His Prophecy

VIII

⚠️ TW: SA against a child

~10 years earlier~

"Ok, count to 60, and then come find us," Atti says to Evangelos in between spouts of giggles.

We're playing in the halls of the palace, as we've done countless times before, while Evangelos' father and mine are in some important meeting.

"And no peeking!" I add, fake shoving Evangelos while remembering how he cheated the last time.

"I would never!" He exclaims back, tugging on one of my braids that Mama put my hair in this morning.

"Ok hurry up and close your eyes. Actually, face the wall and close your eyes so Lia doesn't start crying," Atti moves the game along, always the one in charge, being the future King and all.

"Ugh, fine." Evangelos drags out the syllables in a whiny voice while fake glaring at me as he turns to face the gold-trimmed painting of a grape that is ornately hanging on the wall. "We all know Lia's gonna lose anyways, I don't even have to cheat," he adds while putting his hands over his eyes.

"Hey!" I pout, getting ready to argue with him, but Atti interrupts my complaint.

"E, just start counting already!" Atti exasperates with annoyance.

After giggling to himself, Evangelos starts droning out a countdown until he comes looking for us. Both me and Atti start sprinting down the hallway that leads to the bedrooms, but Atti shoves me away from him.

"Stop following me, Lia! You're gonna make me get caught!" He whisper-yells at me.

"No I won't!" I whine back, louder than I should considering Evangelos isn't that far away.

"Yes, you will! You always get caught. Go away!" Atti shoves me again and I almost lose my balance on the smooth marble flooring in just my socks. Tears fill my eyes as I go to hit my stupid brother but he just grabs my wrist and twists it.

"Ow, I'm telling Mom!" I cry, but he just rolls his eyes.

"Go ahead and do that. I'll be too busy winning the game," he smirks and sticks his tongue out at me, then sprints to wherever he was running before.

As tears fall down my face, I hear Evangelos finish counting.

"58...59...60! Here I come!" Luckily, it sounds like he's going the opposite direction from where we went, so I've still got time to find a hiding place. I'm now more determined than ever to beat Atti after he was being such a stupid jerk. But where would Evangelos not find me?

Suddenly, the perfect hiding spot manifests itself in my mind and I race down the hall, sliding along the floor more than running. Hair has come out of my two braids and I keep slipping on my bright blue knee-length sun dress. Servants give me weird looks as I pass, but I am too determined to care. I skid to a stop in front of huge oak doors that are triple my height. I try to push them open to no avail, garnering an abundance of sweat in the process.

Luckily a palace guard notices my struggle and pushes one of the doors open with ease, allowing me to slip in. I give him a toothy grin in return and continue on with my mission. I'm faced with countless rows upon rows of books and ornate woodwork, all lit by soft candlelight. Perfect! I doubt Evangelos even knows what a library is!

I move to the back of the huge room to search for a place to settle and hide - just in case Evangelos does manage to open the doors with those scrawny arms of his. As I round an isolated corner amongst piles of books, I see one of my father's councilmen lounging at a table with a book open in front of him. Despite the book, he's already looking directly at me when I come into view, and the eye contact elicits a weird feeling in my tummy.