She dismisses it quickly. Even having accepting what happened, she doesn't like to address past events any more than doing the equivalent of gently tapping one's toes in the water while walking on a shoreline. She knows that if she dwells on it, she will panic and be overwhelmed. Yet the memoryscape temporarily shifts to fit her own nightmare:
ANNOUNCEMENT FROM ARISTOCRATS THIS MONTH'S GIFT: FILTHY JENNIFER
This is what is written on the numberless posters that are plastered all over the walls of the orphanage. Monsters with animal heads and improvised weapons like brooms and kitchen knives chase Jennifer, ready to sacrifice her. Fighting her way out, she arrives to the inner courtyard where a blonde little girl her age, about nine years old, in a white and light blue attire stands peacefully. It's Wendy.
Hundreds of horrible imps peer out of the windows on all the sides of the courtyard, on all levels of the building, but for just a moment Jennifer relaxes. She doesn't know what crucial mistake that is. Wendy, sickly as always but kind, is petting Brown the dog.
"So this is your friend, huh? It's so filthy, but adorable." Wendy points out so softly that it doesn't read as the backhanded compliment it is, then looks up at her girlfriend "Oh yes. Jennifer, there will be an Aristocrat Club meeting after this. Today will be the most wonderful day. I hope you enjoy it."
Jennifer notices something on a crate, it looks like a fairytale book.
Once upon a time, a girl found a hole in the ground in the yard. The Little People came out and told her the news. Today is the day of your funeral. If you don't like it, then you must sacrifice your friend. Who wants to be buried alive? So the girl did what she had to, and buried her best friend. Well, I wouldn't want to be her best friend!
The remaining pages are blank. Not even the time to close the book that she hears a dog's whimper. Neither Brown nor Wendy are in the courtyard anymore. The imps are no longer watching from the windows.
The inside of the orphanage looks completely deserted and all Jennifer can hear are the cries of her best friend, guiding her upstairs in the attic. There's a table full of bloddy sharp tools and gloves. Multiple times she thinks she sees Brown's dead body, but upon further inspection it turns out to be a rag doll and it's just her fear doing tricks on her. One, two, three times until she gets to that door.
'THIS MONTH'S GIFT: FILTHY BROWN'
She opens it frantically. The imps are now sweeping blood on the floor. Something that looks like Brown's dead body lays in full display, and Jennifer falls on her knees. This one too turns out to be a rag doll. She hears children's giggles echo through the cold attic. Raising her head, she spots the Aristocrats in all their cruelty.
The difference is that this time the 'throne' onto the makeshift pyramid does not have a placeholder for the princess, there is the princess herself, a bouquet of flowers covers her face. Jennifer never knew who the princess was, never got the pleasure of meeting the one who invented the sick game that had all the other kids torture Jennifer in name of 'social class'.
The princess slowly descends from the pyramid, with a sadistic giggle. Her face is now visible and makes for the worst reveal: it's Wendy herself. Jennifer makes some loud moan of anger and pain. Amanda, one of the lower class, clumsily runs to her to whisper in her ear:
"Your friend is in the bag. It's too late now."
Jennifer turns and the horror isn't delayed any longer: there's the bloody bag in a corner, with what remains of her best friend.
The current Jennifer makes a choked noise. She doesn't want to harbour any hard feelings, she doesn't want to feel that pain.
"Wendy was that special person I told you about, the one that gave me the brooch...She was always sick in bed, and I would go see her but...Ever since I met Brown she became jealous. She said I should have given him away because he wasn't a good match for us and that I should have only ever talked to her, only ever smiled at her."
She shakes her head. This feels so silly in comparison to the context of war. Her world was so small at the time.
"She created the Aristocrat club so that the other kids would group up against me and she would be the only one kind to me until I earned a high rank to be in the Princess's good graces. Of course I never knew she was the princess until that very day, she used a doll a placeholder. It was because she was sick, but I would have never thought that she--"
Her voice breaks for a moment and then she clears her throat.
"Anyway, right after I saw the bag I lashed out and beat her up. The others thought nothing of making me their new princess shortly after, funny how it works." the chuckle that comes with it is humorless and self defeating "Later she got her revenge, and had everyone else killed. She apologized and then she died too...It took some time before the police found me..."
She shakes her head once again. She feels guilty for feeling pain after all this time. It was truly all born from petty children playing.
"...But Wendy was just a poor lonely child. It's not the same thing. Perhaps I should have been a better prince for her."
tw animal death / implied animal torture, murder
She dismisses it quickly. Even having accepting what happened, she doesn't like to address past events any more than doing the equivalent of gently tapping one's toes in the water while walking on a shoreline. She knows that if she dwells on it, she will panic and be overwhelmed. Yet the memoryscape temporarily shifts to fit her own nightmare:
ANNOUNCEMENT FROM ARISTOCRATS
THIS MONTH'S GIFT:
FILTHY JENNIFER
This is what is written on the numberless posters that are plastered all over the walls of the orphanage. Monsters with animal heads and improvised weapons like brooms and kitchen knives chase Jennifer, ready to sacrifice her. Fighting her way out, she arrives to the inner courtyard where a blonde little girl her age, about nine years old, in a white and light blue attire stands peacefully. It's Wendy.
Hundreds of horrible imps peer out of the windows on all the sides of the courtyard, on all levels of the building, but for just a moment Jennifer relaxes. She doesn't know what crucial mistake that is. Wendy, sickly as always but kind, is petting Brown the dog.
"So this is your friend, huh? It's so filthy, but adorable." Wendy points out so softly that it doesn't read as the backhanded compliment it is, then looks up at her girlfriend "Oh yes. Jennifer, there will be an Aristocrat Club meeting after this. Today will be the most wonderful day. I hope you enjoy it."
Jennifer notices something on a crate, it looks like a fairytale book.
Once upon a time, a girl found a hole in the ground in the yard.
The Little People came out and told her the news.
Today is the day of your funeral. If you don't like it, then you must sacrifice your friend.
Who wants to be buried alive?
So the girl did what she had to, and buried her best friend.
Well, I wouldn't want to be her best friend!
The remaining pages are blank. Not even the time to close the book that she hears a dog's whimper. Neither Brown nor Wendy are in the courtyard anymore. The imps are no longer watching from the windows.
The inside of the orphanage looks completely deserted and all Jennifer can hear are the cries of her best friend, guiding her upstairs in the attic. There's a table full of bloddy sharp tools and gloves. Multiple times she thinks she sees Brown's dead body, but upon further inspection it turns out to be a rag doll and it's just her fear doing tricks on her. One, two, three times until she gets to that door.
'THIS MONTH'S GIFT: FILTHY BROWN'
She opens it frantically. The imps are now sweeping blood on the floor. Something that looks like Brown's dead body lays in full display, and Jennifer falls on her knees. This one too turns out to be a rag doll. She hears children's giggles echo through the cold attic. Raising her head, she spots the Aristocrats in all their cruelty.
The difference is that this time the 'throne' onto the makeshift pyramid does not have a placeholder for the princess, there is the princess herself, a bouquet of flowers covers her face. Jennifer never knew who the princess was, never got the pleasure of meeting the one who invented the sick game that had all the other kids torture Jennifer in name of 'social class'.
The princess slowly descends from the pyramid, with a sadistic giggle. Her face is now visible and makes for the worst reveal: it's Wendy herself. Jennifer makes some loud moan of anger and pain. Amanda, one of the lower class, clumsily runs to her to whisper in her ear:
"Your friend is in the bag. It's too late now."
Jennifer turns and the horror isn't delayed any longer: there's the bloody bag in a corner, with what remains of her best friend.
The current Jennifer makes a choked noise. She doesn't want to harbour any hard feelings, she doesn't want to feel that pain.
"Wendy was that special person I told you about, the one that gave me the brooch...She was always sick in bed, and I would go see her but...Ever since I met Brown she became jealous. She said I should have given him away because he wasn't a good match for us and that I should have only ever talked to her, only ever smiled at her."
She shakes her head. This feels so silly in comparison to the context of war. Her world was so small at the time.
"She created the Aristocrat club so that the other kids would group up against me and she would be the only one kind to me until I earned a high rank to be in the Princess's good graces. Of course I never knew she was the princess until that very day, she used a doll a placeholder. It was because she was sick, but I would have never thought that she--"
Her voice breaks for a moment and then she clears her throat.
"Anyway, right after I saw the bag I lashed out and beat her up. The others thought nothing of making me their new princess shortly after, funny how it works." the chuckle that comes with it is humorless and self defeating "Later she got her revenge, and had everyone else killed. She apologized and then she died too...It took some time before the police found me..."
She shakes her head once again. She feels guilty for feeling pain after all this time. It was truly all born from petty children playing.
"...But Wendy was just a poor lonely child. It's not the same thing. Perhaps I should have been a better prince for her."