Jay
As the darkness fades, I find myself in an endless corridor of mirrors. As I pass each mirror, I see fragments of my past. They are in descending order from most recent to farthest in the past. I see a pattern; they are my most upsetting memories. My father's abuse, unsatisfied diplomats' gazes, loveless relationships, fights, and my missing family. Each one is more upsetting than the last. I tried to bury them as far as possible in my mind as I could. This is unending. How long will this walking torment last? I can't breathe. It feels as if my chest is being crushed from deep inside. I begin to run, hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel.
-Thud-
I trip on what feels like a log. I stand up and brush myself off as I look towards the floor to see what I tripped on. I gasp as I see my mother's corpse lying sprawled out before me. I stumble back and fall on my ass. I start to sob uncontrollably as the woman I love most lies lifeless before me. The longer I stare, the more details become visible. I can see the cause of her death: the long, deep cuts on her arms. I can see the visible decay—even the dead look in her eyes. Just as I met her gaze, her eyes moved, making eye contact with me. I shudder. Unable to look away, I start crawling backward. She draws in a low, raspy breath and moves her lips, trying to speak. Finally, she wails.
"If it had been you, I wouldn't have ended up like this. Why weren't you the one to die? Why? WHY? Why Jay!? Jay?"
"JAY!" My best friend yelled in an attempt to wake me up.
I sat up, dazed and covered in sweat. I look up at his concerned face.
"Dude, what the hell were you dreaming about? I've never seen you that scared before." Anon says while turning to open the curtains, letting in the morning light.
"I'm not sure. I can't remember." I lied.
I push the covers off me and get up. I walk over to my walk-in closet and start looking for my attire for the day. My stylist always manages my outfits for any royal council meetings. My father won't allow me to dress myself after my minor protest in my first year of college. I mean, all I did was wear a bright neon green plaid suit. Haha, I did love seeing his face contorted in anguish when the council members saw me that day. It was worth this tiny chunk of independence. However, it did lose me a bit of respect among the older council members. Well, what can I do about it now?
"We have an hour before the meeting. I have breakfast waiting in the car." Anon says as he helps me put on my jacket.
"Uhhh, ok. Let's go." I groan as we leave.
The car ride to the capital is short. However, I never have enough time to prepare myself for the upcoming ordeal. I truly hate my status. I never wanted to be the next king. I am the second choice, after all. I want nothing more than to live as an ordinary citizen. I mean, my father already hates me, so nothing would change if I was a commoner. I wish I weren't the Crown Prince of Dalmane.
"I'm saying this as your friend, not your valet, but you look like shit. Did you stop taking your sleeping pills again?" Anon says while glancing at me through the rearview mirror.
"I haven't stopped taking any of my meds. I just had one of those nights. It's fine, really." I say while staring out the window.
I love watching the shops and people as we pass by. Seeing them all living their day-to-day lives makes my job a little easier to do.
As our car came to a stop at an intersection, I looked out and saw a man standing at the crosswalk waiting to cross. Wow, he's beautiful. Huh? Wait, I must have lost it. I can't believe I just said a man was gorgeous. Handsome, sure, but beautiful? I must be sleep-deprived. The light turns green, and we turn left, leaving the beautiful man behind us.
"Can't we just make up some excuse to skip the meeting?" I say while pouting.
"Uhhh, don't pout like that. You're not a child. Throwing a tantrum isn't going to work with me." Anon says with disgust.
"You know we have to be there today. It's about the annual banquet budget. As treasurer, you have to attend. The banquet is the most important networking event of high society." Anon is always lecturing me about networking.
As the crown prince, it's a part of my duties. I hate it. It's nothing more than a bunch of rich snobs kissing my ass to get on my father's good side. It's disgusting.
"Ya ya, I know. I'll do my best. I hate being the crown prince, but I like being the royal treasurer. I do have a master's in accounting, after all." I brag.
5 hours later.
"FUCK! What a gigantic waste of time. It's like they purposely waited till the end to discuss the budget. What pricks!" I grumble as I close the car door.
I have always been diligent when doing my job as treasurer, yet they always talk to me in such underhanded ways. I have managed the royal finances very well. We are doing better than we have in the past three decades. Not once have I been praised for excelling at my job, not even by my father.
"Do you want to eat lunch at the palace?" Anon asks, trying to calm me down.
"Nah, I saw a cute little cafe on the way here. I want to try it out." I say with a slight grin.
I want to see that beauty I saw earlier. I doubt he will still be around, but even a glimpse will brighten up my mood. As we pulled down the street, the cafe was on. I noticed two men standing close to the road. They look to be fighting. Move idiots; that's dangerous. Why is everyone so dumb? Anon looks back at me.
"This is the cafe you were talking about, right?" Anon asked.
Just as Anon turns around, the larger of the two men seemingly lunges at the other. The man dodges and runs into the street.
"Anon, look out!" I shout in hopes of getting him to stop in time.
-Screech!-
-Thud-