𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑, 𝗄𝗅𝖺𝗎𝗌 𝗆𝗂𝗄𝖺𝖾𝗅𝗌𝗈𝗇

65. haven't I given enough

[𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐘-𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄]

Wind breezed through the enchanted forest as Allison's eyes fluttered open. She placed a hand over her eyes to avoid the light and slowly sat up, taking a look around to see her birth parents standing beside her with weak smiles on their faces.

Allison furrowed her brows in confusion and stood up from the freshly cut grass she was sat on. She looked down at her white dress to see that it had been completely clean of any dirt or blood it had before.

Almost was like all evidence of the scene had vanished; like it'd never happened.

"What am I doing here?" Allison asked in a bleak tone, already knowing the next words to come out of her mother's mouth. She had no idea why she felt this way, why she was being so harsh but she didn't care because she had just lost everyone, her entire family and she wasn't just gonna claim this as a victory.

"You did it, you actually did it: you defeated her." Aria went in front of her birth daughter, holding her shoulders softly and something about it made Allison want to throw up because the last time anyone ever did that to her, it was her mother.

Allison tried to push down her overpowered emotions, forcing herself not to ball her eyes out in front of her birth parents by giving them a stiff nod and feigned smile to reinforce her act.

"I never doubted you for a second, my beautiful flower." Aria continued, rubbing her shoulders with her thumbs.

Simon stood beside Aria with a smile almost as bright as hers, but of course, like everyone else's, it was fake. None of them could genuinely smile right now, not after witnessing a massacre of an entire family, one that reminded them all too well of when Beatrice had murdered Aria and Simon.

"Not for a second." Simon repeated, trying to swallow the lump in his throat and trying to remove the image of his dead son out of his head.

Allison's gaze fell to the floor, her face falling with it. She couldn't keep the act on anymore, she didn't have it in her to smile. All she could do was try and ignore what happened and wish that none of it was real, but her birth parent's words of praise didn't help.

Her birth parents seemed to notice this, locking eyes knowingly but refusing to say anything that would make Allison feel even worse about herself.

Allison turned around and walked over to the patch of flowers. The golden buttercups dazzled in the sunlight, but one in particular didn't. Instead of its rich colour, it was dull. Instead of its head being held up high, it was drooped. While bees chose others to suck nectar from, this one had none.