Once upon a time, there was a humble family that felt content with their current standing in life. They lived in a little village that was nearby other clusters of villages, with not a lot or too little supplies and luxuries there. They were a family of four; with a mother, father, son, and daughter in the De Luca family - Diane and Corrado were the parents, while Xavier and Catarina were the children. Diane De Luca was a sweet, caring, and loving human being; similarly Corrado De Luca was also caring and usually gentle, but he knew when to be strict with his children. And the two siblings knew how to watch and care for each other as they had a close bond - protect each other. The De Luca’s life was pleasant and they didn’t wish for much, but the good well-being for their family.

As always though, not all good things last - and their life changed drastically after one night. Catarina was six-years-old when the event took place and she would never forget this memory. It was a rainy night when it all took place; the village was pillaged and what remains is mostly unknown to Catarina and Xavier as they were taken away from home. All Catarina had left from her home and affectionate parents was a small gold key that was given to her on her last birthday. Along with other children from their village, the siblings were kidnapped.

Catarina was practically inseparable from her brother during the whole ordeal, being one of the few children who stayed up from the beginning to the moment they were dropped off. Holding onto her brother until he woke up beside her in the carriage that was bringing them somewhere completely unknown. Most of the children were under the age of ten; having nothing seemingly in common with each other, except one thing - fear of what was to come next. There was only one thing each kid understood which was that their lives would never be the same after that night.

The children were all quickly put into work as slaves by their new masters; no training given at all, they were just threw into their field. There was no room for mistake as some kids were quickly made as examples to the rest on what will happen if you screw up. Catarina was one of those examples, forced to wear heavy shackles around her wrists and ankles while performing the tasks without fail or mistakes - weeks started to pass as the shackles felt like a burden with each growing day. A month has finally passed and she was relieved of her shackles, since they needed to be used for another child, a wave of guilt and solace passed over her mind. Her wrists and ankles now raw at the area where the shackles once were, vulnerable to aches and bleeding now if bothered.

Due to the conditions, provisions were limited and difficult to distribute evenly among the children - especially meat. Meat was scarce among them all, usually given a small scrap per week, so Catarina did the only logical thing that made sense to her. Give her small share to Xavier. Two years had passed since the first day they came to this wretched place - two years since Catarina had last tasted meat, making her feel ill to the very taste of it. Barely getting food or freedom; there was no thoughts of dreams, wishes, or miracles in this place anymore. Life continued like this for two more years, until there was rumors about plans of escape amongst the aging children. The whispers of fleeing had reached the ears of some of the overseers who watched over their work and the rumors were quickly silenced.

At the age of ten, Catarina was given a brand to signify she was a slave and was property - not a human. Every child received one so if they even escaped somehow, they would be returned by the government making their beliefs diminished greatly of ever being free. Now their terrible reality is scarred into their minds and body, making their pain more apparent every time it is even glanced at. Years continued passing without her knowledge, only the changing of seasons guided her through as a means of telling time. The young children slowly turning into young adults and teenagers before her eyes, time not excluding her either.

One day, there was an unmistakable commotion among the district that the guards tried to cover up from everyone. They weren’t allowing any of the slaves to leave their posts, in hopes of preventing an act of rebellion most likely. It was unknown to Catarina at the time, but the source of all the commotion was Xavier, her own brother. Her current task was cleaning; she worked alongside with a few other females while the rest were probably cooking or sewing, that was when a guard stepped in and asked her to accompany him - something was obviously off. The overseers rarely talked to them unless there was yelling and punishment involved, but not wanting trouble Catarina obliged. As soon as they left sight of the others, Catarina was knocked off her feet by a blow to the back of her head. The man was brandishing a wooden weapon as he repeatedly attacked Catarina with the tool, everything started to blur after that - the man’s speech, her vision, and time itself. No help came when she cried out, there was no help when blood started falling from her scalp, and no help when the world appeared to be dyed scarlet. Resistance was futile as her efforts to get on her feet or crawl away was quickly squashed by the man’s foot - Catarina was going to die.

Everything went black as fast as she was attacked, and everything was silent. The man, her breathing, and the assault all stopped. The sound of bare feet was heard, and Catarina was being shook violently and urgently; miraculously, she opened her eyes. She saw Xavier once her vision focused and the color crimson everywhere she looked; on her brother, on her body, and on the floor. Nearby was the lifeless body of the guard that was abusing her only moments before. Before words could be spoken she blacked out again. When her eyes opened again, she was being carried on Xavier’s back and miles of grass was the only thing her eyes could see - but there was no color, her world was black and white.