*Author's note: There is a scene in this chapter (though a short scene), that may be potentially triggering to some people, briefly depicting a violent punishment. If you wish to skip it, scroll from the three asterisks (***) to after the next branch page break that appears, similar to the one that follows this author's note. 

The ten-year-old girl collapsed on the top of the stairs. The sponge that she had been using to scrub the staircase fell from her hand and tumbled down.

"Melany!" a shrill voice rang out.

Melany did not rise.

"Melany!" A hand gripped her ebony hair and yanked her up off the floor, jerking her awake. She gasped, crying out, as she awoke to her hair being pulled out of her head. She was then dropped unceremoniously and her name was yelled again.

Melany scrambled to her feet and stood, then swayed. "Yes?" came her quiet, raspy voice.

"Why do I see you resting? You've only finished the stairs and the downstairs. I want you to sweep the floors in all the rooms and wash the windows."
"But ma'am, I'm tired." Her vision swam in double.

"Shut up, would you, girl? I don't want to hear any of that nonsense."

"At least give me some food today. Please." I cleaned the kitchen extra today, fed all the little ones, did all the laundry, swept all the floors downstairs, and scrubbed the floors until they shone. It must count for something.

"Food? You are still such an ungrateful girl as to ask for another meal before you finish all your chores?"

"But ma'am-"

"Nonsense."
"But-"

"Whatever it is you have to say, it is nonsense. All you've ever said that began with 'but' these past six years has been nonsense. Absolute nonsense."

"I haven't eaten in two days, ma'am."
"You've been slacking, then. If you want to eat, work harder." The woman turned on her heel and left the room.

Melany groaned and swayed again as the head of the orphanage walked out.

What I would give to leave this place, she thought. What I would give to make them feel what I feel.

I would watch all of this go up in flames.

Melany woke in her hard bed, the mattress beneath her hardly a slab of wood covered in cloth.

She had not been fed the day before, as they had deemed her behavior too defiant, and she had not completed all the tasks they had set her. It was early morning now, and she felt weak and tired. Though it was early, sunlight shone through the small window in the room, for it was mid-June, and was a holiday. On holidays the orphans were allowed to wake slightly later than usual.

A perfect opportunity to get food early in the morning.

Melany knew that if she did not eat before the next day, she would not have enough energy to make it through all the long hours. They don't store the food here. If I want food, I'd have to steal it from outside, from somewhere else in Anatuk village.

Melany swung her legs over the edge of the bed and groaned softly as a wave of dizziness hit her.

The punishment for stealing is said to be unbearable.

She had been about to rise, but now she hesitated.

They have never not fed me for this long while placing so much work on my back. Perhaps they will feed me later today. She thought about the events of the last day, and through the years combined.

But what if they do not feed me? What if they let me collapse on the floor and die? It seemed the more likely scenario.

Her decision made, Melany stood. She quickly set her hand against the wall to steady herself when she swayed, then took a step forward. Then another. And another. As she adjusted to the new dizziness and light feeling in her head, she was able to make swifter progress. As she walked, she stepped on the edges of the boards so that they would not creak. This process continued past at least three doorways -- she could not remember exactly how many -- until she reached the stairs.

Melany descended the staircase carefully yet swiftly, her old, worn, leather-soled boots barely making any sound on the wooden boards. Reaching the bottom, she silently sprinted to the door, grabbed its handle, and yanked it.

Locked.

She gave a sigh of exasperation and a wave of dizziness hit her once more. She set her hand on the door to keep her from falling. Then she looked towards the window.

What if I went out through that?

An attempt to open the window was made. But it was locked, just as tightly as the door. Looking around, Melany spotted a broom, and she took it. She took a deep breath. What am I doing? she asked herself, just as she swung the broom at the window.

The window shattered violently, strewing the pieces of glass all around. Melany ducked as the glass exploded outwards towards her, then quickly rose once more. She heard running footsteps behind her and gasped. Diving out the window, she landed on the ground harshly. As she rose, she swayed once more, and the world spun in her eyes. But she could smell the food, and that was motivation enough.

Melany hurried towards the scent of freshly baked bread, the smell seeming to reinvigorate her every time she thought she would fall.

People stared at the tall girl with the unkempt hair and ragged clothing as she ran in a somewhat zig-zag pattern through the streets. They were used to strange occurrences, but this was something especially odd. Most of the people living in the village - Anatuk - knew that the children living at the orphanage were kept there under the strictest of rules. To see one of them roaming around outside without supervision was an abnormal occurrence to be sure.

Melany saw the bread on the stand and snatched a loaf off of it, then scurried over behind one of the houses and ripped it in half. Biting into it, she ripped off a piece and ate with incredible enthusiasm. The process repeated. She was ravenous. The food was hers. All she could see was the golden crust, all she could smell was the sweet scent of freshly baked bread, all she could hear was the crunch as she bit into the loaf, and the taste was like a dream. She never heard the man approaching from behind her.

"YOU!" the man growled, grabbing Melany's hair and yanking it hard. He tore the loaf of bread from her hand and threw it. Then, Melany's hair still gripped tightly in his fist, the man dragged her back towards the orphanage.

Melany stumbled after the black-haired, disheveled, sour-faced man, shrieking in pain as well as fear for what her fate would be — for she could be sure that it was not a good one. As they arrived at the heavy wooden double doors of the orphanage, they opened in front of her, now seeming to loom above her — no longer doors to home, but doors to doom.

Melany was led through the hall of the orphanage at a swift pace. Her face was one of terror as she watched blank faces stare at her from around dark corners, awaiting her fate passively.

The woman from earlier who had berated Melany about her duties – Lilith – signaled towards the burly man to follow her, then strode forward, her navy blue skirts sweeping the floor with a swoosh. Next she turned back towards the man and the girl behind her. "Every sin demands a punishment," she hissed. "And you... wicked girl, with all your many delinquencies and newly discovered thievery, have committed just one too many." With that, she unlocked a door to the deepest gloom.

Melany looked down into the darkness, and could faintly make out a stone spiral stairway leading into the ground. She withheld a whimper as her captor, who still held her by the hair, lit a torch and began to descend into the dismal depths of the passage.

Upon reaching the bottom of the staircase, the large, silent man dragged Melany towards a door reinforced with metal beams and bars. Setting his torch to the side and pulling a large, heavy key out of his pocket, he inserted it into the lock and twisted it with effort. Then he jerked the door open and shoved the helpless girl into the caliginous room on the other side. ***

As the heavy door behind Melany closed, she was engulfed by darkness. Suddenly, torches lit around the walls, illuminating the room, which had walls made of stone. A light smoke drifted through the air. Melany gave a quick gasp as a very tall man wearing a metal visor came into the room. In his hand he held a thick rope.

Melany whimpered quietly. Will I be hanged? Is this the punishment I face? I've stolen things and food, I've been too weak to work so hard as a cause of them themselves (but they don't care), and I've burned many of their books of nonsense teachings (they speak of a god, who hasn't ever helped me like they say he should), but I never imagined I would face such a punishment as this.

Melany saw the man look down at a piece of paper, then grunt.

"Lady Lilith tells me yer due for twenty-vive," the man told her menacingly.

"Twenty-five what?" Melany squeaked out.

"Lashin's."

Melany trembled. The man stepped forward. Melany stepped back. The man leapt forward and grabbed her arm, yanking her back towards him.

"Not sure where you were plannin' on goin'." He raised his arm, causing Melany to flinch at the sight of the dark rope. "But don't worry, child. It'll be over soon."

If glass had been in the room where the rope flashed over and down, the panes would have shattered at Melany's shrieks and cries which echoed around the walls of solid stone.

Melany woke. She attempted to sit up, but was immediately met by three flashes of pain down her spine. She groaned and lay back down onto the slightly padded wood slab she had for a bed.

"About time you were awake," came a scornful voice from Melany's left.

Lilith. Will she never stop looming over my shoulder?

Lilith scoffed. "Well, rise, child. I never said that you could rest extra because you were submitted to punishment. We don't have enough children old enough to work, so we need you working."

Melany's voice was almost a whisper. "But-"

"You know what I've told you about speaking back to me. It's not my fault that you got yourself into so much trouble that you had to be put back in your place. Your schedule has not changed." Lilith grabbed Melany's wrist and dragged her off the bed, ignoring the girl's brief cry of pain as she did so. Leading Melany out of her shared room, Lilith handed her a cloth and a bottle containing water mixed with a few chemicals. "Clean all the windows today. If you finish before twelve you'll get lunch."

At midday, Lilith seemed satisfied with Melany's work (though she ignored the soiled and neglected child who had done it). She handed Melany a plate filled with some porridge, a piece of somewhat stale bread, and a potato which had lost nearly all of its taste. Melany didn't bother to mumble a thank you; it wouldn't have mattered anyhow.

When Melany had finished her tasteless and somewhat meager meal, Lilith returned to her.

"Done? Good." Lilith nodded.

A broom was thrust into Melany's hand. She heard Lilith tell her to sweep all the floors, then listened to the sound of the woman's hard-soled shoes clacking on the wooden floors as she strode away down the hall.

Melany sighed, then began to sweep.

Melany was sweeping the ground floor when she heard a tapping on the window to her left. When she looked, she saw a woman – perhaps fifty or fifty-five years old, with dark hair and eyes. She wore a brown cloak, and was beckoning towards her. Melany looked around cautiously to make sure nobody was watching, then went to the window. The woman outside signed in Oloquian, a similar hand-symbol based language to sign language.

"Girl," the woman signed, "I've seen how they've treated you."

"What about it?" Melany snapped. This woman must not be part of normal society. Anyone who cannot speak is either cast out or used as a slave. The only reason the rest of us learn Oloquian is so that we might be able to communicate with any slaves that can't speak. Nevertheless, I'll see what she has to say.

"I can offer you a way out. All you have to do is wait and I'll take you away. Come with me, and I'll help you get your revenge."

Melany attempted to look as if she did not care, but the shine in her eyes gave away her true feelings.

"I see you've made your decision." The woman smiled from underneath the cowl of the hood that was pulled over her head.

"Yes. I have." Melany nodded. "I'm coming."

"Good. I'll come to fetch you soon."

Melany was not sure what the woman meant, but knew she would find out in due time.