text: [Themes: grimdark fantasy, female protagonist]
  
  They say that running away from a problem never solves it, but you're skeptical about this. Since your problems seem to stem from the people of Endlemire, it just seems to make the most sense to relocate yourself. You slip out of your house one day while Father is at work. His work schedule has been the same for as long as you can remember, and you have no worries that he will return home early. This should give you enough time to get away. You are more concerned about being seen by one of the villagers. Nervously you creep away from the only home you've ever known. It doesn't take you long to reach the edge of the village, where you stop and look around.
  
  Endlemire is a quaint little place, nestled up against the mountains. A lot of men in the village mine and quarry there. Nearby there is a swamp, which has a bit of a history to it. Originally it was a swamp, but then it was cultivated. During a particularly bad flood, it was turned to a swamp again and the people never bothered cultivating it again. Then there is the road winding out of the village; it only goes in one direction. As its name suggests, Endlemire is pretty much the end of the line since the mountains were never made fully traversable.
  
  While running away seemed like a good idea at the time, you realize you've never been outside the village and you don't really know anything about life outside of it.
  
  What do you plan to do about this?
  
  > give up: you're just a child.
  This is probably the wisest course of action, even if it's a painful one. Children often feel helpless against the adults in their life, especially ones as oppressive as those in your village, but it's all you've ever known. Sadly, you make your way back to Endlemire, fortunately before anyone discovers that you're gone.
  
  Things become worse once you hit puberty. Despite the fact you can't control the way your body changed, the women seem scandalized by your very presence. You can't seem to cover yourself up enough to please them, and they accuse you of flaunting yourself, of trying to corrupt their sons and husbands. This confuses you at first; you weren't given the information to know what they were implying. But when that knowledge finally comes out, it doesn't help matters much. No matter how demure you try to act, or how modestly you dress, it isn't enough. Proper men and women look away from you. Younger men, or those of rakish reputation, won't stop looking at you, and their looks seem rather hungry to you. In all of this, Father never stands up for you. He pretty much ignores the whole situation; at least he doesn't join in with the crowd.
  
  During your seventeenth year, Father passes away. You feel almost nothing for the loss of your only known family member, though you do feel a niggling guilt for not being sad. You've been taught that filial duty and affection are important, but the only things you felt for Father while he was alive were resentment and fear. And with his death, you think, perhaps, you might find some peace and quiet. This, however, is not to be. Without Father around, you find yourself under almost constant harassment. Often your house is pelted with rotten produce, mud, or other unpleasant matter. In proper company, you are shunned and when you find yourself is less proper company, you find that people treat you with uncomfortable familiarity. One day a group of young men, just a few years older than yourself, corner you and rip your clothes until they're hanging on you in tatters. While they do you no physical harm, their taunts and your sudden lack of modesty shames you. You return home in tears, listening to the shouts and jeers of the villagers.
  
  After that incident, you find it hard to even buy food half the time. What money Father left you apparently has become tainted by the fact that you own it; at least, that is how the villagers seem to act. It is now hard to keep the less reputable elements away from you. In particular there is a young man named Conroy who always seems to have his eyes on you. Eventually he catches you alone behind the blacksmith's shop and propositions you. Or, to be more accurate, he starts pulling at the fabric of your high collar. Your first instinct is to pull away from him, but he puts his arms on either side of you, making it harder to get away. You've never been very big or strong, even for a girl.
  
  "Now, now; don't pretend you haven't dreamed of this," he says, leaning in closer to you, making you even more uncomfortable. You try to come up with some sort of response, but your words seem to be failing you right now. Taking this as tacit consent, Conroy reaches again for your clothing. You try to squirm out of the way, but you're effectively trapped.
  
  "You don't need to put on the shy act for me; I know all about your kind." His smugness is overwhelming. Briefly you wonder how he managed to know a know about any kind of woman that would give in so easily, but then you remembered that he spent time in one of the larger cities. Or maybe men just talk about things out of earshot of the women. You don't have much more time to think about such things though, because Conroy is being very insistent. The loud sounds from the blacksmith's shop make it even harder to concentrate. What is it that Conroy is saying now?
  
  "You're not likely to get a better chance; no one respectable will ever want to be seen with you."
  
  You have conflicted feelings towards this.
  
  Which impulse do you follow?
  
  > slap Him. You're not like that!
  It is understandable that you are angry, but perhaps you should have been a little wiser. Conroy is stronger than you and he doesn't have a stain on his reputation the same way. In fact, he's part of a rather prestigious family in town. For some reason you have never been able to fathom, a man can get away with a great deal more things than a woman can. Of course, this is another thing to fuel your anger. Unfortunately, Conroy doesn't respect your right to express your feelings, especially when it involves his face. But you're not surprised about this, are you?
  
  The young man retaliates by backhanding you hard enough to make you topple over. You land in the mud, and he laughs unpleasantly. Your virtue is in tact, for now, but that hardly matters. Conroy spreads the rumor that he was seduced by you and your reputation is damaged even further, while he somehow manages to get sympathy. Sympathy! You might have saved yourself some trouble by giving in, but you couldn't have predicted that he would spread lies about you. For a moment you even wonder if your mother had done whatever had disgraced her. Perhaps she was a victim of lies as well.
  
  Whatever the case may be, it doesn't help you in the here and now. Life is pretty miserable for you. There is a lot more hostility from the villagers than there ever has been, and sometimes you even get 'escorted' home by the local constabulary for 'disturbing the peace' when all you're doing is simply walking. Anyone who cares more about their reputation than their money refuses to serve you, which is almost everyone. You start to become thin and weak, and must ration your food carefully because you're never certain whether you can buy more or not.
  
  You need to do something about this.
  
  > swallow your pride and apologize.
  The most recent increase of hostility was the consequence of slapping Conroy. While the bile rises in your throat just thinking of him and his lies, you believe that he's the only one who can fix the mess he started. It's jarring to have to apologize to someone because you weren't willing to be taken advantage of, but there you have it. Though you admit to yourself that maybe you shouldn't have slapped him, you still don't feel that his way of getting even was fair. By the way you have been treated, you have little room for pride in your life anyhow, and if this can be fixed at all, you have to take that chance. You don't imagine that life will be much better away from Endlemire.
  
  Since making your decision, you had been watching the comings and goings of Conroy's household, hoping to get him alone, simply because you are certain everyone else would turn you away, or even have you arrested. Today has brought you your best chance, so you have taken it. With a feeling like hot coals in your belly, you make your way to his home. He comes from a well respected, somewhat affluent family, and the manor is a bit intimidating. Timidly you knock on the door. At first there is no response, and you're about to turn away when you hear the lock from inside being undone. Moments later the door opens, and Conroy is standing before you. You are immediately hit full force with the return of your disgust for him, but you bury it deep enough that it doesn't show on your face; all you want to show is contrition.
  
  Conroy's first reaction is one of surprise, but it is quickly replaced by a rather smug look that makes it so tempting to slap him again, despite your resolve to fix the situation. Casually he folds his arms across his chest and stares at you expectantly, waiting for you to speak first. You mentally curse yourself as your words seem to elude you, but finally you manage to actually say something.
  
  "I... I've come to apologize," you say. No one has ever accused you of being eloquent.
  
  "I'm waiting then."
  
  "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have slapped you," you say, lowering you head.
  
  "And?"
  
  "And what?" You're not sure what else he wants.
  
  "An apology doesn't mean much if you're not willing to actually fix things. Words are cheap."
  
  Frankly you're stunned. You thought you made it very plain that you didn't have any interest in him. That's what caused this whole problem in the first place. Surely he doesn't expect you to give him what he wants now, after all the lies he spread afterwards. But you're not sure how to get this across without making matters worse. Fortunately for you, he speaks up again, saving you the trouble of possibly saying the wrong thing.
  
  "Come inside; we can discuss how you can make it up to me."
  
  You're sure you are going to regret it, but you follow Conroy inside. Both of you are quiet as you are lead to a room that looks like a servant's quarters. He shuts the door behind you, and leans against it, his body language casual despite a somewhat malevolent gleam in his eyes. You have a bad feeling about this and it turns out that you were right about regretting this. At the start you had assumed that Conroy simply wanted to get what he was looking for in the first place. But no, you committed two crimes against him, that of striking him and that of rejecting him. While one might have passed, the two of them together meant that he wants any return to be tenfold.
  
  In the end, he demands your complete obedience and compliance. On the surface, as far as the villagers know, your life hasn't changed, though Conroy publicly 'forgives' you for your actions against him. Eventually the villagers back off a bit and leave you in relative peace. The reality is that Conroy demanded a key to your house, which he uses to visit you whenever he wants gratification. He also 'loans' you out to some of his less savory friends and you are made to suffer any abuses in silence. And there are many abuses indeed. The only upside is that you're no longer starving; Conroy makes sure that you're well fed if only to keep up your energy for your nightly exertions. Eventually you learn that he's been making quite a bit of money from you; money that you never see a single penny of.
  
  After five years of this you've had enough. Your only tiny consolation is that you never got pregnant; bringing a child into such a life is just as repugnant to you as killing one unborn. One evening Conroy comes in to find you naked, your sheets blood-soaked and your wrists and thighs slashed. He simply leaves you there. Since you left no note, he never knew if you had killed yourself or if one of his 'clients' had a much darker imagination than he had anticipated. The next night he arranges an 'accidental' fire, destroying any evidence. You are never mourned.
  
  Your life has come to a close; perhaps it was your choices that brought you here, and perhaps it was just cruel fate.