1 Chapter 1
Elora Antonio is walking down the old Shasfort street, when she spot a child hiding behind the truck in the late hour of the night.
The little girl curls up in a corner behind the truck crying.
She has ran farther away from her abductors that has gotten into a heated argument about selling her off into slavery.
She doesn't know what they're complaining about but she heard them clearly repeating, "Her father is the ruler yet he allows us to suffer and loot all the countries wealth after ascending the throne."
"We must sell her off, before someone recognizes her."
"No I will take her with me, she's very beautiful and will grow up into a beautiful young woman."
"Shut up Lucas!, You can never have her!."
"Why Max?, How old was your young wife when you married her?."
"Shut up you two, we won't sell her off or have any of you marry her!, She's the princess of our lands."
"Why should you tell us to shut up Timothy?, do you know how we managed to kidnap her?!."
The five men argued and as she wasn't chained she ran away, running as far as her little legs can carry her into the thick forest.
She has never been out from the palace and only once she left the palace to go out with her mother into the market, she got missing and was dragged away from her mother's hand in the crowd and her mouth was clutched to shut by the stranger who dragged her away.
Elora a middle-aged woman is childless and her marriage crashed all because she doesn't have a kid of her own.
She was accused as been barren and she's only 45-yrs-old.
She approach the little girl crying and the girl stares up to her and run into her arms saying "Mother!."
"Shush!" she hush her up and carries her away, using her big scarf to cover her as she takes her thru a short cut to her family house in the Greenwoods kingdom.
The farms and forest isn't far away from her home as they were poor and lived closed to the forest area, where most houses there are cheaper.
She pushes her house door open and walks in as she place the little girl down and locks back her house door.
She thought the little girl got missing and doesn't know her way back home, so she helps her sit and switch on the lantern to see her face.
Little Juliet remembers her name but she's too afraid to speak as the men who kidnapped her had used a sack to cover up her head and smuggled her away.
She stare to the woman who squats in front of her to speak to her and she's visibly shaking and afraid if the woman want to kill her too.
"Is okay don't be afraid" Lady Elora says.
"Who's your mother?" she ask little girl who shakes her head not knowing her mother's name.
"Is okay. Is late now tomorrow we will go out to search for your mother."
"No.." Little Juliet quickly jumps up and clutch to Lady Elora's dress.
"What's the matter little one?" Lady Elora squats beside her and touch her silk long blonde hair.
"No" Little Juliet cries out and Lady Elora sigh.
She stare to the lantern and observe the little girl is shaking.
Probably something might have scared her, she thinks as she speaks to her.
"Is okay, you will be fine."
She sigh and carries her up and she walks to her couch to drop her, but still little Juliet refuse to let go of her.
Lady Elora sigh.
She's living alone so she have nothing to worry about.
She sits with her on the couch and cuddle her until she stops shaking.
Little Juliet speaks, "Am hungry," as she hasn't eaten anything since the morning she left the market with her mother.
"Okay, Wait let me warm the remaining rice i have."
"No" Little Juliet doesn't want Lady Elora to let go off her.
Lady Elora sigh.
She's living in her family house and after she returned from her husband house, who went ahead and married another woman, she fixed a separate door as her mother refused her cooking with her or eating from her food.
She has always known that her husband is the one infertile but she kept it a secret until he started misbehaving at his older age accusing her of removing her womb and not wanting to get pregnant for him.
He's a chief in council and rich but because he had no sons or daughters he started cheating and maltreating her and even forced himself on her sometimes when he's drunk.
She cannot stand him so she ran away and after two weeks of her return to her family house, she heard that he already went ahead and married a younger woman from his own village.
She sigh and carries little Juliet with her to the gas cooker she have in her room and she arrange her pot to warm the rice.
She actually went into the forest to cut some herbal leaves as ever since her return from her husband house she has been feeling sick and as she doesn't have money to go to their kingdom hospital, she decides to uses the herbal method to treat herself.
"Wait let me cook the rice" She says to little Juliet who finally let go off her and sits on the floor, staring to the gas cooker and the small pot placed on top.
Lady Elora switches it on and she warm the remaining rice she has left.
"What's your name?" she ask little Juliet who smiles to her.
"Juliet," she reply as she gladly remembers her name.
"Juliet who?" Lady Elora ask and Little Juliet touches her thin lip trying to remember her father's name.
"You don't know?" Lady Elora ask her and she nods sadly.
"Is okay. Not to worry, I will help you find your mother okay."
Little Juliet nods and smiles as she hungrily awaits for the local rice to be ready.
She stares around the strange room, knowing that's not how her beautiful pink room looks like.
She stares to the woman she previously calls mother and seeing the woman take of her scarf, she doesn't look anything like her mother under the lantern brightness.
Her mother is very light skinned in complexion too, making her look white and she wonder where her mother could be?.
Lady Elora walks to her set of plate and takes out a little plate and spoon to dish out small portion of the hot jollof rice to the little beautiful girl, that have long blonde colour hair.
Staring to the little girl who she assumes to be 6-yrs of age, she feels the girl will be from a rich family, but her mind isn't so sure as she wonders how the girl got to the truck.
There's no possible way the girl mother would have abandoned a cute little girl like her to the truck and deeply inside the forest, so she assumes probably, someone had kidnapped the girl or want to take her away to the next kingdom.
She shakes her head and feeling nauseous again, she quickly dish out the little girls meal and walks beside her to keep down her food and she rush to the bathroom to throw up.
Little Juliet picks up her spoon and stare to the local rice that has no beef or chicken or fish on it, like her mother used to garnish her meal.
Her face falls as she slowly turn the rice searching for her little fish as she normally removes her fish or meat and keep it aside before finally eating it.
She sobs and Lady Elora return and sits on the tilled floor beside her as she haven't dished out her own food yet.
"What's the matter?" she ask little Juliet seeing she hasn't even started eating the rice.
"No fish mama," she sobs.
"Fish?" Lady Elora jaw drops and she quickly swallows, "not to worry I will put some fish for you tomorrow okay, now eat your food before it gets cold."
Little Juliet starts eating and the spoon is also very big to fit into her small mouth.
Lady Elora collect the plate of food and starts feeding her little by little and Little Juliet eats slowly as the food isn't sweet like her mother's meal.
She continues to sob knowing that she isn't home and her mother and father will be searching for her.
She sniffs and almost got choked and Lady Elora quickly gets her a drinking water.
"Is okay don't cry. I won't harm you okay."
"Okay" she collects the water and drink and she feels better.
Thru eating to her tommy satisfaction, she stands up and stare around the big empty room.
Lady Elora stands up and return her plate and she spreads out her mat, for her and the little girl to sleep on top.
"Come sleep here," she says to the little damsel as she spreads out a softer blanket so as to make the mat comfortable and reduce the cold.
Little Juliet walks and climbs on the mat and she lay on top of the blanket and drift to sleep.
