The Rise of the Beldam

1921

Years went on, and by this time, Florence had learned how to master her powers but not because she was enjoying it. She made it so time goes slower in the real world than in the other world. Her world was colorful and happy, but she was longing for another child. She checked on the Pink Palace in the real world. Judy and William sold it a long time ago because of the potential dangers when Florence never came back. The portrait that was painted of Adam was no longer under a spell by the other world's spirit, so it showed the sad boy dropping his ice cream. The new owners of the pink palace never took it down. A new family who had a daughter lived in the house now, and the key was hidden by Judy. As Florence began to check in on her sister, she saw that Judy was widowed and she herself was dying.

"She must be 70 years old now!" "Yes. Your nephew and great-nephew are horribly sad." "That's not funny!" Florence snapped. "Careful Beldam, you'll make me angry." Florence continued to watch Judy through the mirror. Judy had begun to cough. "Get well Mama, get well." An elderly Judy held the hands of her now grown son and daughter, said something to them that Florence couldn't hear, then spoke to her grandchildren. Judy's brown hair was short, about shoulder length, gray with only hints of the brown hair Florence once knew. Her skin was still pale and her eyes still resembled the shiniest stars in the night sky. Florence got one good look at her sister before she closed her eyes. There was no audio, but Adam, Martha and Judy's grandchildren all started sobbing. "No!" "Yes beldam, Judy is dead." Florence started crying on the ground but no tears came out. "There is no point in crying Beldam. You're no longer human." "My name is Florence Garner!" She shouted. "No matter what your name is, you are my beldam." Florence ignored the spirit and tried to mourn, but it turns out the spirit was right, she couldn't mourn like a human could. She got hungry and made herself something to eat, but she still wasn't nourished.

"You don't need regular food to feed yourself Beldam, you need the love of a child." "How do I get one?" "The key. I found it in the real world, it is in the pink palace waiting for the little pioneer girl to find it." "What does this girl look like?" The pioneer girl appeared in the mirror. "She is beautiful, but she doesn't look happy." "You can fix that, beldam." Florence decided to make the little girl a doll and send it to her so she could have something to play with. She made the doll look just like the little girl and when she finished sewing the button eyes, Florence realized she could see through anything that had button eyes. "That is so you would be able to check on your progress in making that child happy." Florence sent the doll through the window as the spirit delivered it to the pink palace in the real world. Florence saw how happy the little girl was with the doll she had made for her, but also how sad she was that she was ignored by her family. The little girl noticed the door, unlocked it and started making her way through. "Time for action." The spirit said. Florence had seen what the little girl's mother looked like, so she used her magic to make herself look almost identical to the girl's mother. The table in the dining room had plates and silverware on it already on the table. Florence went into the kitchen and saw a bunch of food cooking as if she had been cooking for a while. The girl walked in and addressed Florence as her mother." Florence knew that it was the love of a child that she feeds on, so she began her role play as this girls "other mother".

It worked well, and the child was sent to the "second level" of the other world where Florence could pose as the little girl's real mother. By 1936, Adam passed away, but a new family moved in. Florence had made this routine. She didn't like watching the children she had taken die, but she needed to eat and the spirit would kill her if she refused to do what it asked her to do. Two more children came along, and Florence saw through her mirror that the Pink Palace was divided into apartments. She saw who lived in each apartment and made copies of the neighbors so she herself would have company. She used a special kind of sawdust to make them obedient to her. Florence stopped talking to the spirit and used rats instead. She had the rats go out and drop the doll into the well. Florence knew the next child was moving into the pink palace. She made the doll look exactly like the child and sent it back to the real world. When Florence first saw Coraline through the button eyes, she knew she could make her life better. By this time, Florence had mastered shape shifting. Her normal look was now a full skeleton with button eyes, multiple legs like a spider and sewing needles for hands and fingers. The black curse had manipulated Florence completely. With her whole family gone, she was no longer kind and loving, but evil and cunning. Everyone she loved, her father, William, Adam, Martha, their children and granddchildren were all dead and she never met any of their descendants. The mice came running into the kitchen from the tunnel. "Mistress, Coraline is coming!" Florence turned around, smiled then turned into a duplicate of Coraline's mother. The magic in the other world came to life. Florence woke her fake husband and told him to wait in his study. Florence started humming a lullaby as she acted like she was unaware of Coraline's presence. It looked like she had been cooking for a while, just like it did with her first victim. Florence continued to act until she heard Coraline's voice. "Mom? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Florence turned around. "You're just in time for supper dear." Florence couldn't wait to manipulate Coraline and keep her forever. This is how it is, and how it would be until Florence was either replaced or no more.

THE END