Broken Mirrors - Chapter 1 - Lullabies
July 14th, 1961 - 1:34 AM
"Every night she sings lullabies to her burdens and fears because that's what has to be done. The monsters have to fall asleep before she can." - JmStorm
Cissy Black awoke in a pool of her own sweat. Her chest heaved up and down a few times, breathing irregularly, while her mop of thick, blonde hair sprawled across the pillow.
She opened her eyes and looked at the enormous clock hanging on her wall, but Cissy hadn't learnt how to tell the time yet. She'd have to ask Andy. Or Bella, but she'd probably laugh at her.
"Cissy?" Startled by a sudden harsh whisper, Cissy gasped and whipped her head round. Standing there was a figure in a white nightgown, dark hair as thick as Cissy's falling in front of her face.
"You scared me," Cissy sat up in bed, pulling her knees up to her chest. "Go to sleep, Bella."
"I've got a game we're going to play," even in the darkness, Bella's mischievous, wide grin was distinguishable. Her front adult teeth had grown in crooked, but she had a sparkle in her eye.
"I'm sleepy," Cissy whined.
"Don't be stupid. You're always such a crybaby," Bella suddenly snapped; her moods could change in less than a second.
"I'm not a baby, I'm six." Cissy rubbed her eyes, blinking back the tears. She couldn't cry. Crying was for babies, and everyone hated it when she cried.
"Then play the game," Bella smiled again, but the mischievous twinkle was gone. The smile felt menacing. She took a step forwards, and only then did Cissy notice that her sister was carrying a glass bottle.
"What's that?"
"It's Mummy's secret medicine," Bella's wide grin was back. "I stole it from her bedside table earlier. If you tell, I'll kill you."
Cissy wasn't going to tell. She knew that her sister meant every word of her threats. "Mummy's going to be so angry," she said.
"She won't find out. Anyway, you're going to drink it." Bella took another step closer, she was standing right by Cissy's bed now. Bella was like this sometimes. Bossy. Crazy. There was something in her eyes that told Cissy that she would be drinking the liquid inside the bottle, even if Bella had to force the contents down her throat.
Cissy sat up, eyes wide, staring at her sister.
"I don't want to, I'm not thirsty, I just want to go to sleep," she protested in a feeble voice. Bella unscrewed the cap, and Cissy already felt the stench aggravating her gag reflex. "It stinks, Bella, I don't want to." She held her hand over her nose.
"You're doing it. You don't want to be a pathetic little crybaby forever, do you?" Bella taunted, and she held the bottle towards Cissy's mouth, tipping it up. Cissy suddenly leaned forward, grabbed it with both hands, and screwed her eyes shut. She took a gulp, immediately spilling most of the mouthful down her nightdress. She swallowed while Bella snatched the bottle back, eagerly anticipating her little sister's reaction. Cissy started coughing, and spat what she could out, not caring where it went, tears streaming from her eyes. Bella laughed, her high pitched giggle piercing the quiet of the night. Cissy glared at her, desperately trying to stop the coughing and spluttering.
Mummy didn't act like this when she drank it.
Suddenly the door flung open, and another small brunette in a white nightgown stood in the doorway, eyes wide with panic.
"What are you doing? Mummy and Dad are going to hear! You'll wake up Mindy, or one of the other house elves! We'll be in so much trouble!" Andy, the middle child. Stereotypically coming in to keep the peace - if peace was even a thing in the Black household.
"Oh shut up, Andy," Bella snapped, but Andy had already shut the door and walked into Cissy's room.
"Bella! That's Mummy's! And you know that's alcohol, right? Miss Killigrew told me, and she's our tutor so she's definitely right. That's so bad for you. Cissy, why are you drinking it?" Cissy was still wiping her mouth, and face - not having been able to stop the tears this time. She tried not to sniffle too loudly. "Did you make her drink it, Bella?"
"So what if I did? She needs to grow up, anyway. Everyone drinks alcohol," Bella shrugged, as if it was nothing, glaring at Andy.
"I'm eight, you're ten, Cissy's only six, kids don't drink it," Andy snapped back, reaching to snatch the bottle from Bella. The latter was not having any of this, and clung on to the bottle, holding it behind her while pushing her sister away with her free hand.
"Get off, you bitch," Bella snarled, forgetting all about keeping her voice down. The glint in her eyes had transformed from mischievous to vicious.
Andy, provoked now, shoved her back with a much stronger force than Bella was expecting, and the bottle crashed to the floor. Cissy screamed. Andy gasped and took a hurried step back. Bella froze on the spot for a few seconds, before reaching down to brush shards of glass off her legs and feet. She had been cut, but barely flinched.
"Bella," Andy started, taken aback from the shock. Though Bella simply brushed her dark curls out of her face, and looked at each of her younger sisters in turn with the same icy glare.
"This isn't over," Bella snapped, before storming out of the room, slamming the door as she left. A few seconds later, the door to her own room could be heard slamming. Andy looked around at the mess they had made, let out an exasperated cry and stalked out of the door in a similar manner to her elder sister.
Cissy was left alone.
She stifled her sobs, and opened her eyes enough to look at her room. Her dribble and spit had gone all down her nightgown and on her duvet. The shattered bottle lay on the floor, there was liquid everywhere, mixed with shards of glass and drops of blood.
There Cissy was, face down on her pillow, her little face covered in tears and stale tequila. And as she heard voices coming from somewhere else in the house, all she could do now was wait.