I spent the next few years wandering around many places. I hadn't encountered any wolves that were chasing me, but I had never stayed in one spot longer than three months either. Of course, it was harder to earn any money that way. That was why I decided to open an online business that I could run without revealing my true name. What I was selling were investment advices. I have always been good at predicting how the market would respond to certain events. Even my teachers used to call me a genius in that field.
Actually, business and the stock market weren't my only areas of expertise. I could easily become the best in any subject. The problem was, my so-called "family" would never allow me to get a decent university diploma… or any university diploma at that. I was only allowed to graduate from St. Anna's College, after graduating from St. Anna's High School, after growing up in St. Anna's orphanage… Yes, the situation between me and my "family" was always a little peculiar.
Certainly, I didn't have any good memories from my childhood. I used to wish that I didn't have a living family and had a chance to be adopted as any other child living at the orphanage. What could have been more frustrating to a growing child than the fact that it had been abandoned, but strangely, there was no permission for adoption?! I used to wonder how it was even possible, until I learned that my precious father was actually the founder of the St. Anna's orphanage. That was the moment I realized that I wasn't being raised, I was being imprisoned and monitored.
Everything was better than living as if I was shackled in chains. The life I lived as a nomad, or rather a fugitive, was far better, even though I constantly looked behind my shoulder. It had been seven years since I started running. If that was what I had to do in order to be free for the rest of my life, I would pay that price gladly.
Starting an online company wasn't exactly easy, especially since I had no name, no diploma, and no recommendation. I spent a lot of time sending anonymous emails to rich businessmen, company presidents, and CEOs. I gave each of them one advice, free of charge. After they learned that my predictions were correct, they were usually becoming my clients. They started sending me certain issues to analyze, or problems to solve. I had never met any of my clients in real life. I always contacted them by email, and I even kept changing the email address once a month. Each assignment was charged depending on the difficulty of the task, but it never took me more than a few hours to get my job done. That was how I started earning money, big money. Too bad I had no real possibility of spending it.
I could never live too lavishly, trying not to draw attention, but I stopped living in slums or working at coffee shops. I could afford to buy myself designer clothes, but I kept buying only what was necessary to live comfortably. There was one expensive piece of clothing hanging in my closet and that was the black coat that my silver-haired knight left me.
I had never met him in those three years, but I kept thinking about him. Perhaps it was because I thought of him as my savior, and there was no one who had ever stood up for me before like that. It felt surreal. Not to mention that he was amazingly hot…
In my entire life, there was only one person that had ever cared for me. It was someone who called himself my Mother's friend, Ezra. Ezra became my teacher, my shoulder to cry on, and my father figure. He sacrificed himself for me, so I could run away from my hell. I had no contact with him since then, but I still hoped that he was alive. After all, he became the only light in the world of a miserably abandoned child. No one except for Ezra had ever reached out his hand towards me, not to mention an absolute stranger.
That year I turned 27. It was early autumn. I finished my latest assignment and sent all the information to my client. I needed to get my mind off of numbers and statistics, and I decided to go for a run. I usually ran a few miles to clear my head before going to sleep, but that night I didn't know why I ran much further…
I had a strange feeling that I needed to get somewhere. I kept running in an unknown direction until I found myself out of town on an empty road. It was dark, but I didn't stop running even when the moon became the only light I had. Suddenly, I saw some flashing lights on the side of the road. When I got closer, I noticed it was a car blinker. I flinched and ran closer. There was a black car that crashed into a tree. A slight fume was coming from under the hood.
"Hello! Does anyone need help?!" I called cautiously, getting closer to a car.
No one replied. I looked at the front seats through the crashed front window. There was a man sitting there behind the wheel. It looked like he was unconscious. His face was covered in blood.
"Please don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead…" I muttered going to his side of the car.
I grabbed the door handle. It was jammed. I was struggling for a while, but I managed to open it. As soon as I looked inside the car, I froze.
"Silver-haired knight...!" I mumbled in panic.
There was blood coming from his nose, lips, and even eyes, but other than that, I couldn't notice any serious injury. My hands were trembling as I reached out my hand to check his pulse. My fingers were almost touching the skin of his neck when suddenly he grabbed my hand.
I screamed. He slowly opened his blooded eyes and looked at me. His stare was overwhelming and filled with a strange hunger. I gazed at him, terrified. I felt as if my heart was about to burst out of my chest.
"Phone…" he said softly while still holding my hand tight.
"Y-your p-phone?" I stuttered.
He slightly nodded his head and tossed my hand away.
"I-I have mine! I can call for an ambulance- "
"No," he said, cutting me off. "My phone… fast!"
"Y-you still have your seatbelt on. M-maybe I should get you o-out of here first- "
"Phone!" he hissed.
His tone was cold and demanding even though he looked like he was on the verge of death. I decided not to argue with him. I leaned over him trying to find it. It couldn't have been an easy task. I guessed that I was looking for the black object, but the problem was I was looking for it in the middle of a black car. Luckily, I found his phone lying on the floor of the passenger's seat, I just needed to reach it. I glanced at him. He closed his eyes again. I touched his face, it was cold as ice.
“Hey! Don't fall asleep! I found where your phone is!” I shouted, trying to keep him conscious.
“Give… it to me,” he muttered with his eyes closed.
I briefly looked to examine his body again. I could see nothing serious in his condition, yet he was fading away, but it could have been an internal injury as well. The time was running out. As much as I found searching for his phone unreasonable at that moment, I decided to join his madness and reach for this damn phone.
It felt awkward, but I had no other choice than to bend over his knees and stretch my hand out. My upper body was literally lying on him while I tried to touch the floor around the passenger's seat. Suddenly, I felt his body move. He tensed his muscles as if he became agitated. I flinched, hurriedly grabbed the phone, and got up from his knees.
“I-I have your phone,” I stated nervously.
He stretched his hand out to get it from me, but then he started coughing blood. I cringed, but I needed to help him somehow. It was only rational to try taking him out of that car. Without asking for his permission I leaned over him and unfastened his seatbelt.
“Get away!” he roared all of a sudden.
I jumped back away from him and clenched my teeth. “I'm trying to help you!” I yelled.
“Call… Leo. Tell him… where…” he muttered, then closed his eyes.
“Hey! Sir?!” I shouted desperately, but he stopped responding.
I cautiously leaned over him. I couldn't see his chest moving. I froze. I slightly reached my hand to touch his cheek. He didn't move. I gasped.
“I knew I should have called that damn ambulance!” I fumed, looking at his unconscious body.
I was clenching his phone in my hand. Then I started thinking that perhaps it wasn't too late. Maybe that Leo was his personal doctor. Maybe he could save him. I used his cold finger to turn on and enter his phone. Then I found a contact named “Leo” and made the call…
I nervously squeezed the stranger's phone while listening to the waiting signal. Finally, someone took the call. "Master?! Where are you?! Everyone's looking for your highness!" The man's voice feverishly shouted over the phone. "Um… h-hello?" I muttered hesitantly. "Who is this?" The person on the other side of the phone changed his tone, "How did you get Master's phone?" he asked harshly. "Am I talking to… Leo?" I waited for the reply, but the silence made me realize it was a dumb question, "Your… friend, master or… whatever, had a car accident. I found him. He told me not to call an ambulance, and call you instead…" I explained nervously. Leo became quiet for some time. I even checked if he didn't hang up the phone. "H-hello?" I mumbled, impatient for any kind of response. "I tracked the phone. Wait there. We will be there in 20 minutes tops," he stated coldly and ended the call. I wanted to say something, but I mere
After the rescue team had disappeared, leaving me in the dangerous middle of nowhere, I had to struggle to find my way back home myself. For the first time, I found it fortunate that life had never been easy on me, and I had survived much more difficult situations than this before. Certainly, if I were some fragile princess, I would sit on the ground and cry my eyes out while trembling in fear. Now my current situation made me more furious than desperate. I even thought that it would be kind of fortunate if I met some perverts or aggressive drunkards on my way back since I could take my anger off on them. Nevertheless, I still hoped to meet someone on the road who would be kind enough to give me a ride to a more civilized place, but judging on my luck that day, chances for that to happen were close to none. The road was dark and completely empty. I used my phone as a flashlight while walking back from where I ran, cursing my sense of empathy that was constantly getting me in
My new apartment was in a district called Sky Valley. It was a place filled with successful artists, well-paid freelancers, and contractual management specialists. There were a lot of young, talented individuals. Each of the people who lived there was unique, but they all had one thing in common: they were all devoted to their work, and they all minded their own businesses... Well, the majority of them at least. The day I moved in, someone knocked on my door. I was busy unpacking and initially ignored the knocking sound, hoping that whoever it was would give up and go away. Unfortunately, a minute later I heard the doorbell. I figured that it was the same person, and if he or she was still there, then perhaps there was a good reason for it. I opened the door and saw a brightly smiling, short woman with curly brown hair. "Hi! I'm Carla. Can I use your balcony?" she asked, nervously grinning. "Can you use my… what?" I glanced at her, feeling confused.
Carla had outstanding cooking skills and an amazing imagination when it came to mixing flavors. She couldn't afford to rent a place for a restaurant, so she chose to start a catering company instead. She had rented premises in the building right next to our apartments and created a professional kitchen there. She intended to provide her cuisine at the most expansive events in the city. That could allow her to earn the money she needed to open her dream restaurant in New Argent City… in a few years. I supported that dream of hers with all my heart. Spending time with Carla was refreshing. She was always on the run. She constantly developed new dishes while I had become her lab mouse that had to taste whatever she came up with. She was a perfect distraction from my monotonic work, and a natural excuse to take a break. With her, I could pretend that I was living a normal life. Sometimes I even convincedmyself that I could stay in New Argent City forever… I had jus
The Diamond Crown Casino was in a 45-story building. The gambling games were placed on two floors, but they were merely a part of the entertainment the Diamond Crown Casino was providing. There was an enormous theatrical part of the building with five stages prepared to accommodate over ten thousand people in the audience seats. The rest of the building was taken by banquet halls, conference rooms, swimming pools, wellness and beauty salons, and, of course, the grand, luxurious hotel. Knowing that it was easy to imagine how much money was running through this place every day. The sum surely had a number of zeros that could make a head spin. Carla met me right outside the building. The casino's crew for the event took all of the dishes out of Carla's truck. She prepared every dish carefully in advance, putting it all on separate, ready-to-serve plates. All of her appetizers, finger sandwiches, and sweets simply needed to be unwrapped and taken by the waitresses. After
We all put down our trays, mostly still filled with food, on the big metal table standing in the kitchen area, and wondered if our work was over. Suddenly, we became surrounded by the casino workers. "Is the event now over? Do you want us to do anything else?" Carla asked someone who looked like the staff's manager. I could see that she was trying to stay composed, but at the same time, she kept clenching her fists just to prevent them from shaking. I stood right beside her, trying to help her keep calm, but I was trembling inside as well. The manager looked Carla up and down and smirked. "You all have done an amazing job. Now, we need you to go through the door on the other side of the room," he said casually. "And what is it behind that door?" Carla inquired nervously. "Your only way out," he stated, grinning. That smile of his was soaked in pretended courtesy. His eyes were cunning and cold, and those other casino employees
I felt uncomfortable. My arms hurt, and I could barely feel my fingertips. As I was slowly regaining my consciousness, I realized I was kneeling on some dusty floor with my hands chained high above my head and attached to some kind of vault. I had handcuffs that were severely hurting my wrists. I was unable to tell how long I had hung in such an unbearable position. I must have overstretched my arms several times while being unconscious because I could barely move them, but at the same time, I was completely unable to stand on my feet. I could only hang, hoping that my strength would return quickly… I was cold. I looked at myself and saw that my costume was gone. I was wearing a simple white dress with shoulder straps, and I was barefoot. The dress's fabric was light and airy, which made me shiver as if I was naked. When my vision became less blurry, I saw I was inside something that looked like a human-size round birdcage. The place where I was looked like a basemen
The rest of the evaluation proceeded in silence. All the caged girls were trembling in fear, and those whose blood was examined prayed that they would prove themselves worthy to be placed at this cruel auction. I kept clenching my teeth and fists. Anger overflowed from every cell in my body. "This isn't right! We are not some merchandise they can sell or throw away if something is below their expectations!" I fumed inside my head. I could smell the stink of blood slowly drying on the basement ground. It was nauseating and horrifying at the same time. I couldn't stop thinking of the girl's last words, and about her daughter who would grow up without her mother. The sound of her pleading voice rang inside my head. She was ill, but she wanted to live. She had chances to prolong her life. She deserved to live! What kind of monsters would do something like that?! Even the wolves I met had never been this calculated and cruel! I was full of rage on the insi