Exodus

Prologue

"Come, child! We will be late!"
"Coming, Mommy!" Little Sarah replied as she ran out of their house to the carriage, and her mother, waiting outside. Her mother lifted her in her arms and she pushed a strand back from her face with a tiny hand. She still remembers that face. It haunts her. So kind, so warm, so soft to the touch. The same face that turned away and left her own child, her own blood, to burn in the darkest pits of Hell.
"Where are we going, Mommy?" Sarah asked as she was adjusted into the carriage and her father loaded two tiny trunks with all of her belongings in the back. "Stay patient, Sarah, you will know soon.", her mother told her and got in, straightening the folds of her pink gown. Her mother was pretty, but not in the way one would think. She was a petite woman with soft features that blended in a solemn harmony and an unfathomable aura of maturity and, now that Sarah looks back at it, angst. Her mother was always solemn. The beauty of a vexed forest.
Sarah wouldn't know until much later why it was that her mother always seemed so aloof. She hated her, but a part of her understood. Her mother had gone through virtually the same things she had, it's just that she had succumbed to those wounds. Sarah had not.
"What is patient?" Sarah had asked.
"Patient is what you are when you quietly wait for something.", her father had responded, coming up front, done loading the trunks. "Do not fear, Bubba. You are off to a good place. If you ever need anything, Daddy will always be there for you." What a fucking lie.
"Claire." He addressed her mother now, all affection gone from his voice and face. She did not respond. "I shall wait till dusk. Be done with it quick. We have matters to attend to." Her mother nodded curtly to show that she had heard, but still did not look at him. She had only seen her mother look at him once, and it was the most gut-wrenchingly hateful look she had ever seen on a human's face. Until she had met Victor.
Her father gave her a scratchy kiss and a big smile before he backed up from the vehicle. He gave her a wave and thumped the side of the carriage to signal the driver to go.  Sarah waved back and smiled. "Goodbye, Bubba! Write to me often, okay? Daddy loves you!" He called as the carriage started to move. Bubba. Her blood boiled just thinking about that nickname.
"I love you too, Daddy!" She waved until he was out of sight. It was the last she would see of her Daddy. The man little Sarah knew would be gone by the time she would see him again.
As soon as the carriage turned the corner, her mother jerked her harshly to catch her attention. "Listen to me carefully, Sarah. I will only say this once. You are going to school. There, they will make you a woman. Do you know what a woman is, my child?"
"A woman? Umm....", she thought for a moment, and then said, "A woman is a mother and a wife, Mommy."
"Yes, child. A woman is a mother and a wife. Nothing less, nothing more." A fleeting look crossed her face, but Sarah was too young to catch it. "You shall live in the school, with other girls learning to be mothers and wives. There is this lady there. Her name is Miss White, and you shall always call her that. She is the headmistress. Whatever you do, do not cross her. Do not question her. What she says, you will do. You may come home once in a while. If you keep Miss White happy, you may be allowed to come home sooner and more often. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mommy. Will you live there with me too?" Sarah asked innocently. "No, you will live there on your own. Your father and I will visit sometimes."
"Mommy, are you leaving me alone? Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry, Mommy! Don't leave me alone!" Sarah cried, afraid. Her mother pulled her close, consoling her. "All girls go to school. It is custom. You will not be alone, Sarah. There will be girls like you, they will be your friends, and Miss White will take good care of you. You will never be alone." Another lie. Sarah got a lot of those.
As little Sarah mentally adjusted to the fact that she was being abandoned by her parents, she cried herself to sleep in her mother's lap. She hadn't paid attention to her surroundings because of this shocking exchange, so she had no way of knowing the way back home. Something that would come back to bite her in the arse later.
As the carriage shook to a halt a few hours later, she jerked awake. Her mother got off and helped Sarah out of the vehicle. She looked around, groggy, taking in her surroundings. There was a sprawling, old brick building in front of her, with moss and vines crawling on the walls. The grounds were massive and lined with a tall cast iron fence. It was eery, silent and dark, but it was beautiful. Her new home. Her new Hell.
"Mommy, is this where I will live?" Sarah looked up at her mother. She looked pale, and a sheen of sweat had started to form around her temples. She got no answer. She silently led her by the hand to the stairs leading up to the massive dark front doors. The driver unloaded the trunks and carried them to the doors in front of them. He raised the knocker twice and turned around to go back to the carriage. As he turned, he gave Sarah a dark, pitiful look. Sarah, not understanding, smiled at him. He did not smile back.
The doors creaked open and two young boys in dirty white tunics walked out. One looked about twelve, the other looked to be Sarah's age. They had similar blonde hair and blue eyes. The same nose and cheekbones. Brothers. Sarah smiled at them. They did not smile back.
Behind them, a woman walked out. She was tall, taller than her mother, and she was old. Her hair was grey, her face was riddled with wrinkles and she had a stoic face. And she was elegant. Her hair was done in a simple bun, and she had a modest and simple dark blue gown on. She stood straight in a way that radiated authority. That was when she noticed her mother's hand trembling in hers. Sarah already knew who she was.
"Mrs. Ellis. I was expecting you. I hope your journey went well?", she asked her mother. "Yes, Miss White, it was pleasant. I needed the change of scenery. My husband sends his regards." Her mother's voice came high pitched and fast. She was scared.
The headmistress nodded curtly and turned to address the boys, who had stationed themselves beside Sarah's trunks. "Take its belongings upstairs. Show it the way to my office once they say their goodbyes." The boys nodded and started to follow the orders just given to them. "I suppose you have already told your child the basics. I would like you to say goodbye now, it is almost time for the initiation."
"Yes, of course, we will not take long." Her mother replied, attempting a smile, but it came out a twisted grimace instead. Miss White held her gaze for a second too long, then finally said, "Pink was never your colour, Claire.", and walked back in, shutting the doors behind her.
Her mother closed her eyes and let out a breath, as if she had been underwater, and slowly kneeled to match Sarah's height, holding her by the shoulders. "I will leave now, my child. Do not forget what I told you, no matter what. You must always keep it in mind."
"Don't leave me, Mommy. I'm scared." Sarah sniffled and hugged her tight, trying to keep her from leaving her alone. She didn't realise she was never not alone to begin with. It was her destiny. "Don't be scared, Sarah. It will be okay. You will be okay. You will come home soon.", her mother consoled her, patting her back.
They stayed like that for a while, until she peeled her tiny arms from around her neck and stood back up. "Be good, and you will see me soon." Her eyes glistened as she wiped Sarah's tears. "Now, smile. You are going to meet your new family. This is a big day for you." She smiled at her sadly and started walking back to the carriage. Before getting in, she looked back and waved. "Be good, my child! I will write to you!", she called.
Sarah watched her mother drive away, past the grounds, past the gate, leaving her alone, as she cried at the entrance. She was lost. Confused.
Suddenly, she felt a tug at her skirt. She turned around to see one of the boys from before standing there awkwardly. "Miss White calls for you. Come now." He took her hand and started to lead her inside.
"Who are you? Are you here to be a woman as well?" Sarah asked him, still crying.
"No.", he laughed. "I'm Edward Palmer. They call me Eddy around here. My big brother Tom and I are errand boys. We do chores around here. You know, cleaning and such. What is your name?"
"Sarah Willis. How old are you?"
"I'm nine. And you?"
"I'm eight."
Sarah was still crying as he led her in to a giant entry hall. A winding marble staircase laid with crimson carpet led to another set of giant doors. Beautiful designs were carved into the white walls and a chandelier illuminated the grand scene.
"Don't cry. It's alright. Here." He handed her a handkerchief. It was a little dirty, but she took it anyways. "But I'm all alone! My mother left me!", she cried into it.
"There, there, you are not alone. Your new friends are waiting for you."
"But what if they don't like me? What if they don't want to be my friends? What if they leave me as well, like Mommy did?"
"It's okay. I will be your friend. I won't leave you."
"Really?"
"Yes. We are friends from now. Don't cry. Miss White will not like it."
Sarah collected herself as they made it up the staircase together. Eddy pushed open the doors at the top and they walked in. It was simpler than the entrance hall, but still grand, with doors lining a seemingly never-ending corridor, lanterns dotted all over the walls. Stairs allowed access to the six floors, all the same, in the middle of the corridors. Another, even bigger chandelier hung from the top of the spire over the stairs, almost three floors long. Girls of all ages in the same simple grey gowns and dead expressions flitted to and from rooms. Beside their footsteps, no one made a sound. They all kept their gazes to the floor.
The walked through the corridor to a heavy, mahogany door at the end. A golden plaque with the word "Headmistress" embossed on it was nailed at the centre. Eddy knocked at it twice, let go of her hand after giving it a reassuring squeeze and silently walked away. "Come in!", Miss White's deep voice came from inside. Sarah slowly opened the door and walked in, unsure.
The office was spacious. Lined with bookshelves on all sides, it was all dark blue. The walls, carpet, the curtains and the ceiling were all blue, and the books were all bound in blue leather. A big, heavy looking desk was placed in the middle of the room, and behind it was a collection of- Sarah had faltered then- whips. At least twenty of them, all different sizes, were neatly arranged on hangers according to size. Miss White stood at one of the huge windows, the first she had seen since she had been inside, smoking from a pipe.
"Sit." Sarah sat on one of the two chairs facing the desk.
"What is your given name?"
"Sarah Anne Ellis, Miss White."
"How old?"
"Eight, Miss White."
"Very well. Now, Sarah, do you know why you are here?"
"Yes. I am here to become a woman, Miss White."
"What is a woman, Sarah?"
"A wife and a mother, Miss White."
"I see, Claire has coached you well." She walked to the big wingback chair facing her and sat down. "Would you like a candy?"
Sarah nodded yes, and she pulled open a drawer and pulled out a small candy in a blue wrapper. She put it on the table in front of her, and Sarah cautiously picked it up and pocketed it. She would share it with her new friend later. Miss White smiled.
"Very good. I am impressed with your behaviour so far, I must say. Now, Sarah, would you be up for a little entrance test, if you will?", Miss White peered down at her, assessing. This woman was not be messed with, and Sarah did not plan to get on her bad side so soon into her term here. Carefully, she nodded. Speaking unless necessary did not seem like a good idea at all.
"Very well. If your husband drops a cup, let us say, and breaks it, what do you do?"
"I clean it up, Miss White." She got a nod.
"If your husband wants a child, what do you do?"
"I give him one, Miss White." Another nod. This was going well.
"If your husband is with another woman, what do you do?"
"Nothing, Miss White." Sarah had seen all of this happen at home. This was easy for her.
"Good. You are quite smart for your age. We will get you started at Level One, but I am sure you will climb up the ranks soon. Follow me." Miss White got up and walked out and down the stairs to another door labelled "dormitory". When the door was opened, a bell on top rang with it. Odd, Sarah thought. It opened to a small hallway that had 8 doors with no labels. This area was not very grand. It was dimly lit and the ceiling was low. Sarah followed her to a small door which was left ajar at the very end.
The door opened to a hall, also dimly lit. The floors and walls were made of solid concrete, damp with seepage, and there were no windows, just some lanterns for light. It was lined with hundreds of bunk beds and dressers, and about seventy girls were standing in a straight file in the middle of the hall, unmoving, eyes downcast. It was completely silent here. The headmistress cast a sweeping look at the hall. Then, slowly, she said, "Jane. See me in my office in ten minutes." There was no response, but the room got even more silent. As if everyone had stopped breathing all of a sudden. She turned to Sarah and said, "This is where you will live, for now. If you rank up, we will assign you to better quarters with better amenities. Your belongings have been placed here, your uniform is on your bunk there." She pointed to one of the bunks in the third row. "Unpack and freshen up, the initiation will start in an hour. Ask your friends here any questions you might have. I shall see you soon, child." And she walked out. The bell rang as she exited the living quarters.
The atmosphere immediately changed. The place was suddenly booming with sound as the girls came back to life. It was scary how much that woman's mere presence affected a room. The woman was a danger, Sarah realised.
"Oh, Jane is FUCKED!"
"I've told her to not be lousy with tidying up so many times, she just can't shake the habit off!"
"Did she really call her "child" or am I finally losing my mind?"
"She told her to freshen up! What in the world?"
"I know right, I wonder what she said to her!"
"Is her age softening her up or something?"
"Fuck her, did you see Henry today after he fell into the lake? Lords, how I wish he would just pin me up against a wall and put his -"
"Jane really needs to fix her ways, after Emma-"
"Why are your clothes in my drawer again? How many times-"
One girl, presumably Jane, had fallen to the floor, sobbing. "I am dead meat! This is my last day!" A few other girls had rushed to console the devastated teenager. Sarah walked to the lower bunk Miss White had pointed out and quietly started to arrange her belongings from her trunk into an open, empty drawer.
Another girl, a little older, approached her. "What do we call you?"
"Sarah. Sarah Willis."
"SARAH WILLIS, GIRLS!" The girl yelled, making her jump. "Oh, sorry, that's just how we introduce new people. I'm Amy, by the way. I've been here two years. I'll show you around once you're done, if you like."
"And I'm Penny, I'm on the bunk on top of yours.", another girl, around fourteen, walked up to them. "Sarah, I must ask you, what the hell did you say to that hag for her to come to drop you here herself? What happened?" Sarah recounted the encounter at the office to them, a little put off by the weird welcome but still trying to be as friendly as possible.
"Oh, you're really good! Most girls, when they come here are crying their eyes out and wiping snot everywhere. They get a beating as their introduction. Well, I did." Penny said, offhandedly.
"A beating?" Sarah asked, concerned.
"You should ask Jane or Emma. They get the worst of it." Amy chimed in.
"Who is Emma?"
Their faces blanched immediately after the words left her mouth. "Oh, right, Emma's not here anymore. Silly me." Amy mustered, clearly uncomfortable. "Where did she go?" Sarah asked. "Never you mind. Come on! I'll show you around!" Penny said. She sounded way too cheerful. As if she was scared.

__________________________________________________________________

"Sarah Anne Willis."
Sarah walked up to the podium. They were on the top floor, in the biggest, most beautifully adorned hall she had ever seen, and she was the last to complete her initiation for the year.
Miss White picked up a badge which simply had the number One on it and pinned it to her chest, on her new grey gown. A prisoner's uniform.
"Welcome to the family."
The hall erupted in applause, as Sarah turned to bow to the teachers standing in one corner, and then the audience of girls, as she had seem everyone before her do. Jane was not present at the ceremony.
Her initiation was complete. All hell had just broken loose on eight year old Sarah Willis, and she had no idea.

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(A/N : Hello, you guys. Finally writing a book on wattpad after traumatising myself on here with the most horrendous fanfics for like 7 years straight. Please be patient with me, I have a lot going on rn, so no consistency can be promised, but I'd say from May onwards I will start putting more time into this. For now, I have no idea where this is going, just spinning something out from the top of my head at this point. This was obviously a split second decision. I have a basic idea formed but there is no plot line lol. I'll likely only be uploading one chapter after this before may, and then I'll see if i can start building a story. Hopefully you like what you've read so far and want me to continue posting. Feel free to message me any superb ideas you might have about possible plot lines. I am also all for fan service, let me know what tropes you would like me to add into this. And any advice you might have. I'm open to everything.)