Twisting times

  
       

                                  By Lola S. Ellis

It was the time of war,  poor Iris had lost her father in the great war. After her father died, her scrawny mother, struggling very deeply, had gotten very sick after finding out that her beloved husband had been seeing another. Shortly after Iris's mother had gotten sick, she passed away, leaving poor 10 year old Iris by herself.She had ventured to the police station to find help,but  to a sad demise ,was given to her new step-mother Esmeralda.

After moving to her step-mothers House, her step-mother got her straight to work. Iris's new step-sisters  Brenhida, and were no help either besides for her one good friend, now step-sister Elizabeth { or lLizbeth }. Lizbeth helped Iris with her chores secretly and snuck her food with the animals she had befriended.
After 6 months of living in these conditions Iris got injured and her stubborn step-mother had to take her to the hospital.
Poor Iris had to escape, when she was in the room she had told one of the nurses there and she had given her  some food and new, baggy clothes to help her disguise herself from her step-mother. She was wearing a pair of brown pants, with a long, scraggly shirt that was a little small but had fit. She also wore a small brown hat to hide her hair. The hat hadn't worked so she was forced to cut off most of her slick, dark red hair. After she was finished cutting her hair, her step-mother came inside with no warning and screamed after finding out she was missing.¨ WHERE IS IRIS. WE NEED TO FIND IRIS !!!! What Iris didn't know was that her father and mother had been extremely wealthy and she was the sole inheritance, and so had control of all of the family wealth.

After her step-mother saw Iris running out the door and thought ¨ there's a boy, maybe he can help find her and trick her into the inheritance!¨" and so yelled ¨ BOY come here I need you to help me find a girl named Iris. I need you to trick her into coming here to me and for her to tell you that you can borrow money.¨ Esmerelda said ¨ and i'll pay you 200 quids for you to bring her back to me 200 now, 200 later.'  Esmeralda said quietly, but quiet enough so Iris disguised as a boy could hear. Iris felt terrified of what she heard. She said,' yes,I'ĺll do it'.

Iris was walking outside to pretend to try to find ''Iris' and heard her bestfriend, Lizbeth talking about her. Where isIris!?  Please mother, we need to find her!  I heard that the government is recruiting soldiers in her old town! She may try to go there!' Then Iris knew what she had to do... join the army where her step-mother Esmeralda could never get her to do the punishments ever again.

As Iris was walking down the side road Lizbeth ran up to her and whispered ' please be careful I know what your doing.'  Iris turned back around facing her and whispered ' Of course I will. And after all this I will help you escape too.''  Iris said with a kind voice. ''Goodbye Iris! Do be careful please.' Lizbeth said with a sad, mellow, voice.   As she was walking away she saw her step-mother find the long, dark red hair and looked over at her. ¨ Oh No she saw my cut hair! I have to hurry.¨ she had thought as she heard ' CATCH THAT BOY! THAT'S IRIS!''. Iris saw many men running after her. She ran for it. She ran for 2 miles before running into the woods out of sight. ¨"I'll rest here for the night and start a fire to warm up in this cold wood.' Wwhile thinking of what to do next she heard a small yap like from a baby wolf and walked around to try to find where the noise was coming from and saw a mythical creature like in fairy tales, it was a shapeshifting mix of a dragon, wolf, cat, and snake, stuck in a hole in a tree, being attacked by a wolf! She immediately grabbed a long stick and hit the wolf making it run off. After the wolf ran off Iris ran to the tree as the mythical creature growled and whimpered,' oh no I'll help get you out!'

As she said that the creature sprang out of the old log. She put her hand out kindly and the creature sprinted into her arms as a black monster came out of the shadows and a sharp black blade swoung at the creature.
As it was about to hit the creature she blocked it and got hit in the eye, then as she blacked out she saw the creature whimpering by her.

As she woke the creature was at her feet shivering and whimpering. She saw how cold the creature was and took off her jacket the nurse had given her and put it on the creature. The creature looked up and looked scared then realized it was Iris and calmed down. As Iris looked around she saw that she was by a river and called for the creature to come with her.When she looked at herself in the reflection in the river she started crying because there was a very deep wound on her eye and she had dry blood all over her clothes. She had decided to name the creature and go to the next town over.

She cleaned off and disinfected her eye with the cold, sea blue, water and said to the tiny, little creature, '' What should I name you?...How about Oni?''

The creature nodded excitedly as she said 'Oni'

. They continued on into the forest toward civilization. As they continued they had found an injured man. They hurried toward the man helping him up and ripping a piece of her shirt and wound up the injury with the piece.

The man grunted as Iris saw that he was her father and she was enraged. She finished rapping the wound and was leaving as quickly as possible as her father, who was now found alive, grabbed her hand and pleaded.

" Iris, is that you?! Please don't leave I need to explain-''
Her father said as she cut him off.
" I had just found you alive after having mother die OVER YOU to find out after 3 DAYS after mother's funeral that I have a step-mother and that my BESTFRIEND is my LATERAL STEP-SISTER and that I also have 2 MORE STEP-SISTERS AND THAT I would have to take care of YOUR problems, so yes you do indeed have A LOT of explaining to do."
Her father sat down on the cold gravel and asked her to sit down too.
" Sweetie I never cheated on your mother your " *step-mother" was blackmailing me for something I didn't do and so I had to, But she ended up hiring an assassin so she could get your inheritance, the money I " need to pay her back."I said i didn't do it and i wasn't going to give her money. After she made the guy try to kill me he led me to here after making me bleed a little so she would think he was going to kill me. But it turns out it was my childhood friend. He left  me here and then I passed out. Then you found me."
Iris had realized that her father was telling the truth because of what happened when she was in disguise.
She was still processing this and she realized her father thought her mother was so heart- broken and sad just for her step-mother to hurt her and her father. She was determined to make her feel what pain she had caused and make her mothers name not in-vein.
She wanted revenge.

         End Of Book
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