Chapter 16

Without the money she had earned, the hot blooded red hair was left at a crossroads, with little time to gather enough money for Agatha, who she hadn't seen all day.

Desperate, she went from door to door, asking for a home that needed a chore girl on late notice. Unfortunately, she was turned down each time due to her unseemly appearance and repulsive odour. If only she ate more than twice in two days, and could afford to take a real bath.

Maybe things would have been different...

She thought to herself while kicking a stone, she had half a mind to grovel before the healer and beg him to treat her sister. As she contemplated the idea in her head, a hand rested on her shoulder, causing her to jump in fright.

The young girl looked over her shoulder, to meet a pair of blue eyes that stared at her with warmth and affection. She instinctively took a step back, placing up her defenses against the man in his late fifties.

"Are you lost child? Where are your parents?" He kindly asked, clutching a single loaf of bread tightly to his chest.

"I don't have any." She told him in a dicey tone, eyeing the bread with hungry eyes.

He traced her line of sight to his bread, and smiled gently at her, "it's cold tonight, you should go back home." He said, as he broke h

is bread into two and offered the larger portion to the child.

"I don't have much to offer, eat this and find someplace warm to rest your head." The elderly man told the young girl, speaking the kindest pair of words anyone had ever told her. He pressed the bread into her right hand and walked away slowly, wearing a genuine smile on his face.

The child stared at the bread, "it's warmer than any thing I've ever had." She exclaimed softly, barely able to hold it firmly in her palm. The moment the young girl took a bite out of it, hot tears suddenly fell from her eyes unto the ground.

She tried to use the back of her palm to wipe it away, but even more tears gushed out faster than before, as she continued to eat the bread, till it vanished into her stomach.

"Delicious." The child exclaimed choked in tears, though it was barely enough to fill her stomach, she could testify that no other meal could compare to the warm bread served with a gentle smile on a cold night.

"Agatha must be cold, I'll have to hug her to sleep." The young girl was convinced that it was far too late for her to find any sort of work. Hence, she resolved to watch over the sick Agatha all through the night, then wake up earlier to find work.

With her mind made up, she dashed through the heavy sand, running as fast as she could. Their little house was located at the outskirts of the kingdom, near the mouth of a major river. Not too many people lived in such a secluded place, which made it possible for two females to have stayed there for so long.

However, as the red haired tried to pick up the pace, her vision turned blurry and she lost the strength in her legs.

"What is..." Before she could comprehend the situation, she found herself crashing face first to the ground, barely conscious!

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

"She's so scrawny! Could you not at the very least weed the quality? Our business could plummet because of the poor sales!" Someone scolded in the distance, angrily slamming his fist against the table.

Gradually, the child had regained consciousness and was fully aware of two things. One being that she was laying in a cart with a heavy cloth draped over her.

And the second thing, being that both her hands were tied behind her back and her mouth was gagged. It didn't take the young girl a long time to figure out she had been taken.

Fortunately, the kidnappers didn't bound her feet, she could easily wriggle out of the cart and jump out without being noticed.

"Forgive me friends." A soft voice spoke, sending chills down the young girl's spine, as her eyes widened in recognition.

"But it is rare to find children who are gullible enough to take food from strangers. I was fortunate that the runt was starved, and willingly ate the bread without any second thoughts." The voice which she placed to belong to the kind old man from earlier said.

"Don't talk like it was all your own effort." A sultry voice interjected, "if that healer hadn't pointed us in the right direction, we might have met some trouble." He went on to say.

"The old bastard will demand a large commission tomorrow, just thinking about it makes my blood boil. Old men like him sicken my stomach."

"Right? Lying to a street child about her dying sister? It's diabolical how he   spits out poisoned lies."

By listening to their conversation, it was clear that there were three men, excluding the old man who had offered her the bread earlier.

"Enough of that! We have a long journey ahead of us, let's just hope she doesn't drop dead before we arrive at the slave trade market." The assumed leader said, organizing their conversation.

"I'll be on my way now, do tread with caution, I hear the king has strengthened border security." Said the old man as he departed from the rest.

"You heard him, let's set out!"

***********

As fate would have it, two of the men were pushing the cart, while the leader sat in front to navigate them. They were of the impression that the child was asleep and would cause no trouble till the morning.

Little did they know, that the child had a strong resolve and was able to time her escape.

"Five...four..." She counted to herself, waiting for the perfect moment to jump out undetected. Fortunately for her, her wish came true sooner than later.

The left wheel of the cart climbed over a stone, and caused the entire cart to furiously wriggle. Seizing this opportunity, she closed her eyes and jumped out of the cart, thankful she did not weigh much.

Her body fell unto the sand, silencing her fall! With the speed of lightening, the weak child stood to her feet and hid herself beside an empty barrel. In a crouched position, she watched as her kidnappers continued their journey, oblivious to her escape.

She heaved a heavy sigh of relief and rested her back against the barrel, catching her breath. While she struggled with the ropes around her wrist, their conversation replayed in the child's head.

"Those heartless..." The young girl, too angry to speak bit hard on her lower lip till it started to bleed. "Those liars! They're all going to burn in hell!" She cried out in rage, breaking free of the weak ropes.

She wasted no time to rise to her feet and take a swift survey of her environment. "This is..." She mouthed under her breath, staring animatedly at the wheel marks on the sand.

"I can't waste any more time, Agatha could be in danger by herself!" On that note, she took one deep breath then sprinted in the opposite direction her kidnappers used.

Due to how accustomed she was to begging on the streets, she was familiar with almost all the routes and easily navigated herself using the shortest path.

Without taking long breaks, she ran all through the night into the next morning, cold and tired. Till her efforts paid off, and she found herself staring at the sunlight on the small house she shared with Agatha.

However, something felt off.

"The door is open." She remarked on sight, she pursued her lips then picked up a heavy stick with the intention to defend herself if need be.

She slowly walked through the door, praying inwardly for the best, clutching unto the stick. Without sparing another second she raised the stick over her head to swing at the intruder but found a huge shock.

"Agatha?" She whispered softly, her vision locked on a black handkerchief placed over the body of her sister.

The stick fell from her hand, and she made for the body on the bed, holding the lifeless wrist of a dead Agatha.

"What's this? Why aren't you breathing? Agatha?! Please wake up! I went to town and found you a healer..." She took a pause as new tears fell from her eyes, last night's incident replayed bitterly.

It dawned on her, that there was no healer to help them, no money to her name and no gentle smile to melt her anxiety away.

"Please don't leave me! Come back to me! They told me you wouldn't die! Agatha wake up! Don't make a liar out of me!" She begged, hugging the woman's body tightly, embracing the stench of a dead corpse.

The only stench that showed her warmth.

"It's enough now, crying won't bring her back from the dead, but I certainly have a proposal you would be interested in." A level headed voice sounded from behind her.

The young girl looked over her shoulder, ridden in shock at the woman whose face was hidden by her large black umbrella with beaded tassels.

"Who are you?" She retorted with spread out arms, protecting the corpse behind her.

"Do you want to see her again?" The strange woman asked, reaching to touch Agatha. "I can do that, if you're willing to help me in return." The woman offered.

"Can you? Really bring her back?" The young child asked with eyes that held no emotion.

"Yes, if you're willing to work for me, I'm a witch you see, the name is Sierra Whitlock and more than willing to do business with you." She spoke in an assured tone, gently stroking the child's hair.

"What is your name?" Sierra asked, caging the girl's chin in her palm.

"I don't have one." She answered, "If you can bring my sister back to me, then I promise to serve you till the day I die." She added in a distinct tone, with no ounce of uncertainty found in her words.

"Good. To seal this deal, I'll reward you with a name. How does the name...Agatha Whitlock sound?" Sierra suggested, her lips drawn back into a full smile.

The young girl gasped at the new name, but found herself smiling at the idea regardless.

"I accept." She firmly said, wiping the tears in her eyes.

"Even though you will be serving a witch from now on?" Sierra retorted, giving one more chance for the child to back out of the agreement.

"I would even sell my soul to a demon if it would bring back Agatha." She spoke, glaring at the woman standing before her.

"Oh dear Agatha...what you'll be doing is just as much terrible." Sierra told her, failing to hold back on how devious her plans for the young child were.