Serpent in Shackles

Chapter Eleven

The Shadow Knight sauntered down the city street and I kept stride beside him. The rest of the team strolled closely behind us.

The windowed shop fronts gave the monsters passing by a clear view of the items for sale inside, even with the paintings and signs plastered across some of them.

Bright, healthy flower baskets hung down from the second floor balconies on some of the buildings. The restaurants and cafes were packed with monsters smiling and laughing. Waiters busted across the patios dashing from table to table with food and drinks. And children played in the streets.

I thought of how beautiful the place would look at night when the area faded into a light pink as the sun retreated in the sky and the street was lit by the warm light radiating out of the shop windows.

I rubbed my eyes just to be sure that I wasn't seeing things. But when I opened my eyes, it was all still there. A Kingdom I never knew existed.

Monsters I thought were parts of fairy tales, existed.

No one recognised me. No one pretended to be friendly with me because of my title. Nobody scowled at me or called me names. Everyone went about their day as usual. And so did I.

Free.

I was free. To be able to walk down the street and simply enjoy the feeling of the sun kissing my face.

For the Shadow Knight, on the other hand, it was a different story. Nodding. Smiling. Waving. Even some spoke to him. Their reactions told me that his reputation was to be believed.

A few feet ahead, a soccer ball rolled across the street, dipping down the slight curve of the street toward me. I stopped the ball between my foot and the stone, glancing around for a monster to be chasing after it.

Sure enough, a young boy far off in the distance sprinted toward me. I crouched down to grab the ball for him.

But when I looked up at the boy, a gasp escaped my lips as I stumbled back. Half his face was normal like a human boy, the other half of his face red and burned like he had been pushed into a fire.

His eyes widened at me. A tear streamed down his cheek before he spun on his feet and sprinted back toward the direction he came from, shouting for his mom.

My heart shattered in my chest. The humans were taught to hate the monsters, but he was only an innocent boy. And I never wanted to hurt him.

I bit my lip, holding back my own tears as I clutched the ball in my fingers and stood to chase after him. I shifted on my feet to run, but a hand gripped my shoulder, fingertips digging into the bone, holding me back.

"Don't," the Shadow Knight said.

I scowled at him over the shoulder he still held tightly.

He shook his head, eyes flickering to where the boy disappeared down a side street.

My muscles groaned as I wrenched my shoulder from his grip and sprinted away.

The young boy and his family hovered outside a small flower shop, staring daggers at me as I caught up to them. All bearing the same style of face as the boy.

"I'm returning his soccer ball and I want to apologize," I said, crouching down in front of the boy. "I am truly sorry, you just startled me."

He ripped the ball from my hands. Tears poured from his puffy, red eyes. "You think I am hideous. My face scares you."

The scowl glaring down at me was enough to form a gleam of sweat on my skin.

"No. You are beautiful. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." The scarred skin was cold against my hand as I wiped the tears from his damaged cheek. Damaged, but still beautiful.