Shattered Tiara

Chapter 3 ~ A bratty habit

Veruca tossed and turned as she dreamt about the attack.
Her screams echoed through her head.

She whimpered, not being able to wake up. "Help me!" She cried out, flailing her arms around.

The dream felt so real, she felt the pain of the squirrels scratches, and she felt the tears running down her face.
The dream ended with her being torn apart, and Veruca jumped up and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"DADDY! HELP ME!"

Oleg was in his office, and he heard her blood curdling screams. He ran to her room as fast as he could.
"VERUSHKA!"

He burst into the room and grabbed Veruca, trying to calm her down.
"Ssshh! It's okay, princess! You're okay!"

She sobbed and screamed, grabbing onto him.
The maids and butlers ran into her room, attempting to help.
"I don't wanna die, daddy!"

He tried his best to hold back his tears. "Ssshh... You're alive, you're not gonna die, princess."

It took almost an hour to get Veruca back to sleep.
Oleg tucked her in and sat next to her, just in case she had another dream.
Then, he fell asleep beside the bed, holding her hand.

In the morning, Oleg woke up far before Veruca.
He looked over and saw she was still asleep, and she was still holding his hand.

He smiled and slowly pulled his hand off of hers.
He then proceeded towards the door and downstairs.

Day after day, Veruca slowly improved on being able to walk.
Her joints slowly healed, but sadly still hurt every day.

One morning, Veruca walked downstairs. "Papachika, do you like my outfit?" She had another pink tutu on with some light pink pointe shoes and a tiara.

Yes, she couldn't dance for a while, or maybe even ever again, but she still loved her pointe shoes and tutus.

"I love it!" Oleg exclaimed, smiling at her.
Veruca ran to him, "Can we go somewhere today?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Where?"
She smiled. "The mall!"
He sighed and nodded, throwing his coat on. "Let's go."

They arrived and Veruca immediately went to the dance store area.
"Papachika, I want a new tutu and new pointe shoes." She sighed. "Even if I can't dance.."
Oleg nodded. "Okay. Go in and pick some."

Verucas eyes landed upon a baby pink tutu that had white sparkles at the bottom of it.
She made her way to it, but before she could grab it, another little girl picked it up.

To Veruca's disappointment, that was the last one on the shelf.
She grew furious, and she stomped over to the girl and snatched it away. "This is MINE! I saw it first!"
She may have been traumatized by the attack, but she was still a spoiled little brat.

The girl teared up and walked away to find something else.
Veruca flipped her hair and walked back to Oleg.
"Verushka, why did you do that?"
"Because this tutu is mine, and she doesn't deserve it!"
He sighed, too afraid to say anything.

She threw the tutu into Oleg's arms and went to find some pointe shoes.
The little girl that had just grabbed the tutu, picked up a pair of bright pink pointe shoes, and Veruca immediately wanted them.

Without hesitating, she snatched them from the little girl and shoved her. "Stop grabbing the stuff I want! THIS IS MINE!" She yelled .

The little girl didn't know what to say, so her mother came over and snatched the shoes right out of Veruca's hands.
"My daughter grabbed it first, and there are far more pairs to choose from! Stop-" Before the mother could finish, Veruca screamed.

" I WANT THE SHOES NOW! DON'T YOU EVER SNATCH SOMETHING AWAY FROM ME! "
Everyone in the store stopped and stared at her.
Oleg ran over. "Verooshka, I'll get them!" He went over to the mother and attempted to work something out.

The mother refused, and Veruca shoved her father away and started practically attacking the mother.
"I WANT IT NOW! GIVE IT TO MEEE!"

Oleg ran over and pulled Veruca off, and thats when Veruca dug her nails into his arm and scratched him, making him bleed.

A flash of rage rushed through Oleg, he had been shoved by her and practically attacked before, but she had never hurt him to the point where he bled.

He grabbed her and pulled her close. " VERUCA SALT! Stop it, just stop it! You're 12, but you're acting like a 2 year old! STOP CONTROLLING ME LIKE I'M YOUR SLAVE! I'M SICK OF IT! YOU'RE SUCH A BRAT AND I'M DONE WITH YOU!"

Veruca was in pure shock, she had never in her whole life been yelled at by Oleg.
Oleg noticed what he did and he covered his mouth in shock. "Veru-" She burst into tears before he could finish his sentence, and she ran away.
"Wait!" He cried, chasing after her

She ran out of the mall and back to the limo, jumping into the back seat.
He opened the door before the limo driver was gonna pull away.

Veruca attempted to run out the door but he grabbed her. He held her back as tight as he could.

She finally stopped kicking and flailing around, and she just cried. "Why did you yell at me, Daddy!?"

He didn't answer, he didn't know what to say.
He tried his best to get her to stop crying, but nothing was working. "I'm sorry.." He whispered, still holding onto her as they drove home.

They got home and Veruca immediately ran up to her room, slamming the door and locking it.
Oleg ran into his room and sat on his bed, trying his best to hold back tears.
He looked over at the picture of his wife, Alena, who had died 10 years ago due to cancer.
Tears formed in his eyes as he thought about the night he watched his wife die.

Flashback ~

He sat by the hospital bed, holding his Alena's hand. "Are you okay?" He asked , rubbing her head.
She nodded as her grip got tighter. "Oleg...please take care of Veruca."
Oleg started to cry, "I will, I promise.."
"I love you, Oleg.."
" I love you too..."
He watched as her eyes closed slowly , and she let go of his hand
"Alena?! ALENA!" He sobbed. "Please, no!"
The never ending sound of the heart monitor echoed through his head.

Veruca looked over at Oleg, running to him. She was still too young to understand what was going on.
"Daddy? Is mommy asleep?"
He looked at her, picking her up and cradling her. "Y-yes..."
He sat there for hours, crying.

The flashback ended and Oleg burst into tears. He lost his wife, and almost lost his daughter, he was at his breaking point.

"I miss you Alena.." He thought to himself , curling up under his covers and crying himself to sleep.

The next morning, Veruca ignored Oleg, no matter how much he tried to talk to her.
He even made her favorite breakfast, and she didn't say a word.