Manifest War: The Weapons Within

The trio cooked up some dinner and ate together, replenishing their empty bellies. While eating, they asked each other various questions about what they were like back in their respective homes and what their goals were after University. Mariah then looked over at Elise, wondering why she hadn’t said much of anything during this conversation.

“What about you, Elise? What’s your family like?” She asked, eager to learn more about her teammate.

“Tch, what family…” Elise muttered with a barely audible tone, clearly not interested in entertaining this question.

“Huh? I couldn’t hear you.”

Mariah leaned in closer, her eyes locked in on Elise’s lips. Elise annoyingly turned her head and let out a heavy sigh.

“My Grandmother runs a bookstore in Olunas City, my Mother is missing, my Father is an asshole, and I have no siblings. Anything else you want to know?”

“Oh… Ahem, sorry.”

Mariah awkwardly laughed as she leaned back, wishing she had never asked the question. Just when the tension started to die down, Carmen surprisingly wanted to continue.

“Actually, yeah, there is something that I want to know. Um, I’m sorry if this question is a bit out of line, but I’ve always wondered about those scars on your back… I saw them that one day, but I never asked you about it. Where’d they come from?” Carmen carefully asked, understanding that it could’ve been a touchy subject.

Elise stared at her with wide eyes before looking down at the ground, pondering the thought for a brief moment.

“Sorry, forget I asked! You don’t have to answer.”

“No, it’s fine. I can talk about it. But, I swear, if either of you morons tell anyone, I’ll kill you.” She said with a shaky voice, her tone not matching the words she just spoke.

Elise looked down and started drawing in the dirt with a stick, clearly feeling uneasy about telling them. Elise paused for a moment before sitting up and facing her teammates, sighing softly in the process.

“I got them when I was sold off into slavery for a short while…” She said with an empty, yet cold tone. Elise reluctantly began to tell a story from her past, not missing a single detail.

FOUR YEARS AGO

Elise Burton was born into a fairly wealthy family that dealt in textile exports. Her parents had built up an incredibly solid reputation within the Olun Kingdom, being the premier destination for that industry. However, when she turned thirteen, things began to change in her father.

Once a loving, hardworking, and stand up citizen, Eric Burton became overcome with greed. He grew much colder and obsessed with wanting more money. Eric wanted to push the Burton Family to the next tier of wealth, but he felt that their current business model wouldn’t allow them to do so in a shorter time span. So, Eric Burton turned to gambling to try and boost their funds quickly.

At first he was lucky and won a large amount of earnings, however that wasn’t quite enough for him. Eric wanted more, so he gambled more and more. Unfortunately, he never won again. Within a few short months, the Burton Families funds had completely run dry and their wealth was eliminated.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get it back. I swear!” Is what he would typically say to his wife and daughter, but these words were as empty as his pockets.

The gambling had gotten so bad that the Burton’s textile company went bankrupt and closed down. They no longer had the ability to operate the business, causing their reputation to come crashing down.

Despite all the financial woes, Eric would still weasel his way into money that he could gamble with. Borrowing extraordinary amounts of funds from other nobles and taking out large bank loans was something he would do often. But one day, he borrowed money that he couldn’t afford to lose. He gambled away every last piece of gold and was put into a terrifying predicament.

Eric was approached by a group of very shady gentlemen. They roughed him up and threatened his life, showing what happens to those that don’t pay their debts.

“If you don’t pay back what you owe us, your life will end by our hands.” They yelled, beating him into submission. To their surprise, Eric offered them something rather interesting.

Instead of owning up to his wrongs and working to rebuild trust, Eric decided to sell off his own wife into a prostitution ring to cover what he owed. He told them he would pay them back with the money he got from selling her, promising that she would earn a pretty penny. They agreed and Eric quickly went home, convincing his wife to go to town with him.

He never told her where they were going, so she was completely oblivious to what she was walking into. As they arrived at their location and entered the building, she was grabbed by large burly men while another man gave Eric a bag of money.

The look of betrayal on her face was intense as she tried to fight them off of her. She cried out for his help, but Eric did nothing to save her, only staring into her tear filled eyes as the men took her away.

Days later, Eric was back to his usual antics and instead of paying off his debt, he came up with a brilliant idea.

'I can probably double my money and pay back even more people.'

He headed straight for the Olun casino, eager to test his luck once again. So, he went and gambled the money away, losing every single piece he just got from selling his wife. He left the building in shambles, feeling nervous about what his debtors were going to do to him if they found this out.

He rushed home and began to pack his things, hoping he could flee town before anyone found out. However, he heard a loud boom and knock at his door. The men from before burst through the door and started to ransack his home. They relentlessly beat him and just before they attempted to kill him, Eric yelled out.

“My daughter, Elise! Take her! Take her as payment!” He said through his labored breaths, spitting blood out of his mouth. They looked over at the young girl cowering in the corner and lowered their weapons. The men approached and tied her up, leaving the house just as fast as they arrived. They knocked her out and took her to an unknown location.

When Elise awoke in the back of the wagon, she saw a fairly nice house come into view. They were in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by many trees, but the overall aesthetic was quite pleasant. As they got to the courtyard, an older gentleman by the name of Count Levi Cross greeted them. He welcomed Elise inside with a charming and kind smile.

His maids cleaned her up and prepared a meal for her, showing Elise a great deal of respect. The level of comfortability was strange, but welcome after the rough day she just had. She silently ate her food and admired the impressive decor of this incredible house.

After her meal, she noticed that she felt incredibly tired and heavy. She laid her head on the table, drifting in and out of consciousness. Elise then noticed that she was being carried off to another room and laid into a bed. She thought nothing of it, assuming they just put her to sleep.

Suddenly, a shadow draped over her. It was Count Levi. He had no shirt on and she could feel his clammy, old hands touching her thighs as he removed her underwear. Elise could do nothing to stop his advances, only look on in horror as this strange man defiled her.

He separated her legs, forcing them open and pressing his flabby chest on top of hers. Whatever drug she consumed during dinner time paralyzed her body completely. She couldn’t resist or move while Count Levi stole her innocence.

Elise shed tears as she felt him finish, sickened by his hot breath and labored moans. He then kissed her on the forehead and smiled.

“Good girl.” He said as he stepped off the bed, putting his pants back on and leaving the room. Elise, still unable to move, couldn’t believe what had just happened and felt incredibly fearful of the future.

After a week went by, Elise decided to escape from this evil place. However, her efforts were thwarted by an eagle eyed guard. They captured Elise and brought her to the rear of the house, where Count Levi was standing. He looked incredibly angered as he gripped his whip tightly, staring at her with his dark eyes.

He ordered the guards to strip her and tie her hands up. They did so and Count Levi began to aggressively whip her naked body, leaving deep gashes all along her back and legs. He told her this is what happens to those that flee from his humble home and that she should be grateful that he takes care of her.

Once he finished, the guards took Elise back to her room. The moment they shut the door, she sobbed quietly, whimpering from the pain until she fell asleep.

As the summer shifted into fall and quickly into winter, the Count was having another one of his passionate sessions. However, this time, Elise was hiding a small carving knife under her sleeve.

Just as Count Levi was fully distracted by his pleasure, Elise stabbed him in the throat and sliced deeply. Blood spewed everywhere as he fell out of her, dropping to the ground and gasping for air. He clutched his neck, but the blood loss was too great, causing him to die within a few seconds.

Elise’s face and hands were covered in blood as she dropped the knife in a panic. She quickly pulled her underwear up and rushed over to his body. She searched his pockets and grabbed a few golden coins. Elise then swiftly opened the window at the back of the room, jumping out and landing onto the powdery snow below.

With a few silent steps and strategic hiding, Elise was able to elude the many guards outside and rush for the woods. The cold, icy ground was incredibly tough on her bare feet as she raced through the starry night. Despite the pain she felt, Elise had no desire to stop. She ran until the sun rose above the horizon, never looking back a single time.

After traveling for days and sneaking around, she eventually made it to her grandmother’s house in a town outside of the capital city, Olunas. Here, she was able to stay out of sight and safe for a couple of years until her father came back into the picture.

Eric was shocked to see his daughter again, having believed that she had been killed after he gave her up to Count Levi’s men. He promised that he would never do that again, and he held true to his word. However, Eric had still gotten her involved in his many hijinks, constantly coming up with schemes that forced her to help him.

“And that’s pretty much the story…” Elise said with a sigh, looking down at the ground.

Carmen and Mariah stared at Elise with absolute astonishment, not knowing how to even respond to such a difficult story.

“I.. I’m so sorry, Elise… I should’ve never asked you that question.” Carmen replied softly, feeling terrible that she made Elise repeat such a difficult time in her life.

“It’s fine… I sometimes have nightmares about that day, but I’ve processed it for the most part. I feel better overall now.”

“B-but still, you’ve been through so much… I can’t possibly imagine how you must’ve felt.”

Elise simply shrugged at Carmen's reply, giving no response of her own.

“Well, uh… Let’s all just get some rest. Long day tomorrow.” Mariah said, sensing that this topic needed to be switched. The others nodded and hopped into their sleeping bags, getting a good night’s rest.