Rosie Hearts Chapt. 4

“Why are you doing this? What did I ever do to you to make you hate me so?” Ginger demanded, tears rolling down her face.

Cora’s smirk was as devious as ever – pure evil.

“My dear,” she hissed, gripping Ginger’s hair. “You can thank your mother for that.”

“Where is she?” she whimpered.

“Nowhere important. Please, dear child, it’d do you good to forget everything about your mother.”

A chill went through her spine. Tiny voices whispered in her ear, telling her to forget, but she strained to hang on.

“What have you d-done to her?”

“Gingerbread, sweetie, why do you care? She lied to you.”

“My mother would never lie to me,” Ginger protested.

“Foolish girl,” Cora chuckled, “you really are too nice for your own good. Don’t worry, I’ll fix that right away. Now, dear Gingerbread, please go make me some dinner.”

// Cora grinned upon Ginger’s arrival. ‘Welcome, my dear. I’ve been expecting you.’

The little girl’s smile made her sick to her stomach.

‘Hello, you must be the Queen,’ she sang, running to Cora. ‘I’m Ginger.’

Cora managed a small smile. ‘Charming.’ She kneeled before the girl. ‘My, my, you’re the spitting image of your mother.’ This wasn’t a complement; it was more of an insult. Now she had more reason to hate this child.

‘My mother said you needed help?’

Cora grinned. How clueless this girl was. ‘Yes, I do. I believe I said—er—I mean—your mother said that I needed a cook?’

Ginger nodded.

‘Good. Well, I’ll need to sample your food before making a decision. After all, there’s no sense in you staying if your cooking is terrible’

‘Agreed. I’ll go fix you up something. Do you like muffins?’

A fake smile veiled over her pain. ‘More than you know.’ \\