School for Good and Evil: The Successors Book One: Anastasia's Tale

Chapter Eleven: Nightmares

Chapter Eleven

Nightmares

"Mother don't I look beautiful!" Young Anastasia said, doing a little twirl.

She was only ten years old at the time but she could already see how jealous her mother was of the beautiful girl she was becoming.

"Yes, darling," Sophie said not glancing up from the book she was reading.

"Mommy look at me!" Anastasia pouted.

Sophie looked up from her book trying to hide the annoyance in her face.

"Anastasia you look wonderful, but let's fix that hair." She said holding up the golden brown ringlets.

Sophie turned back to her book while Anastasia made her way to the mirror in their hallway. She stood on her tiptoes and stared deeply at herself in the mirror.

"What's wrong with my hair?" Anastasia thought, tears coming to her little eyes.

She started to sniffle.

"If mommy doesn't like it then she will fix it." Anastasia thought as she walked over to her mother who was now preparing cucumber water in the kitchen.

"Mommy fix my hair!" Anastasia demanded.

Sophie looked at Anastasia's eyebrows raised in annoyance.

"Darling another time mommy's busy," Sophie said chopping more cucumbers.

Anastasia crossed her arms, "But mommy!"

"Anastasia I said no!" Sophie scolded.

"Mommy!"

Sophie threw her knife down on the cutting board and slapped Anastasia in the face.

"I said no!"

Anastasia touched her cheek in shock, her lips trembling and her hands shaking. Warm tears streamed down her face as she ran up the stairs and slammed her door. Sophie watched her go her forehead creased with worry.

"What have I done." She said tears running down her face.

Anastasia lay in her bed sobbing wondering what she had done wrong. She was only ten years old after all. Later that night when everyone was asleep Sophie slipped into Anastasia's room her pink bathrobe tied tight around her tiny waist and her hair swept into a messy bun.

"Anastasia, can you talk to mommy?" Sophie said sitting on the foot of her bed.

"Go away!" Anastasia said, still hidden under blankets.

"I am very sorry I hit you my darling, it was not right," Sophie said, pulling the blankets off Anastasia.

She didn't answer and only glared at her mother.

"Anastasia, are you going to talk to me?"Sophie said irritated.

"I hate you mother!" She yelled.

Tears started to pool in Sophie's green eyes.

"Leave me alone, forever!"

Sophie felt as though a small piece of her heart had chipped off when Anastasia had said those words to her, but Anastasia felt no remorse for what she had done.

"She deserves it." Anastasia thought.

"But-"

"I said leave me alone!"

Sophie looked at her daughter one last time hoping for her to say something else, but she never did.

"Yes, my darling." Sophie got up from her bed.