Page 1 of Protector

Inever really gave much thought to how my life would end.

Would I get lost in the forest behind the mansion I call home, and no one would be able to find me in time before I starve?

Would King, my big brother, unintentionally shoot me, now that he’s been trained with guns?

Would it be a total accident? I am clumsy, after all. Maybe I’d fall down the stairs or drown in the pool.

But what I never thought, nor ever anticipated, is that after only sixteen years of life, it would be love that killed me.

Okay, that sounds like a cheesy line from a romance book, and I suppose it wasn’t actually love that killed me.

But it was because of love.

I know what you’re thinking, sixteen years old and talking about love... How could a girl that young ever know what love is?

But I did.

My brother loved me. Sure, he got grumpy with me like all big brothers do, but I know he loved me. My cousin Dax loved me. He would always tuck me under his shoulder or plait my hair when it got in the way.

Once upon a time, my mother loved me, before her untimely death when I was just a baby.

But the way Puck loved me was unlike anything I ever knew existed. A feeling so powerful, it wrecked my entire being.

I love Puck more than I love the purple flowers in the forest. I love Puck with more fierceness than my love for fairy tales. My love for Puck is stronger than the love I have for my family.

And I know he loves me too.

At least, he loved me, past tense.

I also know what being unloved feels like, no thanks to the man I called Daddy.

For all my father is, a notorious leader, a criminal, a murderer, a man incapable of loving his own daughter, did I ever think he would go this far?

I never really gave much thought to how my life would end.

But my father shooting me, for falling in love and carrying that same man's child, wasn’t how I thought it would be.

Age 6

Itry the handle to the door again, but it is too heavy for me. I’m strong; my cousin Dax tells me so all the time. He always says I’ve got big, strong arms for a little girl. King, my brother, just rolls his eyes. He does that a lot.

They are only a year older than me, but I don’t think that’s much bigger. It’s only one more. And I am nearly seven anyway.

Pulling on the handle once more, but getting nowhere, I let my arms drop, and I sink to the floor.

Daddy always does this when there’s people coming over. King and Dax get to stay, but I have to go to my room.

It is so unfair.

I have never met anyone new apart from the people who live or work in the mansion. King and Dax are my only friends.

And then there’s Maria. She’s the kind lady who brings me my dinner and tidies my room, although most of the time, she makes me help. She also teaches me lots of different lessons, like English and maths. I hate maths, though.

Daddy lets King and Dax go to a private school. He says they need to be sharp and educated if they’re going to take over the Districts one day. But I’m not allowed an education. Luckily for me, Maria teaches me lots of things.

Every day is the same.

Wake up, have breakfast, a few hours of school, and then play in the garden until dinner. I like playing in the trees.

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