Lillian - A fractured fairy tale

Promise

"Daddy, Daddy, there's a monster in my closet," shrieked the little princess, all tucked up in her covers. Her father turned around and sighed. The princess was five now, she was getting too old for monsters. But he loved his daughter so he walked back over to her bedside and kneeled on the ground.

"Don't worry love, no monster's going to get you. I'll protect you, I promise." He kissed her forehead and the girl giggled before he stood up and walked back to the door. "Go to sleep Lillian. I love you." With that, he shut the door to the princess' room, fond smile on his face. The princess' sixth birthday was in two weeks and he could not be happier.

The King walked down the long corridor of the castle before entering his own room. His wife was already fast asleep on the bed. Running a kingdom was stressful, but his family made it worth it. If it wasn't for his Queen and precious Lillian, he would have resigned a long time ago. He lay down on the bed next to his wife and was asleep in a blink of an eye.

___

A high scream echoed through the castle and the King sat up in bed with terror in his heart. He knew that scream.
"Lillian," said the Queen, who had also heard her child's cry for help. Both of them were out of bed and flying down the hall as fast as they could. The queen stumbled on her gown and fell behind but the king did not slow. He had to get to his daughter. He had to reach Lillian.

The door to the princess' room flew open and the King burst in, only to see his daughter laying weakly on her bed, covered in her own blood. The King was horrified. What could have done this to his daughter? What would want to hurt sweet, sweet Lillian?

The princess was saying something, but the king could not hear. He knelt next to her bed, just like he had done not hours ago, and grasped the princess' small hand in his. Lillian's tear coated lips were still moving. He leaned close over her blood stained face to hear what she was saying.

"You promised daddy, you promised you wouldn't let it get me. You promised. You promised you-" The king scooped her into his strong arms and let out his own sobbs now. They drowned out the girls chant of you promised, you promised, you promised. The King's sobs were loud and wracking and not very Kingly at all. But he didn't care. His daughter, oh his precious daughter. Who did this to her? As he cried out how sorry he was and rocked his daughter in his arms, he swept her hair to the side so he could see her face. And on her neck there was something terrible. What the king saw was so much worse than what any animal or person could have done to her. On her neck, surrounded by many bleeding claw marks, were two perfect puncture wounds.

___

After they found her, the king and queen rushed poor little Lillian to the infirmary. The doctor could help. He could. When the doctor saw puncture wounds his eyes went wide and his heart stopped for a moment before he remembered he was supposed to be helping this little girl.

And the doctor said he was not scared. And the King and Queen decided to agree with him, despite how fast their hearts were beating and how their daughter was lying limp on the table with two perfect puncture wounds.

The doctor said that they didn't know for sure what it was. The doctor said that "maybe it's just a really odd scrape." And the King and the Queen decided that, yes, he was probably right.

"We just have to wait it out," said the doctor.

"Yes, we just have to wait," the King and Queen echoed with their hearts still beating so fast they thought they might stop and their eyes so wide they might pop. And so the King and Queen sat by their daughter until morning. And even though they said they were not afraid, they cried. The King cried because he was sorry he did not protect his daughter and the Queen cried because she was afraid, so very very afraid for her daughter's life.