Jazzy - In the Shadows

Virginia twisted her neck towards her right as she awoke, immediately noticing a tender soreness. Her throat was dry and her head was aching. When she went to rub her head, Virginia felt her wrists securely held down by manacles, and then noticed her ankles were as well. When her equilibrium was restored, she also realized that she was sitting upright in a hard wooden chair that was very uncomfortable.

Virginia gasped and her eyes flew open in memory. The room was too familiar, a closet filled with hundreds of shoes was to her right where an enormous fireplace sat near it. She shook her head in doubt and worry; it was the exact same room that she'd awakened in when the Trolls had first captured her.

She craned her neck around the room and discovered that she was alone and unguarded. She tested the restraints and found they were just as tight as they had been the first time. Virginia just hoped that another pink package would come in from the window and provide her with an escape. It wasn't very likely, but she still hoped.

She wondered how much time had passed since they'd caught her trying to escape. She felt like she had been asleep forever. She was groggy and had a terrible taste in her mouth. She was thirsty and had to go to the bathroom badly, even though she knew there wasn't that much of a chance they'd let her out and escort her to the ladies' room.

Suddenly, the heavy iron door swung open and Ann strolled in very casually, barely acknowledging Virginia at all. A moment or two after Ann had surveyed the room and glanced to make sure that Virginia was properly held down, she walked up to her and pulled her hand up into a wide arc before bringing it rapidly down on Virginia's cheek.

Virginia's head was snapped to the other side of the chair where the left side of her face made quick contact with the wood. The sound of her skin being slapped pierced her ears, but was dulled by the feeling of heat and pain on her face. She longed to rub it, to stop it from throbbing, but with her hands held down by the tight iron she was only left to hope that it would stop hurting.

"Maybe that will teach you not to try another stunt like that again," Ann said coldly, referring to Virginia's attempt to escape. She swung around and approached the fireplace. Wood was already stacked inside and there were ashes from the previous fire below to aid the new one. Ann took a match and struck it against the cobblestone floor, instantly gaining a flame. She gently placed it against the wood and started a fire.

Virginia's eyes flew over to the iron slippers that were placed on the shelf with the other shoes and felt a sudden urge to stall whatever Ann was planning to do. "I don't understand why you're doing all this to me. It wasn't like I killed her myself! It wasn't my fault!" she yelled.

Ann said nothing for a moment, she only kept her gaze transfixed on the fire that was growing in front of her. With a hard voice, she spoke to Virginia with her back to her. "How many times do I have to tell you?" She paused and then whipped around and stared at Virginia. "If you hadn't made Sally lose the contest - which she deserved to win - Wilfred wouldn't have killed her!"

Virginia scoffed. At least she knew that Wilfred had actually carried out the murder, not her. "Why am I to blame!? Do this to him!"

"No, he did that to her because she destroyed the well. She deserved some of the punishment. But don't you see? If it weren't for you, Sally wouldn't have destroyed it! The Peeps wouldn't have been driven out of town! It's your fault."

Virginia felt herself slump in her chair and another blast of sudden memory and regret hit her. "If it wasn't for you..." and "You were nothing but an accident." It was all too familiar, all too clear, and all too painful. Virginia turned away, not being able to find the voice to argue with her again. She did deserve to pay; she had killed two people. Whether or not she'd actually done the deed against Sally didn't matter. The fact was that because of her Sally was dead.

Ann hid her smile as she saw Virginia turn away, guilt spread across her face. She saw her red handprint that was clearly marked across her face from the slap she'd given her and it was like she had branded Virginia. It caused her to bite her lip to keep from smiling wholeheartedly. She was trying to make Virginia feel the way she should and it wouldn't help to start laughing and showing joy.

Ann turned away and slowly made her way over to the shoes in the closet, taking her time to look for a certain pair in particular. When she knew that Virginia was watching she slowly picked up the cold iron slippers and looked them over. She already knew plenty about them, but was delaying to cause Virginia to tense up. Ann knew of the story between Virginia and the Trolls with these very slippers. She knew that Virginia wouldn't be pleased to see her place them on the fire.

But she did so anyway. Ann placed a pair of tongs near the fire and turned to see Virginia staring at the shoes, her eyes wide and her mouth parted slightly. Ann had to bite her tongue from smiling again, but a small grin slipped through her grasp and went across her face in display of her amusement.

"You know the story behind these, right? What they can make a person do?" Ann ask coyly.

Virginia turned her gaze away from the shoes that were atop the flames and glared at Ann. She quickly twisted back to her shackles and tried to squeeze her hands through them again or undo the clasp that was so close to her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. The iron will only rub your wrists and soon they will begin to ache and burn," she said as she walked around the room. Her farming accent like Sally's seemed to show more and more every time she talked, probably because Virginia was realizing how much alike in pain and torture they were. Living to see others suffer.

"You're a lot like your sister," Virginia mumbled, more to herself than to Ann, simply as an observation that didn't mean to burn through Ann like it did.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ann asked, flushing slightly. Sally had a reputation in Little Lamb Village that wasn't one anyone wanted to have themselves. To be compared to Sally in any way was low and degrading.

"I said, you're a lot like your sister," Virginia said exasperatedly as she twisted her wrists around again, desperately trying to free a hand. She hadn't realized the meaning of her words like Ann certainly did.

Ann felt her eyes burn. She instantly felt a heavy weight of new anger flood her chest and make her hands clench. Yes, she was avenging her sister's death, but mostly because her family was banned because of Virginia. "How dare you!" Ann screamed as she approached Virginia.

Again, Ann's hand swung up into the air and came swiftly down and in contact with Virginia's cheek. She leaned on the arm rests of the chair, only inches from Virginia's face. She herself could almost feel the heat off the brisk contact she had made.

It being already sore and red, Virginia immediately let out a yelp in pain as her cheek received another hit, sending her to the side of the chair again. The throbbing on her cheek never seemed to cease; it kept getting worse and worse, hotter and hotter. Ann had struck so hard that she could feel the pain all the way down to her cheekbone.

Without free hands, Virginia was unable to retaliate until an idea came into her head. Before she thought through it logically, she welled up the strength and pulled her head back. Ann didn't have enough time to move as suddenly Virginia spat on Ann's face, a smile of defiance sliding up her mouth as she watched Ann grimace away.

Ann flew back and wiped the spit off her face, trying to reclaim her dignity, but it was already gone. "I'm going to make you regret that, you little goblin!" The words were so familiar to Ann that they came out without a thought to them. Then she realized that Sally said that quite often when she was angry with someone. She was copying her sister's words. She was becoming her!

Ann felt enraged and terribly angered. She wanted to slap Virginia again, punch her, kick her ... spit on her! She wanted to make her live through pain like she was, but couldn't decide on the best form. Until her eyes fell upon the red slippers sitting quietly on the flames of the fire. She wiped the remaining spit from her face and let her eyes wander to the slippers, knowing Virginia was following her gaze.

Ann picked up the tongs in her hands and then picked up the slipper with them. They were so hot that they sizzled on the tongs and threatened to burn right through them. Ann smiled. Perfect.

She walked back over to Virginia, whose smile had completely vanished from her face. The slap mark seemed to show darker now that the rest of Virginia's face had gone pale. Ann's smile grew.

She waved the slippers suggestively in front of Virginia's feet and then softly said to her, "Let's see how well you can dance."