"She is not Grace Finely!" King Marlon and Queen Audrey cringed at the shriek. Their daughter who went off to another kingdom to meet the love of her life only to call them every day to cry about it.
"What do you mean, Dear?" Queen Audrey asked soothingly.
"She is like an entirely different person. The twin young lords are even stranger than the last time I saw them. Cleo threw a glass at Nana just because she said something to Grace. Seth didn't even utter a word all through this, never spared me a glance. When I finally found him alone, He was carrying that bitch in his arms and told me to address him by his title. Worst of all, Grace spent a night at Seth's palace!" Their daughter's complaints seemed to be neverending.
The King and Queen shared a look of confusion before comforting their upset daughter and ending the call.
"Was she being a brat again?" Asked a familiar voice. It was their eldest, the crown prince of Verdant, Prince Bastian.
"Bastian dear, do not call your little sister a brat." Queen Audrey chastised softly.
"What's wrong now? Just yesterday she was crying because she was made to stay at a guest palace." He said taking a seat on one of the couches. They were all in the drawing room of their Verdant Royal palace that belonged to the King and Queen. Even the youngest Prince Oscar was also there but he was already nodding off into sleep. It was a terribly late evening after all.
"I believe, It is worth looking into." Bastain said after hearing the whole story. He picked his sleeping eight-year-old brother and left the room after wishing his parents a good night.
"Grace Finley, Who are you?" He wondered out loud, his tone taking that one of intrigue. He remembered the letter that his sister received a few months ago and couldn't help but laugh out loud. Oscar in his arms stirred awake and looked at Bastian's smiling face.
"What is so amusing, Brother?" He asked sleepily.
"A person." Bastian replied, patting the boy's back and coaxing him back to sleep.
"Who?" Oscar asked, blinking lazily.
"I am yet to meet them." Bastian whispered a reply as the boy in his arms fell asleep before he could hear it.
* * *
A boy with a dull storm grey hair and lifeless blue eyes looked at the wall of the prison room in a daze. He seemed hungry and all that was there to him was skin and bones. Before I could stretch my hand to pat his head, there was a sound behind me, metal clanging and the barred door behind me was opened a little.
A plate of stale hard bread and soup placed on a dirty plate was pushed inside. As soon as the boy caught sight of the food, his eyes came back to life, the pupils turning into slits. He scrambled on his four limbs like a beast to get to that plate of spoiled food and devoured it.
"Seth?" I called the little boy but my voice was unheard and my touch just went through him. I don't know if I'm the illusion or him.
I don't know how much time passed as I watched the boy finish the food and go back to sit in the dark corner of the prison room. The sky slowly darkened and the boy did nothing but stare at the wall on the other side. What was he thinking? His eyes stayed like that of a beast lying in wait in the dark of the night until they slowly lost their shine and back to that dull lifeless like before.
"Who-" I was startled again along with the boy when a man in fine clothes stood behind me before I knew it. He had silver locks and pale blue eyes that looked like a cat's as well.
The little boy's eyes glowed in the dark and he bared his teeth growling like an agitated beast confronting a larger predator than himself. "You are coming along really well." The old man behind me spoke looking down at the boy like he would an animal.
"No!" I screamed as soon as I saw the man raise his hand holding a spiked whip.
I gasped awake as soon as the first strike fell on me as I tried to cover the boy in front of me.
What was that? Seth? Or someone else? Should I ask Seth about his past? I clenched my teeth to dispel the unpleasant dream and my head hurt as the room spun.
Once I found my bearings, I realised the room was unfamiliar to me. Right, I was brought here by Seth. It was his room and I vaguely remember the twins climbing in as well but before that… My face turned red at the memory.
We were fooling around. Then again, in retrospect, I never rejected when Seth got close to me. I always thought nothing of it but yesterday's events were taking it a little too far. Too much skinship. My hand went to my neck and I could still feel his tail wrapping around my leg. I looked around the room that's filled in gold and muted turquoise. This didn't have a person's taste. It was just a typical royal bedroom. Sure, It was an exquisite room but it didn't say anything about Seth. It felt like Seth was a stranger in his own house. I didn't like it. As soon as I spotted the mirror, I got out of the bed.
It must be Seth or the twins that left the thick curtains closed to have me rest as much I wanted. I squinted at the bright sun that shone through the ceiling-high windows as soon as I dragged the curtains open. If the sun was not very high then it must still be morning. As soon as the room lit up, looking a little more lively, I ran to the huge mirror.
As expected, My neck had marks and as soon as I lifted my dress, There were marks above my right knee. Wait a second, Who got me out of my dress? I was only wearing my inner gown. I looked around to find my dress discarded on one of the sofas.
This…This wasn't a good sign. I don't hate it but it wasn't a good sign. I shouldn't get too close but It was a little too late to think about that. I was complacent. I wrote a lot of letters to the Holy Empire but there was no reply or any kind of reply for that matter. So I thought maybe I should wait until the island was open after all. But now, I couldn't help but think I was too deep to swim back to the start line.
Where did I go wrong?
I paced back and forth in the room but it only led to another headache.
Seth. Seth Peregrine. Seth. What do I think of you? My fingers unconsciously went to touch my lips which startled me.
"You will be the bane of my existence, You fool." I groaned. I didn't want to sit in anxiety while I lived here. It was worse to beat myself over it. I was never anxious over something, I hate that feeling. If anything, I'm the type to ignore my anxiety and rationalise myself but sometimes it was harder to do that. This was one of those times. I sleep fitfully and would be unable to focus on anything. Too many thoughts run at the same time, jumping from one to another.
So after I realised my answer was to seek the Great Sage, I was relieved. One step at a time. That's my life's principle.
Living in a character like Grace Finley might have been easier but before I could settle with that thought, Seth already realised my identity. I couldn't just ignore a pedo living in the same house as me, so I had to act. I worked precisely because I didn't want my thoughts to run wild. I was smiling every day precisely because I wanted to keep my fears at bay.
I let them in because being alone with just myself was scary. As I was trying to keep myself from breaking apart, I didn't realise that the things that were holding me together were none other than my fears.
I… I was wrong. Too late. I won't be able to turn back. I can't turn back.