Her mother had warned the room teacher of the previous days happenings and asked that a special eye be kept on the girl but she showed no sign of the trauma. While Sienna was a little subdued no-one could fail to see how much livelier the girl was. The large white bandage taped to her swollen cheek did nothing to cover her new found confidence. She walked into class and faced everyone with a calm demeanour; a complete antithesis of the timid little mouse she'd always appeared to be.

Throughout the day they monitored her, watching for any indication that she was in pain or overwhelmed. Instead they found Sienna to be bright, cheerful, and engaging.

Sienna was aware of the eyes that seemed to be permanently trained on her. She could feel their gaze tracking her every move. It itched at her as she sat talking to the other children, and she was careful not to react to the concerned adults that fluttered around her. Their actions inadvertently making her the centre of attention amongst her classmates.

No longer withdrawn and stand-offish, Sienna's vivacious nature encouraged the other children to interact with her with confidence and ease. It was not for them to know that behind her smiling lips her teeth were firmly gritted, and the sparkle in her eye hid an emptiness; a place where Sienna watched everything from a distance. She almost felt like she was on autopilot, acting on instinct while her mind was fully engrossed with the piece of paper she'd discovered that morning.

Tucked just under her bed, Sienna had seen the small square of paper when she had gathered up the fairy-tale book while getting ready for school. She'd unfolded it absentmindedly as she was shoving her foot into her sneaker. The thump of her shoe hitting the ground had caused her mother to call out in concern, a query that Sienna had done her best to allay as her nerveless fingers fumbled to pick up the slick paper from the floor. Holding it carefully from the edges, she stood, one shoe on, examining the incomplete picture that was drawn with slashing strokes.

It had taken a moment for her to realise it was from the book. The same thicker parchment as the other illustrations, but different as there was no happy water colour decorating the other side of this one. Just the same dark shadow creature that crept towards the children.

There was another difference. The picture was unfinished. The others had been a gradation of the monster as it slowly became more detailed and ominous. This last picture showed it in all it's terrifying glory, an almost realistic depiction of a being that was, in reality, almost 2D. It was the background that was unfinished. It was as though the illustrator had been filling in the details and stopped half way through.

This was what had shaken Sienna so badly. She could instantly see what the artist had been drawing when he'd stopped. A small droplet of ink was right next to a young girl, highlighting the half finished face peering out of a bundle of blankets. The face was mismatched from one side to the other, almost as though the child's expression had changed as the artist had tried to capture it.

The left eye was wide with terror, The right was narrowed with anger. The mouth was caught mid-sketch, a few muddled lines that conveyed confusion, not of the subject but of the person holding the pen.

The whole thing would have been comical if Sienna hadn't recognised her own face staring back at her.