The tendril of sunlight cast its light before me. I leaped over it, running as fast as a doe in the heat of the hunt. After me, men I had no knowledge of, came quick as lightning, apparating every so often to remove the distance I had scored for myself. Why they did not shoot charms or spells at me I did not know.
Along side of me, to my left, the waterway coursed with life yet, the Gondola men who should have been out and about were not rowing in the dull grey weather of the morning. With the dull weather came a chill that I felt even after the amount of running I'd done. In my arms, the chains to my necklace weighed me down.
Before me was a sharp turn that led to a dead end. I was between a brick wall and one of the many waterways of Venice. I could jump into the water and hope to escape or wait until the men caught me once again. This was not the first time I'd tried to escape. Today made the fourth attempt in a month eversince my 15th birthday. None of the other slaves gave the men of The Keeper such trouble. For sure I would get a beating if caught. I readied myself to jump into the water that looked cold. Before I could, a boy not much older than myself apparated in suddenly and grabbed my arm before apparating us to a dark room. I screamed all the way, so much so that when we arrived, he put his hand over my mouth and pinned me to the ground.
I stopped screaming in shock of his boldness. He took the time to look me over, especially my clothing. Shame and embarrassment raced to my cheeks, making them tinged red. I would never have chosen the clothes I wore if given a choice. With the appearance of Carnival, The Keeper had issued everyone gold clothes. The women had standard issue gold; gold skirts with slits up to the thighs, and small gold tops. Men wore gold harem pants. I called us his slaves, he called us his Children.
"Look, if I remove my hand, can you be quiet? Stop screaming? I won't do you any harm." The boy spoke English like me. I nodded that I could keep quiet. He slowly removed his hand from my mouth. I took a large breathe while he got off of me. "I'm sorry I pulled you so quickly like that. You looked like you needed help. I saw those men chasing you and noticed they were wizards. Why were they chasing you?" He questioned. I didn't really want to answer him but as he was my rescuer, I felt I owed him something for risking his life.
"I'm a slave. A squib slave. There is a man here in Venice, he collects girls and boys when they turn 11 and find out they haven't been admitted into wizarding schools around the world. He kidnaps them and enslaves them until they turn 20 where I think he kills them. We don't know what happens to them" The boys face was aghast.
"That's more serious than I though. I thought maybe you just skipped out on a tab or something. Let me get my Dad. He's an Auror. He can help catch those guys." The boy motioned for me to stay and slipped out of the dark room we were in. I got up as silently as possible and looked out the bedroom door. I could see stairs leading down to a door. How could I trust this boy. He could be working with those men. I made my escape.
I swiftly and silently tipped down the stairs and out the front door into a courtyard. The courtyard opened up into the street which I jogged down, ignoring the dull ache in my scuffed up bare feet. I happened upon a complex of apartments with the laundry hanging out to dry. I managed to find a dress in my size and a coat to put over it as well as socks and a pair of boots from someones doorway. I tucked my old outfit into a plant pot in case they decided to put a finding spell on it. Around my neck I still wore my chain necklace and my gold wristbands. They covered the circle tattoos around my wrist of butterflies that had been placed there when I'd first been taken. The necklace had to be taken off with a spell which was impossible for me since I could not cast spells. I managed to pull the coat collar closer around my neck so you could not see it was there.
When the sun was fully up in the sky my stomach was screaming in hunger. I managed to beg enough money off of tourists who believed my story of a sick grandmother to get a decent meal. I sat tucked in the back of a restaurant, trying to think of what my next plan should be. I didn't know where I could go. My first thought was back to my parents but people would be watching there for sure. I'd never make it or if I did, my dad would have to fight them. He was weak by himself and my mother wasn't much better. Both came from Pureblood backgrounds but they'd both been in Hufflepuff when they were my age and not worth a damn. My older brother Miles could help. He'd been a Ravenclaw but he too had a weak backbone. His knowledge would be useless. I thought long and hard about all of the people who'd maybe be beneficial to me or who might be able to help. I was taken at a young age four years ago and I only knew of the world I was currently living in; fear and frustration. A small but nervous light dinged in my head of a place I thought I could possibly go.
My parents were always talking of The Order of the Phoenix. Some of their school-aged friends had become members. My safest bet was to go to their headquarters. Now my only problem was I didn't know where it was located. I knew it was in England and that was where I should aim to go. Italy was far from England though. I would have to be careful since the distance was so far and there were people out to get me. I couldn't take a train, that is what they would expect. I would have to hitchhike.
I went down to the wharf and caught a ride across the Laguna Veneta with some fishermen. From there I caught a ride with a chef from Padova, using my small Italian vocabulary to get my point across. I had to walk to the other side of Padova until someone picked me up. By that time it was nightfall. A little old lady on her way to Milan gave me a ride. I slept through the ride until she dropped me off alongside the road on the Northern Outskirts. She seemed worried for me and wanted to take me father but was in Milan to visit family and couldn't escape to take me. I walked for 20 miles as the sun was coming up. I managed to catch a ride with a sheep farmer taking his sheep in the back of a pick up from Monvo to Rothenburg, Switzerland. His ride was really helpful and since he made the trip four times a month, we weren't searched by Border Patrol.
From Rothenburg everything was much slower. It was already almost dinner. I'd had nothing to eat in almost a day besides a little jerky offered to me by the sheep farmer. I managed to get as far as Colmar, France, stopping four times to switch cars. Once I hit Colmar, I found an empty barn to sleep in. When the morning came, I woke to find a farmer staring at me. He spoke to me in rapid French. I just had to stare. I only knew English and Italian. Thankfully he spoke a bit of English. I told him I was trying to get home and he offered me a meal. He lived alone and was happy to have someone else to cook for. He was a life safer. When I had a little food in my belly and a bath and a fresh change of clothes. I thanked over and over again and headed on my way. I got to Paris by nightfall, having to walk again for a good portion until someone willing came along. This time it was a group of boys and girls. They were touring Europe and offered me a place to bunk and a ride with them to England as long as I didn't mind staying with them two days. They'd even provide food.