Chapter Text
I love my mom, it's true. She is the best person in the world.
I hate my dad, it's also true. He didn't care about me, he only cared about his blood being on the throne.
I see the times when he raises his hand against my mom, punishing her for crimes that she didn't do. He thinks that he is better than everyone. Yeah, he's the king, but how can he be a good one when all he does is bad things?
Because of my eyes, he put a barrier between the two of us that I wish I could knock down, but it's too hard. One of my eyes is the color of my mom's, the other his eye color. He must've thought I was a monster. Whenever I look in the mirror, I can't help but notice the morbid creature inside too.
The royal physician also diagnosed me with something called glaucoma at a tender age, and that made the barrier between us taller.
I don't know how it happened, but I guess I just...stopped trying. And he definitely noticed that, because he is trying to create an even larger barricade.
I run into my mom's arms, and hug her tightly. I begged her not to let me leave, but it didn't work. Warm hands with a cold heart tore me away from the one person that I love.
That's when I realize, my past efforts of bringing the king and I together was completely useless. He never has, and will never love me.
And I hated him for the love that he never gave me.
Tears spill out of my eyes as I get carried away. I clawed at the thick hands holding me, but it's useless. He won't let go.
He dumps me outside the palace in some riding leathers and my cat Whiskers. That's probably all the mercy that he can spare.
I walk around the streets, hoping that someone kind enough can take me in. But everyone is either starving on the ground or selling spoiled goods that no one else has the money to buy. One man even latched onto my leg and begged for Whiskers as food!
The streets of this kingdom are so different from life at the palace, it shocked me. My father was a terrible king.
I remember back in the castle, we had so much food that we scraped the leftovers into the trash. I thought everyone else did the same, but I guess not.
I vowed that I don't want to stay here anymore. Even if I did find someone with enough food to spare, I'd still be doomed under that tyrant king's rule.
I pick up my pace, and run towards the forests that I saw on maps but never in real life. Whiskers followed closely behind. I feel like she would be a better father than my actual dad.
⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺
Whiskers had these indigo eyes that made it impossible to unsee. In the dark, my vision faltered, and the physician's prediction came true. The guy told me that I would get tunnel vision by the age of 7. It almost felt like a curse.
I tripped over a root, and fell flat on my face. My lip trembled, trying my best to hold in a sob. I wasn't allowed to cry, not when I'm all alone. Whiskers nudged my face with hers, as if trying to comfort me. A tear rolled down as I smiled.
I stroked the cat's gray fur gently. She was a better friend than I could've asked for. A misfit like me...didn't deserve her. She meowed quietly, resting her warm body next to mine, both of us sprawled out on the ground.
...
Whiskers trotted over with a dead rat in her jaw. Was she expecting me to eat it? She dropped it by my hand, and nudged it towards me. It was disgusting, but I was too famished to pass up a meal.
I bit down, the meat refusing to go down my throat. I forcefully gulped it down, and gagged. It came right back up, leaving a trail of a vile taste in my mouth.
Eventually, hunger won.
—
Years passed.
I sprawled out on the ground, expecting Whiskers to join me. After all, we'd been doing this every night for so long, I had lost track of time. How old was I? Thirteen? Fourteen? Even I do not remember.
But this time, I was alone.
It would sound crazy, but Whiskers had been the reason I survived in this forest. The forest tried to kill me so many times, but she had been there.
Whiskers didn't join me. I waited and waited, but still, she never showed up. I held onto the belief that she'll come back, but it was futile. I was starving, and had to find a way out.
"Whiskers, you didn't even say goodbye..." I choked out, searching desperately for any dashes of indigo among the foliage. "I guess this is farewell then."
The forest was massive, and I could easily lose my way. No matter how painful, I wanted to live.
I starved and tripped and slowly died, but I never stopped extending my hand to life. I couldn't have survived this long only to die, no, I wouldn't allow it.
The thought of returning to my old home as a servant crossed my mind, but I shook it away as quickly as it came.
The inside of my mouth was parched and sticky and absolutely disgusting. Hunger gnawed at me. My body was littered with cuts from branches and bites. It was like I was the forest's tapestry, being drawn on and made into a cursed artwork.
I felt my stomach let out a twist of complaint, and I fell to the ground, clutching it tightly.
Desperately I wished to take a few more steps towards civilization, but my legs gave out, and the world faded away.
⋆˖𓂃 ོ☼𓂃˖⋆
"𝓞𝓱𝓸𝓱𝓸, 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓭𝓸 𝔀𝓮 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮?"
End of PROLOGUE