I opened my eyes in a familiar place or should I say inside a nightmare.
"What are you doing? You can't even do such trivial things properly!"
I felt his large hand smacl over my face making me fall to the ground, the stinging sensation burned over my skin but that was just the beginning.
"You little shit! You eat all day and never work hard to pay me back for it!"
With each word came his foot slamming into my side and abdomen making the pain surge through my body.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." I kept apologising as the tears formed in my eyes and I used my hands to block my head and face.
My mother was lying unconscious on one side and my sister was nowhere to be seen.
"All you do is say sorry, if you're sorry then reflect on it, bitch!" I cried as he gripped my hair tugging my face up.
His face held the sneer which would always be there whenever he would lay his eyes on me. Hatred and disgust would be clear in his eyes. Why? I had no idea, and didn't have the courage to ask.
"Hmph!" He grunted as he shoved me down.
"Ugly bitch! I wish you would've died when you were born."
The same words that he would repeat every time and after a while those same words kept repeating in my head as my own voice.
"I wish I would've died when I was born, no, I wish I wasn't born at all..."
I couldn't help but sniffle as I lay in my place curled up until the darkness around crept closer and I found myself in a different place.
I looked down at myself and noticed that I had turned into Reina's form.
"You think just because you're in a different world you can change who you are."
I turned to look at the form that I had seen in the mirror for years. The young girl with short brown hair and pitch-black eyes, was dressed in the usual old t-shirt and jeans.
"Don't fool yourself." She said.
"You're not different from me. We're the same."
I know.
"There is no way that you would find happiness even if you work hard for it."
I know.
"You think just because you have found a father and a brother they will come to love you?"
...
"Wake up!" She said coldly.
"The one they love is Reina, not you."
I know.
"You stole her place."
I know.
"You should be ashamed of yourself."
I am.
"You should know that love is never going to come your way."
I know.
"Give up when you have a chance, if you go any deeper and then they turn their backs on you then you will be left alone again."
"Don't let it happen again. It's better to stay alone instead of getting hurt like that."
I know...
"You know anything you do... You will never be enough."
There they were, those words that haunted me all my life.
I would never be enough— the harsh truth of my life.
When I came to my senses, I scrunched my nose as I was met with the strong pungent smell.
I could hear the sounds of whimpers and wails from around me.
I sat up from the cold ground and looked around to see the small huddled figures in the dim lighting. There was a dull throbbing in my head as I took in my surroundings and recalled that I was grabbed by someone.
"I got kidnapped?" I wondered.
[Defender of Divine Glory is relieved that you are all right.]
"All right, my ass. I'm kidnapped."
I looked at the kids who were around me, I could make out their scrawny bodies in the darkness and frowned.
They were crying and trembling.
It somehow made me recall the one particular mission where I had ended up fighting with a high-profile mafia who were entangled with terrorists and were additionally involved in human trafficking. It had caused a huge uproar internationally.
I looked at the heavy cuffs that were weighing my wrists down and couldn't help but sigh.
I was just thinking of what to do now when I heard the sounds of footsteps, they were approaching me.
I waited patiently to see the face of the bastard who was committing such heinous crimes.
An unfamiliar face appeared in front of the cell door, it was a portly man who wouldn't be taller than 5'4. He was staring at the kids inside until his eyes fell on me and I felt an unpleasant chill run down my spine.
"Ah, so, you did get her." He smiled and his gold tooth glinted in the faint light.
"Yes, boss. She was very easy to get."
The portly man laughed at the words of his subordinate.
"That's good, Arthur is an idiot anyway. He must be running around crying for his little girl."
He knew that I was the Duke's daughter.
The man suddenly stopped laughing and then looked at me.
"Say? He cherishes you a lot, right?"
I didn't answer.
He laughed again, "Well, once I sell you off to some foreigner then there's no way he'd ever see you again."
His eyes glinted, showing his evil intentions and I couldn't help but want to bury his face into the ground.
"He thought he could outwit me by winning the case against me and taking away half my assets but now I will show him what my true power is." He announced with a mad, face-splitting grin.
It was starting to annoy me but I deduced one thing by his words.
This bastard was unmistakably Count Stanson.
"Hm? You're not crying or begging for mercy?" He wondered.
"Maybe she's still in shock, boss." His subordinate said and the Count laughed.
"Right, right. She's Arthur's daughter, she's bound to be just as foolish as he is."
His laughter was starting to prick in my ears and I could feel my blood boiling. If only I weren't in this child's body or chained like this I would have shown him who was the foolish person here. But then again, was there any need for that?
I could just... use this opportunity to end this life and get rid of this burden.
Suddenly another man came running and said, "Boss, the preparations for the auction are done."
"Great." His eyes met mine again and I stared back without any expression.
"I'll surely find a buyer who would break her so bad that Arthur wouldn't ever be able to recover from it."
I sat quietly in the darkness hearing the sniffles and whimpers from the children and couldn't help but feel something within me starting to gnaw.
These children were going to go through hell in the future, right now, if I was here then they had a chance to escape but what was the guarantee?
I was but only a ten-year-old with only a little magic and next to no skills.
[Defender of Divine Glory urges you to not lose hope.]
[Goddess of Wisdom says that you can still save yourself and everyone.]
"It's you guys who fed me with the notion that I could be the saviour of this world." I thought.
"You both know you could have chosen someone more capable and strong. Why me?"
[Defender of Divine Glory says you were their best choice.]
"Best choice, my ass. I'm the worst choice possible."
[Goddess of Wisdom asks you to decide for yourself.]
"Will you accept it?"
There was a moment of silence and I got my answer.
[Defender of Divine Glory has assigned you a quest.]
"There he goes."
[Rescue the victims from being sold as slaves.
Rewards: Unlocking of Supreme Aqua Dragon's Magic.
Failure: Death of thirty victims, being sold as a slave or possible death.]
I sighed as I read the task.
He sure wanted me to stay in their game.
"Are you seriously dangling the carrot of unlocking the Dragon's magic for this quest?"
[Defender of Divine Glory wants you to decide whether you want to keep looking at the scars of the past or keep moving forward.]
I had no words.