The Story of The Prince

Chapter 4: Tears From The Past

*TRIGGER WARNING: CHILD ABUSE*

It was cold.

Kyl couldn't feel a shimmer of hope. Was this it? He had nothing anymore, no way of survival. 'Good job Kyl.. You messed up again.. As always..' Kyl thought.
That was the last thought he had, before he had passed out in the dark alley.

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'Kylian! Go to the store for me!' a voice barked at him. It was his mother.
'Okay mom..' Kyl said. 'what do I need to get?' he asked. He was used to his mother making him do these kind of things.
He didn't mind though, helping out made him feel useful.

'Just get me some food.. And some dinner for yourself while you're at it. I'll be out of town tonight, so you're gonna have to make your own dinner.' she said without paying much attention to him.

This wouldn't be the first time his mother would leave him unattended at home.
She was out doing who knows what almost every week, and with no father in the picture, there wasn't really anyone taking care of Kyl when she was out.

'What kind of food do you want..?' Kyl asked, wanting to please his mother.
'I don't care just get out and go to the store! I have to get ready for tonight!' his mother yelled at him.

Kyl remained quiet and took the money she had put aside for the groceries. 'And don't take too long! I have a busy schedule, so I don't have time to wait for you.' he heard his mom say as he headed outside.

It wasn't a long trip to the store.
He just had to walk for about 10 minutes and he had arrived. In the store he bought some small ready meals for him and his mom. 'This should do..' he thought.

When Kyl returned home he put the shopping bag with groceries on the counter and headed towards his room.
He hadn't even sat down yet before he heard yelling from downstairs.

'KYLIAN FERDINAND CARPENTER!!!' his mom yelled. 'What the hell is this?!'
It was never a good sign when she yelled his full name.
Kyl quickly came downstairs and walked into the kitchen. 'Why would you even take this stuff with you?! It's disgusting!' she continued. 'This is not what I asked for!'

'B- but you said you didn't..' Kyl stammered. 'You know what I meant! You had one job and you messed it up as always!' she barked at him.

Kyl already knew what came next. His mother raised his hand, and hit him.
Then she did it again, and again, until Kyl started crying.
His mother grabbed his face and clenched it in her hand. Kyl felt his teeth press against the inside of his mouth.
She often did this. He still had some small dents inside of his mouth from the last few times.

'Don't cry. Suck it up.' she said.
Kyl tried to, but the tears just kept streaming. His mom repeated her words, this time with a louder voice.
Kyl didn't like crying. Crying only made things worse for him. 'Crying is bad.' he thought.
That thought would stick with him for a very long time.

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Kyl slowly opened his eyes. He didn't recognize where he was. As he looked up he saw a ceiling. He wasn't in the alley anymore.

A million thoughts crossed his mind.
He thought the entire trip could've been one big dream, that he would hear his mom yell his name to do stuff for her any moment now.
But this wasn't his house, it looked much warmer in here.

He looked down at himself and noticed that he was wearing clean clothes. They were much too big for him, but they were comfy.
As he remained quiet he heard the sounds of a crackling fireplace not far from him.
It was soothing.. He felt safe.

Then he noticed someone was standing in the door opening.

'I see you're finally awake kid.'