Child of a King

Chapter one - A new life + Characters

The sound of an owl hooting in the dark night was the only noise I heard as I played with my two barbie dolls on the carpeted floor. They were having an argument about which one of them was going to wear the pink ball gown for the tea party. It was of course Glenda who won the fight.

A loud crash from the living room reached my ears causing all of my joints to stiffen. Holding my breath in anticipation another bang and a slap followed, informing me that my tea party had to wait for later.

Grabbing my two stuffed animals, I hurried towards my hiding space in the closet as rushed footsteps neared the bedroom, I was in.

"Estella, put your shoes on now", my older sister Luca said, her eyes wide as she slammed the door open.

"No hiding?" I frowned, not understanding what was going on. She had always said that whenever she and our foster parent were fighting, I had to stay hidden so nothing would happen to me.

"No baby, we're leaving", she replied, quickly flinging some of our clothes inside a backpack. Her hands seemed to shake whenever she picked something up and a drop of sweat trailed down from her hairline. A large red stain was smeared on top of her gray shirt as well as her palms. It didn't look like paint.

"B- but where?" I stuttered, feeling the way I also started to panic. Luca was always calm and now she wasn't. I really didn't like what was going on.

"To the south", she mumbled, removing one of the floorboards underneath the carpet. She pulled out a box filled with some cash, papers and something that looked like a deodorant.

"Is it safe to go?" My voice faltered as a knot formed in my stomach from the memory of the last time we tried to leave. Everyone got really hurt back then and Luca was still limping from her injuries. What if it ends much worse this time?

My sister's eyes flickered to mine. For a second, the panic that had captured her disappeared and softness took its place.

"We're going on a road trip, but we need to hurry otherwise we won't be able to make it", she explained in a much calmer tone, soothing my nerves.

I nodded and started to put on my shoes and jacket on top of my pjs. It only took a mere minute for my sister and I to finish packing. It was very important for me to make sure that I had all of my teddies and barbie dolls with me.

"Can I bring Carry?" I asked as we walked down the hallway, looking at all of the photos hanging on the wall.

"Of course, honey". Luca took the picture of Carol, our foster mom, off the wall and handed it to me. I missed her a lot. She was always good to us, unlike her husband.

"Stells, keep your eyes closed when we pass through the living room. You won't like what you'll see, so just keep them closed okay?" Luca instructed, sounding hesitant as she wiped away another drop of sweat from her forehead.

"Okay", I murmured, fluttering my eyelids shut.

With a tight hold of my hand Luca started to guide me across the room in a fast stride. I felt my foot stumble on something on the floor, causing my eyes to fly open so I had a chance to catch myself before I fell. I quickly found my footing again as Luca kept pulling me along behind her eager to get out of the house.

As my gaze fell upon the trashed living room, I was desperate to get out of there too.

The coffee table was flipped upside down, shattered glass covering the entire carpet as the stench of our foster parent's favorite drink reached my nostrils making me want to puke. A pool of something red caught my vision next together with the illusion of a person laying on the ground, the red stuff surrounding him. Not wanting to see anymore, I snapped my eyes closed, wishing they had just stayed that way in the first place.