He stared down, crazily, at Elizabeth—who stared back in equal insanity. They both smiled and gripped the vial in their hands as Elizabeth gazed around. They were on an empty altar with blood stains and pale bodies littering the holy sanctuary, the looming moonlight drifting down upon them. She looked down and stared at the bloodied white wedding dress glowing in the light...
She frowned, "Baby…The dress…"
She pouted and looked up at him, who only smiled and nuzzled his face into her forehead, "It doesn't matter—you look beautiful in red too—just think, all the people who opposed us are now gone, and now we can have our wedding in peace."
In the once thriving hall, now empty and silent, his voice reverberated. Elizabeth hummed in response as she leaned forward to peck his cheek, "Well…Now…We can be together—"
She grabbed his hands that held the vial and smiled, "—forever."
~~~~~~
"Elizabeth, here." Her mother threw her an orange dress as she turned back towards the mirror. "Wear it." She demanded.
"Okay..." Elizabeth muttered. She shoved the dress onto her bruised skin and turned towards her mother. Her mother's soft hands gripped the red lipstick as she tapped it on her old, crusty lips. Elizabeth frowned, catching the eyes of her mother. "I don't know how to do my hair."
"..." Her mother turned around, throwing her lipstick down and dragging Elizabeth by the hair towards the bed. Elizabeth did not make a peep, she could feel every hair strain being pulled with anger as her mother tied her hair into a ponytail. Her mother pushed her to the floor once she was done and scowled, "GET."
Elizabeth shuffled up and grabbed her ragged dress, stumbling out of her parent's room and sliding into her own. Her eyes lit up as her eyes found her sister's beautiful red eyes, and she smiled, "Wow…! You look so pretty sissy!"
Julissa returned the smile and turned to the desk, her bruised eye covered by a simple patch. Julissa said nothing as she knitted an endless piece of wool. Elizabeth frowned. She threw her dress onto her bed and sat underneath Julissa's long, slender legs. "Sissy…I'll go get you something!"
Her sister stopped, her tired eyes looking down at Elizabeth. "No. You'll make Mom and Dad angry."
"Don't worry! Mommy and Daddy wouldn't hurt me!" Elizabeth turned towards Julissa's rough hands. "What are you making?" She asked.
"It's a blanket." Elizabeth's eyes lit up, and she jumped.
"Is it for us?"
"No." Julissa's voice shook, and Elizabeth frowned. She turned to the small bed they shared and picked up her dress, feeling its rough fabric in her callused hands.
"Julissa, when I get back I'll get you the best blanket known to man!" Julissa turned to her baby sister. She watched her baby sister's blue eyes shine, and she smiled.
"ELIZABETH!" Her mother screamed, and Elizabeth froze. She watched her sister's eyes as they held some unknown feeling. Jealousy. Anger. And happiness. All mixed into those beautiful red eyes. Her sister stood up and grabbed her simple but thick coat, throwing it on Elizabeth's burning shoulders.
"Go. Have fun at school." Elizabeth nodded and skipped away to her parents. She stopped halfway, turning back towards her sister, who waved at her, and she waved back. She continued forward, towards her parents. They grabbed Elizabeth and shoved her to the door.
"I'm sorry…" They pushed her out onto the road angrily. Her parents gripped her rough hands as they trotted along. They were late. Very late.
"You're not getting food tonight." Her father whispered. She gripped onto her father's smooth hands and stared down at the ground, watching her brand new shoes kick at the dusty rocks.
"Oh! Jason?" One of her father's friends waved at them and he jogged over, staring down at Elizabeth and smiling, "Well, if it isn't the little star!?"
Elizabeth grinned, looking up and waving at the man. Her father crushed her hand in response. Her father smiled and waved at the man, his eyes holding a vicious look. "Hey, Victor!"
"Jason, it's been so long! Oh! Cristen, you look pretty as ever!" The man grabbed her mother's hand and kissed it, winking at her as her father grumbled.
"Victor…" Victor smiled and turned back towards Jason.
"Are you taking Elizabeth to school?"
"No, she's sick, so we're going to the doctor." Her father informed Victor, who widened his eyes in response.
"Oh, that's unfortunate. I hope she gets better." Elizabeth quietly listened as her parents chatted with Victor. She hoped they didn't stop. She hoped and hopped and hoped, until her father pulled her towards that building, muttering his anger at Elizabeth for delaying them.
"Hello, sir. " Her father said as they entered the red room. He seemed scared. The only time he ever seemed scared was when those pretty carriages rolled by, or when those scary officials came by. It was a regular occurrence to go to the red room. A scary room. But she would rather be in the red room than have her lovely sister in the red room—to have her lovely sister's skin tainted by the man.
He slowly stripped her of her protection. The cold air touched her blue body as the man stared in pure ecstasy.
Elizabeth was not a good girl. She was an unholy being. She was dirty and bad. She felt sinful—to have the man's disgusting arms wrapped around her bruised body.
Elizabeth stared up at the ceiling, waiting as the man touched her. Waiting. And waiting. She could never stop waiting.
-----
Elizabeth stared at the afternoon sky in silence. She watched the birds fly by and she glanced down.
5 silver. 5 silver. 5 silver was all she was.
All she ever will be.
Her stomach grumbled. She was hungry—and dirty. So dirty. It was early winter. It was cold. She was cold. The only thing that protected her was her sister's thick coat. She held it close to her heart and smiled. She wanted to get her lovely sister something. Something nice.
She stumbled up and into the side alley, clawing into the brick buildings until her stiff fingers gripped a tiny box. She pulled the box out and opened its wooden lid. Inside were 125 silver coins, roughly equivalent to 1 gold and 25 silver. She took the box and trudged towards the bustling streets. She was hungry, but first, she needed to get her sister a fresh blanket.
She walked into the warm store and smiled as the clerk looked down at her. "Little star! I haven't seen you in a while!"
"Yes. I…I want to get something for my sister!" Elizabeth pointed at a heavy blanket and the clerk smiled. It was a pink blanket, soft and beautiful.
"Are you sure you have enough money?" The clerk asked as he pulled it down. Elizabeth nodded and threw her box onto the counter. The clerk lifted his brows, and he smiled, "...it'll be 1 gold."
Elizabeth's smile froze before she started to count the coins. If it was for her sister, she would do anything. "One, two..."
She counted and counted. The man quickly smiled as she counted. Once Elizabeth had finished, the clerk handed her the blanket and threw the coins into his pocket. Elizabeth beamed at him before turning to bring the blanket home.
Suddenly, her eyes caught the sight of a pair of red orbs.