5: Leap of Faith

Stephanie sat in the middle of the room, the hem of her dress soaking in the blood from the floor. The prince had left with Fiona by his side a few hours ago, as what was left of her foot fit the glass slipper, she was therefore his rightful bride. Fiona had always wanted to be a princess, she got what she wanted, as always. Victoria had told Stephanie to clean up the mess they had made, and by mess, Stephanie was not expecting a pool of blood and leftover pieces of foot.

"All this blood.." Stephanie murmured to herself, "it makes me want to faint.. How could Victoria do this to her own child? It's sick.. Twisted. She's a horrible mother to Fiona and I."

Stephanie thought of her own mother, and was angered by the very thought.

"Although, she is better than my own. I didn't deserve to be abandoned. No child ever deserves that."

Stephanie set the furniture straight in the room, by the look of it, Fiona had put up a fight. Figurines were smashed on the floor and a table was turned over. Stephanie didn't blame her, Victoria was a maniac. Stephanie started picking up the pieces of shattered porcelain and glass when she noticed a glittering object. It was golden, and oddly shaped. It looked like a gravy dish, but it was too heavy. She wiped the blood specks off of it, and it started shaking in her hands. Trying to contain it in her clasped fingers, the figurine rattled and grew hot. Stephanie dropped it on the floor when it started smoking, and checked her burnt fingertips. She watched it shake, and thrash about, releasing smoke, and finally, a bright, blinding, white light.

"This is it. This is the death of me. I've always read about the white light. Goodbye world, you were always so cruel to me, kicking me down when I was already so low. Take me God. Far away from this place of misery and broken dreams."

She prayed, while waiting for the surreal lifting of her body and the angels.

"Who's there? Who awoke me?"

Called a high pitched, but undoubtedly male voice. Stephanie was confused, the white light had vanished and the smoke was thinning, before her stood the hazy image of a man dressed in robes. He looked whole, yet not there, like a ghost.

"Wh-who are you?"

Stephanie asked, frightened of the intruder.

"I am a genie, young one. You have awoken me from my lamp, and as your prisoner, I am to grant you but 2 wishes."

"A genie?! B-but you don't exist! No! Am I going crazy? What is this!?" Stephanie cried, backing away from the ghost and bumping into a table, knocking glass statuettes onto the floor, each shattering one by one.

"STEPHANIE?!"

A sharp voice called, then came the sound of thundering down the hallway. Stephanie panicked, was this really a genie? Or was she dead and imagining this? She realised there was only one way to find out:

"Genie, I wish for you to take me away from here. NOW."