My Prince- Dutch Vander Linde Love Story

Chapter 2 - Then Silence

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"There we go good as new" I said handing back my little sister's doll back. She had accidently ripped the dolls' dress. I held her doll out and inspected my work. The dolls' dress looked a lot like the ones my sister and I wore. Several holes with different colored patches sloppily fixed, along with small tears at the ends. My sewing skills were awful at best, but I was trying. We could not afford fabric to make new clothes so I resorted to using old clothes to patch our nicer ones.

"Thanks Maria," Anna said as she snuggled the doll close. She was lying in her bed, under the covers and ready to go to sleep for the night.

"Goodnight, My little Anna." I said as I leaned down and kissed her head. I blew her candle out and closed the door of our room.

Before, we had our own rooms. Now, she was too scared to sleep alone. It began with her sneaking into bed every night. Then, somehow turned into us just sharing a bed. I would never admit to my little sister but, I was just as scared as she was.

I walked out the backdoor into the cool night air. Things had been different for a while now. Father and the ranch workers he took with him had been ambushed on the road. Their bodies had been ripped apart. All of the supplies they had were stolen, even the wagons, the cattle and horses they were riding were never found.

"God Damn It Maria. What the fuck are you doing outside?" My brother Daniel hollered as he stumbled off his horse and over to me. I did not expect him to be home so soon.

With my father gone the ranch was left to my brother. After a few unwise business choices he began to lose money. At first it was not much and we could have easily bounced back from it. Then Isabella called off the engagement on the grounds that she wanted a husband that would grow money instead of making business gambles.

Daniel started drinking. He became a rude and overworking boss to the ranch workers that my father had loved dearly and considered part of the family. One by one they packed up their cabins and moved away. Now the cabins around our ranch laid empty and were starting to fall apart. All animals we had owned, horses, cattle, sheep were all sold off to help support Daniels' drinking fund. With so little help, the crops stopped growing.

Now the three of us were the only ones left on the Ranch. The house was falling apart. I did not have the skill to fix it and Daniel did not care. I was taking care of our little sister and him the best I could.

"It gets cold at night Danny, I need to collect some firewood. Tattianna and I can't drink ourselves to sleep." I snapped as I went back to gathering some of the dead sticks and tree branches that were gathered around.

" I told you, I don't wanna see your whore face anymore." He said, tripping in the mud and tearing his overalls. He used to dress so professionally. Now he wore the same white shirt, overalls and straw hat. He washed scarcely and let his hair grow an unruly amount. At one point in life my brother could have been a lawyer or run for office. Since his fall from grace, he was now the village drunk.

"You're drunk again. Father would be - " I gasped when a beer bottle flew by my bed and shattered on the tree next to me.

"That fat bastard is the reason we are in this situation. You and that little bitch upstairs - "

"Daniel, she's your sister and a little girl!" I yelled as I stormed back into the house. It was no use in arguing with him. He was not my brother right now. Maybe he never would be again.

I was awakened by the sun peaking over the horizon. No rooster waking up the morning day with a crow. No hungry cows crying for their food. No maids to wake me up and prepare breakfast on the porch for my father and I.