Red Queen

A Sister Scorned

Alice2 was furious at being made to leave the hospital. Who did that Edwards man think he was? They were paying for the care of her sister. Well, her parents were, but it amounted to the same thing. The family was. From the doctor's point of view, Alice2 and her mother were synonymous. They were two sides of the same coin, and she would flip it in his face and catch it on the rebound. Escorting her. Forcing her to leave. Accusing her.

Alice2 had to admit the accusation wasn't too far from the truth. She had been goading her sister. It was too easy. Alice was too quick to grab hold of the bait her twin would dangle. At first, it was unintentional but, as time went by... How could she resist? Once, she'd been caught pulling the legs off spiders and flies - Alice2 had always been adept at plucking flies from the air with a whip of her hand - and had been punished for it. It was, perhaps, the only time her father had ever raised his voice to her.

"There's enough death and suffering in the world without you adding to it," he said to her. "Look at your sister. She can't help being odd. You're better than that. Leave the poor creatures alone."

He had been referring to his youngest daughter as well as the spiders and flies when he said 'creatures,' but he wouldn't admit it to himself. Well buried beneath the pride and love he had for his first born, he knew Alice, if she'd been a dog, would have been the runt of the litter. Maybe even put down. Flushed in the toilet as a mercy to both it and the bitch who bore her. Not that his wife was anything close to being likened to a female of the canine persuasion, of course. Usually, at least. The downtreading of Alice was so common it was habitual. He didn't think twice about a reprimand or an insult. It was simply what was done. The way it was. Like shouting at the television during a football game or always having room for dessert. Still, he would rather his beautiful baby girl would remain normal and the delight she was without being tainted by the other one.

Although the punishment was light (no ice cream after dinner), Alice2 realised she needed to be more cautious when it came to playing out her hobbies and games. The thrill of leaving insects as little more than a rabbit dropping with eyes increased each time she separated them from their legs. It gave her a wicked tingle along her spine and the feeling of a white hot blade running across her throat. She would giggle and, when asked what she was doing, just say she was laughing at something one of her friends had said. She had so many friends, one of them could easily have made a joke funny enough to warrant the punchline's return hours later. They'd be like cucumber repeating but without the bad taste in your mouth. It would keep popping into your head making you smirk or laugh for days afterwards.

Her father - their father but without the mutual feeling of family for Alice - would smile to himself, happy that his daughter was happy.

Teasing and provoking became more than a game. More than a desire. It was a need. It was as if she held a needle and, rather than having a voodoo doll to impale, she would poke it into her sister at every opportunity in the sure knowledge her parents would neither notice or really care.

Perhaps she had possibly gone too far at the hospital. Maybe. She couldn't help it. She was on a rollercoaster of spite and the ride was so enjoyable she wanted to go around again and again. And the silly girl would always lunge at the offered olive branch without noticing it was actually covered in poison ivy. Her sister was a spider she couldn't pull the legs off so she had to find other ways to entertain herself. Now she was at the mental hospital after going all fruit of the loom, with her thread unravelling and tangling around her ankles, Alice2 had lost her play thing. She'd been overzealous, she knew. Dr. Edwards had been right to step in but to effectively eject her from the building with his boot up her backside? She did not deserve that. She was there visiting her poor sister, for all he knew. The poor sister she loved and was missing. They were twins and had a special relationship which he wouldn't understand.