Anya. That was the name of Will’s mother. And unlike piggy bitch’s claims, she wasn’t a village whore. The years he spent with his mother were the happiest in his life, but 5 years ago, that happiness had come to an abrupt end. Will’s mother was the village healer and the pox had carried her away with many others. In the end he wasn’t even allowed to see his mother as she was boarded up in the sickhouse along with the other afflicted. She was buried in a mass grave outside the village with salt sprinkled on her body along with dozens of other victims.

Will’s mother was also the reason why Lady piggy and her mother lady Mildred hated him more than anyone in the entire village. Anya wasn’t originally from the Lamia village. Before his marriage, lord faustad had fought in the army of king Alfred to put down the second kronian uprising. When he returned from the war he had brought back a healer with him who had saved his life. That in itself was not a problem, but the healer in question was a black haired beauty and she was carrying a child. Lord Damien’s father lord Darian was furious with him for bringing a woman back with him, especially since he had just finished setting up a political alliance with house Mort. This alliance was to be sealed with the marriage of Damian and Lord Mort’s eldest daughter lady Mildred.

Despite young lord Damien’s and Anya’s declaration that Damien wasn’t the father of the unborn child, the rumors soon began spreading in the village. Old Lord Darian decided to act quick and made sure Damien and Mildred were married within a week of Damien’s return. It didn’t take very long for the word of lord Damien’s alleged romance with the beautiful healer to reach Lady Mildred’s ear. Matters took a turn for the worse when Milderd actually saw Anya and realized just how pretty she was.

The only reason Anya wasn’t thrown out of the manor house was because of her delicate condition. Then Will was born. Anya had dark hair and Lord Damien was blonde haired. If will was born with red hair or even black hair like his mother, it might have been alright. But instead young Will was born with straw colored hair. Lady Mildred was livid and wanted the mother and child cast away from the village, but lord Damien insisted that he owed her a life debt for her services to him during the uprising. Finally, Anya was cast out from the manor and found refuge among Master Rowan’s future wife Mary’s family.

Anya was a kind and gentle person and soon Mary and Anya became inseparable friends. Anya worked hard and within a couple of years she was able to build a home of her own with the help of Mary’s family. Meanwhile, lady Mildred had given birth to her child Messenia. Her pregnancy was far from smooth and after Messenia’s birth she suffered many miscarriages. She was resigned to the fact that she couldn’t bear anymore children for her husband. Mildred’s anger and disappointment at not being able to provide her husband with a male heir soon found it’s focus on Anya and Will.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Mildred couldn’t get rid of Anya one way or other. The villagers loved her and more than that she feared that if something happened to Anya, that might induce her husband to legitimize Will as his son and heir. Mildred needed a way to neutralize Anya. Mildred wanted Anya to be married. She said she wanted to settle the question of Anya so that the blemish on her husband’s name could be forgotten.Mildred waged a long battle of attrition, eroding her husband’s will little by little until he caved in to her demands.

Finally Anya was given the choice between marrying the man Lord Damien selected or she could leave the village of Lamia. With no real choice left, Anya agreed. And who was the worthy choice you may ask. It was none other than the resident whoremonger and child beater extraordinaire Walter. Walter was in the service of Lord Mort and had come to Lamia as one of Lady Mildred’s personal guards. Within a short span of time he had managed to earn a reputation as one of the vilest men in the village. That was really saying something since the village had a good number of hellraisers.

Those who knew Anya and Will would tell you that the number of days in which they were really happy after Walter came into their family could be counted on the fingers of the unfortunate mother and child. Walter was cruel and impervious to reason. He always wanted to have his way with Anya and whenever she resisted, he would threaten to hurt Will. Anya always shielded her son, suffering in silence.When the pox finally carried away Anya, Will was left alone with his stepfather and there was no one left to shield him.

Will’s life may have ended soon if it wasn’t for the kindness of Anya’s best friend Mary and her husband Rowan, who was the stablemaster to Lord Damien. Rowan taught Will about horses and even convinced Walter that it was a good idea for Will to be a stableboy since Will could earn a monthly wage from the manor. Money that Walter could spend drinking and whoring. The advantage of the job in stables was that Will had an excuse to not go home. As long as Walter was paid Will’s monthly wages, he didn’t bother much with Will.

While Walter may have been content to leave Will alone, Lady Mildred sure wasn’t. She had managed to pass on her venom to her child Messenia. Teaching her to hate Will was one of the first things she made sure of. Will always suffered Messenia’s and her maid’s insult in silence, but 2 years ago when she called his mother a whore he snapped back at her. Messenia immediately told her mother who wasted no time in informing Walter of his step son’s unforgivable transgressions. That night Walter beat Will within an inch of his life and damaged his left leg permanently. It was only because of Mary’s and Master Rowan’s care that Will survived the ordeal, but as Messenia was often fond of reminding him, he was a cripple now.

*****************************************************************

As Will stood on the dirt road with Lavender’s reins in his hands, he looked up at the face of the girl who had helped ruin his life. He could see her mother’s venom, seeping out of her. Messenia in turn saw the living proof that his father might have loved another woman, a woman who had given him a son, which was something her mother could never do. He was the reason she lived in constant fear that her father might one day claim him as his son and heir, casting her and her mother aside. Each blaming the other for ruining their life.