For the first time in her 27 years of life, Nilana forced herself to add a potent sleeping potion to the food she was making for her family. She even smiled evilly while doing so.

It had been 2 months since her family locked her up inside their small wooden cottage. They were planning to sell her in at a brothel, not too far away from the rural village they belonged to. It was for the dowry her parents needed to pay for her elder sister, Haven's wedding.

It suffocated Nilana to her core, to not to have freedom. It made her blood boil. Even if she was their adopted child, she did her best to be one of them. But never felt like one of them.

She worked day and night, making their doomed eatery a tremendous success through her amazing recipes and food. And this is what her hard work paid off with: betrayal. Raw betrayal.

She was done with them. With all the money she secretly saved, it'd take her to the capital. And she would start a new life from there. She thought as she poured the potion.

"Aren't you putting too much of that into the porridge?" Haven appeared solely out of nowhere, causing the plotting Nilana to flinch. "And what is that? A new spice or something?"

"Uh..." she stammered as she quickly put the tiny glass bottle away, "It's rose water, Haven. And father loves the scent, so I am adding a bit more than usual."

Haven gave Nilana a skeptical look. "Whatever, can't you be quicker? We are starving." Rolling her eyes, she left.

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"I will never get what these people found in your food that made father's eatery so renowned. This is so.. ugh.. bland." Haven complained as she stuffed two more spoons of the porridge in her mouth. Nilana stood at a distance from the blanket the three of them were sitting, devouring the supper made by her.

"It was nothing special, just Nilana's alluring beauty that pulled young lads into the eatery. No wonder the madam of the Bayside Brothel wants her." Her father remarked sarcastically, "Too bad the business had to be closed. I am pretty sure your soon-to-be-husband will rebuild the eatery in his own way."

"Hmm, Nilana no matter how good your food is. No one will marry a girl who has been caught whoring around. You better learn your mistake and realize where we are sending you is where you belong."

Her mother said, and sister smiled, and they continued enjoying their dinner. While a silent tear fell from her eye, which no one noticed.

She never cried, no one ever saw her crying.

And no one ever will.

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30 minutes after they finished their porridge, three of them had their heads in their bowls. Nilana smirked on her own as she succeeded in her long planned scheme. Now it was time for her to get moving and leave the village as soon as possible.

She gathered all of her belongings inside a single fresh blanket, wrapped it up and tied a huge tight knot. Just when she was about to leave the fragile cottage, she remembered her mother snatching away a jewel necklace from her when they took her in. She went up to her mother's low cupboard, opened it and saw the red ruby glistening.

Even after 14 years, it shone like no other necklace she had ever seen. It would probably cost a fortune. So she took it. And left the cottage without even looking back at her sleeping parents and sister.

Faced with a grim future, she took a drastic step to reclaim her life, leaving behind a cottage tainted with deceit and a poisoned past. 

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The night was windy. The sky, bombarded with wet clouds, hid the moon behind them. Nilana tugged on the hoody of her cloak as she walked by the riverside. Her village was nowhere to be seen. She had been walking for over 5 hours now, she even lost the track of time.

Just then her eyes glimpsed the fire of a boat torch. Her face lit up.

"HEYYYY!!" she yelled as she quickened her pace. "I AM GOING TO THE CAPITAL. WILL YOU PLEASE HELP ME GET TO THE OTHER SIDE?!"

The wooden boat came full into her view. A cloaked rower was sitting right in the middle, as the flame of the torch flickered through the wind.

"Hello?!"

The rower didn't even bother to turn around and answer with words. He simply raised his hand and motioned her to get on the boat. Nilana frowned at the unusual gesture of the rower, but she shrugged, and got on the boat, anyway.

More than an hour passed by, but the other side of the river wasn't still on sight. Nilana held her satchel close to her, the knotted blanket beside her. The wooden boat wasn't big, neither was it small. No matter what angles she put head into, she still couldn't see the face of the gloomy rower. The rower rowed the boat at such an inhumane speed and uttered no word.

The eerie silence was killing her.

"So..." A silent lightning in the sky caused her to flinch in the mid sentence, "God- Okay. So you're a fisher?"

The rower shook his head.

"A sailor...?"

The rower again shook his head.

Exasperated, Nilana exclaimed, "What do you do for a living, then? You can at least answer with your mouth. It's not like I will bite you if you talk to me or anything."

His face hidden behind the cloak, his brows lifted. Of course, she wasn't able to see that.

"Ugh.. Say anything. Spout some nonsense that'll do too...." Suddenly a thunderstorm struck in the sky, interrupting Nilana.

As for her, she screamed her lungs out and ducked low immediately, causing the moving boat stir up.

"AAAAAA"

The rower halted. His eyes widened behind his cloak.

Raindrops began to fall, at first like a whisper, then building into a steady rhythm. The surface of the river dimpled as each drop joined the chorus. Nilana hid her face as she ducked herself, ignorant to the fact that her cloak and belongings were drenched.

The rower fastened his speed and continued rowing, though he was soaked as well. Just then, lightning briefly illuminated the horizon, casting eerie, fleeting shadows over the glistening water. Thunder followed, a deep rumbling sound that reverberated through the night sky.

Nilana gasped loudly, shivering from the raindrops and fear.

The wind vigorously rustled through them, causing the boat to sway aggressively. She shrieked as she gripped the sides of the boat.

The rower didn't even move a bit from his place.

"Heavens, save us," Nilana cried, clutching her satchel to herself. The rain grew heavier, pelting the canopy like a thousand drummers in a crescendo of chaos. The boat rocked brutally when a wave hit it.

The mysterious rower continued rowing whilst struggling against all the obstacles and heavy waves. The shore was still nowhere to be seen. 

Right at the moment he was keeping up with his pace, an enormous wave knocked the boat over.

Nilana gasped, water entered inside her. She got hit by the wooden boat as she was drowning.

Her satchel still clutched to herself.

And just then, a muscled arm wrapped around her hips.