"As soon as you believe you are a monster is when you become one."
After many years of war, the kingdom of Edria is finally in an era of peace--peace obtained by one thing and one thing only.
A deal.
King Regol has made a deal with the devil, or r...
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The days passed quickly in the castle. Soon, the warm afternoons had gone, fading into the days where leaves would fall from the trees. Then, those days morphed into chilly days where each tree was mainly a large stick, with no leaves on to cover it. Everything was dreary looking from the outside. On the inside, things were the opposite.
Lizaveta and I days spent our days aggravating each other, but in a teasing way. She finally taught me a few letters and their sounds so I could read very simple books. I taught her more magic spells and better technique when she used the power. Her fighting had gotten beautiful. Watching the swords swing wildly around her head was like watching a ribbon dancer dance.
Except the ribbons were made of steel and sharp.
Everything we did, I only had one feeling that stayed with me.
It was happiness.
And that wasn't good.
The curse strictly said "No emotion without consequence." Happiness was an emotion. Everything I was feeling was an emotion. They were strong emotions.
And the consequences were already noticeable.
There were no more outer changes since the day my teeth became pointy. Nothing physical. But mental changes--they were there.
And they were not good.
The "beast" part of me, the part that always wanted out was fueled on by emotion. So, the starved little creature that stayed locked away in the back of my mind finally had some nourishment.
It thrived.
Every second of every day, I had to fight it. I had to manage my emotions enough that I could feel, but I couldn't feel too much. If I felt too much, it would get loose.
It spoke to me, too. The day I told Lizaveta my name, it made its voice known. It hadn't stopped. It would keep on talking.
And talking.
And talking.
Never ceasing. They say monsters don't sleep; that's false. I was a monster. I slept.
Emphasis on slept.
Once it started speaking, sleep was not a luxury. Sleep became something I couldn't do. Sleep became a war zone in my head, with me fighting against the creature, battling it out for control.
And then he'd start talking.
And never. shutting. up.
"Brennen!"
I didn't respond. Brennen?
"Brennen, come on! Let's go outside!"
Stupid. Brennen is you.
Over the four months that had passed since I told Lizaveta my name, the title "Brennen" was still unfamiliar. It was foreign to me.
"Outside? Why do you want to go outside now?" I cried. Isn't it morning?
