Reincarnated as an Ugly Step Sister

Chapter 15

"What's going on?" I yell in panic, my hand flying to my face.

"Shhh," Mother says, closing the door behind me. The floor is covered with blood, Poppy's eyes are full of tears, and five bloody lumps sit by the glass shoe.

The room begins to spin but I force myself to think. In the original Cinderella, one of the stepsisters cut off her toes to get her foot to fit into the shoe and the other cut off her heels. "You made Poppy cut her toes off to fit the shoe?" I turn to my mother. This has gone too far, I knew the story could get gruesome but I wasn't prepared for this.

"Violet?" A concerned prince yells from downstairs and I hear his footsteps thumping up the stairs.

The door flies open with a bang and the prince lays his eyes on the blood sight before him.

"My god." His eyes widened and his face goes pale but he manages to stay relatively calm, far more calm than I am at least.

My back is pressed up against the wall in shock and horror and I realize there are tears in my eyes. The prince motions for me to get behind him and I do exactly that. My mother's face contorts into a vicious and insane smile as she tries to cover up the scene before her.

"Your highness!" She speaks calmly, her smile faltering only to add to her unhinged demaneor. "Poppy had an accident, please, do not concern yourself with her clumsiness. We will be down with you shortly if you would just-"

The prince cuts her off. "Guards!"

The clanking of metal can be heard rushing up the steps. A part of me is relieved that my mother might be taken away, no matter how twisted it is to think that. After all the things she's done and all the things she, without a doubt, would attempt, I know that it would probably be better if she was locked away, far away.

Five guards rush into the room at the prince's command and survey that bloody mess. The prince signals for them to halt.

"Apprehend this woman and call a doctor for the young girl. Her wounds need to be treated immediately. Make sure they bring pain killers." The prince commands. His calm demeanor doesn't falter for a second and I feel my heart rate start to go down at how controlled the situation seems on his end.

"I am her mother, you can't just take me away!" Mother screeches, her crazed state becoming more and more apparent by the minute.

None of the guards listen as they roughly restrains her. Her body becomes limp as she lets out a quiet sob. Her head flies up as she screeches. "It's not over yet! If I can't have it here then I'll just have to go elsewhere." She digs out a dagger from a hidden pocket of her dress and flings it toward the prince's head.

In that split second my reflexes from my past life kick in. I grab a metal tray off of the dresser next to me and shove it in front of Nicholas as the knife bounces off with a clang. Despite how calm he has managed to remain up until now I notice him flinch.

"Curses!" Mother glares at me and while the guards are distracted she fishes out a suspicious bottle. The bottle crashes to the ground resulting in broken glass and with a puff of smoke she disappears like a magician.

"Transportation magic!" One of the guards spits out. "That is supposed to be outlawed!"

"Where did she go?" I question as I put down the metal tray that now features a rather ominous dent.

"It's impossible to know." The prince said. "The best we can do is put a bounty on her head. I'm sorry, but your mother is now officially wanted for treason."

At that moment I don't know what to feel. Only one thought manages to shove its way past the cloudy emotional mess that is my mind. Damn, it's a good thing I'm a beast at dodgeball.