Ningyō no Ohimesama (The Doll Princess)

His Escape

{MIHO'S POV}
I wake up first. The red-eyed boy is sprawled out next to me, sleeping like the dead. I check his pulse to assure myself that he isn't actually dead.

His body is quite tenacious. Not many people could remain conscious with his level of injuries.

I check and clean his dressings, then go out to gather more blackberries. When I return, the red-eyed boy is awake so we split them.

I notice that he isn't talking a lot. I muster up my courage and open my mouth. "Name?"

It worked? It worked! All the awful memories which prevented me from talking feel so far away that they're merely a dull throb in my heart.

The red-eyed boy watches me carefully. "I'm Aoi."

I frown. That name sounds vaguely familiar.

Aoi-kun sighs, as if he were expecting this. "Go ahead and say it. People always ask why my name means 'blue' when my eyes are clearly red."

"Suits... you." I insist softly.

"And while you're at it, get it out about my eyes too." Aoi-kun continues like he didn't hear me. "The color of blood, an ill omen. I've heard it all."

Aoi-kun and I are more alike than I thought. Just by listening to him speak, I can tell that his unique eyes have brought him the same type of troubles my unique hair has brought me.

Aoi-kun is on a roll now. "Call them revolting. You wouldn't be the first. How about evil, demonic, cursed. I've heard it all. Or even—"

I grab his hand, and Aoi-kun stops.

"Pretty." I tell him. That's the truth. His eyes don't remind me of blood at all. They're the color of cherries and poppies, of garnet and ladybugs, and the evening sky. The color of fate.

Aoi-kun blinks. "Okay, that one was new."

"Was truth." I correct firmly.

Aoi-kun stares at me, confounded. I stare right back. I won't back down on this matter. He eventually looks away and scratches the back of his head, seeming a little bit flustered. "Thanks... uh..."

I point to myself. "Miho."

Aoi-kun grins and laughs. "Thanks, Miho!"

For the next few days, Aoi-kun and I stay hidden in the woods while I treat his injuries. We drink from my waterskin and eat edible plants.

He never brings up the fact that I can't speak more than three words at once. In Wilant castle, everyone only asked me yes or no questions. I would nod or shake my head, and they happily tip-toed around the mute elephant in the room.

Aoi-kun seems perfectly fine waiting half an hour for me to muster up the words to speak. He makes me feel normal. Not pressured to speak, which I find myself doing more and more.

I was right. Aoi-kun can help me express myself. I feel something I haven't felt in a while: hope (not that you'd see it on my face).

I know our blissful ignorance can't last. Finally, Aoi-kun asks the important question. "So Miho, what brings you here? Who are you?"

I've been debating whether or not I should tell him. Aoi-kun doesn't know who I am, although most people recognize me by my strawberry pink hair. But I trust Aoi-kun. I take the plunge.

I point to myself. "Clarines... princess... ran away."

Aoi-kun's eyes widen. He opens his mouth, then closes it. Aoi-kun repeats this process a couple times before grinning suddenly. "You're a princess. Of Clarines. You? Royalty? Really?"