I was too young, really, to understand what was going on. I was only 4. I was confused and lost. Why was I dressed like a boy? What on earth was my mother talking to this strange man for? Who was that boy and how old was he? There were so many questions in my head. I stood there in the rain, shivering. I had on a pair of worn through trousers and a small white ragged shirt. We didn't have the money for shoes. My hair was pulled back which was how most boys wore it at my age anyway.
"William, Roland, get this child out of the rain before he catches his death!" the tall man ordered. The boy didn't move but the older one was quick to grab my hand and start pulling me away. There was the sound of shouting and a clatter of hooves on the cobblestone bridge far down the road. My mother looked startled at the sight of them. She quickly turned me around and grabbed my shoulders.
"I love you darling. Always remember that." She said. With that she kissed my cheek and took off down the road.
"There! That must be her!" a voice shouted over the rain. I looked in the direction it came. It was the man on the lead horse that I'd heard only a moment ago. He pointed in the direction my mother ran. By this time the older one had scooped me up and carried me back to the place he and the boy had been waiting, out of the rain.
I didn't know it then, but I'd find out soon. My fate had been sealed, everything was about to change. I was helpless as the men on horses rode past to hunt down my mother and most likely….kill her.
