Prologue
The girl looked at her mother's reflection in the mirror. Her mom was combing her hair. The girl waited as her mother worked. She was usually very jittery, but she was trying to be patient for now. Unfortunately, it was proving to be quite difficult for the young girl. To distract herself, she gazed around her room. Her bed was neatly made, obviously the work of her mother. Her drawings were scattered around in the corner of the room, on the desk where she usually sketched. She mainly drew pictures of her and her family, like her mother, father, cousin…
"There," her mom said. She set the comb down on the desk. "All done. Now go to bed, okay, sweetie?"
"Mommy, can you tell me a bed time story?" the girl asked.
The mother glanced at her. She was about to say no when she noticed the young girl's expression. She sighed and nodded. "Oh, all right. Go lie down."
The girl hurried to her bed. She slid under the covers. Her mother sat on top of the bed. She was silent for a moment while she waited for her daughter to settle in. Then she said:
"Once upon a time, there were three sisters. They went with their parents to an art gallery. They decided to explore the gallery by themselves for a while, so they split up from their parents. The sisters wandered around, looking at interesting paintings and sculptures that were displayed throughout the gallery.
"Then they came across a big painting. It was filled with a large variety of colors, and it caught their eye immediately. They observed it for a bit before the lights started flickering. They went to search for their parents, but couldn't find them or anyone else in the gallery. Frightened, they tried to leave, but the exit was locked. Eventually, they stumbled upon a large floor painting that had footsteps leading into it. They inspected the painting and then somehow went into it. They found themselves in a different gallery, where they each had roses. The roses represented their life, and if the roses withered, so would they.
"They went through the dim gallery, solving many puzzles along the way. Eventually, they found another person who also got trapped in the gallery. He was a kind man who tried to protect the sisters as much as he could. He helped them in rough situations and kept them out of harm's way. Soon, the four of them found another person. She was a young girl who seemed harmless at first, but she ended up being very dangerous. Soon after meeting her, the five of them got separated: The man and oldest sister were together, and the other sisters were with the girl.
"Eventually, the man and oldest sister discovered that the girl was actually a painting. Somehow, she found out that they knew, and she was overcome with emotion; she was angry, confused, and upset, because she knew that if the two sisters she was with found out, they would become afraid and leave her. Overwhelmed, she attempted to harm the youngest sister, but the middle sister stopped her.
"When the two sisters reunited with the man and oldest sister, they left the painting girl. Soon, they entered an area that seemed to be entirely drawn in crayon. After getting past all the puzzles, they were pushed into a toy box by the painting girl. Inside the toy box, the painting girl had stolen the oldest sister's rose. The man traded his rose for the sister's, and the painting girl promptly began to rip the petals off his rose, which severely wounded the man. The oldest sister was furious with the painting girl, and she rushed away to stop her. She managed to save the man, and with the help of the middle sister, she burned down the painting that the girl came from, and with it, the girl burned away as well.
"Once it was all over, the four of them ventured on. Soon, they entered an art museum that strongly resembled the original gallery. They found the painting that had started it all and traveled back to the former gallery. When the four of them reunited in the original gallery, the sisters didn't remember the man at first, or vice versa. But then the oldest sister found something that the man had given her before, and it triggered her memories of the twisted gallery. After the rest of them remembered everything, they cheered about how they all managed to make it out safely. The sisters wanted to introduce the man to their parents, and the four of them hurried off, discussing the bizarre events that occurred that day."
The mother stopped talking. Having said a mouthful, she was a bit out of breath. She glanced down at her daughter, who was not yet asleep.
"No 'happily ever after'?" the young girl asked, frowning.
The mother chuckled. "They lived happily, all right. The man and oldest sister ended up marrying each other and having a daughter. The middle sister found someone too, and she also had a daughter."
"What about the youngest sister?"
"She chose not to get married," the mother replied. "But she was happy, too. Even after everything that happened, the sisters and the man were still very close. They called and met up with each other quite often, sharing stories about their day."
The young girl snuggled deeper in bed and closed her eyes. "I want to go to an art gallery…"
The mother smiled uncomfortably.
The girl reopened her eyes, noticing her mother's lack of response. "Can we, Mom? I think there's an art gallery near us. Can we go, please?"
The mother tensed up. "Um… I don't think so, sweetie…"
"Pleeease? Come on, Mom. Pretty please with a cherry on top?"
The mother knew she should just say so, but she also knew that her daughter was extremely persistent. If she told her that they couldn't go, the young girl would just keep begging and nagging her about it until she finally gave in. She sighed of defeat and said, "…All right."
"Yaaay!" The girl giggled. "We can go tomorrow!"
"Your father has work tomorrow," the mother reminded her.
"We can go without Daddy. He'll understand, right?"
The mother sighed again and nodded halfheartedly. She gave her daughter a quick kiss on the forehead. "Good night, sweetie."
"Good night, Mommy." She closed her eyes again.
The mother quietly left the room and closed the door behind her. Then she grabbed her phone and dialed her sister's number.
"Hello?" answered the voice on the other line.
"Terra?" the mother said.
"Yeah, it's me. Is something wrong?"
She lowered her voice and pulled the phone closer to her. "We have a problem."
XXXXX
Terra gripped the phone in her hands. "What happened?"
"Hailey asked me for a bed time story," Terra's younger sister, Kasey, said.
Terra furrowed her brow. "…And? Why is that a problem?"
"Well… I told her our story," Kasey said slowly.
"What do you —" Terra's voice trailed off. "You don't mean… The gallery story, do you?"
Kasey's voice was quiet. "Maybe."
"Kasey!" Terra exclaimed.
"I never actually said that it happened to us," Kasey said quickly. "But Hailey must have been pretty interested in the story, because she wants to go to an art gallery now."
Terra was silent for a moment. "Did you say no?"
"You know how she is. If I say no, she'll just keep asking me about it."
"Then don't take her to the Guertena exhibition. Take her to another gallery."
"There's no other gallery anywhere near us!" Kasey pointed out, sounding frustrated.
Terra exhaled. "When are you planning to go?"
"…Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?!" Terra exclaimed.
"What do you want me to do, Terra?" Kasey demanded.
"I want you to not go," she replied coolly. Then she sighed. "I don't want anything to happen to you."
"I'll be careful," Kasey assured her. "You can trust me, can't you?"
Terra was silent. Kasey had just made up her mind for her. "I'm coming with you."
"…What?"
"Garry and I will come with you," Terra told her. "Ib can come too, if she wants."
"What about your daughter?" Kasey asked. "You can't leave her alone."
Terra bit her lip. "Then I'll have to take her, too."
"Are you sure we should be risking this?"
"It's better than you going alone," Terra replied. "Garry and I will pick you and Hailey up tomorrow. We'll bring Alex with us. For now, you should call Ib and ask her if she wants to come, too. Call me back with the answer."
"Okay… Thanks, Terra," Kasey said.
"Hey, you're my younger sister," Terra said. "I can't let anything happen to you or Hailey." She paused. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Right," Kasey said. "Bye."
Terra hung up and sighed, wondering how her younger sister always managed to get them into trouble.
A/N: So that's the prologue. Sorry for the large amount of dialogue but it's basically just setting up for the rest of the story.
Reviews and feedback would be appreciated.