Break

Chapter One: Plans To Escape

Prince Erebus flapped his wings and looked into his reflection as he squatted by the riverbed. His violet eyes stared back at him until it became distorted by ripples in the water, generated by contact with a stone black as night, not at all unlike the colour of his scales. His claws fidgeted with the gravelly mustard-coloured sand around him, and he watched the body of murky water slowly move.

He looked around and sniffed the air. In one direction, he could see the high black stone brick walls that enclosed the inhabited area of the Glazgon region; in the other direction were different walls, a clear, transparent material, appearing like a gas. Erebus was not fooled, though, for he knew that tall clear wall was hard and solid, and he knew beyond them was out of the Glazgon region, in no man's land. He had never been out there, and he had found himself in this situation countless times before, looking out at it and wondering what it would be like to be there. Of course, the sand was still soggy, dark and thick, oozing sluggishly, yet it looked bright out there. Different. And, to Erebus, it symbolised nothing short of freedom, which he was yet to taste, and he understood he probably never would in his life.

"Daydreaming of what lays beyond again, brother of mine?"

Prince Erebus turned around to find his sister strutting over to him.

"Surely you aren't using the tongue of man, are you, my dear Ivianne?" he replied, his claws digging into the sand. "I thought it was below you."

"It's only us two, and I think Glazgon is terribly overrated," she shrugged, her pale horns glinting in the weak sunlight. "Of course, I'm not stupid enough to speak anything other than Glazgon in front of anyone but you."

"You have a thing for indirect insults to my intelligence and weakness, don't you? Don't fret, Ivy. My ego isn't inflated enough to be able to be burst by your petty comments. Now tell me, why have you decided to visit me this fine afternoon? Thought you'd fancy a stroll? Because Mum and Dad haven't gone outdoors since they were our age, and clearly, you would like to be like them, ruling over the Glazgons. Did I get anything wrong?"

"Sometimes you impress me with your unanticipated lightbulb moments. A silent observer, are you not? But that can be difficult for you, considering your high position."

"I should have expected this from you," Erebus laughed humourlessly. "It always comes back to this, doesn't it, Ivy? You're letting your jealousy get the better of you again. The only thing it ever does is ruin your brilliance."

"Can I control my jealousy?" Ivianne hissed. "Or perhaps I should ask whether it can be justified. I think it can. I was born as the eldest. My birthmark suggests talent. I have mastered skills which you could not dream of attempting in your wildest dreams. And yet, all because of my gender, I am treated like a common -"

"You don't think I've forgotten the last time you've given me this lecture?" Erebus stood up angrily, one of his scaly legs hitting the water with surprising force. "Or the time before? You're overlooking something, Ivy. You think your life is so awful, but can I get you to imagine something for a moment? Imagine being born into something you despise, but different to your current reality. Imagine having what feels like the weight of the world on your shoulders and having the learn unfamiliar things. Imagine being taught you'll either succeed or forever be a disappointment to your people. That's my life! If we could swap ... but that would never work."

Ivianne inspected her younger brother for a while before she spoke. "You're holding this in, bottling it up. But you're planning something."

"In five days' time is our sixteenth birthday, as it is for the children of the other species of our generation from the last Hatching," Erebus said. "Sixteen, Ivy! It's the Year of the New! A whole celebration, at which our planet will be at its most vulnerable and distracted. Are you getting what I'm suggesting?"

"You're running away?" The corners of Ivianne's mouth twitched upwards. "I knew you were weak, everything from your attitude to your birthmark screams it out, but never would I think this would happen. In some ways, I can't tell if this is a good thing or a bad one."

"Meaning?"

"You do realise the effects of this, don't you? The Glazgons are the greatest beasts of our planet. This will bring shame upon not only our family, but our entire species. And what about the future? Mother will be infertile by the time of the next Hatching, meaning either the Glazgons will find a new leader, or, the less likely one, they shall choose me. If it is the latter, they'll just find me a mate. Who's ever heard of a Glazgon prince fleeing? You'll be rejected. We'll be rejected."

"You've never cared about the family, Ivy," Erebus said. "Everything's about you. I may disagree with the way you're treated, and we would both be happier if you could take my place, but things are happening and I think this is my time to act."

"By running away."

Erebus ignored Ivianne and asked, "Can I make you promise something?"

"Why would I agree?"

"We're bound by blood, like it or not, and it would be nice if you listened to your brother for once," he said. "Listen, Mum's sick. Take care of her, please."

"Mother's dying, Erebus," Ivianne replied. "Nothing I can do will stop the pattern of life. Besides, she's evil anyway. I thought you didn't care."

"Unlike her, you and Dad, I have an actual conscience," Erebus retorted angrily. "I wish you the best of luck in life, Ivy. Perhaps our paths will cross again one day."

"Gee, Erebus, save the goodbye for these five days - oh, and my name's Ivianne. Drop the nickname."

She took off into the air, showing off her seamless flying skills to rub in Erebus' issues with flying. Erebus settled back down by the water, staring beyond the border.

I'll be out there soon, he thought, set free from these chains.