Could it be…my mother?
Maria clickedher tongue, drawing my attention back to her. “You’re sodifficult,” she scolded mockingly. “I’ve been luring you in fordays.” Her face flipped to sudden anger and her grimy fingersgrabbed hold of my face, forcing me to look her in the eyes eventhough I already was. “Why are you so stubborn, little sister?”
“M-Maria,” Isay in a whisper. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Do what?” sheasked, feigning innocence. “Take what is owed to me?”
I shook myhead, confused. “What–”
The tip of herdagger pricked the skin of my belly, reminding me it was there.
“This childinside your body.” She paused and ran her free hand over mystomach, making my skin crawl. “It will be mine. I’m owed a childfor the one she wrongfully took from me.”
I grit myteeth. “You can’t have my baby, Maria.”
She shot upand jumped to her feet, flipping the dagger over in her fingerswith ninja-like agility before sheathing it at her side. I watchedfrom the floor, unable to sit up with hands bound behind my back,as she paced the room around me. I quickly took stock of mysurroundings; dark wood paneling,a small fire burning near the back, a grand canopy bed with thickwooden posts. The floor beneath me some sort of stone, cold andpale. Familiar.
Maria strolledover to the fire and stoked it with a metal rod. “You know, I oftenwondered what made you so special,” she said. “Why mother favoredyou so. Why I was never good enough.”
I stole aglance back to the bed, to the body that still laid there unmoving.I willed the person to move, to reveal their face, to give me thatconfirmation that Maria wasn’t fooling me. But I knew, deep down,she wouldn’t. This was it. My wish. It finally came full circle andnow played out in front of me. I found Maria before she killed mymother. With only moments to spare.
I heard herleather boots clomp against the floor as she came back and let outa loud moan as my body suddenly pulled upright from the floor by mytethered hands, the force pulling at the sensitive skin there.Straining the joints of my shoulders. She pushed me up against abedpost and yanked my arms up highabove my head.
“No!” I criedand attempted to pull away when I realized she was tying them tothe canopy.
Maria punchedme square in the jaw, sending my head spinning as blood pooled inmy mouth. Maria’s face twisted with a sick smile as she delightedin the crimson that dripped from my lips.
“What do youthink it is?” she asked me, and when I didn’t answer, continued,“What makes you so much better? We share the same blood. Do wenot?” Her dagger scraped the skin of my face as she dragged itdownward, stinging as it trailed across my neck and chest.“Maybe…you taste different.”
Her eyes litup with devilish delight as her tongue lapped the blood from mychin in one big, disgusting lick. She stared at me as the bloodswished around in her mouth and I flinched nervously when she spatit all back in my face.
“Taste thesame to me.” She gave me a shove as she back away, heading backtoward the fireplace and grabbing hold of the metal rod.Its tip glowing with a fieryorange.
My eyeswidened in horror. “Maria! No, please, I'll give you anything else. Just please don’t hurtus!”
Her headtilted to one side. “Oh, I have a whole lot more than a bit of hurtin mind for the likes of you, little sister.” She came across theroom, a hot poker in hand and held its flaming tip in front of myface, grinning at my discomfort. “But you’ll come later. For now, Iwant to play with mother.”
I craned myneck and twist around to see her sweep the hair from theunconscious woman’s face, revealing the familiar features of aperson I’d once known. A person I’d once loved. Still loved.
“M-Mom! Wakeup!” I called. But she didn’t stir. Tears began to stream down myface, mixing with the blood there.
Maria let outa quiet cackle of laughter as she slowly pressed the hot poker toour mother’s face. The smell of burning flesh quickly filling theair between us. The pain rose her from her unconscious state, andshe shot up with a piercing scream.
“What… what’sgoing on?” She reached up to touch the burnt skin of her cheek andwinced. “Where am I?” my mother cried as she looked around,disoriented and in pain. Shakily, she assessed the fresh wound justburned into her skin and let out a silent cry as her eyes scannedthe room and then landed on me. A sense of recognition in her gaze.“Dianna?”
I nodded,barely holding the tears at bay.
She lit up,despite the serious pain she must have been suffering, and reachedfor me. “Dianna!”
But before herhand could touch me, Maria’s red-hot poker jabbed into Mom’s arm.Another scream filled the room and she fell back onto the bed in afit of painful cries. It killed me to watch her hurt, to see theinflictions Maria forced upon her, unable to do anything aboutit.
“Mom!” Istrained against my ties.
“The heartfeltreunion will have to wait,” Maria said angrily. “I’ve got plans foryou both.”
“Maria,please!” Mom begged. “Let Dianna go, and I’ll tell you whatever youwant. I’ll do whatever you ask.”
“You’ve been denying me long enough, Mother! I’vebeen plaguing you for days. You will tell me whatever I wish toknow, and you’ll do it now. In front of her,” Mariareplied and pointed the hot poker in my face. “I want my sister tohear you say the words. Why you hated me so.”
“I didn’t hateyou, Maria, you know that!”
“Lies! Youtried to have me killed!”
“I tried tohave you stopped,” Mom corrected, her eyes, just like mine,full of pleading tears. “You’re my child. I could never hurt you.But you were a danger to so many. You did so much wrong. It was myresponsibility to put a stop to it. If I had known…”
Mariaguffawed. “Yet, you couldn’t even do it yourself. You got thebloody witch and a pirate to do your dirty work and then stole mychild!”
“I
