Mira hastily inserted the keys and unlocked the door. "Mirabella, go get the present!" She asked Mirabella as soon as they entered their house. Mirabella barked as a response and sprinted to the top of the stairs to grab the gift for Bella.
"There," Mira uttered and smiled in front of the mirror after fixing the red ribbon tied on top of her hair. She applied another coat of lipstick and retouched her makeup, adding a little more with some powder she found in one of the drawers.
Mira was straightening her dress when Mirabella arrived with the present dangling in between its fangs. "Let's go?" she stated and dropped her jaw when she noticed the time on the clock. They ran out the door in a flurry. "Oh, the keys!" Mira went back to the bureau to grab the keys and dashed out to the door.
[¬º-°]¬ [¬º-°]¬ [¬º-°]¬
"S—Spa-re… M—Mi-ra…" Anastasia's final words were spoken through coughing as she struggled for air.
A cacophony of wicked laughter resounded around the room when Bella regained consciousness.
"N… no," Bella cried and shook her head in disbelief. When she noticed that her nails were stained with blood, her enlarging eyes welled up with tears. She shivered as she saw Mira's mother, Anastasia, who was on the verge of death, lying down on the freezing floor next to her mother, Macy.
Bella had reached the point where she could no longer bear what was going on and made the decision to shut herself off.
Bella's other half took advantage of the situation and was successful in corrupting her mind. She roamed around the house and went into Bella's room to fix herself. She hummed as she washed the blood off her hands and feet, then wiped the blood that had splashed on her cheeks with the use of a dampened cloth to remove it.
Bella stripped off her clothes, leaving them on the floor before changing into the red dress she had discovered hanging on the wall. With a long slit on the right side, the dress emphasizes her feminine proportions and complements the curves of her body.
At this point, it was impossible for Bella to muster the fortitude to fight back with her other half as she already felt hopeless and miserable.
With Bella being under the influence of her other half, her ruby eyes brightly shone when she began to recite the words--
"I am Bella! Ruler of the realm of the dead, reigning from the ruins of the undead. I command you to rise to your feet and follow my comma--"
Bella was cut off when she heard the doorbell ring.
"Who dares?!" gritted Bella, her fury visible in her eyes.
"Mom?!" called Mira as she rang the doorbell one more time before knocking on the door.
When Bella regained consciousness upon hearing Mira's voice, the other half of Bella became agitated and lost control. The crimson glow in her ruby eyes faded away, and she became utterly still.
"Mira?" uttered Bella. A smile instantly formed on her lips as soon as she imagined Mira being on her side.
Bella moved her feet forward with excitement when her other half reminded her of what she had done. The smile that had been on her lips was gradually fading away. Her brows creased as her other half attempted to jog her memory of everything that had happened. Bella began to feel anxious and fearful.
"Oh, no. How could you face Mira?" Bella's other half teased.
Bella's mind is all tangled and lost. Her body quivered as she had flashbacks of how she had slain both of their mothers. She went running back to her mother's chamber to check whether it was all just a nightmare.
Her thoughts were flooded with the cacophony of wicked laughter.
"Run!" the voice inside her head evoked. "Runaway."
Mira got a horrible feeling when Mirabella began barking incessantly for an extended period of time. When she couldn't get anyone to open the door, she tried twisting the doorknob. The door had been left unlocked and swung open.
"Mom?" called Mira as she crept into the door. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the blood on the floor.
Mirabella placed down the little paper bag-- Bella's gift, which had been dangling in between her teeth and took a sniff of the blood.
Mira's brows knit together in concentration as she traced the bloody footsteps which would lead her to the location where Bella and the two dead bodies lay.
"Aunt Anastasia?" called Mira as she stealthily looked for something she could use to defend herself in case the housebreaker was still on the premises. She silently reached for the piece of metal and climbed up the stairs in silence. "Bella?" Her hands tightly grasped the piece of metal in her palms.
Mirabella picked the present and discreetly followed Mira around the house.
After climbing to the top of the stairs and noticing a blood trail heading to Macy's room, Mira took off running, utterly oblivious to the fact that the homicide suspect was still inside the room.
Bella, who was feeling some uneasiness, decided to listen to what the voice had been telling her to do for a while. She jumped out of the window before Mira could get into the room and see her standing there. She landed on the grass, completely ignoring the discomfort, and bolted as fast as she could away from the scene.
When Mira dropped the item in her hand, the piece of metal made a loud clang.
"M—MOM?!" exclaimed Mira as soon as she found her mother, who was lying down on the ground. The blood had splattered all over the floor of the room.
Mirabella dropped the present she was clutching in between her jaws and started barking at Bella from the window. When Bella refused to glance back and continued running away, Mirabella whined in concern.
Bella could clearly hear Mirabella and Mira's cries.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" cried Bella as she ran as fast as she could on her bare feet.