PeaceMaker

Annabeth looked down at her sister, Jena. "You ready for your punishment sis?"

Jena trembled. "No… no Annabeth, stop it." Jena turned to her mother, tears in her eyes, "Mother… please stop this…"

"Mother? Annabeth turned to her mother, frowning when she saw her mother's lip quiver. It was her oldest child she was about to punish after all.

"Mother," Annabeth called out, her voice holding her sense of authority that was unmatched. "MOTHER!"

Mrs. Crowly trembled, her gaze peeling away from her crestfallen older sister. "Yes Annabeth," she replied, turning to Annabeth. 

"Mother, please harden up. There is no room for mistakes here mother, you must make the right decision. And now," Annabeth warned, her eyes basically shooting bullets at her mother. 

"Yes Annabeth," Mrs. Crowly nodded, turning back to her child on the ground. 'Punishment…' she thought to herself as she approached Jena. Tears stung her eyes as she looked down at her pitiful daughter, 'punishment?' Her steps slowed to a stop. 'How do I punish?'

Annabeth turned back to her mother who had frozen. 'Sigh…'

"Jena… how exactly did you even get that many men to swarm around you?" Annabeth asked. 

"S-swarm a-around-" Jena muttered. She couldn't even look up at Annabeth. Like a little worm, she crawled towards her mother, noticing her hesitancy. "M-mother. Please help."

Annabeth frowned, a low growl forming. "H..hey sister…" she muttered, trying to control her anger. 

"M-mother," Jena called out as she slowly crawled over to her mother. 

Mrs. Crowly stumbled backward. 

"JENA SPIRE CROWLY! LOOK AT ME WHEN I CALL YOU!" Annabeth commanded.

"HOW DARE YOU?! I AM YOUR ELDER!" Jena spat back. 

"E-elder?" Mrs. Crowly muttered.

Jena flinched, turning to her mother with glee, "Yes mother, I'm older but yet she abuses me like this mother. How could she." Jena neared her mother, shakenly standing up to her feet as she approached her. "Mother…" Jena sobbed, her hand wavering as she nearly touched her mother's arm.

SLAP

Jena fell to the ground, the force from the slap so much that she couldn't stand on her feet. Her ears rang as she looked up at her mother, complete disbelief splattered on her face. The taste of blood was in her mother as the place where her mother's rings had met her cheek, cutting through the gum on her teeth. 

Tears fell down Jena's face quietly, "Mother?" her hands rose to her cheeks and she felt the heat on them, "m-mother?"

"S-shut up," Mrs. Crowly stuttered.

"M-mother- why?" Jena cried, tears rolling down her cheeks and falling on her shirt. 

"S-shut up please," Mrs. Crowly muttered, "get up."

Jena staggered when she got to her feet, disbelief shining in her eyes, "m-mother wh-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Mrs. Crowly yelled, her hands rising and slapping Jena's cheek again. "WHY CAN'T YOU JUST SHUT UP?!" Another slap. "IT'S HARD ENOUGH FOR ME JENA! STOP MAKING IT HARDER FOR ME! PLEASE!" Another slap. 

Jena laid on the floor, both of her cheeks red and a sliver of blood at the edges of her lips. 

"You dare to call yourself an elder? What kind of elder are you? WHAT KIND OF OLDER SISTER SLEEPS AROUND WITHOUT A CONSCIENCE AND THEN RETURNS HOME TO CLAIM HER TITLE AS THE OLDEST OF THE HOUSE?" Mrs. Crowly's voice raised, "WHAT KIND OF CHILD ARE YOU? YOU AREN'T MY JENA! GIVE ME BACK MY JENA!!!"

"M-mother…" Jena muttered, her eyes releasing waterfalls, he pressed her head into the ground, bowing before her mother, "I'M SO SORRY MUM! I SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE IT! PLEASE FORGIVE ME. I AM AN UNGRATEFUL WOMAN WHO HAS RUINED HER PURITY, AND FUTURE, PLEASE FORGIVE ME. BUT PLEASE, please don't disown me. I love you mother, I love all of you, I love my last name, I want to try again. Please believe me. PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

Mrs. Crowly's face softened for a second and Annabeth saw it. It was too easy. She watched as her mother bent down to help Jena up. 'It's too easy. Why are they being forgiven so easily? This isn't going to make them repent… this isn't even a punishment. All she's done is been reprimanded. It can't end this easily.. Our family's pride.. Everything we worked for. All the suitors that were after her that expect a pure princess… this can't end like this… No. I won't let it.'

"How many times have you said that Jena? How many people have you said that to? How many people have you begging for their last name in the middle of the exercise you treasure so much. In the middle of pleasure. How many times have you said that?" Annabeth interrupted. A sigh of relief runs through her when her mother stopped before touching Jena. 

"Mother, do you remember all the times she told you she was going to tea with her friends? All the lies she told? Are you seriously going to let her do that again?" Annabeth scolded, "all of the times she told you something that wasn't true and praised they were. Are you going to fall for it again? I thought you were a smarter mother? WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO DISAPPOINT? CAN'T YOU SEE MOTHER?!" 

Mrs. Crowly flinched and immediately stood up and stepped away from Jena. She had done it again, giving in to the angelic facade her kids gave. She was still blind.

"Y-yea… can't give in," Mrs. Crowly muttered. She turned back to her kids, 'See past the shiny wings and their bright smile. See them for who they are. See them for the devil they are.'

Annabeth smiled, "now Jena, can you tell us how many times you've been swarmed by boys? I'm really curious to know."

"N-no…" Jena stood up and pointed a shaky finger at Annabeth, "I WON'T TALK WITH YOU! MOTHER!" 

Mrs. Crowly looked down at Jena, disgust glowing in her eyes, "Don't touch me."

Jena fell to her knees in fear. "M-mother-"

"Answer your sister's question Jena," Mrs. Crowly commanded.

Jena trembled, her head lowered to the ground, "I-I don't know. I don't know the amount."

Mrs. Crowly shuddered, her legs quivering, 'Don't know the amount…? How-'

"You've been going places, big sis," Annabeth chuckled, "and I'm guessing none of them were serious or protected?"

Jena pressed her head into the ground, her mouth going sour as she said the next answer, "none."

"Disgusting," Annabeth spat, she turned to her mother and smiled at the look of hate on her face. 'We have some process. Her vision is finally starting to clear.'

"Mo-" Annabeth started. 

"You are stripped of your title as the jewel of the Crowly family. It will be given to Annabeth. Whether or not to allow you to inherit the 'Marchioness' title will be debated," Mrs. Crowly began, "you are not allowed to leave the house unless given permission and are not allowed to engage in conversations with men at all. All action of yours will be supervised by me since you will be taken everywhere I am if we are to leave the house."

Jena's head perked up immediately, "WHAT?!"

"I don't believe you are deaf, I will not repeat myself. You shall also retake the manners class," Mrs. Crowly instructed, she peered down at Jena, "from the very beginning."

"N-no…" Jena muttered.

"After we turn from the visit with the king, you shall immediately be locked in your room for 5 days with no light and nothing to do or use except a pen and notebook. I will examine you after and if there is a single cut on you, you shall stay there for a week again. You will only be granted 1 hour outside your room daily for that 5 days but you shall never go outside," Mrs. Crowly continued. 

"N-no mo-"

"Say no and mother another time and your punishment will be doubled," Mrs. crowly warned.

"MOTHER NO! DON'T DO TH-" Jena begged, then she stopped immediately when she realized the words she had said. 

"You are now not allowed to speak at any formal event or any event in which there is another person in your vicinity. Your speech will be monitored and all say you had in official meetings shall be taken away," Mrs. Crowly commanded, her tone loud and harsh, "your week in your room has been doubled to two, and time allowed outside your room reduced to 40 minutes. Please speak up if you want more added to that."

Jena's lips were sealed shut and she didn't utter a word. 

"That's better," Annabeth smiled, "that was good mom. A very fitting punishment for the crime she committed."

"Yes.. it was," Mrs. Crowly trembled, the face Jena made when she received her punishment replayed in her mind. It was painful.

"Now mother, do you think you can do better for the next person?" Annabeth asked, cocking her head. 

Mrs. Crowly nodded hesitantly, her nod more to convince herself more than answer the question. "I... think I can."