NORMINOT_OTaye

From Riches to Realms
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Strange events had begun to unfold:missing children, vanishing women, and widowed husbands—all while bodies disappeared without a trace. But worst of all— whispers around of the dead walking among the living. They said dead men tell no tales—until you force them silent.
.......
Marie Antoine Lisette, or Liz as she preferred, never thought her life would spiral from riches to rags. She thought her future was set: a husband on the way, with gold, silver, pearls, lands, mansions, manors, and accounts she could scarcely keep track of. She had it all.

But one fateful day, everything changed. Her head spun, her legs buckled, and then—darkness enveloped her.

When she finally awakened, a circle of concerned faces surrounded her (her body) —friends and family, all eager for her recovery. Yet something felt amiss. When the prince arrived, Liz gushed, blushed, and her lips pursed as she shyly batted it at the prince.  
(Liz: Ew...)  
(???: So, you do like the prince)  
(Liz: What prince? Who?)

As Liz opened her eyes again, a spiders crept through the damp wall. Her luxurious clothes had vanished, replaced by rags, and her hair lay matted and dirty.  
"A prison cell," she thought. Her voice quivered on the brink of tears, "My luxurious life."  
(???: About the prince...)  
"What could he possibly have to complain about?” she snarked.  
"..."

When your world unravels in the most bewildering ways, do you ignore it or seek the truth? And when those answers come, will you accept them, or will they shatter everything you believe?

**Presenting Liz, the first novel of yours truly for fun.** Follow her on her journey—a thrilling quest where adventure and budding romance await amidst danger and mystery.

Destined for the unknown

It was a ghost. It was a transparent little girl.

It looked ethereal in it's white garments.

she almost made a sound when her sister noticed her strangeness and pulled her closer before hushing her soundlessly. Their brother was tense as they watched their mother being cornered by men with the older ones shying the younger ones, scooting them farther from the happenings that was going to happen.

The children huddled together trying to grasp the last bit of warmth in this horrid scene. Still, there were few things that they could do. In a rather large, but empty room filled with a cabinet, 2 mattresses, a four-chair dining table and some otherstuff that couldn't even fill a fourth of the 25 sq meter room .

This alone and one could tell how impoverished the owner is.

The owner was Mellai, a fiery woman, still beautiful in her late 40's. She's had 10 kids in her lifetime , a few twins and the youngest a few weeks old.

They moved to the borders after she found a job in the only bakery in town. It was quiet town. It was recommended by her previous customers after getting kicked out by the last one.

She was a woman with a sweet smile and secrets of her own. Her usual customers were old and kind enough to help her but, she's also unlucky.

She just moved here when bandits who've been eyeing the town noticed a frail woman with a bunch of oil drags moving in. So, a few days later with little planning and lot of luck these masters, in their art, successfully got hold of the house and made it their secret base. Mellai was stripped of her clothes as the men relished in her misery. Only the 10 children shouted, screamed and kicked a fuss only to get beaten up. Zinga watched as even some of her siblings managed to rush past the men, and circle around their mother hugging her thighs tightly. All of this while watching it coldly , but that's what others think. If others were to look carefully, she's just been looking at the same spot all this time. Even her sister who's been paying attention to her thought she's been scared silly.

Strange as it may sound, she is looking at a transparent being and, no. Zinga strangely thought. No?

A strange voice in her head almost made her scream when she put her hands on her mouth.

"No. No. No. I dare you to call me a ghost and you better watch your back." It was girly voice sweet and echoing but all it brought Zing was chills.

Zinga looked around suspiciously, noticing no one else but her had heard it.

Before noting the shock and anticipation on this... well, she found the source.

Zinga rolled her big eyes and asked softly,

"You don't seem that shocked, why?", it asked instead.

Zinga trembled in exasperation, thinking to herself. You almost scared me to death that's why.

"Oh", it replied, " Well, I'm sorry".

Zinga who wants to faint again:...

It grinned sheepishly at her , before saying: "Don't worry, I can hear you in your head," while saying innocently, "it's a great skill, isn't it?"

A sobbed and pitiful voice broke the tense silence over there. Amidst the loud crying and wailing Mellai was desperate to keep her children safe.

"Pleae.. ple,,..please, not the kids... I-i" Mellai stammered as she glanced at her children. Her voice hoarseness dry.

Why? Why did it come to this? But, the question remained unanswered, for 4 or more men rendered her speechless.

The females shivered in frigid cold with a single dreadful thought in mind: I'm next.

They pushed and pulled without a word. Hoping they could buy time until someone saves them.

In the corner, zinga was shoved there with her other younger siblings by her older sister. Forming a circle around them, protecting them. But, right now Zinga couldn't care less about the situation. Her eyes fixed on the being before her.

Not a ghost.