Left Alone - by Ivy

Chapter 9 - The Echiquier

    I told Abella to wait outside while I got her some clothes from my room. I snuck into the house from the back door that Abella showed me. I got to my room and grabbed a full outfit from the laundry basket that lay on my bed. I couldn't even begin to imagine how she had felt every day knowing how she would be treated if she had done something that wasn't up to Roi d'echecs' standards. I got back outside and looked away as Abella got dressed. As I turned around to look at her, and my eyes swelled with tears. I was starting to imagine.

There was absolutely no way I would let her go back into that house unsupervised so, I got her to come with us to the orphanage. Alec wouldn't like it nor would Charles but too bad for them. Women stay together. As we walked I offered her the tissues that I keep in my purse. She dabbed her bloody nose as I cringed. This is when I started to try and see the bright sides of the situation. We were going to the place where Abella grew up to have a tour and there was also the fact that I had just taken someone away from her impending doom. Slowly pats herself on the back

As we showed up in front of the Echiquier, Charles saw us and asked "Who's this?" He seemed fairly confused until he recognised Abella's face which apparently was at the same time as Alec. He put his hand to his mouth and said "Oh Ebony, you didn't?" "I'll tell you later, but until then let's go inside and get a tour from someone who actually grew up here." With that, I looked at Charles who said "Right. Okay um let's go in then." Abella, still obviously in pain, trailed beside me as we walked to the front desk. It smelled like an old peoples home from Minnesota which was quite ironic considering who lived there. At the front desk there was a girl whose name was Fleurette that Alec really seemed to have taken a liking to.

Special Point of View Alec's POV

Fleurette was just as beautiful as her name. She was a sweet little daisy of a flower. As our little group approached the desk all I could think about was her beauty. I got so distracted that I didn't realize that Ebony, Charles and Abella had walked off. That was my chance to say something to Fleurette. I hoped she could speak English. "Hello." I said shyly. "Hello, can I help you with something sir?" she said. 'Oh God' I thought to myself 'She has the voice of an angel' "Yes," I started. "Do you run this place?" She giggled and said "Yes I do. Where are you from? I love your accent." She was flirting and I wasn't prepared. Wow that was cheesy...

Ebony's POV

We left Alec to talk to Fleurette considering how starry eyed he was and continued on to look around. We walked past the desk and saw a large living room with pictures hanging everywhere. All of a sudden Abella gasped and turned away. "Hey," I said "It's okay it's over now." "It's not that" she said. "This is all too familiar. It's where I and many other kids were taken to be picked up by their new masters." "I'm sorry," I said as I turned to Charles."We should move on." "No," said Abella. "Wait a second."

Abella turned around and walked over to the photos on the wall. She stopped at a picture of a girl with dark brown hair. "This is me back in 2011 when I was 14." she said."This was the year Roi d'echecs took me to his house." "Are these all pictures of girls before they were hired?" I asked. "They all look about 14." said Charles. "I was also 14 when I met you Abella." "I remember walking in." said Abella.