Chapter One : A Broken Soul

Pu-boom! Pu-boom! Pu-boom!

It was like a never-ending fall for her young heart. The pounding in her chest screamed at her to stop. She didn't want any part of this. The huge, brown, double-doors before her marked the gateway to another night of absolute humiliation.

And she was falling ever-so-slowly to that door. Step… by… step… She had no choice in the matter. If someone was called to the master, they obeyed without hesitation.

But she wanted ever-so-badly to run away. The cuffs around her wrists rubbed her skin raw. The brown fur that used to be there had been rubbed off to expose a red-pink sore. She had deep purple bags under her eyes from her constant tears and even more frequent nightmares. Every time she closed her eyes… they appeared. The absolute horrors which haunt her every waking thought.

"Get over here, dumb slave!" The strong mole snarled, pulling the chains with him roughly. The ragged girl following him nearly tripped forward at the tug. Every bit of force put on her felt ten-fold. She was weak from insomnia and never-ending hunger. But for ten years she had to live under these conditions. For ten years she had never once slept peacefully, eaten any more than two slices of bread a day, or ever enjoyed a single moment of her life. For ten years it's been a never-ending cycle of pain, humiliation, more pain, nightmares, and yet more pain to shatter whatever's left of her hope.

A long, long time ago, she admitted the fact she was never going to be able to get out of the caravan's slave-hold. A circus, as they called themselves. Her parents gave her up when she was only six, an age where the wonders of the world to an innocent child were pure and magical.

The heavy wooden doors opened with a loud creak and the abused brown hedgehog was thrown in. She tried to catch her footing, but one limping foot caught another by behind. In a mere two seconds she crashed forward on her left side, skidding on her hip, arm, leg, and a portion of her chin on the uneven stone tiles. The building she was in wasn't the caravan's doing at all. She had only gotten the news she had been offered as a trade for money a minute or two ago. Someone must've seen her earlier when arriving in the town. This, she believed, was the city council hall.

"Stand up, petty girl!" A snobbish noble voice ordered. Being told to do so, the girl did her best to stand on her aching feet, throbbing with pain. She barely managed to hold her breath from sobbing. This was her one and only chance to get out. She couldn't mess it up. She had her eyes closed as tightly as possible, as that aided her from releasing tears.

If only she didn't see them…

"She's much too feeble." The noble-snobbish voice criticized, whacking what the girl thought must be a wooden stick on her calf. "Too short, no good posture in any way, shape or form-" There was a pause. Even in this harsh environment, maybe there was one good thing about the slave. Just one thing.

"And don't even get me started how ugly her face is." The lady sneered. "It's hideous, unpresentable, incurable…" The comments kept piling on and on. This was the slave's one chance to get out of the caravan and into a decent house, remaining a slave or not.

And the faint light of hope was shattered like the effort to keep from sobbing. She lost… As quickly as it was offered, her hope was lost again.

"And look at that! She knows it, too! This ungrateful thing is of no use to my husband and I! Take her away, right now!" She fell to her knees for her legs gave out. But even so, the escort yanked the chain holding her wrists together and forced the brunet to turn a 180 and drag along the ground again back through the doors. "I never want to see that face in this place ever again!"

She had only counted three breaths between her sobbing before she felt her escort's huge, rough hand clamp on her shoulder, lift her up, and toss her into a steel cage- her steel cage. Open bars for no privacy, steel flooring, a thin sheet of metal for the roof, and room enough for only two.

Which was occupied by one other.

"Get 'ya act te'getha fer' te'morro, 'ya clown!" The man's cruel words demanded of the abused girl. Any further verbal attacks would've been drowned out by her moans and sobbing. As soon as the guard left, a gentle hand took hold of the poor slave's arm.

"Shhh, it's all right Melody…" A soft, female voice tried to encourage. Although she looked no better off. Her snow-white fur was stained with an assortment of disgustingly-colored liquids; coffee, jam, tobacco-spit, even blood that wasn't her own. Her bangs covered half of her face, a black eye being part of it. Her hair reached all the way down to her mid-back, but because it was messy and frizzed-up it looked shorter and more outward than it already was.

Both girls were clear definitions of abused just physically. It was heart-wrenching to see either one.

"Melody…" The second continued, scooting closer to better comfort her cell-mate. "It's all right. Whatever they said it's not true, and you know it…"

"We're never getting out…" The brunette, Melody, sobbed, hiding her face behind her hands. "No one will buy us out… I'm hideous…"

"That is not true." Her comforting friend denied, taking the whole girl into her arms from the floor. She rocked side-to-side like her father did when she was younger before she was brought into this damned nightmare. "Melody, you're the most gorgeous, kindest, most thoughtful friend I've ever had." Tears ran down her face. She was sure this poor soul would've been spared from further damage in her spirit this time. When they collected her friend, all she could pray was her gratitude for saving her friend, never once asking for an equal reward for herself.

Now it was apparent it was only false hope, something so crushing it would murder an infant who couldn't even understand a single word.

"I'm so sorry, Lor…" Melody cried into the white fur, clinging on to her shoulders for dear life to remind herself her friend was there with her. "I couldn't get us out…"

"Shh, don't you dare blame yourself. Whoever it was, they missed out on the purest soul money could never buy." Whether it made sense or not, Melody hushed her words and drowned the silent night in her slowly-dying wails. When she had calmed down to a quiet sniffle, Lor placed a kiss on Melody's forehead.

"Tomorrow will be a new day." She said softly, trying to keep spirits high enough to keep fighting through this endless war. "Someone will see you and say 'I want that girl! I want that girl so bad, I will free her and make her my wife! That's how beautiful she is!'"

"A-and will… Will I free you, too?" Melody quivered in Lor's shoulder.

"Don't even worry about me. Let's get you out first. Then we'll see what we can do. But don't even think about me before you, do you understand?"

"O-o-oui…" Melody coughed from the lump in her throat.

'Please, if there is a God out there,' Lor prayed in her head as she held Melody tightly. 'Spare her from another day's wrath! I will gladly take her place and carry on without her! Let your child, my dearest sister, remember the reason why she was born into this world! Please, I'm begging you!'

As the night drew on, both girls were finally able to close their eyes and sleep through the rest of the moon's peak. As the gibbous moon fell and the sky gradually turned to a lighter blue, the surrounding area was suddenly filled with a blood-curling, ear-piercing scream of pain and agony. Lor awoke with a jolt and immediately saw Melody thrashing about just a foot away from her, screaming her lungs off.

"MAKE IT STOP! I'LL DO BETTER, I PROMISE! GO AWAY, S'IL VOUS PLAÎT !"

"Melody!" Lor lunged forward and covered her mouth as she encircled her arms around her shoulders. "Shh! Wake up! It's just a nightmare! Melody, please, wake up! You're all right!"

Melody's eyes flew open with tears streaming down her face, the first time in what felt like forever she exposed her bright hazel eyes. She gasped and ceased her wailing. "There, see?" Lor smiled, never once pulling away from their embrace. "No performance. You're all right-"

"Hey! What're you two doing?!" A young man's voice demanded just outside the cage. Both girls flinched, but that didn't stop the door from opening. Two burley hands clamped down on their arms and dragged them out. "I told you two to stay quiet! Now you're gonna get it!"

A loud series of Snaps and Cracks echoed around them. The two were separated through their desperation to hold on, and Lor was dragged to a wooden stand with a long latch on the top and three holes.

The stocks, which everyone in this encounter knew very well.

"It was all me!" Lor cried out. "I screamed! She has nothing to do-"

"Aw, shut-up!" The crow jeered as he planted her wrists and neck into the slots, slamming the latch close and locking it. "Twenty snaps! Ten down, ten to the side! Then twenty-five for the ugly one however you see fit!"

Melody watched in horror as one raven with dark feathers raised his arm, brightly exposing the worn, stained rope in the morning sun just peeping over the horizon.

Snap!

Gold-furred ears flicked inside the crowded stage room. Orange bangs swung to the side as a head turned, investigating the "merry" festival. Deep brown eyes scanned the area.

"What's wrong, your grace?" a dark, nearly black with blue streaked-quills, hedgehog asked, who stood next to a gold-brown wolf-torso behind a counter. Both were dressed with soft cloth with elaborate designs hand-sewn along the cuffs.

"Did they announce the next performance?" The rather young royal girl asked slowly.

"Yes. They had just finished saying the buffoons are arriving."

No sooner had he finished a huge roar of laughter came over the mass of watchers. They were mocking none other than two tired hedgehogs slathered with white face-paint and dressed in ridiculous cloths, even wearing blue and purple wigs with red painted around their mouths to imitate a comical smile.

One had a violin, the other had small fabric flags of green and yellow tied around her wrists and ankles.

"Play, 'ya stupid clowns!" One rude audience member demanded just as soft drum music began. The wolf girl raised her head a little higher to see the performance better, immediately taking pity on the performers, but thought it comical in any way. Though buffoons? Why them, of all possible performers? Why not just plain bards or exotic dancers for creativity?

Whatever their reasoning is, they sure had some guts. Especially since the crowd was booing and howling the whole time.

That was when she spotted two things with her keen eyes. One, tomatoes were being handed down from the sides of the stage to the audience members, who each took several with thirsty eyes. Second, both performers were flinching. Not because of the tomatoes. No, every time they moved a certain way, they cringed. That's probably why the one playing the violin was screwing up with the song and the dancer was reluctant to move.

"Thorn," She ordered in a low tone. "I am going to stop this madness."

"Y-your grace!" The armed hedgehog, Thorn, sounded down-right baffled. "You know you'll get hurt!"

"They're in pain," Her torso rose and turned to leave the counter, exposing orange and peach scales at her waist and further down, ending in a snake tail dragging behind her. "And they wouldn't dare harm a naga!"

As she tried to slip to the back room, the two "buffoons" were highly aware of what was next. They had to do this every performance; suffer through the embarrassment of not only performing like this, but endure the shame of fruits thrown at them with constant put-downs and hisses.

But worst of all was the pain on their back. Twenty to twenty-five lashes, and all because of Melody's stupid nightmare of this exact thing. The disgrace the audience gave her with every performance she gave, no matter what she did, was never even decent, far from that!

Just like how her parents gave her up ten years ago…

Just as the dancer, Lor, was crossing over to the other side, a tomato smashed directly into her cheek, forcing her to stop for a second. But that was more than enough time to rile-up the crowd. Another was tossed, missing the violist by inches. The next two, however, hit them both.

"Stop!" The naga ordered as her wolf-top appeared past the cheaply-made curtains. But it was too late. The whole crowd flung their missiles with full force, pounding mostly on the two performers. The naga threw her body forward to protect the two with her own form while the latter huddled together, unaware of the strange twist in their routine.

The stage became a red mess once every tomato had been thrown. Pools of red juice, seeds, and peels littered everything from the floor to the curtains and, obviously, the three bodies. A hushed silence befell upon the recently rowdy crowd once the wolf-naga moved from her stance, soaked in tomato juice and skin.

She glanced behind her and let out a breath of relief when she saw the two girls with minor damage compared to herself.

Then with a fuming rage, she turned to the audience. "Constan!" She shouted to the mass of fearful faces. "Constan! You and I need a little talk."

"Right here, your grace." The dark hedgehog approached from behind with a rather short weasel walking (or rather struggling) right in front with his hands bound behind. Once the conman was a few feet away from the naga, they both stopped and looked directly at the princess, weasel with fear.

"Thorn…" She said gently, never parting her intimidating gaze with the ring master. "Please lead these two out of here so they may wash their face. Treat them with the respect they deserve after this disgusting act." As she spat out the last few words, her forked tongue flexed out to the wincing leader.

"As you wish." Thorn bowed his head, released the prisoner, and offered a hand to the two flabbergasted girls.

"She was right…" Thorn spoke as Lor splashed water on herself from the pump. He had asked kindly for Melody to remove her shirt, for he saw how painful it was for both to even walk. He did not want to see the front, as he immediately saw what was on her back side; countless scabbed lines running across her skin in almost every direction possible. He, himself, wanted to cringe at the sight. "You poor girls."

"I-I… I'm sorry…" Melody softly let out an apology. Thorn raised an eyebrow.

"For what? You've done nothing wrong. It was those damned fools with their sick joke that caused all this."

"F-for being… such a bother…"

"Hush now, child." The way he spoke made him sound as if he was much older, though he looked only a year or two older at the most. "The only bother is the slave-owner, and Princess Neveah will set him straight."

"Princess?" Lor walked over, now free from facial paint. Thorn nodded.

"You've entered Rattalia territory, kingdom of the naga family. Princess Neveah had to represent King Arlax because he had other business to attend to."

Melody had caught on by now and her head and stomach spiraled and flipped in loops, making her sick enough to release what little food she had left.

"Poor child…" Thorn sighed piteously at the sight.

"S-sir?" Lor approached Thorn with one arm comforting the bent-over girl. "Wh-what's going to happen to us? We can't stay here. We'll-"

"You'll die, yes." A comforting voice came from around the corner. Melody looked up just high enough to see Princess Neveah slither to them with papers in hand. "Which is why you're coming with us, children. You are free from these monsters and are now property of the Rattalian family."

That was when Melody passed out of pure exhaustion.

All right, peeps. At first I was against posting an "author's note" here, but it's 11:40 at night, I just finished watching several "react to 5 nights at Freddy's" videos, and I'm trying to get the second chapter done. Mind you, this is my first posted story, not first written.

But if 'yall have some comments to make, please let 'em rip. Leave a review or PM me, I don't care. :D If you have suggestions on replacing some kines to make more sense grammar-wise, by golly let me hear 'em!

Lemme tell you a secret: If this was a touchy-chapter for you, then be prepared to be BORED out of your mind. I can't keep this writing style up forever. So if you EVER have ideas how to better phrase things I say and your idea nails what I'm trying to say, lemme hear 'em!

And another; there is no set schedule how often these chapters will add on. It's a "come as it goes" policy. Sorry.

I've also realized the breaks I tried making wouldn't save onto the file. I'm hoping the lines will substitute until I can figure out a more efficient way to establish breaks.

UPDATE! Kelly's name has been changed to Neveah. This would also be a good time to give the copywrite.

What is mine:
Melody Hedgehog
The Story
Arlax
Constan

A dear friend/sister of mine known as Scuffy:
Lor Hedgehog

A dear friend/sister of mine known as FrozenDarkness on deviantArt:
Neveah
Thorn