I groaned as my mistress snapped, "Elizabeth! This is horrible, can't you make a bed? Useless slave!"

I bowed my head, scared. "Sorry, Mistress."

Mistress Alri, an intimidating woman with metallic grey hair and cold, calculating brown eyes, glared down at me.

"No dinner. Get out of my sight." I bowed again, then retreated.

It had been like this for as long as I could remember. All my life I've been a slave to Mistress Alri and her daughter, Felicity. I was about as low as you could get in life. I could barely read and write, I had no parents that I could remember, and I couldn't seem to do anything right lately.

I ducked into the servants quarters, eyeing myself in the cracked mirror.

Blue eyes. Brown, choppy-cut, shoulder-length hair. I'm almost eighteen, and tall for my age at five eight.

Eighteen. The lucky number. The day I'd be released. Except I can't do anything. So, I guess, I'll go to school and work from there.

That was my original plan. Except Mistress had a whole other plan.

"Elizabeth, I have decided that you will stay until you're twenty. Now, go clean the living room."

That was yesterday. My birthday is in three days.

I rubbed my eyes tiredly, my stomach growling. Didn't have lunch either, for missing a spot on the chandelier when I polished the glass. But that was because the glass was still hot because Chelsea, my best friend here, forgot to turn it off when the Mistress left. But no way was I going to rat her out, so I lied and said I missed it on accident.

I flopped on the blanket that made up my bed, in a small corner that made up my room. That I shared with five other girls.

"Beth? I have something for you for your birthday." Chelsea handed me something.

I sat up, taking what she offered. "A cloth?" I asked, dubious.

"Open it!" She urged, glancing around for fear someone was listening.

I opened the cloth, then gasped. Two small loves of bread, some cheese and three apples. "Chels, where did you get all this?" I asked, astonished.

"This is for you." She pushed back my offering hands. "Use it for escaping here."

"What?" I asked, startled. "You are one of the only people that can get out of here. Leave tonight." She explained, then stood up.

"I'm gonna miss you, Beth." She hugged me tightly, then the 12-year-old scurried away.

I felt tears drip down my face. I stared up at the ceiling, then smiled for the first time in years.

Freedom.

I slipped down the stairs silently, holding my breath for fear someone would hear me. I opened the front door and closed it quietly behind me.

"What are you doing, Elizabeth?" Someone asked.

I whirled, bowing. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"No, seriously, you thought you could get out of here by yourself?" I straightened, to find Daniel watching me, perched on a rock.

Mistress had rocks placed around the Mansion for "decoration", but she didn't know we often hid behind them.

"Danny?" I asked, then hugged him tightly.

He's like a brother to me. "Beth, I'm coming with you." He said determinedly.

I nodded, pulling away. His dark brown eyes started at me, expecting.

"Let's go, then." He jumped off the rock and ran after me in the lawn towards the road.

My bruises and sore muscles screamed at me as I ran, the satchel of food clutched to my chest and my hand holding Daniel's own. We ran into the trees, feet thumping on the grass.

Sometime later, I stopped, too tired to go on.

"We need to hurry, Beth." Daniel urged, panting.
"We're far enough for a couple seconds break." I leaned against a tree for support.

"We're still on the Mansion grounds. We could still-"
"What are you doing?! SLAVE ESCAPE!" A guard shrilled.

Daniel and I took off running as feet pounded behind us. My companion suddenly hit the ground. I turned, then gasped, horrified to find him struggling in a net.

"Go! Get out of here!" He urged, struggling.

I ducked as a net sailed over my head. "But-"

"Get out of here! Go!"

I bit my lip, then turned and ran.

I heard "I love you, Elizabeth!" and then a scream.

Then silence.

My heart stopped, but I couldn't stop my feet. They kept hitting the ground, pushing me forward even though I wanted to turn and run back. About maybe a half-hour later, I stopped. My legs couldn't carry me any further, and I sank to the ground in front of a large pool of water. The moon reflected off the still water.

I cried.