Inside the Heart: Katriana's struggle
Disclaimer: All of TP's wonderful amazing fabulous characters are not mine. All of the Characters that are mine, though, are hers for the taking is she wants them.
Prologue
Katriana Johninski, better known as Kat, pushed herself up off the dusty floor of her parents' inn, panting. The next slap sent her sprawling again. She took her time getting up this time; her hands were clenched into fists. As soon as she was half way to her feet, another blow came, this time to her belly. She doubled over, gasping.
Kat was fairly tall; her skin turned brown from hours of labor in the sun. Her dark brown hair cascaded to the middle of her back, covering the two large welts on her cheeks. Her eyes, the blue of a peaceful sea, shone over a small nose, high cheekbones, and full lips. Her pretty features were clenched in hate. She couldn't take any more. She wouldn't. After tonight's beating was over, she would leave. Forever.
A kick came, directed to her ribs. She windmilled, but fell backwards anyway; hitting the floor with an audible thump. From her new vantage point, Kat could see four pairs of eyes staring out at her from behind the table. She could see why little Lizzy stood there, terrified. After all, she was only four years old. But what excuse did Dantis have? He was eighteen, yet did nothing to help his sister when their parents beat her up, night after night after night.
Regaining her balance, Kat stumbled out of the room. A million thoughts roared through her head, competing only with a buzzing in her ears. It wasn't fair! Why did her parents treat her like this? What had she done to deserve it? She pounded angrily on the floor on the way to her room. From below she could hear the muffled noise of tonight's guests rising through the floorboards; eating, drinking, and talking — yelling more like It, she thought. It was a full house. With all the guests, how did he have time to even get drunk? She wondered then again, he always finds time to get drunk.
Reaching her small room on the first floor, Kat slammed the door. She immediately fell on the bed and began to sob. He cheeks were smarting, although long experience told her they would be fine by morning. Her real problem was her stomach. Every time she took a breath, it felt like her ribs were breaking open. Reaching out with her small gift, Kat realized that two of her ribs were cracked. She was able to stop the pain, but did not have enough of a gift to heal them completely. Sitting up, Katriana began to make her plans to run away.