Fourthousandthreehundredeighty starless nights ago
The woman with hair of salt was running through the streets of London.
She was barefoot, despite the cold, and her skin had turned blue against the snow.
The woman had left all of her belongings behind, as they would only slow her down. And she could not afford to be slowed down under any circumstances. Not with them chasing her.
Not with everything that was at risk.
She could hear the sound of their horses hooves against the cobblestones. They were catching up to her. There was no way she could outrun them.
Without thinking twice, she turned into the next alleyway, crouching behind a wagon. She was panting but tried her best to hold her breath as to not make a sound.
Exhaustion pulled at her limbs and for a moment, she thought about laying down in the snow and closing her eyes. Maybe the cold would take her before they could.
Sharply, she shook her head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. No. She couldn't. She had to fight. For freedom. For the future.
For the child in her arms.
Her child.
They won't take her, she vowed to herself, I will not let them take her. Over my dead body.
The shouting of those chasing her grew louder, until the woman saw them through the cracks in the wood of the wagon. They had stopped just a few steps away from her.
Where did she go?, they called to one another and the woman closed her eyes, a single tear escaping them. She wasn't a believer, yet in this moment she prayed to whoever might listen to her.
Then the baby in her arms began to cry.
Her eyes flew open in panic and she covered the child's mouth hastily, but it was too late. She felt hands on her arms, dragging her out into the open.
She tried to fight them off.
When they ripped the child from her arms, she screamed. She clawed at them, bit them, called them every name in the book.
When it didn't help, she began to beg. She fell to her knees, told them that she would do anything, if only they let her little girl go.
It didn't matter.
They took the child anyways.
If only she had run faster.
YOU ARE READING
Six starless nights
RomanceIn the world of Ivory Dawson, which is London of the 19th century, once a woman turns sixteen, she has six nights in which she has to prove herself. Six balls to attend. Six opportunities to find a husband and secure herself a place in society. Ivo...
