In some corners of the world,girls are born as vessels of pride,their births lighting up happiness in a household - celebrated, pampered, and revered.
In others,they are born as commodities,beautiful wares with price tags.
For me,I was both.
Born to the merchant lord of Vire,I had carried upon my head distress to him. Here,a woman's worth was often weighed by her face and status,or the name she bore from betrothal.
Trade flowed freely through Vire like water,enriching the streets with pride. My father,Lord Daren, stood at its helm as the sole and untouchable man of Vire.
So heavy was his authority,his name brought to it all the good: the pride,respect,gold,joy.
And my mother? She carried it like one of her jewellery that adorned her neck.
Elegant were her mannerisms
Beautiful was her stature
But idleness? That was what the town saw.
Unlike my brothers,I had taken a keen interest in my father's businesses at a young age. Albeit women being rarely seen as merchants in Vire,I subconsciously wanted a name for myself even as my father's shadow.
At fifteen,I was hailed as his equal.
Yet news like these was what made my mother despise my very existence. Out of jealousy per se? Probably due to her bearing the insults from the villagers every now and then.
"Is this really Lord Daren's partner? She's as idle as a log," whispered one to her companion
"And oh, it is true. I do not believe she birthed the girl as they are too different to be related,"
Many saw her as idle, a doll impressing the audience and a spender,yet none knew she had birthed nine - lost five to deaths grip.
Her silence wasn't vanity;just a bearer in a household. She may have had all the possessions and was no different from the Queen of Vire.
Not that I envied her lifestyle or despised it. I wanted to be better than her,not within the fact I would "marry well" to "live well."
_______
*Years Earlier,*
The city of Vire rested peacefully under the blossoming shade of the Great Walls of Malina. With their thriving deals in trade with Koria and Shina,even the greatest kings would envy their wealth. In this same town existed the riches of riches - Lord Daren.
Inside his estate,panic reigned.
"Is she alright?," Daren's voice boomed through the halls as he frantically paced back and forth. The shrill cries of his wife from inside were enough to set his soul ablaze.
"Oh good Lord!" he gripped his hands tightly in prayer,murmuring to himself than to anyone. "Do not take Meredith away from me! I would give anything in return, "
The nurses rushed into the room, effortlessly trying to save the lady's life. She had undergone several births, and somehow, they deemed it useless to see her go through another.
After all,she had lost five children already. This happened every two days after she gave birth, and that had stayed a mystery. No one in the estate dared mention it unless the simp had no pleasure to keep his head.
" Please!" Daren dropped to his knees,his eyes glistening with unshed tears."Save my wife! I am too young to be a widower. "
"Papa?" Someone tugged at his sleeve, and he turned to see Axel,his third son,all sweaty from playing in the courtyard.
"Will mother be fine?," he stared at him wide-eyed.
Daren paused, uncertainty dripping in his voice. He knew there was little possibility Meredith would survive due to her internal bleeding.
He had no answer to give his son.
"Will mother be fine?,"Axel popped the question again,slightly beginning to worry.
Just then,the door burst open, and a nurse beamed. "It's a girl!"
She announced happily,striding back into the room with joy on her face. To her, the mere sight of a girl was enough to soften the hardest steel in her heart. Her eyes bore a smile that wished she also had a child had nature not cast her barren. Fruitless , and she knew she could bear nothing, aside delivering others from their plight.
Daren's face underwent numerous unbeatable reactions,from fear to anger and something close - that it'd simply be mistaken for happiness.
A girl? In his household?
He froze for a moment,confused on how to take the news.
Was he to be livid or indifferent? Jump in excitement and wave his hands in the air? Or start mourning?
In a society where girls were seen as currencies,Daren had tried his utmost best to avoid such a gamble. Girls brought complications - dowries,danger,scandal. He had prayed for sons.
Yet Meredith's pestering to try again had brought him what he had desperately avoided.
"It's ...a girl," he repeated in a small tone. "A.. girl? Oh my!"
____________
Ten years later....
Reya sat before the abacus, counting gold coins in her father's study.
He sat still on his chair,rubbing his temples,weary from the rising tariffs at the seaports.Prices seemed to be escalating too quickly and rather fast as it hit him.
And he had not had enough time to be with his daughter or wife...
"Twenty..twenty-five...thirty," he watched Reya count innocently,blissfully unaware of how difficult businesses were than just mere counting.
"Father?," she turned to him."How many gold coins do you make in a day?"
Daren seemed appalled,squinting his eyebrows to come to sense with why she had asked. Her purpose was to only spend his money - as a girl,so he believed.
Not even Meredith had bothered to ask him unless it involved jeweleries and travels.
"How much do you make in a day,Father?" She repeated,standing up with the gold coins in her hands.
"With a great business deal, that's more than four hundred coins. Slower days,two hundred. Royal trade gets me up to seven hundred to two thousand - sometimes more if the jewellery from the Queen's treasury is involved."
She pursed her lips,putting the coins on his desk. Curiosity had always tore at her edges that she desperately wanted to know why people feared him simply by a card he owned. "What's a freedom warrant?,"
"It's a card used by merchants in Vire to other lands such as Virginia to purchase items without paying. More like being officially sponsored by the queen, " he said,carrying her gleefully unto his laps."Why do you ask?"
"Are you the only one with a freedom warrant?,"
"No,in Vire, there's only 6 of us lest you want the population to drain the treasury?," he chuckled.
He fiddled with her fingers for a while,his mind wandering to how far he had been able to protect her. But how long would that be?
When Meredith birthed,he was solely the one taking charge of Reya due to his wife's long-term recovery in Asia. Things had gone smoothly with him, and his relationship with the royals was strengthening by day as well.
But how long would he keep his daughter safe? He mourned the idea in his head. Prior to his visits to the seaports,he had seen a woman being maltreated by her husband like a commodity.
Inasmuch as his marriage to Meredith was traditional - and existed as friends, not lovers.. He would never dare raise his hand on her.
Yet he knew one thing,he had to protect Reya at any cost. Maybe a good husband might do her some good. Or someone from a good background.
Disgusting was the thought of his family marrying into the Ravyns.
"Yikes!" he frowned.
"Father,"Reya turned to him again. "Why do the servants bow to you?"
He smiled. "It's simple. I'm the owner of the businesses,they're just my employees-put it like family. So they respect me as their ..."he paused,squinting his eyes to find a suitable word.
"King?!" Said Reya aloud
"Yes,if you put it that way.."
"Will they bow to me too?"
"Definitely, they will. You will be the lady of the house, "said he,tapping her nose.
---
At 15,Reya was already involved in his business affairs. She managed his textiles and building offices and also dealt with the foreigners who had more business plans in consideration.
Daren mostly sat idle by the horses when he watched his daughter take over the affairs. Although he had three sons,they had no interest in businesses.
Take Henry, for instance ; he was an interpreter at the queen's palace. Axel had a love for baking and had travelled south to live his own life,while Tyrone led his life with his wife somewhere in a casino.
As much as he wished to force them,he knew each and every one had his rights and that he couldn't shove his interests down their throats.
"You're spoiling the young girl!," said Meredith,walking hurriedly to his side beside the trees.
"And why do you say so?," asked he intriguingly.
Meredith held her nose in the air,thinking of the several reasons she disapproved of her daughters reign in the estate.
Moreover, everyone knew she had an interest in being the "subject" in the town, yet her daughter had brought disrespect to her image.
'I heard Reya is a wise girl. Her mother is just a lazy woman, "the people would say whenever she went out for fun.
'Oh, I do pity her for having a mother like that. She is only a spender. We know ladies do not work, but she could be a housewife' chimed the men
'Just imagine Reya as my wife. I would profit a lot from her'
Meredith sneered at the distasteful memories,turning back to her husband with a stern look. "She's a girl she's too delicate to work,"
"And I know, but my darling is too beautiful and too wise. I let her choose what she wanted," he responded.
"That's not it! You are spoiling the children. Everyone. Why do you let them choose when you can decide for them? Something worth shining. Like... a knight or a merchant,"she held her finger at him."But you let them be mere mortals?! We are elite! And we do not know simplicity"
"That is what you say, woman. But I believe they have access to their lives..to simply live as they wish,"
"And that could lead to the death of your legac--"
"Woman!," he rebuked. "Do not drag my name into your affairs."
Meredith looked away,lips pressed in a thin line. She loathed, being yelled at even if he was the man of the house.
All around them,the city was held in power and beauty. But in the little girl's eyes,she had begun to break rules long before anyone realized..