She tried to be a good person, but forgiving the person who'd crippled you emotionally was hard. Her sisters had never dealt with the same kind of pain and abandonment she'd experienced. She was almost thirty and she still slept with a nightlight to keep the terrible nightmares at bay. The first two years she'd lived in the castle had been filled with fear and confusion. No one understood that she wasn't used to monsters popping up everywhere. No human father would've assigned his daughter a werewolf as a bodyguard or a zombie nanny. Victor forgot she'd been raised by humans. The blue woman was the closest thing she'd had to a normal caregiver. She'd been afraid of monsters under the bed before she'd meet her father. After going to live with him she was afraid of the monsters who put her to bed. She'd slept in her closet until she was thirteen. It would take more than a few shiny babbles to make the wall of bad memories go away.

Chapter 2

Mid Morning, December 22nd

The throng of waiting sisters quickly crushed Tessa in a group hug as she entered the warm, lavishly decorated main hall of her father's home. Talia looked a bit forlorn; her son was with his father for the Christmas holiday this year. Tessa missed hearing his cheerful little voice. She had brought gifts for the servants and all of her sisters, and even one for her father. It was Christmas after all; and her mother had taught her about the importance of giving.

Mutely supervising her return from a dim corner, her father nodded to her levelly in a pathetic excuse for a welcome. She returned the nod with equal casual coldness. A tall zombie helped carry in all of her packages. He gave her the creeps, but she attempted to graciously thank him for the assistance. His throaty growl quickly caused her to back off. He was definitely on Santa's naughty list for next year!