her actions.

“You think you can just come down and eat whenever?” Zara was saying. “You think you deserve anything besides scraps?” Maude could hear Zara breathing heavily. “You deserve nothing. And nothing is what you shall get.”

Maude felt her heart drop to her stomach. It was going to be nearly impossible to sleep on an empty stomach. And she had a full day of training tomorrow.

“Get out of my sight,” Zara said, kicking Maude’s shin again.

Maude slowly got up as she watched Zara’s feet walk back towards her dining chair.

I can’t do this, Maude thought. I can’t keep going like this.

She made it to the door, barely holding back her tears.

I will do anything in my power to not be like these people, she thought. These people who think violence will solve everything.

She nearly collapsed while walking back up the stairs. A maid had to walk around her, and Maude heard her tsk as she walked around.

I will never be like them, she promised herself while climbing up the stairs to her attic room. Never, never.

When she finally made it to her room, she closed the door, collapsed onto her bed, and silently cried.