Disappointing target

*TW* Some chapters will have these warnings to advise those who get triggered by anything that has to do with sexual assault, self harm, abuse, and bullying. If you get triggered by any of these, please don't read the chapters with TW at the beginning.

A page of Amber Hollow's diary..

~Dear diary, a few years have passed since Evita and I were in primary school, her friend Alynia hasn't treated my family or I the greatest, and now I have another little sister, Ginger.. Now, I'm the middle child. I don't think my parents care for me anymore, but I hope one day I can make them proud. I'm now 11, and the cold season has ended, for the most part. My father has became aggressive towards me, he's hit me a few times when something didn't go his way and called me a 'disappointing target'. Perhaps, if I tried harder he'd love me again?~ End of page

Little did Amber know, this was the beginning to her life taking a turn for the worse...

The next few days treated Amber cruely, she spent most of her nights restless and sad. As school continued, her grades began to slip, her father's beatings got worse, and it all begun to take a strong hold on Amber.

Evita knew not of what her sister was going through because she was too busy with her friend, Alynia. Ginger begun calling for her mother, and the days passed away as the temperature begun to raise higher, and higher. One hot season day, Amber's siblings and parents went to the lake, but Amber was told to remain home and clean, as she did. Amber knew there would be punishment for her slipping grades, but she didn't know it meant she'd be alone..

After so many moons, she realized her birthday hasn't been celebrated since she turned 11, and she had lost track of her age. Amber woke up the next morning and used her diary to track the dates of when she stated her age, she calculated the dates from her last age update in her diary to the present date and found out she's finally 14, old enough to go out on her own.

As time went on she got a decent paying job, making deliveries for her favorite bakery, always made the best muffins and cakes, no bakery could beat Sryn Bakery at all! There was always deliveries to restaurants in the village, she was given free food by those restaurants for her mother to add to suppers, that she brought home just before curfew.

"Mother! I'm home! I brought some breads, fresh vegetables, and turkey breasts!" Amber exclaimed once she got inside, closing the sqeaky old door behind her, walking to the kitchen. "Wonderful! Set them on the platters on the counter, I'm about to start making dinner." Amber's mother spoke with a slight annoyed tone, but Amber brushed it off and did as her mother said, she neatly stacked the bread on one platter and the vegetables and turkey on the other two platters, then she headed to her room. "Amber." her mother stopped her in her tracks, Amber looked at her mother, "Yes mother?" She asked, her mother glaring at her with probing eyes "I need you to start working after curfew," her mother said, "Your father's pay has decreased at the factory, and we need the extra money and food." Her mother added, Amber just nod and walked to her room, checking to see if her sisters were in the room or not, after not seeing them she sat on her bed and let out a sigh, staring out the window to the moon, "You're my only friend" Amber whispered to the moon, "Maybe one day you can save me from him" she added, talking about her father.

An hour later her father arrived home with her big brother who was now 18 and big sister who was now 16, Amber knew they had longer time before curfew due to their ages, but she was in need to break her curfew. The village had curfew for different ages for many reaaons, especially for males that worked at different ages. Partying wasn't allowed unless you had no work for at least the next two days, which explains why the pub and the restaurants that serve alcohol, along with the bakery she makes deliveries for had more men than usual that day, most men above 16 had the next couple days off.. Due to her age the village curfew for 14 year old females was half an hour before the sun went down, which is why she hurried home as she saw the sun was at its peek, warning the village it'd be setting soon. She's been home for an hour and the moons already half way into the sky, her father was drunk, and so was her brother. Amber's mother had just finished and served up dinner, getting Ginger out of bed, who was now 4. Everyone sat at the table for supper, even Amber even though she was further from the food than the rest, as usual.

After supper, they all went to bed.. Amber had hardly gotten to eat, so as she was still awake at the moons peek in the middle of the sky, she snacked on a muffin the bakers gave her to fill the empty space in her stomach. Was she wrong for this? Should she have given the muffin to her family? No, there would've been arguing about who got it anyway. Shortly after she finished the muffin, making sure she didnt leave any crums, she went to bed.

The next morning she woke up once the first light of day hit her eyes and got ready to work, she slipped on a pair of her ripped pants that only had rips on the legs, and one of her off the shoulder tops over a tank top, she then slipped on her slightly heeled boots that she paid for, and grabbed her bag that she carried with her in case she got hurt or came across someone who needed help. She headed out the door and off to the Sryn Bakery, once she arrived she talked with the Baker and informed him she needed to work more hours, even after curfew, by her mother's demand. The baker agreed, but not at his bakery, he told her the restaurant down the street was hiring cooks and waitresses, and gave her the extra time she had before business began to go down and talk to the owner, and of course the owner agreed to her working there after curfew, she then went back to the bakery just before they opened and began her deliveries all over the village, as the day went on she became exhausted from the lack of sleep, she tripped over a brick and went flying forward, and young boy, just a couple years older than her caught her just before she hit the ground...

"You can open your eyes" the young male spoke quietly with a slightly deep, but comforting voice, Amber slowly opened her eyes, feeling arms around her.."Uhm.. T-thank you, sir.." Amber spoke nervously, hurrying herself back on her feet, seeing that the markings on his boots meant he lived in a high ranked family, she quickly bowed her head and exclaimed an apology "Im sorry, sir!!" Amber kept her head down, full of embarrassment and regret, knowing she would run late for her delivery. "You're okay, you're busy, like the rest of us, work can be tiring, I understand." The young male smiled after speaking, gently patting her head, "You best hurry, I hear Oniyl Restaurant gets fussy when they dont get their muffins", the young male laughed a bit, causing Amber to smile and comfortably lift her head to meet with his eyes "Young Master Xane, we must get going" a guard spoke, clearly eagerly waiting to get going. The young male nodded and began to walk with his guards down the rockey road, and Amber continued her way to the restaurant. Once she arrived at the restaurant, she gave the owner the delivery and went back to the bakery, checking to see if she had more deliveries for the day. None were left, and it was close to her curfew, she looked at the Bakery owner and he nodded, she slipped out of the bakery and ran to the restaurant she now worked at pass curfew, and the owner directes her to the kitchen, gave her an apron and his wife put her dangling hairs back with a hair clip "Off to work, take orders, make them, serve them" the owner said, giving her a pen and a note pad, Amber nod and went out to the customers and took their orders, table by table, going back to the kitchen, making all of the orders by hand, following the recipes, serving the orders, and repeating.

As the night went on, she continued to work, already getting tired as the moon peeked the middle of the sky, she got to a table that had the young male she bumped into earlier, with his family and their guards. "May I take your orders?" Amber spoke calmly, trying to hide how tired she's became, her eyes misty from the lack of sleep, the mother of the boy spoke up "Hello dear, yes we'll take some bread for us and our guards, and soup, thank you" Amber bowed at the request, and walked back to the kitchen, chopping fresh vegetables, meat, and boiling pasta for the soup, adding a hint of garlic, bazil and pepper to the noodles, she then added the meat that was seasoned, and then the vegetables, she began to make the bread from scratch as the soup was cooking, and put them in the oven, she then grabbed the wine that was a custom to include with the soup and bread, she put it on a tray along with enough glasses. A few moments passed when the iven was done, she pullled out the bread and checked it to make sure it was fully cooked, she then made sure the soup was done, she put the bread on plates and the soup in bowls, the bread was on the same tray as the wine and the soup was on its own tray, she carried the trays out to the tables, set them down on an empty table and set one plate and one bowl with bread and soup in front of each of the family members and guards, she then offered them whine, the guard accepted, so did the mother and father, the young male said he had work the next day and she nod her head in respect, putting the bottle of whine on the table and taking the trays back to the kitchen, she sat down and awaited them to ring the bell at their table when they were done, the restaurant owners wife walked to Amber and gave her the nights pay, spices, and vegetables and ingredients to make any supper meal her mother could. Amber bowed to thank her, and the elder female smiled and began to put everything away and close things up for the night, while the owner was talking to the high ranked family that was enjoying their early meal. Once again, she didnt eat, Amber began to head home after washing all of the dishes once the high ranked family left, she watched the moon slowly go down, and the sun start to oeek out from its slumber. Amber arrived home, putting the vegetables, spices, ingredients ans breads away, then headed off to bed. "AMBER!!" Her father yelled, storming into the room she shared with her sisters an hour pass the time she normally gets up, "WAKE UP NOW!" He yelled, Amber jumped out of bed, her heart racing, trying to think of what she couldve done wrong, her father raised his hand ti her and striked her once, then twice "YOU KNOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GIVE THE MONEY YOU GET FROM THE BAKERY TO YOUR MOTHER! WHERE IS IT!?" He screamed in her face, Amber cowered down and muttered "Where I always put it, in the box" even though she was being honest her father was angry "Dont talk back to me!" he striked her again, and again, and again, until she was on the floor, covered in marks that shortly after turned into bruises, she held her tears back and stayed silent until he left the room, she then forced herself up, shakenly, then forced herself to get ready for work. "I'll get out of here soon.." she told herself, making sure the new marks were covered by her long sleeve shirt, that had flowing sleeves, and pants that didnt have rips in them, then slipped on her boots, unable to brush her hair she sighed, knowing she couldnt bare the amount of pain she'd feel if she lifted her arms to her head, had already have struggled to changed her shirt. She put a hood on over her hair, and went off to work.

"Good morning Amber, you have a visitor waiting for you" The bakery owner informed her, she bowed her head and walked to the kitchen where he directed her and to her surprise, there was Young Master Xane, she bowed with a shake if her body from pain "Good morning, Young Master" Amber greeted him, he then walked to her and smiled "Good morning.." he noticed her trembling body and made her stand straight, flinching from his touch she avoided eye contact, he gave her a reassuring smile "I won't be around much after today, my family and I have to return to our castle, I hope ti meet you again some day, Miss..." He waa trying to get her name, and she knew it so she spoke quietly "Hollow... Amber Hollow." Amber responded, Xane nodded and began to walk out of the bakery with his guards. Amber then began her deliveries to the restaurants, then at the end of the day she worked the night shift at the restaurant again, and she continued to do so, secretly saving up money to buy herself new clothes. After a few years she turned 18, she got herself new clothes and moved in with a close friend so she'd no longer get abused, she had her own room and was treated a lot better. Amber was better, happier. She was trained by missionaries to hunt and fight, her she was requested by her former employers to go to D'Linge Castle, so she traveled ti D'Linge Castle by foot with a couple of the missionaries who taught her. Once they arrived, she was allowed in, but shortly after, the guards took her into custody. The guards brought her to the King of the castle, Master Xane, who she remembered and was glad to see... Xane looked her up and down and commanded his guards to leave them, as the guard did. Xane approached Amber and hugged her "Are you okay?" Xane asked her in a concerned tone, "Yes..." Amber replied, unsure how to feel about him hugging her, he then grabbed her hand and made her follow him to his mother, "Mother! Amber's here!" he exclaimed to his mother, a smile crossed her face "We sent for you so many times dear, are you alright?" Xane's mother greeted her, "Im fine" Amber said quietly, confused.

As the day went on, Xane showed Amber ariund the castle and the gardens and court yard, sitting on the edge of the fountain, they were talking about everything that's happened. Xane knew about the abuse she went through, and told his parents, his mother sent for her multiple times, but never got any response... until now.