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THE STEP MONSTERS DEMANDS 2

“We must leave now Mother!” Prince Eric growled, gripping her arm tightly as he dragged her away.

leaving a trail of rage in their wake.

“Prince Eric, Queen Mary… please don't go like this!” the Step-Monster pleaded in desperation as they vanished from sight.

“YOU!!” the Step Monster screams, turning her piercing gaze onto me. She had never looked so fierce before; her beastly side is fighting for dominance.

“Your majesty… p-please calm down. She made a mistake”, Lexi stutters, trying to protect me from the wrath of the Step Monster.

“Lexi! Leave us!” she snarls, her lips pulling back in a dangerous sneer. Lexi and the girl at her side hurry out of the room, leaving me alone with the Step Monster. Panic rises my chest as I faces the woman's rage-filled eyes that are flashing from brown to black.

“Do you have any idea what you have cost us Alivia? You have shamed me and your father! What you have done could cause a war!” she yells, her voice rising to an echoing crescendo.

"My father would never have wanted me to marry someone like that! And this is not your decision - it is mine! And I will not apologize for refusing to marry a man who has no respect for women!" I retorted, my voice steady despite my trembling heart.

"Instead of apologizing to me you are still arguing… it seems like your wings have grown too long and it's time to clip them." Her voice is deadly and her eyes are completely black with feral rage.

The moment her voice turned cold, I knew I was done for. Her eyes were completely black like two bottomless pits of rage and her wolf released an aura so powerful that it made me tremble with fear. Seething with anger and her eyes flashing with uncontrollable rage, she grabs me by my hair and drags me outside.

"Guards! Guards!" she bellows, and they all come running towards her.

“Y-y-yes your Majesty” one of them spoke up, his wholebody trembling in fear.

"Bring me all of the princesses' sketchbooks, books and art supplies," she says with icy menace as she stares down at me.

The horror that washed over my face was immediate as they rushed to go get them. I tried to plead but it was useless. I could do nothing as they brought out everything I had ever loved; over a hundred sketchbooks that I had been drawing since I was a child.

“Throw them on the floor” she commanded in an indifferent tone, and the guards did as they were told without hesitation.

“The torch” she said coldly, and terror flooded my body.

"NO! Please no!" I cried, scrambling to grab some of my books with tears streaming down my face. But it was too late; before I could even blink, two guards had forced me to my feet and pulled me away from my beloved art supplies as the fire began to consume.

A few hours later

I stumble into my dark bedroom, my heart dropping when I take in the scene - what once was a vibrant sanctuary of art and life was now a dishevelled, desolate mess. The moonlight casts shadows across the room, and I spot a piece of paper lying near the mirror that had obviously fallen out of one of my sketchbooks. Treading closer, I feel nostalgia wash over me as I pick up the sketch of me and my father we had worked on together so many years ago - it felt like only yesterday.

I drift back to the early morning hours when I had run from my room to his studio. He sat at his desk with a steaming cup of coffee beside him, sketching with the sun streaming in through the large windows. He beamed when he noticed me standing at the door and motioned for me to join him. We spent hours together that morning, finishing the sketch with my dad's details and my own childish scribbles. My chest ached as I looked at it now; it was a precious reminder of my dad and our time together.

I ran my fingers over the jagged edges of the sketch and noticed an array of letters on the back. I squinted, trying to make out the faded pencil marks.

“What does this mean?”

I pick up the sketch and examined it, squinting in the fading light. A chill ran down my spine as I realized it was a coded message, exactly like the ones my father used to send me when I was younger. I grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper and jotted down the letters. It took me half an hour, but I eventually cracked the code -. "Hi pumpkin," it read. "I want you to know that I will always love you and I will always protect you, even if I am not around. If you ever find yourself in trouble, go to these coordinates and you will find everything you need." I blinked at the words on the paper, and an unexpected calm washed over me.

A sharp snap of the door handle jolts me up and I frantically shove my page under the pillow. The step monster stands in the entrance way, the light from the hallway framing her silhouette.

“Alivia, honey, it’s time for your daily dose” she sings, as if nothing is wrong, syringe in hand.

"No no no," I pleaded, feeling my wolf awaken inside me. "You know I hate needles; it makes me feel weird! Please don't make me take it," I pleaded as she stalked closer.

"Alivia! Stop being so stubborn!" she bellows. "You're sick and you need to take it! Haven't you caused enough trouble for one day?"

Terrified, I tried to scramble away, my breath coming in ragged gasps. With a triumphant grin, she plunges the needle into my arm and I let out an agonizing scream as she squeezes the horrible liquid inside.

"Oh, you big baby," she cackles as she pulls away. "It's all done now."

My head spinning, I watched her silhouette leave my room and the door creak shut. I collapse onto the bed, my head pounding, and my father's words ringing in my ears like a broken record. With a surge of determination, I threw my legs off the bed and grabbed the page from beneath my pillow. I tried to stand up but collapsed back onto the bed with a thud. Hugging the page tight, I let out a sob that shook through my entire body.

I trembled with sadness and anger as I looked around the once-vibrant room that had been trashed by the guards and longed for the days when my father was alive and everyone was happy, laughing at carnivals and cherishing sweet childhood memories. I knew I had to fulfil my father’s dreams, or all his hard work would be for nothing.

I clutched the edge of my bed, my knuckles white from the effort. My gaze locked on the wardrobe and heaved a heavy sigh before pushing myself off the bed and stumbling towards it. Tears sprang to my eyes as I opened the doors and rummaged through the clothes until I found what I was looking for—the acceptance letter to the prestigious art school. I shoved the letter into my bag and made my way to the window on unsteady feet.

I threw open the window, briefly relishing in the chill of the night air on my skin while trying to shake off its somnolent fog.

"It’s now or never, Lara," I declared to my wolf with determination, giving my cheeks a sharp slap before I take a deep and jump out of the window and yelp in pain as my boots make an unceremonious landing on the muddy ground below, landing hard on my hands, knocking all the breath out of my body, but I push myself up off the ground as fast as I can. My palms are scraped raw and red, but I wipe them off on my dress, which is covered in mud.

I carefully look around for the guards that patrol this area. Sure enough, I heard their loud voices in the distance and hid behind one of the castle pillars, watching them retreat off towards the other side of the castle. I know from months of observation that they switch shifts at this time, leaving this area unguarded for a few minutes. As I make my way to the back of the castle, a soft giggle escapes my lips at the thought of my father seeing me now. "Deciphering messages and sneaking around like this," I whisper to myself, “if my dad saw me now, he would definitely say the games we played really influenced me!” Taking solace in the fact that even my father would be proud of this feat, I carefully positioned myself behind one of the castle’s support pillars and watched as the guards left on their shift.

I took a deep breath, pushed away from the wall and eased into a light jog as I made my way through the woods. My feet ached as I ran for hours, but I knew I had to keep going. Eventually, the drug step-monster injected into me overtook me, and I stumbled to a stop and collapsed onto the forest floor as darkness washed over me.

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