How pitiful a tale of those who have fallen from the grandeur and landed in mud. Their luxuries and joys drowned beneath grime and coated in their own filth. What must they imagine when comparing the present to the past; who could believe that their former life was anything other than a story.

But what of those that were pushed?

What atrocities must they face, knowing that those that have stripped them of their dignity walk unabashed? Do they think of revenge for their humiliation, or do they sat idle and let their captors continue to beat them down? And what of those who have been so broken that they can’t think of what could have been if their past had been unaltered? What dreams must they have, knowing that something joyful could have replaced the grime?

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“Oh, mother! It’s absolutely gorgeous! And the earrings match perfectly!”

“I love my new shoes, mother! They go great with this outfit I’ve had in mind!”

“Of course, my dears. Anything for you.”

Their chirps and chatter signaled their arrival as soon as they entered the manor, carrying even into the parlor. The rustling off shopping bags clashed with their delighted squeals. As they barged into the room without any signs of acknowledging my existence, I continued shoveling ashes from the fireplace into a rusty bucket, soot clinging to my hair and skin.

As my stepsisters began unloading their haul onto the ornate table, I strained my ears to tune out their squeals. Instead, I focused solely on the scraping as my trowel slide against the stone as I scooped more ashes into the bucket. A few minutes passed as I sunk into the familiar stupor. As I raised another pile, something grazed my ear and barreled into the trowel, sending up a cloud that left my coughing.

“Oh dear, I didn’t see you there!” The older stepsister, Deino, said as she chuckled. “That old thing was so out of style that I figured it should be put out of its misery.

In the fireplace laid a crumpled, balled-up dressed that was now grimy with silt. Even with its filth, I could still tell that it was bright orange with yellow accents.

“I told you it was ugly!” Enyo, the other stepsister, whined. “It didn’t match you at all! It’s dreadful!”

Deino’s skin became blotchy as she forcefully dug through another of her bags. “That doesn’t matter! I still have this beauty!” She withdrew another dress in a dramatic flourish.

It was god awful.

It would have been a simple, pink lace gown which would have been fine; however, detailing of gold and lime-green clashed as if going into battle on the surface of lumps of cotton candy that were the large puffs on the shoulders. Also, the giant red bow on the back wasn’t helping.

“You must be kidding,” Enyo replied with a deadpan tone. “That’s worse than the last one. The bow is big enough to land an airship on. Here, let me show you a good dress.” Enyo drew out a mild dress, by that I mean a plain gown made from forest green fabric with a few stones on the wrists. It wasn’t eye-catching and was rather dull.

Unfortunately, Deino agreed. “Oh, please! There’s nothing to look at! You’ll just blend in with all the other normal people!”

“Better than looking like a carsick jellybean.”

The girls began to bicker, their voices rising but lacked any real malice. Their squabble immediately faded to shapeless noise as I neared the end of my chore. I was gathering the remainder of the ashes into a small pile when a cascade of gray crashed over my head. Ashes swallowed my vision again as I tried to clear my eyes, smearing soot on my face.

“Didn’t you hear me?” Deino demanded, standing over me with the now empty ash bucket in hand. “I told you to take my bags up to my room! I have to get ready to leave, and I don’t want my clothes sitting here that long!” She kicked my side as she turned. “And be quick about it!”

I sat there, loose ashes trickling off my shoulders, my hip hurting from her blow. Something inside me boiled; I just wanted to scream! My knuckles paled as my fists clenched. My breathing started to quicken. I lifted my head and began to rise-

“I wouldn’t do that.”

My blood turned cold, freezing over the heat inside me. I hadn’t noticed that Enyo was still in the parlor. She stood with a bag slung over her shoulder, a smirk of sly amusement present once more. “You wouldn’t want mother catching you attacking dear Deino, would you?”

She walked towards me, slowly, like a predator with limping prey in its sight. Sweat ran down my back as I stumbled back. Enyo chuckled. “What’s wrong? Something scaring you?” She took another step forward. I took three back. “Oh, how cute you look! What could little me do to you?”

Sunlight drifted in from the windows, making her sleek, purple hair shine as if it was laced with chrome. A plain, silver-hued dress hung upon her lithe frame. Pale violet eyes were alight with her enjoyment of her approach. She extended one of her hands as if reaching for something invisible hovering in midair

A pathetic whimper escaped my lips. Her fingers curled agonizingly slow as she savored my response. Tears blurred my vision as my mind shuddered at past encounters.

Please, I don’t want this! I won’t do anything! Please don’t do it!

I would have fallen my knees and pleaded, but my body refused to follow my brain. As my back hit the wall, every muscle in my body tensed. Enyo snickered as she slashed her hand through the air. The moment her hand fell, every shadow in the room began to elongate. Disembodied voices whispered in my ears, promising pain and laughing at secrets I held deep inside my mind. I covered my ears, trying to drown out the voices that shouldn’t exist! It felt so wrong! They can’t be real! So why won’t they shut up!

The shadows flowed out like pools of spilled ink. They coiled and swirled at Enyo’s feet, a deep hiss filling the room. They congealed and rose from the floor, rising almost to the ceiling. For a moment, nothing happened. The hissing began to retreat along with the whispers. The spire of shadows remained solid. I sighed with relie-

The whispers screamed as the hiss grew into a bone-rattling roar! The noise was so terrible that it felt like my skull was breaking into pieces! Appendages sprouted from the spire, thrashing horribly as it began to take shape. The limbs were indistinguishable as legs or arms, but all six of them ended in clawed talons. With a wet tearing sound, the top of the mass peeled away to a razor filled maw, black spittle dripping from its jowls as it growled!

It was so large that it only had to bend over to stare me in the face. My breathing stopped. I met empty sockets that oozed sludge! The monster opened its maw, a cloud of putrid sulfur burning my nostrils. Slowly, just like it’s master, the creature brought up a talon. It touched my cheek with its claw.

I couldn't cry out even as my head screamed, discord among the invisible shrieks around me! I cried in silence as I felt myself tremble, the wall being the only thing holding me up. My clothes stuck to my skin as they were soaked with sweat! All I could do was stare at its empty gaze as it got closer.

A long, slimy tongue rolled from between its teeth. It wiped at the tears on my faces, making me cry harder. Then, the appendage trailed down to my shoulder, licking up my collar bone and neck, before stopping just below my ear. It spoke with a deafeningly quiet voice that was clear through the cacophony.

What a failure. Just a pathetic mongrel. How fun you’ll be to play with, my little toy!

I finally screamed, the shrill note shattering the spell. I fell to my knees as the monster collapsed into wisps of smoke. The voices hushed at once, making the silence seemed overwhelmingly loud.

Enyo stood before me, her smile now barely noticeable. “I always wonder what everyone else sees. From the few times I find out, it surprised me how drastically different each encounter is. It just makes me want to know what you see. What is your fear? I can’t wait to find out.”

She left, the door swinging shut softly behind her. I curled up on the floor, my tears flowing freely as I cried into my knees. The sunlight shone on the floor, making the wood shine like gemstones. Birds chirped and sung outside the window as they flitted between the tree branches. A clock on the wall ticked away without missing a beat. The rocking chair where my mother would sing me to sleep sat in the corner, a thin layer of dust beginning to collect. All around me, calm and peace lazed about as the seconds crawled on.