Under (On Hold)

Prologue

I used to be the perfect soldier. Never once did I falter. I had always fought with valor and honor. Off the battlefield I had beauty that brought the most small minded of kings to their knees. My previous master used to tell me that my smile alone could destroy and rebuild worlds; most unlike my creator. She never took a shine to how well I fit with the humans she loved so much. Before I was abandoned she left me with parting words I’d never forget.

“Viola.. You were a wonderful weapon." Her soft hands cupped my fragile face gently. "It’s truly a shame that all you turned out to be is a useless, forgotten tool in the end." Her deep green eyes seemed to soften. Her words hurt, and cut deeper than any wound I've had before. "One would suppose this just goes to show, no matter how many people you fooled or how hard you strived, you never were and never will be enough.” Oddly enough that bright sweet smile of herself left nothing but a bitter taste in my mouth.

Those words were ingrained into me, and I had lost all self worth that day.

They regarded me with praise and festivals only to toss me aside in the end. I was left alone to be swallowed whole by the shadows of my former glory. Like a rusted unkempt statue in a once lush garden left to decay with time.

That was until she found me. The most adorable redheaded child found my withered state and took me home. Her name was Irina and she kept me under her bed. A smart little thing, I’ll give her that. She stopped her mother from cleaning under her bed by adamantly proclaiming a monster to be residing under it; the monster being me. I never once minded being her monster though, she gave me ice cubes on occasion and little dishes of water along with whatever leftovers and old food she had.

Life with Irina continued on like this with me staying hidden in the dark areas of her home. I was able to solidify my form, although much smaller compared to my former self, after a year of her care. She was elated at the news and had begun to carry me around in her little purse. The more time I spent under her care the more adoration I harbored for the child. She’d done me a great service that I could never replay; single handedly, without realizing she had saved my life and continued to nurse me back to health.

Gradually my ability to speak returned which only proved to make my little savior happy. The times in which we'd play together became much more engaging, her imagination boundless. She even gave me a new name, Emerson Clove. There were times when she'd have friends over, and I'd have to stay hidden from sight. She never once forgot to feed me though, at some point I don't believe she even realized she'd gotten into the habit of bringing me food and something to quench my thirst.

Finding places to hide wasn't difficult considering I learned to control what size and shape I took. Around her 18th birthday she was to attend a banquet. It was there she met Mihaela and Lois. Those three would go on to become an inseparable trio; so much so that Irina entrusted the knowledge of my existence with them. It took a good year for the girls to trust me, and another two for us to form an unbreakable bond.

By the time I had fully regained my former abilities and physical form, I'd taken on the responsibility of assuring their safety. While Lois wasn't the happiest about my willingness to put the three of them first, she never outright objected to it. After they had learned of my prior standing, we collectively chose to forget it ever happened. Viola Dragov was long since dead and would forever remain as such.

It was supposed to be a simple get away. A vacation before the girls found fiances. In the end, they were kidnapped; it only took me a month before I was hot on their trail. Rednic, a hired hand was the one who took them. On January 5th, he'd delivered them to a countess residing in a castle hidden within a winter bound frontier.

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