Fields of Purple

It was the first day of July. The enchanting smell of lavender filled up the air, as the warm southern wind made its way across vast fields of the French Provence. Raising above them was a hill and right there on that hill stood an old convent, majestic in both its size and age.

The old convent had a reputation. Rumor had it, that it had been a home to the pagan goddesses that came from above in search of earthly pleasures. But the girls living there were made out of bone and blood and were as earthly as one can be. They were tucked away in the countryside, safe and sound amidst the purple fields and luscious trees, far far away from people.

During summer, they would rise up before the sun and go about their morning chores. While some of them would collect fresh produce from the fertile gardens that they themselves prepared and planted back in spring, others would keep busy harvesting ripe apples and pears, dangling from the fruit trees.

This morning was no different. All the girls were gathered in the gardens, giggling and gossiping away. The wind kept playing with their plain white dresses, lifting them up and revealing the pale skin hiding under. They didn't seem bothered by the wind's foolish attempts to look under their skirt. Quite the contrary... they adored how it made dresses take on a shape of their own.

Consumed in their work, they completely missed the sight of dust raising above the road that led up to the convent. It was only when the beating sound of horse hooves came closer, that they awoke from their daydreaming. Curious and intrigued, they turned their heads towards the dusty road, waiting patiently to see who was coming.

It didn't take long before they were able to distinguish that the carriage, making its way up the dusty old road, pulled by two black Friesians, belonged to someone they knew. The carriage stopped abruptly right at the big entrance door and out stepped Lady Chatelain. It was unusual for her to be at the convent during the day. The only time she would ever really visit was when she would bring a new girl there, and that would always happen during the night.

This time Lady Chatelain was here in broad daylight and she was by herself. It seemed as if she was in a hurry. Her dress was made out of expensive red silk and it covered her whole body, except her widely exposed cleavage. Even her hair and face were hidden behind a golden laced veil.

None of the girls had seen her since she brought them there. With her always changing her appearance and hiding her face behind the make-up, extravagant hairstyles, veils and head coverings, most of the girls barely even remembered what her face looked like. She was like a ghost. Her face remained hidden behind a golden veil as she entered the door and disappeared from sight.

Bianca, the most curious and bold of all the girls, grabbed the edges of her plain white dress and pulled it up, exposing her beautiful long legs and bare feet, that were covered in black soil. Without a single bit of hesitation she ran across the garden, all the way up and around the convent, squatting down under the window of the main office, where Lady Chatelain was already having a conversation with the abbess in charge of the convent.

"Fifty thousand dollars? No one ever offered that much money for a girl. What's so special about Bianca?" A sense of confusion overwhelmed Bianca's body as she heard Lady Chatelain mention her name.

Marianne, the abbess in charge of the convent, abruptly interrupted her: "Keep your voice down! You are putting us all in danger showing up here during the day. You are lucky none of our clients are visiting today! Take your share and leave".

Lady Chatelain, offended by the way she was treated, grabbed her 20.000 dollars, and approached Marianne. She grabbed her neck in a slightly threatening way, coming so close that their cheeks touched: "The only reason I am here is because I have to leave this town immediately and I came to collect the money you still owe me for Bianca." She hissed at Marianne in a dangerous tone, while one of her fingers made its way down Marianne's neckline.

Marianne looked her right in the eyes, straightening her spine and making herself look bigger than she was: " The man is coming to collect Bianca on her 16th birthday and you have to make sure you are gone by then. Bianca is different than the rest of them, and she has been resisting this life ever since you brought her here. It would be no good for us if she ran into you after she gets out of here." She cautioned her, taking a breath before continuing the conversation: "With you leaving, who is going to collect your money from now on?" She asked.

"Don't worry about that. You couldn't possibly think that I would just forget about the money you still owe me for the girls? I will send someone to collect it for me. Someone will also keep bringing in the new girls. We will keep the business running just the same, even with me far away." Lady Chatelain reassured Marianne and turned on her feet, ready to walk away.

Suddenly she stopped and turned her head: "Where is the man from?" She asked, her eyes piercing through Marianne.

"He comes from the city of Lyon, but he arranged for Bianca to live on one of his properties in Marseille". Answered Marianne.

"Oh getting a little too confident letting girls stay so close, are you Marianne?" She mused at Marianne. Then she continued: "Well, you couldn't have come up with a new strategy at a better time." She clapped at Marianne. "With Bianca staying in Marseille and me leaving for Paris, we have nothing to worry about." Lady Chatelain reassured Marianne, who was visibly tense and worried.

Bianca, still squatting outside Marianne's window, now heard Lady Chatelain walking away. Frightened and shocked by what she just heard, she barely managed to catch her breath. She got up on her feet, quickly making her way back to the gardens to reunite with all the other girls and watch Lady Chatelain leave.

Bianca knew, just like all the other girls, that there will come a day when she will have to leave the convent. For most girls this was their life long dream. They were raised to one day leave the convent and finally start fulfilling their destiny, just as Lady Chatelain and Marianne had taught them. But not Bianca... She was different. This was not the life she had chosen. It was the life that was forced upon her.

She tried to remember how she came to meet Lady Chatelain in the first place. The earliest memory she had of her life, was holding Lady Chatelain's hand, standing in front of a beautiful house that wasn't her own. She could not remember where she came from or who she was with, before she ended up in front of that house with Lady Chatelain. She must have been very small, because she remembered herself looking up at the entrance door and thinking how enormous they seemed. That house became her home and she stayed there until the age of 10, and then she was sold to the convent where she had been staying ever since.

Now more memories started coming back to her like a wild river. She remembered the times at Lady Chatelain's villa... There were other girls there, similar in age. But there was also a group of women that were older and they were the ones taking care of Bianca and other girls that Lady Chatelain brought to the house. Lady Chatelain only ever came to the house when she brought new girls there, and occasionally to check on their progress. The girls didn't like her too much, nor did the caretakers, but she was the boss and the boss is to be obeyed.

Despite Lady Chatelain's occasional visits, growing up in that house was fun. They played a lot, running around the house and rolling around in the fields. They read poetry and books. They learned about history, mathematics and instruments. At a young age they were already being taught how to seduce a man or a woman, with the help of words. Bianca knew that the way they were brought up was unusual, because the girls she read about in her books had a completely different childhood. Yes... life at Lady Chatelain's villa was definitely odd. Despite their young age, the girls were taught how to trick people into giving them everything they wanted.

However, it was not until the girls were brought to the convent at the age of 10 and living there, when the unusual really took place. After selling them to the convent, Lady Chatelain remained a big part of their everyday life there, of course never exposing herself to anyone. She would send the caretakers from her house to visit the girls at the convent and teach them all that still needed to be taught. By the time the girls were 16 years old, they were the most wanted courtesans in the whole wide Europe, despite the fact that they haven't yet shared a bed with a man.

Unlike most other girls, who blindly believed that Lady Chatelain, however mean and odd she was, was doing them a big favor and had saved them from the streets or certain death, Bianca now knew the truth. They were Lady Chatelain's and Marianne's slaves. By the age of 15, Bianca was now already sold two times. First to Marianne and now to this mysterious man.

She had to run away!

Bianca quickly ran up to her room, buried her hands deep under her mattress and pulled out her little black notebook. Scared and confused, she tried writing down everything she possibly could. She wrote down her name and she mentioned that she is now living in a convent, close to the town of Marseille. She mentioned Lady Chatelain and Lady Marianne and described how she is being sold to the highest bidder. But then it hit her... Where is she going to send this letter?

Oddly enough in this moment of need, she somehow managed to remember the recurring dreams she had as a child.

In her dreams, Bianca was holding a hand of a girl she didn't know. She was taller than Bianca and had beautiful long hair, with her golden locks falling all the way to her hips. She was laughing, looking down at Bianca, with a pretzel in her hands. They were walking hand in hand, in a village Bianca couldn't recognize. Bianca turned her head and there she saw carved in stone on one of the houses: Promenade des Rosiers, Annecy. And then the wind came, lifting Bianca up and carrying her away. "Adeline, Adeline, help...." Bianca screamed as the wind took her away. That was all she was able to recollect from her dreams.

She carefully wrapped the notebook containing the letter. She secured the little package with a twine.

On it she wrote :

"To Adeline, the girl with the golden locks...

Promenade des Rosiers, Annecy".

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