prompted stories

Window to the Soul

"In this world, everyone has either red or purple eyes, anyone having any other color than that is given to the golden eyed king. And you are born with black eyes."

I remember my mother saying they were dark purple. Very dark. So dark they seemed to have no colour at all. We got by, living quietly, and sometimes, in the night, she'd confess to me she didn't think they were really purple. I used to stare into her light lilac eyes, my favorite colour, wipe away her tears as they disturbed her makeup. I used to wish for her eyes, so I didn't feel the need to explain mine. So people didn't think I needed to go to the King. Sometimes, I'd confess things to her, things that I felt or heard, and she'd make me feel safe. Sometimes all it would take was looking into her eyes, and she'd make me feel safe. We only needed each other, sat on the bed, brushing each other's hair into plaits and she'd teach me tricks with makeup to make my eyes look bigger.

My last day with my mother seemed like the others we'd had before. At school, we'd been told to call the King's Guard if anyone had any different coloured eyes, no different than any other weekly telling - but I felt the teacher's eyes meet mine for a second, before she'd looked away guiltily. We sat in her bedroom, my mother's makeup spilling down her cheeks again, before the knock at the door. My mother never had anyone come over to our little apartment when I was home, so while she shook on the bed, I got up to answer the door. I don't remember that time, just what I felt and glimpses into what might have happened. I remember opening the door, surprise, I remember my mother trying to shut it, curiosity, her makeup on her clothes and her cheeks, worry, darkness. That's it. That's all I remember.

When I woke up, I was wrapped in a gold silk blanket. I knew from this alone where I was. I was in the Castle, wrapped up in a silk blanket. I could only remember what I told you, only what I knew. I buried my face into the smooth blanket, trying to remember my mother's eyes and the safety they would bring. I could see a glimmer of the lilac, if I pressed my hands into my eyes, and that made me feel better. I dropped the blanket from my face and looked around the room. It was light, but not the kind of light like we had at the apartment. It was the kind of light that had nothing behind it, that was just light for the sake of being light, with no darkness anywhere. The room was empty and big, decorated in yellow and pastel orange. It looked so different to the different colours of the apartment. I still remember what I decorated my room with, painting it a light lilac - not quite the shade of lilac my mother had, but close enough - while my mother decorated in white and green. Our apartment was stuffed full with all of the things we needed and some things that we didn't. The room in front of me had nothing but a bed in it, even though my room at the apartment could fit into it twice with more room to spare.

After a while, I decided to get up and see what was actually in the room. I ran my fingers over the guilding on the wall. There was no door, and no handle, on any of the walls. To the left of the bed there were two windows that lifted up to the ceiling, reaching up to where I couldn't reach, even on a chair - which meant it was higher than my ceiling at the apartment. The windows showed the garden outside, all the trees, and just over the wall at the end. I could see the tops of the buildings as they peeked over that wall, as if they were saying hello or goodbye to me. Nobody knew what happened to people who had different eyes like I did, which meant I didn't know if they should be saying goodbye. My mother could be just over that wall, but nobody would help her look for me. There hadn't been somebody with different eyes for decades. Until me, of course.

I looked out the windows, leaning back into the guilding on the wall. I couldn't think what might have happened then, because I was worried for my mother. As I leant back, the wall swung away. It was a hidden door, I realised, falling through it. The floor on the other side was different, as instead of the light wood planks there were tiles. I noticed the intricate details on them, showing how much time it must have taken for a painter to paint all of them. The wall was just as intricately papered with gold, as I walked out of the room. The door, which had it's handle hidden in the guilding, didn't hide the handle on the outside. It might be useful if I need to get back into the room, I thought.

I crept around many corners, trying to find a way out. I kept track of where I was by taking the first turning I could. There was nobody around for me to avoid, but I still kept moving. Then, I took a wrong turn and ended up in the throne room. There were many people there, which meant I was spotted immediately. Even though I turned and ran, they still caught me and dragged me before the King, who looked down at me from his throne. "Leave us." He commanded, and all of the people who were with us turned and went through more hidden doors.

"So," said the King, as he descended from the throne. I stood, begging my legs to move and run away and save me from whatever cruel fate I was about to experience. The King stood in front of me, on the same floor as me. He looked at me, his golden eyes peircing into my black ones. "You should have been here sooner."

It sounded like a question, but I said nothing, worried if I said the wrong thing, I wouldn't see my mother again. I wouldn't see her again regardless, possibly, but I didn't want to confirm my fate just yet. The King smiled at me, as if he had been expecting this response. "You look like your mother." He raises his hand to touch my face. "Except... your eyes. They look like my sister's." He nodded at the words, as if everything made sense to him, even though it made no sense to me. His hand felt warm, and like anything but the King's hand. He pulled away.

I most likely had a confused expression on my face, so the King turns back towards me, taking my hand rather than my face. I felt small next to him, like he towered over everyone. I followed as he lead me to another secret door behind his throne. This one had a keyhole instead of a hidden gilded handle. He took a key out of his pocket, and put it in so it became the handle. The door opened, and revealed a smaller room. He turned to me, explaining things as we walked into the center of the room. Eye colour meant different things in the world. Red or purple meant that people were good workers, green meant they were explorers, orange meant that they were thinkers. some colours could only be seen in men, and some in only women. Gold only appeared in men, as they were meant to rule. Black appeared in women, like my eyes.

I asked him what they meant, and he pointed me to the far corner, to a shadowy area where there wasn't any light. I walked towards it, and the darkness seemed to engulf me. I turned back towards the King. "Welcome home, daughter." He said, swinging the door shut. The darkness stretched before me, reaching for the gold in his robes. The lock turned in the door, and I heard him whisper through the door, "black means you set out to kill the King."

I leant against the door, but no luck came to me that time. Then I heard someone laughing, and I felt like I could do what he was afraid I would. I reached out in the darkness, and a hand took mine. "Black eyes." A soft voice crooned through the darkness. "Like mine." The hand felt its way up my arm, along my shoulder, and up to my cheek. "We can do it if you want it to be so," the voice inquires gently, "but only if you want to."

I reached out and followed the same path up to the speaker's cheek. "What happens if I do?" I ask to where I know she is.

"We go out." She replies simply, taking my hand off of her cheek and putting a key into my palm.

I turn and feel the keyhole. I put the key in. "I'm ready." I say.

[1512 words, 7th June 2021]