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It wasn't like I meant to interrupt the teacher. I didn't even realize I was speaking until I'd already said it. But Princess Anna didn't care. As far as she was concerned, I had been looking for ways to disrupt the lesson for the entire period. An unfair accusation; I had only intentionally interrupted twice. Unfortunately, Anna hated me more than most of the teachers did. Her hate for me was only rivaled by my hate for her. Which paled in comparison to the hate of my parents, but that was beside the point.
"Margaret Westergaard! You and I need to speak to each other." Anna's eyes narrowed angrily.
I didn't give her the satisfaction of looking at her. She wanted me to respond so she could further push her hate of my father onto me; the least she could do was call me by my prefered name. I hadn't responded to Margaret since I was three.
"Margaret." Anna's voice became more menacing.
I shifted my hand to my boot. One quick movement and she'd never call me Margaret again. She'd never call anyone anything again. After all, its hard to speak without your tongue, as Narissa liked to threaten.
"Margaret!" Anna was getting furious now, I could hear it in her voice.
It brought a slight grin to my face. A tiny rebellion to be sure, but one of the few I could get away with in Auradon.
Another voice, from next to the furious PE teacher, called to me. "Yo Ash! I need your help with a pranking plan!"
I instantly turned toward this new voice. Most times I would have ignored Vest, because, well he was Vest, but I needed to make a point to that aggravating, annoying, Anna. Ooh that was a good alliteration!
"What sort of prank?" I asked.
"Well surely you've noticed how Flynn is crushing on Trevor. I want to play from that angle." Vest smirked.
"Margaret! Listen to me!" Anna growled.
"Play that angle how?" I asked, feeling the anger grow at Anna's insistence of calling me Margaret.
"Well I'm think little love poems or something."
As I went to respond, my wrist was ensnared by something. The moment passed in flashes, and I struggled to make sense of what was real and what were memories. A hand on my wrist. Yes that seemed to be real. The air being choked out of me. Possibly a memory. Being dragged somewhere. Maybe truth? The sound of a rattling chain. Could be either. Or both. Someone screaming "you will be in so much trouble for this!" That "will be" told me it had to be real, because my parents wouldn't use future tense; it was always "you are".
I tried to twist out of whatever had caught hold of me. ^^^But in response, the thing grabbed my shirt, pulling my collar against my neck. Instincts took over and my mind fled. All reality had disappeared and suddenly I was back on the Isle, chained to a chair. Narissa towered over me, sneering as I whimpered in pain, cringing from her laughter as she brought the cane down again. My clothes were ripped, and I was bloody and bruised. The door creeked open, and I turned, hoping it was some relief from the abuse. Instead my father had walked in, an evil grin snaked across his face as he stalked over to me. He grabbed my hair, yanking my face up to look at him. "You will do exactly as I say filthy whore," He hissed as he unbuckled his belt.^^^
"Ash what's the matter? What's happening?" A voice rattled off the questions.
"Do you want to be expelled?" Someone else yelled, the foggy voice barely reached my ears. There was so much pain resurfacing.
"Please! Can't you tell she's struggling?" This was the first voice again, younger, somehow friendlier than the second.
"Who cares? She pulled a knife on me!"
"Ash, relax." The young voice was closer now, and somehow managed to get whatever was holding me to release me.
As I became free again my mind cleared slightly. In my hand was my knife. Gryphon stood next to me concern etched over his face. I could tell he wanted to touch me, and I was grateful he hadn't yet.
Growling, I turned back to see who had grabbed me. Anna stood, one hand on her hip, the other still extended, as it she was going to grab me again. "Leave me alone."
"And let you think you got away with drawing a knife on a teacher? Not likely." Anna glared at me. She pointed behind her. "You have twenty minutes to go around that track four times."
Quick math told me that she expected me to run multiple five minute miles. After the PTSD episode, I'd be lucky to get one mile done within that time frame. Logically, I should have asked for a little empathy.
But logic and ADHD don't like to play nicely together. "You want me to run four five-minute miles? One after the other? Would you be able to do that? But wait! Let me make you relive terrible memories first and kick you a few times for good measure. Just so there's a wee bit of a challenge!"
"You now can do five laps. If you're not done before twenty minutes is over I'll be sending you to the head mistress."
Gryphon started to protest. "Please ma'am. Life is very different on the Isle. There drawing a knife could be the difference between being beaten and surviving, possibly, from what I've heard. She probably forgot she was here. Please don't punish her."
"But she's not on the Isle any more. She's here in Auradon. She has to learn." Anna shook her head, face covered in an obviously fake sympathetic look.
Defiantly, I flipped her off. Still glaring, I moved toward the track. I considered just going to Fairy Godmother. It was going to happen one way or the other, why shouldn't it be on my terms? Maybe I could talk my way out of trouble.
I glanced back, starting to turn around. Anna was staring at me, mouthing some word. Her face was replaced with Narissa's. "You will never be worth more than the scum off of a goblin's shoe. You pathetic, good-for-nothing, lily-livered, toad!"
I refocused on Anna's face. It took me a moment to decipher her word. W e a k l i n g.
Hatred burning through me, I took off down the track. I would show her. If it took multiple four-minute miles, then so be it. I had not suffered all that I had to be called weak.
I wished Triumph were in this class with me. He'd have stood up for me, stopped me from blurting it out quite so loud, and helped calm Anna down. Or he would have transformed and attacked her, which would have been fine too. But instead I had to deal with Vest, and Gryphon's cluelessness.
My ankle buckled and I fell to the hard track. Laughter echoed behind me. Angrily I stood back up and started to hobble further. This would not be something I'd let them hold over me.
"You seriously aren't going to make her do this, are you?" Gryphon let out a small sound almost like a sob. "She needs to go to the nurse, not run around the track!"
My ankle gave out again. I was barely at a brisk walk now. There was no hope of a four minute mile. More laughter.
I stumbled further down the track. The pain was indescribable. It brought back more of the ugly memories of the past. The past that I fought so hard to forget every day. The past that my "family" gave me scars from to ensure I could never forget.
A thousand knives were stabbing my ankle, shredding it to bits. I collapsed again. I was fighting the pain, trying to stand up.
I managed to get to my knees, but couldn't get any higher. Every fiber of my being screamed that it wanted to die. I wanted to cave and let myself just admit defeat. Hans' voice swirled around my head. "You can't even die right! I've tried every thing I know to kill you, yet you're still here." A phantom hand slapped my face. "A worthless, insignificant, piece of sh-"
Somebody touched my arm causing me to jump. Instinctively my fist went out, connecting with something that cracked.
"Ouch! Okay, I guess I deserved that for touching you and all, but please let me help you!" As the person moved into my sight, my heart dropped.
Gryphon was crouched next to me. His eyes were red, like he had been crying. The poor boy's nose sat at a slight angle with blood dripping out of one nostril. His red eyebrows furrowed, squishing his numerous freckles together.
Despite his own obvious pain, he gave me a look of concern. "Ash are you okay? You've fallen two times in less than a minute."
"I'm fine," I growled. "Let me up so I can wipe those stupid grins off of everybody's faces and smack them with their laughter." I tried to push off the ground again, but Gryphon gently placed his hand on my shoulder, pushing me back to the ground.
"Please stay down. I don't want you to get more hurt. Anna should never have made you do this. Not after your PTSD attack."
"You- You recognized that?"
"Solana has them sometimes. And even if Anna didn't recognize that, there's no way she could make you finish now."
"Speak of the devil," I muttered as Anna came toward us.
"What are you doing laying down?" She shrieked. "You've barely gotten halfway around. Once!"
"Her ankle gave out ma'am. She sprained it pretty bad from what I can tell."
"I don't care if her foot has been bloody amputated! She chose this punishment."
I tried to stand again. Physical pain I was used to. Running on a foot injured enough to make a normal person ask for at least crutches, if not a wheelchair, was nothing new. Why did I think that just because I was off the Isle, things would be different? People, especially those who thought of themselves as in charge of you, were cruel and delighted in weaker people's suffering.
"Miss Anna! Please. She's in no condition to walk, let alone run five miles."
"The punishment must be filled." Her voice shook a little, as though doubting her own resolve.
"Fine. Then I will do it."
"What? Gryphon no!" I protested.
"You'll do what?"
"I'll run the five miles. I won't let Ash suffer anymore."
"Why would you do that?"
Gryphon turned to me, a small smile peeking out from beneath the congealing blood. "Because I love you, even if you don't care for me."
Mouth open, I watched as the young boy took off at a steady sprint. He'd inherited his father's strength, but his determination was at a level I'd never witnessed before. I wondered how I would ever make it up to him, but for once I didn't fear that the person would come looking for repayment. Gryphon was different from other people. I wasn't sure what I thought of him, but he was definitely someone I would be working harder to get to know.