Isabelle had come over to play today. She was the girl's best friend.
They were sitting on the floor in the living room dressing up their dolls to go to the royal ball. Isabelle was Princess Belle. The girl, on the other hand, didn't have much preference for princesses. She would rather be a queen because they got to boss people around more. So she was the queen. Plus, even better, she heard that there was a real queen with her name and that made it even more fun to call herself Queen Victoria.
They were arriving at the "royal ball" when Mommy entered the room with baby Lara hoisted on her hip.
"Want to bake a cake, baby?" She asked baby Lara, barely acknowledging the fact that her other daughter was also there.
Lara clapped her hands and squealed. "'Nilla!"
Mommy laughed. "Vanilla it is, then. Isabelle? Your mother wants you home soon. Victoria? Bedtime is in five minutes." And with that, she left them to go to the kitchen.
The girl, without any protests, got up and started cleaning up things, despite the fact that it was now that they were getting to the good part. She didn't dare say anything.
Isabelle tried to help by picking up the dolls but only got in the way so the girl asked her kindly to sit on the bed so she could clean by herself. The girl did, after all, like to keep her room in an organized pattern, even though she was only four years old. It was a habit she had picked up from Mommy.
"Have you seen that your mom likes Lara better that you?" Isabelle said.
The girl froze the dresses still in her hand. After a second she shook it off. "O-of course not. My mom likes us both the same."
Isabelle stood up. "No, that's not it." She thought for a moment. "Your mom is always playing with Lara and only talks to you when she has to."
The girl put the dress in the little chest drawer beside the door and straightened. "That's just because Lara's a baby and she needs Mom more than me."
Isabelle shrugged. "Okay, whatever you say. But I still think-"
Mommy barged in. "Victoria! Didn't ask you to be in bed?"
You said what time is bedtime, not when to go to sleep. I can't read time yet. We'll learn it next month in playschool. But of course she didn't say that out loud. She just sighed and said. "I know, Mommy. I'm getting to it."
"You're getting to it? If you weren't so lazy, you'd have been asleep by now."
From the corner of her eye, the girl saw Isabelle give her an I told you so look. She ignored her.
"Mommy..."
"And stop calling me 'Mommy'. You are not a little kid anymore. You are four years old."
The girl didn't say that all her friends still called their mothers "Mommy". They were all four. It wouldn't help anyways. She just sighed again and started heading towards the bathroom to brush her teeth.
When she came back, her room was empty. Mommy...no Mom probably went to help Lara and Isabelle probably went home.
She went to her bed and tucked herself in, waiting until she was older so she could read a bedtime story by herself. Mom didn't come to say goodnight.
It was late. The girl knew that because it was dark, and all she could hear was the grandfather clock Daddy had gotten from an antique store.
She couldn't sleep. Maybe it was because Mom had to go to work this morning so she could sleep until late.
She couldn't go anywhere, partially because it was too dark, but mostly that Mom would get angry.
So as she lay still on her bed, she thought about what Isabelle had said about Mom. Did Mom actually like Lara better than her? She shook her head furiously. No, that was too dense. Mom liked both of them the same.
So why is she always playing with Lara and only talks to you to yell at you?
The girl didn't know the answer to that... but it had nothing to do with preference. So then what?
Let's face it. She likes baby Lara better. You only cause trouble for her.
Did she? Was cleaning up a bit slow annoying? Was calling Mom "Mommy" bad? Did Mom not like that she never argued, only listened?
She turned over and her eyes started to droop.
Before falling back into unconsciousness, she made up her mind to be more observant.
She kept her promise to herself. She didn't say anything, but she kept a close watch on what her mother did. How did she treat both the girls over the same circumstances? If she made the same mistake as Lara, how did Mom treat them?
After two weeks, she had come up with a conclusion. Isabelle was right- Mom liked baby Lara more.
She even played with Lara more. It was obvious. How had she not noticed before?
Today was the day she was going to ask Mom for the truth. The girl dragged her feet into the kitchen, where Mom was making supper. As she stood in the doorway of the kitchen, she wondered if this was a good idea.
She shook of the fear and walked in.
"M-mom?"
"Yes?" Mom didn't turn.
"D-do you like baby Lara more than me?"
Mom stopped. "What?"
The girl repeated the question, more firmly.
Mom spun around so fast that the girl backpedalled. She grabbed hold of the girl's tiny hands with wet fingers from washing the vegetables. Her grip was strong but the girl didn't say anything, didn't even wince.
"What kind of an idiotic question is that?"
Idiotic. The girl would have to add that to the mental list of all the bad words she had heard Mom used.
Mom's grip went tighter. Now it really hurt. It was shooting pain all over her body.
The girl didn't think, didn't even try. Her body felt hot. She was burning, her fingers especially. She was on fire and as quickly as the surge of energy came, it was gone, taking some of her strength with it too. She started to feel lightheaded.
She looked up at Mom... and realized she was frozen. Even Mom's eyes were locked in a lost place.
"Mom? Mom!" The girl wrenched her hands out but Mom was still frozen.
The girl's heart beat frantically. Did the burning have anything to do with Mom's state?
Mom blinked and stumbled, lost for a second. Then her eyes landed on the girl and she stepped forward, closing in the gap that was between them.
"A-are you-" The girl was cut off when Mom's hand struck the girl face.
The girl clutched her burning cheek, tears threatening to fall. She didn't dare let them fall, knowing it wouldn't do anything. She just stared at Mom.
Did Mom just slap her? She never had gotten hit before. Not even her friends had.
"That's what you get for trying to hurt me." There was venom in each word that came out of her mother's mouth. "Get out of my sight. I don't want to see you again."
And with that, the girl ran up the stairs faster than she ever had, stumbling on every other step. She ran to her room and fell on her bed and finally let those tears fall. Mom had given her the answer that she needed. Lara was the perfect daughter.
But why? What did she ever do to Mom? Wasn't she always listening to what she was told?
Downstairs Mom was yelling at someone over the phone.
"-Don't care, Marcel. She used a spell. A binding spell." A pause while she listened to the person on the other side. "No, I've never cast anything in front of them" Pause. "How should I know? No one could possibly have taught her."
So they were talking about her. Of course. She tuned out. She didn't need to hear any of this.
A sob bubbled up and she cried more.
About an hour of this, the girl made up her mind about two things. First, she would hate Lara for making Mom hate her. Second, she would do whatever it took to impress Mom.
And she intended on keeping that promise.
A/N: So what do you think? Like it, Love it, Hate it, or Want to kill me in the middle of the night? Take your pick. If you didn't get it, it's about Tori. For those who haven't read Disenchanted, Lara is actually her sister's name. By the way, the darkest powers pack just came out. It's for 99 cents until December 15, and then it will be for $2.99. It has Dangerous, Divided, and Disenchanted. So, back to the story. The next chapter will be when she grows up. Sorry for the fans of Royally Halloween. I am having a huge writers block. Please. I need ideas.
