Dabria

Once upon a time

There was a girl who lived in the world of stories, story's that let this girl escape, she would read whenever she had the time, and travel to the world of these stories, with princes and princesses, villains, and heroes. She got to explore so many places and things she had never seen before. And might never see with her own two eyes. But stayed in wait for them to take her away from her reality. This girl's name was Dabria.

This reality that she was in though, was a place of torment and pain, every day she was abused by the people who were meant to love her, they told her she was worthless made her do the cooking and cleaning, and would torment her throughout the day, until the end of the day when her Mother and siblings full of turkey and pudding, fell asleep on the lounge, she would sneak to her sister's room to read, her sister never used them anyway so what was the harm.

During these times of her youth and innocence, she read and dreamed of when her prince would come and rescue her from her tower of a house, and defeat her witch and dragon family, and when times were at their worst, she would wait for her fairy godmother to arrive and whisk her away to a magical ball. She kept this hope for years and years, but in the back of her heart, there was a voice that disagreed.

'You could just get rid of them you know. No use waiting for a prince that will never come...'

But she would always push their words away, never giving up hope. One must never, give up hope.

So, time went by, and Dabria kept on reading, dreaming, escaping, and ignoring. Until one day when a messenger from the royal palace arrived at the door, a messenger bearing an invitation to a ball being held by the crown prince to find a suitable wife, and that all women Noble born or adopted women in the kingdom are invited to attend.

A ball for the Noble born and Nobel adopted. Dabria had heard these words in books, her family was noble. They were well known throughout the village they lived in, and they were always branding to the people that visit about their status. That means she was noble too, and that she was to finally go to a ball and meet her prince and have her happy ever after! 

'Do you really think they would allow YOU to attend the ball' the voice suddenly said 'the "family" that barely gives you a scrap to eat.'

But again, Dabria didn't listen, she was so ecstatic about the ball that she once again pushed those words away.

For the next week, Dabria worked extra hard to finish her jobs early so she would have extra time to sew a dress for the ball, and for extra reading to make sure she knew everything about balls to be prepared. But her family also tasked her with extra work, like sewing and repairing their best dresses for the ball. She was confused because she thought they would just buy new dresses, and the voice tried to tell her why:

'They are giving you more work so you won't have time for yourself, they don't want you at the ball' it hissed 'You are a slave, if you end them, you can be free... YOU can go to the ball yourself' 

This time Dabria thought about the voice's words.

But then came to the conclusion that it was wrong, she had been living with her family her whole life and they had never once called her the word slave, and she had hope that things would get better, that's what happens in all the stories after all. Just never. Lose. Hope. 

During the days in the leadup to the ball, the voice kept trying to talk to Dabria and trying to get her to do terrible things, but she refused to listen, with the ball so close she had to stay focused on work, sewing, and reading. She was getting more and more excited by the day, and by the time the day of the ball came, she had just enough time after an extra load of work to finish sewing her dress. Dabria had one look at herself in the mirror in her homemade sage green dress, then finally left her room to go meet her family at the carriage.

All of Dabria's family spun around revealing their faces of shock when they saw her, but those expressions of her sisters quickly changed to ones of jealousy. Her mother's expression unlike her sisters changed into one of sympathy.

'Oh Dabria,' her mother said softly, 'that dress looks absolutely stunning'.

At that moment Dabria thought she finally knew what happiness felt like. Like her heart was rising and she was flying up in the clouds. She felt warm and fuzzy and ... loved. For the first time in her life, she felt loved. 

'Such a shame something so beautiful is being wasted on something so worthless. 

And then all of a sudden Dabria's new happy world came crashing down. She was falling and falling and sinking and sinking, and tears started to fill her eyes. 

'Why are you doing this?' Dabria cried. 'Why do you hate me so much?! Aren't family meant to love each other?!?'

Her sisters started crackling.

'She really thinks we are her family' they hallowed, 'how much of an idiot can she get.'

Then her "mother" started to speak

'You're just a lowly servant peasant, we bought you when you were young so you wouldn't question why you have to work all the time, it would seem normal to you.' She stopped to look her up and down and continued 'But it seems that didn't work. You thought it would be better because that's what happens in those books you read didn't you, but that's NOT how life works. Things won't change for you, I own you, and I forbid you from going to that ball... not that they would let a PESEANT inside anyway.' She finally finished, one of the sisters, then slit her dress, the next pushed her to the ground, and the mother pulled out a candle from the carriage, held and burned her dress while the sisters held her down.

The sisters laughed and laughed their mother burned her, and didn't even flinch at what was happening before them. Then after what felt like years of torment, their mother walked to the carriage, then her sisters followed and left.

Dabria stayed on the ground long after they had left for the ball, she just couldn't get up, didn't have the power, the hope she used to have, nothing. Then she remembered the voice.

It was telling her the truth the whole time. The ENTIRE TIME! And she hadn't believed it, hadn't listened, kept that silly hope that make her dependent on fate and princes. thinking that someone else would save her when she should have been ending her pain herself. It had been RIGHT. And at that moment of realization Dabria felt a new emotion, one she had never felt before: Anger. Anger at herself for being so naïve and stupid. Anger at the people that had taken her away from her true family and made her life a misery, and anger at the stories she griped so hard to, for making her weak. She finally knew there was no fairy godmother, no prince, no magic. Just her and the people in her way.

Dabria rose from the ground; she now knew what she needed to do. 

She was finally going to listen to the voice.

And that night she got her chance.

Just before midnight after the ball ended the family arrived home, depressed and outraged, for the prince had just skimmed over them like old news, flopped on their beds, and wept themselves to sleep. Dabria thought the whole display was pathetic, but it gave her a chance to give them what they deserved.

At ten minutes to midnight as quiet as a mouse she snuck into the girl's room then slit the first sister's throat, just like she had slit her dress, at five midnight she beat the second to death with a candelabra and pushed her down the laundry chute like she had pushed her to the ground. Then she shoved the books under the mother's bed, as the midnight bell chimed, she stabbed the women and set the pages aflame, and watched while the witch burned. By the final chime of the clock, she left the house to burn, abandoning her old life, and leaving only a brown leather shoe behind.