Seven Years of Obedience

After I was taken into the mountains, I became the whole town's slave.

If one field remained unharvested or one family's firewood went uncut, they beat my face bloody.

They avoided my arms and legs only because they expected twice as much work from me the next day.

On New Year's Eve, I finally decided I couldn't survive another day and went to the river to end my life, only to hear two people whispering behind the trees.

"Watch yourself. He is still the Hawthornes' biological son. They sent him to Red Willow Hollow to learn discipline, not for you to use however you want."