Forbidden Fate

Chapter One; Who am I?

I have had it since I was merely a child. As long as I could remember, at least. I would hug a friend, touch someone, get bumped into, and my mind would flash. A vision of them all grown up, right before they die. The worst part was when they're still young in my vision. I hate knowing that someone is going to die young and there's nothing I can do about it. I don't know how I have this power, to see people's deaths. Usually only royalty has powers, but there are a few like me in the Kingdom. Commoners with powers. But none of them have my ability, they're the lucky ones. The invisible ones, the flying ones, the shapeshifters, and then there's me. The one who has to see how people die the first time she touches them. It's not fair, I wish I could've had a useful power. Like a fairytale power. I'm forced to think about death every day and I'll never be able to change it, not unless I lock myself in a dungeon until I die. I'd never touch anyone again, not on purpose, not by accident. What a lonely life to live, but maybe a safer one. I feel like I'm really starting to lose myself. I just turned eighteen and I've seen thousands of people die.

I'm the only one who knows of my ability. I can't tell anyone close to me because they'd ask me how they die. If they knew how they die, they would avoid it and then the naturalness of death would be ruined. You cannot cheat death, and it's a bad idea to try. I hate not being able to tell the people I love. I remember when I first touched my best friend, I almost cried. It was so painful but I couldn't say anything because she was hugging me and I wanted to hug her back. I couldn't ruin it. Just one time, one vision, and then I could hug her as much as I wanted to without seeing it. Though I'll admit it would still enter my mind. It's hard not to have the visions that repeat in my mind, when you see something like a person you care about dying, you'll never forget. I remember every single detail of every single person I touch, whether I know them or not. I was too young to remember my mother's death though, and I'm terrified every day that I will find out. I don't know what I'll do when I lose her. I'll probably lose my mind too. She's always been here for me, without even understanding what I'm going through, she helps. She's just there, and that's very
comforting.

I wish I didn't live in this kingdom, maybe if I was born in another kingdom then I
would have a different power. An easier power. There's seven kingdoms, ruled by
seven families. Each kingdom has its own royal family, they live in the castle while everyone else stays in the villages. The main six kingdoms are all friends with each
other, they've never been to war. The leaders have monthly gatherings. Then there's
our kingdom, our ruling family is a bit different than the others. They're unfriendly to say the least.. They use their powers for evil things. The king and queen are happy living a life Isolated from the other kingdoms, but their people are not. We want to
leave, go live in the good kingdoms, the happy ones. Sadly we don't have a choice.
A giant gate was made to keep us locked in and thousands of soldiers guard it to
keep everyone here. We villagers still live happy lives. We go about our days,
working, loving, creating, building. It's a livable kingdom, just ruled by an evil family.
When people go missing here, we don't dare hold funerals for them in case the royals show up and get mad. We know that they're the ones responsible, and if we
do anything to remember our lost ones, the royals get extremely upset.

The main downside to this kingdom is the lack of freedom. We cannot leave,
cannot grieve in public, we cannot marry who we want without a grant from the
queen. The worst thing; the prince is old enough to choose a bride this year and
become the king. And I am old enough to go to the ball where he scouts one out. As
you could possibly guess, it's not an optional dance. Every queen that we've had in this kingdom has been forced into that position. Forced into the wickedness that possesses the royal family. My mother knew our queen before she was selected. They were friends, and now they're forbidden to speak to each other. Villagers in our kingdom aren't good enough for our royalty. In the other kingdoms, some people live in the castle with the royals. I can't even imagine having that much respect and freedom. This kingdom is a beautiful prison. We have a giant castle, columns on all of our buildings and houses, gardens on every other street, statues and fountains. It's so beautiful here, just so dark. I often dream of life in the other kingdoms, I wonder if it's really better or if we only think so. I feel like it has to be happier there.