Prologue

"…And they lived happily ever after. The end."

"Another story! Ma ma can you read to me another one?" A child yelled excitedly eyes beaming and pulling her mother's sleeve.

The mother smiled and placed the reddish-brown story book on the bed. Raising her right hand over her child's head, she rubbed it gently while pulling the thick blanket over the child with her left. The child closed her eyes and gave a satisfied face, clearly enjoying her mother's affection.

"That's the third story tonight." The exhausted mother spoke, still maintaining the smile and tucking her daughter into bed.

"But I can't sleep!" The child eye's suddenly burst open with hands stretched out towards the ceiling and sat up, carefully ensuring that she does not hit her mother's hands accidentally and dropping her much-loved story book to the carpet floor in the process. The book fell with a silent thump, which was loud enough to be heard in the pin-drop silence bedroom. A few pages folded as a result.

The mother exhausted at trying to put her energetic daughter asleep but also loving her too much not to get angry at her, grabbed her child's tiny hands with as little amount of strength she could manage and set them down. She thought of ways to put her child to sleep.

"I just love fairy tale endings, where the princess and the prince get married and everyone is happy." The little girl muttered, hugging the little doll beside her.

"I promise to read to you another one tomorrow." The mother replied, bending down to pick up the storybook. She unfolded the pages and closed the book; the book was one of two-story books filled with fairy tales which she gave to her daughters for Christmas the year before. Each of them had only one of the two.

"Ma ma, do you know where the other book is? I would like to hear stories from that book too." The child asked innocently, eyes staring straight at her mother's. An eager smile formed on her face.

The mother's heart melted, seeing her precious baby daughter looking up at her with those big blue eyes, waiting anxiously for an answer. She placed the book on her lap and leaned in to kiss her child on the forehead. The little girl stayed still and offered no resistance.

"The other book is with your sister." The mother said softly, almost like a whisper.

The child upon hearing her mother's words dropped her head in obvious disappointment and sighed. The two pigtail braids on each side of her face fell and she hugged her doll even tighter.

The mother stunned at her child's reaction, tried to comfort her after she figured what her child meant. She used her hands to push away the two braids covering the saddened child's face and placed them behind her ears. Clenching her right fist and using her forefinger, the mother lifted the child's head by a little from the chin; she could see light freckles appearing on her daughter's fair skin. The little girl continued looking down and tears forming in her eyes, allowed her mother to raise her head.

"My dear Anna, what are you so sad about?" The mother looking for any signs of reaction from her daughter asked in a weary tone. It was not usual for Anna to be depressed, she was always the sunshine in the family, cheerful and upbeat. Even when she fell while learning how to ride her new bicycle, Anna simply picked the bike up, joked about it and continued, ignoring the pain. Almost nothing could dampen her spirits, certainly not a rainy day; whatever bothered her now was something that meant a lot to her and her mother was keen to find out what.

"I used to see her every day, but now it it's like she's gone away. She shuts me out when I want to spend time with her. For a time she would ask me to go away, but now…she doesn't even answer me anymore. It's as though I don't exist. Why wouldn't she see me, why is she doing this ma? " Anna sobbed, tears streaming down her rosy cheeks. Her lips clasped together.

"Anna…" Her mother spoke. It breaks a mother's heart to see her daughter cry, even more so when the reason was partly due to her. She wiped the tears across Anna's face using her thumps.

"You have to understand that…"

"It's always so lonely around here." Anna snuffled. "Am I supposed to spend the rest of my life without anyone to play with or talk to?" She let's go of her doll and rubs her eyes and nose.

"Your sister loves you and I'm sure she wants to spend time with you as well. She just needs time to be alone for now." Her mother replied, feeling guilty and tried her best to give a smile, hoping to cheer her daughter up.

I'm sorry for all this. It pains me as much as it pains you to have your childhood spoiled because of me.

Anna with eyes red looked up at her mother and hugs her. She squeezes her mother hard, as though she had not seen her mother in ages, letting go of all the emotions kept inside of her all these time. She was afraid she lost her mother as well. Anna would spend hours just waiting and hoping outside her sister's bedroom, hoping that she might eventually concede and open the door.

Her mother overwhelmed with sadness hugged her in return and gently pats her back. It did not matter that her eight year old daughter was holding her so tightly, though it made her breathing slightly harder. What matters most was that her daughter was still here, alive, from the accident that nearly claimed her life. But now she was determined to return to her daughter her childhood.

"Don't worry my dear. You'll see your sister again soon. I promise." Her mother spoke with all possible earnestness she could muster.

With this young Anna eased her hug and enjoyed the rest of the night in her mother's arms. She could feel her mother's warmth, which gave her a sense of comfort and security. Anna felt relieved after releasing all the emotional baggage weighing her down and puzzled about what her mother meant. Her sister was notoriously famous for staying in her room; it would take nothing short of a miracle to persuade her otherwise. Still it was late in the night and tiredness has gotten the better of her. She closes her eyes and tried to keep herself awake, focusing on the constant sound of her breathing. She did not want this moment to end, for after this comes with having to endure another day of isolation and rejection from her only sister. But it was hard as the room was built with such great craftsmanship that hardly any sound from the outside world could be heard. It was not long before Anna gave in and fell into a deep sleep.

Her mother still having her child in her arms tucked her little girl into bed, careful not to wake her. She could hear Anna's soft breathing. Even in her sleep Anna looked cheerful, her lips bent as though almost smiling. Her mother returned the doll to Anna, placing it beside her and lingered for a while to make sure her daughter had truly fallen asleep before quietly making her way to the door. She placed the reddish-brown storybook on the bookshelf and blew out the candles which lit the room before making her exit.

Closing the door behind her, the mother exhaled and proceeded down the hallway. The long empty hallway was dimly lit up with wall candles, the white coloured wax accumulated underneath each holder, much like stalactites of a cave. Areas which candles could not light up, moon light did, shining in from the windows. Paintings and portraits of various size and age decorated the walls at regular intervals. All these combined together would give a new comer an uneasy, eerie feeling, but this was no visitor, it was the queen.

Did I just tell a lie? Was it that easy to lie to an eight year old?

Thoughts raced through her head, on one hand she had a secret to keep, on the other a promise.

On this night she would have to break one.