Charlotte sat in the horse drawn carriage trying to not make much of a sound. The carriage bounced back and forth over the dirt road as the wheels ran over the rocks. She was alone except for the large troll looking of a man sitting across from her. She could barely speak any English which irritated the man greatly. She kept her head down not wanting to cause him to yell at her once more. The road started to get bumpier from the holes in the ground then they suddenly stopped moving. The look of worry on her face must have pleased the grotesque man.
"You should be scared," he laughed and stepped out of the carriage. The chill night air and the man's actions starting to cause her to shiver with fear. A different man suddenly appeared inside the carriage. He was larger than the other man and smelled of swine. She tried to back away from the man and leave through the opposite doors, but someone locked the door from the outside.
"Mmmm you are one of those casquette girls ain't ya?" he smiled eyeing her green dress and fiery red hair. She shook her head and continued to try to open the door. The man smirked and started crawling towards her from the seat. She tried to keep from vomiting as his putrid smell filled her nostrils. She moved her arm and punched him across the face. She used his moment of weakness to run out of the carriage.
"Seize the little bitch!" he yelled with blood pouring from his nose. She started to take off towards the woods not realizing the untold horrors waiting for her there. The woman continued to run through the woods. Tree branches were starting to cut her arms and tear her dress. She tripped on an ankle high branch from the ground and fell. Her head smacked against a rock causing blood to start pouring out immediately. The man troll and his pig friend were suddenly in front of her. She started to drag away from them hoping they would leave her alone.
"Please, leave me alone. I am supposed to go to the governor's house," she begged continuing to get away from the vile men. She met the governor back at her convent in Paris. The governor immediately took a liking to the fact that she was a virgin. A good Catholic girl with sharp mind made it easy for him to choose her over the other girls. One of the men grabbed the girl's hair dragging her to stand up.
He started to slash her expensive green dress in ribbons as it fell to the ground. She was only now in a plain white linen dress. He smiled seeing her as the troll looked at the man with the knife impatiently.
"Where is my money, Bruce?" he asked roughly crossing his arms over his broad chest. He had done his part long ago by first locking her in the carriage with him. The situation at hand wasn't his fault that he couldn't control a young woman. The man known as Bruce growled pointing a gun at Charlotte. The woman whimpered seeing her small life flash before her eyes at the sight of the gun. He turned and looked at the troll.
"Convince her not to struggle and you get your money sooner. I want to see these dead leaves drenched with her innocent blood," he told him before turning back to Charlotte. He threw the gun to the right side of them and smirked. She could feel herself starting to get sick all over again. His horrid smell along with the intentions he had for her starting to make her dizzy.
"See be a good little girl. This will only hurt for you . . . a lot," he laughed in her face and started to rip off the few clothes she had left. She could not longer fight, but started to pray in French that someone would be around to rescue her. A faint yell came from behind Bruce who quickly turned to see the troll was gone. He growled and rolled his eyes standing up from the young Charlotte's body.
The place where he once stood now only laid a pool of blood. No man could have survived losing that amount of blood. A piercing scream filled the woods once more causing crows to stir and fly around them. Silence once again took over the woods except for the rustling of trees. The wind started to pick up again causing Bruce to be more paranoid than before.
"I know you are out there! Show yourself you bloody coward!" he yelled wildly like a drunken fool. He started to walk around no longer worried about the woman lying on the floor. She could feel herself starting to get hazy wondering what was going to happen next. The man suddenly appeared on top of her one more time.
"No one else here now but you and me, honey," he whispered roughly in her here. He grabbed her legs and smirked spreading them wide for him. She closed her eyes expecting him to have his way with her, but the smell suddenly disappeared. She opened her eyes to see she was all alone. She was trying to keep consciousness by using the fear that this thing might be after her next. She closed her eyes and turned her head to the left suddenly seeing a man looking down at her.
"No, no, no please don't," she begged trying to move once again. A blonde woman suddenly came into view looking down worried at Charlotte. She seemed to be of high class like the man standing next to her. The look on his face showed that he was going to get her the necessary care she needed.
"We must get her back to the carriage and have our servants care for her, Elijah," she pointed out to her brother. He nodded and dropped to his knees. She was surprised to see such a nice dressed man coming to her aide. She felt like she needed to pay him back with what little money she had in her casquette. He carried her like a groom would his dear bride to the carriage she was originally once in with haste.
"Please don't hurt me," she begged weakly. She knew she couldn't fight back against them even if she tried. He held her closer to his body like a parent would their child. She started to get less nervous about being around them.
The blonde climbed the front of the carriage to drive them home. Elijah laid her on the other side of the carriage seats petting her head softly. He couldn't believe men would do this to a young girl. She whimpered once or twice when he touched around her wound. The carriage started to go a lot more smoothly with cobblestones now used for the roads. She started to close her eyes not knowing if she was tired from today's events or going unconscious.
"I am betrothed to the governor's son," she spoke before closing her eyes allowing the recent events to wash over her. The last thing she remembered hearing was the sound of thunder roaring in the night's sky.
She woke up the next morning in a soft white bed. The sun's light intruding in on her sleep. She groaned moving her head slightly which caused the world to start spinning. She moved her hand and placed it where the cut was the day before. A soft cloth now covered it. She started to notice the room was quite larger than the one back home in Paris. She slowly rolled over trying to get away from the light.
"Good morning," a cheery voice greeted and the sound of a door closing followed soon after that. Charlotte closed her eyes and groaned trying to adjust to the noise of a high spirited woman. The blonde sat down next to her on the bed. She took her hand in hers and patted it softly.
"My brother will be happy to see that you are alive. I am Rebekah by the way," she greeted herself with a friendly smile. Charlotte only nodded still not fully awake yet or wanting to remember any of last night's events. "He was quite worried about you. He was here last night until early this morning, but they had to see the governor on news about you," The woman spoke like she was an open book. She reached up and touched her forehead.
"Elijah thought you would be touched by fever with some of the herbs the servants gave you last night. It seems like your body is responding quite well to them," she assured her and patted her hand once more. She stood up yet still looked at her with a small smile.
"I am sure the governor and his son will be pleased to see you as well. Love is such a wonderful thing," she sighed and looked off in the distance. A noise suddenly jolted her to come back to reality. She noticed a carriage coming in through the main entrance gates.
"My brothers are home. I shall be back up here with Elijah shortly," she informed her turning on her heel to go outside. Charlotte slowly rolled on the bed and allowed her feet to touch the cold floor. She stood up slowly walking over to the window. She blocked her eyes from the sun seeing the family talking to each other outside. Elijah was so handsome in his suit that she couldn't help but stare. Rebekah pointed to her window causing Elijah to look up and see her staring.
She grew pale and turned back to her bed hoping he wouldn't bring up that she was staring at him from the window. A knock on the door alerted her of another visitor. She didn't say anything not used to people actually waiting to be allowed in. She slipped under her covers on her bed once more. The chill air of the upcoming winter already having an effect on her.
"May I come in? It is me, Elijah," she spoke calmly and confidently on the other side of the door. She smiled and called out for him to come in. He waited a couple of seconds before finally opening the door. His brown hair was messy from the horse he just came in on. The wind moved his hair every way imaginable.
"I am glad to see you are much better, Miss Charlotte," he spoke grabbing a chair from the side of the room to sit on. He placed the chair by her beside and took a seat.
"Thank you for everything yesterday. I never really was able to thank you before passing out," she thanked him once more. His face was stern and she didn't know if she was in trouble or not. Charlotte wondered if she was going to be asked to go to the governor's mansion. She rather liked staying here with Elijah and Rebekah. He sighed and looked at her once more.
"You are fortunate to be alive. I - my sister was very worried about you," he spoke trying to decide what to tell her next.
"The man that attacked you that night was hired by someone who wanted you dead. I spoke with the governor today and he told me he was expecting your arrival," he spoke briefly trying to make sure he wasn't going to anger her. He lived in New Orleans, crazy people always rambled on about being married to the King of England here.
"Do you know who would want me dead?" she asked innocently. Her face was pale and she felt like a small child. The thought of someone wanting her young life to be cut short frightened her. He placed a hand on her shoulder rubbing it softly. She could still feel her body ice cold.
"We have no one yet, but my family will protect you. We will not let you leave this house until the man responsible for this is caught," he informed her and stood up looking out the window. She sighed in relief knowing she wouldn't be left out on the streets with a crazed man that wants her dead. She wondered if she would be safer at the governor's house but didn't bother to mention it.
"You might want to be getting ready soon. I have a surprise for you," he smiled and turned on his heel. As if on cue, servants started to enter into the room with dresses and other necessities for tonight. She stared at the green dress in bewilderment. She looked up to thank him, but he was suddenly gone from her room. His words from before still ringing in her ears.
The man that attacked you that night was hired by someone who wanted you dead.
The people in the room started to frighten her a bit. One of his own servants couldn't have possibly been one of the people out for her . . .