𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥 𖥸 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝘼𝙣𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙨

02 | Rusted Shackles

♥︎ — EDITED — ♥︎

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It had been only hours.

     She could still taste the blood from when she had bit that man. Now, as she stayed in that rustic cell, she couldn’t help but wonder why. Why was her life like this? Why was her brother dead? Why did she have to end up here of all places?

     Why was she always on the losing side of things?

     They called her Kyran, and by they she meant literally everyone she knew. It was the name she had chosen for herself. Her parents didn't have time to name her or her twin before they died, and so they had remained unnamed until they were four. Bryan had died when they were six.

     It was all her fault. If she hadn’t stolen the food so she could feed him, they wouldn't have slaughtered him to punish her for that crime. They wouldn't have shown her just how cruel the world could get.

     She wouldn't have lost the only person in the entire world who cared about her.

      Why was life so cruel?

     And now, she was here. Locked up in a cell with rusted shackles on her wrists to keep her from attacking anyone else who tried to come inside. She had no idea where her spirit animal was — the one man who had snake-like eyes had taken him.

     The man with the serpent's pupil, the one she was so familiar with — one she saw whenever she looked into the mirror for a split second.

     They wouldn’t kill him would they? No. She saw it in the man’s eyes that he had no intention of harming her spirit animal. But if they did, what would she do then? She’d have no one left. Sīdereus was truly her only light in life now. Even with only one of his deadly fangs, she loved him. His imperfections simply made it harder for him to get by. But he was her other half, just as her twin had been. To lose another half of her would be a death sentence. She’d lose herself. There would be nothing left to live for.

     He was her only anchor in this pathetic world she was fighting to survive within.

     It was unbearably cold down in the cell and Kyran wordlessly rubbed her arms in order to keep herself warm, still remaining in the corner she had chosen to stay in. She hadn’t moved from that spot, even when the guards had tried to shove her away. When they tried, she had bitten them. She had learned long ago that her teeth were the best weapon against other people, especially if she got a good grip.

     If she bit hard enough to draw blood, they’d drop her faster than she could blink. It was amusing honestly and she was glad she had at least one form of self defense.

     The chains rattled as she shivered from her place in the corner, awaiting the next person who tried to enter the cell. She’d learned that a few of the guards were afraid of her. They probably never had someone try to rebel against them.

     How pathetic.

     The last one who had come in nearly had to be dragged out. She heard them whisper that she was no less than a wild, rabid tiger, and she could not help but agree. Life on the streets was brutal, especially if one was a girl. She had learned to survive, and if survival meant she had to become little more than an unstable animal, so be it.

     At least she had one thing in her favor.

     No one had come to see her since she had been locked up, other than the guards who learned that coming into the enclosure of an angry tiger was far from smart. She was hungry, but took no notice. She was always hungry, always thirsty, and always, always, disappointed. It never failed. She had been taught to never expect anything less.