Kidnapped by the Mafia

(Eight years old)

My eyes fluttered open in shock. The walls spun as I tried to clutch my head, but an invisible force held my hands back. The throbbing in my head and dizziness in my sight brought tears to my eyes as I lowered my head and whimpered in pain.

Where was I?

Why couldn't I move?

Where was dad?

I was at the park with my father. My mother had forced us out since we had destroyed our home. It was the best food fight in the history of food fights. Sadly it only lasted the 45 minutes that mom was in the shower for. After that, she gave both of us an earful and then kicked us out.

I smiled as the expression she wore flashed through my mind. She was so irritated that she ignored the fact that she had just bathed and immediately got to cleaning. We saw all this from the window of course, while snickering to ourselves.

We had glanced back in through the window, only to mistakenly make eye contact with her and have her march her way towards us. Neither Dad nor I had run that fast or fearfully in our lives. 

That all led to us sitting in the park and eating yummy ice cream, because ice cream made everything better. We were giggling to ourselves about all that mum was going to do to us once we returned. Honestly, she looked mad enough to make dad sleep on the couch... again.

"Honey, is that your classmate?"

He pointed towards a familiar-looking girl, who was currently walking away from us, her hand held by the man leading her. 

"Can I go talk to her?" I questioned with a pout.

"What about your ice cream?" He asked while mimicking my pout.

"Please! You can hold it for a while, right?"

I gave him the puppy-dog eyes, making him sigh in defeat. They always worked.

"Alright, just 10 minutes though. Otherwise, I'll eat it myself."

I crossed my arms with a frown.

"You wouldn't."

He gave me a mischievous grin.

"You wanna try me, kiddo?"

I gulped and shook my head, afraid of the tickling match that would begin if I didn't comply.

"Your friend's getting away."

He pointed her out for me as I turned around, and indeed her father was leading her away.

"Are you coming?" I questioned.

"You know that her father and I don't get along."

I sighed and quickly gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Keep my ice cream safe, no licking!"

He rolled his eyes and glared at my ice cream.

"This is going to be a test of my patience."

I giggled at his determined expression before jogging off to catch up to the girl I now recognized as Stace.

"Stace!!" I called out, and she turned around. Her eyes narrowed as she frowned at me.

"Where are you going?"

She pointed to her held hand.

"Papa's taking me home."

My eyes widened as I finally turned my gaze to the hoodie-cloaked man, who quite clearly, wasn't her father.

"Well, aren't you a pretty one."

I stumbled back as he took a step towards me.

"He isn't your father!"

She frowned at me before turning towards the man. I watched as he leaned in close to her face and spoke.

"Now, now, honey, your friend is just playing a prank on you."

She turned back towards me with a scowl.

"That's mean, Adira."

I shook my head violently, making the man give me a scary smile before snapping his fingers. I looked around us in shock and terror, not seeing anyone helpful nearby. Then another man in a hoodie stepped out of the bushes.

I immediately dashed towards him, throwing my hands in the air for extra effect.

"Hey, that man is trying to take my friend away! Please help her!!!"

The man, now covered in leaves and twigs, tilted his head towards me, and the only thing I could see was his glinting teeth.

"Ain't this a pretty one? The boss'll love her."

I took a step back in fear, realizing that he wasn't here to help us.

"Exactly, you get her while I get this one in the car." He stated, pointing towards Stace, who was about to fall from how unsteady her body seemed to be. I was petrified as I watched him tuck Stace into the car and settle in the driving seat. But I was even more frightened when hands caught my body and lifted me off the ground.

I thrashed and tried to scream, but any sounds coming from my mouth were blocked as a hand silenced my mouth. I kicked and punched, trying to get free from him. I couldn't breathe...

My leg connected with something that made the man howl in pain, and he dropped me to the ground.

My head made contact with the cement and my vision began to grow dark. The only thing my fading eyesight could catch was the red droplets coating my eyelashes, and the only thing my weakening brain could think was: 

...Dad, help...

My eyes finally opened as the pain in my head dulled and settled into an eerie ringing in my ears. I glanced at the invisible bonds that held me back, and they turned out to be chains. My legs felt like jelly as I stood up, barely able to hold onto anything but the bars beside me.

I looked around and found myself in a cage. On one side of the cage was a wall, and on the other sides, there were other cages with even more people tied up like me. My hands were chained to the wall behind me, making all my efforts to get away go in vain.

I stopped struggling when my eyes landed on even more cages. The light above me flickered on and off, giving me a very vague idea of the number of people there, but there surely were more than just me and Stace. None of them were moving though. All of them stayed still.

I could tell they were breathing, but nothing else... they seemed to be asleep. I continued to struggle, while trying to not make too much noise, which was proving to be difficult as the chains rattled.

I twisted my wrists, trying to ease them out, but the chains were the perfect size and even made a few cuts on my skin. Clenching my teeth together, I tried again, but I couldn't even move my hands a few centimeters away from the wall with how tightly they were tied.

I raised my head to look around to see if someone was there and froze in shock when I saw a boy standing outside my cage. He looked messier and older than me, but I didn't know for sure due to the blinking light. Our eyes met, and I knew for sure that he wasn't just my imagination.

"H-Hey."

He continued to stare at me and leaned back with a raised eyebrow.

"How did you get out?... Never mind that, but you need to get out of here."

He tilted his head to the side, staring at me with a calm look that didn't suit the situation at all.

"Are you listening?"

He nodded his head in response, making me sigh. At least he understood me, but then why was he still standing there?

"You need to hurry out of here before you get caught."

He stood still as if my words were going right over his head.

I shifted a little, trying to wave my hands, but I realized that they were still bound and settled for a frown instead.

"If they catch you, they'll hurt you—"

The sound of a metal door slamming open cut me off, and I looked at the shockingly relaxed boy in absolute panic. Words refused to leave my lips as I tried to warn him to get away and as several men in black emerged through the stairs.

"Ah, Son, I see you're already here. Have you found one to your liking?"

I watched slack-jawed as the boy pointed at me and a very scary-looking evil man turned to me.

"She was going to be a part of my special edition... oh well, it can't be helped now."

He sighed before snapping his fingers, and two of the men in black opened the cage and stepped in. I didn't fight them as they removed the chains and examined my cut wrists, but the whole time, I kept glancing at the messy boy as he stood beside the man, who looked at me with a terrifying gaze.

A younger version of him came down the stairs with a grin stretching his lips as we made eye contact.

"I thought she was going to be in your special edition?" He questioned the evil-looking man, coming to stand on his free side.

"I thought so too, but she's your brother's pick."

The younger boy pouted before turning to me.

"She would've looked even more beautiful in Father's collection, don't you agree, brother?"

The older boy gave him a sideways glance, then shook his head. The father sighed and patted his shoulder before turning to leave.

"You know what to do with her." He stated before disappearing back up the stairway. The brothers looked at each other before the younger one followed after his father.

The messy boy, however, stayed a while longer, watching as I hissed when they cleaned the cuts on my wrists before bandaging them.

(Eight years old)

I was picked up by one of the men as they walked up the stairs and through a dark hallway. I felt so tired and sleepy, my eyes barely stayed open, but I forced them to.

It would be too dangerous to sleep around these people.

I laid my head down on the indifferent man's shoulder as he took me through hall after hall, turning through so many wide doors that I lost count after 13. It was a while later that the man put me down on my feet in front of a woman who was dressed like a maid.

She assessed me from head to toe and nodded at the men, who turned around and left quietly. I watched them walk away, and as they shut the doors behind themselves, I turned to the lady in front of me.

She shocked me by bowing her head.

"Welcome to the nest, future Donna."

I stared at her in confusion as she raised her head and held out her hand.

"I'm Sally and I am going to be responsible for your grooming."

I shook my head in response. My mother was the one who would groom me, not a random lady I met after being taken... my parents were probably already looking for me, they were going to find me really soon... so... so... there was no need for this woman to groom me.

"You aren't my mom."

She sighed before crouching down to be face to face with me as my eyes started to fill.

"Yes, I'm not your mom, Donna, but it would benefit you to forget about the life you've led up till now."

I shook my head again, taking a fearful step back and fisting my shaking hands by my sides, my actions brought a frown to her forehead.

"I've been ordered by the boss to raise you in the most stern and strict environment possible. You must respect your husband and the boss. Any form of disrespect will be dealt with harshly. So, for your own good, I suggest you quietly follow every instruction given to you."

I swallowed in fear. Husband? I was only 8 years old, I didn't need to be married... I wasn't old enough either... And who would walk me down the aisle? My dad wasn't here.

"Now then, please follow me."

She held out her hand, and I placed my own shaking one in hers, worried that the tall men in black would return and take me back to the cage. She led me out of the room and up another pair of stairs before making a few turns until we were greeted by a large white door.

She pressed a card attached to her dress against the small screen on the wall and the door slid open. The light inside made me flinch and close my eyes. It was completely different here than back there. Whereas that area was darker and gloomier, this was brighter and better and much, much larger.

We stood in the middle of what looked like a throne room, but I knew from Disney movies (and the lack of a throne), that it wasn't one. There were a few men standing around the room with guns in hand. They stood still like statues; only their eyes moved and followed our movements as I looked around and made eye contact with all of them.

Then I turned my head abruptly as the sound of another door opening greeted my ears.

"Donna."

The woman beside me bowed, as another woman stepped through the doors. She was dressed in a gown that fell to her ankles; her black hair was up in a loose bun and a few strands fell around her face like a frame. A small smile was on her lips, and it made her look nicer than everyone else around me.

"Sally."

She greeted the woman beside me before smiling at me warmly. I continued to stare at her blankly in confusion, her smile faltered at that before she sighed and knelt down before me.

"May I have a word with her, alone?"

The woman named Sally was about to protest, but with a pointed look from the Donna, she nodded her head.

"Of course, Donna."

The Donna held out her hand and I took it without hesitation. She smiled at me reassuringly and led me away from everyone else. It was only after climbing another staircase that she opened a massive door and let me go inside first.

It was a bedroom, with off-white walls and cream-colored furniture. A huge bed lay in the middle and she gestured for me to sit on it. I did, with a little help from her. I couldn't help that I was tiny. My dad loved calling me pipsqueak—always forgetting that, after that, my mother would follow him around the house and make him do all the chores since I always pretended he had made me cry.

Mum knew I wasn't crying for real and so did dad. He even tried to protest several times, but mum would just scold him and tell him to scrub the floors till they were sparkly. All the while, I would sit back and watch them with clear amusement.

Thinking about them made me sad. Was I never going to see them again?

I looked up to see the woman sitting down on a couch with her head in her hands.

"I'm so sorry about this child, but I'm completely helpless and can't do anything to help you escape."

I stared at her in shock, and for the first time since I got here, I felt the tears run down my cheeks.

"Will I ever see them again?"

She looked up at me as I hiccupped and tears filled her eyes as well. She looked like she was about to say something but thought better of it and just shook her head.

"W-why am I here?" I asked as the woman wiped her eyes before walking over to me. She knelt in front of me, taking a gentle hold of my hands between both of hers.

"I was brought here under similar conditions. They picked me up randomly one day, and when I woke up, I was here ready to be wedded off to the future boss. I was a teen at the time and threw a fit trying to fight all the people off, telling them to take me home. But it made everything worse. I was forcefully married to their boss because he picked me out of all the other girls. But he was a monster. He was merciless. He killed without complaint and never thought about the consequences. Somehow, he is still alive, and because of his experience with me, I'm guessing he asked his men to pick up children so she would have already settled into the lifestyle by the time she turned eighteen."

I stared at her silently and sniffled as my tears fell down on our joined hands. She let go of my hands and cupped my face to wipe them away.

"I wish I could help you get out of here, but there's no one who can help us, and if you get caught, he'll throw you to his men."

I swallowed before leaning into her arms as she hugged me and whispered comforting words while I whimpered silently.

"What happens when I turn 18?"

"You get married."

I froze before sighing and wrapping my arms around her.

"Is there no way for me to get out?"

She shook her head.

"None at all, but as long as you're here. I'll take it upon myself to train you, so you won't have to go through everything that they'd put you through otherwise."

I nodded my head and melted into her arms as she gently ran her fingers through my hair and held me tight, as if silently promising to protect me from whatever she went through.

"What are you supposed to train me for?"

"How to be a proper Donna, though I can assure you that Severus isn't going to be even half as bad as his father."

I sighed in relief before looking up curiously.

"Who's Severus?" I asked in confusion.

She was about to answer, but the door opened and the messy boy made an appearance. I pulled back from the Donna to glare at him, and he stopped in his tracks before closing the door behind himself.

"Him." The Donna answered and smiled at the boy before gesturing him closer. My glare turned to an angry pout as he stood a few feet away from us.

"I don't like him." I mumbled to the Donna, who giggled in response.

"Looks like you're already on the bad side of your wife, Sevvy."

The boy frowned in return before turning to me and sighing.

"It's not my fault. She was the only one awake." He responded, making me even more confused and angry than before.

"How old are you, Sevvy?"

"Severus." He corrects as I hid my evil smile in the Donna's shoulder, I could use that against him. Maybe, if I annoyed him enough, they wouldn't marry me to him and let me go.

"Sevvy."

I giggled in response as his nose crinkled.

"I'm twelve." He answered, frowning at me as I glared at him.

"I don't like him." I muttered out loud, voicing my thoughts and letting them be known. "Do I have to marry him?"

He looked to his mother in response, a clueless look settling on his face as she sighed and let me go.

"For now, that is what has been decided." The Donna answered my question in his stead.

"If the order changes, then we'll know."

I nodded quietly as they both got serious looks on their faces and glared at the ceiling in silence.