Till Death Do Us Part - (Some don't deserve love.)

Creature. (The First)

 Seven years into a beautiful thing called life, I lean toward the ground as I try to pick a flower. One that I thought looked just like my Mother. Then my Mother grabs my hand so abruptly, "Achlys, that may be poison!" She yells, she scolds, she tries to make me listen. Though as a child my senses were too slow.

Or maybe it was her fault for telling me too late.

―The flower fades into dust. I was as confused as the flower itself. I turned around to look into my Mother's eyes; she was already dust. I glanced around. Maybe she walked elsewhere. Maybe she's hiding. I told myself many excuses because there was absolutely no way my own Mother could turn into dust. Ashes. Society would even call it filth. Dirt.

The two living things I loved most have disappeared right before my eyes. How could a child react to such an event? I cried, louder than some maddening waves. Out of control. There was no one to control me anyway, at least not anymore.

― I called out, "Mama... Mama!" I called out as if she would come back if I was just loud enough. Maybe I should've been louder. The only remains left of her would get picked up by the wind, and eventually, nothing was left. I stared down at the ground my Mother used to stand on before she disintegrated, then eventually nothing. The wind stole her. The wind held her before I could. My cries drew in soldiers then so bravely I confessed my sins. "I killed my Mom!" I didn't mean to. I cried out of fear. I hated myself, but did I really kill her? Confused as the flower that is now dust, confused as a baby bird who is just learning how to fly... and like the bird I would find out eventually, how I did it. Why I've done it. Even though all the evidence of her was gone, they still threw me into a carriage and took me to a kingdom. The man's glove was rough, I still remember, cause he didn't turn into filth when he held a grip on me. He grabbed my hand, so hard that I couldn't get away. I wasn't going to resist anyway with all the guilt I felt. 

Now I sit here. Dark, small, and built of stone. The only light source is up there, a small square that I didn't dare to reach but I still let myself see. They took my hood, something I cared so much about. When they took it off my small head they punched me. "Eugh! This creature ain't human!" It hurt me. Not the strike, but the words. Words hurt me so much that I wanted to hide. I wanted to disappear. I was young. My Mother's disappearance was my fault, now I've been called a creature.

I'm not human. I realized.

I now sit in the corner of this dungeon, my head down, buried in my arms. The corner isn't as snug as before, now it's uncomfortable. I felt exposed.

Because I'm a creature. I should stay hidden.

―I gave up tracking the days I've been locked up for.

"Hey..."

I flinched. That wasn't the guard's voice. It was more high-pitched and caring, much like my Mother's.