1 Nightmares and Warm Embraces

Run... Run! Ever fiber of Lucillia's mind seemed to be screaming commands to her defiant muscles that trembled in place as she heard the familiar clacking sound of high heels drawing nearer.

"Lucillia," a sickly-sweet voice calls out, "Darling its time to spend some time with mommy…" There was a slight pause, and when it was made clear that Lucillia had made no response the words became more aggressive. This time, there was no attempt to conceal the malice in the voice as the voice barked out "Lucillia! If you don't answer me right now, I'll have to punish you." The small girl's tremoring escalated as she bitterly thought 'Do you think I don't know you were going to punish me regardless…'

Under the threat of violence, her will to escape increased, but by the time she was finally able to edge back half a step she felt the coldness of a wall behind her as a clawed hand stretched forward and yanked her to the ground by the collar of her shirt. She immediately felt the stinging of her scraped knees but bit her lips to hold back the cry as the voice continued its verbal assault.

"What a dirty b****! No manners at all, although I don't know what I expected coming from your s*** of a mother! You and that w**** should've both died in birth instead of tainting the Le'Mont name with your vile blood." The insults continued for a couple minutes before the voice became dissatisfied with the lack of response. Immediately the hand grasped a handful of the child's messy hair and yanked her head upwards. This time, a small cry escaped the young girl's mouth and the voice's lips twisted with sadistic pleasure as she chided "You nasty b****! You should look at me when I'm talking to you."

Just as the tightly clenched eyes finally opened to stare at the cruel woman's face, Lucillia was roughly shaken. At first, her muddled brain confused the shaking as something happening in her dream and she began to wildly thrash until she heard the panicked and familiar voice of her roommate Vicky.

"Lucy, it's me! It's me! You're safe! Everything's ok now…" Vicky's voice trailed off as she pulled the young woman's still trembling frame into her embrace. Even though they were about the same age, Vicky's plump bosom exuded a motherly comfort as she pressed Lucillia's malnourished body into her own. It was only after a few minutes of being hugged and going over her calming routine that Lucillia finally regained her senses and noticed the three other three worried glances in the room. Upon seeing the tender faces of her three children, any lingering tension quickly evaporated as she drew the remaining bodies onto her bed.

Her oldest, Arlienne, twirled strands of her light golden locks between her fingers and looked as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately decided to bite back the response. She was the only one of her kids that was old enough to really understand the reality of the situation, and in the moment Lucillia was grateful neither she nor Jackie pressed the issue of her recurring nightmares in front of the other two. Of course, that didn't mean that her other two didn't understand anything. Her only son, Nolan, snuggled closer, and she lightly ruffled his slightly mussed hair. Seeing this show of affection, his twin sister, Rowen quickly followed suit and pressed into the other side of her mother affectionately.

"Did mommy have another nightmare?" Nolan questioned sweetly.

"En. That's right," Lucillia replied. As Nolan and Rowen's frowns started to deepen, she quickly made up with a story in her mind to tell the children about what happened in her nightmare rather than disclosing the real events. Eventually, she landed on an outlandish story about a giant mouse that started attacking their city. The mouse crushed buildings with its tails and paws and set houses on fire with its fire breath. She talked about how an evil corporation had accidentally created this radioactive mouse monster with their negligence, and how the army had to work to capture it and save the day. Finally, by the conclusion of her story, her three kids looked sluggish once again. She had thought that they were all asleep when Rowen unexpectedly murmured drowsily.

"Don't worry mommy. No matter what we will protect you…"

"En." Lucillia replied, showing a slightly sad smile at her daughter's comment. In reality, she knew that she probably shouldn't lie to her children, but it was her selfish wish to protect her three precious treasures from the reality of human nature even if it was just for a bit longer. And for the remainder of the night, she watched their three curled bodies sleep peacefully as she took turns stroking their hair gently as she soaked up the feelings of that night; both the nightmares and the warm embraces.