It was said Victor Grayan was the luckiest man in the capital, maybe all of the Baerysian empire. His ships passed through every storm unscathed. While on his way to the Wasteland close south along with his men to look for golds and silvers, his crew has always found it. Blight never struck his land and his roof never leaked unless he was thirsty and in need for a drink. Account for the fact that he had achieved the rank of a Duke with a powerful military and was accepted in the best circles. The perfect old man that he is, Victor however, has never been fortunate enough to see his daughter since she was born; After his wife's death, Victor couldn’t bear to see anyone else and decided to take off into faraway land for three months that turn into years. Pictures of his painted portraits with her mother hung in the gallery hall were the only thing little Alicia saw for the past eighteen years. She was sure that at any moment, she’d see him with his massive black beard walking through that door and looking at her with his eyes cold, wet, and green as a mossy stone; Just like her nanny had described. Maybe he would come. Or maybe she would die from this retched illness, though now there was no reason for her to be remembered.

  Maybe Alicia would never see the man she’s supposed to call father and her lifeless body would simply be hauled into a grass field and burned by one of the head maids. Yet tangled in those fears there was a sense of anticipation. There was some small pleasure in the secrets that Alicia has kept to herself all these years, her imprisonment to their obnoxious calling, constantly ringing for her attention, will finally be over.

  “Please let me out!” Crept in the quiet darkness of the cellar disconnected from the main so no one could hear her scream, still Alicia can be heard begging for her life. The maids started to gather outside the door in snickering whispers, leaving behind a dignified women standing behind as they all bow to her in respect before leaving.

  The shadowy figure stood by the entrance slowly turn around and said with sharpness. “You may come out when you learn to behave like a proper lady.”

  “I only went outside to find something to eat, nothing more, I swear.”

  “Breaking the nightly protocol, do you take me for a fool Alicia?” The woman left the door and came closer, carrying the lantern in her wrinkly hand as she held it closer to that frightening face, spreading a sinister smile. “You’re planning to go frolicking around with a man, aren’t you? Don’t you know that’s a serious crime for an unmarried woman like yourself?” She clicked her tongue in disapproval.

  Alicia violently shook her head, “I wasn’t!” She yelled.

  “But what if I said that you were? I can say anything, make up any obscure scenarios and anyone would believe me. I can even frame you for murder if I want to! Because I own this land, it’s mine, not yours!” Her sentence trails off without any patience.

  Alicia's hands shook violently, her fingers went numb and she felt a surge of coldness engulfing every part of her being. The lingering bitterness soaked her mouth as it felt like the sharpening edge of a knife had sliced her throat open.

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  Clara scoffed under her breath, “Why you’re still holding onto this life is beyond me. You have no one to care for you, just like your mother, you’re stubborn and foolish,” she walked around the cellar, using a bucket fill with water and pour it onto the dirt ground. Gasoline smell flooded the old cellar, wet soil grounds clumped together, it became cold and uneven to stand on with her barefoot as Alicia continued to struggle; The woman threw away the bucket and continued in an uneven tone, “I never thought of her as a sister in law. Not now, not ever. do you know why Alicia?” She smiled rummaging through her pockets and taking out a matchbox.

  Such a degrading voice pierced her ears but Alicia decided to lay low. “Why?” She asked.

  “Since you’ve never met her, I’ll let you in on who she is, the woman with an awful carefreeness that you happen to inherited was the greatest misfortune to the Grayan, I was happy she died after giving birth to you. Tho I must say, Elanna was quite beautiful and elegant enough to seduce Victor. But everything from her body to that face, so amazingly gorgeous I want to slice that head right off,” she sneered in disgust.

  Alicia's hands shook violently, and in a shaking tone she grunted, “You’re a monster!”

  “What you need to understand is that my brother should have never married a wretched woman like her. The real monster is not me dear, it’s the one who killed her, I only gave you a helping hand.”

  “I’ll tell father everything.”

  “Oh my, Alicia,” she gently grazed the matches in hand. “But do you think you can live that long enough to see him?”

  “I will, I will live so people like you can be brought to justice.”

  “Justice?” Aunt Clara broke into a laugh, looking at her nephew in disbelief, her smile turned twisted as she took a single match and struck it, friction igniting the match head to convert to white phosphorus lit up the room. Under that faint silence, Alicia's breathing became louder, her hands gripped tightly onto the nightgown and like that, she saw Clara drop the tiny light onto the floor; igniting a chain of dark smoke rapidly expanding throughout the room. Alicia curled herself against the stone wall, feeling as though the sky was crumbling beneath her feet when she heard the door to the cellar creak open.

  Raising her head ever so slightly, in shaking teary eyes, Alicia said loudly, not caring she was suffocating in the smoke. “I’ll see you in hell Clara.”

  But the shadow pretended not to hear her and took off, not forgetting to lock the cellar door tightly shut. There was no way in or out, all she could do was wait for the flame to engulf her sickly body. While Alicia's eyes began to close, she sometimes felt a lot of anger at how little weight she had in this world, how little Alicia had to keep her from being caught up in the wind and scattered like dust swept on the stoop as she became weaker. She couldn’t blame her father’s absence, or even some ancestor on her shadowy family’s tree. For years, Alicia only blamed herself, willing to be cast away inside that tower for eternity. But when the voices suddenly returned to bring her back through the depth of hopelessness.

  “Wake up!” It echoes.

  Her eyes shot open, breathing dominates her tight chest as Alicia already sees the fire has burned off everything as it reaches her. She could feel the pain, a sharp stinging sensation to a dull throbbing ache, repeatedly taking hold of her mind. As Alicia screamed in agony, she couldn’t do much but accept her faith when she felt the skin start melting itself slowly away. Outside smoke reaches the entire outdoors of the cellar, and no one cares to stay and watch as tiny drops of rain reach the ground bringing back the peacefulness of Duke Grayan's estate.