Chapter 2- Hide
Freya closes her eyes after seeing the blood of a man that is splattered on the ground. She is hiding on a pillar in the slums because of her uncle. The random kids from the streets, who tell her this place was with her but run away after seeing her uncle, who is a thug, has his victim noble who she thinks is only one year older than her.
The abandoned house with concrete walls in the slum is their secret hideout and that place where they bring their prey. Sometimes a clueless mercenary who is from another town is their victim. Her uncle will abduct them secretly and hit them countless times so that they beg for their lives and offer a large amount of money. It was a simple deal, but the process is brutal. Sometimes, they quickly give cash in exchange for not getting hit, but her uncle is a psychopath. Freya thought that all of the people that her uncle's victim was weak.
"What do we need to do now?" Rick asked one of the thugs, who is the right hand of Rigor, Freya's uncle.
"This brat is annoying!" said Leandro, the other thug. He doesn't like the eyes of the kid they kidnapped.
"Shut up! The person who offered us big money will tell us. We need to keep that fucking boy here." Rigor taunted. Trying to scare the boy, but he stares at him without any hint of emotions.
"Shit. This kid is tough." Rigor smirks. He likes tough people, and kids are not an exception.
"How about this useless guard?" Leandro asked. His fierce eyes are smiling because of the smell of blood. He likes it when someone is dying. It gives chills and great excitement to him.
"Asshole. We cannot dispose of him yet. I plan to squeeze him money. He looks like a noble to me." Rigor retorted while laughing at the man who passed out because they kept hitting him.
Freya's two big blue eyes widened after hearing her uncle. She knows that they were ruthless people, but Freya still can't stomach the indecent conversations. She never believed in goddesses and evil, but she wanted to renounce today. She is still hiding at the pillar because her uncle dislikes her. That incident two and half years ago when Freya was eight years old...
Miel was a maid in a count household. She's beautiful, kind and most of all likes children. Miel was from the slums, but because of her hardworking and good personality, she was hired by the count. Everyone liked her, and no one in the slums didn't know who Miel was.
Freya forgets about her past because of an accident. Rigor told her that she was a stupid daughter of his sister who works from the red district, and her father is unknown. Rigor always tells her the tragedy she caused that caused Miel's life.
Rigor is in love with Miel. He was once a swordsman and from the military. He promised to marry Miel after returning from his missions, but because of my stubbornness, Miel died while saving me from a slave trader.
Rigor says that it was my fault that the love of his life died, but Freya can't remember the incident. Every time she thinks of remembering, her head will experience excruciating pain, and she will block out.
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Rigor tells Freya that she killed his love and the reason why he quit his job was because of her. He hated her, and Freya is growing up while thinking of herself as an awful person. No one consoles her nor teaches her anything. Freya grows up like that, and she learns things only for herself while in the street slums. She only has one friend, Layla.
"Skk Zzt" is the sound of mosquitos biting her skin. It's almost 7:00 PM, and Freya is hungry. She wanted to go home, but she couldn't leave her hiding place because of her uncle's threat. She is scared of him. In two years of being with him in the slums, she was never treated right. He always speaks ill of her, and many times that he hurt her physically. The neighbors do not care for a child who was the reason for Miel's death, and even Freya doesn't have memories of the past; they simply think she deserves to suffer.
"Freya!" Someone called her name, and a pink-haired girl with green eyes appeared. She slowly and carefully runs in her direction, trying her best to sneak out without getting noticed by the thugs.
"Layla? What are you doing here?" she asked and hugged her after jumping from the pillar where she's hiding from.
"I can't find you in your house! We have a job!" Layla scolds her, but her voice is shallow because she's cautious not to be noticed.
"I can't get out of here! Uncle will kill me." Freya said in a trembling voice. She tried to hide her chills, but Layla is sharp and can see through her.
"Tch. Why are you so unfortunate? I even asked the other kids who were with you earlier while looking for you." Layla looks at her with worried eyes. Freya has the right to be afraid. Layla once witnessed how he became violent with Freya and abused her, leaving her body tons of wounds and bruises. Freya almost died but recovered in two months because Layla secretly sneaked to give her medicine and food.
"The kids showed me this place and tried to find some plants that we can get to eat. I was caught off guard when my uncle suddenly showed up with his prey." Freya explained in a small voice. They look at each other, and Freya can't help but feel hopeless.
"What do we do now? I planned for you to join this job. We need to watch the noble outside the manor and report to them the people who will walk in. The pay is good!" Layla mutters. She even insisted to the leader so Freya could join them.
"I'm scared, Layla. What if uncle will hurt you too?" Freya bit her thumb finger showing her anxiousness.
"He can't hurt me. You know that my family is known although my brother is a swordsman and had a decent job in the capital... but still." Layla said, her face is assuring Freya, but she's nervous because Rigor is ruthless and arrogant.
"Let's wait here for an hour. It's almost time for dinner. I'm sure they will leave, and uncle likes to drink alcohol whenever he eats dinner." Freya suggested. She stretched her back and leaned at the cold fence.
Layla did not answer and looked at the frail girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. Freya is beautiful and good-hearted. She doesn't know her before, but they met a year ago when Freya begged the people to save her from her abusive uncle. Layla isn't aware of the reason why Freya has been ignored, but one time, her mother told her a story about Meil and the accident that happened between them. She thinks that it's very skeptical about hating a kid for that petty reason. She doesn't deserve to be treated like an animal. The grief in her eyes never leaves in Layla's memories. The blue eyes of a girl like a deep ocean she dreams of going to someday. Layla loves the sea, she once traveled because of her brother, but that was a long time ago. They have a house in the capital, but her mother doesn't want to leave the slum, and Layla can't understand why.
"You're uncle is so ridiculous! How can he hate a pretty person like you!" Layla is whining and sits beside her trying to comfort her friend.
"I don't know, but I was told that because I killed someone." Freya whispered. Her blue eyes are dark and full of anguish and suffering.
In this world, where she has nothing, even a family. Freya looks at the sky and tries her best to watch the stars as if they have the reasons for her suffering. They became quiet. Layla sighs and chooses not to speak. She knows it was wrong, and Freya is a victim. That's her intuition, and she wanted to prove that someday so Freya can finally be free.