The Vanderwood Diaries

Innocence

Isabella was knelt down in the meadow, surrounded by the beautiful yellow glow of the buttercups. The sweet chirp of the birds in the thick hedge filled her ears and she smiled. It was the simple things in life that she treasured. She leant forward, her dark locks falling forward as she reached for a lonely daisy. She held the flower to her lips, closing her eyes.
The calmness of her surroundings was short lived. Her mothers yells filled her ears, and her cocoa eyes snapped open. She left the daisy in the meadow behind her, heading towards her home.

Brother Maximus was sat on the steps outside their villa estate, as Isabella neared. He looked up, his dark eyes focussing on his sister.

"Is it time?" Isabella murmured, brushing the dust off her white dress.

Maximus merely nodded, continuing to gaze at the floor. The door burst open, Evangeline stood there her hands bloody and her brow sweating. Isabella's eyes widened considerably as they fell upon the blood. Evangeline trotted past them, fetching a pale of water from the well and hurrying back inside. Isabella was older than Evangeline by 3 years, however she'd never been very good at the usual womanly tasks like her sister. She spent most of her time with her head in the clouds, day dreaming about mysterious princes of far off lands. This as you can imagine didn't go down well with her parents, who had hoped for strong willed offspring. She'd be even more of a disappointment if her next sibling turned out to be anything like Maximus and Evangeline.
There was a final yell and the familiar sound of a baby's cry. Maximus sighed, and she knew then what had got him so rattled. The prospect of a baby brother was a threat to his inheritance. She smirked slightly, a darker side to her wishing ill luck on him. Isabella moved forward up the steps, Maximus following close behind.