A/N: Kinda a short chapter in preparation for the fun that is to come.

Time had passed. I wasn't actually sure how much time but I knew it had been at least a couple months. I avoided looking at my reflection in the wash water anymore. I couldn't hardly even remember who I used to be. My father could never be erased from my memories but any time that I caught myself dreaming about my past it didn't feel real. It felt like I was dreaming about a different person.

I sighed quietly as I brought myself back to the present and continued to scrub the spotless kitchen floor. In truth I didn't mind the chores. I had always worked hard on my father's ship. The only part about my new life that bothered me was Cassius. I hated the man with a fiery passion. If I still possessed an ounce of courage I would formulate a plan and come up with an escape but any bravery I'd had was beaten out of me.

The one thing I feared would happen never did and for that I was truly grateful. He never attempted anything sexual. I simply seemed to be his beating post. Every day since he had captured me I felt the sting of a fresh or fading wound from his lash. There was never a time when I wasn't in some sort of pain.

Cassius's throat cleared and I glanced up briefly from where I was working. As soon as I gathered that he wasn't going to summon me or come after me, I returned my attention back to my work. It took me a few more minutes but eventually I finished. I stood up and bent down to retrieve my bucket. As soon as I gripped it and started to lift it off of the ground it slipped from my hands and crashed back to the floor showering soapy water everywhere.

Dread flowed through me. I didn't even bother starting to clean up the mess. This had happened once before and the resulting punishment had been swift and severe. Cassius sighed and I heard him close the book he had been reading. Without another thought I dropped to my knees in the water and pressed my face to the floor.

"I was sure that you had learned to be more careful from our last incident Amiee." I could hear the joy in Cassius's sneer. He took full advantage of every chance he got to torment me. It seemed to be the highlight to his day.

I was already forcing my mind to abandon my body in an attempt to avoid awareness of the punishment when he came around the counter and delivered the first blow. My body jerked from the impact but I couldn't feel the pain anymore when I allowed myself to escape. I turned my head to look under the counter that I was braced against and then everything else faded from my mind.

Under the counter was a small blade. I wasn't sure how it got there but my mind was already starting to rebel and formulate a plan. There was no way I could find the strength to kill him. I wasn't that kind of person but if I could wound him enough to get away. Could I really do it? Did I really have the nerve to attempt an escape?

Cassius moved closer to me and my mind was made up. The opportunity was there and I wasn't going to pass it up. What was the worst thing he could do? Kill me? In the second that it took for Cassius to step another step closer I ran through a plan. I visualized it once before I moved suddenly.

As quick as lightning I grabbed the blade and raked it blindly across his shins. He howled in pain and dropped to the ground. In the same fluid motion I leapt to my feet and darted around him and out the front door slamming it behind me.

I was free. I couldn't believe it. As I sprinted into the woods and up a hill I was so overcome with joy that I didn't notice anything about my surroundings. My euphoria faded as I topped the hill and started down the other side. The soft undergrowth gave way to large rounded boulders and I had to focus on my footing to avoid breaking an ankle.

After the first few bounds I realized that I was weak and more than half starved. I could feel my legs shaking but I forced myself to continue. I had to get farther away from Cassius. The wounds I had inflicted wouldn't keep him down for long.

I had never spent much time off of my father's ship but covering my tracks seemed to come as easily to me as sneaking. I stayed on the boulders for as long as I could to hide my trail and continued north. Cassius had never given me any clue as to where in Cyrodiil we were but I figured if I kept going I would eventually run across a road or a river.

Panic started to set in after another few minutes. My ability to fend for myself was hindered from its already pathetic state. I knew very little about foraging for food and there was no way I would be able to protect myself from a predator. I didn't know how far I would have to travel to make Cassius lose interest either.

The sun was starting to descend from the sky when I realized another problem. It was cold and I was not dressed for the weather. My black shirt was in tatters in the back from where Cassius had struck me. It wasn't doing much to hold in heat.

Before I could begin a full scale panic about finding shelter for the night I heard a new sound. I slipped up to a wide tree and peered around the girth to the bottom of the hill. A road led up to a large wooden gate set in a massive stone wall. I could see a castle looming up in the distance and dozens of rooftops peeking just over the wall.

Something big must have been going on because there was quite a bit of foot traffic going through the gate. Two alert guards stood on either side of the door. They didn't question anyone who passed but I could see that they were paying very sharp attention to the travelers.

I slipped back from the tree and walked over to where the road would be cutting through the woods. The city would probably be my best bet for shelter for the night. I didn't want the guards to see me come from the woods. Honestly I didn't want them to see me period. I slipped onto the dirt road behind a woman leading a horse loaded with baskets.

As I got closer to the city I couldn't help the growing nervousness I felt. I didn't want to answer questions I was sure the guards would ask if they noticed me. What could I tell them? That I was the kidnapped daughter of a murdered pirate? That would go over wonderfully, I thought sarcastically.

The moment came and went so quickly that I paused inside the city in shock. It had been blissfully simple slipping by them. No one had asked me a question. No one had even looked at me twice.

A chilling breeze fluttered around me and reminded me what I was doing. The stone under my soft shoes was cold as I started down the street, following the flow of the crowd. I didn't have money to stay at the inn and I had no intention of warming some stranger's bed that night just to stay warm. Suddenly an abandoned house caught my attention. It would be the perfect place to hide out for the night.

The boards on the dark windows indicated that it was empty. I slipped out of the crowd just as easily as I had blended in. It wouldn't be a good idea to approach the house in broad daylight with so many people around to see so I sat down behind a large green bush that sat in between the two houses across the road to wait out the evening.

My thoughts wandered as I waited. I couldn't help being afraid for my future. I didn't know how I was going to survive. My life experience included fading memories of being the spoiled daughter of a pirate and being a slave to a sadistic bastard. I had nothing to offer to a husband and very little work skills to offer to an employer.

When I started to feel a depression kicking in I aimed my thoughts in a different direction. My chilled stinging back was a good distraction. I wondered if there was a place where I could find a healer who would tend to the wounds. Food would be a nice thing but I was unsure where to find that too. My stomach growled loudly in agreement.

Darkness fell after a while and the streets emptied. I watched a roving guard turn a corner down the street and waited until he was out of sight before I jumped from behind the bush and approached the dark house. Even though there had been no need for the talent on a ship I was a master at picking locks. Only locks with spells on them kept me out.

Any lock could keep me out right now though, I mused. I had no tools to open the door. I turned the knob halfheartedly and the door swung open quietly. Well that was strange. I would have thought that the guards would have locked the house as a deterrent against people like me. With a mental shrug I entered the dark room and closed the door behind me.