Prologue

"Mom, why is daddy angry?"
"Wait here, sweetie. Mom will go and talk to daddy."
"Mommy, I'm scared."
"Don't worry. It'll be okay."

And so she hid.

There she was, sitting under the table, hiding. Knees brought to her chest so she could hug them for comfort and rest her chin on them. Her curly, red hair surrounded her shoulders like a cloud of fire, her emerald green eyes locked on her parents.

She could smell the strong scent of alcohol in the air. She could feel the tension building up, hear her mothers heart beating rapidly. She could sense that something bad was going to happen.

"Valentine, just go to rest. You've drunk way too much, and—"
"Shut up!"

She winced. Tears started to build into her eyes.

"Just let me help y—"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Her eyes widened in shock as she saw his palm slamming against her mother's cheek. A loud slap echoed in the kitchen. Her mother looked scared, but somehow calm. Like she knew what was coming.

"You have no right to help me. You're just a filthy whore!"
"I'm not a –"
"You think that I don't see the glances you exchange with Luke?"
"Luke? He is just a fri—"

Another slap.

A punch. Second. Third.

Her mother stumbled backwards, against the kitchen level. Even though she was clearly not new to this, she still looked hurt.

"Honey, please.."

A kick.
Her mother fell onto her knees.
And watching it made her stomach flip and the tears started running down her round cheeks. A quiet sob escaped her lips. She just wanted to run out of her hiding place and help her mom.

Another kick. And yet another.
Her mother let out a repressed shriek. Her father looked furious, And she was just scared.
It went on for what seemed like hours. Her mother asking him to stop, quietly, at first, yet her pleadings getting louder and more desperate after every kick and every insult.

She heard a loud crack.

Something broke.

Her mother screamed.

Valentine didn't care. Another kick. Thump. Thump. Thump. Crack. Scream.

Another rib broke. She looked like she was going to faint.

"I- I can't breathe…"

This made him stop.
He cursed.

She sobbed loudly.
His gaze turned to her and she tried to get as far away from him as possible, shrink into the corner and just hope he would go away.
But he didn't.
He just came closer.

"Come on, Clary. We'll be going. Now."

Without waiting for answer, he darted towards her, grade her arm and pulled her out of her hiding place.

"Daddy, no! Mommy is not okay! Help her!"

He swung her over his shoulder and made his way to the front door.

She screamed on top of her lungs. He didn't listen. Instead he threw her off of his shoulder and put on the ground, his giant hands grabbing her arms way too tight. She could imagine her bones crushing like her mother's.

"Listen now, you little brat. We are leaving now. You will never mention any of this to anyone, are we clear? Never. To anyone!"

She blinked away the tears and shook her head. Fiery red strands of hair danced around her head as she did so.

"No no no no no! Help her! HELP HER!"

His face hardened. His grip of her arms tightened. She could feel his alcoholic breath on her face.

"Go outside. Now."

He pushed her towards the front door. She tried to run past him, to her mother, but he didn't let her. So she screamed again. And then he slapped her.
She froze. She was shocked. Paralyzed.
Another push towards the door.
Slowly she turned around, and with stiff steps she wen her way to the door and out of it.

She walked to the end of the pathway, stopping there.
For a moment was quiet and calm. Only the silvery crescentbeams were falling over her as the silence stretched and stretched. There was only the delicate sound of the northern wind blowing trough the streets, soughing the glistening leaves of the trees, tickling her bare ankles…

Then she heard a small explosion.
Then there was the fire.
Her father ran out of the house, grabbed her onto his shoulder and ran.

Ran, ran, ran.

As the say…
Nothing beautiful lasts forever.
And she learned it the hard way.

A/N

Thank you so much for reading!

I hope you enjoyed, this is basicly the first of my longer fanfictions and I must admit feeling a little bit nervous about posting this... But well, better try than not try.

Reviews are greatly appreciated!

- Siru -