rp: side story Side Story: Welcome Home

[Aura]

As Halie felt the young lady tense up in her arms, she was unsurprised, but only grew more distressed. She herself began to tense up, expecting some sort of hit or scream. It was the only two ways people ever responded to her loving embrace. She was ugly and repulsive. Nobody would like her. Anhara was the pretty one, the cute one, the one everybody loves and adores. Nobody would suspect the sweet princess would ever do anything wrong. It was always the ugly, unwanted twin that was the evil one. That's what everyone thought. And the words that followed from Rose's following words only added more evidence onto that pile, though she was surprised by the quietness, the hatred and disgust wasn't disguised at all. Halie clenched her fists again and released her hug from the girl. She tried to hold her anger back, but that only caused tears to fall from her eyes.

"You're just like everyone else. Nobody believes me, everybody just looks at me like I'm crazy! Like I'm obviously wrong! Nobody ever tells me why they just tell me a bunch of lies! They keep trying to trick me! Does Anhara make you do this!? I hate it! It's not funny!" As she continued to spout, her soft-spoken voice progressively elevated in volume. "I didn't bring you here! I didn't take you away! That was her! I didn't even meet you until now! How could it possibly be me!? Anhara does so many evil things and I always get blamed for them! Daddy says it's all just because she's better at making friends than I am, but then why do all the 'friends' she brings home always hate me and love her so much!? W-well fine! I don't care! Go play with Anhara! I don't even need any friends! I'll be just fine on my own! I have daddy! He's the only one who loves me anyway. Everybody else is only nice to me when daddy or Anhara makes them!"

By the time she was finished speaking, her voice had reached a shout before she took several deep breaths and stood up, walking over to the window. "But... don't say I didn't warn you. Anhara is dangerous... I swear, she's a demon sent to torment me with this endless cycle... Daddy hates it when I say that but it's true! And she'll kill you!" As she said that, she turned back to look at Rose, now with a look of pity on her face as she shook her head. "But of course you won't believe me. Like everyone else, you'll love her until it's too late and she kills you and makes your body ugly like mine..." There was one last thing she could try to maybe convince this girl. Like all her pleas, it never worked, it only scared them more. It made her even more repulsive. It always scared them right into the arms of Anhara. But, there was a chance it could convince her of the truth. So...

Halie reached down and slowly lifted her top off in a move that might have startled Rose. But what was likely far more than startling was what lied underneath. Hidden underneath her shirt was an intricate design of flowers and thorned vines that almost looked like they were ensnaring her hips. The vines wrapped around a fairly detailed gate. Anyone would see these white markings and immediately assume it was a tattoo. But on closer inspection, you'd find the markings are raised over her otherwise smooth skin and that they mask several bruises and cuts that seem to blend in. It's after looking at the design for a while that one would come to realize this intricate tattoo wasn't made by ink, but by her own scars. This design was carved into her body by an admittedly talented artist, and it was done a long time ago. An artist having put so much work into a piece like this would surely have signed it. And as she lifted her shirt over her chest, one would be able to see that very signature, proudly boasted across the top of her chest.

A N H A R A

The letters were crudely slashed across her chest in a manner that seemed to contrast harshly with the dainty artist's touch of the rest of the work. "This is what Anhara did to me. I remember every moment of pain... She kept me awake the whole time. I could never forget, I could never misremember it. She. Did it to me." she shook her head, still fighting her tears. "Please believe me, no human could do this to herself... It was Anhara. She did this. She tore my body apart to make me ugly. Don't get scared, don't run away, please... Everyone does! I know I'm hideous, I know nobody could ever love me like this, but I'm not a villain! I-I just need someone to believe me...! I wouldn't want this to happen to anybody else!"

[Neptune]

When she was released, Rose flinched back as she put distance between herself and the other girl. When she looked up, she saw the building anger in the other girls eyes and flinched away. As the girl ranted, Rose didn’t pay too much attention to the words spoken. Instead, the way that Anhara’s voice progressively got louder until she was shouting, caused her to panic. She glanced at the door, praying to the Lord that the horrible man would not return, angry at her for upsetting his supposed daughter. Rose found herself pressed against the headboard, her arms wrapped around herself as she trembled in fear and anxiety. Her lower lip trembled as Anhara continued on her rambling rant. The words made little sense to Rose. She spoke as if this ‘Halie’ and Anhara were two completely different people. But to her, there was no distinction. They were one and the same. 

Wary eyes watched the other girl as she stood up and walked over to the window. Once again, she glanced at the door, the terrified thought of the man coming into the room at the very forefront of her mind. She looked back at the other woman now that she was speaking softly, once again talking about herself as if she was a completely different person, warning her that ‘Anhara’ was very dangerous. She already knew that but the talk about her loving Anhara… that was never going to happen. Rose did not like hating people but this girl… this girl was someone that she hated. A part of her hoped, that if she was unable to get away, she would prefer to die and be delivered upon the Lord so that she was free from this place, and these devil worshippers.

As the girl reached down and slowly lifted her top, Rose covered her eyes as she didn’t want to see the other girl stripping herself. After a moment she peaked to see if Anhara had covered herself again however she was then shocked at what appeared to be a tattoo across her torso. But after a shocked moment of staring at it, she began to realise that it was an intricate pattern of scars. It was both beautiful and sick. Her eyes were then drawn to the signature that was slashed across the girl's chest. The sight of it made her stomach churn and her sapphire eyes grew wide. Her mother watered a little, and she tried to swallow in a convulsive manner. Finally, she asked in a small voice, “Where’s the bathroom? I’m going to be sick.”

[Aura]

"The bathroom is down the hall and to the left..." Halie sighed to herself. "The truth is," she slowly started to pull her shirt back on to cover her scars again. "You're probably not going to stay here long. Everyone always leaves... That's okay, I understand, everyone says I'm scary or gross... But I'll leave you alone. Honestly and truly, I will..." She let out a sigh. "I won't stop you if you want to go, but I can't promise you'll be successful. Daddy or Anhara will probably stop you. Anhara obsesses over her friends." She shook her head, clenching her fists tightly around her upper arms. "You don't want to be caught running away by her, I promise. So please don't try..." She just looked down in front of her with a thousand-yard stare, as if seeing hundreds of ghosts at once and freezing up. She began muttering softly to herself as several dark thoughts weighed down on her. "It's not me, it's not me, I promise it's not me, it can't be me, daddy says it's not and it can't be, it's not me I don't do that..." There was no telling what was going on in her mind, but it was clear just how unhinged she really was. Slowly, she rose to her feet, as if in some sort of daze. "Um... so, the bathroom is... yeah, I... I want to go talk to daddy..."

Slowly, Halie dragged her feet like a zombie toward the door, continuing to mutter to herself. "It doesn't make sense, it's not me, why would I do any of that? It's stupid, I could never, I hate the person that did those things! Anhara, it's all her! I hate her! Daddy will tell me again, he'll tell me that it's all Anhara again and he'll make me feel better and he'll protect me... yeah... daddy will protect me. He loves me... He... He wants me to be happy and he'll make me happy again!"

[Neptune]

The moment Halie told her where the bathroom was, Rose took a step towards the door but froze when she started talking again. She shifted her head, watching Halie out of the corner of her eye. Her words were rambling and all over the place but she caught the warning loud and clear. To not try and escape. To hell with that! She didn’t want to stay here with any of these damn monsters. If she could get away, she would take the chance. She turned her head further and looked at Halie as she stared down at the floor. The sight of the hollow gaze caused a chill to creep up her spine and forced her to look away once again. She swallowed again, trying to force back the bile that was trying to make its way up her throat. 

She watched Halie out of the corner of her eye as the other girl rose and started walking towards the bedroom door. Rose drew back, putting further distance between them as she watched the girl shuffling to the door, muttering under her breath. The words made no sense to Rose. This girl thinks that the man that had… violently touched her not long ago, loved her and would protect her. Just how insane was this girl? Rose knew that staying here any longer would not be very good. She glanced towards the window, hoping that it wasn’t locked or could be easily unlocked. Rose looked back towards Halie and resolved to try and leave through the window when she had left to speak to her ‘father’.

[Aura]

For a moment, Halie paused at the door, her hand resting on the knob as she looked over at Rose, noticing her eyes glance briefly at the window. It was clear what she was thinking. The window was indeed unlocked, but Anhara wouldn't be foolish enough to leave her alone in a room so easily escapable. "Please... Don't try to escape. Anhara will catch you. You'll end up like the others. It's stupid to try." With that final warning lingering in the air, Halie twisted the knob open and stepped outside, leaving Rose alone in the room. The time she'd spend outside would be more than enough time for Rose to exit through the window as she resolved to do, however the window only overlooked the backyard which was surrounded by tall fencing that would be impossible for her to climb. The only way out from there would be through brute force or unlocking the gate leading to the front yard. Even still, staying put as told meant Rose would continue to be tormented further, and if she never chose to take any risks, this would be the rest of her life. Yet getting caught trying to escape would lead to her torment being far harsher...

As Halie stepped out into the hallway and took a deep breath, she couldn't find her father anywhere in the house. Of course, he had said that he would be busy for a while... did he go somewhere? She took a peak out into the garage to find that the van was still there. Some time had passed since she'd last seen her daddy, so she didn't really know what he was doing at the moment. The last place she thought to look was in the backyard, but the moment her eyes rested on the shed out there, she could feel her body freeze up. "Th-that's right... daddy's... daddy's busy..." She took a step away from the backdoor before turning her back to it. "No, I don't want to go in there, daddy told me not to. And I don't know what's in there. I've never been in there. I don't know..." She shook her head and dug her phone out of her pocket. "Shut up," she said aloud to herself. "Shut up, Anhara, he doesn't want me to go there." 

Lifting her phone to her ear, Halie gave a call to her father.

"Daddy...? I need you. Anhara's playing tricks on me again... She's different from me, right, daddy? I didn't do those things, right?"

She paused for several moments, listening to the voice on the other side of the line. Her voice was shaky like a whiny child, sniffling between tears.

"Uh-huh... Uh-huh... I-I thought so... Daddy, I just... huh? O-okay, daddy... Yes, she's in our room... mm-hmm..." 

A soft blush spread across her cheeks after another pause. "O-oh... y-yes daddy! Okay!" After hanging up the phone, her face turned even redder as she slowly stood up and started making her way back toward her room, her mood suddenly shifting slightly.

[Neptune]

Rose remained frozen where she was, watching as the other girl left the room. She listened intently, waiting for the footsteps to recede further down the hall before she dashed over to the window. With trembling fingers, she unlocked it and opened it up, her heart soaring when it was easy to do so. Once the window was open, she stuck her head outside and took a long look at the view outside. She didn’t like what she was seeing. The fence looked impossible to climb, especially for her short stature. She looked around but saw no viable way to exit. She then looked down and saw that it was a fair distance to fall but she didn’t care if she hurt herself. It was preferable to staying here. She could only hope that there was a gate that she could open, and pray that it wasn’t locked by something as secure as a padlock or chain. 

Rose glanced back towards the bedroom door again, but couldn’t hear anything so she took the plunge and carefully climbed out of the window. She lowered herself as best as she could, clinging to the windowsill with a tight grip. Her hands were reluctant to open up, but she knew that if she didn’t, then she would be stuck here forever. With a low groan, she forced her hands to let go and she fell down to the grass below. She landed with a heavy thud and she let out a muffled yelp as her ankle twisted underneath her. It was so painful that tears sprang to her eyes. She shifted, holding her ankle for a moment, hoping that it wasn’t broken. 

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Rose used the side of the house to push herself to her feet. She tested her wait on her injured foot and while it hurt, it wasn’t so painful that she couldn’t walk which made her sigh in relief. She had just sprained it. Now that she was on the ground, she looked around but saw much of the same. Using the wall to help her walk, she moved around the house, being careful of any windows and doors she encountered while she looked for some promised gate.

[Aura]

When Halie passed by the bathroom and saw it empty, she was somewhat suspicious, but assumed that Rose had simply finished and returned to the room without her noticing. She was much more calm at this point, so she didn't consider the worst case scenario until she'd twisted the door open again to find an empty room with an open window. Her heart sunk at the sight once again and she immediately ran to the window to look down. She couldn't really be trying to escape, surely! After all those warnings! She started to breathe heavily, as she clenched her fists.

"That little bitch things she can get away..." Anhara muttered out loud to herself as she turned around, griping to herself. "She'd better not get out or I swear..." She slammed the door behind her and marched down the stairs. "Trying to ruin my moment with daddy, I'll fucking make you pay you little shit."

As Rose turned the corner around the house, she did stumble across a gate, but just as she feared, there was a padlock hooked around the latch, preventing it from being opened without a key. The padlock looked readily used, but still showed signs of age and it looked pretty cheap to begin with. It might not hold if struck with enough force, but it's certainly still in tact and there's no guarantee Rose's strength alone could break through it. In addition, upon closer inspection, there seemed to be barbed wire running along the bottom of the fence as well, so digging under would be incredibly difficult and painful as well.

Unfortunately for Rose, time was running out quickly as Anhara made a beeline for the back door. Absolutely fuming, she swung the door open and stormed outside. She knew exactly where Rose would've tried first, and she wasn't about to take any chances with that old lock. "What the hell do you think you're doing!? Get the fuck back here right now, bitch, or you're fucking DEAD!!" She shouted at Rose, clear as day, this was no longer Halie speaking.