Prologue

It was late in the evening. Inside a small broken-down hut meant for servants sat two people face to face on a wooden table. They argued quietly, not to wake their child.

"They want to sell our child off, Hank." Said the woman. Her golden eyes glistened with the tears she tried to hold back. She put her hands together and placed them on her forehead. "I heard them loud and clearly."

"I know, I know. I believe you." He took his wife's hands in one hand and tucked her dark brown curls behind her ear with the other. He sighed.

"Not only to anyone, but to that old, perverted bastard." She looked into his black coloured eyes and he could tell how devastated she was. They both realized why they delayed their child's contract until now and turned pale with the thought of what they might do to her. "We can't let that happen...We can't."

"And we won't." He stood up and grabbed a bag. He planned to pack up their belongings. "Let's leave right away."

"But you know that's not possible." This time she was crying. She covered her face with her hands. "We are bound to a contract that will kill us once they call for a priest to activate it."

He paused. Both were branded with the mark of the church. It was connected to a contract signed with their blood and it would kill them both in an instant.

"We have to do what we can, Lisa." He dropped the bag on the floor and knelt down beside her. "The priest will need time to arrive. And we can use that time to find a place for Elaine to stay."

She looked at him and he smiled softly. She sniffed and wiped her tears away. "Okay, let's do that. For our child."

He took her in his arms and she hugged him back. "You know that I love you, right?"

"I love you too. Together forever, like the moons in the sky." He said and kissed her on her forehead. They took a few seconds to look at each other in the eyes. No words were spoken, but there was no need for words between them. She pushed his golden brown strands away from his eyes and placed her hand on his face. He smiled at her and they nodded at the same time.

He carried their daughter in his arms. They were ready to leave, but they heard footsteps coming towards their house. Lisa peeked outside to see what was going on. She gasped and locked the door although she knew it wouldn't hold up for long.

"They're here already, Hank." She said while she bit her nails. "What do we do?"

He woke his daughter up by caressing her face. She slowly opened her tired eyes and groaned. She had neither her mother's nor father's eyes for they were green turquoise in colour. Lisa and Hank had guessed it may be from his parents.

"Papa?" she said as she rubbed her eyes.

"Do you want to play a game, El?" He whispered softly. He saw his child's eyes widen with excitement. He felt his heart tighten. He wanted to see her grow up into a beautiful strong woman as he grew old. But for now, he had to protect her. He opened a hidden door on the floor. It was something they prepared a long time ago in case something happened. He was glad they did.

"No matter what you hear or see, you have to be as quiet as you can and never go out until it's over." They both hugged her tightly one last time and gave her a kiss on the forehead. They almost didn't want to let go. The banging on the door startled all of them.

"Mommy, Papa, what's going on?" She could tell something was wrong, but she couldn't tell what it was. She was visibly getting scared. He removed her grip onto his clothes and quickly put her inside. He closed the door. It was dark and cramped, but enough to fit her. She put her hands on the door and she was panicking now.

"Never forget how much we love you." His voice cracked and trembled. "Promise you'll be quiet, okay?"

"We will always love you, our little sunshine." They both got up and faced the door as they held each other's hands.

"Mommy? Papa?" she called out as she cried. "I don't like this game."

"Open the door!" Shouted a man and continued to bang on the door. It startled Elaine and made her grow quiet.

The door was forced open with a strong kick. The door broke along with the lock. A noble couple went in and was followed behind by their henchman. They looked around, searching for a child but saw none. They frowned.

"Where is the child?" The noble man demanded. "Bring her out immediately."

Hank chuckled and gestured towards an open window at the back, "You'll never find her. She had already escaped into the forest."

The noble man glowered with anger. "You vile beings!"

He gestured for the henchman to beat them up. Hank hid Lisa behind him as he got ready to fight back.

"If you tell me where the child is, I will spare your lives." The noble man said as he crossed his arms.

"Never," replied Lisa with anger on her face. The noble man lost his patience and turned around to leave.

"Kill them now." He said as he walked out. "There is no need to wait for a priest to give them a lesson. They're not worth the effort. The rest of you, find the girl."

Hank tried his best to fight back, but he couldn't hold up for long. He was on the floor being beaten up, unable to fight back. Lisa took a chair and slammed it on the man as hard as she could as she screamed in anger. But he overpowered her easily. Hank climbed on top of Lisa to protect her. After a while one could only hear the henchman beating them up. There were no more sounds coming out of the couple. He stood up satisfied and left.

All the while, Elaine had her ears covered and eyes closed. She cried as silently as she could. When she felt like it was okay to come out, she crawled out of the floor and ran to her parents. She cried her eyes out as she shook them to wake them up. "Mommy, P-Papa…"

Then she noticed her mother move her lips. She got closer to hear what she was trying to say.

"L-Live and survive, m-my love." She said so quietly, Elaine could barely hear her. "Run and don't look back."

"No!" Elaine screamed as she shook her head. "I want to stay with mommy and papa!"

"Please…go." She was forcing herself to speak, but she felt pain every time she did. "…Do i-it for us."

Elaine shook her head as she stubbornly held onto her mother. Lisa slowly lifted her hand and placed it on Elaine's face, causing blood to get onto her face. "Please..."

Elaine was conflicted. She understood that she'll never see her parents again once she left. But her mother was so desperately begging her to go. She stood up reluctantly and cried as she ran out of their house, not looking back like her mom told her to. Lisa watched as her child go and prayed. 'Dear Goddess Zailea, the creator of this land. Please I beg you, protect our daughter.'

Now, Elaine had no more family. She had no home. No roof above her head nor food to feed her growling stomach. She had to struggle to survive along with many other children like her. They lived in a brutal world where one had to fear the next day, not knowing when they would die. Some helped each other, and some betrayed the other to survive. She missed her mom and dad. She missed their hugs and kisses, and although they only had a small room to share, it was more than enough.