Rain watched.
The beatings continued for quite a while longer. Mo Duyi seemed to have some particular issues with how tonight went. He had not swept the princess off his feet like he had expected nor had he become the great comrade of the first prince like he thought he would. At least, he had gained Mo Enlai's attention, if only for a second before the boy was distracted by a girl.
He was pissed, fortunately for him, he had found the perfect outlet. A freak, who was only allowed to be here cause of their convenient power and loyalty. They were nothing.
Duyi swung his leg again. He wanted to take out those disgusting eyes, but he had at least enough rationality to not do something that people could scorn him for. Nobody would care if he bruised her, but it couldn't be anywhere visible or cause lasting damage. People would use it as an excuse to shun him, like they wouldn't have done the same thing.
Though they almost definitely would have.
After having more than enough fun, he was reminded of the time by his lackeys. It was nearing when the party would officially end, and he wanted to make sure he said his goodbyes to the big shots. Then he had to meet his father along with the rest of his siblings.
'Urgh!'
Just thinking of that little brat who was his brother made him annoyed. Who did he think he was? How someone like him could be born from someone like the king astounded him. Must be his sl*t mother. Xiu, his mother, was always saying stuff like that.
Giving the spider one last stomp, like he would give an insect that he had stepped on, but wasn't quite dead yet, Duyi turned and walked towards the main hall.
*Perspective Change*
Ai lay sniffling in the grass, bruises covering her torso and arms which she had tried use to defend herself. Her outfit wasn't torn, A long sleeved dress that covered as much skin as allowed.
Ai didn't like to show skin. Humans seemed to find it repulsive, so she tried to hide it as much as possible. At least her face wasn't veiny and didn't give her heritage away, but they always knew regardless. She was still so pale and her eyes that would show whenever she moved the wrong way gave a clear indication of her race.
Ai sat in the garden, crying. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to be in her room, spinning her string. She possessed the trait that allowed her to produce and manipulate spider string and their was no greater joy for her than setting up webs and finding out what passed through it.
However, she had no choice. Her parents were completely subservient to the humans, as were the rest of her clan. They all just bowed their heads and did whatever they were told. They didn't care about the abuse, despite the fact that, most of the time, they were stronger than the abuser. However, the humans had one absolute, backing. The king and queen were not people they could fight against and so they did nothing.
Eventually, they seemed to convince themselves that it was only natural and started to just see themselves as less than. As faithful servants who served the kingdom, acting like they weren't predators.
However, Ai saw herself as different. Spiders were natural predators, not prey to be toyed with. That was how she saw herself. At least, in the beginning.
However, things had changed. She found herself unable to defend against people who she could easily beat if allowed to fight. Her appearance was ridiculed and her skills and worth disregarded by beings who were far inferior. Again and again and again.
It's only natural that it would get to her. It would get to anybody, at least partly. She had no passion and no prey. She wasn't allowed to be the predator who her instincts told her to be. You must remember, Ai is not human, she just looks similar. She is a spider in a human's body and possesses characteristics of both.
However, despite her predatory nature, she has spent her entire life being abused by prey she couldn't hunt.
She wanted to hunt. She wanted to be the predator. She wanted someone who would acknowledge her and her skills and accept her for who she really is. A predator.
At this point, it was no longer a want, it was more a need. A need, that if not fulfilled, would result in her becoming just like the rest of her clan currently is. A cold empty shell, a prey who was once a predator, much like an arrogant young master who had the shit beaten out of him by the protagonist and his waifu stolen.
However, tonight was the last straw. Rather than show herself as the prideful predator she wished to be, or stealthily set her traps for the prey like she wanted too, she ran away, into one of the gardens of the palace. Away, into the garden for fear of the ridicule and looks of disgust she saw on the face of every human she had ever met.
Yet, even when she hid herself, the prey still found her, still hurt her, and seeing the king and queen with their undeniable strength only strengthened her sense of inferiority, of servitude.
She thought to herself, 'These are real predators. These are the ones to be feared, to be served.'
It was now or never, and life seemed to be saying never. She would never hunt a prey or set her traps. She would never meet anyone who looked at her without disgust or broken, subservient eyes. Their was nothing left. The boy, Duyi, would forever be superior to her, like all the others, despite her strength being such that she could easily cut off his head. She... was inferior. Life... had made it's decision.
"Must be tough, huh?"
It would seem that life changed it's mind.