𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄━︎━︎E. Grimhilde ✓︎

❝CHAPTER FOURTEEN❞

▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 ━︎━︎ 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 a lot cleaner than Ilaria had originally anticipated. She had been expecting broken floor boards, damaged furniture, just an overall mess, but that's not what she walked into. Instead, the home was very clean. It was nicely put together with a living area, a kitchen, and even stairs that lead to a second floor. The couch was a blood red with gold accents, the dated television that sat in front of it looked as if it hadn't been used, but despite that it was spotless. The open floor plan lead her into the kitchen where she spotted a bathroom jutting off to the side.

The kitchen walls were painted red, even the sink and counters had splatters of red covering it. Ilaria wasn't sure if that was paint or blood and quite frankly she didn't want to know the answer. There was a single plate in the sink along with a fork and glass, the remnants of food could be seen on the plate but it wasn't all that dirty. Ilaria couldn't help but wonder how her mother had managed to keep the place so nice, especially when it was never this nice when she was a child. To her, it felt like her presence here had been completely erased, as if she hadn't lived here for six years.

Her eyes went to the staircase and she went to approach, pausing when she heard movement somewhere upstairs. Her heart raced in her chest. She nervously swallowed before she began to climb the stairs. The second floor was nowhere near as nice as the first. The hallway was covered in red carpet that was ripped in some places, other places had been so worn down that the carpet had changed colors. There were two doors on the second floor. Two bedrooms. One of which should have been hers.

She crept forwards, approaching the first door. Her hand hovered over the knob before she paused, her eyes darting to the other door where she spotted a lock on the knob. A frown fell on her lips as she approached it. In red letters painted on the door were the words KEEP OUT.

"You have exactly two seconds to tell me what you're doing in my house before its off with your head."

Ilaria froze, her entire body tensing. Slowly, she turned. In front of her stood a woman that was slightly taller than her, long red hair and a cruel face. In her right hand she held a knife and suddenly the presence of Ilaria's own knife felt heavy in its hiding place. She cleared her throat. "Um, you-you're Iracebeth, right?"

Her face hardened, her eyes narrowing into a warning glare that screamed danger. "Who's asking." It wasn't a question, but a demand.

Ilaria took a deep breath. "I'm Ilaria." She paused, hoping the woman would recognize her, but when her demeanor didn't change she added, "Your daughter."

The Queen of Hearts straightened, her eyes glancing the teenager up and down. "So, you've finally come back." Ilaria didn't respond. "Why are you here?"