I open my eyes to find disappointment, because my dreams about Callista were much better than the boring monotony that is everyday. I am snapped out of my head from a knock on my bedroom door. As I sit up to open it, I pray it is not my mother as I am not dressed and awake yet. When I reach the door, I open it to find Daria, my brother’s bodyguard standing there. “May I come in?” Her voice is timid and quiet. “Of course, Daria.” I step aside to let her in and she rushes inside quickly. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for how your mother and your brother treat you. I see it all and while I can’t do anything because he says he will punish me, I want you to know that I support you and that I am sorry.” I am shocked for a moment trying to process her words. “Of course, Daria. It isn’t your fault that they are the way they are. You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and I have nothing against you.” She smiles sweetly at me in a way that projects innocence. I can see the palpable relief on her face. “I’m always here for you, miss. I’m in your corner. If you ever need help or even just a friend to talk to, don’t hesitate to call me.” She curtsies slightly, then leaves my room and walks down the hall towards my brother’s quarters.

I close my door and lock it behind me, and go to sit on my bed. I can’t stop thinking about her words. …because he says he will punish me,... I already knew that he was a terrible person. Watching the pleasure he takes in my punishment proves it. I didn’t know, however, just how much he takes after our mother.. I realize suddenly that it can’t keep going like this. This needs to end. My family cannot continue to get away with this. Maybe I deserve their punishment, but Daria, that poor, sweet, innocent girl could never deserve their abuse. They need to be stopped.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I go about my day pretending that everything is normal. I smile, explore the castle, and make small talk with all of the castle workers. I ride my horse and pretend that nothing is bothering me at all. Once night comes, I quietly go to sit on my balcony, praying that Callista will not follow. She doesn’t thankfully. I look at the book that I stole from the library earlier. ‘Using Magic To Change Your Face: Fixing Your Ugliness Into Beauty’ I begin to flip through the pages, until I find the incantation for temporary complete facial transformation. I begin to practice the incantation over and over and over again. Once I've mastered it, I begin to practice doing it with just a wave of my hand and the thought of the spell. It doesn’t take me long to master that, too. I finally sneak back into my room, satisfied with my work tonight. I fall asleep with the hope that tomorrow, I can get more work done.

When I wake from my slumber, and repeat the same routine all over again. This time, I steal a book on voice modification, and once I get back to my room for the night, I practice how to do that too. This incantation is harder to learn, as I have to change my voice enough that no one would ever hear it and think about me. However, after a couple of days of practice, I learn how to do that, too. After perfecting both of the spells, I begin to devise a plan to sneak out. I am clever, but so is Callista, and I can’t have her catching me and stopping me. Eventually, I decide that my best bet is to learn a good illusion spell so that I’ll look like I’m still sleeping peacefully in my bed when she comes to check on me. After stealing another book, I learn how to do that, too, and now, the plan is set. In a couple of days, I will sneak out using the illusion spell and go into the village and inspire change with a different face and a different name. As my head hits the pillow tonight after a week of little to no sleep, I close my eyes and pray to Thalian that Callista doesn’t catch me, as I drift off into a dreamless slumber.