Chapter 2 Piper, the Thief

• “All my life, I have never been touched by a man. I’ve remained clean and chaste” – Ava Goodchild
• *Back to reality*
• I widened my eyes at the realization of why exactly I was here. I couldn’t make sense of any of this. But what did make a twinge of sense, was who this man was.
• The beast, of whom I was selected to.
• “W-Where is T-tabitha?” I stuttered, asking.
• No response came from him.
• Tabitha was the girl tied to the tree, with me. The last thing I remembered, was her hopeless and disheartened face, staring at me with numerous stains on it.
• “Where did you keep Tabitha?!!”
• “Do not raise your voice at me, little one!!” His powerful voice thundered.
• I noticed it rumbled deeply, from his chest. And in between the voice, there lied another unfathomable and more wind-swept sound.
• It was as if another creature lived inside him.
• A gruesome beast.
• Freaking out, I looked down at my shaky hands, taking a step back from him.
• Another step back, my chest heaved in fright.
• “You know… you do not have to be afraid of me, little one.” he grimaced, taking one or two steps towards me.
• “There are rules here,” he added. “Rules to be followed, and when broken, you get punished, real bad.”
• He closed his final step to me.
• By this time, I was already shivering so badly, wondering what punishment he had in mind, for me.
• His firm hands lifted to my jaw, in the poorly lit room.
• I closed my eyes shut, waiting for it.
• The door immediately barged open.
• “Captain!”
• Captain?
• “What is it, Helen?” he growled out to the female who had just entered.
• His face averted from mine to hers, but his hands still gripped my jaw firmly.
• “The code has been breached! The other girl stole one of the boats and is getting way!”
• “WHATTT??!!!” He growled more powerfully, this time.
• He dumped the grip he had on me, like I was filth.
• “You stay here!” he spat out. “Try anything funny and you’re dead,”
• I watched as his bulky footsteps retreated outside, with the girl following him.
• My hands shakily, reached for my bosoms, wondering what could have happened if the girl didn’t barge in.
• Would he have breed on me, to test for a child?
• I closed down on my feet with my chin in between my legs.
• Tabitha.
• I hoped she was okay!
• I also hoped mum was.
• And for heaven’s sake, Moses…
• …
• It took for dawn to settle, before I realized I was on a ship.
• At first, I thought it was a location near turbulent waves, from the sounds I heard. Also thought there were frequent earthquakes, from the unsteadiness of the land.
• However, it was a ship.
• There wasn’t a single window in sight, leading outside. This was why I couldn’t decipher where I was.
• But from the “sail ho!” sounds I heard; and the female that called the beast, Captain, I knew I was boarded on a ship.
• Few minutes later, the door creaked open.
• “Stay here! Pull off something like that again, and you’re dead!”
• It was Helen’s voice.
• She had tossed someone in a sack into the poorly lit room. The instant she shut the door against her, I stood up from where I was sitted.
• With slow, meek steps, I made my way to the sack.
• A confused expression wrote all over my face, with a bit of curiosity as to who it actually was.
• “H-hello?” My faint, husky voice called out.
• I went to the top of the sack, untying it. The next thing
• I heard were screams; sounds of a tiny voice yelping.
• “D-don’t hurt me! Please don’t hurt me! I-It wasn’t my intention. I promise it wasn’t!”
• Just as I helped the person in the sack out, I widened my eyes in so much surprise at who it was.
• A young girl, who looked about 12 coming out of the sack.
• She had a blond hair and pretty blue eyes. Clothed in a peach colored gown, with a collar neckline.
• “Hey, hey…It’s okay, now. You’re safe, I won’t hurt you, I promise,”
• I voiced out, reaching out to her.
• “Pinky promise?” she said, bringing her tiniest finger out.
• From the look on her face, I could tell she had had a hard time on this ship. And that the people were really mean to her.
• I wondered who she was.
• Why was someone this young, here?
• “Yes, you can take my word,”
• I reached out to her shoulders, hugging her. Next, I guided her to where I previously sat and slept.
• “What’s your name?” I asked.
• “P-piper,” she replied.
• “Well Piper, that’s such a beautiful name.”
• “T-Thank you,”
• “I’m Ava Goodchild, one of the selected virgins. Are you in any way here for that?”
• “N-no, I’m not of age yet. It’s a mistake that I’m here,” she answered.
• “A mistake? What mistake, dear?”
• “The girl who was in my place got away, and arranged for people to put me in a box,”
• An ounce of pity shed my face, as she muttered those words.
• “I was stolen, l-locked and tied in the box, where the selected virgins were kept. I couldn’t even scream for help. By the time Captain Caspian and his crew found me…i-it was too late.”
• “They had already boarded the ship so far, and couldn’t return me back,” she finished.
• “I—I’m so sorry dear…”
• “Y-Yeah…” she trailed on her words, replying.
• “You’re one of the chosen, right?”
• “Somewhat, selected because of my distinct qualities of being able to read a book…”
• “To my people, any girl like that are witches and work of the devil,” I continued.
• “In my village, bad things happen to people who try to escape their fate,” I explained.
• “Then I must warn you of Lydia,” she stated.
• “Lydia?? Who is she?” With a firm brow carved up, I asked.
• “They say she’s the leader of the girls. She grooms and prepares them for the beast. Rumors says she is mischievous and roguish,”
• “Err… Weren’t you locked too like me? How do you know all these?” I asked her.
• “Yeah…I was too. I picked the old lock.” she whispered.
• “Reason why ma’am Helen was angry. She found me eavesdropping these pieces of information,”
• I giggled at her words.
• “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean too,”
• I chuckled once more.
• “It’s okay,”
• “Even at my tender age, back in my village, I was known as Piper the thief,”
• The conversation went for a while and we got to know about each other. She was a homeless child, whose parents died while she was still a baby.
• This made her work for various people in her community. She barely got a meal in a day and had to turn to pick pocketing.
• I noticed Piper was too smart for a 12-year-old. She knew practically things and ended up educating me more.
• We laughed, making the most of our short time together.
• …
• I still was locked in the room, with the girl who was fast sleep. In order for her to feel safe, I made sure she slept on my legs.
• As I massaged her body and sang her a song, the door’s lock unclicked.
• “Here you go,” a mean voice trailed out handing over some dishes.
• I knew it was dinner and gently took it. The minute she was out, I woke Piper up.
• “There’s some food!” I told her happily.
• Staring at the two pieces of fish and a loaf of bread, I divided the bread in two places, handing her one.
• “Thanks, Ava”
• She said, before chewing happily on it, with her fish.
• This was a good sign. They had served us a meal, which meant we won’t be killed anytime soon.
• Or so I thought.