Sovereignty

2

My mind was whirring, working at a million miles an hour as I piece together what the implications of this were.

Not only had I been non-consensually checked over and prodded at by doctors whilst I was unconscious, but they found something considering the fucking file laying across her lap.

Suddenly it was all I could stare at, trying to envision the contents of the file, describing exactly what they had found during my examination.

Suddenly I was staring 10 years into my past.

"I knew you were someone special when I took you, Carlotta." Oskar laughs in self-satisfaction, looking at my 8 year old self sitting across his desk.

He puffed on his cigar, the dank room filling with even more danker scents.

He stubs it out and leans his forearms on the desk, leaning closer to me. "I knew the Norwegians wouldn't have picked up just any homeless kid up off the streets. Or their soft hearts just got lucky and hit the jackpot unknowingly." He shrugs, and I stare at him, shaking in my seat as the large man talks of me in such an objectifying manner.

He waves his hands at me dismissively though, "Ah, enough about the Norwegians though. All that matters is that you're here with me." He smiles unnervingly. "Do you know who your birth family are? Who your real family is?" He asks me, genuine interest filling his eyes as he waits for me to respond.

My young self hardly knew what was going on, didn't know where she was, and had never been taught anything of family, "Andreas." I simply reply softly, hearing him ask about family, his name being the only word coming to mind.

He scoffs, "Dumma unge." I look at him with hurt in my eyes, not sure what he wanted from me.

(dumb kid)

He motions to someone behind me, "Ta henne tillbaka till sitt rum." He commands and I turn back to see the two men who'd been standing outside my room for the past few days.

(take her back to her room)

I panic, turning back to Oskar, "Nei, vær så snill, jeg vil ikke!" I yell out in Norwegian, Oskar seemingly being more receptive when we don't speak in English.

(no, please, i don't want to!)

But he ignores my pleas, the two men grabbing my arms and hauling me back out of his office. We passed several other people on the way down to my room. I kick and scream, hoping some of them have some humility left in them to help a child.

But we make it back without so much as a second glance at me. By this point, tears were steadily streaming down my cheeks.

I didn't know where I was, I didn't know where Andreas was, and I was confused.

I'd heard so many new words since being here, my brain was overloading with information that just didn't add up: mafia, alliances, contracts, investments-

I couldn't keep up.

I'm thrown on my back, crying out as the two men take their places outside my door.

I drag myself over to my bed, curling myself up into a ball under the covers and shivering as I try to calm down.

I'd taken to thinking about memories with Andreas-

Mr. Snowy Balls, picking snowdrops in the spring, watching movies, drinking hot cocoa-

I find my breathing slowing down again, the noise in my ears dissipating, but only to be filled but the faint chatter of my guards outside my door.