Prologue

Chantilly Lace Chiffon… that is the incredibly long and complicated name I was blessed with, thanks to my mother and father. I never heard it in its full form very often though(only when I was in trouble) No. For as long as I can remember back, they just called me Lacey. I don’t remember much from my childhood sadly. The only clear memory I have from my young life is one of Peppermint Pier. That was the day of the accident. My mother says it was not my fault, but I know it was.

I was only three when it happened, but that memory will be burned into my mind forever. We were enjoying a lovely day at the pier. My mother and father loved that place. It was the most brightly colored place I can remember ever seeing. Red and White. It looked like a giant candy cane had been wrapped around the whole place. I should have stayed closer to mother that day, if I had my father might still be alive. Unfortunately I had decided to walk a little to close to the edge and before anyone could get to me I was pulled into the water.

My father saw me first and was already running to get to me when I was pulled in. I could see him running as I slipped under the water, I was so frightened. It seemed like an eternity that I was thrashing in the water trying to stay afloat. My father did finally get me out and my mother quickly scooped me up. She was so scared that I had gotten hurt, she did not even notice my father had been pulled under by a very nasty undertow.  The doctors said he hit his head on a large rock as he was pulled under and it was over fairly quickly. To this day I still take partial responsibility for that awful day.

Sorry for the total downer, but its kind of a necessary detail to understand what happened to my mother. After the accident she never did recover. She became obsessed with cleanliness. Everything we touched, used, looked at… had to be white. If it wasn’t crisp white. It was not clean. She bleached her teeth everyday just to keep them their whitest, and me? Well I was never allowed to leave the estate again. Trapped like a prisoner in my own home.

My only release was my painting. Even that was a joke. You have to be pretty creative when you are only given white paint. That only lasted so long though. When I got a little older, I kinda snuck into her purse one day and ordered in some REAL paints online. All the beautiful colors my life had been deprived of. It was not easy getting them into the house without her knowing, but Berry be praised I managed to do it. My closet was full of my beautiful colored works, I was so proud, and sad at the same time, I had no way to share them. I did have one friend, his name was Bubbie, but of course he was an online friend so I couldn’t really share them with him either.

Well it was only days before my 18th birthday when i had finally enough. This horribly boring and white washed life was about to send me over the edge to meet my mother. I kinda exploded at her.

“Mom, I hate this!”

“What ever do you mean honey?”

“I mean this white prison you have me cooped up in. You can’t shelter me forever!”

To my surprise she agreed with me.

“I know my love. I just don’t want to lose you, like we lost daddy.”

I hated when she called him daddy. It made me remember all over again. I think that was part of her technique to try keep me there.

“But seeing you are almost 18, there is not much I can do to keep you here. I wish you would stay, but if that is what you choose to do, I will not stop you.”

I told her I wanted to move to Sugar Valley. I honestly didn’t care where I moved to as long as it was away from Fondant Fields. What happened next I was not expecting. She said we owned a small vacation home in Sugar Valley and she said I could live there, but there was one condition.

“If you leave, you can never come back, and I will not help you any further. I will give you the house, but you will have to find a job and support yourself.”  I think she had hoped this would deter me, but it did not. I jumped at the chance and I took it.

On the day of my 18th Birthday, I packed a small bag of clothing and prepared for my very first life adventure.

Next stop Sugar Valley!