She had to be brave. For her father fighting in the Inquisition, for her mother who had gone missing, and more importantly for herself; because she was alone and afraid of all the things that had been placed on her shoulders. At least she had some sort of solace of where her father was—often, other Inquisition soldiers stopped by and demanded supplies on the behalf of her father, saying that their family owed it to them. Their small house was in the middle of a French forest, which now was their territory. The only reason that had been spared from any sort of violence was because of her father's position and that they could provide the soldiers with anything they wanted at any given time, but that was changing and rapidly. When her mother was around, it wasn't as scary when the towering soldiers burst through the door, but now her mother was gone. She disappeared one dark night a week ago today, and now the young girl was stuck doing all the chores that her mother did for the soldiers, even if she had never been taught how to do it.

Denice had to learn all on her own, which brought constant stress. She could not bring herself to eat, so she slipped the soldiers a bit extra. It still wasn't enough, however.

Quickly, the girl checked the house for the supplies she needed that day. For a while now, she believed that she was running low on a bit of everything: all the alcohol, vegetables... they had not been able to restock for a while. She did not know how the soldiers would react. Would they be mad? Or even worse? She grabbed what she thought would be worth it from her shelves and stuck them into a crate. It was a lot for a fifteen-year-old to do, but she knew that her mother would want her to continue helping her father. Her mother wanted to help her English husband, even if it meant neglecting her own daughter, who did not have much already. Nobody liked the girl with both French and English blood in them, which meant she did not have many friends due to her parent's choices. When the soldiers came the first time, demanding that her mother provide food from the garden: the woman did not even hesitate.

"It's not even enough for Winter," Denice sighed as she wrapped the last of the vegetables in a cloth and placed them in the crate. It was a big decision, but the last of the food either went into her pot for tonight's dinner or in the crate.

Another thought ran through the girl's mind. Maybe her mother was just out to buy more food from the village? It was a day or two journey there and back. She just thought that her mother would tell her before she did such a thing. Everything was unclear for her.

Denice wanted to go check the garden for the possibilities that there were a few crops still coming in from the recent harvest, but she doubted it. Plus, the other day shortly after her mother had disappeared, she had heard weird noises and believed it to be some sort of animal. Maybe some sort of predator that Denice did not have the courage to go out and face. However, the past few nights had been calm... she could go out and check if she really wanted, but she would be the busiest.

Placing the last turnip in the crate delicately she released a long sigh before sitting down at the dining table. This was probably how her mother felt... constantly tired and worn out. Thinking about it, Denice did not think she ever saw her mother sit down or rest, even at bedtime: before and after they began to help the soldiers.

A knock came to the door. Denice froze. Was it the inquisition? They must be there for the supplies...

Sucking in her breath, she stood and smoothed out her dirty dress. She would probably look like some sort of poor heathen to the man. She did not have enough water for a bath. Just enough to drink off of. Taking a quick glance around the one-room home of hers, she rushed to the door and answered it. Yet, it was not who the teen expected to see at the door.

It was another young woman. A teen around her age with brown locks tied together by a dirty pink ribbon that twirled down into a long braid. She donned leather, but what on earth was she? 

"Please, let us in! It's dark outside," she spoke and basically jumped at Denice, leaving Denice to glance over at the night sky glittered with the prettiest stars. Two other figures came out of the dark of the house who also looked of her age. There was a male and female with red hair that poked out from underneath thief-like hoods. Denice was suddenly worried about her own safety. Despite being young, they appeared like the bunch her mother warned her to avoid... Was she about to be robbed?

"Wha—Wait, no. I can't let you in," she said and tried to step away from the girl, placing her hands on the door to close it. Her heart was racing.

"No, please," the brunette begged, placing her foot between the door and the frame to stop her. She thrust it open and came close to Denice's face. "It's between life and death. We promise not to be a bother for you and your family—"

The female redhead pushed the brunette aside and glared at Denice. "The rats are after us, so let us in right now." The rats? Were they insane? That was their excuse. "We're coming in." She pushed the door open more, forcing the troubled teen to step backward, letting it happen. Denice stepped away from the door as the male closed it, and backed away until her behind touched the table.

"Fine then. But don't make a mess..."

The redheaded girl looked around with eyes that Denice did not trust. "Not much around to make a mess with."

"Nevermind that." Denice shook her head and looked to the brunette. She looked different from the others; the clothing set her apart and made her look more like a traveler rather than a thief like the other two. "Wh...Who are you?" she asked, her voice cracking as she attempted to not make herself sound weak and vulnerable. The brunette smiled—a genuine smile that Denice did not expect to see. 

"My name is Amicia, and these are my friends: Mélie and Arthur. You just saved our lives..." She stepped forward, not noticing how Denice stepped back, not wanting her personal space to be invaded. Amicia took her shoulders, then met eye level. "We need to keep these lights on."

"Why? What's going on?"

"The rats. They won't come near us if we keep the lights on."

Again, there were the rats. What the hell were they and why were they so important? Denice furrowed her brows. Have they gone mad? "I don't know what you're talking about. What rats? Rats are everywhere, even under my be—"

Amicia shook her head, making dramatic gestures with her hands before throwing them on Denice's shoulders. "Not any ordinary rats."

"Yeah, they'll eat you alive." Mélie was crossing her arms when Denice looked to her with a mix of a confused and scared expression. "Where have you been this entire time?"

"I hardly leave the house—"

"Why?"

Denice thought for a moment. These people really did not know who she was. It felt... weird, but a nice feeling knowing that they weren't giving her the normal repulsed expression she was so used to. Shaking her head, she looked to the ground. "Mother was just not keen on it, so I obeyed her."

"Is your mother here?" Amicia asked, taking a look around the small house as though she had never seen one before. "May we speak to her about staying the night?"

"Yeah, then it'll be just like a sleepover," Mélie said sarcastically.

Arthur elbowed her side. "Not now, Mélie."

"I... Mother is not here right now. She left a few days ago. It's just me."

Amicia looked to her pleadingly, seeing her as their only hope now. "Please, then you must let us stay here for the night."

"I don't know about that." Denice was about to nod her head but hesitated as she thought of her responsibility of the night. She could tell that the others were French. The Inquisition army would not be happy and would think of her as a traitor. The last thing she needed was a sword across her throat. Amicia grimaced, half-expecting for the woman to deny her according to how long they were waiting to hear back from the girl. Denice placed her hands on the girl's forearms almost as if to prepare her for what she was about to say. "I... I would love to, but I have to do something for my mother tonight. She will have business partners over, and I do not think she would want others to be here during the trade."

Mélie was having none of this.

Had it been a calmer situation, maybe she would have reacted differently. If her brother and her friend had not been involved, then she would have taken the news differently.

She stepped forward, basically ready to fight Denice. "I don't give a fucking damn. You're going to let us stay. I'm not repeating myself, but this is a life and death situation and so help me, if someone I love dies because of you, I will fucking burn you."

Denice was taken back, her skin going pale.

"Sister, maybe you could have... Not said it like that." Arthur kept Mélie back, knowing her hot-headed temper matched her hair color.

"Okay..." Denice nodded her head, afraid to say no beyond this point. Amicia smiled, and Arthur nodded his head gratefully... Mélie remained unphased. "But you must hide and be quiet when I say so. Hide under the beds when you hear a knock on the door. Understand?"

The three nodded, Amicia placing a hand over her heart. "Thank you so much. We promise to be good."

"Good enough," Mélie said and once again, began to observe the place suspiciously. Denice almost did not want to take her eyes off of her. Despite the mini blow-up, she was sure the girl was different than the way she was acting. Then again, she did not know. She did not know any of these teens. She turned away from them.

"I have to get things ready, but please make yourself at home."

Amicia allowed her shoulders to drop since such a big stress was lifted off her chest, allowing her to breathe. They would have a home for the night, and that was all she cared for. She would live until tomorrow to see her brother once again. "Thank you," she nodded her head at Denice and took Mélie's and Arthur's arms, leading them away from Denice's ear.

"Mélie," she said, almost scolding-like, "You didn't have to be so harsh."

Mélie shook her head. She would not apologize for her behavior. "She made me mad, Amicia."

"I know, but we have to respect her. This is her house."

Mélie looked at her brother's face.

Arthur nodded. "Amicia is right."

Mélie groaned and turned, sitting on the bed. It wasn't comfortable but at least it was not the bed cloth she was used to sleeping on the past few weeks. "Well, she doesn't have to act so oblivious. Doesn't she notice the damn rats everywhere?"

Amicia shrugged. "I don't know." She looked up and observed the young woman and wondered to herself the same thing. She looked stressed enough that she probably did not notice, or it was true that she hardly left the house though it seemed odd that she would not. "She looks so young, almost our age. I wonder where her parents are."

Mélie waved her hand sarcastically. "Maybe you should go ask her."

Amicia opened her mouth but it was interrupted when there was a knock at the door, sounding more desperate and harsh than they had been a couple of minutes ago. Bang. Bang. Bang. Her eyes switched to Denice and she could see the fear trembling down her body. Denice motioned for them to get under the bed and rushed to the table, taking the crate on it. While the three scrambled to hide underneath the bed, Denice struggled to lift the crate without wobbling off to the sides. Another aggressive knock came to the door.

"Open the damn door!"

"Who is that?" Amicia whispered to her friends. The trio were squished together, Arthur and Mélie basically on top of Amicia so they could fit.

"Come in!" Denice answered, feeling pressure build up in her nerves.

The door slammed open, revealing the expected Inquisition soldier: his sword shined red almost menacingly against the fiery lantern he held in his other hand. The harshness of the door slamming against the wall nearly knocked the crate of food out of her arms; she flinched and stepped back enough that the soldier had to come close to tower over her. She smelled his horrid breath and hunched back to get away from it as though it were some poison.

Amicia nearly gasped, Mélie covering her mouth as she leaned against her protectively. "Don't say a word, Amicia."

"Here... I... I have the food," Denice allowed her knees to wobble and knock against each other in fear. The soldier looked down at her, and she could tell already that he was not happy with her. He stepped forward, a hand raising, and she already knew what would happen to her. "No, please—" she begged. Her body wanted to collapse right then and there, even before the punishment she knew that he would give her for failing both him and the Inquisition.

"Where is the rest of it?" he demanded. His eyes darted over to the caldron then back to her, "Oh, are you stealin' from us?"

"N-No..." She shook her head and fast, "Please, sir, but we have to eat too. The food is ours."

Bad choice of wording. He stepped over, hovering and pushing her body closer and closer to the table, smashing her between it and the crate she held. "It's ours!" he snapped, "We claimed it all, and you know it. You were fucking there when your mother handed it all over to us."

"But we need to eat too—"

"After you give us all the supplies." He turned away and approached the pot of stew she would have hoped to eat that night. He took a spoon and sipped at it. For a moment, she could not read his emotions. He looked at her. "We are taking this as compensation for your mother's failure. Where is your mother? We want to speak to her."

By then, a couple more soldiers began to barrel into the room, and it was as though she had forgotten everything about herself: forgetting where her mother was, and the other people in the house currently in hiding.

"She's going to get us killed," Mélie mumbled, watching the scene. Amicia could feel the other girl's heartbeat even if the twin tried to stay calm.

"Be calm, Mélie," she reassured her.

"And quiet," Arthur added.

Denice came to her senses. "Mother... She has been missing for a week now," she admitted to the soldiers. She wanted to lower her head, to avoid any eye contact with them, but their fury kept her grounded into their stare.

"Then you and your family are no longer of use to us. Help me take this pot and dispose of her," he ordered the other two soldiers and immediately they listened. One marched over and helped the man lift the pot of food out of the door. The third eyeballed her up and down.

"We are going to have some fun."

"No, please—"

Before she could finish, the soldier slapped her, twisting her body around. She dropped the crate and fell to the ground, breaking and scattering the foods all over the ground. Her body was limp as he leaned down next to her and grabbed her hair, pulling it out of her bun as he yanked it up. "You think you will scam us? Then, you're terribly mistaken, my whore. We had a deal, and you broke it. Now you will pay the consequences."

Just barely awake, she begged with tears stinging her eyes worse than the mark across her cheek. "Please... I tried."

Lifting her head, he slammed her back down to the ground, knocking her out while busting her nose open and possibly breaking it. She went still, her limbs hitting the ground.

Amicia watched in horror, unable to take her eyes off the girl. What a horrible scene they were witnessing, and unable to defend in risk of getting caught. The girl who had kindly had let them in must have been forced by the Inquisition to provide for them (and what was an agreement made by her mother), and now that they were not getting what they wanted...She did not know what to do. What could they even do?

"How could they do such a cruel thing to an innocent girl..." she whispered.

Mélie looked at her. "Are you serious? They've been chasing us... They'll do anything to get what they want, Amicia..."

"You're right..." she watched, even more terrified as the soldier groaned. He kicked the girl's body before picking her up, slinging her over his shoulder. "Wait, where is he taking her?"

"Shh, Amicia..."

But Amicia didn't like the sight. It didn't settle in her stomach well.

"But we have to do something."

"We don't have to do anything."

The soldier lifted the girl, grabbing one of the turnips as he did so. He took a large chunk out of it with his teeth but immediately gagged. "Ugh, they taste like shit... I bet you won't when the rats get ahold of you and tear you limb from limb. They'll like your meat well," he commented with a demented laugh, knowing she would not hear, before stepping out of the house.

Not long after, Amicia was already slipping out from under the bed; Mélie cursed and tried to pull her back under by her undershirt. It wasn't exactly safe to come out at the moment. They didn't know if there were any more soldiers... But Amicia was persistent and escaped the other female's grip, nestling herself right at the edge of the door to look out of it. Mélie resisted the urge to slam her fist down on the ground in risk of making more noise. Sometimes she wondered if Amicia cared for others too much. She clambered her way out, untangling herself from her brother before she ran to the middle of the room toward her friend.

"Shit...! Amicia, get back here before we get caught. They'll be back for the food any minute now."

"If you two don't get back under the bed, then we're going to be their dinner," Arthur said, angry but a lot calmer sounding than his sister. He stuck his head out and watched the other two. What in the world was running through their head?

"But we have to do something," Amicia says, "She's innocent, an—"

Mélie stormed forward, grabbing Amicia's hand to pull her back.

"She was feeding the damn Inquisition, how good could she be?"

Amicia pulled her hand back and used it to lean against the door frame. Only half of her was listening to the other as another and even bigger half of her was both watching and listening for any incoming soldiers.

"For all we know, she was forced to. The man didn't exactly seem welcoming." Amicia poked her head out the side of the door, just barely to check. She didn't see where the soldier had gone, but she saw that the rats outside had moved to a different spot, probably forced to since the soldier had a lantern.

"Well, if we're going to help, we better make it quick." Arthur came out from under the bed, still crouched so no one would see his head from out the window. "Amicia, do you see anything that could help us evade the rats?" While she looked, he searched around the house for stuff he could use to aid in their escape. Time was clicking as all three of them knew that the soldiers would be back soon... Right now, they were probably savoring that stew that had been stolen.

Amicia observed, squinting her eyes to do so. Mélie almost couldn't believe the two but didn't hesitate to help Amicia once her brother decided he would help. She pointed out an unlit torch tossed to the side underneath a cart not that far outside the house. Amicia perked up, gracious at the girl's eagle vision. She slipped outside, keeping her eyes open before she laid down on her stomach, reaching under the cart. She gasped, pulling her hand back when she saw multiple rats hiding out under the car and felt their fur brush against her fingers. She pulled them back before they could bite her and wiped them against her shirt. With the light right outside, they were tucked away but didn't hesitate to lunge at the flesh that stuck its hand under the cart.

Luckily, the girl was able to pull her hand out just in time and allowed her heart to calm down. She turned her head to Mélie in the door frame. "I have to move the cart to get it. There are rats under here."

"Be careful, it might make some noise. It would be best if one of us did it."

Amicia knew but nodded anyway. She looked everywhere that she could and stood up, carefully placing her hands on the cart, not trying to make any wrong moves. She hoped that it wouldn't be too old and creaky. She took a few cautious steps backward, testing the theory.

Luckily it was. The cart moved freely and immediately without too much fussing, the rats followed before they could be caught under the light. Amicia shuddered and maneuvered around the cart, grabbing the torch before she nearly ran back into Mélie's arms. The redhead caught her with a smile. "Nice job," she said before she moved for her to come back inside.

"I have the torch, Arthur."

"Good. Let's see if it still lights." He took it from Amicia's hand and moved to the fireplace, sticking it under for a couple of seconds, and like a miracle was on their side, the end of it lit up. The three of them smiled at the sight of protective fire gleaming in their eyes. The warmth always felt welcoming during a cold and dangerous night.

"Are we sure we want to do this?" Mélie asked, a bit unsure of the decision they were about to make. Amicia nodded, so she had to agree. "Alrighty, then."

There were voices outside. Arthur took the lead, silent as he walked. "Then we must go, and we must go quiet," he whispered and rushed out the door, the girls following shortly and not that far behind. It didn't take long for the soldiers to crowd the doorway once they were out, not on their trail luckily. Amicia looked back at them once before Mélie pulled her arm, tugging her along.

Tracking footsteps in the mud, he followed the steps carefully. He didn't dare look back once, knowing that the girls would be close by and would know what to do if they saw the soldiers. They reached a place that looked like an abandoned garden with vines growing off the fences not too far off from the house. "This is where the tracks lead us," Arthur whispered, stopping next to an entrance before he pressed against the fence. The two followed accordingly, Amicia behind Arthur and then Mélie behind her.

"Can you see anything?" Amicia whispered.

Arthur leaned over and peered into the entrance. He scanned the area: there were rats, and a bit of their nest forming along the edges of the fences... but he also saw more. There was a body that looked strapped of any flesh. It looked both fresh and old at the same time. There was not much flesh on the bones, giving it a skeleton look while also being covered in blood. Maybe it had been there for a few days. There were rats pouring in. Whatever crops that had been growing there were long gone, leaving it as a ghost town almost. His eyes followed what light he saw in the distance, but whatever it was coming from was hidden by long grass. "We have to get closer, but there are more rats. Follow me and keep up," he said and walked, making sure to push the fire out so that the rats would stay away. Amicia and Meie stayed close, Mélie to her brother's right and Amicia to his left—she clung to his side and instinctively, he placed his free arm around her. They would stay close together.

Arthur approached the body, seeing the gruesome details up close. Had the girl mentioned her mother had gone missing...? Could this be her? Carefully stepping over her, he continued on without a word to the girls he was holding.

They came closer to the flames and when they were close enough, they stopped to see what it was. This time, Amicia was closer to the front. They saw the soldier and the girl. Amicia couldn't believe her eyes at what she saw the soldier doing. The girl, barely conscious, was tied to a long stick that rose in the air with her face all bloodied and a little butchered up—probably beaten multiple times by the man. He was laughing at her, taunting almost.

"Your poor mum's dead, and you will be too," he teased and reached up. Lifting the torch up, he set the top of it on fire. Quickly, it began to burn down. "This will teach you a forever lesson: don't fuck with the Inquisition. Hopefully, the flames will reach you before the rats do," he said to her before walking off—he did not even care enough to watch her burn. The fire was his flaming confidence, and he walked it out of the garden without regret that he had done such a thing to the girl.