I hate this place.
Not a day goes by that I don't whisper those four words under my breath. How could I not? It's only half past noon and I'm already banished to the shed, all alone as I sat on the corner of the small room. What's more, in a few minutes I'm about to get whooped by that man again.
And the reason?
Psh, I don't even know anymore! Even if I'm simply standing in the corner breathing, it won't matter.
They'll still find ways to punish me one way or another.
That's...just how it is here.
And it's all because of my STUPID HAIR AND EYES. The colour of my hair and eyes are the main reason all those around me treat me like trash,
It's the trademark of a Malem, someone who's born with so little magic that it's no use to them at all because they couldn't even wield it even if they wanted to.
The vast empire of Vassiliy, where the elements of Fire, Water, Air, Land, Dark, Light, and Ice were the center of everything. Each noble residing in the empire, called a Medeis, is known for their unique associated with one of the seven elements, which they could wield and use to their advantage and is also a significant part of their identity and status.
Even the common folks worked hard, but since they don't have enough power to wield their element properly, they were looked down upon by the noble families. But even then, due to everything revolving around the seven elements, those who possess no power are despised and unwelcome, even among the common folks.
Still, being a Machaera would be a much better option.
Though they're not born with a high amount of mana in their body, it is their aura that makes them a valuable asset to the empire. They're usually trained as soldiers to fight alongside the emperor in the battlefield and even become nobles if they've served the Imperial family for quite some time.
For that reason, It was a harsh reality for those without any power at all.
They were despised to the point that even the common folks shunned them.
I knew this all too well, as I myself had no powers, none at all. My brown eyes and eyes marked me as something called a Malem, someone who had been stripped of their magical abilities, who's born with so little magic that it's no use to them at all because they couldn't even use it even if they wanted to.
It's so unfair, everyone in the empire are mages.
A Mage without an element, with no such strength and power. That's what I am. And brown is the color that symbolizes that I am indeed a Malem.
How cruel. To be born like this, I'm better off dead.
Now here I am.
In this small shed.
The small space granted to me for whatever reason.
The only place where I could run to and rest my head, quickly became the place where I would hide from the Viscount.
Bruises all over my body, they're basically numb. I'm so used to getting yelled at that it doesn't really bother me anymore. I'd probably be offended if someone even tries to compliment me. It's times like this that I wonder,
How long will I be able to survive this gruesome reality?
BANG! The doors burst open.
My whole body reacted immediately, flinching, then proceeding to tremble all over. My brain starts wishing for it to be over when it hasn't even started yet.
The Viscount enters the room. Niles Porfirio Kad Brotillon, a well known noble and powerful water mage. He's known for his dark blue hair and gem like blue eyes. But under all that? Is a man who enjoys torturing and belittling others.
He held in his right hand a long whip rolled up in a loop, wearing that same devilish look he always had in his face as he smirked in amusement.
"Now tell me," He uttered in an ominous tone. "Why an ungrateful brat like you, dare insult my darling daughter?!"
Ah, So it's about her.
I should've known.
Carolina Lavette Kad Brotillon, the youngest daughter of the Viscount. She is the exact girl version of her father and is spoiled, bratty, but most of all--wicked. She's three years older than me and despises those who are 'beneath' her. A trait that almost all nobles posses.
I could not help but stare blankly at the viscount like I don't know what he was talking about. And the fact is, I really don't.
As I recalled the events of the day, I let out a soft sigh. She probably saw me looking at her earlier and felt offended that such a low ranking maid like me would even dare make eye contact with her. And so, using her cute charming personality, she rattled me out to her father.
"My Lord, I didn't-" I tried to protest, such a dumb mistake to make at a time like this.
"SHUT UP!" spit came out of his mouth as he screamed.
My face turned bright red as his palm hit the side of my cheek. But I knew, that's just the beginning of my so called 'punishment'. He grabbed me by the arm, shoving me on the corner of the room. My knees bled, scraped from the concrete floors as I knelt. I couldn't even do as much as groan in pain.
"Heh, pathetic Malem." he chuckled softly.
He reached his hand out, gripping on my cheeks and jaw as tightly as he could. In a split second, my face was only inches away from his. I could hear him breathing softly, his hot breath passing through my face. From the way he was looking at me, I could tell he was staring me down. Trying his best to scare me and make my body tremble even more.
But unfortunately, even as my body trembled, I wasn't scared. This, to me, was normal. And the trembling, is nothing but a reflex.
When I stared back at him with such emotionless eyes, he became even more irritated. He pushed me down once more. This time, my head hit the floor with a loud thud.
"..Argh.." I let out a soft groan.
The Viscount stood up. I could hear him unrolling the long whip he reserved holding in his right hand this whole time.
"Your eyes disgust me." he said, before pulling on my hair and rolling it in his other arm.
"Perhaps I should just gouge them out once and for all. It may even make you a little presentable." he continued, whispering the words near my ear.
I shivered all over. The situation felt disgusting. I wanted to shout. I wanted to at least call for help. But even I knew that no one would just magically burst through the doors and swoop me away. That's not how real life works.
Before I know it, tears began to fall from my eyes.
The deranged lord started letting my hair go, slowly but gently he untangled my hair from his arms.
And that's when I knew....
WUH-POW! With one big strike, the thin tip of the long whip, pressed hard against my back.
"GRAAAAAAHHHHH!"
My screams reached even the most secluded rooms of the Brotillon Manor.
I'm used to the beatings and whooping, but I'm not numb. It still hurt. He slashed his hand forward in full speed with a wide smile.
Of course he's enjoying this.
I closed my eyes shut, whimpering with every whoop, screaming in agony every time he increases the force of his whooping.
"That's— !!" WUH-POW!! He targeted the spine on my back.
"What you get— !!" WUH-POW!! He moved on to my sides.
"For being such a trash!!" WUH-POW!! He moved down to my legs.
You'd think I'd scream as loudly as I did when the first whoop striked, but the pain was too much that I couldn't even scream in pain properly. The only sound that cam out from my small self was a soft whimper.
Seconds, turned into minutes, which turned into hours. Hours of endless screaming and beatings. By the time the Viscount stopped, I could barely even let out a whimper. My body was shaking all over, exhausted and completely aching.
I don't even know what time it is anymore. I lost track when the 2nd round of whooping took place. There were even a couple of times when I passed out, the Viscount kicked me until I opened my eyes again.
Finally....Finally it's over....
Lord Brotillon left without a word. He stormed out the moment he was satisfied with the way I looked; almost dead. But I didn't mind. I glanced slowly at my bed as I layed on the ground, trying my best to at least lift myself up. But it was no use.
Looks like I'll lay here for a while.
I laid on the floor as I wondered,
how am I still alive?
I'll be turning 6 in the next two months or so, I don't even know if that's really the month I was born. But what I know is, it's been almost 6 years since I was found near the maid's quarters. I wouldn't really call myself lucky, cause I'm so not. But at least...for now...I'm alive.
I could feel my strength slowly fading away. The last thing I remember was seeing my own blood, stained on the wall. And as my consciousness slowly degenerated, I blacked out.
*-*-*-*-*-*
Minutes? Hours? I don't even know how long I laid there, but I woke up to someone's familiar touch. A warm comforting hand caressed the side of my cheek. As I felt the coldness of the floor that my unconscious self laid on, I jolted up.
A young woman with beautiful golden hair came into a slightly blurry view. But even then, I immediately recognized her luscious grey eyes staring back at me, filled with tears of pain. It's as if she was the one who got beaten up.
"Addie..." I called out, forcing a smile on my face.
She immediately reached out to me, giving me a tight hug. "I came as soon as I heard." she whispered near my ear.
"I'm so...very very sorry..." she kept repeating those words over and over again, planting them in my brain.
Even though my body ached all over, Addie's hug was worth the pain. Still, I had no strength. I couldn't even hug her back. When she felt me quiver a little, she quickly pulled away. She looked at me like I'm some sort of fancy base she accidentally broke.
"Oh my! Oh dear, I'm sorry..." her voice ever so mellow and comforting, but she wore such a sorrowful expression.
"Your wounds must still hurt huh?"
Indeed, Addie was the only one who would look at me with like that. No one but her, cared about how others treated me. Though she couldn't really do anything about it, she would at least help clean my wounds up and bandage them.
"C'mon," she said. "Let's get you cleaned up."
Her two strong arms lifted me up, carrying me into her arms. I can tell she was trying to be careful, her arms shook slightly as she carried me to the bathroom. Once inside, she put me down carefully on a small wooden chair before proceeding to fill the small tub with warm water.
"I'll make sure the temperature is perfect, ok?" She smiled to gracefully at me.
I nodded in reply. "Tha...Thank..you.."
Once I felt the warm bath water on my skin, my body finally starts to relax. I glanced at Addie, who was carefully cleaning the wounds on my left leg.
"So," she uttered softly. "What's his excuse this time?"
"The usual." I giggled mockingly. "Apparently I insulted the young Lady Carolina."
"Oh really?" she raised an eyebrow. "And how did you manage to do that?"
"He didn't really tell me the real reason, just that I insulted the young lady." I snorted.
Addie scoffed, shaking her head in complete disgust and disagreement.
"That's....the third time this week." she continued.
"Well, I am a Malem after all. It's not like they had no real reason to begin with." I answered.
Addie shot me a disturbed look, as if confused at how I could say such things so normally. She stared at me for a while, her mouth opened and closed. It seemed like she wanted to tell me something,
"You're a child for pit's sakes!"
"No one deserves to be treated such a way..."
"How could you say such a thing?"
Are all the things I think she wanted to say, but the words just won't come out.
In the end, she just smiled and looked away without a single word, carefully rinsing the dirt off my wounds, still with the same disturbed expression.
"I hope you don't think that beating up a mere 5 year old child is normal, cause it's not." she uttered in a serious tone, clearly annoyed.
She no longer made eye contact with me, focusing her attention on just cleaning me up.
"I...I know," I answered, looking at Addie with a sigh.
A soft melancholic smile could not help but appear on my face. It had been 5 years. Yet until now, I still don't understand why she voluntarily agrees to help me, even when I don't ask her to, even when she'll clearly get into trouble if she did.
At first, I found it quite comforting. Who wouldn't want someone like her as company? But gradually, it started to feel as if she felt guilty for bringing me to the Viscount instead of just leaving me somewhere else.
*-*-*-*-*-*
"Please," The newly appointed head begged the Viscount in front of her.
Even with her knees turning red, she didn't care. "Let me at least raise her to be a maid here!"
Viscount Niles eyed her, head to knee, looking down on the woman in front of him as he took a sip of Bourbon from the glass in his hand.
"A maid you say?" his left brow lifted up. "That doesn't sound so bad."
Hope filled the young maid, "Please my lord, I beg you to grant me this request..."
After a minute or so of utter silence, the viscount chuckled as he sipped the last bit of alcohol in his glass. It was clearly a form of mockery, a subtle way of telling her just how pathetic she looks to him right now, but she didn't care.
She's determined to do everything she can just so the infant doesn't end up on the streets again.
"Fine." the lord sighed,
Standing up from his seat as he did and moving a couple of inches closer to the young maid with a stern expression on his face.
"But I must warn you," he whispered in a very low dark voice.
"You chose this Adelaide, so be prepared to take responsibility for everything."
*-*-*-*-*-*
Indeed, it had been 5 years since the head maid of House Brotillon took the poor malem baby she found near the shed of the Brotillon mansion's backyard in her arms and begged the Viscount to let her raise it. After all, it wasn't just an it in Addie's mind, it was a she. A living, breathing, non-magical being.
Yes, I've heard that story a million times. That's the story of how I came to this hell hole in the first place. I bet Addie regretted taking me in soon after I turned three, that's when the gruesome punishments started.
In my mind, her guilt will always be the number one reason she gets annoyed when the Viscount beats me. Her guilt will always be the main reason why she helps me even though she might get in trouble badly.
That guilt,
Her guilt,
Am I a terrible person for wishing that it will never go away?
It is true that because of her I am now a punching bag for the Brotillons. But, it is also because of her that I am able to survive this long. Whether or not I am thankful for that, I do not know yet.
In my state,
It's hard to be thankful for something that's not worth being thankful for.
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To Be Continued...