Episode 18: Beloved Sisters

"No, no. It'll be alright. We'll be a family again," Blair smiled happily to her feline companion. But alas! Nothing was farther from the truth.

Slam!

The door suddenly swung open. The cold wind rushed in and two figures stood at the doorway. Wearing long dark cloaks, they appeared as fearsome wraiths. The kitten immediately hissed and growled at them whilst the little girl retreated closer to the flames, scared at what those two were.

After the door closed, and the cloaks removed, they revealed themselves to be human, or at least something close to it. One was a young teenage girl with short blonde hair. She appeared to be 12-years-old. Surprisingly, just like Blair, the cold didn't seem to affect her at all for she was only wearing a sleeveless black hooded-dress. Not to mention, she was barefoot of all things.

Meanwhile, the other person was a tall, older woman with snow-white skin and raven-black hair. Wearing a black, silk robe with gold embroidery, she was definitely a classy person and yet what definitely stood out was her pointy, old hat. Although in spite of its shabby appearance, there was a majestic aura emanating from it. Furthermore, it had a wicked-depiction of a shinigami-skull embedded at the front. Whoever this person was, the status symbol meant that she was held in high regard in the realm of witchcraft.

"Mother!" the young Blair cried, happily. She went to meet her with open arms. However, she was ignored as the woman brushed pass her and went to the oaken door. She quickly unlocked it not with a silver key, but with a mere wave of her hand.

When the door swung open, red candles inside lit up to reveal a small dark, windowless room. At the center of the room, there was a queen-sized, four-poster bed complete with purple velvet curtains. There was also an ivory dressing table positioned at the side of the room together with a fully-stacked bookcase.

The bookcase seemed to interest her mother the most as she began going through it in search of a certain special book.

"M-Mother?" Blair was confused.

Meanwhile, the blonde girl approached. "It's been two weeks already. Why are you still alive?" she asked, sounding more irritated than concerned. She circled the young Blair, eyeing her like a vulture.

"I-I thought you said you won't bully me anymore, oneechan," Blair responded rather meekly.

"Didn't I tell you not to call me that," she forcefully grabbed the girl's hair.

"Ow! That hurts!"

It was then that she noticed cuts and bruises on her sister's hands. This, coupled with the warm fire, meant that the little girl must have been gathering firewood all by herself. Now, that was surprisingly stupid since she could've just used the furniture in the house for firewood. But, it seems that she cleaned them and the whole house instead. She even fixed the holes in the roof and ceiling.

Medusa couldn't help be amused by this. Blair actually believed them and expected them to return to this dump. It looks like she was just too stupid to realize that she was just left to die up here. However, the fact that she continues to live irritated her to no end. She had to figure out how this was still possible. Then, she noticed the small hissing kitten besides her sister. Well, seeing as how she hasn't eaten that thing yet, she must have found something else to fill her stomach.

She continued to look around until she saw a peculiar object sitting by the fireplace. "What's that doing here?" she sneered as the small pointy hat seemed to repulse her so. Although it was ages ago, she still remembered it to be the one her older sister earned during her initiation.

"Arachne-neechan, gave it to me."

"Oh? When was this?"

"T-Three days ago, but she left already," she cringed as Medusa pulled her hair even harder.

"I see. What did she do here? Did she take anything with her? What did she tell you?" she asked, curiously.

Unfortunately, her hesitant sister replied, "I-Well, I'm sorry. But she made me promise not to tell you."

Hearing this, Medusa was taken aback. She was surprised at how easily Blair calmed down and composed herself. However, now was not the time to be bothered by such trivial matters. Blair knew something and so she had to find out what it was. Medusa eased her hand –'twas a simple gesture meant to calm the frightened girl.

"Come on. I was just kidding. So tell me, what exactly did that woman do here?" she smiled. This has always been the way she was able to bring her sister back into submission. It was a simple task, really. All it took was a few words of kindness, a sincere apology, and a fake smile to win back the confidence lost.

"I'm sorry, Medusa-neechan. But a promise is a promise," Blair smiled back, sensing it safe to do so.

"WHAT!" Medusa snapped back and startled her. Being denied the truth was one thing, but to be treated in such a way especially by Blair was, by far, the greatest insult she ever received. Simply put, it was as though she had given a warm home to a poor animal only to have the wretched beast burn it down and piss all over the remains.

It was unclear how her little sister, her own flesh and blood, was compared to an animal, but to Medusa, it seemed to make perfect sense.

"Ow! Ow! That hurts! Please stop it, Medusa-neechan,"

"Why don't you stop acting like you're the victim here?" she shrieked, almost tearing off a handful of her sister's hair. She was disgusted by how Blair could still keep up her "innocent little girl" act despite all that has happened.

Blair couldn't help but cry in pain. She could feel the hair on her head beginning to tear at the roots. It wasn't long before blood began rushing down to her face. It was so excruciating that she fell on her knees, crying in agony.

Her furry companion tried to save her. She leaped at Medusa's bare feet and attacked, but this only enraged her even more. She stepped on the kitten as hard as she could. Already, she felt its tiny bones beginning to break under her weight.

Blair begged her, "Don't hurt her, please! Stop it!"

She didn't…