Miyuki was at a washroom sink, washing blood from off of his forearm. The water stung his wounds. While cleaning, he glanced upwards, looking at the mirror. He glanced down to the damage done to his neck. He began to rub at the thick purple bruise marks around his throat.
Miyuki then looked back up at himself. He stared deeply into the mirror, in his eyes. He hated the man he saw, the man who let his love die briefly.
"I shouldn't have been weak." He knew that lingering in the past wouldn't change anything, that it would only hurt him more. But he couldn't care. He was to blame for what happened that night.
He continued to look at himself in the mirror.
The man he saw. The man who taunted and killed Evelyn.
The woman he saw. Evelyn. The woman he loves.
The man he saw. Himself
The man he saw. Himself.
The man he saw. Himself.
That is the man he hates most.
Miyuki smashed his fist through the mirror, glass was shoved into his fist.
*****
The next morning, Miyuki woke up to the rays of the sun beating down on him. His body still ached, but he had asked the healer to stop coming everyday, so he'll have to deal with it. Miyuki glanced at his forearm and knuckles, his arm was shaking. "Why did I do it?" He asked himself.
Was this his form of self-punishment?
Even that, he did not know.
***
Miyuki put on some clothes that the healer had given to him when he was ready to walk around the castle. "This is not the same linen I'm used to." Miyuki started to itch himself. "Why is it so scratchy!?"
A knock at the door interrupted his itching. Leonidas walked in and saw the struggling Miyuki. "Um, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" He questioned. "Not really, unless you wanna help me itch." Miyuki did consider himself a comedian at times.
"Miyuki, you know that's outerwear, like a sweater, not the shirt." Miyuki stared at him flabbergasted. "Oh." Miyuki swiftly threw the grandma-sweater off of him, and turned to look for the shirt. "Well, while you do that, I have some news for you Miyuki."
"Go for it." Miyuki replied.
"So all 4 royal families, and you, will be meeting at the town square to give the people a reason to vote you as the next king. The runners will be all the current heirs of their respective families. Like me, Ms. Eloise, and Mr. Pratt. And you, filling for Princess Evelyn while she recovers, but once she does, you can join her party if you want."
"Well I definitely will, I need to make it up to her, getting her killed briefly." Miyuki held back his voice as he uttered the last few words of his sentence. He finally sat back down and put the plain grey shirt on.
Leonidas observed Miyuki and noticed his recent wounds on his forearm and fist. "Miyuki, did the healer miss a few wounds on you? Or did that happen recently?" Miyuki quickly covered his arm with the bedsheet. "Oh its nothing." Miyuki hung his head slightly down in shame.
"Miyuki, if you want to talk to me about anything, we can. We may be in opposing parties during this election, but I am very much an ally to you. You saved Evelyn, and you've gained some of my respect for handling the situation with Mr. Josephine rather, somewhat, safely."
"Yeah, okay, thanks." Miyuki had a face of slight relief, knowing he has another friend in this strange world. "Get your sword and sheath and meet me at the castle gates when you're ready, take your time, I'll wait for you. But don't take too much time." Leonidas snickered.
"Okay." Miyuki replied. Leonidas then made his way out of the room and left down the hallway.
Miyuki held his face in his hands. He began to sob.
*****
Miyuki met Leonidas at the castle gates, wearing new appropriate attire. "Open the gates!" Leonidas shouted towards one of the gate towers, and very shortly after, the gates began to open. Leonidas turned to Miyuki.
"Well, let's get going, shall we?"
Miyuki nodded.