Aches. Pain. Black lines of dried blood taking place of deep cuts. Cold stone walls containing my presence or what little left of it. Unsightly scars littered my skin. A small crimson drop splattered against my hand. I let out a low growl before bringing my other hand up and wiping my nose. A long streek of red took place on my arm afterwards. Ice like drafts sent chills up my spine. I shivered violently and groaned to myself. Just the slightest movement caused me agony. Crimson drops continued to flow from my nose. 'Looks like I'm sleeping in a pool of my own blood again,' I growled as I thought this. Sounds of water hitting the stone floor echoed through the area. I leaned my head back against the wall. It wasn't always like this. I used to have a home. In a real house. With a family. I miss them. Sure, they left me for dead in this hell hole. But, they're the only family I have. It's all I know. I remember once I figured out how to get out of this cage. I would go into the nearby town when the keeper slept. I liked it out there. Nobody really noticed me and when they did they where rude. Some people would throw rocks at me. But, there where two reasons why I like the town. I felt free and I felt loved. You're probably questioning how I felt loved, right? Well, let me finish. I met a girl the first time I got out. She was actually nice to me. Wrapped up one of the injuries I had at that point in time. Shared her food with me. Cared about me. Last time I saw her she told me that she loves me. I told her that I love her back. And I did. She was a beautiful, smart, kind girl. Of course I loved her. She was the only person who cares about me. And, what happened next was a surprise to both of us. We kissed. I enjoyed it a lot and it looked like she did too. Well, after that she brought me to her home and, well, spent the night together. It was amazing. I'd never done that before. Maka, that's her name, looked so beautiful in the moonlight. She looked so happy and placid as she layed next to me. Not to mention, she looked much more beautiful with her hair down. She'd always wear pigtails. I didn't care. She was beautiful to me either way. Well, when we woke up the sun was up and then it clicked in my head. It's morning. The keeper will be awake and when he finds out that I wasn't there... I kissed Maka as passionately as I could because I knew that would be the last time I would ever see her. I told her I loved her. I couldn't even explain how much I did. But, she knew. That's all that mattered. I really do miss her. It's been five years since then. I'm older now...Twenty seven, I think. I've lost count. Maka was the same age as me, you see. She was the only person I cared about. I'd love to see her once more before I die from pain. Now, you're probably wondering how I ended up here to begin with. Simple. My family was very wealthy despite being villagers. Never worked a day in their lives. Though, not me. They put me to work in the mines and the farms. Pretty much any kind of labor. My older brother, he was a very successful bard. Left home when I was about eight. My parents were proud of him and would give him the world if possible. Not me. They abused me frequently. I wouldn't have done anything wrong either. They would beat me because I wasn't working hard enough or I stopped to take a two minute break or what I did wasn't good enough. Also, I think it was because of what I look like. My brother and I look very similar. I look like the rough, raggedy, bruised version of him. Though, his hair isn't spiked like mine. He has normal teeth too. My grownup teeth grew in strangely and are shark like now. Oh yeah and I have crimson eyes. Yeah. Don't know how that happened. My brother and father have brown eyes, while my mother has golden eyes. Her eyes have two different colored rings of gold. So, I'm not sure how I got my eye color. I have white hair. No, I was born with white hair. It's been like that my whole life. My eyes are a major reason why nobody is kind to me. Well, one day I came inside from farming and mining all day. Ran my hand through my hair and walked into the other room when my parents were standing there. They sold me. They got money. I couldn't take anything with me before I was knocked out and woke up in this cell. I was sixteen.
"Here's your meal, freak." The keeper grumbled while throwing a circle shaped pan at the floor violently. I examined it cautiously. Pudding and bones. 'Great,' I thought.
The pudding wasn't even pudding either. It was lard, flower, and water. Doesn't taste good. And the bones were just T-bones that they didn't give to the dogs. No meat on 'em. Just grissel and fat. I poked the metal pan away and huddled in the back corner of the cage. I made a smooth crater of sorts in stone floor by sleeping there every night for years. I took off my shirt and rolled it up. Set it down as a pillow. I didn't really have clothes. Just rags. I found a ruined sack that used to be for potatoes and made it into a coat like garment. I put that over myself and used it as a blanket. Beding though, it was a pile of hay that I flattened out over time with a pelt over it. The pelt was kinda itchy, but it was softer than my clothes. The pelt had to be a wolf. I would know that because I frequently have to kill anything around the property. Mostly wolves. I don't like to kill them. But, I have to or this would happen. Blood continued to drip from my nose onto either myself, my rags, or the pelt. It was permanently stained with blood from my frequent beatings. You would have thought that the pelt was red to begin with. There's very few patches of white fur left on it now. I had no doubts that my nose was broken again. Third time this year I've broken my nose. Just about everything else has been fractured, cracked, bruised, or dislocated. I let out a pain filled hiss. Laying on my back hurt a lot. So many cuts and scars made it hard for me to lay down with comfort. The scars I've had for years continue to get worse. I actually like two of them. They bring back better memories. My favorite is probably the one on my forearm. It had to be stitched up after working too hard in the mine. Sliced it against a sharp rock poking out of the wall. The keeper didn't care if I bled to death. Luckily, I saw Maka that night and she stitched up my arm. It still bled. Not as bad though. My owner didn't really pay attention to me when I was injured or dirty. That's right. I'm a slave. My parents sold my as a slave. And to a disgusting woman who spent her days with different men. She's even tried to get with me. I stay away from her the best way I can. And when she acts like a cat in heat around me I push her away. Disgusting. Only shows interest in me when I'm not wearing a shirt or she's being desperate.
"You better eat," the keeper said roughly. "I don't want to be the one to tell Miss Blair why her favorite slave is dead."
I shot him a glance over my shoulder. "You think I care?" I growled. "I'd rather die than live as a slave!" The keeper looked at me angrily. He grabbed his club and opened my cell. He fastened the door behind him and looked at me.
"How 'bout I make your wish come true?" He said with fiery. I rolled my eyes, ' You'd be doing me a favor.' The keeper struck the side of my head with the club hard. A loud cracking sound was heard. Blood splattered on everything. I held my palm to my skull in agony. Hissing and screaming as he struck me again and again with the club. Shattering and screams were only things you could hear besides the club striking me over and over again. Pain overwhelmed me and I released. I suddenly didn't feel any pain. I felt free. Weightless. Like I was floating. I saw a bright light and went to it. Finally. My suffering was over.
Meanwhile...
Tsubaki sat at the table. Looking at Maka worriedly. "You need to calm down, Maka. It's normal to care."
Maka sighed softly and started to play with her hair. "I know. I just can't help it. I'm considered about him."
"You have good reasons to be worried about him. But, you're stressing yourself out," Tsubaki lectured.
"Yeah..." Maka said as she looked over at the boy.
"So, I've been meaning to ask you for a long time. Who's the father? " Tsubaki asked. Maka looked at her hands with a blush on her face.
"Well, as you could probably guess, it was Soul..."
"You did THAT with Soul? But, why Maka?" Tsubaki asked, surprised.
She avoided her gaze, "We kissed. I enjoyed it. I love him. I decided that I wanted him to be the one I share my first time with. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. Still do." She muttered so only Tsubaki could hear. "I don't regret what I did. I'm not ashamed of spending one night with Soul. I loved him and I'm happy that he was my first and the father of my child."
"Mommy! I taste copper!" The little white haired boy cried. Maka bent down and looked in his mouth.
"Oh, Tama. You bit the inside of your lip again," She sighed. "You need to be more careful."
"Okay, Momma," He agreed and went back to what he was doing. Maka turned back to Tsubaki.
"And you wonder why I'm so concerned about Tamashi?" She questioned.
"Well, I did say you have good reasons to be."
She looked at her little five year old son and sighed. "I miss Soul so much," Maka said, helplessly.