"But Mom, I don't want to go to school today, I don't feel well" Noelle complained as she curled up in her bed, trying her hardest to look sick. It was her eight birthday so obviously she was going to try and stay home.

Her mother smiled, her smile was so radiant it could light up a dark room with no trouble, her father said it was one of the reasons he fell in love with her.

"Nice try sweetie, but I know better"

Noelle's mother patted her head softly, then kissed her forehead. "But since it's your birthday I'll let it slide, only this once though"

Noelle giggled and pulled her duvet over her, enjoying the heat and protection of it on the cold winter morning.

"But, I'll have to leave you alone for a while, I have to bring your father to Faiyum for his lecture, it won't take long though"

Just as her mother finished speaking, her father walked into the bedroom. He was struggling to fix his tie with one hand due to the other supporting him on his cane.

"Happy birthday, amirti." Her father smiled at her, then turned to his wife just as she stood up and walks over to him, fixing his tie for him. Smiling, he asked:

"Are you ready to go? I can't afford to be late, it's my first lecture. You know how much effort and sweet talking it took just to covince them to hire me, nevermind what would happen if I'm late on the first day."

Even at his pessimistic words, her father couldn't contain his excitement at the thought of teaching Faiyoum University. He used to work as an archaeologist after all. But sadly, he had to stop after an injury which causes him to walk around with a limp. One of the tombs he was exploring collapsed, heavily injuring his right leg, hence the cane.

Noelle giggled to herself at the thought of being left home alone, it's not like it's the first time it's happened, but the other times were only for a few minutes max.

This time, it will take at least thirty minutes to get to Fayoum University, and her mother will have to stay there as well...

Noelle watched with excited eyes as her parents walked out of her bedroom, waving goodbye as they do. Once she heard their door open and close, she climbed out of bed and looked out her window.

Her parents looked back at the house and smiled, giving her a small wave as they get into their car, a nice BMW which her father bought about a year ago. They started it and started driving away. They are barely onto the road before the car blew up.

...

The car blew up?

Pieces of flaming car flew into the air as the fire continued to grow. Noelle's innocent eyes widened in horror as she sprinted downstairs, nearly falling headfirst onto the floor at the speed.

She bursted out the door just as people started to crowd around the fire, some neighbours with buckets of water, trying to douse the fire.

But it's to no avail, the fire continued to grow, incinerating all. Noelle started to cry as she screamed:

"Mom! Dad!..... Get out!"

Her cries went unanswered and it's not long before she was in a police station holding a glass of water while one of the officers sat beside her.

Her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying, she would still be crying if she hadn't run out of tears. It all felt so surreal to the young girl. Her birthday was meant to be a happy day... so why wasn't it happy?

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"I'm here... where is she?" A man askez as he walks into the police station. He looked to be about thirty-five and resembled Noelle's father.

"Hello Mr Hafez" One of the officers greeted him as he walked in the door.

"She's just over here, she's still in shock and isn't responding well to anything... poor thing. I'll let you be with her first, then I'll need you to fill out some paperwork"

Her uncle walked over to her with a sad smile, he was her father's younger brother and you could clearly see it, they looked really similar. They had the same eyes and shaggy hair, though you could tell them apart by the fact her uncle was able to walk without a cane.

He got down on one knee before the sniffling Noelle and softly embraced her in a hug, whispering into her ear:

"I'm sorry... this was the only way"

*******

Hunger

There is no worse pain than hunger, and never in Noelle's fifteen years of life had she been so hungry.

She had long realised that her parents car was tampered with, rigged to explode as soon as it pulled out of the driveway. She even knew who did it.

The uncle she loved so dearly as a child was the leader of a gunrunning and terrorist group.

Turns out her father was a lot richer then he was showed, having a vast fortune from his archaeological discoveries. Another thing she found out is that he was supposed to be infertile, it was a miracle when it said her mother was pregnant on the test.

The only problem being that since he thought he would never have children, everything in his will was left to his brother and wife. Her father ended up never changing it, he kept forgetting, but the forgetfulness caught up.

Now he was dead, and since his wife was also dead, all his money that was left to his brother was being spent on drugs, weapons and women.

It would've been easy for her to tell the police all this and get her uncle arrested, the only problem being that the last time Noelle was seen in public was the day her parents died.

Inside the compound of the group, she's locked in a cell, fed barely enough food to survive, clothed in tattered rags. There is nowhere that is worse than here.

Her life for the last seven years had been... terrible. She was mistreated by everyone, fed scraps and had to bear the cold nights all alone. The only time she got any source of information about the outside world was whenever the guards outside the cell block spock loud enough for her to overhear. It all got worse when she was fifteen though.

One of her uncles clients spotted her when passing through the compound and paid a large amount of money to have her for the night.

Dressed in pretty clothes and done up in extravegant make-up, she was brought to one of the better bedrooms in the compound where the old geezer was waiting for her. What he expected to be a good night for him ended with...

A piece of his ear bit off and permanent damage to his eyes.

The two guards outside burst into the room and pulled the screaming Noelle off the man, her mouth and thumbs covered with his blood. The fat bastard was screaming in pain, holding his hands up to his eyes.

The aftermath was nothing short of torturous. She got abused even more, fed even less and was locked in the cell she was currently in.

And that was her life for another two years. Her uncle abandoned her, the little care he had for her was gone. She had no one to talk to and nothing to do.

So she came up with something to do.

Day after day, or what she thought was day after day as there was no window in her cell, she worked on her body and mind. Meditation, working out, anything to bring her some semblance of peace and order.

And that was her life for two years. One interaction a day when her uncles goons brought her food, and the rest by herself. But that all changed one day. Instead of being brought her scraps called dinner, her arms were tied up and she was brought through the compound.

It had changed changed much in the last two. A lot of money must have been spent to do it up to the current level, the compound could've honestly passed as a secret military base.

Eventually, Noelle and the three guards reach their destination... her uncles office.

The meeting went... about as expected. Noelle cursing and calling him a bastard, him slapping her, her spitting on him, him punching her. The cat and mouse game continued for a few minutes before her uncle finally stopped and ordered Noelle work around the compound as a guard and cleaner.

At this point, Noelle was ripped beyond belief. Her olive skin burst with power and her muscles shone under the sweltering heat of the Egyptian sun. Her hair also hadn't been cut in years so the first thing she did with her newfound freedom, if counting a limited space as freedom, was cut her hair.

She cut it to just above her shoulders, thinking having long hair was a bad omen as the last time her hair was so long was when her parents died, and the other time it grew that long was when the old geezer she blinded tried to have her for the night.

This was also the first time in years she got to see her reflection in a mirror. Her face had changed much, she looked more mature, confident... stronger.

But under all that was a girl who was scared. Scared of the people around her, scared of not knowing where in the world she is, scared of being locked up again... scared of what will come tomorrow.

Alas, tomorrow is not always a bad thing, as it is that fateful tommorow when she met him...

Gabriel