Maria enjoyed her bath, a shower that she never thought she would ever get the chance to enjoy ever again. The warm water that hit her body immediately turned brown, dirt that had been stuck on her skin for who knows how long fell off quickly revealing scars and other small injuries that went unnoticed.

But Maria ignored these scars and bruises, she didn’t let her mind wander as she relished the rain of warm water.

Liquid soap coated a brand new bath sponge, the moment the bubbly soap touched her small wounds, a stinging sensation immediately coursed through her body.

Unperturbed, Maria ignored the minor pain as she gently rubbed the sponge on her skin further exfoliating the grime and dead skin that had clung tightly to her skin.

Warm water loosened them but it was not enough to truly "scrape" them off.

Her skin had turned a lighter color, in the past, Maria had been called "mestiza" a term used by the locals to praise anyone who was born locally and whose nationality was that of a local but whose features included foreign aspects.

The Philippines had been under occupation, a colony for centuries and that spread genes of various people into the population.

While it was rare, Maria was one of the people who had parents that were both locals, looked local and had no eye-catching foreign features.

But they gave birth to a girl with light skin, greater height, soft features that were a mix of asian and spanish blood-

Maria was truly a beauty, but all that was covered by the mud and dirt that did not leave her body for who knows how long.

Face paint that was not washed off, soot from cleaning guns, preparing fires and cooking over coals or timber.

Now, those features that made her a beauty were revealing themselves once more, the sight of her skin, although scarred, returning to its clean state brought joy to Maria but-

With it came the proof of her suffering.

The scars that would never truly disappear-

The thick calluses on her hands, elbows and other parts of her body, proof of the things she had done to survive.

They were stains that would never go away.

Even when she could remove the odor that clung to her body, even when she smelled like a freshly picked flower-

The marks of her time as a "freedom fighter", the evidence of her "misdeeds" would never truly go away.

Maria did her best to hold back her sorrow, using the luxurious shower to bring even just a hint of joy to her disastrous life.

After about half an hour, Maria finally exited the bathroom and then she realized-

"I... don’t have a change of clothes"

She was brought to the bathroom and was told to clean herself.

Given a towel, soap and other items, Maria enjoyed the short luxury and now she was made to realize her position.

Was she supposed to leave the room with only her towels?

That was not something strange, Maria had lived in a dorm during college and since everyone in the dorm were women, it was not strange for some to walk around with only their towels on.

There were even some courageous girls who walked around in their underwear.

Since it was a "women only dorm" and the Philippines was not really known for being a "cold place", walking around with as few clothes as one could was normal as they tried to avoid using the AC or electric fans that would use up too much electricity.

If cooling down could be done cheaply, why even try to force yourself to spend money?

The problem though was that this place was not a women’s only dorm.

Nor was it a manor for a sorority or a paradise for women.

In fact, the place was indeed a paradise but not for women but the single man who lived amongst a field of flowers.

*knock* *knock*

"Are you done?"

The woman who had led her to the bathroom called out from beyond the door.

Her name was Hana and she seemed to have an important role amongst the women as she was the one who the man who calls himself Richard left to deal with her.

Maria didn’t know what the man had planned for her but given what she saw in the manor- all she could think of was a future where she becomes a slave to the man who appears to be a wizard or warlock of some kind.

While they didn’t have much contact with the outside world, their group was still able to occasionally go through news and information through social media and such.

After all, they were born in an internet generation and while their group lacked the military power of the government, they did have talents from all walks of life and all fields of study.

Maria was studying to become a doctor, but not all of the members of the group were doctors in training.

Some studied communication arts, others studied law and there was one important person, a woman who studied computer science.

Unlike Maria who ended her studies early, the computer science major was a woman who was delayed in her studies due to various reasons.

She was scheduled to graduate two years ago but her research was delayed as it involved a government organization.

One thing led to another and she was forced to become an underpaid intern while doing her best to complete her research. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Some would think that it was a favorable offer but the woman was a talent who could likely earn three figures after working hard for two to three years.

Instead, she was made to work for the government under a salary that barely reached minimum wage. She only got out of the low salary grade after she took an Civil Servant Exam and passed it with flying colors.

From an irregular worker to a regular position, yet she still didn’t get what she needed from the government.

A go ahead for her to publish her research.

Unfortunately, her research was related to cyber security and the government agency she worked for didn’t want her to publish her project.

Instead, they pressured her to publish a simpler thesis but the woman was adamant on using her best research.

Her dreams were not only to get a huge salary, she wanted to teach people, she wanted to revolutionize the IT industry. To become the next innovator in the space of information technology, to become the next tech giant.

She wanted her name to be amongst the greats, the money was good but her goal was to make a mark in her subject.

Yet the pressure of the government agency she worked for, the actions of her superiors led her to revolt.

Unfortunately for her superiors, the woman was truly a genius and she was the reason why the insurgents were able to access the internet, spread propaganda and attack the government online without the threat of getting traced.

Their digital footprint was not hidden through some simple VPN or proxy network.

Maria didn’t understand a word that a companion of hers said but she knew that what she did for the group was huge.

The computer science woman was also the one who protested the decision of her companions to assault the manor and its occupants.

But she capitulated, not for the protection of a portion of the women in the manor, no- she wanted to have first dibs on the handsome man in the manor.

With her lead, the women all accepted the plan that was set up by a bunch of frustrated young men.

Moreover, the women also knew that the frustrations of their companions would turn against them if they didn’t give them this little bit of freedom.

It was bad, they were basically being accomplices to the crimes that their companions were planning but between them and some unknown women who were likely to be witches? The choice was obvious...

That was before Maria was brought to the manor secretly though.

Magic that allowed someone to teleport from one place to another, another to effortlessly manipulate plant life and vegetation.

Her experience made Maria know that her companions were likely going to be killed.

She knew the look of someone who was worried about their weapons.

Even soldiers of the government wouldn’t just "spray and pray". They aimed their shots, made sure that their use of bullets was efficient since every round had a cost and every shot fired was one less you could fire in the future.

This wasn’t a game where they could just press [F] and open up a shop to buy more ammo, more grenades and newer guns.

No, every shot fired meant that you were slowly putting yourself at a disadvantage.

Every second a weapon gets soaked in rain, every piece of dirt that gets lodged inside the barrel...

Maria knew the face and expression of someone who was hesitating, not because they couldn’t make the shot but because they were worried about what to do after they shoot and miss.

Richard? He appeared suddenly, with confidence and a carefree nature.

He spoke casually like there was nothing bad around him, as if nothing could harm him and he took away her rifle and all her weapons without alerting Maria.

The calmness, the ease at which he did all that-

It made Maria understand the gulf that existed between them.

Many of her companions thought that the witches and mages that were being talked about on the internet were the same as those in movies.

A bunch of kids waving small sticks while muttering latin phrases or words.

But they were wrong, extremely wrong...

She caught a glimpse of what true magic was and Maria was already frightened beyond doubt.

It was incomprehensible, it was powerful and most importantly, it barely left a trace.

If Riichard wanted to, he could have had a tree root pierce through Maria’s head without her even knowing what had happened.

But the fact that he had brought her here meant that he had other plans.

"I’ve brought a change of clothes, not the best but I think this would be the best ones to wear for what’s about to happen"

As Maria didn’t answer, Hana just said her piece before leaving.

Maria quietly stood there for a couple more minutes before peaking down to try and see any shadows only to be disappointed as the floor of the hallway was higher than that of the bathroom-

There was no way for her to see any shadows, all she saw was black.

Without any other choice, Maria slowly opened the door peaking through the slit and when she saw nobody, carefully opened it wilder.

She observed her surroundings before quickly dragging the basket of clothes in and locking the door behind her.

For a moment, she wondered why she was acting this way, she had no other choice anyway. She was already trapped and running away from a man who could teleport was just... impossible.

Yet- she still acted on the instincts and muscle memory of actions she developed living as a criminal.

After she brought the clothes in the bathroom, Maria was finally able to take a closer look at the clothes but what she saw left her speechless...

Though the clothes did give her a good clearer idea of what she was brought in for.

"That’s it huh... but... I guess that’s better than living life on the run..."