1 Ash

A pair of blue eyes opened slightly as soon as the morning came. The ray of sunlight from the small window in the room woke Ashley from her sleep. Her long, ash-grey hair flowed down her hips as she rose from the bed. She stretched her stiff, thin body and fixed her old, shabby bed. Then suddenly, her stomach growled. She didn't have dinner last night, so now she is hungry. She put on old maid's clothes, opened her room, and walked to the spiral staircase. At the bottom steps, another door that leads to the hallway of the 2nd floor is there. She opened it slightly to see if there were people in the hallway. After confirming that the area was clear, Ashley ran downstairs quietly to the kitchen.

"Ash?" someone called out to her.

"Shh..." She hushed the owner of the voice. "Don't be so loud, Mary. Or I'll get caught by the Countess again."

Mary, the brunette-haired maid with hazelnut eyes and a freckled face, is dressed in a black dress with a frilly apron. She is a maid in this house and older than Ashley by three years. The two quietly enter the kitchen, where a big, tall man with a curly mustache in a white uniform and a chef's hat is making a meal.

Mary glanced at Ashley as she picked a loaf of bread from the basket. The chef turned around suddenly, and Ashley hid under the table, leaving Mary in plain sight.

"Mary? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on the second floor wiping the hall's windows?" The chef asked her.

"Ah! I-I just..." She saw the basket of bread and took one of its loaves. "I got hungry wiping the windows. So I want to have a snack. Yeah! That's why." Then she laughed. The cook frowned, but Mary changed the topic.

"By the way, what are you cooking? It smells so nice." She asked as she blocked his sight from the table where Ashley was hiding.

"This is my new recipe. I hope the Count and Countess like it."

Before she left the table, she gestured her hands under the table to signal Ashley to go out.

While Mary distracted the chef, Ashley got out of hiding, took another loaf of bread, and quietly left the kitchen. Then she ran to her room on the third floor, the attic. She lived there with the roaches, mice, and spiders. Her room is full of old and broken furniture. Even her closet was the old one of the Countess.

As soon as she arrived at her room, she grabbed the clean napkin Mary had given her yesterday from the old closet and put the bread on it. Then she ate them bit by bit. It will be her breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

*knock*knock*knock

The knock on her door startled her. She tied the napkin with the bread inside and hid it in the broken side table, then she rushed to the door and slightly unlocked it.

"I brought you water," Mary said, holding a tray with a pitcher and glass when she opened the door. With a sigh of relief, she let Mary into her room.

"Here, drink this." Mary offered a glass of water to Ashley. She drank it in one go and asked for more. Mary saw how thin and pale Ashley was.

"A family that is so rich, yet they lack compassion and love for others," Mary said.

Ashley, who finished her drink, just smiled.

Ashley is the illegitimate child of Count Harriston, the wealthiest merchant in the Imperial. He made his way to nobility due to his fortune. Her mother was a maid in this house when the Count raped her. She became pregnant then the Countess evicted her. She found another job as a helper in a pub in another town. She raised Ashley until she was seven years old.

But a disease spread across the continent, killing hundreds of people, including her mother. Uncle Ben, her mother's friend, and the pub owner kept her under his wing. Ashley grew up thinking he was her father.

At first, he was hesitant to tell her about the real one. But, in the end, he couldn't hide it from her. When he caught the disease, he told her about him and brought her to the mansion, hoping they would take good care of her. Never knowing that it would only give her a painful, miserable life until she grew up. Several days after bringing her to the mansion, Uncle Ben died, like her mother, due to the disease.

When she first came to the mansion, the Countess was outraged. She doesn't want to see Ashley. But the Count told the Countess that his decision to keep her would never change, no matter what.

After the long argument, the Count returned to his office and left the two alone. Then their daughter, a year or twice Ashley's age, approached her mother and pointed at the young girl.

"Is that my new toy, Mother?"

The Countess's face lit up. "Of course. She is your new toy."

From then on, she was treated just like a toy by the Countess and her daughter, Elizabeth. At first, they treated her like a maid. Then they treated her like a slave while the Count was so busy with business that he forgot to check on her. As the Count traveled to many locations for business, the Countess took this opportunity to start hurting Ashley.

The Countess would whip Ashley whenever she wanted to. Her sister would always make fun of Ashley and hurt her like the Countess.

Living in the mansion was hell. She tried escaping many times but always got caught by the Countess and Elizabeth. They would whip her, lock her in the attic, and not feed her for days after as her punishment.

When Mary came to work in the mansion, she found Ashley in a pitiful state. Her back is full of whip marks and bruises, and her body is skinny and malnourished. Her wrist was bleeding due to the knots they tied, and her face was pale. Mary cried while helping a pass out Ashley's lifeless frame. Ashley is so exhausted from crying and being abused. But upon waking and seeing Mary crying in her state, tears began to fall from her eyes. She quietly cried with her because she had no strength left in her body. Eventually, she got tired of crying and felt her eyes drop, indicating she passed out again.

Mary hugged her slightly and said, "Don't worry, Ashley." I'll be here for you from now on."

At that moment, Ashley knew for sure.

She found a friend.