Cintuev (English. :P)

Amelia poured the tea into the thin china glass. She adored the smell of the refreshing herbs. Amelia was a peasant un-like any other. She was beautiful, like Cinderella. Her blonde curls bounced up and down when she walked, or when the air that smelled of roses blew on her soft, clear complexioned ivory skin. She looked as if she was made from porcelain. When Amelia was the age of five she was left sitting on the front porch of young Wilber Freedman's brick mansion. Wilber Freedman was a cruel man. He owned a fortune. Everything he owned was made of gold. Except for one thing. His heart. His heart was made of pure stone.

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Chapter one
"Hush my child. Don't fret. We will come back to get you." Amelia's mother softly said. She carefully took off her beige shall and wrapped it around Amelia as if she were a spiders prey. Behind his wife, Jackhues held a sword out at arms length and turned to make sure nobody was coming. You could see distant torch fire through the empty spaces in the forest. Jackhues moved uneasily.

"Rasa, Rosa! We need to go NOW Rosa!" Jackhues grabbed underneath Rosa's arms and tore the two apart. Rosa and Jackhues both disappeared into the jet black of the night. A large group of burly fat men went up to the steps of Mr. Freedman’s mansion. They wore no tops and were covered in dirt and sweat. They smelled of perspiration. Amelia, scared to death, ducked down in the prickly rose bushes with terror. The Smoke from the torches filled her lungs. She let out a quiet cough. At that, one of the men spotted her.

"It's an Estabar! Kill it!" At that, they all raised their weapons, rifles, swords, pitchforks, and switchblades. As they were about to take action A little boy from the back of the large group of men ran up and stood in front of her.

"Stop!" he yelled.

"What did you say boy?!?" The tall man in the front of the group yelled. He then grabbed the young man's ear. The little boy was only one or two inches taller than Amelia but, boy, did he have guts.
"I said stop!" The little boy spit on the mans face, the dirt streamed off.

"Boy! If I were you I would! -" Mr. Freedman opened the door. He was wearing brown boots, a pair of jeans and a tucked in white shirt covered in chicken blood, in his right hand he was holding a rifle, with his left he was holding the big door open. He had lost a leg and you could tell because when he walked the left side of his body went down lower than the right.

"What do you think ya'll are doing on my property!? Get going! Leave! Now! I'll shoot." Mr. Freedman held out his gun and put his eye up to the trigger. Amelia and the young man both knelt down in the tall rose bushes that hadn't been pruned for years. The group glared and slowly went on their way.

"Who are you?" The young man said. He carefully studied her face. Amelia looked frightened.

"A-amelia." He gently brushed the side of her face and pushed her blonde hair behind her ear.

"I'm Hosea. Don't be scared. Everything is going to be all right. What's that?" Hosea spotted a not-so-white envelope in her hand.
"Hand it to me." Hosea said. Hosea had brown hair that went below his ears and when he grabbed the envelope from her, one oily strand fell in front of his eye. Amelia thought that was cute. His eyes sparkled like the stars. They were miraculously the color of fresh Gentian. After two minutes of just hearing each other breath Hosea looked up from the note. He looked a little disturbed.
"What does it say?" Amelia softly spoke.
"Nothing." Hosea quickly crumbled the note and stuffed it in his pocket.
"C'mon." Hosea got up and stretched out his hand to Amelia. She gladly grabbed it.
"What are we doing? What's happening?" Amelia brushed the broken rose petals and soil off her pink dress. Hosea held her hand as they both walked up Mr. Freedman’s mossy stairs. He hesitantly knocked. The big wooden door with golden handles swung open. Amelia shuddered. Hosea held her hand tighter.
"I'm terribly sorry for disturbing you. But-" Hosea was rudely interrupted.
"I'm not buying any of your Girl Scout cookies. They taste like dirt." He began to shut the door. Hosea stuck his foot in the left crack of the door to stop it from closing.
"Sir! We're not selling Girl Scout cookies. We need a home. Our parents left us here, at your doorstep." Hosea began to cry. Amelia was curious as to why. Her parents weren't his too!
"No." Hosea saw the warm flash from the fire and longed to feel its warmth.
"Sir! How can you be so cruel? Just take one of us."
"Fine. Her." Mr. Freedman’s crooked bloody finger pointed to Amelia.
"She knows how to keep quiet. As to you young man, get off my property right now or I’ll call the cops." Amelia shuddered in fear. She had no clue of what was going on and she wanted to stay with Hosea. Hosea quickly turned to Amelia and whispered, "Amelia, everything is going to be alright. I am always here. I'm never going to leave you. I'll always be here. Don't forget that." Amelia felt his warm breath on her cheek. She felt better.
"Get going now!" Wilber pushed Hosea down the mossy stairs into the wet, cold mud. He grabbed Amelia's arm and pulled her into the door.
"Hosea!" she screamed. The door slammed shut. Hosea was gone.

Chapter 2
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Amelia carefully poured the hot tea into the china glass.
"Girl! Where is my tea! I demanded to have it up here 30 seconds ago!" Lady Freedman yelled from the top of the stairs.
"Yes Lady." Amelia carefully put the hot tea filled cup onto its matching china plate. She left the dust filled kitchen and walked to the bottom of the stairs where Lady was standing. Lady quickly grabbed her tea.
"What took you so long girl?! Now that you are done with that I would like you to mop the floors. But first fill the bathtub with steaming water. Be sure to put in one of my lavender bath beads. While I'm bathing I would like you to lie out my silk nightgown. You will wash my face and then comb my hair. Feed the chickens, we need them to be nice and fat for eating. Then the dog. That's it I think. You might want to go ask Wilber if there is anything else that needs to be done. Run along now." Lady took a graceful sip of her tea and didn't look at Amelia once. Amelia wished she could be so graceful and lady like. If only she were lady. She could own a fortune and have everything she wanted. But maybe Amelia didn’t want all that. Maybe she was just happy with what she had. Amelia had wondered many times how a lady like lady could have fallen in love with Wilber. Of all people......Wilber. His heart was rotten and he cared of nothing but himself and his riches. She wondered how it even came to be that they wed. How could you fall in love with someone with no heart? Or did Wilber have a heart but declined to show it? Amelia's mind was wondering. It was like a spider web, one thought led to another and, another to another.
"Girl! Don't just stand there. There is work to be done. Shoo.' Lady continued with her tea.
"Yes mam. Sorry." Amelia turned around and saw the flash of the fire. How she longed to sit in front of it, feel the warmth of it on her body. She would grab her book and stay awake the whole night just reading it. Amelia loved daydreaming as much as she loved looking at the clouds in the pale blue sky on a hot summer day. She quickly walked to the warm room filled with the fire's light.
"Sir, excuse me. Would there be anything you would like me to do for you?" Mr. Freedman looked up from his book,
"No." He snarled. Amelia quickly took a step back. She was afraid of him, and anyway, who wouldn't be?

Chapter 3
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The Big wooden doors shut loudly and the sound of them echoed down the long, stretchy hallway.
"Stop yelling! You are the most obnoxious! Your brother is long gone. My dogs guard my property. What's your name little girl?!" Amelia let out a soft cry.
"My mum told me not to talk to strangers." Mr. Freedman laughed at this.
"Well your "mum" isn't here now is she? She left your pretty little self at my doorstep. Obviously she must not care if you talk to strangers anymore. You would need to talk to me in order to live here. Your "mum" must be insane." Amelia's heart ached. She loved her mother with all her heart and someone calling her insane? How incorrect. Amelia's mother was a kind, gentle women. She read her bible everyday and read picture books to the homeless children on their poor block. Amelia said nothing. She was afraid that if she did say what she was thinking he would strike her face. Mr. Freedman pointed up the stairs covered in cobwebs.
"Your living area. It's up there." Mr. Freedman turned around and left.
"Hosea, Hosea, Hosea, I hope you are alright. I would hate if anything happened to you." She thought. She slowly conquered the stairs. She was avoiding the webs and spiders that had made states on them. When she reached the top she looked to her left. A large dirty kitchen. She walked inside. The dishes were piled to the ceiling in the sink and covered in mold. The smell was most horrible. It made Amelia gag. A spider quickly scurried across the floor. Amelia kept going, for things like that never scared her. A dead, cut-in-half bird lay on the dusty counter, a knife next to it.
"Well well." Amelia jumped and quickly turned around.
"I see you have invited yourself to snoop through the rest of my house." Mr. Freedman stepped one step closer with every word. He tapped a knife on his rough hands. Amelia's heart began to race.
"Be scared little Girl. I WILL hurt you."

Chapter 4
Amelia quickly finished her chores that day. She had gotten a letter on her bed the night before explaining that she MUST attend the ball tonight. She quickly grabbed the Chicken feed; the little squares of old, hard cheese and dumped the bucket out onto the dirt. The Chicken’s ran around like crazy, screaming loudly. You couldn’t hear a gun blast over them. She dropped the bucket and ran up the stairs to her room. Amelia ran to her closet. A lavender dress hung there. The sparkles shimmered for miles.

“What am I doing?” she thought.

“There is no point for me to be going. I don’t have a date and, it’s probably going to be loud and unpleasant. Amelia sighed and closed her closet door. The peasant dress she was wearing blew in the wind. The cold air blowing through the window chilled her un-covered shoulders. She slowly walked over to the open wooden window at the top of the tower and closed it. The cold air immediately stopped. She could hear it blowing around the sides and on the house.

“Amelia.” Amelia quickly turned around. A short man with pointy ears stood there. He was holding a note. He kept sneezing. He wouldn’t stop. Amelia handed him a tissue.

“Yes? How did you get in here? Who are you?”

“I am a messenger. Don’t ask. Here.” The little dwarf shoved an envelope into her face, sneezed again, as Amelia studied the letter he mysteriously disappeared. She was confused. Very confused. Where had the sneezy little man gone? She opened the neat white letter. It read:
“Amelia,
Everything is going to be all right. I am always here. I’m never going to leave you. I’ll always be here. Don’t forget that. Please come to the grand ball tomorrow.
_____________”
The letter was left without a signature. Amelia knew exactly who it was though. For it was Hosea. Hosea had written the note. Amelia was feeling so many feelings. She was feeling excitement and anger at the same time. Why hadn’t he come for her!? Why after all these years would he come back and suddenly start talking to her; and then expect her to act like nothing ever happened. He had left her with Satan! Why hadn’t he protected her!? Why didn’t he ever come out of the blue and spit on Mr. Freedman’s face!?! Why would he want her to come to the ball? What was going to happen at the ball? She could wear the dress and feel like a princess!

“But, Hosea, Hosea, Hosea, You made me cry every night. You infected my mind with your face that made me feel so….not scared.” Amelia thought.

Chapter 5
Amelia hadn’t been hurt the day before but she was today. It was only 5 o’clock AM. Mr. Freedman had showed her how to feed the dog and chickens, and how to clean the kitchen and make his coffee. She fed the dog and when he was done eating she pet him and played with him. She fed the chickens, feeding each of them from her hand, one square at a time. Then she cleaned the kitchen and left one speck of crusted mold on a dish, she dropped another. She felt terrible. She tried to stick it back together with some grease from the counter. It didn’t seem to work. She then made his coffee. She tripped on the stairs and the coffee spilled all the way down to the landing. The dog ran up the stairs to help her up. When she was up and standing, the dog ran to lick up each stair. Her knee was scraped and bleeding. She tried to take her mind off of it. She went into the almost clean kitchen and made Mr. Freedman another cup. This time she took it down the stairs (without falling). Amelia brought it into the fire lit room and handed it to Mr. Freedman. He took a sip and spit it out on the floor.
“It’s cold! It taste like you made it with mud! You weren’t paying attention when I told you how to make it were you!?” Mr. Freedman looked at his gold watch that told the time in three different time zones!
“What took you so long!?! Ugg! Girl!” Mr. Freedman angrily stood up from his lawyer chair. His red eyes in the middle of his square face showed anger as strong as the sadness of death. He raised his hand and struck Amelia down to the floor. Her face stung like a bee sting but worse. She began to weep.
“Go upstairs now. You don’t deserve to be out of it.” Amelia quickly got up and ran up the stairs. She slammed the door and ran to her bed. Amelia was crying so loudly not even the muffled sound through her pillow would stop her cry from echoing through the whole house. You could hear Mr. Freedman’s boots coming up the stairs. Amelia’s door swung open. Mr. Freedman walked (it was as fast as a run) over to Amelia laying face down on her bed, her pillow covering her face. He forcefully slapped her bottom.
“Shut up!” Then he angrily stormed off.

Chapter 6
Amelia ran to her closet and grabbed the dress. She laid it on her bed and ran to the bathroom to shower. When she got back from the washroom she ran to get her dress. “Oh no!” she thought. Her lavender dress was gone.
“Looking for this?” Amelia turned around. Lady’s daughter Natalie was standing in the doorway holding the dress up to her body as if she was in a store and trying to see how it might look without trying it on.
“Yes Natalie! Thank you for finding it! I swear I put it on the bed but I guess not.” Amelia ran over to try to get her dress back but when she tried to grab it Natalie stole it back.
“Why do you need it?” Natalie knew, she was just being her old snobby self.
“I am going to the ball tonight Natalie! Can you believe it! I got an invitation!” Amelia was ecstatic. She talked to Natalie as if she were Amelia’s best friend.
“Now, do you REALLY think I am going to let YOU go? Why would I do that?” Natalie said. She grabbed the dress at its seam and ripped it down the back. Then she ripped off the arm straps. Amelia’s jaw dropped. She was astonished!
“Bye. See you after the ball.” Natalie dropped what used to be a dress on the floor and skipped down the stairs. Amelia fell on her knees to the floor and grabbed what was left of the fabric and wept.
“Natalia! Bracey!” Lady yelled.
“Time for the ball!” Lady yelled again. The door slammed shut three times. You could hear the sound of the horses trotting on their gravel driveway and two giggly girls stepping into the carriage. The door slammed shut. The silence deafened Amelia. There was now no hope of going to the ball. Amelia had no other dresses except her peasant dresses. But those weren’t to be worn in public. They were only for maids. How did Natalie get to go? Natalie was ugly. She was like the ugly duckling. But believe me, this time the ugly stepsister doesn’t win.

Chapter 7
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Amelia stayed in her room that night, cried, and prayed as the sun went down. As the week went on with the same routine the same nights followed.
1. Go into room.
2. Cry.
3. Get spanked by Mr. Freedman.
4. Cry.
5. Go over to window and watch the sun set over the trees.
6. Sneak out of room to get something to eat, eat
7. Sleep.
Amelia no longer cried. Her bottom was so bruised she began to feel nothing. The next week Amelia strived to do better. She didn't want to be hurt anymore. She buttered his bread, filled his coffee cup, fed the dog and the chickens, and got every speck out of the kitchen, she spent more than 6 hours cleaning it. She opened the window to let the dust find a new home, she swept, she washed off the counters, she mopped, she cleaned out the fridge, she threw away every can of beer you could find, she got rid of any alcoholic beverage, she cleaned off the shelves in the fridge, and she cleaned the windows. Now, the whole kitchen was literally sparkling. She was so tired she was about to collapse. Amelia slowly stumbled to her bedroom and fell on her bed. Mr. Freedman quickly stomped in.

"I didn't tell you to go to bed girl! Get up now! There is work you need to do!"

"But Sir, I already cleaned your whole kitchen. You must look at it Sir, it is most beautiful! I cleaned the fridge and the floors and everything! It is sparkling in there! I threw away a lot of stuff too Sir. Sir, your lunch is sitting on the counter." Amelia smiled. She felt so good. Mr. Freedman would certainly not hit her now. She sat up and looked to see what Mr. Freedman's facial expression was. Mr. Freedman looked furious. His lips pushed together and his face got redder and redder.

"You did WHAT!?" He screamed. When he yelled his face and hands both shook. Amelia sunk. She was afraid of what he might do. Or what might happen. He looked like his head was going to pop of and fly into space. Mr. Freedman's head might even spin around in circles until his temper quit.

"Sir, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to be upset Sir. I didn't see anything that looked of importance Sir so I just threw a few things away. It looks real pretty Sir. You must see it. You might feel a little better once you have seen what a great job I have done." Amelia got off the bed and walked over to Mr. Freedman. She looked up and stared into his eyes for a moment, then grabbed his thumb, the only thing she could fit her hand around. Amelia pulled Mr. Freedman across the long, dark hall into the kitchen. Since there wasn't a door the separated the kitchen from the hallway, the light from the room glittered onto the hallway floor, making a triangle-like shape. Mr. Freedman squinted, as if he had never seen the light before. As if he was a vampire, a vampire that slept in his coffin all day and came out to kill Chickens in the night. When Amelia pulled Mr. Freedman through the door he closed his eyes for a few moments to let his eyes adjust. Amelia wouldn't blame him, the sun was setting and it was smack dab where the window was. The counters, floors, and china glittered of silver and gold. Mr. Freedman looked around glaring.

"What happened to my newspapers?" he finally said.

"Well-" Mr. Freedman opened the fridge.

"-And the alcohol!?" Mr. Freedman yelled. He slammed the fridge door shut so hard it almost fell over. He then raised his hand and quickly swept the neatly organized china off the counter. The china flew from the counter and shattered into pieces on the floor. Amelia backed up into the corner. He quickly ran over to the table, set with his Coffee and toast and pushed the whole thing over onto its side. Mr. Freedman opened up the cupboards and threw out every plate and cup. They all shattered with a loud crash. Amelia screamed, ran down the stairs, and out the front door.

"Hosea!" she cried.

"Why did you leave me here!?" She fell to her knees and the rocks sliced them. The blood stained the rocks. The stumbled to her feet and ran, ran, ran, and ran.

Chapter 8
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Amelia knew she had to be at the ball. But she couldn't go now. She had no dress, or did she? Amelia quickly hopped, or you could say stumbled off her bed and down the crooked, un-reliable stairs. She ran into Natalie's room, and opened her closet. Dresses of all shapes, shorts, and sizes hung on the rack. Long-short, Wide-slim, red-orange-yellow-
"-wait...who ever heard of a orange or yellow dress? Yuk." Amelia thought. She pushed them to the side. -Green-blue-purple-pink-black-lavender-Amelia stopped at that. The lavender one was beautiful. Diamonds sparkled on the chest area and it spread out from the waist down. Amelia's lavender dress went straight down, so plain, no curve to it. She grabbed it off the rack and threw the hanger to the ground. Amelia had lots and lots of second thoughts. But none of them could stop her. Natalie stole the dress from Amelia, why not do the same to her. She deserved it. Amelia wasn't like that though. She never liked to do that to people. She didn't like the overpowering feeling of guilt. Amelia needed to go to that ball though. She NEEDED to be there. She NEEDED to see Hosea, and she needed to scold him for leaving her. She tore off her dress and her old torn corset. She grabbed one of Natalie’s new corsets and quickly tied it. It was seven-fifty and the Ball doors closed at eight. Megan stood in the door watching. Megan was Lady's maid. She was much older than Amelia. Her jowls were beginning to sag and deep wrinkles made funny shapes in her face. Lady felt the need to keep her after the marriage when she found out how terrible Amelia was at all the chores, Lady made both of them do it. Megan was nice and when Amelia had them, she cleaned Amelia's whipping wounds. Megan had watched Amelia grow up ever since she was 9. She was 17 now.

"Do you need help?" Megan finally spoke when she saw how much Amelia was struggling to get herself ready in a little amount of time.

"Oh my word! Are you serious!? Thank you Megan, Thank you! We must hurry though!" Amelia threw the lavender dress over her head and Megan pulled it down to the floor where it was meant to drag. Megan buttoned the dress up in the back and put Amelia's hair up into a tightly wrapped, braided bun. Megan left two strands hanging in front of her sky blue eyes. Amelia quickly reached into Natalie's jewelry box. She grabbed a gorgeous necklace meant to crown the top of your head and the jewel to hang in the middle of your forehead. She gently placed it on, careful to not mess up her bun. The jewel sparkled like the stars and outlined the lavender in her dress. Amelia never felt so beautiful, maybe because she never was.

Chapter 9
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Amelia never returned that night, not that next week, nor that next month. She hadn't even returned the next five years. One morning on the 25th of December Mr. Freedman heard a knock on his door. He opened it. He looked no different, just a little older. But Amelia, boy did she look different. She had grown up a lot. Amelia was 9 now. She had grown many inches and her hair still bounced as usual with spirit. Mr. Freedman didn't say a word, he just opened up the door and grunted. He didn't even close it. He just walked down the stretchy hallway. Soft, pearl white snow covered the ground deeply. Amelia's lips were blue and her peasant dress was torn and frozen into place. When she closed the door Mr. Freedman mysteriously appeared again. He stretched his long, smelly arm past her ear and locked all three locks.

"Where have you been?! Why did you leave! I never gave you permission!?" Mr. Freedman yelled. A tall stretchy lady appeared behind him.

"Dear, What's going on? If this another peasant asking for money from you?" Lady bent down to Amelia's height and stared strait into her eyes.

"Sweetheart, I would rather give money to a dog than to you. But you are a dog so here." Lady handed Amelia a penny. Amelia tried to speak but her lips were frozen in place. Mr. Freedman pulled lady up by her hair.

"She belongs to me." Mr. Freedman said. A chubby, short black lady stood next to the stairs. She looked at Amelia carefully. Though Amelia spoke no words, the lady understood. Amelia soon found that Megan was the kind lady’s name.

"Mr. Freedman Sar', I believe we should get her next to the fireplace Sar'." Megan was the sweetest person. She made Amelia hot chocolate. Throughout those next years when they did the dishes together they would both put dish soap bubbles on each other's noses and have dishtowel fights. Amelia had never had so much fun in her life. Amelia’s smile was always stretched across her face and Mr. Freedman did not like that.

Chapter 10
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"Amelia, I will call my husband. He can get here quickly with a carriage." Megan was so excited. She looked like she was a mother and her child was about to go to her first prom.

"Okay Megan. Thank you so much. I owe you." Amelia hugged Megan. Megan only wanted the best for Amelia. The carriage arrived shortly after and Amelia got in it quickly. Megan shoved the bottom of the dress that hung out in.

"Enjoy yourself Dear." the carriage door closed and Amelia was on her way to the ball to meet Hosea. The carriage flew through the woods, rocks shot out from under the wheels. Amelia held onto her chair for dear life. She had never ridden in a carriage before and she wasn't sure she wanted to again. She felt sick to her stomach but she couldn't turn back now. The carriage came to a sudden stop. Amelia flew forward and off her chair.

"Sorry madam. Are you alright." The chairman asked.

"Yes. Fine." She immediately got up. Trying to fix her hair.

"Are we here?" She asked.

"Yes mam." He got off the front and opened up her door, then reached for her hand. She grabbed it with her pearl white gloves. She gracefully stepped out, one leg at a time. She had never looked so beautiful in her life. When her feet touched the ground a sudden rush of excitement and nervousness came over her body. Her heart began to race. She slowly walked the marble steps to the ballroom. When you walked into the big doors, everything was below you. Stairs went up from the gravel road and when you got inside, the stairs went down to the ballroom floor. It didn't make any sense, why go up and then go back down? Why not just go flat? O well, it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was finding Hosea. Amelia didn't know why she wanted him so much or why she had such a strong feeling to be with him again, they had only known each other for a few hours. Maybe it was just true love. Amelia tried not to make it obvious that she was there since Natalia, Bracey, Mr. Freedman, and Lady Freedman were all there. If they found that she was there too, not at the mansion cleaning, the results would be disastrous. It was kind of hard to not make it obvious when she fell down the stairs and hit the marble floor. Everyone turned around to see what had happened. The ushers rushed over and helped her up. She had never felt as embarrassed as she did now. Here she was, walking gracefully down the stairs, grazing her glove on the shiny wood, and then she so gracefully......fell. It was out of place. The Ushers ran over and picked her up. Amelia didn't even have to move a muscle to get up. They did it for her. Amelia brushed off her dress quickly and the ball was back on. People were talking, laughing, eating, and drinking wine. Amelia despised that. She hated alcohol. Amelia walked around for a few hours trying to find Hosea. She got asked to dance by a few gentlemen but she always turned them down. She was on a mission to find Hosea. It had been three hours and Amelia was tired and her heart hurt. She was lied to. She left the ballroom and went outside into the party area. The cold breeze chilled her warm face and shoulders. She shivered. The moon made a hazy shadow on her face, it glowed. The silence was beautiful. You could hear the ocean smashing onto the rocks and the crickets chirping their night songs. You could hear the wind blowing the trees-

"Amelia-" Amelia jumped and turned around wondering who was speaking to her. Her face lit up with excitement when she saw who was standing there.

Chapter 11
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Megan and Amelia slept with the pigs that night. Amelia loved animals. Megan didn't, she was just out there to keep her safe. She didn't like the smell of the Pig droppings or their feed, and she didn't like smelling like them herself. The following morning they made Mr. and Mrs. Freedman, Natalia and Bracey their breakfast. Amelia got burnt while cooking. Mr. Freedman simply said, "That's nice. I hope it hurt." Megan was not afraid of anything. Amelia admired that. Megan glared and smacked Mr. Freedman across the face. He struck her to the ground. She did not cry, she did not scream. Mr. Freedman wanted her to hurt though. He kept hitting her until she would let out a plea to stop. Pain was the name of his game. He kept hitting her, and hitting her. She just sat there staring at the floor.

"Cry Megan!" Amelia screamed. Now was her chance to be brave like Megan. Amelia jumped on Mr. Freedman, making him fall to the recliner behind him.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" She hit him with her fists over and over. Mr. Freedman pulled her up literally by her hair. She screamed. He carried her down to the dark, muggy basement. He pulled Megan along too. He threw them against the wall and held their arms up by chains. He tied their feet down with cannon balls and more chains. He left, slamming the door behind him. Amelia began to cry.

"Megan, why didn't you scream? Why didn't you cry?" Amelia softly said.

"Amelia sweetheart, please don't cry. I thought that maybe if I didn't do anything he would notice that it didn't hurt and stop." Megan began to cry herself.

"Megan stop crying. You are strong. I look up to you like you are my mom. You are the closest thing to family I have ever known. I don’t want to lose you too. Stop just letting him hit you."

"Amelia, what happened to your parents?" Amelia began to tell her story. Megan listened.

Chapter 12
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"Hosea!" She screamed. She ran over to Hosea and jumped on him, it was meant to be a hug. He fell to the wet ground. The back of his tux was soaked with water. He hugged her back. She was on her knees on top of him. Her dress made a circle around her body.

"I’m sorry Amelia, I'm sorry." he quietly said. He cupped the back of her head in his hands and pulled her in for a better hug. He combed her hair through his fingers.

"It's okay Hosea. it's okay. I’m fine. I'm just glad that you’re alive."

"No it's not okay. I was there with you every day. I watched you like a hawk to make sure you were okay. But when he hurt you I just was too afraid to do anything. I’m sorry. But can I ask you a favor?"

"Yeah sure, anything." She said.

"Can you please get off of me. The water is soaking through every layer of my clothing." Amelia got up blushing.

"Come on." He said. He grabbed her hand and pulled her inside the doors.

"May I have this dance." He said as they stepped into the center of the ballroom floor. A ring expanded around them. The people were making room for them! They were turning to watch them! Amelia had never felt so good in her life. Amelia felt her hair fall down on her neck. It made the jeweled crown look even more beautiful than it did before. But it wasn't to make her look better. It was to make her look worse. Amelia heard a ripping of something. She looked behind her. It was Natalia. She had torn off the first layer of the six on the dress. She was tearing off the jeweled bracelet and the jeweled necklace and everything that made the dress beautiful.

"Stop." Hosea said. He pulled out a sword and held the tip of it up to Natalia's neck. He made her get up by putting the flat edge of the sword on her chin and lifting his sword up. She slowly got up glaring at him.

"What do you think you are doing?" He glared.

"I'm sorry your highness. But I don't think you should be dancing with the likes of this young lady. She is a servant and a thief." Natalia said.

"Natalia Freedman, does it look like I care?" He circled her, his sword still at her head.

"Obviously not your highness. But sir,"

"Do not talk back to me!" He stopped circling her.

"Hosea, what's going on? Why is she calling you 'highness'?" Amelia asked. Hosea stepped over to Amelia.

"Amelia, there is something that I have declined to tell you. I'm a prince, soon to be a King. That is," Hosea got down on one knee.

"If you will wed me. Amelia, will you marry me?" Amelia's heart fluttered. She smiled a great big smile.

"Yes." She jumped on him once again.

"Good. Well, that's what this ball was meant for, but I told your family that it was just a ball in honor of me becoming King." He stretched up from the floor, grabbed her waist and whispered,

"I love you."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Following the ball, the Freedman's were locked into a cell. The year following that, they started working for Hosea and Amelia, they continued to do that for the rest of their lives.
Hosea and Amelia, 4 years after the ball, had a little girl which they named Hope. As for Amelia's parents, they were killed the night they left Amelia at Mr. Freedman's doorstep. Their gravestones can be found at Broken Hearts cemetery. O yes, I almost forgot, after Hosea and Amelia got married they went to a special tree. Hosea told Amelia that the both of them had to drink from it. That way they would live forever. The first word that you say after you drink the special water is the age that you stay for the rest of your on going life. You never die. Hosea and Amelia chose to be 19.
The End


If you would like to read more about Hosea and Amelia please keep reading the series.