Chapter 5:

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" My godmother asked.. "Your father, what happened?"

"She killed him. My stepmot-" I gagged at the word, "Andrea killed him. I saw it with my own eyes." It was hard when I gulped, I shut my eyes tightly and shook my head.

"Oh my goodness," she gasped, holding her mouth with her hands. "How could she do such a thing?"

"She's despicable. My father married an evil incarnated viper." Every word I spoke came out in bitterness and hate. Then I sank my shoulders, tears forming again. "I can't go home. The castle is crumbling. The police are after me. She's claiming I did it. I can't go back there." It had never been my home since my mother passed. Rochelle couldn't take her absence and left me with those monsters with father. Andrea erased every trace from my mother in the castle. The familial home that was filled with mother's lily wallpapers, pictures from our picnic outings, and love for frog sculptures were replaced with Andrea's viper statues, cat pictures, her daughters and red wallpaper. My father let it happen, his way of moving on, not letting himself grieve.

"Dearie, it's going to be ok. She will pay for her crimes." She nodded with determination in her eyes. I frowned, my mind was scrambled and running a mile a second. She hugged me again, squeezing her hands on my arms. I held her embrace and cried on her shoulders again. She will.

"She will." I released her hug, looking her right in the eyes without wiping my tears. "I need to send a message to my sister. Rochelle. Usually I could send a postcard but she needs to know now. Immediately."

She sighed, walking away to her room and arriving back with her Phoenix. Phoenixes were known to travel fast for emergencies. She cooed for the bird to calm down, stroking its beak the bright bird relaxed. I had paper and pen handy from the table beside her fireplace. I wrote furiously:

Rochelle,

I cannot believe you left me here! I had been in hell. Where are you? Father is dead. Father is dead. She killed her. I need you. I needed you here but you left! I understand mother leaving us was uncertain but we're family. You're my sister, my big sister. You were supposed to protect me. I fend for myself, with no help. Andrea has erased mother from us, she's claiming her place in the castle. It's crumbling, crumbling. You have to come home. Now.

Addyson.

I breathed again, folding it and handing it to my godmother. She pulled out an empty tube and asked, "do you know where she is?"

"The last postcard she sent was from Shenshire. That was a month ago." Shenshire was a land that took at least three days' travel. A place of euphoria, Rochelle always dreamed of living there when she got married to raise her children. I guess she started early. I didn't know much about her life, she just wrote back that she missed home and that she was fine. Nothing else. I held my hand out, she handed me the tube. I dropped the letter in and gave it back. The tube wasn't big or small. It fit on the phoenix's clawed foot. She instructed him to fly and head to the direction. He flew out the window quickly. As much as I trusted the majestic bird to send the message, I was torn. I still had to go to her. But right now, I have more to do.

"And I also have another favor," I told her.

"What kind of favor?" She frowned.

"I have a vial of my father's blood," I stated.

"Dearie?" It came out as a question. I pulled it out my satchel, showing her the consistency of the blood. It did not curdle or harden. My eyes opened with persistence.

"I know about the spell," I told her.

"Spell? You don't mean-" she shook her head fast, about to scold me.

I stopped here."The spell to bring him back. Mother taught me. I tried it once but I couldn't but too much time passed." I haven't not told anyone, not even father or Rochelle. I tried to find a way to bring her back. Her soul at least. There was a spell in the book to bring back the soul to the land of the living in any living object we desired. Mom gave it to me, before she left the world she told me to protect it. Always keep it with me. I waited too long. It was a week after she passed. Her ghost came back to life but it was cold, unkind, wrong and lost. I had to summon them to where her ghost was. I couldn't communicate with her. I shrunk the book small enough for it to fit my satchel. I showed her and smiled. "We can bring him back."

"You can't! He's gone!"

"I have to, he just died an hour ago. There's still time. Our land is losing magic. My home is almost gone, crumbling at the sight of me. I need to save it."

"You can't save it by bringing him back," she warned.

"We have to try. The first time I failed, this time I'm ready."

"Wait, dearie. Let's take it down and relax. Breathe."

"I can't breathe, I don't have time! Godmother please." She tried to soothe me, rubbing my shoulders and told me to breathe in and out. My temples throbbed, panicking and rambling.

"Look at me, breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth." When I breathed, it hurt my ribs. I didn't have time for this but she held on if I tried to move. For an older woman she was strong. Shorter than me, her height reached to my chin. She led me to the kitchen as we continued breathing, not realizing we sat down and my heart calmed. "Ok, ok. Let's think first. Do you feel better?" She asked.

"No," I answered honestly. "Calmer, but not better."

"Have you eaten?"

"Not since the dance. I was getting ready for bed and then-"

"Stop. Let me warm you something to fill your belly." She headed over to the stove, switching it on with her match and pulled out a black pot. If I ate I might throw up. I felt suffocated. The appetizers at the ball were not filling, small enough to fill a mouse. My night ended from the prince almost wanting to kiss me to running away from my own home. My father still recognized me as his daughter before he died. That woman needed to go. She had to. I had to bring him back. Rochelle needed to come home.