Sold (complete)

5

"Who's she?"

Liam turned slightly and set the girl down. She tangled her hand in his and played with her hair.

"This is Annabel. Anna, this is my sister, Bridget."

"It's nice to meet you, I said.

"Why does your hair look like that?" she asked.

"Bridget-"

"Because your brother didn't let me brush it."

"You were taking too long."

"I apologize, Your Highness. I'll be quicker in the future."

He would have been stupid if he missed the sarcasm in my voice.

"Bridget, why don't you tell Anna all about your favorite Disney princesses?" he suggested.

If he thought that was going to get under my skin, he was mistaken. He knew nothing about me.

"I love Tangled."

"You could be Rapunzel," I said.

"Do you think I could? Liam said my hair isn't long enough."

"But it's pretty enough. In fact, I think I like your hair better than hers."

"Really?" she asked. Her bright red eyes lit up at the mention.

"Mhm."

"Can I play with your hair?"

"It's knotted right now."

"I can fix it. I promise I'll do it just like my mommy. She does it really soft."

"Sure. Do you have a brush?"

"Liam, can I get a brush?"

"I kind of just want to get home."

I watched him carefully as he interacted with his sister. I wondered if he was really going to deny her or if he would give in.

"Please, Liam?"

He sighed. "Fine. Richard, can you go find her a brush?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

I wondered if it bothered Richard to be put on such trivial tasks. He seemed tough, like a solider, but he was searching for a dog and a hair brush.

"No luck on Zeus yet," Liam said.

I nodded.

"Who's Zeus?" Bridget asked.

"Anna's dog."

"You have a dog?" she asked, excited.

"Uh, well, I did."

"Where is he?"

I shrugged. "He, um, I lost him."

I didn't know why I lied to her but I didn't think she should be exposed to exactly what I was and what happened to me. She couldn't have been older than five or six. It felt wrong to tell her about what happened.

"Liam, if you find him, can he come live with us?"

"I don't know, Bridget," Liam said, uneasy.

"But Anna wants him."

"Yeah, well, Anna is a servant," he trailed.

She looked confused by Liam's statement but I was sure she knew what a servant was. It wasn't like I would be the first servant. He had others.

"But why?"

"Because we bought her from the auction house. Come on, Bridget, you know how it works."