Little White Lies
Prologue
People often say that when you use a lie enough times you start believing in it yourself. Maybe for many this is true, but not for the lie which I'm living. To understand what I mean you are going to have to know a little something about me.
My name is Idelle Fiona Fea daughter of the duke, supposedly dead just like my mother. We both "died" after falling into the river Hishma, nobody knows exactly what happened.
Nobody but me and the few men that were there when it happened. But my father managed to bribe them into silence so the real story will never be told. I remember that fateful day 5 years ago well, it had been the day after my birthday and mother and I were out enjoying the wonderful weather.
We ended up at our favourite spot beside the beautiful river Hishma. Although we both couldn't swim we often took off our shoes and lifted our heavy skirts to a shameful height so that our feet were able to reach the cool water.
We were both sitting there enjoying the suns rays and talking about everything that we could think off when out of nowhere there came 4 men. I recognised them as servants in our house and I knew that my mother did too.
Even at the age of 10 I could feel that my mother was afraid of them, and that these big men were not to be trusted. Without a word said they came towards my mother and me. My mom stood in front of me know trying to protect these men from hurting me, but her efforts turned out to be useless.
3 of the men grabbed my mom roughly and dumped her into the river that was still gurgling happily beside me. The last of the men grabbed me and held me tight and no amount of struggling on my part got me free to help my now drowning mother.
My mother, my dear oh so smart mother who never wasted a moment of her life was not about to begin now. No, instead she gave her death wish, and in our country the wish of someone dying was not to be taken lightly or spotted with.
" Don't kill my daughter, spare my daughter and let her live, she is but a child."
Those were the last words that came from my loving mother. My best friend in the whole world. The person I loved most, the only person I loved for that matter died with those words coming forming on her lips.
The four men stared at her now floating form for a minute but then they started to grumble. This is not how it was meant to be, but could they go against the wishes of a dying woman? The duchess for that matter? In the end they didn't and when they got back home and confronted my father with a now crying child he wasn't happy.
That's how I ended up being made to live as a servant in my own house, living in the loft above the stables. From that day on I promised myself that I would never again be a helpless little girl. I cut off my hair, dressed as a boy and set out to do everything a woman should never accomplish.
I now work as a stable boy a complete all the heavier tasks around the house. I can swim; swordfight, ride horses, and street fight well. I have one really good friend. His name is William and he knows I am not really a boy, but he is the only one other then my father who knows this.
You see, shortly after the death of my mother we moved to a new country and a new house. No one even knew about my existence here, which is exactly how my father wanted it. He remarried not long after our arrival to an awful woman or girl really. She is only 3 years my senior and expecting her first child. I am her personal slave. My father gave me to her as a wedding gift and on most days she enjoys nothing more then bossing me around and making me do idle little tasks for her.
You probably wonder why I never told anyone about what had happened to my mother or me. I would love to I really would, the only problem is I can't. My father put a spell on me, and not just any spell, no he took my words away literally, I can't talk. At least not during the day, my father made one single mistake. He cast the spell using the words " You will no longer be able to speak for the rest of your days." Thankfully he forgot to say nights.
