Lyre lay in his room after that. His bones were shaking, and his teeth seemed to chatter.
His eyes were puffy, and his entire body was covered with wounds. The poor undeveloped merman seemed to be in an entirely different world from his.
And that world was that of pain.
The door to his room opened, and his immediate elder brother came in.
He was dressed in a red flowing gown, with his green hair tied up in a ponytail; the tips were braided to keep the hair in place.
His green eyes, which were so much like his hair, glanced around the dark room until his eyes lighted on the bundle on the bed.
"Why are you acting like a mermaid?" His eyes narrowed at his youngest brother, who seemed to want nothing but to burrow his body into the mattress.
"Leave."
Lyre's voice was low as he tried not to show the pain he felt deep within him.
The older prince's eyes grew red as his anger went up a top-notch. "You dare speak to me?"
And immediately, Lyre knew he had done wrong by speaking to his brother.
He wasn't supposed to speak so as not to contaminate his brothers.
"I'm sorry, brother!" He hastily fell from the bed, despite his pain, and still knelt on the floor, with his hands joined in front of him.
His knees were hurting him so much, he felt like fainting from the pain. However, he still has to appease his brother.
Among the other princes, his immediate elder brother was heartless. He doesn't do things half-heartedly.
And —
Lyre was raised in the air. The green crackling smoke wrapped around his neck, as it took him up in the air.
"Bro—"
Lyre tried to speak, but the eldest prince closed his hands, and the tightness of the smoke increased.
"You will learn not to speak, you cursed thing." His brother narrowed his eyes at the youngest brother as he continued to twist his hand.
Lyre's face was ashen white, and his breath seemed to have stopped. However, the brother wasn't bothered.
According to their mother, they need to treat him this way, to help liberate him from the dark side.
And that dark side was something Lyre doesn't understand.
The helpless prince doesn't know why he was hated by his family, yet he never stood up for himself.
"Disgusting." Lyre's brother threw him to the floor, and he fell with a thud.
He didn't try to rub his neck as he coughed. There was no need for that if it will make his brother more infuriated.
"Do you think acting like a mermaid is what a merman does?" The prince gave Lyre a disgusted glance.
His eyes took in his shapely body and the sparkling gems in his hair. Although the gems have dulled as they all wanted, it is still there.
"We don't hate you, Lyre." The prince circled his fallen brother. "We only want what's good for you."
Lyre didn't say a word as he silently curled into himself. His eyes were now a dull silver as his pain took much of his rationality.
"This is to help you become a merman, Lyre. You must be like us."
However, Lyre wasn't listening. All he was patiently waiting for was when his brother will leave.
Only then will he cry in peace without his brother viewing it as another weakness of his.
"Don't you like the red-haired mermaid who loves visiting you?" The prince asked in a small voice.
Lyre didn't reply.
Not that he doesn't want to, he did. However, replying to his brother will mean more punishments on the way.
"Have an enjoyable night." The prince finally said when he noticed he couldn't get a rise out of his brother.
Lyre didn't say a word until his brother left; he didn't rise until he was certain none of his brothers was coming in tonight.
His father is another tale altogether. And he wants nothing to do with his coming.
Lyre slowly rose from the floor. His bones were aching him like they always do at night.
This was the routine in his life ever since he turned Fourteen, and mistakenly blotted he finds the guards handsome, and the mermaids ugly.
Since then, his family has been on their so-proclaimed righteousness of trying to fix him.
"I'm leaving," Lyre said to the room as he stood to his petite height.
He glanced around the room with his hands balled as he decided to leave this place before his family finally kills him.
It was true they claimed that life offshore was hell. It did not deter him.
To him, it was better to die offshore than to perish here.
And he realized in due time, his family will kill him not only for his feminine looks and character but for his excuse for power.
He only knew how to make things pretty, much to the anger of his family.
Lyre slowly limped to his cupboard and got the blue seal his grandmother gave to him before she passed away.
That was the only thing Lyre took as he left the room.
He didn't go through the long corridors for fear of being caught. The young prince turned a corner and went through the dark tunnel.
His bones were aching as he transformed into a beautiful merman with glistering tails.
The young merman waded through the murky tunnel until he reached the end. He turned once more to look at the castle before he swam forward.
This was just his first step. Evading the guards at the end of the dark tunnel was another hurdle.
Yet, the prince wasn't afraid of that. He has taken the first step toward leaving the palace of pain. The next step is to leave the entire Kingdom.
And that's what he planned to do. Even if it will cost him his life, he was determined to die trying.