SkyGirl5
Cadet
Hey everyone, at the request of Shelby, I have decided to post this fic I wrote. but before i do there are a few things i need to mention first.
One, there are like 5 parts to this story (yes i have completed the entire thing). the first part (the one i'm about to post) is a prequal to the others that i wrote after i had completed them. (yeah wierd i know)
Two, the majority of this stuff i wrote a while ago (9th and 10th grade to be exact) so its sorta lame... but cute! Im jsut saying thsi b/c if you read my other stuff then this you'd probably be like 'wow what happend to her?' not that this story is bad...
i'm just going to stop now
ok part one of the prequal (if u like i'll post more... if you think it sucks... then i wont)
Rating: umm i dont see why anything would be worse than PG... maybe PG-13 but i honetsly dont think so...
All characters created by me ^_^
As the bus she was ridding on rumbled along the road, Skyler gazed dreamily out the window at the passing fields. This was truly farm country. There were fields and fields as far as the eye could see. Skyler sighed and shifted in her seat trying to become more comfortable. She began to dig through her only bag looking for a piece of candy to suck on. She was dreadfully hungry but had nothing to eat. She was on her way to find a new job and had barely any money. She had heard when she was in town at the market, that a family in a town about twenty miles away needed a new governess for two children so she decided to check it out. She had to get away from the place she came from. It was too much of a dead end.
Skyler did not want to be a farm hand forever. When she was little, like every child, she dreamed of meeting a handsome prince who lived in a glorious castle and they would fall madly in love and live happily ever after and she would be far away from a provincial existence. She soon learned, however, that this was just a silly childhood fantasy. Nothing as idealistic as that could ever happen in real life. So she settled on a more reachable dream which would be to someday have a small farm of her own, or better yet, to never have to be near a farm again and to have a real job.
As she rummaged through her bag a photograph fell to the ground. She picked it up and looked at it. It was a very old, faded picture of her when she was a child. She could not have been more than three because in the picture she was being held by her father, who had died eleven years earlier. In the picture, they were surrounded by some of the other farm workers and in the distant background of the picture the large home of the farm owners could be seen. This picture brought a flood of memories to Skyler, after all this was the first time she had traveled outside of that farm and the small town that was near it.
Skyler’s earliest memory was of her falling into a lake on the farm and being rescued by Maggie, the woman who had become her surrogate mother. Skyler had no recollections at all of her parents. Her mother had died in childbirth and her father had died when she was barely three years old, in a tragic farm accident. So, being an orphan at such a young age the farm’s owners took pity on her and let her stay at the farm and she was raised mostly by Maggie, who had three children of her own, and partially by a few other farm hands.
As Skyler grew older she was given odd jobs to do around the farm. She would help feed the animals, paint things, scrub things, and sometimes she even helped plant seeds and pick vegetables. Though Skyler thought of the farm as her home she greatly disliked it. There were often references made about her parents and this angered Skyler because she knew nothing about them and the people acted like she did. Also, she was the only young child on the farm because Maggie’s youngest child was ten years older than Skyler so she was often very bored.
By the time she was 12 she knew she had to get out on her own. She was very mature for her age and she greatly wished she could have a different life. So every time she went into town to buy things with the other farm hands, she constantly kept her ears and eyes open for other job opportunities. Finally she saw an ad for a governess and decided it would be a good opportunity for her. She did not tell the other farm hands she was leaving; she merely left one night and left behind a note on her pillow explaining that she had to leave.
Skyler was jolted from her day dream by the bus she was riding on rumbling to a stop. They had reached a town called Appleton, this where the family was that Skyler wished to work for. As she departed from the bus carrying her bad she noticed right away that this town was much nicer than the one she had came from. All of the buildings were very neat and tidy. The homes were also considerably larger. Skyler unfolded a piece of paper from her pocket and read the address of the place she was to go. She asked for directions at the gas station the bus dropped her off at and was soon on her way down Main Street. Skyler was a tiny bit nervous to meet the family. She hoped that they would believe that she was 17, three years older than her actual age. People were always commenting to her that she looked older than she really was so she hoped that they would too.
Soon she reached her destination and shakily rang the bell. A woman in a maid’s outfit opened the door and asked,
“Can I help you miss?”
“Yes,” Skyler replied. “I’m here to inquire about the governess position.”
“Very well, come in.” The maid said. “Mrs. Longwood will be with you in a moment.”
Skyler walked into the elaborate parlor. It was full of many lovely things. These people were clearly wealthy, at least wealthier than anyone Skyler had ever known.
Soon a tall, thin woman entered the room. She extended her hand and said,
“I am Mrs. Longwood, won’t you please have a seat.” She said. Skyler sat down. “I understand you have inquired about the governess position.”
“Yes, I have.” Skyler said.
“What is your name?” The woman asked.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I am Skyler Jones.”
“Well Miss Jones, you look awful young. How old are you?” The woman asked.
“Seventeen,” Skyler replied nervously.
“I see, well do you have experience with children?”
“Well I like children very much and I helped watch some children on the farm where I used to work.” Skyler lied again. She did not like lying to this woman to get the job, but she really needed money and she knew she would never be qualified for the position with out embellishment.
“Oh I see. Why exactly did you leave your previous position?” Mrs. Longwood asked.
“Well, I had been on that farm for my whole life and I just needed to get out on my own.”
“I see. Well considering that we are rather desperate for assistance, I am willing to hire you on a temporary basis.”
“Oh thank you very much.” Skyler said graciously.
“Come up stairs please so you can meet the children.” The woman said as she left the room and started up the stairs. Skyler followed her. They entered a room that Skyler guessed was the play room. Inside there were two children sitting separately.
“Children, this is your new governess Miss Jones. Miss Jones, these are my children. Jamie is eight and Jack is seven. Well I shall leave you to get acquainted.” Miss Longwood said as she left the room.
Skyler sighed and the children looked silently up at her. She took a deep breath, not really knowing what to do. Then she said,
“So why don’t you children tell me a bit about your selves.”
The children then rolled their eyes and went back to what they were doing. The girl was playing with a doll and the boy was rolling toy trucks along the floor. Skyler walked around the room and found that many pictures adorned the walls. They must be pictures of the children growing up, Skyler thought to herself. A few minuets later the maid who had opened the front door came into the room.
“Miss Jones I am here to show you your room.” She said. Skyler followed her out of the room and across the hall. “My name is Macy by the way.”
“Oh, it’s nice to meet you.” Skyler stated. The room they entered was decent size but very plain.
“This will be your room,” Macy said. “The children’s tutor comes every day at 8:00 a.m. so they should be up and dressed by then.”
“Oh, alright.” Skyler said. She had forgotten that regular children attend school. She herself had never been formally educated. She was taught to read and write and do some arithmetic by Maggie, but other than that she didn’t have much education.
“I believe Miss Longwood will be in to speak with you later. Dinner will be served at six o’clock.” Macy said as she left Skyler alone in the room. Skyler unpacked her things and went over to try and get the children to speak with her a bit more.
Before Skyler knew it she had been working for the Longwood’s for nearly a year. Every day was very much the same as the next. The children got up, ate their breakfast, dress and were tutored for three hours. Skyler very much enjoyed the tutoring times because Skyler learned a great deal as well. She made a habit of staying in the room where the tutor was.
After the tutor left, the children ate lunch and then Skyler took them some place in the afternoon. Then they ate dinner and played by themselves and went to bed. The same routine became very boring to Skyler, but she accepted it because she was thankful it was not difficult.
Skyler felt that the children were not very fond of her. They never really spoke to her much. They just accepted her. Skyler noticed though that the children never really spoke much to anyone, not even their parents or to each other. In Skyler’s opinion they lead a very sad, depressing life.
Soon after Skyler turned sixteen she was fired by the Longwood’s. Not because they did not like her, but because Mr. Longwood had lost his job and they were financially unable to have a governess anymore. Skyler really wasn’t sure what she was going to do for another job, but the Longwood’s had arranged for her to become a governess for another family in town.
Skyler liked the next family she worked for, but she was barely with them for six months before they ran out of money as well and they could no longer afford her. In fact the whole town seemed to be running out of money, it was very strange, Skyler thought. Unfortunately for her this family was unable to get Skyler another governess position.
Skyler along with the other two servants from that family and other servants from other families in that town had been sold to a man name Beans. Beans was a man who bought bunches of servants and ran a business of renting them out for short periods of time. Skyler thought he didn’t think of them as humans at all, only merchandise for rent. She did not really have any choice in the matter though. She had tried to explain that she was not a servant more as an employee, but seeing as she did not have any birth certificates or other official documents proving who she was, she could not prove that she was not a servant. Plus even if she did, she would not be eighteen for another few months so she was not even an adult.
So Skyler and the other servants piled into a van that was to take them to yet another town. This town, however, would take about ten hours by car to get to. It was very near to the capital city, where the palace was. Skyler secretly hoped that she would be rented by a family who lived in the capital city so she could catch a glimpse at the palace. She had never seen a place before.
The ride in the van was very long, hot and uncomfortable. But soon enough, they came to a stop. Skyler looked at the place where they were to stay. It looked as if it had once been a very large, very beautiful, elegant mansion. Now, however, the mansion was neither beautiful nor elegant. Many of its windows were broken or boarded up, the paint was peeling and shingles were falling off of the roof. Skyler sighed as they entered the home and discovered that the inside was even worse than the outside. The floor was covered in trash and what little furniture there was had many holes in it.
Beans, who was a very large, hairy man with a gruff voice said,
“Now you follow me upstairs and I’ll show you your temporary rooms.”
They all went up the steps and at the first landing he said, “Women’s rooms here, men follow men.”
Skyler and the one other woman made their way down the hallway. They stopped in the first room and found two mattresses on the floor, both occupied by sleeping women. The next room contained the same thing, but the third had two empty mattresses on the floor. Skyler and the other woman sat down on them. Skyler could not believe how her luck had gone down hill so fast. A few minutes later a woman knocked at their door and said,
“Are yous two new?”
“Yes,” Skyler replied quietly. The woman in the doorway had no teeth Skyler noticed.
“Ah well I ain’t gonna lie, you ain’t gonna like it here.” She said.
“Oh and why not?” Skyler inquired in a shaky voice.
“Well ‘cause you look like you came from a nice home, and this ain’t nice.”
“I see,” Skyler said. “What exactly are the chances of us being able to leave here and be, you know, free?”
The girl did not answer her; she just laughed hysterically and walked a way. To Skyler, that was defiantly an ominous sign.
Later a boy, who Skyler believed to be no older than 11 came to their door and said they were to go down stairs to Beans’ office. When they arrived in front of the door the other girl was told to wait outside and Skyler was ushered inside the office. She sat down in a chair in front of the desk.
“Now,” Beans began. “What exactly are you able to do?”
“Well I was a governess and I can be a maid.” Skyler purposely did not mention her farm hand experience because she did not wish to be a farm hand.
“Uh huh, now have you had any education?”
“Well some, I can read and write and do some other things as well.”
“I see. Well how about farm work?”
Skyler shuddered. “What do you mean?”
“Well it’s just about the season to have crops picked and all the farms be asking for extra hands do you think you can handle that?” Beans asked her.
“I suppose.” Skyler said.
“Well good cause you don’t have much choice. Someone will come and pick you up in the morning, so eat your dinner and go on off to bed.” Beans told her. Reluctantly Skyler followed his instructions but she silently prayed that the farm work would not be that bad.
Skyler’s first job was not too bad. The people were nice and the work was not too difficult and the living conditions were better than at Beans’ house so she was not too unhappy. In fact when she had to return to Beans in three weeks she was almost sad to leave. But, she had to. Skyler was barely back when she was rented out again. This time she was to be a maid to a family for a week.
This family was having relatives come to visit and they wanted to appear upper class. So this family rented Skyler to be a maid and another man to be a butler. They were a nice family and Skyler got to stay in a nice room in a big house. But, at the end of the week she was shipped back to Beans.
Skyler was already tired of being rented out to people. This is so stupid, she often though to herself. She wanted to run away but she had heard rumors of when another person ran away from Beans they were shot and killed. Skyler though this could have been a made up story, but she did not want to risk it. Not to mention the fact that Beans had taken all of her money so she could not even support herself if she left.
For the next few weeks Skyler remained at the dilapidated house of Beans. The other people came and went as they were rented out. The weather was beginning to grow cold as winter was approaching. The house was not very well insulated, which did not surprise Skyler at all, so it was very freezing all the time.
One day Skyler walked into the kitchen where a few of the people being rented out were having a conversation. Skyler overheard parts of it.
“...Listen I’m telling you there’s nothing you can do about it. Slaves have no rights.” Said one woman.
“She’s right you know.” Said another man.
“Excuse me,” Skyler interrupted. “But we are not slaves.”
“Yeah, right,” the first woman said sarcastically.
“What are we then?” Said the man.
“Well I don’t know, but we are not ...” Skyler began.
“Listen girl, what right do we have? We cannot come and go as we please, we cannot have any money of our own, we are just at the will of Beans. We are slaves and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Skyler ran from the room. That woman is right, she thought. She had never really considered it before or maybe she just did not want to believe it, but she was defiantly a slave. Skyler could not believe that this was legal. So she decided to speak to Beans about it in the morning.
When morning came however, it was Beans who wished to speak to her. She went into his office.
“I got another job for you. The people said they wanted a farm hand or something, though I don’t know what they’ll have you do in the dead of winter. Oh well they will be here to pick you up at noon.”
“Excuse me,” Skyler began. “But what if I don’t want to go?”
Beans looked up at her with a surprised expression on his face. It was as though no one had ever said this to him before. “What do you mean ‘don’t want to go’?” He inquired.
“I mean I don’t want to work outside in winter. It’s very cold and I ...”
Beans interrupted her. “Well you don’t have a choice, it is up to me to decide where you go and I decided that you are going to go to the Pinches. That’s their name Pinch. So you can either go by your own will or we can force you to go but either way your going.” Beans yelled in a voice that made Skyler cower.
“Yes sir.” She replied.
This job, however, was not as nice as the first two. After only being there for two days Skyler felt like she was going to die. She was forced to sleep out in the ban with no more to sleep on than some straw and an extra horse blanket. Matters were made worse by the fact that winter was quickly approaching and an icy wind blew constantly. Skyler was not even very sure of her purpose on the farm. She barely worked at all during the day. Mostly she just sat in the barn shivering.
One morning when she woke up Mr. Pinch was standing over her with a lantern.
“Get up,” he said with a squeaky voice. For such a large man he had a very tiny voice.
“What time is it?” Skyler groaned.
“Four thirty,” Pinch said.
“A.m.?” Skyler asked as she sat up.
“Yeah now get up; you have to fix the fence around the field. Parts of the fence blew down in the storm.”
Skyler was just about to ask what storm Pinch was referring to, but once she got up and looked out the window there was no need. The entire farm was covered in a blanket of white show. It was nearly light outside as well because of the moon’s reflection off of the snow. There were still white flakes floating down from the sky as well. Skyler pulled on her warmest clothes and followed Pinch out into the freezing air.
They trudged through the snow to the place where the fence was broken. Pinch handed her a hammer, nails and a few extra planks of wood to fix the broken ones. Skyler though this was a joke. How could he expect her to do work outside in these conditions?
“You want me to fix this today?” Skyler asked in disbelief.
“Yeah, and you had better get stared because there is another broken section on the other side of the field.” Pinch said as she turned to leave.
“Where are you going?” She asked him.
“Inside, I’m not going to stay outside on a day like this.” Pinch walked back to the house and left Skyler alone. She was very unsure of what to do since she had never mended a fence before in her life. So she started to do what she could. It was very difficult to hold the hammer and nail with her gloves on so Skyler took them off. After a few moments though, she could no longer feel her fingers and she feared frostbite, so she decided to put her gloves back on.
After what seemed like ages, a bell rang at the house signaling breakfast. Skyler put down her tools and shuffled numbly toward the house. She knocked on the back door and a few minutes later a plate was shoved at her and the door was closed quickly behind. In the brief second the door was open, Skyler could feel the warmth from inside and she longed to go in. Instead she made her way to the barn to eat. Inside the barn was better than outside because at least Skyler was shielded from the wind and the snow that was beginning to fall more heavily.
When she had finished eating, Skyler again braved the elements to finish the fence. She did not know how long it took her but she eventually completed the one broken fence. It did not look very good, but at least it was better than before. Skyler, who was soaked clear through to the skin because the snow had changed into a freezing rain, made her way across the field to the next broken fence section. Once she tripped and fell face first into the snow. She deeply contemplated not getting up at all because she was so cold and tired. But she dragged herself up and made her way over to the next fence section.
When she was finished she was so cold and tired she could barely walk back to the barn. When she did, she just collapsed on her make-shift bed shivering herself to sleep.
She awoke, she did not know how much latter, by Pinch prodding her with something. She barely had the strength to open her eyes. Evidently, he had been checking to see why she had not reported back to him after finished the fence. She did not answer his questions and was prodded once more. This time Skyler felt a sharp wave go through her body as if she was being electrocuted. Still, she did not stir. After a few minutes, Pinch left her alone.
Skyler awoke the next morning feeling emensley better. So she dressed and headed up to the house for breakfast, since she had not eaten in nearly twenty four hours. But instead of giving her food, Pinch dragged her, by her hair, out to a different building, a smaller building, one she had never been in before.
“You need to be punished.”
“What for?” Skyler asked indignantly.
“You did not work yesterday.”
“What do you mean? I fixed the fence!” Skyler yelled. She knew she should not speak back like that but her temper got the better of her.
“Yes,” Pinch began. “But, you did not work up to the standard Beans promised us.”
“Then why don’t you punish him.” Skyler paused. Until then she had not been paying attention to what Pinch was doing. Now she saw that he was bending down over something, something that appeared to be a fire. “What are you doing?”
“Heating up your punishment,” he mumbled.
“What?”
“I said,” Pinch growled shoving a red hot iron rod into her face. “Heating up your punishment.”
Skyler cowered away and tried to run, but Pinch threw down the iron and grabbed her. Skyler tried to fight him off, but Pinch was too large and he slammed her against the wall. Then he wrestled her to the ground, wrenched off her shoe and reached for the iron rod. Skyler, realizing what he was about to do, tried to struggle free, but it was no use, she was pinned to the ground. Then, a hot, searing pain shot from the sole of her foot through her body. She howled in pain and as soon as she could get free, she ran outside and sank her burning foot into the icy snow. Skyler felt immediate relief, but was upset by the fact that she felt her skin sizzling. She crouched down in the snow and taking a deep breath she looked at the bottom of her foot. Toward the heel was a bunt square of skin not much bigger than a quarter. Skyler could not bear to look at it. Sobbing, she put her foot down and hobbled toward her shoe that Pinch had thrown to her.
“That will teach you to disobey me.” He said coldly. “Now go fetch your tools, there is more fence to fix.”
Skyler never disobeyed Pinch again. Her foot soon healed and she was able to walk on it again, but the burn had left a deeper wound on Skyler. She never felt safe again, especially not around Pinch. Skyler kept on doing the work she was told to do, but Pinch never seemed satisfied. He was always finding some reason to punish Skyler. He never burned her again, but he would with hold meals, whip her, or shock her with the cattle prod, among other things. Skyler was able to stand it as best she could until one time.
It was a cold, wintry day toward the end of January. Pinch had come to the barn early in the morning to tell Skyler that she needed to shovel a path out to the main road, which was nearly half a mile away. Skyler, not wanted to disobey Pinch, silently picked up a shovel and began to work. Skyler could barely move the heavy snow which was almost two feet deep. She was so weak and thin from having so many meals with held from her. But she knew that if she did not clear the path that Pinch would punish her, and she did not want that.
Skyler was completely miserable after working for about ten minutes. She was already partially sick from working the previous day and now she was feeling even worse. She tried to continue, but she could not and she collapsed into the snow.
When Skyler awoke she was lying in a hospital bed. The doctors explained to her that she fainted while shoveling the driveway and when the Pinch’s were unable to wake her they decided they had better bring her to the emergency room. Skyler was very ill with pneumonia and she would have to remain in the hospital for over a week. The Pinch’s did not want her anymore so when she was released she would be returned to Beans.
Within two weeks Skyler was put into a taxi and sent back to Beans’ broken down home. When she arrived, Skyler found the atmosphere much different than before. It seemed that everyone was talking about Skyler behind her back and she was sure that every time she walked into a room everyone suddenly stopped talking. Skyler was not rented out for at least two weeks after her return. She was not sure if it was Beans being nice to her or just that no one wanted her. She was however, glad for the break. She was not sure how she was going to handle being rented out again. She was so afraid of getting another master like Pinch that she was barely able to sleep at night because of her worrying.
In the beginning of March, though, she was rented out as a maid to a nice family. She quickly came to the realization that this job would probably be her favorite one. The family consisted of a mother with two children. The children’s father, Mr. Brown, was away on a very long business trip. Mrs. Brown and the children were very nice and did not treat her like a slave at all. In fact, they almost restored her faith in the fact that people could be nice and kind to their hired help. Her faith however was dashed as soon as Mr. Brown returned. Mr. Brown treated her very much like a slave. In fact he treated her as if she was some kind of animal with no knowledge of proper behavior at all. Mr. Brown treated her better than Mr. Pinch had, but not much.
In fact, Mr. Brown’s return had changed the atmosphere of the entire household. It seemed that Mrs. Brown and the children were intimidated by Mr. Brown so much that they were forced to treat Skyler just as foully as he did. So Skyler resorted to speaking hardly at all and making sure to stay out of every one’s way. At least, Skyler often thought to herself, I’m inside and they don’t hit me either.
Skyler stayed with the Brown’s for nearly nine months, in that time Skyler’s only enjoyable moments were when Mr. Brown was away on business, which was fairly often. One time in the summer Skyler was even certified as a lifeguard so she could properly watch the children in the family’s pool. However when winter was approaching again the Brown’s decided to move and they did not take Skyler with them so she was stuck facing another freezing winter at Beans’ home.
After being at the Brown’s for so long Beans’ home appeared to have deteriorated much worse than Skyler could have imagined. It now seemed that all of the windows had gaping holes in them and the house’s siding was beginning to come off. Every night Skyler shivered so much that she though she would fall right off of her mattress. But, Skyler constantly reminded herself, it was still better than sleeping in Pinch’s barn.
By January the cold was almost unbearable. No one was being rented out either; the house was as full of slaves as it had ever been. One day, every one was awoken by pounding on the front door. Skyler and the others gathered on the steps to listen to the conversation between Beans and the men at the door, who turned out to be police officers.
“What do you mean condemned?” Beans shouted angrily.
“This building is unsafe for human inhabitants.” One of the police men said.
“Well where are we to go then?” Beans asked.
“Well you won’t have to worry about that.”
“Why?” Beans asked.
“Because,” one police man said. “We are shutting down your establishment. Your license is being revoked and you are being put in prison.”
“And your employees will be auctioned off.” The other police man said.
Auctioned off? Skyler thought to herself. That would mean that they would all be treated just like cattle at auction. This though upset Skyler very much. What if she was auctioned off to someone like Pinch? How would she ever survive?
The morning of the auction came all too quickly for Skyler. She and the others were put into a van and driven to the auction site, which happened to be in the capital city. As they drove into the city they passed a great, heavily guarded wall and gate. The others whispered among themselves,
“That’s the palace.”
Skyler tried to get a good look at it, but she could not see anything because of the large wall. They arrived at a large open area where there were already swarms of people gathering. She wondered how often they had these auctions.
They were all unloaded from the van and given numbers. There were many other men and women there who appeared like they were going to be auctioned as well since they were all wearing numbers. Skyler saw them go up to the stage one by one and the auctioneer said something about them and then the bidding began. Soon it was Skyler’s turn. The auctioneer said,
“Female, approximately twenty years of age, skilled in maid work, farm work and child care.” Skyler was so nervous that before she knew it the auctioneer said, “Sold to number 54.” She did not even hear how much money she had gone for. A man came up on the platform and pulled her down to the side. She was shoved over to a group of three other women who had also apparently been bought by number 54. They both looked older than Skyler however.
A few moments later they were joined by one other woman. After that a man dressed in a very nice suit and tie walked over to them. He was holding a wooden paddle that had the number 54 written on it. So this is the man who purchased me, Skyler thought.
“Follow me ladies,” number 54 said. They all walked behind him as he walked away from the crowd. They stopped in front of a large car in a parking area.
“Excuse me sir, where are we going?” One woman asked.
“Well now before we go,” number 54 began ignoring the woman’s question, “we must set some ground rules. Number one; never speak unless directly spoken to. Number two; always face the floor unless otherwise directed to. Number three, whenever anyone enters a room that you are in or you enter a room containing people, you must always curtsy politely. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” one of the girls said.
“Good,” number 54 said sternly. “Now get in the car and we will go to the palace.”
The palace? Skyler thought excitedly. If that was where she was to be working that this could turn out much better than she had expected. Much better, indeed, she said to herself.
One, there are like 5 parts to this story (yes i have completed the entire thing). the first part (the one i'm about to post) is a prequal to the others that i wrote after i had completed them. (yeah wierd i know)
Two, the majority of this stuff i wrote a while ago (9th and 10th grade to be exact) so its sorta lame... but cute! Im jsut saying thsi b/c if you read my other stuff then this you'd probably be like 'wow what happend to her?' not that this story is bad...
i'm just going to stop nowok part one of the prequal (if u like i'll post more... if you think it sucks... then i wont)
Rating: umm i dont see why anything would be worse than PG... maybe PG-13 but i honetsly dont think so...
All characters created by me ^_^
As the bus she was ridding on rumbled along the road, Skyler gazed dreamily out the window at the passing fields. This was truly farm country. There were fields and fields as far as the eye could see. Skyler sighed and shifted in her seat trying to become more comfortable. She began to dig through her only bag looking for a piece of candy to suck on. She was dreadfully hungry but had nothing to eat. She was on her way to find a new job and had barely any money. She had heard when she was in town at the market, that a family in a town about twenty miles away needed a new governess for two children so she decided to check it out. She had to get away from the place she came from. It was too much of a dead end.
Skyler did not want to be a farm hand forever. When she was little, like every child, she dreamed of meeting a handsome prince who lived in a glorious castle and they would fall madly in love and live happily ever after and she would be far away from a provincial existence. She soon learned, however, that this was just a silly childhood fantasy. Nothing as idealistic as that could ever happen in real life. So she settled on a more reachable dream which would be to someday have a small farm of her own, or better yet, to never have to be near a farm again and to have a real job.
As she rummaged through her bag a photograph fell to the ground. She picked it up and looked at it. It was a very old, faded picture of her when she was a child. She could not have been more than three because in the picture she was being held by her father, who had died eleven years earlier. In the picture, they were surrounded by some of the other farm workers and in the distant background of the picture the large home of the farm owners could be seen. This picture brought a flood of memories to Skyler, after all this was the first time she had traveled outside of that farm and the small town that was near it.
Skyler’s earliest memory was of her falling into a lake on the farm and being rescued by Maggie, the woman who had become her surrogate mother. Skyler had no recollections at all of her parents. Her mother had died in childbirth and her father had died when she was barely three years old, in a tragic farm accident. So, being an orphan at such a young age the farm’s owners took pity on her and let her stay at the farm and she was raised mostly by Maggie, who had three children of her own, and partially by a few other farm hands.
As Skyler grew older she was given odd jobs to do around the farm. She would help feed the animals, paint things, scrub things, and sometimes she even helped plant seeds and pick vegetables. Though Skyler thought of the farm as her home she greatly disliked it. There were often references made about her parents and this angered Skyler because she knew nothing about them and the people acted like she did. Also, she was the only young child on the farm because Maggie’s youngest child was ten years older than Skyler so she was often very bored.
By the time she was 12 she knew she had to get out on her own. She was very mature for her age and she greatly wished she could have a different life. So every time she went into town to buy things with the other farm hands, she constantly kept her ears and eyes open for other job opportunities. Finally she saw an ad for a governess and decided it would be a good opportunity for her. She did not tell the other farm hands she was leaving; she merely left one night and left behind a note on her pillow explaining that she had to leave.
Skyler was jolted from her day dream by the bus she was riding on rumbling to a stop. They had reached a town called Appleton, this where the family was that Skyler wished to work for. As she departed from the bus carrying her bad she noticed right away that this town was much nicer than the one she had came from. All of the buildings were very neat and tidy. The homes were also considerably larger. Skyler unfolded a piece of paper from her pocket and read the address of the place she was to go. She asked for directions at the gas station the bus dropped her off at and was soon on her way down Main Street. Skyler was a tiny bit nervous to meet the family. She hoped that they would believe that she was 17, three years older than her actual age. People were always commenting to her that she looked older than she really was so she hoped that they would too.
Soon she reached her destination and shakily rang the bell. A woman in a maid’s outfit opened the door and asked,
“Can I help you miss?”
“Yes,” Skyler replied. “I’m here to inquire about the governess position.”
“Very well, come in.” The maid said. “Mrs. Longwood will be with you in a moment.”
Skyler walked into the elaborate parlor. It was full of many lovely things. These people were clearly wealthy, at least wealthier than anyone Skyler had ever known.
Soon a tall, thin woman entered the room. She extended her hand and said,
“I am Mrs. Longwood, won’t you please have a seat.” She said. Skyler sat down. “I understand you have inquired about the governess position.”
“Yes, I have.” Skyler said.
“What is your name?” The woman asked.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I am Skyler Jones.”
“Well Miss Jones, you look awful young. How old are you?” The woman asked.
“Seventeen,” Skyler replied nervously.
“I see, well do you have experience with children?”
“Well I like children very much and I helped watch some children on the farm where I used to work.” Skyler lied again. She did not like lying to this woman to get the job, but she really needed money and she knew she would never be qualified for the position with out embellishment.
“Oh I see. Why exactly did you leave your previous position?” Mrs. Longwood asked.
“Well, I had been on that farm for my whole life and I just needed to get out on my own.”
“I see. Well considering that we are rather desperate for assistance, I am willing to hire you on a temporary basis.”
“Oh thank you very much.” Skyler said graciously.
“Come up stairs please so you can meet the children.” The woman said as she left the room and started up the stairs. Skyler followed her. They entered a room that Skyler guessed was the play room. Inside there were two children sitting separately.
“Children, this is your new governess Miss Jones. Miss Jones, these are my children. Jamie is eight and Jack is seven. Well I shall leave you to get acquainted.” Miss Longwood said as she left the room.
Skyler sighed and the children looked silently up at her. She took a deep breath, not really knowing what to do. Then she said,
“So why don’t you children tell me a bit about your selves.”
The children then rolled their eyes and went back to what they were doing. The girl was playing with a doll and the boy was rolling toy trucks along the floor. Skyler walked around the room and found that many pictures adorned the walls. They must be pictures of the children growing up, Skyler thought to herself. A few minuets later the maid who had opened the front door came into the room.
“Miss Jones I am here to show you your room.” She said. Skyler followed her out of the room and across the hall. “My name is Macy by the way.”
“Oh, it’s nice to meet you.” Skyler stated. The room they entered was decent size but very plain.
“This will be your room,” Macy said. “The children’s tutor comes every day at 8:00 a.m. so they should be up and dressed by then.”
“Oh, alright.” Skyler said. She had forgotten that regular children attend school. She herself had never been formally educated. She was taught to read and write and do some arithmetic by Maggie, but other than that she didn’t have much education.
“I believe Miss Longwood will be in to speak with you later. Dinner will be served at six o’clock.” Macy said as she left Skyler alone in the room. Skyler unpacked her things and went over to try and get the children to speak with her a bit more.
Before Skyler knew it she had been working for the Longwood’s for nearly a year. Every day was very much the same as the next. The children got up, ate their breakfast, dress and were tutored for three hours. Skyler very much enjoyed the tutoring times because Skyler learned a great deal as well. She made a habit of staying in the room where the tutor was.
After the tutor left, the children ate lunch and then Skyler took them some place in the afternoon. Then they ate dinner and played by themselves and went to bed. The same routine became very boring to Skyler, but she accepted it because she was thankful it was not difficult.
Skyler felt that the children were not very fond of her. They never really spoke to her much. They just accepted her. Skyler noticed though that the children never really spoke much to anyone, not even their parents or to each other. In Skyler’s opinion they lead a very sad, depressing life.
Soon after Skyler turned sixteen she was fired by the Longwood’s. Not because they did not like her, but because Mr. Longwood had lost his job and they were financially unable to have a governess anymore. Skyler really wasn’t sure what she was going to do for another job, but the Longwood’s had arranged for her to become a governess for another family in town.
Skyler liked the next family she worked for, but she was barely with them for six months before they ran out of money as well and they could no longer afford her. In fact the whole town seemed to be running out of money, it was very strange, Skyler thought. Unfortunately for her this family was unable to get Skyler another governess position.
Skyler along with the other two servants from that family and other servants from other families in that town had been sold to a man name Beans. Beans was a man who bought bunches of servants and ran a business of renting them out for short periods of time. Skyler thought he didn’t think of them as humans at all, only merchandise for rent. She did not really have any choice in the matter though. She had tried to explain that she was not a servant more as an employee, but seeing as she did not have any birth certificates or other official documents proving who she was, she could not prove that she was not a servant. Plus even if she did, she would not be eighteen for another few months so she was not even an adult.
So Skyler and the other servants piled into a van that was to take them to yet another town. This town, however, would take about ten hours by car to get to. It was very near to the capital city, where the palace was. Skyler secretly hoped that she would be rented by a family who lived in the capital city so she could catch a glimpse at the palace. She had never seen a place before.
The ride in the van was very long, hot and uncomfortable. But soon enough, they came to a stop. Skyler looked at the place where they were to stay. It looked as if it had once been a very large, very beautiful, elegant mansion. Now, however, the mansion was neither beautiful nor elegant. Many of its windows were broken or boarded up, the paint was peeling and shingles were falling off of the roof. Skyler sighed as they entered the home and discovered that the inside was even worse than the outside. The floor was covered in trash and what little furniture there was had many holes in it.
Beans, who was a very large, hairy man with a gruff voice said,
“Now you follow me upstairs and I’ll show you your temporary rooms.”
They all went up the steps and at the first landing he said, “Women’s rooms here, men follow men.”
Skyler and the one other woman made their way down the hallway. They stopped in the first room and found two mattresses on the floor, both occupied by sleeping women. The next room contained the same thing, but the third had two empty mattresses on the floor. Skyler and the other woman sat down on them. Skyler could not believe how her luck had gone down hill so fast. A few minutes later a woman knocked at their door and said,
“Are yous two new?”
“Yes,” Skyler replied quietly. The woman in the doorway had no teeth Skyler noticed.
“Ah well I ain’t gonna lie, you ain’t gonna like it here.” She said.
“Oh and why not?” Skyler inquired in a shaky voice.
“Well ‘cause you look like you came from a nice home, and this ain’t nice.”
“I see,” Skyler said. “What exactly are the chances of us being able to leave here and be, you know, free?”
The girl did not answer her; she just laughed hysterically and walked a way. To Skyler, that was defiantly an ominous sign.
Later a boy, who Skyler believed to be no older than 11 came to their door and said they were to go down stairs to Beans’ office. When they arrived in front of the door the other girl was told to wait outside and Skyler was ushered inside the office. She sat down in a chair in front of the desk.
“Now,” Beans began. “What exactly are you able to do?”
“Well I was a governess and I can be a maid.” Skyler purposely did not mention her farm hand experience because she did not wish to be a farm hand.
“Uh huh, now have you had any education?”
“Well some, I can read and write and do some other things as well.”
“I see. Well how about farm work?”
Skyler shuddered. “What do you mean?”
“Well it’s just about the season to have crops picked and all the farms be asking for extra hands do you think you can handle that?” Beans asked her.
“I suppose.” Skyler said.
“Well good cause you don’t have much choice. Someone will come and pick you up in the morning, so eat your dinner and go on off to bed.” Beans told her. Reluctantly Skyler followed his instructions but she silently prayed that the farm work would not be that bad.
Skyler’s first job was not too bad. The people were nice and the work was not too difficult and the living conditions were better than at Beans’ house so she was not too unhappy. In fact when she had to return to Beans in three weeks she was almost sad to leave. But, she had to. Skyler was barely back when she was rented out again. This time she was to be a maid to a family for a week.
This family was having relatives come to visit and they wanted to appear upper class. So this family rented Skyler to be a maid and another man to be a butler. They were a nice family and Skyler got to stay in a nice room in a big house. But, at the end of the week she was shipped back to Beans.
Skyler was already tired of being rented out to people. This is so stupid, she often though to herself. She wanted to run away but she had heard rumors of when another person ran away from Beans they were shot and killed. Skyler though this could have been a made up story, but she did not want to risk it. Not to mention the fact that Beans had taken all of her money so she could not even support herself if she left.
For the next few weeks Skyler remained at the dilapidated house of Beans. The other people came and went as they were rented out. The weather was beginning to grow cold as winter was approaching. The house was not very well insulated, which did not surprise Skyler at all, so it was very freezing all the time.
One day Skyler walked into the kitchen where a few of the people being rented out were having a conversation. Skyler overheard parts of it.
“...Listen I’m telling you there’s nothing you can do about it. Slaves have no rights.” Said one woman.
“She’s right you know.” Said another man.
“Excuse me,” Skyler interrupted. “But we are not slaves.”
“Yeah, right,” the first woman said sarcastically.
“What are we then?” Said the man.
“Well I don’t know, but we are not ...” Skyler began.
“Listen girl, what right do we have? We cannot come and go as we please, we cannot have any money of our own, we are just at the will of Beans. We are slaves and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Skyler ran from the room. That woman is right, she thought. She had never really considered it before or maybe she just did not want to believe it, but she was defiantly a slave. Skyler could not believe that this was legal. So she decided to speak to Beans about it in the morning.
When morning came however, it was Beans who wished to speak to her. She went into his office.
“I got another job for you. The people said they wanted a farm hand or something, though I don’t know what they’ll have you do in the dead of winter. Oh well they will be here to pick you up at noon.”
“Excuse me,” Skyler began. “But what if I don’t want to go?”
Beans looked up at her with a surprised expression on his face. It was as though no one had ever said this to him before. “What do you mean ‘don’t want to go’?” He inquired.
“I mean I don’t want to work outside in winter. It’s very cold and I ...”
Beans interrupted her. “Well you don’t have a choice, it is up to me to decide where you go and I decided that you are going to go to the Pinches. That’s their name Pinch. So you can either go by your own will or we can force you to go but either way your going.” Beans yelled in a voice that made Skyler cower.
“Yes sir.” She replied.
This job, however, was not as nice as the first two. After only being there for two days Skyler felt like she was going to die. She was forced to sleep out in the ban with no more to sleep on than some straw and an extra horse blanket. Matters were made worse by the fact that winter was quickly approaching and an icy wind blew constantly. Skyler was not even very sure of her purpose on the farm. She barely worked at all during the day. Mostly she just sat in the barn shivering.
One morning when she woke up Mr. Pinch was standing over her with a lantern.
“Get up,” he said with a squeaky voice. For such a large man he had a very tiny voice.
“What time is it?” Skyler groaned.
“Four thirty,” Pinch said.
“A.m.?” Skyler asked as she sat up.
“Yeah now get up; you have to fix the fence around the field. Parts of the fence blew down in the storm.”
Skyler was just about to ask what storm Pinch was referring to, but once she got up and looked out the window there was no need. The entire farm was covered in a blanket of white show. It was nearly light outside as well because of the moon’s reflection off of the snow. There were still white flakes floating down from the sky as well. Skyler pulled on her warmest clothes and followed Pinch out into the freezing air.
They trudged through the snow to the place where the fence was broken. Pinch handed her a hammer, nails and a few extra planks of wood to fix the broken ones. Skyler though this was a joke. How could he expect her to do work outside in these conditions?
“You want me to fix this today?” Skyler asked in disbelief.
“Yeah, and you had better get stared because there is another broken section on the other side of the field.” Pinch said as she turned to leave.
“Where are you going?” She asked him.
“Inside, I’m not going to stay outside on a day like this.” Pinch walked back to the house and left Skyler alone. She was very unsure of what to do since she had never mended a fence before in her life. So she started to do what she could. It was very difficult to hold the hammer and nail with her gloves on so Skyler took them off. After a few moments though, she could no longer feel her fingers and she feared frostbite, so she decided to put her gloves back on.
After what seemed like ages, a bell rang at the house signaling breakfast. Skyler put down her tools and shuffled numbly toward the house. She knocked on the back door and a few minutes later a plate was shoved at her and the door was closed quickly behind. In the brief second the door was open, Skyler could feel the warmth from inside and she longed to go in. Instead she made her way to the barn to eat. Inside the barn was better than outside because at least Skyler was shielded from the wind and the snow that was beginning to fall more heavily.
When she had finished eating, Skyler again braved the elements to finish the fence. She did not know how long it took her but she eventually completed the one broken fence. It did not look very good, but at least it was better than before. Skyler, who was soaked clear through to the skin because the snow had changed into a freezing rain, made her way across the field to the next broken fence section. Once she tripped and fell face first into the snow. She deeply contemplated not getting up at all because she was so cold and tired. But she dragged herself up and made her way over to the next fence section.
When she was finished she was so cold and tired she could barely walk back to the barn. When she did, she just collapsed on her make-shift bed shivering herself to sleep.
She awoke, she did not know how much latter, by Pinch prodding her with something. She barely had the strength to open her eyes. Evidently, he had been checking to see why she had not reported back to him after finished the fence. She did not answer his questions and was prodded once more. This time Skyler felt a sharp wave go through her body as if she was being electrocuted. Still, she did not stir. After a few minutes, Pinch left her alone.
Skyler awoke the next morning feeling emensley better. So she dressed and headed up to the house for breakfast, since she had not eaten in nearly twenty four hours. But instead of giving her food, Pinch dragged her, by her hair, out to a different building, a smaller building, one she had never been in before.
“You need to be punished.”
“What for?” Skyler asked indignantly.
“You did not work yesterday.”
“What do you mean? I fixed the fence!” Skyler yelled. She knew she should not speak back like that but her temper got the better of her.
“Yes,” Pinch began. “But, you did not work up to the standard Beans promised us.”
“Then why don’t you punish him.” Skyler paused. Until then she had not been paying attention to what Pinch was doing. Now she saw that he was bending down over something, something that appeared to be a fire. “What are you doing?”
“Heating up your punishment,” he mumbled.
“What?”
“I said,” Pinch growled shoving a red hot iron rod into her face. “Heating up your punishment.”
Skyler cowered away and tried to run, but Pinch threw down the iron and grabbed her. Skyler tried to fight him off, but Pinch was too large and he slammed her against the wall. Then he wrestled her to the ground, wrenched off her shoe and reached for the iron rod. Skyler, realizing what he was about to do, tried to struggle free, but it was no use, she was pinned to the ground. Then, a hot, searing pain shot from the sole of her foot through her body. She howled in pain and as soon as she could get free, she ran outside and sank her burning foot into the icy snow. Skyler felt immediate relief, but was upset by the fact that she felt her skin sizzling. She crouched down in the snow and taking a deep breath she looked at the bottom of her foot. Toward the heel was a bunt square of skin not much bigger than a quarter. Skyler could not bear to look at it. Sobbing, she put her foot down and hobbled toward her shoe that Pinch had thrown to her.
“That will teach you to disobey me.” He said coldly. “Now go fetch your tools, there is more fence to fix.”
Skyler never disobeyed Pinch again. Her foot soon healed and she was able to walk on it again, but the burn had left a deeper wound on Skyler. She never felt safe again, especially not around Pinch. Skyler kept on doing the work she was told to do, but Pinch never seemed satisfied. He was always finding some reason to punish Skyler. He never burned her again, but he would with hold meals, whip her, or shock her with the cattle prod, among other things. Skyler was able to stand it as best she could until one time.
It was a cold, wintry day toward the end of January. Pinch had come to the barn early in the morning to tell Skyler that she needed to shovel a path out to the main road, which was nearly half a mile away. Skyler, not wanted to disobey Pinch, silently picked up a shovel and began to work. Skyler could barely move the heavy snow which was almost two feet deep. She was so weak and thin from having so many meals with held from her. But she knew that if she did not clear the path that Pinch would punish her, and she did not want that.
Skyler was completely miserable after working for about ten minutes. She was already partially sick from working the previous day and now she was feeling even worse. She tried to continue, but she could not and she collapsed into the snow.
When Skyler awoke she was lying in a hospital bed. The doctors explained to her that she fainted while shoveling the driveway and when the Pinch’s were unable to wake her they decided they had better bring her to the emergency room. Skyler was very ill with pneumonia and she would have to remain in the hospital for over a week. The Pinch’s did not want her anymore so when she was released she would be returned to Beans.
Within two weeks Skyler was put into a taxi and sent back to Beans’ broken down home. When she arrived, Skyler found the atmosphere much different than before. It seemed that everyone was talking about Skyler behind her back and she was sure that every time she walked into a room everyone suddenly stopped talking. Skyler was not rented out for at least two weeks after her return. She was not sure if it was Beans being nice to her or just that no one wanted her. She was however, glad for the break. She was not sure how she was going to handle being rented out again. She was so afraid of getting another master like Pinch that she was barely able to sleep at night because of her worrying.
In the beginning of March, though, she was rented out as a maid to a nice family. She quickly came to the realization that this job would probably be her favorite one. The family consisted of a mother with two children. The children’s father, Mr. Brown, was away on a very long business trip. Mrs. Brown and the children were very nice and did not treat her like a slave at all. In fact, they almost restored her faith in the fact that people could be nice and kind to their hired help. Her faith however was dashed as soon as Mr. Brown returned. Mr. Brown treated her very much like a slave. In fact he treated her as if she was some kind of animal with no knowledge of proper behavior at all. Mr. Brown treated her better than Mr. Pinch had, but not much.
In fact, Mr. Brown’s return had changed the atmosphere of the entire household. It seemed that Mrs. Brown and the children were intimidated by Mr. Brown so much that they were forced to treat Skyler just as foully as he did. So Skyler resorted to speaking hardly at all and making sure to stay out of every one’s way. At least, Skyler often thought to herself, I’m inside and they don’t hit me either.
Skyler stayed with the Brown’s for nearly nine months, in that time Skyler’s only enjoyable moments were when Mr. Brown was away on business, which was fairly often. One time in the summer Skyler was even certified as a lifeguard so she could properly watch the children in the family’s pool. However when winter was approaching again the Brown’s decided to move and they did not take Skyler with them so she was stuck facing another freezing winter at Beans’ home.
After being at the Brown’s for so long Beans’ home appeared to have deteriorated much worse than Skyler could have imagined. It now seemed that all of the windows had gaping holes in them and the house’s siding was beginning to come off. Every night Skyler shivered so much that she though she would fall right off of her mattress. But, Skyler constantly reminded herself, it was still better than sleeping in Pinch’s barn.
By January the cold was almost unbearable. No one was being rented out either; the house was as full of slaves as it had ever been. One day, every one was awoken by pounding on the front door. Skyler and the others gathered on the steps to listen to the conversation between Beans and the men at the door, who turned out to be police officers.
“What do you mean condemned?” Beans shouted angrily.
“This building is unsafe for human inhabitants.” One of the police men said.
“Well where are we to go then?” Beans asked.
“Well you won’t have to worry about that.”
“Why?” Beans asked.
“Because,” one police man said. “We are shutting down your establishment. Your license is being revoked and you are being put in prison.”
“And your employees will be auctioned off.” The other police man said.
Auctioned off? Skyler thought to herself. That would mean that they would all be treated just like cattle at auction. This though upset Skyler very much. What if she was auctioned off to someone like Pinch? How would she ever survive?
The morning of the auction came all too quickly for Skyler. She and the others were put into a van and driven to the auction site, which happened to be in the capital city. As they drove into the city they passed a great, heavily guarded wall and gate. The others whispered among themselves,
“That’s the palace.”
Skyler tried to get a good look at it, but she could not see anything because of the large wall. They arrived at a large open area where there were already swarms of people gathering. She wondered how often they had these auctions.
They were all unloaded from the van and given numbers. There were many other men and women there who appeared like they were going to be auctioned as well since they were all wearing numbers. Skyler saw them go up to the stage one by one and the auctioneer said something about them and then the bidding began. Soon it was Skyler’s turn. The auctioneer said,
“Female, approximately twenty years of age, skilled in maid work, farm work and child care.” Skyler was so nervous that before she knew it the auctioneer said, “Sold to number 54.” She did not even hear how much money she had gone for. A man came up on the platform and pulled her down to the side. She was shoved over to a group of three other women who had also apparently been bought by number 54. They both looked older than Skyler however.
A few moments later they were joined by one other woman. After that a man dressed in a very nice suit and tie walked over to them. He was holding a wooden paddle that had the number 54 written on it. So this is the man who purchased me, Skyler thought.
“Follow me ladies,” number 54 said. They all walked behind him as he walked away from the crowd. They stopped in front of a large car in a parking area.
“Excuse me sir, where are we going?” One woman asked.
“Well now before we go,” number 54 began ignoring the woman’s question, “we must set some ground rules. Number one; never speak unless directly spoken to. Number two; always face the floor unless otherwise directed to. Number three, whenever anyone enters a room that you are in or you enter a room containing people, you must always curtsy politely. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” one of the girls said.
“Good,” number 54 said sternly. “Now get in the car and we will go to the palace.”
The palace? Skyler thought excitedly. If that was where she was to be working that this could turn out much better than she had expected. Much better, indeed, she said to herself.
