Precious Curse of the Deep Blue

How is it fair to be treated as a curse just because you were born differently? I was born a girl to a couple that has waited 7 years to be blessed with a child. In medieval times people don't really jump with joy when they discover that the newborn is lacking that specific male organ. Some female newborns are not even given the chance to live and their families just get rid of them a while after they have taken their first breath. My parents, however, decided to keep me because they knew they may never have another child and they were religious believing in right and wrong. I was raised in a small village far from the capital, a forgotten village that barely got any help from the government in terms of food, water, and protection from groups of thieves, tyrants and monsters of course. I grew up with other girls and women, learning what they think are important for a future wife and mother. The only thing we are born for and good at. It didn't take my mother and the others a lot of time to discover that I was different. I clearly threw the statement of being born to be good at these house chores to the trash. I was bad at everything. Cleaning, I never got the right spots and always got yelled at for wiping the floor in a circular pattern without doing the corners. Washing dishes, not even one plate got out in one piece. Laundry was the worse. Most of the time I tore clothes apart from too much grinding or lost the soap in the river which was pretty expensive for people like us. But alternately I was the fastest in carrying water from the pit, the best in cutting wood for the fire when my father wasn't around, and the most skilled in climbing trees and hunting rabbits which was considered a disgrace for a woman to do. I was strong, too strong for a girl, too rude, too aggressive, and too confident. Everyone treated me as a freak even my own parents. My father was already broken because he had only a daughter but having a daughter who doesn't behave like a lady is a clear sign that he even can't use me to get a good son-in-law. His solution then was to try to discipline me by beating me up every time I didn't behave as they wished me to. I was only five the first time he tied me naked on a chair and hit me with his belt because I had cut my hair short to my ears with my mother's scissors. It actually took them three years of back and forth to understand that beating me and yelling at me won't change my behavior, I was simply born this way. So they had the great idea to take me to a priest who assumed after a further observation that I was a cursed child sent from Lucifer to corrupt our societies standards and costumes because my strength and abilities weren't normal which was true. Of course my parents believed every single word, they will never contradict a man of god and they decided that I should be taken care of. Anyway, I will never know what they meant by taken care of because at dusk I was woken up by screams and cries erupting from everywhere around the village. I walked to the window and there was a group of dozens of men on their horses, swords and fire torches in their hands burning and destroying everything that came in their way. Scared, I run to the other room and saw my father collecting everything valuable we had which wasn't many, putting them together in a large piece of tissue while my mother was busy changing her nightgown and putting more clothes on hastily. At this point, it was clear what my parents' priorities were. My father valued money the most and my mother her dignity as a woman, both didn't care enough to go get me. So I took my own priority, walked slowly to the kitchen, fished a sharp knife from the drawer and strolled back to my parents’ side, hiding it behind my back. They finished their tasks quickly and we were about to go down to the basement where we could escape when the front door was kicked violently open and two armed men face covered, walked in screaming at my father to hand them all the gold he had. My greedy old man preferred to go against two large armed men than to give them his tissue bag. My father charged toward one of them and got kicked in the guts. He collapsed on his knees clenching his stomach when he got rains of punches from the same man until he fell on his back bleeding from every inch of his flesh half unconscious. The second man grabbed the bag laughing evilly and was about to go outside when the one that beat my father up raised his sword downing it on his neck leaving my dad lifeless body headless with waterfalls of blood gushing out. I stood there watching every second of the scene not understanding what had just happened until my mother started screaming loudly. That guy got closer to her pushing his sword into her throat demanding her to strip naked and turn around wearing a dirty look on his face, or she would have her husband's same fate. I remember my mother's teary eyes glancing toward me for a moment before walking forward pushing the blade through her own neck and falling backward. And just like that I ended up all alone. An eight years old girl standing in a room with her parents’ bloods everywhere looking towards those two criminals waiting for her own fate. The man with the bag yelled at my parents' killer grabbing him by the neck and dragging him to the door. I thought I was off the hook until the same guy looked towards me and suggested that they take me along. The second one stopped and scanned me from head to toe for a moment then nodded at his companion and walked out. Meanwhile, my survival skills told me that I shouldn't fight back or else I would be laying next to my parents. So I hastily stuffed my knife in my undergarments when they weren't looking my way. That monster walked towards me, grabbed my hair and walked outside. There, hell was on earth. Bodies and blood painting the ground and a fire destroying every corner of the village with a heavy suffocating black smoke. He threw me away inside a barn and I landed on my knees. I looked up and dozens of other kids were gathered there too. The man asked us to stay inside if we don’t want to die and closed the door. I sat down moving my eyes around but all I saw was kids crying, sniffing and screaming for their parents. A moment later, when every sound died out, some men opened the barn’s door and asked us to stand up and split up girls to the right and boys to the left. After we did a man who was probably the leader of the group made the big announcement that virgin, pretty and healthy girls are going to be sold into prostitution or slavery and boys are going to be trained and turned into cage fighters used as entertainment for nobles. My mind went blank, I was scared and angry. I would never have accepted my fate to be as a s*x toy for some pig. Never. I reached for my knife prepared to use it. When my gaze landed on a young boy curled on the ground in the corner in a bath of blood. I came closer to him, he wasn’t moving. I touched his face he was cold as ice. He was dead. I heard those men yelling and was going to go back when an idea struck my mind. I looked hastily at the boy and begin to strip him from his clothes. Finishing this task I took my own off and wore the boy’s it was too dark so no one had noticed me yet. I then reached for my knife, took a handful of my hair cut them tuft by tuft until I felt my neck completely bare. I finished and stood up taking a few steps when one of the tyrants blocked my way and yelled at me slapping me in the face and dragged me to join the others. To my surprise and relief he took me where the boys were gathered which mean that my reckless plan actually worked. A few minutes later they tied our hands together and attached each group to one of the thieves’ horse pulling us behind them. We left the ruins of our village and moved forward to our new unknown destiny. We walked for hours without a break under August’s burning sun. Three of us had met their end on the road and were left behind to be beasts’ and monsters’ feast. No one had realized so far that I was a girl and I was going to keep it that way. Especially that I was resilient even more resilient than the other boys so walking for long hours didn’t bother me that much but what really caused a problem was thirst. Those assholes didn’t even bother to give us a break or water to keep us alive. It was noon when we reached a city they called Ogalo. Apparently it was known to be the thieves market. There, everything was sold, literally everything. You could find every rare metals and gems you need, many different monsters’ skin, bones and scales, unique alive animals and beasts, banned weapons and explosive and of course people. The slave market.There boys and girls were sold as slaves for noble people or prostitute for brothels and that’s where we were heading. I stood there witnessing the girls of my village that I used to do chores with being negotiated upon and sold like the other objects they stole along with boys under six years old that they assumed weren’t going to be useful for them. The sun lights were fading and my cover was still intact but my nervousness didn’t fade until we left the market because I had felt like I would be discovered any minute and sold like the others. We went to a motel where our captors stayed while we were kept outside sleeping on the ground with the men taking turns to guard us. They threw at us some bread and water like we were some stray dogs and spent their night drinking, eating like pigs and wooing every women passing by. I curled into a ball and stayed the farthest away from everyone rethinking the events of the day, my parents’ death, my kidnapping, where I was going to be taken to and what would happen to me when they discover I had tricked them. I was worried and I knew it was impossible for me to keep pretending to be a boy forever. My thoughts were confirmed when my gaze moved on one of the men who was unbuckling his belt taking out his manhood in order to pee. It was the first time of my life seeing a man’s member and it was so disgusting I felt like puking the few bites I had eaten. That was exactly what I needed to take a decision. I would rather die being beaten up to death than having to see this thing every day, so yes I have taken the right path. We resumed walking the next day and reached a huge isolated tower surrounded by tall walls. The horses halted at the huge metallic door and after saying a few words with the guards, the door was opened and we were pulled inside. The gates of hell closed behind us and we were taken into the tower where grunts and excited shouts echoed. They kept us inside dirty cells and asked us to stay quit. I stood up looking around when they left, noticing that in most cells there were boys around our age and in the same status as us but in some other the boys were older, bruised and covered in blood with cold and hard faces that shouldn’t have belonged to kids. I took a few steps back and sat on the ground when one of them looked my way frowning deeply. So deciding on keeping my head low to not be noticed, I hugged my knees and rested my head on them looking at the wall covered in mold. A moment later, one of the men came by announcing loudly that we get ready to see the physician one after the other. I raised my head quickly panicking. I knew that was the end of the line for me. I could never get past a medical check-up without being discovered. The man begin to take one kid after the other and I tried to stay behind as much as I could. The physician job was to try and label each kid depending on his strength, health, height, weight, to be able to train them accordingly and transform them into fierce fighters that would stay the longest alive in the caged ring and allow them to make a fortune out of bets. I stood in the corner praying that my turn would never come when I noticed that I was the only one left and felt every ounce of my courage and will shatter. The cell door opened and the man walked in ordering me to move yanking my arm. We walked in a dim corridor, passing cells, floor covered in blood and dirt, screams and the sound of flesh hitting flesh were getting clearer adding to this a sickening smell of sweat, vomit and blood was enveloping the entire place. We reached a wooden door; he pushed it open and threw me inside closing the door loudly. I heard dissatisfied grunts but didn’t dare to turn around and face the physician. He asked me to take my top off and sit on the chair but I didn’t compel still fidgetting in place. He then came closer to me and reassured me in a gentle voice that I shouldn’t be afraid of him and he will only make sure I’m fine. I still didn’t move so he grabbed me and turned me around slowly. I was crying heavily, sniffing and shaking. He patted me on the head and smiled repeating that everything is going to be alright. He had a very kind face, light blue eyes and a white beard. The old man scanned me from head to toe and went for my top trying to help me take it off. I snapped out of it and pushed his hands away instinctively protecting my chest crossing my arms. He widened his eyes and got his face closer to me whispering “ Are you a girl?”