Prison Palace

The House

Ebony, the girls mother, was reading peacefully on the couch when suddenly 3 of her four children burst through the door and were yelling amongst themselves. "Can you believe that Ebbie is a ghost fighter?! Its crazy!" Sadie jumped around. Cierra groaned "UGH what i cant believe is that you actually believe her!" Cierra groaned loudly. Teran just laughed at how hilarious and adorable the two were. The mother sighed. "Girls!" she called gently, all of them stopping and running over to their mother to tell her about their day. "Mom! Mom! Ebbie's a ghost fighter!" Their mother smiled at her youngest's enthusiasm for her oldest. "Oh really?" she asked with a hint of curiosity. "No! she just used that as an excuse to get rid of us!" Cierra whined, much to Sadie's dismay and frustration. "No! She wouldn't lie to us! She is a ghost fighter!" she yelled back, sparking an argument between the two children. Ebony looked to her second oldest, Teran, who looked down at her and shrugged. "All i know is she went into some castle with Presley and said she's basically gonna ghost bust the place." Ebony froze. "A...castle?" Cierra stopped arguing with her counterpart for a second to answer, "yea, some huge dark one. She said it was haunted and her and Presley needed to 'get rid of some ghosts' or whatever." she used air quotes and scowled. The woman stood from her chair, a worried expression on her face, like she'd been the one to see these imaginary ghosts they talked about. "That can't be. It was gone I swore it was." Teran started to get worried herself and following her mother into the hall. "Mom? you ok?" she asked. Ebony looked at one of the many pictures on the wall. It contained a portrait of herself, much younger and heavily pregnant, her late husband Terrence, and a very young Ebbie. Her face began to pale as she stared deep into the eyes of Terrence. Teran looked between her mother and the portrait. "Mom?" Teran touched Ebony's shoulder, jolting her back to reality. "Oh! Uh yes, I'm alright. Did you see what type of door the castle had?" Her daughter started to think to herself before looking back to her mother, "Nope sorry mom. Is everything ok?" Ebony didn't answer her and walked back to the living room. "Girls," the twins looked up to their caregiver, "did you happen to see what kind of door the castle had?" the girls thought to themselves and looked at each other. Cierra shrugged but Sadie continued thinking. Their mother ran to her and crouched on her knees in front of her daughter. "Honey I need you to think. This is important." Sadie looked scared but continued thinking. "It was...big. Very pretty. It had lots of carving in it too." Ebony immediately got up and sprinted to the kitchen where her phone was charging. She picked it up and called a number on speed dial. It rang a few times before Ebbie's cheery voice rang out from the phone, "Hey! I'm on an adventure so leave a message!" Beeep. Ebony scowled in worry, brows furrowing. "Ebbie, its mama. Call me back when you get this its important." The other girls looked between in each other, worried for their mother. They all shared a few looks, the younger two pointedly looking at the older. Teran sighed and walked over to their mother, "Mom what's going on? You have to tell us." Ebony looked into her daughters eyes, her own glazed with tears and filled with sadness. "I'm sorry girls. It is about time for me to explain." She went and sat down with her kids, all of them sitting around her. She took a deep breath, shakily before looking out the window wistfully for a second. Sadie wondered what she was thinking about before the older woman spoke. "Back when you're father was alive, he came across an old, abandoned castle. We were out walking around in the woods. Ebbie was running around, and Teran I was holding you." Teran gave her a smile, as if she could remember being that little. "He went inside, even though I was against it..."

"Come on darling don't you want to have some fun?!" Everett shouted to his wife, already halfway down the hallway. Ebony stopped and leaned against the wall to take a breath. Little Teran clutched her mother, holding onto her neck for dear life. "Yes, but give me a break sweetheart!" She shouted back, almost completely exasperated. She pulled out a rolled up scarf from her pocket and moved Teran to her back before wrapping her up in a bundle, so it'd be easier to hold her. Once Teran was secure, she started on a sprint to her husband. Everett laughed as he reached a room. It was dusty and dirty. Muddied Linens covered the floor, along with various rocks, twigs and leaves. Even some of the rubble from the castle. "Wow this place is amazing. All it needs is to be fixed up a bit." He smiled, wiping sweat from his brow. He looked at his wife as she stood next time, sharing his gaze of excitement as she looked around the room as well. She looked over at him, being met with a look of complete admiration and love. They smiled at each other and started to clean up a bit...

 Ebony stopped for a second, still looking out the window wistfully. Cierra pet Mr. Nibbles, her chipmunk, gently and leaned in as she patiently waited for her mother to continue. The older woman's expression soon turned pained as she continued the story. "it was fun at first, and then  

It was was half a year later. Teran had learned to walk and was now stumbling the halls of the castle as Ebbie ran around laughing. Ebony was reading while she detangled her hair. Everett came in, a crown on his head. "Hello my dear," he greeted her happily, wrapping an arm around her silk-clad shoulders. He placed a kiss on her cheek which she smiled at before a frown found its way onto her face. "Where have you been?" she asked before he slipped off his coat. "I uh just had to send a message to the village nearby." He responded as he slipped on his glasses and went over to his own desk on the other side of the room, looking over a marked up map. She shut her book quietly, noting her page and stood. "what message?" He didn't respond, only mumbling to himself. That's when she smelled it. She slowly, dreadfully, walked over to the window and peered down silently. Her heart fell to her feet and her frown was washed away with an expression of sheer horror. The village beside them, run by kind and inviting people, was burning. She covered a mouth to suppress a scream as she watched people run from the village. Children and their parents holding each other, people carrying their objects and injured loved ones.  She ran over to Everett and pulled him out his chair. He stared at her with a bit of a bored expression. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" She yelled at him. He slowly smiled. "I secured our kingdom."  

"...and with that I took Teran and Ebbie and left. Little did I know I was pregnant with the twins." Ebony finished. She looked out the window and stared at the newly built village. "Every day I just wish I had done something earlier...if I had said something to him before, maybe..." She didn't have to finish. The girls were shocked. Teran looked at the floor. How could their father be so cruel? As if the woman had read her thoughts, Ebony spoke up again, "I know that it wasn't your father though. That crown changed him. He would've never done anything like that before he found it. Matter of fact, that whole castle changed him." She glared. "I don't want you girls going to that castle anymore." She told them. "I'll tell your sister when she gets back but take what I say seriously. Don't visit that castle no matter how strong the pull may be." She looked at all of them. Each one looked back at her with sorrowful eyes. Worried for their sister, sad for their mother, and devastated about what they're father did. They all nodded before standing and walking to their rooms. "Cierra," Ebony called to her middle child. The small girl stopped in her tracks and slowly turned. "Yes ma'am?" she asked with a foreign politeness. "You can keep the chipmunk but actually take care of it. If I find it dead, you're cleaning it up." Cierra nodded before racing to her and Sadie's shared room. Their mother sighed as she went back to look at the picture. "Oh Everett, don't take my daughter from me." She then went to her room, and sat on her bed to read a book and keep herself distracted.

Meanwhile her oldest was having the time of her life

With...

...The Friend.