8Leda kept her head down as she walked through the village towards the forest. But of what use was it? Nobody else in town had skin as fair as she; no one else had the same posture and build.
"She must have enjoyed it, the little witch."
"I knew she wouldn't last long with looks like that. She seduces men all too easily."
"See, Michael? I told you she was no good."
Whispers aplenty were whispered to ears eager to hear about Leda's misfortune. Her face burned with humiliation; she quickened her pace. Tears began to form in her eyes. It wasn't fair – what about the priest? Where was he in all this?
The forest – it was in sight. Her new prison seemed like heaven compared to the little hell the town she once loved had become. The leaves were vivid and they crunched underneath her footsteps. Carnations were blooming, but they had never before seemed so sad.
Crunch.
What was that? She turned around, having heard someone else walking on the fallen leaves. But there was no one in sight. Has she gone mad?
"Is anybody there?"
Silence gave her a clear answer.
Perhaps she was just dreaming. She walked on towards a large yet simple cottage. Her heart began to sink. Oh, she would rather just starve to her death in this forest than go on towards Grandmother's house. But no – if she didn't arrive, Grandmother would go to her mother and demand the money back. Harper would not have a bright future. So rather than hide and starve to death like the coward she was, she plowed on to the house.
She knocked on the door, her hands shaking. Do it for Harper, Leda, do it for her.
The wooden door creaked open, and a young girl with a sweet innocent face opened the door. Wordlessly, she beckoned Leda to come in. Many girls worked in the house, all of them looking like skin and bones. On a table laden with rich food, prettier girls sat eating to their heart's content. The prettier girls' faces were solemn, sad. A middle-aged woman sat at the head of the table, the same one who came and looked at her only the afternoon before.
"Leda, my dear! Come, sit and eat your fill. Have you eaten breakfast already?" The woman seemed pleasant, but she knew it was not so.
Leda nodded weakly. She hadn't eaten last night or this morning, but she didn't plan on eating ever again. She sat on the table anyway.
Grandmother looked at her new merchandise – Leda. Leda was the most beautiful one she had received so far, and she was bought at a bargain! The girl's foolish mother had been ignorant of her daughter's worth.
"Eat some more, then." Grandmother urged.
Leda refused again, politely this time. "I'm sorry – I'm too full."
Grandmother frowned. "All right, suit yourself."
A knock, and another girl came in. She was rather plain-faced; her fear shone through her face.
"Myra, you're our new girl? All right," Grandmother motioned for one of her other girl-servants. "Show her the basement – it needs much cleaning."
"Mika." The new girl corrected softly.
"Myra, Mika? What difference does it make? You won't hear your name from my lips again unless you mess up, and if you do it will be the last time you'll hear your name ever again." Grandmother sneered. She turned to the girls on the table and her face brightened. "Well girls, I think it's time Timothy showed you to your rooms."
A man of thirty moved towards the girls, who seemed to shrink from him. He had an ugly, pockmarked face and dull brown eyes. His eyes landed on Leda and they took on a greedy glint. Leda recognized it and she shrank from him as well.
"Timothy, don't bruise her." Grandmother admonished.
"I won't."
He showed her to her room. It was plain and simple, with a window so small only her eyes could peek through. In the room were a bed and a closet, in which there were splendid clothes, all in shades of red.
Timothy began to approach her, and he put his hands on his shoulders. She shrugged them off and backed away from him.
"Don't come near me." She warned hoarsely.
"Or what?" He touched her again, and she pushed him away.
A slap to her face came in response. It was painful, and Leda feared the worst. He pushed her on the bed.
"This is going to be how life will be from now on until the day you are sold." He hissed, pulling her robes off.
-II-
Life has never been more cruel.
Leda sat on her bed again, the door bolted shut. She prayed that today, Timothy would be too tired to try and ram through the door. It has been a four days since her last meal and her face was pale and thin, yet beautiful. Deliberate starving brought her so much pain, yet she enjoyed the empty feeling it gave her.
"Leda, Grandmother wants you downstairs." Timothy's rough voice barked.
Never. She knew that he would just come inside and rape her again. Never ever again would she open that door unless Grandmother came to her. If she was so needed, why wouldn't Grandmother herself come?
After a few minutes, another voice came. It was a girl's soft voice.
"Leda, let me in. Grandmother wishes for you to change into nice clothes and come down. There's a visitor."
A visitor? She has never been asked to see a visitor before. Grandmother was saving her for something special, they said. She hoped she would die before she was sold. She was weak but she got up. How long since she had been sent here? She couldn't remember. She changed into a red dress that once fit nicely but now hung loosely around her bony frame. She unbolted the door and came out. A soft gasp escaped from the other girl's lips. What happened to the curvaceous beauty? She had turned into skin and bones.
"G-Grandmother is downstairs."
Still, the other girl observed, she had the poise and elegance of a queen and the looks of an angel. There was no doubt about it – despite her self-inflicted starvation, she was still the most beautiful.
Leda went downstairs, into a room where a rich man sat. Who was this? She could not say.
"Leda, bow to his majesty the king."
Leda gave a curtsy and sat down on a chair, like the other pretty girls. The king's eye was on her.
"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Grandmother said in a proud voice. "Do you want her?"
"Beautiful, surely. But isn't she a bit starved compared to the others?" The king was stout, with a red nose and hair that had begun to gray.
Her eyes widened with horror. She was not going to be sold to this man, no. Please, let the heavens have mercy on her.
"But I suppose…" He looked at her critically. "If I fed her more…then yes. But wait." He looked at the other girls. His eyes fell on one blond beauty, who batted her eyes in a seductive manner.
"No, I think I'll take the other lass." He looked at Leda.
Had heaven no mercy? They left and discussed in another room what might be her price. All the other girls gave her a jealous glance.
There was no way out of this. After a while, the king left and she followed obediently. Grandmother seemed pleased with herself, while Timothy was unhappy. He grunted and glanced at the other girls. Perhaps the blond…
Leda got into the coach with the king, who stared at her with a critical eye. She shrank from him, afraid.
He snorted. "Don't think highly of yourself, lass. You may be beautiful, but I'm an old man with a wife and son. Do you really think I'd touch you?"
She relaxed a bit and looked out the coach window. It had been so long, so long since she had last seen her family. It was all so painful.
She got out of the coach at last, after the king.
"Make her look the most presentable she could possibly be." The king grunted as female servants rushed over to her.
In a few hours she was ready, and she looked like her old dignified self again, only with less meat and more bones.
"Well, what's your name?" The king asked when he saw her again.
"My name is Leda, your majesty." Her voice was weak and docile.
"Have you no spirit, lass?" He asked her, his eyebrow raised.
She gave a short laugh. "My spirit has been broken so many times before, your majesty, that I wish to pick myself up no more."
He grunted but led her away. They entered a room without knocking, and she spied a boy a little older than her – in his early twenties, sparring with a soldier. He had silver hair and beautiful violet eyes. Her breath caught – he was good looking, but right now, all she wanted was someone who care, not someone with looks and money.
"Nicolae, come over here."
The prince gave his father a scowl but left and approached the pair. He saw Leda and his eyebrows furrowed. She curtsied, remembering her manners.
"Is this a countess' daughter?"
"No, this is Leda. She is your twenty-first birthday gift. Do you like her?"
He studied her and noted the fear in her eyes. "You bought her from the old woman who sells violated girls, didn't you?"
"But she's beautiful."
"It doesn't change the fact that she's a temptress. The soldiers will be all about fighting over her. I don't want her. Besides, she far too...broken to enjoy."
Leda vowed to get away from this bastard she ended up with. She will escape from this prince, and she will return to her family. On the first chance she got, she swore she will. She may be a gift, but she refused to be treated like an item. She will leave and see Harper again.