Chapter 10

Maria sat on a chair with her leg crossed. She smiled. "Kids, what's your name?"

The children remained silent. They lowered their head and keep their eyes on the ground. No one was willing to talk. Not even Aretha.

Maria straighten her posture and crossed her arms. "Rick."

"Yes, my lady?"

"What's their name?"

Rick bent down his upper body a little bit and whispered near Maria's ear. "Currently, there is no information about them. Apparently, all their document were burned down."

"Is there any survivor beside them?"

He shake his head. "No. They are the only survivor."

Maria sighed. "Oh, well… doesn't matter. Give them a new identity."

"Yes, my lady."

Aretha glanced at the older woman in front of her. She stole another glance at the interior of the room. There was no window and there's a single door. The only furniture was the chair the woman used. In the corner, there were five wooden box stacked unkempt. The room was dark but the light from the fireball in all the corner was enough to lit up the space. There was a disturbing metallic smell combined with other scent that she could not describe. How could she, when the smell she was used to, was the fresh breeze from the forest and the unpolluted air in the isolated villages.

She glanced at the woman again. The woman wear beautiful and shiny jewelry and accessories. Her clothes was revealing with no hint of modesty. She wore heavy makeup and the color of her lips remind Aretha of a story. A story about a foolish girl poisoned by a bright red apple. Aretha knew. The woman in front of her, will either sell them or work them to their bone.

"You should be grateful that I save you from that man, I mean, who knows what he will do to you, right?" Maria said. She tried to soften her tone.

Aretha snorted. "Does buying us make you our savior?"

"Of course! That man don't know the boundaries, you know. Don't you see how he was looking at you? Plus, he might attempt to try for a fresher one, you know." Maria tilted her head, eyes on the other younger girls.

"So, you won't do such thing toward us?"

"Well, of course I won't force you to do what you don't want. I'm a kind person, so I'll just offer some jobs for you."

"What do you want us to do?" Aretha glared. She felt unsettled.

"No need to be so cautious. Good children should listen to adults, and only bad children will be punish. You can get whatever you desire if you listen obediently and don't cause trouble."

The younger children clutched their clothes. They had lost everything, their family, their home. They have no one to depend on. Aretha looked at the children. They need support. They need shelter. They need protection. Aretha lowered her guard.

"If you want us to work as servant—"

"Child… this place is not short of servant. I have a perfect job for you, and it's much easier than being a servant."

Aretha felt uneasy. She was hoping that her guess was wrong. She squinted her eyes. "You want all of us to do that job?"

Maria widen her eyes. 'Seems like she caught on'. She chuckled. "No, no, no… how could I be so evil to let those young girls start doing it at that age, right? We need time to prepare them, and I will send the boy to a more appropriate place." Maria pointed her index finger toward Aretha. "You. I have a job for you."

Aretha clenched her jaw. She could not contained her emotion, and burst with anger. "Why don't you just straightly say that you will sell the boy and make the girls as prostitute? You're just a disgusting monster in the shell of human."

Maria narrowed her eyes. She get up from her seat and walked closer toward Aretha.

'Pang!'

Aretha's cheek turned red from the slap. From the bruise, anyone can knew that Maria did not control her strength.

"Rick," Maria said, "call Hugh."

The man nodded and took a few large strides before exited through the door. Maria stared down at Aretha. Her lips lost it smile and her eyes were cold. Her expression turned dark.

"Look here, girl." Maria grabbed Aretha's chin and tilted her head upward. "I think you have been mistaken. I brought you with my money, so you are my property. I was trying to be kind, you know, because you seem different from all the kids I've seen so far. But, you are being too ungrateful, so, don't blame me for being harsh."

The door was knocked three time before Rick came in followed by another bulky bearded man. The man wore a sleeveless shirt, and his arms was fully decorated with tattoo.

"My lady," Rick said.

"Lady Maria." The man with tattoo slightly bowed his head.

"Hugh. Every time I see you, you look more and more disheveled." Maria's voice bubbled with excitement.

"You, my lady, gets more and more beautiful." Hugh shrugged.

"You don't look bad yourself, it's just, I'm not really a fan of charity."

Hugh burst out laughter. The corner of his eyes catch on a figure. It was a young girl. "The older one only?"

"For now. The other three, wait until they reached 15, as usual."

Hugh nodded. He step closer to Aretha. The girl flinched. Her eyes trembled, and her heart racing to get out from her body. Peter and Cole glimpse over the older sister. They clenched their fist and bit their lips. They stood in front of Aretha.

"Don't touch our sister!" Cole shouted.

"Cole, Peter," Aretha mumbled softly.

Maria squinted her eyes. She crunched her eyebrows. 'Annoying.' She turned to the two bulky male. "Send the boys to Kuli House. They were supposed to open the auction today, and," she said, then turned to look at Rick, "lock the other girls in another room. It's not yet their turn. Assigned them as usual."

Aretha chocked. 'No! How can I protect them if we were separated?!' She thought in her mind.

"Wait!" she shouted, "A deal! Let's make a deal."

Maria looked at the girl. "On what basis do you think you are qualified to make a deal with me?"

"Wasn't we supposed to start this kind of job at 15? I'm still 12."

Maria flinched. '12?' She pondered for a while. "So? You don't want to do it before you reached 15?"

"Give me a trial period."

"Give you what?"

"A trial period."

"Why?"

"I'll show my worth. If I can prove myself worthy, give me the right for the other kids. Put them under my protection, and no one can touched even a strand of their hair."

"How bold. Why do you think I should agree? I don't see any benefit for me."

"There is."

"What?"

"Benefit for you."

"And, what is that?"

"You are in need of someone new, right? That's why you want to quickly put me to work instead of waiting until I'm 15. You're desperate."

Maria laughed. She wipe the corner of her eyes. "It's true that I need someone new. But… I'm not desperate for one."

Aretha bit her lips. "You have nothing to lose."

Maria hummed. "Three month. I will give you three month. Give me what I want, and I'll accept the condition."

"What you want?"

"There's someone I need you to win over. That person have something that I want, you see."

"I'll do it." She breathe a sigh of relief.

"Good." Maria turned toward Rick. "Take the kids to their room. No need to do anything to them. You heard it, right?"

Rick nodded. "I understand."

Maria stared at Aretha for few minutes. "Hugh," she said, "make it peonies."

Hugh nodded. Maria walked out from the room followed by the two big men. Rick get closer to the other children and told them to follow him, but, the children refused to listen to him.

"Lucy, Daphne, Diana… I had something I need to do. You guys go with that man first. I will follow suit. Peter, Cole, look after them for me, okay?" Aretha said with a comforting tone. She patted Cole and Peter's head.

The children nodded. "Sister, be careful," Peter said.

Rick took the children out from the room, leaving only Aretha and Hugh and the lone chair.

"Don't worry, I'll make it as less painful as possible. Sit on the chair." Hugh said.

Aretha sat on the chair and didn't said a word. Hugh glimpsed over the young girl. He sighed. He went and grabbed one of the wooden box as his chair.

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*Little Theater*

Aretha : "I don't understand. Why peonies?"

C.Udon : "Simple. It's because peonies are lush and romantic flowers that can symbolize desire and sensual pleasures."

Aretha : …