Off With Their Heads

Chapter 5

Warning - Abuse in this chapter.

"Why did you change your name?" Fury asks.

Evangeline sighs and answers, "It is a long story."

"We have time." Hill says from the corner.

"Ok then... how far back do you want me to go?"

"The beginning."

She sighs again, "It will be easier to just show you." With that she created an illusion that told the story of how she became the Queen of Hearts.
(-)-(-)
A seven year old girl limped slowly and quietly through the front door and into her family's apartment. She was coming back from getting her daily meal from a near by shelter. She closed the door, wincing when the door let out an audible click.

She stopped and listened for her parents, hoping they wouldn't wake up and give her the second beating of that night. It was about 12:30 in the morning so her parents were most likely drunk. When a minute had passed and she didn't hear anything, she walked further into the apartment.

She looked around the living room and sure enough there was her parents, passed out on the couch. It was dark but she could still see the bottles and cigarette buds littering the floor. She cringed and wrinkled her nose at the smell.

Ever so slowly she inched her way into the room, determined to get to her bedroom without making a sound. But when she was about halfway through she slipped on a bottle and fell, knocking over other bottles on her way down.

The bottles landed on the floor with a loud clang and she hit her head on the corner of the table. Pain erupted on her temple and her vision flashed white for a moment. She blinked and slowly sat up. What she saw terrified her.

Right in front of her face was her father, grinning like a maniac, and behind him looking over his shoulder was her mother, mirroring his expression. The girl, Evangeline, whimpered slightly. She had waken them up and she was going to pay for it.

Maybe it won't be so bad this time, she thought hopelessly. Minutes later, she was curled up in pain, a rag stuffed in her mouth to silence her screams, and her hands tied. Her mother was repeatedly kicking her, breaking a few ribs in the process.

Her father had gone into the kitchen and returned moments later holding a serrated knife. He gestured for Evangeline's mother to stop and she did. Her father picked her up by the throat and pushed her against the wall.

"I'm going to carve into that pretty little face of yours." He slurred out, running the knife slightly down her face. Without anymore talking a started to carve patterns in Evangeline's face. He carved matching ones on each side so the pain was equal.

On either side of her face, right under her eyes, he carved a little heart. Blood was dripping from her as he cut her, blinding her vision red. She was screaming into her gag as her father continued and her mother laughed.

Her father stopped before saying, "Turn that frown upside down, little one." She didn't and he brought the knife back down cutting her lips open on either side making it seem like she was smiling.

He finally stopped and let her go. Her father turned and kissed her mother. She tried to crawl away but he turned back around and stabbed the blade into her side. Her vision began to blacken and then she felt it.

A raw anger grew in the pit of her stomach. She thrust her now free hands out and her parents flew back. Out of the corners of her eye she saw three men garbed in black armor, with a red heart on the chest and red accents, come out through a red ripple in the wall.

One went to her a picked her up and the other two went to her parents who were as still as boards. They raised axes, similar to hers and brought them down, slicing her parents head clean off.

The two turned around and ran through the portal. The one holding Evangeline raced after them, whispering in her ear, "Stay with us, my Queen, stay with us." With that her vision went black, and she was dubbed The Queen of Hearts.