Inhumane | DISCONTINUED

My First Task is to Help Adrienne Kill Her Father.

Once upon a time, long, long ago, I, formerly called Osmund Heather, was happy. I had a Family who seemed to care about me. And I was the heir, thus carefully tended to.

Mother and father are erased from my memories, but I remember my elder sister very well – I just can't forget her at any cost – Leslie Heather.

My world began crumbling with the conquering of the Heather Kingdom.

"My King!" A maid gasped at the door and entered without knocking – such was the intensity of the matter. "The Hesper Family has attacked!"

"What?" My Father was very furious, I believe. As I mentioned, I barely recall my parents, but breaking a Treaty and attacking a neighboring Kingdom without any basis, as always assumed— "The Hesper Family truly consists of Witches! That Family rears evil girls!"

They never investigated any mistakes they themselves might have caused, given the widespread rumor about the cleansing of several Kingdoms completely by the Female Descendants of the Hesper Family.

It was said that every hundred years, a girl born to that Family would exhibit such wickedness that there would barely be any survivors, especially in that Kingdom.

I, a young lad of five who had just begun holding the sword, was rushed away with my Nanny to hide inside the secret passages every Palace had.

And I was put out of sight. For a long time. Until the walls crumbled, the bricks killing even my Nanny who passed away protecting me.

I stumbled away, shivering due to how her head had smashed, splattering blood everywhere.

I had finally learnt of 'sorrow', something that was never allowed into the Palace.

Then I spotted a familiar face.

Sister!

I screamed and ran towards her, tears in my eyes. She held me – reliving me greatly. Then she began walking towards an exit, where light was spilling out through the cracks and...

...She gave me to the Witch.

"Spare me in exchange of a Male, Lady Adrienne," she said, lowering her head.

"Sister?" I sobbed harder.

"Human?" a little girl beside the Witch Adrienne spoke.

"Human," Adrienne assured.

"Food?"

"No."

"No tasty?"

"Humans taste disgusting."

My sister retched due to the apparent confirmation that Adrienne had indeed tasted human flesh.

And I was scared. "Mommy," I cried out. "Daddy..."

Adrienne held out her hands, beckoning Leslie to hand me over.

"Why?" I asked, reaching out to Leslie desperately, but Adrienne allowed my Sister to escape.

"Because she was tired of being neglected just because she was a girl and would be married off someday – so that you can indirectly rule over more territories in the future. I gave her what she wanted. Freedom.

"Now then, dear Osmund, I don't know if you are aware or not, but I'm a Witch and I will allow you to live if you help me in my quest – you have to aid me when I kill my Father."

That's right.

Witch or not, females all over the world were tortured for being born into an undesirable sex.

And hence, I, a boy, took on cooking, sewing and looking after children while Sister Adrienne protected the castle with a sword that had killed many, many people – the first being her Father.

We lived upon the hill, the Palace behind which the Moon hung at the lowest, the Palace whose the bridge overlooked the city, the Palace which is rumored to have been cursed even by Witches and Wizards.