- Emmalina's Point of View -

"Get in there and stay in there!" The tall man shouted at me, throwing me back into the bulwarks of the ship.

When they threw me in there previously the man had forgotten to fasten the bolt all the way, so I simply snuck out and tried jump overboard. I wasn't sure how far I'd be able to swim, but I was convinced that I had seen one of our ships in the fog.

Now all that was down the drain and I picked myself off the floor, flipping my hair out of my face. It had come out when I was struggling to get away, but now I didn't feel like putting it back up. Any physical exertion seemed like torture at the moment. I crawled over to the closest crate I could find and peered into the darkness of the room. I couldn't see one single thing.

I suppose I'll get accustomed to the dark, I thought. And I was right. It didn't take long before I started to see dark silhouettes of crates and random fishing equipment.

I felt all alone, in the dark, without a single person to talk to. I'd even talk to a parrot if it came to it, but I didn't even have a parrot. I don't know why I felt like talking so much. I felt as though I just wanted to pour everything out. I didn't want to be alone. But I was.

I gathered my knees in my arms and hung my head, the room suddenly going silent. All I could hear was the soft lapping sound of the water against the edges of the ship

Pull yourself together Emmalina! I scolded myself, realizing that I had almost come to tears. It'll do you no good to just sit around and cry. I looked around for a bit and after a couple laps my gaze landed on an old oil lamp.

"Perfect!" I said out loud, running over to it.

"Now all I need is a flint and steel."

And of course, where there is a lantern there is usually a way of lighting one...I was right. In the crate under it was a perfectly good flint and steel. It took a couple strokes to get the sparks into the oil, but as soon as I did the flames leapt up, giving me instant light. I lowered the shade on it and then stood up, taking the lantern with me.

The ceiling was very low and my head almost touched the rafters. There were piles and piles of crates everywhere, several fishing nets, fishing poles, and spare sails.

"I guess they like fishing," I said out loud, fingering a very well made net.

It felt like a maze as I walked through the room, the walls of boxes towering above me. I had to watch my feet and be careful not to step on any fishing hooks or get caught in any nets.

Suddenly I heard a very soft sob, so soft that I had to wait a minute to hear it again. I walked further down the room and when I turned the corner my lantern lit on a small girl, huddled in the corner, trying to hide from the light. She had flaming red curls and was wearing a light brown tattered dress with a darker apron.

I walked over to her slowly and put the lantern on the ground, placing my hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you," I told her in the softest voice I could manage.

She looked up at me with giant blue eyes that were filled with tears, making tracks in her dirt stained face. She brushed a red curl out of her eyes and wiped her face. She couldn't have been older then 5 or 6. Heck, she was young enough to be my daughter.

I gave her the friendliest smile I could muster and she tried a frail attempt at smiling back.

"Who...Who a-are y-y-you?" She asked me with a very quiet and frail voice.

To tell you the truth, everything about her was frail.

"I'm Emmalina, but most people just call me Emma...What's your name?"

"K-Katrina." She said her name with a distinct accent (Irish) and a thought suddenly struck me.

She must be incredibly far from home, and so far from home would mean that she's probably been in this place for months.

I guess the horror shown on my face because she immediately curled back up again. I mentally face-palmed myself and smiled at her again.

"How old are you?" I asked her, trying to keep her talking.

She probably hadn't said a word for a very long time.

"6."

Oh for the life of the world! I thought. Why on earth would anyone be so cruel as to kidnap a 6 year old girl? What could she possibly do?

"Katrina, how...How long have you been down here?" I asked timidly.

I didn't want to bring back unpleasant memories, but I needed to know. For both our sakes.

She shrugged her shoulders, which can only mean it's been so long she's lost track.

"They feed you, right?"

"Yes...But only once a day," she told me.

A cold shiver went down my spine as I thought what that would do to a person. Especially for a girl who was still growing. She must be starving!

"Why are you here?" She asked me, looking over my shoulder.

"And where's your friend?"

"What friend?"

"Your friend," she repeated.

"I heard you talking to someone."

Considering the situation we were in, I probably shouldn't have laughed, but I couldn't help it. She looked at me curiously and quickly covered it up by coughing.

"Yes, well, uh...You see, I don't exactly have someone with me. I do have my imagination, and I tend to talk to it a lot."

Like a bolt of lighting she suddenly realized what I meant and she giggled a little herself. Even though I had only known her for about 2 minutes, it was nice to see her smile.

"But for your first question, I'm not really sure why I'm here...I got kidnapped to."

Her face went solemn again and I wished that I hadn't of brought the subject up so quickly.

"I hate to ask you this, but how did you get here?"

"They came to our town to trade, but they didn't get as much as they had hoped for and I they didn't want to go home empty handed. So they kidnapped me and my older brothers best friend. I don't know where he is...I suppose he's on some other part of the ship."

She seemed so forlorn and I longed to do something about it, but what was there to do?

"Do you know where they're taking us?"

She nodded.

"Tarabinthia. They're going to sell us to the highest bidder," she said bitterly.

"Separately?"

She nodded once more.

I couldn't imagine such a thing. A 6 year old girl getting sold, all alone. Then I made up my mind.

"Katrina, whatever happens, you're staying with me."

- Hey everyone! What do you think of the chapter? For some reason I really enjoyed writing this one. Maybe it's because I like to introduce new characters. I da'no. Anyway, votes and comments are appreciated, as always. Thanks :D - Anna