Slave to Karma

Trial 8

An endless stream of women traipsed through his home, hung off his arms and even clung to his feet just to get a whiff of his scent.   He was a philanderer and a debauchee, a male whore who lived recklessly and gave no thought to the women he broke once he was done defiling them, even going so far as to take virgins against their will, so there was no way in hell she was going to become just another trophy for his sinful heart and broken belt.

But she said no more.   Her fathers anger was still reverberating about in her head and it was enough to even get her mother off her bed and rushing out the door to calm him down.   In fact, just watching her mothers hands flailing aimlessly about her face in the hope that her magical touch might ease her fathers temper, suddenly gave her a vision of her own hands swatting other women off her soon to be husband like flies.

The thought was so abhorrent, that the tears behind the tears rose and fell like rain down her cheeks as a stubborn streak of disobedience hit.  She was not going to marry that man and there was nothing her father could do about it.   No amount of threats or even beatings could force her to verbally agree to anything and she stuck by that.

Only, she knew, that if she did refuse, her father would absolutely throw her out.   He never made idle threats or said anything he didn't mean.  Everything was either black or white, there was no in between with him, so the desperate situation she now found herself in, had her mind working furiously.  

Women from everywhere would have given their right foot just to be in place, but she wasn't like them.   She wanted a man who love only her, like her father loved only her mother.   That he couldn't see her point of view, was truly heartbreaking, because what he was actually doing was selling her to the highest bidder and his soul be damned and hers along with him. 

She had no friends and the town hated her.    But even worse, her father seemed to care more about his social standing than her happiness.   Even her mother was open to her own daughter being sold off just to keep the peace between two families while completely disregarding her intense aversion to it.   And the more loathsome her thoughts became, the more desperate she was to get out of there.  

She had enough money of her own and jewels to sell so she wasn't completely helpless.    And as her eyes quickly raked over her personal possessions and their worth, then a life of independence suddenly began to look more and more enticing the more she thought about it.   It wouldn't be hard to escape, she could easily just walk out the door with her money in a clutch purse and her jewels around her neck.   No one would think twice about her selling any of it either, because diamonds, gold and rare gems were sold everyday or pawned off and abandoned.

She could hear her mothers soft voice downstairs quietly calming her father, who was still yelling and though he rarely did anger, his temper could rage for days and usually that meant, he would heavily hit the wine, while her mother would totally degrade herself just to ease him back into the peaceful calm man they were both used to.

So waiting until she could hear her fathers gruff laughter and her mothers girlish voice whispering sweet nothings in his ears, Bai Qian quietly rose off her bed to dress herself.   Warmth was what she needed more than style, so she dressed in several layers of wool including her snow jacket and boots, then filling every pocket with every piece of jewelry she owned, then she quietly made her way down the stairs.  

The parlour door was closed which was where her parents were, and going by the shadows dancing off the candlelight under the door, she knew they would be very busy for at least another hour.   Just enough time to get herself out of the house and onto her horse which thankfully was on the other side of the house.   And before she knew it, she was fleeing her house for the pawn shop just a few miles away.