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Madame Antonia went down to the basement, hoping that tonight would be the night she succeeded in breaking the child's spirit. After turning on the light, she saw the child curled up on the cold hard floor, sucking her thumb, closing her eyes. For Madame Antonia, all the children she cared for were subjects of training. In her eyes, they were genderless and stupid, their sole purpose in life being to prove that Madame Antonia was a good person. Madame Antonia's lips twitched as she watched her latest project. The child was emaciated and shorter than most other seven-year-olds.

But for Madame Antonia, we weren't hungry enough.

"Get up!" - Madame Antonia shout to this poor little girl.

A kick to the child's ribs interrupted those words. Her eyes opened. Madame Antonia suddenly held her breath. She despised a lot of things in her latest project, but nothing more than purple eyes were staring at her right now. Horrified by their deceptive purity, Madame Antonia's eyes soiled hers and she shook her head violently.

"No! This was the work of the devil, using the child to make her feel like she wasn't guided by God's hand." - Madame Antonia (in her mind)

But still, those big violet eyes stared, damning her, and Madame Antonia shrieked.

" Didn't you hear what I said!? " - Madame Antonia shouted again to this little girl.

Seeing Madame Antonia taking one step towards her seemed to throw the child into a panic. It scrambled to its knees, its pale body shaking hard as it bent its head.

" I am sorry, Madame Antonia. " - Kathryn Ice begging to Madame Antonia. (it whispered)

Please make Madame Antonia believe me, (in her mind), it prayed. It hated itself for being a liar, but no matter what it did, it just couldn't stop lying.

When Madame Antonia reached the child, it threw itself prostrate on the ground. Her skin crawled when it tried to kiss her feet.

" Get away from me! " - Madame Antonia kicked this little girl.

Madame Antonia shoved the child away with another kick to its face. It brings back a cry of pain. Madame Antonia's hatred grew at how silent and stoic it was. Why is this child so different?

" You don't want to see me, do you? " - Madame Antonia grabs the little girl's face.

" No, Madame Antonia. " - Kathryn Ice begging again to Madame Antonia.

The child shook its head fiercely even while keeping its gaze trained on the ground.

" I'm happy to see you. " - Kathryn Ice controlled her emotions and gave a smile to Madame Antonia.

It was lying of course, but it prayed hard that maybe this time God wouldn't tell Madame Antonia it wasn't speaking the truth. The child knew Madame Antonia was good and it was bad. It knew this, but it didn't believe it.

" Liar! " - Madame Antonia slapped this little girl.

Madame's hiss made the child bite its lip hard. Please God, please make me believe the truth. Please make me believe that Madame Antonia would love me. (The child's wish in her mind)

Madame Antonia suddenly cupped its chin, forcing it to look up. The child's eyes clashed with the woman's. Madame Antonia screamed.

" Stop looking at me like I'm evil! " - Madame Antonia shout again this little girl.

Kathryn tried to protest but didn't get the chance. Madame Antonia's hand cracked against her cheek. Madame Antonia tried to scratch her eyes. And Madame Antonia grabbed her by the hair and dragged her up the stairs and out of the cellar. Her child forced herself to keep her silence, hoping that her silence would persuade Madame Antonia to forgive her. But the child did not know, that the quieter it was, the more despised Madame Antonia would be. Madame Antonia, in her desperate and innocent desire to please, was finding it increasingly difficult to keep her eyes off the truth.

Madame Antonia threw this little girl on the floor and they went into the dining room. She waited for the child to cry and fight back, but she simply knelt down and looked up at Madame Antonia with eyes that neither hated nor questioned. In those eyes, Madame Antonia saw the truth, the real truth, not what she had tried to convince herself and all the children she had killed in the name of love for them. Madame Antonia screamed.

" Why won't you just break? "- Madame Antonia shake the shoulders of Kathryn while shouting at her.

Pulling the child up to its feet, Madame Antonia waited for the child to lift its head before slapping it as hard as she could. The child swayed on its feet, and the dance began. Soon after, the music of Madame Antonia palm cracking against the child's cheek played in the room.

Crack. Sway. Crack. Sway. Crack. Sway (while dancing).

The child's vision dimmed, but it struggled to stay on its feet. The child and Madame Antonia had danced to this music for as long as they could remember, and the steps were simple to remember. It mustn't fall, mustn't look at Madame Antonia, and most importantly of all, it mustn't ever make Madame Antonia have trouble hitting her. Madame Antonia was speaking/singing now, lyrics to the music that the child didn't understand.

" Why wasn't it still broken?..

Why did it still want to live?..

Why couldn't it just break?.. " - Madame Antonia sings while dancing with Kathryn.

If it had been allowed to speak, the child would have asked just one question. How did Madame Antonia want to break itself? Madame Antonia's voice became feverish.

" I can't be blamed. I was so scared. " - Madame Antonia started to cried silently.

As the child continued to dance to Madame Antonia's music, it wondered dazedly if her own terror was the same as Madame Antonia.

Did Madame Antonia feel like she felt now?

" I'm not evil. " - Madame Antonia said calmly.

The child wanted to believe Madame Antonia. There must be a reason why Madame Antonia couldn't stop hurting her, couldn't begin loving her. Madame Antonia was good, and it was not.

" Those men beat me up, raped me the entire night, all at the same time. They were the monsters, not me! " - Madame Antonia angry and shout again.

The music rose to a screaming crescendo, and the dance reached its peak. Madame Antonia was no longer content slapping its face.

Now, Madame Antonia's fists began to color the child's eyes with bruises, and the cracking slaps turned into painful thuds.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Its eyes swelled shut, and the child struggled to dance even when it was half blind with pain.

" They told me to kill my parents so I did! I was scared, and that was why I did it! I was young like you. I can't be blamed. God knows I must be forgiven for what I did. They broke me! " - Madame Antonia cried and looks like a crazy person.

The music suddenly stopped, and the child started to tremble. The silence was bad and scary, and she wished she could hear the music again. She didn't want this quiet, knew with all her heart that it was. Madame Antonia came out of her trance, and the first thing she saw was the child's eyes.

" No! " - Kathryn Ice shouted while feeling scared and trembling.

Madame Antonia grabbed the child by the hair, and still it didn't speak. It was terrified out of its wits, but it still knew what was right or wrong.

" Why?..

Why didn't it break like Madame Antonia had?.. - Kathryn Ice silently cried. (In her mind)

" You're going to break! " - Madame Antonia shouted to Kathryn.

Madame Antonia muttered feverishly.

" You're going to break like all the others did! " - Madame Antonia shouted again while she hurt this child.

The beating lasted for an hour. By the time Madame Antonia vision cleared, the child was crumpled in a ball of pain. Madame Antonia knelt down, breathing hard.

" Open your eyes. " - Madame Antonia commands to her.

Slowly, its eyes opened. And Madame Antonia saw she had lost. It still had not broken.