Broken

Lorelei didn't want to make a new friend.

She didn't care that high society expected it of her, or even that her parents had agreed to the whole thing. She was only nine years old, for Spirit's sake! The nobles already wanted her to speak weird. She wasn't going to let them start choosing who she could be friends with!

She definitely didn't want to be at a stranger's home while they did it!

"I know, my lady." Sabine, her nanny, was trying to reassure her. "It is only for a few hours. If you do not like her, you can tell your parents. I'm sure they would understand."

Lorelei wished Sabine was her mother. With her long, flowing chestnut hair, the nanny had been serving her all her life. Sabine was an older woman, much older than her parents. That didn't stop her hazel eyes from showing warmth and love every time she looked at Lorelei. Even better was that every time Sabine showed that warmth, her lips would curve into a pretty smile, one that said she was proud of Lorelei.

One that didn't think she was a bad girl.

"But Saby!" Lorelei whined, using the nickname for her favorite person in the whole wide world. "I don't need more friends! I already have Jason!"

"And Lord Jason is a lovely boy," Saby agreed. "But it wouldn't hurt to open your circle a bit, would it?"

"My circle is super big now!" Lorelei said, pulling on her favorite pink ribbon.

Sabine raised an eyebrow, putting a hand on her hip. "And who all is in that circle, my lady?"

Lorelei counted with her fingers. "There's Jason, my brother, and you!"

"That's three people," Saby pointed out. 

Sabine gently took the ribbon from Lorelei. "I know it's not fun, but give it a try, okay? For me?"

"Okie, Saby."

Taking Saby's hand, Lorelei walked into the Fikhan estate's meeting room, where she was to meet the young Lady Sophia Fikhan for their playdate. Apparently, her mom and Sophia's mom got along really well. Lorelei's mom had told her that Sophia was a nice girl, one who would play lots of fun games with her. Though, she had said the same thing about her brothers, and most of them hated her.

When they got into the room, Lorelei immediately saw Sophia. A year older than her, Sophia had her dark hair down against her back. Her pretty blue dress had the most frills Lorelei had ever seen. The thing that caught her eye was Sophia's smile. It looked so big that it made Lorelei's face itchy just looking at it.

"Hi!" Sophia ran up to Lorelei immediately. "I'm Sophia. My mother says that we'll be best friends!"

"Sophia," her mother chided. "Contractions."

"Yes, mommy," Sophia said, twirling one foot against the ground. She then gave her mom an even bigger smile, which just made Lorelei want to leave more.

"Go play, you two," Sophia's mother said, waving them away.

Without warning, Sophia grabbed Lorelei's arm. "Come on! I wanna show you my room!"

With no other choice, Lorelei was led into a big room. The whole place was in black, which was weird to Lorelei. Didn't that make it really dark at night? There were thick curtains around the windows. Wouldn't that make it really dark if someone closed them? Why would anyone want to have a room that could be so scary?

Sophia closed the door behind her, making the place a little scarier. "I don't get why out mothers want us to be friends. You're just a little kid."

"Am not!" Lorelei yelled. "I'm a big girl!"

"Oh, really?" Sophia asked doubtfully. "I thought you were afraid of the dark."

Lorelei frowned. "How did you know that?"

"Everyone knows about it." Sophia laughed. "All my friends know that you're just a big baby. What kind of nine-year-old is still scared of the dark?"

The kind who knows what it's like to be stuck there alone.

"I wanna go back out," Lorelei said.

Sophia blocked her path. "You're funny if you think you can just get out. We still haven't gotten to start our game."

"What game?"

Sophia walked to the curtains, smiling the realest smile Lorelei had ever seen on her. "Find the Light." She closed the curtains.

It was dark. It was so dark that Lorelei was afraid that she'd never see the light again. Lorelei was right. Making friends was a really bad thing, especially if other friends made her world dark like this.

"Sophia?" Lorelei called. "This isn't funny. I wanna leave!"

"Oh, come on!" Sophia's voice called. "I thought you'd be entertaining, at least. Maybe try to be brave."

"I am brave!"

"Oh, yeah?" Sophia taunted. "Prove it!"

Lorelei tried really hard to be brave. She tried to stop panicking, taking a lot of steps towards where she thought the door was. When she reached out for the door, she reached too far, falling down. She felt something cut her hands. Suddenly, Lorelei felt like the whole room was about to get her. She cried loudly as it got closer and closer, just like it had that day.

"My lady!" Saby's voice surprised Lorelei. "Are you alright?"

Opening her eyes, Lorelei ran into Saby's arms, crying against her chest. "It was too dark, Saby! She made it too dark!"

"Lady Sophia," Sabine said calmly, running her hand through Lorelei's hair. "My lady is quite afraid of the dark. I was told that you knew of this."

"I didn't know. I'm sorry, Lorelei," Sophia said, looking very sorry.

But she wasn't sorry, and Lorelei wasn't going to let her lie like that! "No, you're not! You did it on purpose!"

"I am sure this is all a misunderstanding," Saby said, rising to stand.

"What's that?" Sophia asked, pointing to Sabine's right hand.

Saby looked at the orange pouch. "Ah, yes. These are seeds."

Sophia went closer. "What kind of seeds?"

"They are seeds of the Atriblanc flower," Saby said, smiling kindly at both of them.

"What's an Atriblanc?" Lorelei's tears were now forgotten, her attention held by the weir pouch.

"It is similar to the Belladonna plant," Sabine replied, now in full teaching mode. "Like its non-spiritual counterpart, it is very dangerous, so you should stay away from it."

"Why do you have it?" Lorelei asked.

"I have been tasked with delivering it to someone," Sabine said.

"I want it!" Sophia said suddenly.

Sabine turned to her with a gentle smile. "I am sorry, my lady, but this is not for you. It is far too dangerous for a child."

She turned to Lorelei. "Will you be alright if I go deliver this?"

Lorelei nodded. "I'll be okay, Saby."

Nodding, Sabine walked out, pretty pouch in hand. Lorelei was so focused on Sabine that she didn't see Sophia run past her. Sabine got only a little bit into the hallway before Sophia caught up with her, snatching the pouch from her.

"My lady," Sabine pleaded. "This is no time for games. I need that back, please."

"No," Sophia said. "It looks fun, so it's mine, now. I bet it'll be way more entertaining than Lorelei was, anyway."

Sabine tried to grab the pouch, but Sophia pushed her away. Lorelei watched from Sophia's room as Sabine stumbled back, her hand using the guard handles to catch herself. Lorelei looked down, eyes widening as she saw how far it was from where they were to the floor below.

"Stop it, Sophia!" Lorelei yelled, running over to her.

She tried to grab the pouch. Sophia shoved Lorelei to the ground. Lorelei landed on her butt. Her arms hurt, probably because of how hard Sophia had pushed her.

"My lady!" Sabine cried.

She turned to Sophia. "It is one thing to mess with me, but you are never to harm my little Lorelei!"

Sabine closed the distance on Sophia, grabbing the pouch firmly with both hands. She and Sophia pulled on it for a little, both of them unwilling to let it go. Suddenly, Sophia started pushing instead of pulling. One second they were in the middle of the hallway, and the next Saby was being pushed against the guard handles. The rails bent against the pressure.

"Saby, wait!" Lorelei yelled, pushing herself up.

She wasn't fast enough.

With a Snap! the guards broke. Surprised by the sudden movement backwards, Sabine let go of the pouch. Lorelei watched as Sabine's eyes met hers. If Lorelei lived forever, she would never forget the fear and surprise on Saby's face.

Thunk!

Lorelei ran down the stairs as fast as she could, Sophia trailing behind her. She froze as she saw her favorite person on the ground, eyes open in shock. She touched Saby's hand, but she didn't move. She looked so wrong, her body turned in a weird way.

She looked broken.

Lorelei whirled on Sophia, tears in her eyes. "You killed my Saby! Why did you kill my Saby?"

"Oh, please," Sophia said, rolling her eyes. "She's just a maid. Besides, she was attacking the seeds. I was protecting them! If anything, I'm the hero!"

Suddenly, both of their parents came running, having heard the commotion from their meeting. Lorelei's mom looked at her. Lorelei ran to her arms, crying harder than she ever had before.

"She killed Saby, mommy," Lorelei wailed. "Sophia killed Saby."

"Lorelei!" Lorelei's mother said. "We do not say things like that. I am sure Sophia would not do something like that. She is a child, for goodness sake."

"But she really did, mommy," Lorelei insisted. "I saw it!"

She started leading Lorelei away. "You have just had a long day, is all. Let us go home."

Lorelei didn't remember the rest of that day. All she knew was that her Saby was gone. Now, she would never get to hear Sabine sing to her. She would never get to tell Saby she loved her again. She wished that she had never met Sophia. If Lorelei lived forever and ever, she would never forgive Sophia for taking her Saby away.