I Am Bree - Book 1

Chapter 11 - A Friend and Confusion

I screamed out in sorrow and rage as the fabric to from my arm, and I did the one thing that I could to retaliate. I swung my hand about and hit her so hard in the face that she staggered backwards. Madame shrieked, and the girls gaped open-mouthed at me, their half-chewed form spilling from their mouths.

I had never dared do such a thing before, and that I should do so now so astounded them all that for a moment, the was threaded with silent disbelief. Then, Madame leapt at me with a scream, the others in hot pursuit. There was nothing I could do to stop the sudden onslaught.

They pummeled me with all their strength. There was a flurrying of tearing fabric and scratches and slaps that overwhelmed me entirely. I ended up on the floor, curled into a ball to protect my face as best I could.

When they were done, my beautiful dress—the one thing that I had that was decent and the last thing I had to remind me of the friends I wouldn't be seeing for some time—was in tatters. My hair had been torn from its neat braid, and my face had been so scratched and mauled that I could hardly distinguish one place of hurt from another. Adella looked at me smugly, hatred in her eyes, as I got to my feet.

"Do clean yourself up." Madame said harshly. "The ball is to be in a few hours." I gasped for breath at their cruelty, trying in vain to hide my tears and keep what little dignity I had left.

I opened my mouth to speak, but there were no words to express what I felt toward them. There was nothing I could say that would change anything. Snapping my mouth shut, I turned and fled the room.

Racing down the long halls, I somehow managed to find my way into the castle garden. There, flopping down onto the rich, green grass, I shed the tears of a year's abuse and mistreatment. I had never allowed myself to cry about the things they did to me: it would've only made it worse, but now, now, I couldn't help it.

They had taken every decent I ever had and made it as ugly and dirty as they themselves. I was sure, as I lay there sobbing, that they hated me more than anything or anyone else in the world. I don't believe I was much mistaken, either.

When most of my tears had been shed, I felt a gentle hand touch my shoulder, and I leapt to my feet, wiping at my eyes and sniffing back my tears. However, it was not the face of my sisters or even my mother that met my gaze. A young woman, who looked to be around my age, stared at me with such pitiful sympathy that I almost began to cry again.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" She said softly, and her voice was the most beautiful thing I had heard in all my life.

She was like an angel. Her gorgeous hazel eyes took in the state of my attire in one glance, and she seemed to understand what I had been through without having to hear any sort of explanation.

"I don't believe so." I said, trying to check my sobs with a sniff.

"There, there, you have no need to hide your tears from me." She said gently, moving toward me with such grace that I felt a fool. "Someone has been cruel to you, and I am sure your tears are justified."

"You are too kind." I managed. "But I fear your kindness could be used in a better way. There is nothing on earth that can be done for me."

"Nonsense," she said with a sort of half smile. "It cannot be as bad as all that." She touched my arm with her soft hand. "You have suffered som injustice, perhaps?"

She had hair the color fo the noonday sun, and her features surely had no equal in all of Falea. In short, she was beyond beautiful. She was like a goddess, and her beauty and grace reminded me of what I wished I could be. I could never have her poise and beauty, but I had once something of a lady, and her presence reminded me of things that I had missed all these years.