Lilac Parrish’s origin

*This story is underneath my folder titled “The Parrish family”. Gacha Club character designs are under this forum: https://www.youngwriterssociety.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=116005&start=1035. Enjoy!*

Introduction

Lilac Parrish was married to Frederick Parrish, who performed as a clown at the local circus. Every day was full of color, every day was full of amazement.

With the circus’ wonders and the love of her family, Lilac was filled with nothing but compassion for those around her.

Unfortunately, not everyone was the same as her…

Chapter One

Lilac heard a knock on the front door. She placed the book back on the couch and ran at once to answer it.

Perhaps Desmaire and Helen had come back from the show? If so, then they could have dinner together and talk about how wonderful their day was and-

“Who is this?” Lilac asked.

Upon opening the door, she saw her two daughters, Desmaire and Helen, along with an adolescent ginger-haired girl who looked to be around Desmaire’s age.

“This is Lucille, the new performer. She has no place to sleep except the circus, so I thought that she could stay in tonight. Can she, Mom? Oh, can she?” Desmaire asked, hopefulness in her brown eyes.

Lilac put a finger to her lips, thinking hard. No, she didn’t know Lucille, but the girl was so young. To not give her a place to sleep, even for a day, would be such a cruel, horrid thing to do.

“Yes, she can stay.” Lilac said with a smile.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you!” Desmaire gushed, hugging her.

As Helen excitedly led the strangely silent Lucille into their home, as Lilac hugged Desmaire back, she asked herself:

Did I make a mistake?

Chapter Two

“Did you always live in this town?” Lilac asked Lucille as she stirred the meat stew.

“No, I just moved here. I’m new.” Lucille said. Her brown eyes darted around nervously, she seemed to hold a secret within.

“Do you like it here? Do you like the circus?” Lilac asked, adding more pepper to the stew.

“I-I think. I don’t know, it’s my first time here.” Lucille said.

What was she holding inside? What did Lucille need to get out?

“Is there something that I should know?” Lilac asked, raising an eyebrow. Lucille was new, which meant that Lilac knew absolutely nothing about her.

“I-“

“Lucille, do come upstairs! I want to show you something!” Desmaire called out from her room.

Lucille ran off to the sound of Desmaire’s voice, Lilac stayed in the kitchen, with the food.

Still, troubling thoughts surfaced and bubbled in her brain much like the lifeless chunks of meat in her stew.

Chapter Three

After all had eaten their dinner and gotten ready for bed, Lilac and Frederick lay next to each other, pale moonlight wafting through the lace curtain.

“I didn’t know that the new singer would sleep here.” Frederick said.

So he was awake too? That was a relief, she didn’t want to be the only one who was awake.

“No, only for one night. Desmaire wanted her to stay, so I let Lucille in.” Lilac said.

She just let her in, no questions asked.

What kind of mother did that?

“She seems to have this look in her eyes. Like she longs for something.” Frederick said.

“Who? Lucille?” Lilac asked, just to be sure.

“Yes. At the dinner table, it was like she wanted to cry, but didn’t. It wasn’t just sadness, either. It was more than that. Something I can’t explain.” Frederick said.

Lucille had water in her eyes, but with resentment tinted in.

“Do you think that we should let her stay?” Lilac asked.

Lucille had nowhere else to go but the circus. Perhaps Lilac was worried too much, maybe she should just let Lucille in.

“No. We don’t know her personally. Unless we get to know her more, she’s not staying here. People who have a deep sadness in them aren’t just sad, they’re angry. They might do something drastic. I-“

“She’s so young, how could-“

“Anyone is capable of anything, no matter the age. Trust me.”

Frederick pulled Lilac close to him. She could feel his warmth, his love, but wasn’t calm at all.

It was clear that he didn’t want to talk about the issue anymore from how he pulled her close, but still, she didn’t want to do something she would regret.

It lingered in her mind…

Chapter Four

FLASHBACK-FOURTEEN YEARS OLD

Lilac laughed as she ran through the maze, pink dress swishing around her. Although she was “too old” for children’s games, she still liked to play them once in a while.

Like Hide and Seek. It was a fun little game, one her cousin, Lisbeth, wanted to play at her sixth birthday.

Lisbeth would probably find her, but that was alright. She didn’t care about hiding, she just wanted to play.

Someone screamed in the distance.

Lilac ran towards the scream, heart pumping with anxiety. It didn’t sound delighted, it sounded terrified, as though the person screaming was struggling to live.

The maze seemed to twist left, right, and all around, until finally, she found the source.

Frederick lay on the ground, screaming with every last fiber of his breath. His legs were almost nonexistent, ravaged by a wild animal, covered in blood, white bones sticking out from a strangled mass of meat.

“What happened? Did something attack you?” Lilac asked in alarm. She couldn’t move, she was rooted to the ground in terror.

Still, Frederick screamed, his eyes possessed by fright, so Lilac walked up to him.

Once close, she took him in her arms and carried him, ignoring the weight of his body on hers, how his legs bleed, the scent of open flesh, and the screaming in her ears.

He needed help. She wouldn’t leave him.

Chapter Five

PRESENT DAY-AT THE CIRCUS

Lilac watched as Frederick gained the attention of many, bringing a smile to all. The past was past, only the present held promises.

Lucille’s singing rang high, but she ignored it. The noise of the future did nothing when the one she loved with all her heart still stood, stood, his legs intact and unbroken.

Chapter Six

“They’re saying that Lucille might replace him.” A voice said.

Lilac jumped at the sound of her friend Yasmine’s voice in her ear.

“Him who?” Lilac asked, even though she knew the answer.

“Frederick. They’re saying that his tricks are getting old, that someone like Lucille would be good for the circus.” Yasmine said.

“Who told you this?” Lilac asked, just to get an idea.

“Nobody did. I just heard.” Yasmine said.

If Frederick was fired…no, he couldn’t be. His charm was natural, he would never leave!

Right?

Chapter Seven

The show had ended, leaving only Lilac, Desmaire, and Helen with Frederick.

“Did you notice something odd about Lucille?” Frederick asked Lilac in a low whisper.

“Everything.” She said.

“There’s something in her eyes. A hunger, a desire. She wants…something.” Frederick said.

But what could that “something” be?

Chapter Eight

FLASHBACK-FOURTEEN YEARS OLD

“What happened, Frederick? What happened to your legs?” Lilac asked. It had been a few days since the incident. He was spending some time in the hospital, getting his legs all patched up. Lilac wanted to visit him and thankfully, her parents let her.

“I-I-it was Drusilla. Drusilla was singing and then she slashed me! She slashed my legs! Her nails…so long…so sharp…like claws…”

Frederick stopped talking, eyes bugged out from fear. Lilac squeezed his hand sympathetically, but still didn’t understand.

He was saying that Drusilla hurt him? Her friend? Drusilla was so sweet, she’d never hurt anyone. What was he talking about, anyway? How would her singing harm a soul? What was the talk about her nails being claws as well?

Poor Freddie, he went through so much.

Chapter Nine

Desmaire wanted Lucille to come again, so Lilac let her in. She didn’t want Lucille in her house, but she only had phantom worries. Maybe Lucille was just a child, nothing more.

Lilac sat on her bed, thinking of Drusilla. Drusilla, with her ginger hair and light brown eyes, much like Lucille. Drusilla, with her sweet singing voice, again, just like Lucille. Drusilla, who had lied…

A glowing pink light began to materialize in Lilac and Frederick’s room, but before it took shape, she already knew what it was.

Chapter Ten

Lilac recognized the ginger curls before she saw the rest of her. The woman was wearing a pink gown, but her face was all slashed up, her lips were stitched up, and her brown eyes were pale white, staring off into nothing.

“Drusilla…who did this to you?” Lilac asked. She wanted to know the answer, but did she really want to know the answer?

Drusilla’s legs shook, her eyes bugged out. Lilac got up to hold her, but Drusilla slipped from her grasp.

Chapter Eleven

“Lucille! Lucille did it! She hated me, she hated us all!” Drusilla cried out.

Just after Drusilla had spoken, she faded away, off to who knew where the afterlife went to.

Lilac stood still, not even twitching a finger. So her suspicions had been right? It really was Lucille?

Deep down, she wished that it was all just a bad dream…

Chapter Twelve

Lilac opened the door and ran downstairs, to where Lucille and Desmaire were talking to each other. Helen played by herself, in her room. Frederick was still at the circus.

She couldn’t tell them the truth, not yet, because they wouldn’t believe her. Frederick would, though, and together, they’d tell the truth and escape the fate that Drusilla had been given.

Chapter Thirteen

As soon as Lilac got down to the last step, Frederick had made it to the door. After a long day at the circus, he returned.

After so long of her denying the truth, Lilac was finally ready to accept it, something that she should have done years ago, when Drusilla attacked Frederick.

Chapter Fourteen

“You were right. It’s Lucille. She’s just like Drusilla. Drusilla herself told me, as a ghost.” Lilac said after she opened the door.

“Lucille is a demon, just as I thought.” Frederick said, a hint of somber sadness in his eyes.

“It’s okay. It won’t be like last time.” Lilac promised.

They were smart. They knew what to do.

All they had to do was get rid of her. It shouldn’t be that hard, right?

Chapter Fifteen

“Lucille, if you wouldn’t mind leaving, we have some things to talk about with our kids.” Lilac said.

Lucille looked up at her from the couch, a question in her eyes. For a moment, Lilac felt sorry for her, but then, she remembered that Drusilla was her mother.

“I’ll leave. But I’ll be back, right?” Lucille asked.

“Yes, you’ll be back.” Lilac said with a smile.

As soon as she left, Lilac and Frederick would give Desmaire and Helen the ultimatum. It had to happen, no matter what.

Chapter Sixteen

“Lucille isn’t what she seems. She’s a demon. As hard as it is to believe, it’s true. In fact-“

“Do you hear yourself?!” Desmaire asked.

Lilac was trying to tell them the truth, but they both looked at her, confused and appalled.

Lilac swallowed hard and looked to Frederick.

“I used to have no legs. An old friend of ours, Drusilla, took them from me. She tore them out. I’m lucky that the doctors were able to help me, but I could have very well been legless. Lucille is the daughter of Drusilla and-“

“Did you really lose your legs?” Desmaire asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes!” Frederick said.

He never talked about it, but maybe he finally would.

They’d understand after he told them, right?

Right?

Chapter Seventeen

“Drusilla took my legs, but the doctors sewed them back. Look here, the scars are still there!” Frederick said, lifting up a bit of his left pant leg to show the scars on his ankle.

There were still faint red gashes, the mark of a demon.

“That happened to you?” Desmaire asked quietly.

Frederick nodded. Lilac swallowed down the past fright, she needed to face the present.

Chapter Eighteen

“Girls, go pack. We’re leaving.” Lilac said.

“But-“

“Desmaire, we just told you. Please, pack your things.”

“But Mom-“

“We can’t discuss it anymore. Go!” Lilac said.

The girls skittered off to their rooms, Frederick went upstairs.

Lilac would try the door.

Chapter Nineteen

She turned the knob, but it didn’t open. Lilac tried again, but still, it was locked.

Lucille had known. Lucille had been prepared.

She had to warn them all.

Chapter Twenty

“Everyone, stop packing! Lucille locked the doors. She knew that we would figure it out.” Lilac said.

“What?!” Desmaire asked from the other room.

“We’re trapped. We can try opening the windows, but if that doesn’t work, we’ll have to help each other.” Lilac said.

There was no response, but she knew that they would listen.

But then, why didn’t Frederick respond?

Epilogue

Lilac’s vision of helping her family had only been a mere nightmare. In reality, she was too late. She and her daughters had fallen victim to Lucille.

Frederick, an easy suspect, was sentenced to death. The Parrish family had since then rested in pieces while Lucille lived a life in the shadows, satisfied with what she had done.

For helping and warning people is only but a dream, is it not? Evil comes when one leasts expects it to arrive.