It had been such a long and dreary day that Rey was relieved her shift as barmaid at 'The Golden Chalice' was over. The day was filled with drunk men trying to grab her ass and Rey trying to slap hands left right and center. It would been have worse if it weren't for the owner interfering, Mr. Plutt; screaming at his guests to leave the barmaid alone.

Mr. Plutt was a horrible boss in general; underpaid her severely but he did provide her with a room above the pub with a low rent and looked out for at work. Maybe it was because of common decency and out of his kind heart that Rey's welfare was dear to him. Sometimes she believed this to be true but other times Rey realized that just wasn't the case.

He wasn't a nice person, not even to his guests. No... Mr. Plutt wasn't nice to her because of his kind heart but more likely because of the fact she was able to find precious items in the temples, located behind the city, dating back to the Roman empire which Plutt sold off to the nobility with an increased price.

Rey had always been good at scavenging. It started back when she was growing up in the orphanage of 'The Sisters of Latter Day Saints'. She couldn't remember a time when she wasn't in the orphanage; enduring years of neglect and a strict regime.

For these sisters weren't the kind, God fearing sisters Rey had hoped they be. They ruled with an iron fist and a Spartan mentality with discipline and frugality. There was no room for indulgence in anything, literally. She and the others were fed and clothed yes, but only minimally. That was not the case for the sisters, they wore only the best of clothes and ate like kings.

One-time Rey was helping clear the dishes in the kitchen while she stumbled upon the remains of a rather lavish dinner. There were roasted potatoes, poultry and just about the loveliest fruitcake Rey had ever eaten. Rey had quickly grabbed what was left and put it in her apron, later sharing it with her friends.

She did have a couple in the orphanage, friends that was and she was grateful for them. There was Eliza, a beautiful blonde girl with green eyes and a lovely personality. Eliza was very dear to Rey, she had grown very fond of her.

You see Rey was an optimistic, cheerful person by nature that genuinely believed her parents had made a mistake and would come back for her. But as time went on, the years went by she started to have doubts. She was not willing to accept the truth but no longer to deny it either. Her parents were probably not coming back, not now or never and she would be stuck in this hellhole for the rest of her life.

It was Eliza that comforted Rey in those moments, when Rey was crying at night in her bed and felt hopeless. She and Eliza were sleeping in the same dorm and Eliza bed was close to Rey's. That night she had walked over to Rey and put an arm around her. 'You are wasting your tears for nothing, Rey. They'll come for you, I know they will. Do not despair, my sweet Rey. All you must do is wait. You'll see'. While she knew Elizabeth was lying to her she understood her intent and eventually stopped crying. Rey was grateful to have a friend like her.

There were two differences between Rey and Eliza though. The first one being that Elizabeth had more privileges than Rey because she was one of the sister's favorites. She had a beautiful voice and many a times the sisters requested her to sing hymns and other song for them. The second one was that Eliza had a distant aunt living in the colonies that would send her some money. She knew the sisters took a large portion of it, but they allowed her some pennies to indulge on Eliza's guilty pleasures, sweets. They allowed her to get it herself from the local shop while it was strictly forbidden for the children to leave the premises. It always made Eliza happy to leave the orphanage, just for a little while and she frequently shared her treasured sweets with Rey and the others.

One day Eliza was eager to spend her allowance again and left, meaning to return in a short while. The last thing Rey remembers is Eliza smiling and waving to her. When she didn't come back after an hour, there was no cause for concern but as the hours went by the sisters grew worried and warned the constables.

Eliza's body was found three days later nearby river three miles from the orphanage. She had been raped and murdered, her rapist and killer were never found. Rey was inconsolable for months, barely speaking to anyone and retreating herself into depression and loneliness.

Julia was her second friend in the orphanage and entered it a year after Eliza had died. The crazy thing was she and Rey didn't get off very well in the beginning. Julia thought that Rey was stuck up for isolating herself from the others. Rey thought that Julia was a know it all, often showing off in class just how smart and educated she was. Rey was a bit jealous to be honest, Julia seemed to possess both intelligence and beauty at the same time. She had blue eyes and very long pretty dark hair. Rey's hair was very thin and therefore she didn't let it grow out very much.

Very solemn and eager in saying as little as possible during class the teachers had gotten used to Rey's silence and often didn't even bother asking her questions about the course materials. All but one, Sister Maria who was intend on making Rey participate in class. She regarded Rey's silence as insolence and decided things couldn't go on like that.

That Friday, Rey only had one class left to go to before retiring for supper and it was Sister Maria's. She dreaded going and hoped it was quickly over because she understood that her teacher was annoyed by her. She often caught a dirty look when the other girls participated in class and Rey didn't.

Sister Maria's mood was particularly dreadful that day. She had an annoyed look on her face and half way through the course material she decided to call Rey out.

'Rey. Can you tell me what the meaning is of the hymn "All Creatures of our God and King"?

Rey had looked up surprised but didn't answer, instead she lowered her head hoping and praying the teacher wouldn't ask her again.

But Sister Maria wasn't intent on letting go, in fact she walked over to Rey's desk and repeated the question.

'Again, Rey... What is the meaning behind that hymn?'.

Rey still was looking down at her desk and still not a word left her mouth. Not long after she was shaken by Sister Maria's fists slamming her desk.

'SPEAK!'. SPEAK UP, you insolent, despicable girl!'.

Before Rey knew it, Sister Maria took a fistful of her hair and dragged her across the room, all the while hitting her. Rey was too shocked to respond initially, all she could do was cover her head with her hands, not that it helped much. After receiving several blows to the head, she heard a voice yelling behind her.

'STOP IT. STOP right now. She doesn't want to speak, why don't you understand that?'.

It was Julia, of all people who had spoken up while the rest of her classmates had stared helplessly. Julia's interruption only made Sister Maria angrier and both Rey and Julia got a severe beating after class.

But from that point on Rey and Julia had become inseparable and while it was hard for Rey to let anyone close to her, Rey appreciated Julia's friendship. She admired Julia; because she was very bright and passed her classes with ease. In fact, she had the best grades in all the county. Rey knew that a bright future was ahead for Julia, her excellent grades had gathered the interests of well-respected schools and one of them had offered her some sort of scholarship.

Julia had managed to thrive in the poorest of conditions. Things had only gotten worse in the orphanage over the years, food and water were infested with bacteria. Rey tried to provide her friend with the leftovers of the sister's meals, but it wasn't enough.

On a cold day in November Rey noticed that her friend wasn't looking very well and shocked to see blood coming out of her nose. She was very worried about her friend, but Julia insisted that it was just a minor, temporary setback of her health. When she started complaining about abdominal pain and developed a very high fever, Rey did her very best to take care of her friend mostly herself. She didn't trust the sisters very much and it was better to do something instead of sitting idly by.

Julia died from typhoid fever a couple of days later, barely 17 years old. Rey's heart was broken all over again...

A year later, Rey turned 18 and was considered an adult by law. She had no ambition or the patience to join the orphanage as a sister so that meant that Rey had to leave. She left the only 'home' she knew with the clothes on her back and two tokens belonging to her former friends. She had Eliza's hairpin and Julia's favorite book 'The Three Musketeers'; a book her father gave to her before he had died. Rey was able to get her hands on these items before the sisters got rid of them.

She had been on her own for several months now and she was due to 'celebrate' her 19th birthday soon. AS she closes the door of her room and double checks the locks she lets herself fall to her tiny bed.

As her eyes begin to close from fatigue, she gets a sense of that familiar feeling again. That wanting. That sense of belonging to she so desperately needs. She is no fool any more, she now fully acknowledges the fact that she was going to be alone in this life and her parental units were gone forever.

Yet somehow, she still feels like she should wait. For something.

Or someone...