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Confused, with your mind all muddled, you could barely understand what had happened. You had told yourself not to intertwine with the unknown, but here you were, chasing down this stranger like a mad man. With strands of hair threatening to fall out from your cap, you exhaustingly headed back to the stall after your failed search. The sun bearing down on you like a weighted boulder, you instantly regretted running.
You arrived at your stall and let out a large sigh. Your [e/c] eyes then fell to where your fruits were supposed to lie...and your stomach plummeted. The wooden storage built on your stall was bare, empty of all the colors the fruits had provided. You stumbled backwards and clenched your fists so tight the knuckles turned white. Tears prickled at your eyes, but you held them in.
What were you thinking?! Leaving your stall unattended? No doubt the fruits were going to get stolen, so why didn't you think of the damn consequences?
It wasn't the money you were fretting over the most though.
The thought of your stepmother's wrath was what curled your insides.
Stretching your arm across the frame, you picked up the now-empty basket and miserably began your trek back home. Stepping through the dusty, dirt ground, you numbly ignored the advertisers' attempts to persuade you into buying their products. No longer did you try to keep the male façade, so your head was turned downwards. Dead, glassy hues stared at nothing as your mind continuously echoed the same sentence over and over again: It is all over for me.
The trip went quicker than you liked and as always, when you entered the house, the woman's figure was waiting for you. She would do this every time, almost as if she believed you'd somehow steal the coins from her. Smirking at your discomfited state, she used her maroon painted talons to motion you towards her.
A lump appeared in your throat and you couldn't stop shaking. Following her order, you stood right in front of her and could feel your mouth dry up when she asked, "Where's the money?"
"I...um, I-I," you stuttered profusely.
She looked at you in disgust and her lips curled up into a sneer. The same, fearful talons wrapped around your face, pinching your cheeks roughly. You widened your eyes and wished you could rip away from such a grasp. "Speak up, you ungrateful child."
You opened your mouth and could taste the coppery, warm liquid that seeped from your gums. Forcing words out, you weakly blurted it all out. "The fruits got stolen."
The hand shoved you backwards, hard, and you tumbled onto the hardwood floor. Landing on your back and slightly bumping the back of your head, you refrained from groaning at the pain. You hesitantly peered over at stepmother and saw that she was already up in your face, her eyes twinkling darkly. In one, swooping motion, her right arm pulled back...and before you could comprehend anything...a firm palm whipped across your face.
By instinct, you pressed your hand against the throbbing cheek. More blood filled in your mouth and you leaned over to the side to spit it out. The voice that haunted your dreams rang in your ears again. "You incompetent bitch! What did you do?!"
She grasped the collar of your blouse and yanked it tightly, nearly choking you. You couldn't answer her question though, because what would you say? That you were curious about this man and had decided to follow him, so you abandoned the fruits? Which ever way you phrased this, it wouldn't make sense to this woman...and neither would it to you.
"That's it. You won't have supper tonight. Neither will you eat at all tomorrow." She finally let go of your choke hold and you sprawled on the ground, gasping for air. Brushing her hands off as if she had just touched filth, she calmly picked up the layers of her dress and walked away.
Alone and now wheezing, the tears eventually won you over. Letting out a pitiful gasp, you wrapped your arms around yourself and rocked back and forth. You were going to starve and there was nothing you could do about it - not when you had no money and lived under stepmother's roof.
"Cinder? Are you crying?"
You hastily wiped the droplets from your eyes and raised your head up to see Delphine. The other stepsister had auburn hair, but like the rest of this wretched family, she had dark, beady eyes that cruelly glimmered at you. You could say she was somewhat nicer out of the three, but it wasn't too much of a noticeable improvement.
Her hair was curled and tied up into a ponytail and her face was caked of powder and products. She stood there at the top of the stairs, leaning down and watching you in amusement. "Aren't you a baby," she cooed.
You thought back to your father's words: be the bigger person. You bit down on your tongue to keep your anger from pooling out. Instead of retaliating, you focused on how you desperately needed to shower and sleep. Struggling against the idea of collapsing right then and there, you pushed yourself up. You ignored the repetitive mocking Delphine called out at you and she ultimately grew bored, stomping into her bedroom.
You weaved your way around the house and found the hidden family room that you resided in. It was a narrow room and was very dirty and musty. You tried to clean it up one time, but like the woman she was, stepmother wouldn't allow it.
Gazing at the area, you took in the fireplace that had no fire, but had ashes that flew everywhere. The marble floor dark and covered with dust, it was no longer pretty like it used to be. Cobwebs decorated the corners of the walls and critters crawled beneath the unused furniture that filled most of the space. A small window showed the darkened sky and the glowing moon that radiated your surroundings with white light. Beside it was a door that led to the backyard garden, where you sometimes found yourself in, to escape reality for a quick second.
The sight of all this led you to one decision: showering would make no sense right now. It was better if you did it tomorrow morning.
Sweaty, soapy, and dirty, there you were, laying yourself down onto the blackened mat. The hunger aching in your abdomen, you winced your eyes shut and laid there in the darkness. The Godfather clock in the room ticked loudly, making it all the more harder for you to sleep.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Streets away, at the edge of the outdoor market, dark green eyes anxiously darted from one side to the other - Orbs that were reflected from the flickering candle that sat there on the desk and provided dim light within the shadows. The figure shifted in his seat, the concentration in his expression slowly turning into frustration.
What laid in front of him was a stuffed rabbit that eerily looked a little too real. There was a huge chunk missing though...the cute, doe eyes that should've been there was dotted of dark red substance instead.
The man sighed warily and ran his fingers through his hair in annoyance. Picking up a needle, he stabbed it right through his finger. Blood easily fell from it. Catching the droplets with the glass vial that he held in his other hand, he waited until it reached the 2 cm mark, before he licked the remaining blood that left his body. He smiled in delight for such accuracy and held onto his cane. He twirled it in excitement.
Mixing his blood with an unidentifiable liquid, the brown color suddenly turned into a pretty golden shade. He picked the glass up and gently swirled it for a few seconds.
He nearly dropped it when a loud slam rumbled the office. He spun his chair around to find him facing a short girl, her red eyes too big to be normal and her skin white and flawless as ever. Her gold ringlets framed her face perfectly and she wore an outfit that was pink and overfilled with laces. "Are you finally done with it, master?" she asked, her voice high pitched in a lovely, girly way.
"How many times have I told you not to slam the door?" he said, ignoring her question for a bit. Crestfallen, she looked down at her feet. His eyes softened and he sighed. "Almost."
Like a switch, she went from being sad to excited. Her ears perked up and she bounced across the room, eagerly looking down at his work in progress. She watched as he tipped his new substance onto the stuff animal, dousing it until the gold stuck onto every nook and cranny. A sizzling sound erupted from the toy and the air in the room grew hot. The man and the girl scooted away from it and waited when all was silent once more.
The crystalized stuffed toy stayed still on the surface and the young man got up from his chair. Tightly holding onto his fancy cane, he began walking to the door, not once turning around. "Are you coming?"
"O-oh yes!" the girl responded quickly, peeling her eyes away from the non-moving rabbit. She straightened up and trailed right behind him. Together, they left the room and he closed the door, locking it with a golden key that hung around his neck. "Do you have a plan yet?"
He lightly chuckled at her words, although it wasn't anything funny. "Of course. Who do you think I am?"
Heading to the back of the shop where there was a door that led to the outside world, he paused and whirled around to face the girl. His attractive face without a hint of emotion, he elegantly reached the hat that nestled in his hair. Holding the brim of it firmly, he draped it across his torso and bowed down in farewell...at the girl who couldn't leave.