Light and Shadow (Phobos x OC)

Altschmerz

(n) Weariness with the same old issues that you have always had - the same boring flaws and anxieties that you have been gnawing on for years.

Ever since the incident in the library, I was more persistent to avoid the Prince. Not that he was looking for me, he probably already forgot my face and he didn't know my name, so he could not ask about me. Yet I always felt as if somebody was watching my every step. And though I never minded the dark hallways and the eerie atmosphere of the castle, seeing that I basically grew up with it, I sensed the shadows getting closer and closer when I walked through the castle. It was probably only my paranoia.

But this feeling vanished when I left the walls of the castle behind to go to the market. It was bustling with people of all kinds. The booths were packed with vegetables, fruits, bread, and many other things, but also with clothes and jewelry. Slowly, I edged closer to the booth with the fabrics and silks.

A hand came out of nowhere and gripped my arm, pulling me not too gently into a dark alleyway. Before I could scream, I felt a hand gripping onto my throat.

    "Where is it?" A voice growled. The light of the midday sun fell onto the face of the man. It was gruesome, with scars everywhere and a dangerous snarl on his barely recognizable lips.

    "I- do not- have- it" I wheezed heavily. Hardus grunted but let me go. I leaned against the wall, holding my throat.

    "You said you would have the money you owe him this year in a month" he reminded me lowly, gripping onto his sword which he held in one hand.

    "I know," I said quietly. I knew it had been a bad idea to lend money from his master. After all, Zeroth was a dangerous man.

I met him when I was only 12 years old. My brother has been very ill at the time, and even if I was the younger sibling, it has been my turn then to save him and to take care of him. It had only been a year after my mother's death. It was at this time that I began working in the kitchen in the castle. But doing the dishes did not get me enough money to pay for the medicine my brother needed so desperately. That was when I heard of him: Zeroth, Lord of the Underground and the Black Market. A man who could let all your dreams become reality. With a handsome face and a silver tongue, he was able to wrap everyone around his fingers, just like Prince Phobos. And me being young and naïve, I believed him enough to put my brother's health at his stake.

There is one thing that must be said about Zeroth: He always keeps his promises. Meaning that he did get my brother's medicine. But I did not know that this tiny bottle of mixed herbs would mean a life providing him his money. Like a bird gaining its freedom but being deprived of its wings. And now, I had to pay him a large sum of money once a year.

    "I need more time" I pleaded "Our wages were cut, please, I beg you!"

Hardus simply kept looking at me. I knew that he did not care about me, just like his master. He did not care about anyone. But maybe he would.

    "Just give me that necklace of yours and we are even" he shrugged.

I shook my head. "I cannot do that."

It looked as if he raised his eyebrows, that is if he would have any. "Why?" He started grinning. "Because it was your mommy's? Because you are so very sentimental about it?"

No, because the Prince took it and probably already forgot about it, and now it is laying somewhere hidden, misplaced, and not remembered, I wanted to say. Instead, I lied:

    "I lost it."

    "What a pity" he mused, the tone of his voice indicating that he didn't pity it a bit. He slowly came closer to the spot where I stood. When a new voice joined our conversation, he turned around.