Diamonds Fall Read Online Free PDF Page A

rocked herself into a blissfully numb state, where she couldn't feel the pain or humiliation as badly anymore. She shivered as the cool air brushed over her. Grouping around on the floor for something to cover herself, her fingers found the blanket which still held the soapy scent of safety.
    Annabel remained like this for hours, until the same young woman as the day before snuck into the gloomy enclosure. She dumped a bundle of cloth on the floor once she was just across the threshold and fled, as if scared by the very sight of the stable's prisoners.
    Sitting up slowly, gasping as the pain stabbed through her with renewed vigour, Annabel grabbed at the pile of rags eagerly. Uncaring and wanting only to be covered, she stepped into the rough, mud brown dress. It looked as if it had been badly homemade by the cheapest fabric to hand. Almost medieval in its simplicity, it hung off of her slim frame in a horrible manner Annabel was not used to. The coarse fabric scraped against her already tender skin, making it itch almost immediately. Nevertheless, the dress was warm and hung down to her bare feet, thus covering most of her shamed body. As she stood up, some pieces of stale bread rolled out of the folds of material.
    She noticed Billy had come back over to her from his position by the horses and started devouring one of the deformed pieces. Annabel did the same, neither tasting nor feeling the bread as she ate. After their humble meal, the two reluctant roommates crawled to their separate slimy corners, losing themselves again in their individual misery.
    The next two days continued in the same heavy silence, only to be broken by the scarce delivery of bread and water.
    During this time neither Annabel nor Billy saw the two brutal men again, although she had often heard their shouting voices from nearby, causing her to tremble in fright each time. One such argument involved a woman shouting about carelessness. She seemed to think Annabel would bring them misfortune, as surely people were already looking for her. This argument had ended with the heavy thwack of a fist hitting supple flesh and a whimper of pain from a woman clearly used to abuse. When the pregnant girl re-entered the stable that evening, half of her face was swollen up in a vivid bruise.
    For a few lonely hours every day Billy left the stable, going out to watch the horses when they were being used and doing, from what Annabel gathered from his broken speech, to be heavy lifting and chores no one else wanted to do. She felt a little queasy that just over a week ago she had been the one giving out the orders for people like him. He came back into the stable each night with barely enough energy to eat the little amount of food he was permitted, before crawling back to his corner and falling asleep. Annabel however, did not try to leave the stable again. Every time she so much as considered it her bones turned cold, her body shivering with the memory of her last, failed attempt. It seemed, from the overheard snippets of conversation, they were deciding what to do with her. The men wanted, as they had said in the forest, to keep her here until the manor asked for a high enough reward for her return. This idea gave Annabel a small amount of hope. Perhaps, if she sat tight, she would be able to go home after all.

Chapter Five
     
     
     
    On the third day the monotonous routine was broken when a young girl with the now familiar chestnut hair - all be it a slightly more fiery shade and frizzy texture - came into the stable. She passed Annabel bread with a thin layer of dripping. This was a treat she had not sampled since her arrival and she devoured it greedily, before looking up at the girl still standing in front of her. She had a short, petite frame and round face. She appeared almost childlike although there was a haunted pain in her dark eyes. Her small hands were scarred and calloused.
    "Come wi' me," she whispered, glancing over her shoulder without so much as