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bandgie · 1 year ago

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Lost & Found

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

a/n: hey guys! so this is the second part of Predator & Prey. you don't have to read that first, but it defo will help with references and what not lmao. to be clear, this is not a chapter of the predator and prey series, this what happens after the series.

synopsis: You hated the little town you lived in, you hated your job, hated how everyone knew everyone, you hated how your mother didn't care about how much you hated it. You needed to do something, to get out of this repetitive life. You've decided to apply to be a maid in the castle for the Viscount and his family. With this new life, you hope to change your pace. Yet, one of the sons can't help but give you an eerie sense of familiarity.

cw: reader is mischievous/a little mean, mentions of insecurity, toxic family/people, running away, I dunno that's it

3.1k words

She grabbed you roughly by the arm, literally throwing you out of the little shop. You landed on your knees, the cold snow burning your skin. You heard her take steps towards you and before you could turn, she kicked you right on the ass. You yelped.

"You're fired! I don't want to see your pathetic face again. Ya hear me?!" Your boss screamed as you struggled to your feet. She was a big lady, tall and thick with curves. A well-sign that she was fed well, paid well enough to afford food. Despite that, she still paid you so little. Measly coins of copper when you knew you deserved more.

When you confronted her about it, she shot you down. She got so defensive that you knew she was lying to you. So you did the only reasonable thing you could think of, steal her food and throw it to the cattle. She did not take it well, of course, and when she asked you about it you confessed rather easily. 'It was me. I did you a favor really, you were starting to get bigger than the cows.'

You had managed to stand on your feet, ignoring the pain in your legs. "I don't need this shit job anyway," you try not to shout. "I could have been making 3 times as much scooping up the dung from the animals." You could tell she wanted to slap you, but there were too many eyes on you both. It wasn't easy living in a small village, everyone was too nosy for their own good.

"Take your things, and go." She had her arms folded onto other chest. You roll your eyes, not bothering to go inside the shop and see if you did have any belongings. Even if you did, you kept it on you at all times. You had a feather necklace, one you kept in your pocket when it wasn't around your neck. For good measure, you flipped off your ex-boss and made your way to your house.

The walk home should have been shameful. All eyes were on you, whispers as you walked by, looks of pity and disgust from the people. You wanted to scream, you wanted to beat all of them to the ground for not minding their business. It's going to be very hard to find another job now, you couldn't help but think.

Once you got to you little cottage, you were bombarded with children running around. Your mother ran a small daycare inside the home, an easy way to make money. You stopped yourself from swearing at the kids as they stepped on your feet. With a groan, you pushed through them, ignoring how some cried and yelled at you. Your mom was not far, coming out of the cooking area to greet you.

"How was it today?" She asks. You debate on lying or telling her the truth, but you're too frustrated to have it in you to lie. "I was terminated. Good riddance." Your mom gasps at the news, hands covering her mouth. "You lie! Please tell me that you lie," her voice was desperate. "No," you speak firmly. "She was hogging all of the money, I was getting mere scraps."

Your mom huffs, hands on her hips. "That is no matter. You still needed a job that paid. How else do you think we put food on the table." She gestured to the 10 children that loudly scream and play. "You cannot expect me to be able to afford food when I can't even afford bones of an animal," irritated laced with your words. With an eye roll, your mom makes her way to the children, calling them for lunch.

You watch as the children slowly quiet down, walking to the dinner table. They're so young, so free, so careless. You envy them. Oh, how you would give up your adulthood for your youth, unknowing of the ruthless world. Your mother calls for you to help, but you're so lost in thought. Is it the world that's cruel? Or is is this village? This place with so many people up your ass that you can't breathe?

"Mom," you start. "Let's move." Your demand has your mom giving you a questioning look. "Don't be silly. Come help me serve the children." She disregards you quickly. Still, you keep remained in your place. "I can't stay here. We can't stay here. Let's go elsewhere. To a city so big no one knows our names, we start start fresh. We can be happy," you can hear your voice breaking.

You think that because some of your emotion is breaking thorough, she'll give in. Or at least consider it. Instead, she eyes you weirdly again. "We are happy, my child. You just had a bad day. Come and help me with-"

"No!" You shout before you can think. Your voice has the children quiet their conversations, eyes on you. On you, on you, on you. No one will just stop looking at you, no one will just see you as a person, no one will respect you here. "I hate it here!" Your eyes sting with tears. "I can't stand another second in this place. Everyone knows my name, they know my face, they act like they know me when they don't! I hate how they stare at me. How they look at me with such venom." You gasp for air, tears now fully dripping down your face.\

Pity. It's pity that your mom looks at you with. Not understanding, not love. Pity.

"I understand, my rose. But whose fault is that?" Your breath gets caught in your throat from her words. She really has the audacity to blame you? "You make a ruckus everywhere you go," she presses on. "You think I don't know what they say about you? About me? This village thinks I raised you wrong, when in fact, it's you that's just wrong. Can't you be grateful? You're lucky your mother puts up with these rumors. I should've kicked you out the moment you began causing chaos."

Her face is slightly pink from anger, hands clasping the wooden spoon a little harder than she should. Then, like she didn't just berate you, she serves the children. You stand there stunned. You're not sure how you're feeling; Angry? Sad? Neglected? Ignored? Shocked? Unimportant? You then wipe your tears, infuriated at yourself for wasting them to begin with.

"You don't have to worry about kicking me out. I'll leave," and with that, you take long strides to your bedroom. You grab your wool sack that will barely fit the things you need. It's not as though you had many things to begin with, but it really dawned on you then how little you had. For good measure, you grab your candle and matches, sure they would come in handy for the night. Once done, you reach under your yarn bed for a small pouch full of coins you've managed to save up.

You make your way out of your room, sack over your shoulder with the feathers necklace around your neck. You don't know even know how long you've had it for, but you still could never seem to part with it. It was huge, bigger than your hand. It seemed to blend perfectly with the night. Your mother always begged you to get rid of it, that it was riddled with disease. You wouldn't, maybe you couldn't.

Your mom sighs, seemingly irritated with you, "You're being dramatic." It takes restraint to ignore her words, continuing towards the door. She follows you though, fast feet behind you. "Foolish girl. You think you can survive out there in the winter?" You open the door, biting back the freezing air as you step out.

To your surprise, she's still following you. "My god! Get your bottom back in the house and-" You finally spin around, facing your mother. "No. I will not go back into that god forsaken house, to this god forsaken village. I will leave, and you will not see me again." You don't bother to wait for her reply, instead quickly walking to the path that leads out of the village.

Her footsteps stop, a clear indication that she is no longer behind you. Still, her voice carries in the wind, "Don't expect me to accept you when you come crawling back again!" You shake your head in an attempt to get her voice out of your mind.

Despite having a tear-stained face, you still have your determination. The will to save yourself from this life, the will feel alive.

The cold air around you is enough to have you feeling alive, adrenaline still running high. It's probably how you manage to push forward for hours without so much as a break. The sun in well down, and you were glad you could fit a lantern inside your bag. It may provided little light, but you could feel the heat radiating from it.

It's not as though you didn't know where you going, you already had a place in mind. There a big city not too far from where you lived, a place called Capua. It's where many of the noble men lived, even people who worked directly under the king. You may not be able to live there like them, but you could start fresh there. Maybe you'll find yourself a nice old lady to work with, clean her house for easy money.

Gosh, you could practically taste the metallic coins on your tastebuds. Your dream would was only another 2 days away, and you were more than eager to have it. For tonight, however, you find yourself resting in an old shack. You found this place many years ago when you ran away as a young maiden. It was dusty, abandoned, and smelly. Not that it mattered now, for tonight, it was your new home.

Your dreams consisted of your daily lives, though much exaggerated. You could hear them laughing, whispering about you even if there was no one nearby. You tossed in your sleep. It was all too much, you couldn't even escape your pathetic life in sleep. Then, your dream shifted to your future new life. What if they laughed at you there as well? What if your behavior was so bad back at home, that the people of Capua heard of the rumors. No one would hire you. You would still be alone.

The nightmare shifts, and you're suddenly standing in the woods. A man, if you can call it that, stand in front of you. He has horns on his head, eyes black, wings surrounding his frame. He is no human, but he gives you a strange sense of safety. He's saying something, but you can't understand him. Then you notice his bloody hands, his bloody teeth.

You open your mouth the scream, but instead you say, "So, see you later alligator?" Your voice sounds different, almost like you had an unfamiliar accent. The 'man' gives you a puzzled look, "Yes, but I am not an alligator." Pain, your chest heaved with heartbreak as you walk away from him, into a glowing tree.

Wait! You want to scream. Where am I? Who are you? Instead, your dream self watches as the 'man' disappears until he's nothing but a memory. A locked echo you have forgotten in all these lives but this one. You can feel yourself waking up, how his face so easily turns hazy.

The sun peeks through one of the broken windows of the shack, effectively waking you up. Tiredly, you sit up. You look around for a moment, as if forgotten where you were. That dream, you couldn't help but think about it. It was like a distant memory, a place with a person you once knew. It's all garbled know, and you can't really recall the exact details in your wake.

Not that it matters, you have a journey ahead of yourself and you shouldn't waste daylight. A yawn leaves your lips as you stand, bones lightly cracking at the movement. You slip on your shoes, which are slightly damp from the snow. Without your mother noticing before you left, you had managed to sneak away some food. You take a moment to stretch before your walk while you eat.

You groan as you reach for they sky. Your body slightly aches from sleeping oh the floor, but you hope that your long stroll with that the pain away. Once you've finished warming up, you make your way outside. The morning cold nips at you immediately, but it's much more compared to the night.

The sun is over the horizon, still faints of pink from sunrise. There's no time to admire Earth's natural beauty. You have a voyage ahead of yourself.

It's the next day when you make it to the city of Capua. It's already almost sundown, and you need to find an inn quickly. The air is totally different. You can't help but feel like it's actually warmer here. There's so many people on the streets that they bump into each other, not bothering to apologize.

You actually feel a little honored when you yourself get knocked into. "Watch where you're going!" They practically scream at you. Still, there's not an ounce of anger in you when they do. Instead, you beam at them. You ignore how puzzled they look when you do.

You really want to explore the city, but your feet are unbelievably sore from the walking. Your lower back aches from the places you've been sleeping which consisted of the floors of abandoned homes. It was a sacrifice you were willing to make for this moment now.

The inn you find is small, low lit with candles, and cheap. It pretty much costs the entirety of your money pouch, but you need a good nights rest. Your room is small, merely a bed of hay with an even smaller desk.

Smiling, you set your belongings down and rest on the make shift bed. A new start, a life you've been dreaming of awaits you. When morning comes, you will look for a good job with good income. Screw your mom and the people that mocked you, they're the ones still stuck in that shit village.

Your dreams are still weird even here. You though you were having strange dreams because of the cold. In this instance, you're placed in a house so big you think it's a castle. People busy around you at the their tasks. You look down at yourself to see yourself wearing clothes of that of a maid.

The people, who you assume are other servants, talk in hush whispers. 'I hear he is cruel, unwilling to submit to anyone and anything.' 'That's not what I heard,' says another, 'I hear he has an illness, so he can't do normal tasks.' The room grows quiet when the person they were speaking of comes in.

His eyes don't bother looking at them, instead making his way past them. For a second, he meets yours. You stiffen under his gaze, his piercing eyes. A look of recognition passes him. Just as quick as he looked your way, he averts his eyes. 'You both are wrong.' One speaks once he's out of the room. 'He just prefers to be alone. Just likes it when someone keep his bed warm.' The voices snicker around you.

Morning comes quickly, ridding you of the details of your dreams. You have a mission today, and that's to find a job. The clothes you brought are not appealing to the eye, but they will have to do for now. You wear a nude color long sleeve over your white linen. Your skirt is long, almost brushing the ground. You wear stockings underneath and two pairs of sock.

The necklace feather matches your outfit well, and you wear it proudly. You clutch it in your hands, softly praying. Truthfully, you're nervous, scared even. You're in a new place with people and places you don't know. No one is here to help you, but then again, no one was there to help you back home.

Your quickly shown how difficult it is to find a job in a big city. Some people reject you rather harshly, and others don't even give you the time of day. That's fine, you try to convince yourself. It's only the first day, can't expect to have it all.

Now you sit in a tavern next to the fire to keep warm. The sun is still high, so not many people find themselves here. Only a few older men drink away, casually flirting with hostess who's just doing their job. The woman quickly spots you and makes her way to you. Once she's at your table, you wave your hand to dismiss her.

"I don't plan on getting a drink, sorry," you apologize. Instead she shakes her head, "No worries, I was truly trying to get away from those men. Just pretend to order something please." You immediately nod, "Of course. I'm sure working here can be stressful." She laughs, her cheeks turning a light pink. "Wouldn't you like to know? Pry, why come to this place if you don't plan on drinking?"

Her question leaves you a little embarrassed, but you find no harm in telling her the truth. "I came to this city looking for a job. I'm having no luck so far." She makes an open mouth expression in understanding. "Ah many young ladies like yourself do that same. Tell me, can you read?" Once again, you're embarrassed to tell the truth, but you do anyway.

"No. I come from a small village where schooling is scarce." You watch as her lips pinch into a thin line. "Reading is an important skill to have here in Capua, but I think your illiteracy might work in your favor." You eyes spark with hope as she continues speaking. "The Viscount is looking for a maid, only requiring that she doesn't have the ability to read. Does that interest you?"

You jump up from your seat, nodding frantically. "Yes! Oh Lord yes that's perfect!" You look around to notice the nearby older men staring at you. Quietly, you continue, "So where do I apply for the Viscount?" The hostess seems pleased at your reaction with the smile on her face.

"He lives up on the hill in the mansion, you cannot miss it. Though I should warn you, I hear he and his family can be quite unforgiving." She finishes. You shrug, "That is no matter to me. I thank you for your help." With that, you reach for your pocket and hand her there remaining money. It's honestly not even enough to order a round of pints, but she looks at it almost affectionately.

You can hear her telling you that she doesn't want the money, but you're already waving goodbye from the entrance. Your prayers have been answered.

a/n: hey yyaaalll I hoped you enjoyed. I hope it wasn't too boring, im just setting up the story yk. no clue how long this will be, no idea. I was actually planning on making nyryx a prince but I think that would've been too of a position for him. so yeah in case you haven't caught on, reader and nyryx are reborn in older times. I just love historical settings idk. also, if you saw another post of mine called 'lost & found'...no you didn't

taglist: @whatamidoing89, @panda-wolf, @fatgumsbby, @nekohollowsychogoth

#smut #chapter update #chapter 1 #original character #orignal character #orignal writing #original work #historic fiction #I have no idea what to tag #reader insert #reader imagine #reader story #story #story writing #short story #short fiction

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