madwoman || william afton

chapter thirteen

Today, work was rather boring.

Same old cleaning, same old serving, same old stopping teenagers from fistfighting. She'd learnt how to make pepperoni pizza – that's how boring her day had been. No sneaky taunt from William, no profusely apologizing Henry; just working and working and working until she and Afton had to leave. That's when she thought her day would liven up, but it didn't, because he was outright exhausted from extensively working, and remained silent. She figured that perhaps the kids could bring in some shimmer but... no, they were lazed out from school and wanted nothing more than to go home and take a refreshing nap.

(Y/N) really hoped that the evening would be more memorable.

Unfortunately, again, she was wrong.

William was cooking dinner in the kitchen, alone this time because he knew better than to trust the (H/C)-ette around his tomatoes. Michael was focusing on his homework, claiming he didn't need any help and wanted to prove he'd gotten smarter. Elizabeth was locked away in her room, having a top-secret, ultra-important tea party with her stuffed toys. Evan hadn't waken up from his nap yet, so (Y/N) couldn't even spend her time trying to pry plastic toys out of his mouth.

Sprawled on the couch, the woman flicked through one of Michael's comics. Afton wouldn't let her touch his very expensive novels, so she'd settled for this instead. They weren't too bad; a bit exaggerated, but what exactly was she expecting? Sighing, she put it on the table, covering her eyes with her arm. Maybe she could have a second nap until dinner...

"Dress up time!" Announced a familiar voice: Elizabeth's!

(Y/N) shot up to find the ginger walking into the room, holding up a cardboard box filled to the brim with wigs, glittery fabrics and tiaras. She grinned at the sight, watching the young girl set the box on the table and rub her hands. Finally, something fun-looking to do.

Elizabeth stuck her hand in the box, fishing out a golden crown with pink jewels and fluffy pink gloves. Fixing the crown onto her own head and slipping on the gloves, she grasped a neon pink, frilly skirt at the top of the pile, fastening it onto her waist and doing a quick twirl. Diving into the box once more, she pulled out a silver sword, sheath and buckle, tossing it carelessly towards Michael. He caught it, with a little struggle, and tightened it around his torso, barely catching the horse prop she flung at him next. He seemed content with what he'd received, making neigh sounds and trotting about. At last came (Y/N), for which Elizabeth drew out a silver tiara with lilac gems, a necklace with an amethyst core, and a lavender skirt to top. It was all very purple-y, she noticed, dressing herself up to the girl's desire.

"Ahem!" Elizabeth coughed, flattening out the wrinkles in her skirt, "I am the Queen of Lizzie Kingdom!"

"I–I am Mikey the brave knight!"

"Yes, yes, and you," The queen pointed at (Y/N), brightly smiling, "you are my da–dagh... you are princess (Y/N)! I am your mum!"

"Ah! I love being a princess..." Played along the woman, doing a curtsy. She hadn't worn a costume since, well... She hadn't ever tried one on at all, had she? Her parents never bought her outfits for Halloween, and she didn't get permission to go to her friend's dress-up parties so... she would do her utmost best today!

Touching her forehead with the back of her hand and letting her eyes droop, Elizabeth sighed, "Oh my... I'm so old... But the princess needs a prince... Mikey! Find me a prince!"

"I–I can be your prince!" Michael offered, smiling up at (Y/N) and patting his horse's mane. She awkwardly flashed one back. "Is–Is that okay, Queen Lizzie?"

Dropping the act, the ginger glared daggers at her brunette brother. It was as if she was telepathic and yelling at him in his mind. Luckily, he couldn't read expressions very well, but his eyes widened in realization.