"A demon?" Ivy echoed, her voice eerily calm as she twirled the whip in her hand. "Indeed, a demon... but... what would that make you? Mother?"
As she said so, Ivy remembered the times when she was beaten by her so-called father.
..................
Whoosh!
"You disobedient child! How dare you cheat in an exam and exchange your mark sheet with Isla, causing her grades to drop?" Magnus shouted.
For little Ivy, the shout was accompanied by agonizing pain. She thought that her parents misunderstood her, so she tried to clarify.
"Father... I didn't! I truly... didn't... Isla is lying!"
Yet what she didn't know was... her 'parents' never wanted her to excel. They would never believe her because the one complaining was their real daughter.
"You still dare to talk back? Just you wait! Today, if I don't let you lose one layer of your skin, I will change my name!" Magnus hollered as he rained the whip on Ivy.
Magnus wasn't lying. That day, Ivy did lose a layer of her skin on her back.
It was a lesson for her.
A lesson that she can never defy Isla. The lesson was so engraved in her bones that Ivy never dared to go against Isla... even when they stole her superpower.
..................
Past Life.
"Father... please! Please don't whip me! I swear... I didn't steal Isla's bun! It wasn't me." Ivy begged, tears streaming down her face.
Her body was trembling, seeing the whip.
'Please... not today... not today... I... I really scared.' She thought in her mind.
"Ivy Ravencroft! How come you have become so selfish? First, you stole your sister's food, and now you are lying! Look how shameless you have become!" Magnus shouted at Ivy with disappointment in his eyes.
On a closer look, there was a hint of excitement too.
However, Ivy, who was scared, didn't notice it. She only tried to defend herself,
"Dad... I am not lying. It must be some cat! Please. I beg you. Don't whip me. I... I'm truly scared. It's too painful..."
But no one listened to her explanation.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
"Father... I am sorry."
Whoosh. Another scalding pain seared through her skin.
"I am sorry... I was wrong."
Whoosh.
"Good..." Magnus brought down the whip repeatedly and said, "Next time... you shouldn't... lie! You shouldn't eat your sister's stuff!"
Whoosh.
Ivy curled in the corner as the bullwhip marred her body with fiery red marks.
The scorching pain made Ivy bite her lips as she accepted the mistake she had never made,
"Yes... yes. Father... please... please don't let me anymore... I was wrong... I was wrong."
.................
"I am innocent! And so is my husband! He was only disciplining you! That is what a father should do when her daughter is walking the wrong path." Serphina's loud voice broke Ivy's daze. As she looked at Magnus, who was hiding behind Serphina, Ivy sneered.
"Really? Then pardon me. I am a filial daughter, and I want to ensure that my father doesn't walk down the wrong path, so I am whipping him. And since you think that he isn't wrong, then there is something wrong with you too." Ivy passed her judgment and started to chase them.
Whoosh!
The whip cracked against Magnus's back, forcing a howl from his lips as he stumbled forward.
Whoosh!
"Ahhh! Ivy, stop! I'm your father!" he shrieked, shielding himself.
"Exactly," Ivy spat coldly, swinging again. "A father who taught his daughter fear before love!"
Whoosh!
The leather bit into his shoulder, tearing through fabric and skin. Serphina tried to shield him, but Ivy didn't pause.
Whoosh!
"This one's for every lie you believed—every truth you ignored."
Whoosh!
"Ahhh!"
Magnus collapsed, quivering, his cries muffled by the floor.
Still, Ivy stood tall, eyes glowing with unyielding rage.
"This is discipline, isn't it?"
The whipping continued for the next 20 minutes before Ivy backed away to take a breath.
Magnus was crying, clutching his stomach. Tears and snort mixed as he babbled nonsenscial words.
Serphina screamed as she rushed to Magnus's side, shielding his trembling form. "You monster! Stop this madness, Ivy!"
But Ivy's steps were slow, deliberate. She raised the whip again, voice deathly calm. "Your turn, Mother. Let's test your endurance."
Whoosh!
The whip struck Serphina's arm, slicing through her silk sleeve and painting a cruel red line across her skin.
"AHHH!" Serphina shrieked, stumbling back. "You dare raise a hand against me?!"
Whoosh!
"This one's for every time you turned a blind eye."
Whoosh!
"And this," Ivy hissed, lashing her thigh, "is for laughing when I cried!"
Whoosh!
Serphina fell to her knees, clutching her limbs, her pride bleeding faster than her wounds.
"Stop... I'm your mother…"
"You were never my mother," Ivy whispered. "You were my warden in hell."
Whoosh!