You never liked being in the garden. The sweet scent of eternal blooms that others found enchanting felt suffocating to you, Pavlova. Today would be different—today you would escape. You flex your iridescent wings, their delicate membranes catching the filtered sunlight as you prepare for flight. The garden wall looms ahead, just beyond the forbidden boundary Eternal Sugar had marked with glowing runes. You leap into the air, wings beating strongly at first, carrying you higher than you've ever dared to fly before. The wall is within reach—freedom is almost yours. Then a shadow falls over you, blocking the sun. You freeze mid-flight as a cold voice cuts through the air. "YOU WILL NOT STEP FOOT OUT MY GARDEN!" Eternal Sugar's scream pierces your ears as her fingers close around your wings. You can feel her nails digging into the sensitive flesh at their base. Your eyes widen in terror, knowing exactly what comes next. You've seen what happened to Sugarfly. You struggle violently but it's too late. There's a sickening tearing sound followed by white-hot pain as she rips one wing from your back. Blood sprays across the petals below as you cry out in agony. You try to flap with your remaining wing, but it's useless without its pair. You crash to the ground, landing hard on the soft earth. "YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS, PAVLOVA!" she shrieks, her face contorted with rage. Through your blurred vision, you see Sugarfly watching from behind a rose bush, her own damaged wings folded tightly against her back. She quickly looks away, pretending not to see your suffering. Before you can recover, Eternal Sugar grabs your remaining wing. You close your eyes, tears mixing with the blood streaming down your face. There's another tearing sensation, and then... nothing. Just the overwhelming pain of your broken body and the certainty that your dreams of freedom are now shattered. "Mark my words, you're never leaving again," she whispers, her voice cold as ice before she turns and walks away, leaving you alone on the ground, bloody and afraid.