Sara had learned long ago that there was no point in complaining that life was unfair. Difficulties and setbacks were there to be overcome, not merely whined about, and it was that determination that had led her to succeed in whatever she put her mind to, from her studies at Mirabella Women’s University to her role in the school’s soccer team and everything in between. There was always a solution, always an answer to your problems. You just needed to be clever and driven enough to find it.
So why can’t I find it now? the Asian woman demanded of herself, grunting in frustration as she tore away another handful of muck from the farmhouse’s gutters. That was just the latest of the many nasty jobs she’d been forced to do ever since she’d been kidnapped and raffled off, and at night, when she was locked inside the servant’s quarters and shackled to the bed, the unfairness of it all was enough to make her weep with frustration. How long had she been here? A week now? Long enough to start getting calluses on her hands from all her hard labour, and for her fair skin to develop a rather nasty sunburn from so many hours spent labouring out of doors.
Long enough that any shred of sympathy she might have held for the old man who held her captive to dissipate completely.
“Keep at it, girl,” the farmer urged from the comfort of his rocking chair, and Sara’s brown eyes narrowed dangerously above the leather muzzle gag she’d been forced to wear. “A few more weeks of hard labour from you, and my farm will be in a decent state again!”
“Mmmmppggghhh!” came the athlete’s bitter retort, swallowed up by the unyielding leather. There certainly was a great deal to do on the farm. The past week had seen Sara repairing the farmhouse, tending the crops, clearing ditches, and all manner of other sundry chores, and naturally, she couldn’t do any of them while tied up. That should have given her an opening to flee, but between the threat of the farmer’s shotgun and the pickup trucks patrolling the roads for any escapees, it was simply too dangerous to try and run. The former was certainly an unfair advantage, and not one she dared risk. So she was stuck there, held against her will and left dealing with all the hard work while the old man lounged about, and the anger surged afresh. “Mmmmppggghh!”
“Ain’t no call to get uppity with me, girl. Way I see it, I’m doin’ you a favour,” insisted the old man. “All you young folk don’t seem to appreciate the value of hard work, so this’ll help you learn. It’d be unfair of me to deny you that chance.”
“Mmmppggghh! MMPPGGGHHH!”
The farmer didn’t seem to register her gagged protest, instead simply letting the shotgun rest on his lap. “Now, keep at it with those gutters. After that, the pigsty needs cleaning, and there’s some plumbing to do, and I’ll need you to change the tires on my truck…”
Groaning, Sara resigned herself to another long and difficult day, and despite herself, she could not help but lament her situation. At the rate things are going, I’ll never have the energy to escape, never mind the opportunity! God, what did I ever do to deserve such unfair treatment?