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All Putrice Ashmore ever wanted was her mother’s love.
When she was young, she assumed that her mother would love her no matter what. Unlike her younger sister, Putrice had mostly been an obedient child. She listened to what her mother said, and did exactly what she asked. That was how you made someone like you. Everyone knew that. Rancilda never did what was told. She was loud, obnoxious, and infatuated with riddles. That was okay though because Putrice could play the role of mother’s favorite child. She played her part well, as long as she stayed in line.
Everything changed when Ella came to live with them. Now, all of mother’s attention belonged to their stepsister. It wasn’t positive attention, but it was more than Putrice had been receiving. That was okay though because she was still the favorite, right? In order to gain mother’s favor, Putrice had to hate Ella too. Hating Ella was a bit hard at first. All she did was cry, cook, and clean. There wasn’t much to fault her for. Putrice had to search for things to dislike. She supposed that Ella was pretty. Putrice wasn’t pretty, or so was told.
Ella must’ve really made mother mad. She was always in bad mood, and she started snapping at Putrice and Rancilda more often. There were days where she would resort to physical violence. It didn’t matter who her rage was truly directed towards. Those days were the worst for everyone. Sometimes, Rancilda would get scared. She would cower in her bedroom and Putrice would stay with her until she was ready to come out. Neither of them knew why mother was always doing this. She despised Ella, but she wasn’t her real daughter. Rancilda and Putrice were, so why did she hurt them too? It didn’t make any sense.
Putrice’s mother was a monster. Still, she longed for her praise. She did everything she could to get what she wanted. Putrice treated Ella like dirt, she looked after Rancilda when mother didn’t feel like it, and she disposed of every spare human part that mother didn’t need anymore. She even took her beatings when it was mandatory. Putrice knew that she was a good daughter. She was the best daughter, but mother just couldn’t see it. And that made her feel worthless. If her own mother couldn’t love her, then who could? She assured herself that mother did care, she just had a strange way of showing it. Putrice had spent most of her life in human society. This must’ve been how trolls showed their affection. Maybe she should give it a try.
After so many years, Putrice was finally given her chance to prove herself. The prince was holding a ball to find his future wife. Mother wanted one of her daughters to be chosen. If Putrice married the prince, her mom would be so proud! Besides, there was going to be boys there! She had always wanted to eat a boy! Mother had used Ella’s friends to make their ballgowns. Putrice wished she had friends. At least she had Rancilda. Putrice had gotten herself all stitched up for the party, and for once mother seemed happy. After all, the three of them looked gorgeous in their skin suits. The prince seemed to like them at first, but he immediately left them for another woman. The situation was all too familiar.
Their claim to the throne was slipping away from their grasp. If Putrice was certain about anything, then it was that her mother never gave up. She would marry the prince. She would be queen. Putrice, the perfect daughter, knew that she deserved it above all else. She would throw a fit if mother picked Rancilda instead. The prince would only marry the woman whose feet fit a specific pair of shoes. The shoes would burn anyone else’s feet. Luckily for them, the shoes belonged to none other than Putrice’s dear old stepsister. She did her best to ignore Ella’s pained screams of searing agony when mother cut off her feet. Her mother wanted her to watch, so she did. She didn’t care about Ella. She shouldn’t care about Ella. Ella’s only purpose was to steal mother’s attention away. She could die for all she cared. Putrice just needed to have her feet.
When Putrice got married, she thought her mother would finally be proud of her. She would love her again, and the three of them would be a family the way they were before Ella came along. Putrice didn’t exactly want Ella dead, not unless she got to eat her. She tore off she prince’s head. She was the queen of Bog’s Hollow. And yet, her mother still didn’t care for her. Then, it was too late. Putrice Ashmore had a lot of things, but she never did get what she wanted.