Once Upon a Story [ SLOW UPDATES ]

Fallen

Prompt:
"You can't fall in love with a monster!"
"I already have."
this is another situation where I don't exactly follow the prompt.
Word count: 2395
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If I knew the consequence of meeting you that day, I would've never left that viper's nest.

***

It all began on the night of a midsummer dream. My parents and I had travelled from afar to pay respects to the prince on his birthday. I didn't understand why we had to go. We were hardly prestigious enough to boast the company of the royal family. When we arrived, they settled us in the guest wing of the castle. My mom threw me to the wolves, politely ordering me to make friends with the other girls. My father watched me enter the sitting hall with great pity. I was a recluse with little social experience in the nobler things of life, and he was afraid they would devour me. And nearly they did.

There was an immediate shift in the atmosphere when I entered the room. The moment I crossed those doors, it was as if they collectively decided to hate me. Well, hate is a strong word, it was more of a strong annoyance. I was an aberrant; the piece of the puzzle that didn't quite fit no matter how you tried to squeeze it in. So I sat at a table with people I had only heard about from my mother's gossip. I introduced myself, and that was all I brought to the conversation. The others continued talking about men and politics (mostly men). When they discussed the prince, I decided my stay was overdue. l excused myself and swiftly made my escape.

Knowing where I would end up if I found my mother, I sought comfort in the one place I could call home in a foreign territory, the library. I wouldn't say I'm a reader, but I prefer them to humans. And I say humans for a reason. If you think for a second that I would rather speak to a human than a dog (or myself, for that matter), you're terribly mistaken.

Although, they're not very different at times.

I found a lovely spot close to an open window. It was secluded with the perfect amount of ambient light. I sat on a chair, leaned back, and closed my eyes. Finally, I felt myself relaxing since I left. It had been almost two weeks since we left our meagre city for the capital of gout, or at least that's what the common folk called it. They aren't entirely wrong. The king is pudgy enough to feed an army of a thousand men, and his wife could use some tapeworms to shed a few hundred pounds. But, I digress. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I attest that half the women of this kingdom are blind.

"You're new."

I was hardly startled when the prince first approached me. His face was plain, and at the time, he hid the start of a receding hairline under his hat and some fake hair. He was hardly taller than a woman in short heels, and his physique was unlike any tree I had ever seen. His clothes were extravagant as you'd expect, leaving him with one redeeming quality: his gentle heart.

"My name is Lionel Illsley."

I bowed in a deep curtsy until he ushered me to my feet. "Do you not feel faint?" he asked.

"No, Your Majesty."

He looked genuinely confused. "Are you not laced?" he asked. But as he realized his question, he flushed. "Apologies, that was improper of me to ask."

"Would my honesty be inappropriate?" I replied. He blushed redder than his father's inflamed toe. "There are certain things you shouldn't reveal to those with whom you have no relation."

"Then I will hold my silence." He breathed in relief and pulled a chair to my side. He asked questions, and I simply answered them. He urged me to speak, but I said very little. I didn't want to say much, either. Attention from the royal family was the last thing I wanted.