Chapter 21 - another conundrum

"Miss Mallory Please don't!"- a hand full of carefully painted claws grabbed the jaw of a struggling boy, nails digging into fair skin, ready to fade away into the many scars on the face of the child.

"That's "princess" Mallory!" The face was let go of and then slapped so harshly the quivering boy fell on his side. His body was much larger than the small girl who had hit him and continued to trample over him.

The girl wasn't mad at the boy exactly, but he worked well as a source of... reassurance. That even though nobody noticed her, and she had no power or social status, she could still do this much without being held accountable or at least until now.

"P-Please stop!"- the boy croaked just before a heel could stab his head.

She stopped. Almost froze.

Another pair of footsteps echoed in the room. Followed by a familiar click of tongue that made the boy sprawled on the ground relax.

Finally... Finally he didn't have to pretend to be hurt. Fake whimpers to appease the child throwing a tantrum.

"You always pick on Lance, don't you? Even though you know I hate it when you touch what isn't yours..." a voice, not quite that of an adults but more the voice of a growing boy. Hair as bright as the sun and eyes that glowed emerald, even in the dark room.

One didn't have to look twice to see the epitome of a perfect prince.

"V-Victor- h-he disrespected"- she started but shut up the moment the boy reached to unsheathe the blade in his belt.

Her legs began to shake.

He drew the sword. The glimmering long thing and glanced over the length. Calculating how long it would take to behead his foolish younger sister.

Once again he looked over her pitiful figure. No longer the confident child that trampled over his guard, who silently took her hits of humiliation. She dropped to her knees, as always, pitiful...

"B-Brother, please-please believe me"- her words were cut off when the boy grabbed her hair and holster her up with a glare that silenced her instantly.

"I haven't told you once. I've warned you many times, over and over", the grip on her hair became tighter and soon she whimpered, tears leaking from her corners, "nobody even knows you. Not father. Mother. Only me. And I could snap your little neck, hide your body. Nobody would know. Nobody would care".

He wanted to go on. To see her finally break. But the lack of denial seemed to make him uncomfortable. It was always like this. He could go on, but it wouldn't do much damage.

"Let this be the last time". He pushed her away and turned to Lance, who had already dusted up and was waiting for Victor to leave.

"Just hit her back next time Lance". He sighed at the boy who he had become quite close to.

Lance just smiled. Victor sighed again, knowing the boy would just repeat his behaviour again.

Mother had named Lance. It was a fitting a name for him, the blonde boy grimaced and made his way to his next class.

Mallory watched the two in spite. Long forgotten by them and left to herself in the dark room.

What were they?! Friends?!? What a fat load of shit!

She pushed her self off the ground in a fit of anger. Eyes glued to the back of Lance.

Next time. Next time I'll kill him.

She chuckled at her brother reaction to his death. She could imagine it. That bastard finally seeing some real pain.

———————-

"M-Mallory? Why are you spacing out here?"

I blinked back into reality. Looking to the concerned face that looked at me with questioning eyes. Those same green eyes. That same perfect hair...

Next to him, was an unemotional child. Blonde hair, much fairer than Victors and crystal blue eyes. He could be a fairy.

My stomach churned with nerves.

That scenario from the book did my nerves no good at all. And this situation isn't making this any better.

We were in the garden, told to get some fresh air as mother not so discreetly had what looked like a rather suspicious meeting with a strange man. He was in his mid-four ties probably and unlike most people had his eyes glued on me until mother had basically kicked us out. Well, whatever, that didn't matter right now.

What mattered was that I was now standing before the one person I had hoped to save and had done little to put my plans into motion. He was my failure. A result of my laziness.

"So what's your name?" Victor looked at the small, silent boy with bright green eyes full of curiosity.

The boy opened his mouth and then closed it. And then once more. And then again.

It seemed like he had a name in the back of his mind yet couldn't say it for some unknown reason. He opted to just shake his head.

"You don't have a name?" Victors eyes widened in disbelief and so did Edmunds.

"Then what did your mother call you?" He thoughtlessly asked and then realising his mistake he gasped.

The nameless boy looked at him with a face that couldn't careless and asked, "mother?"

"No sorry- forget about that!" Edmund waved his hands, face burning in embarrassment.

Well that's one way to lighten the mood.

I grimaced at the emotionless boy. How do I get him out of here? He couldn't turn into a crow and fly away. He was just a normal kid... and it wasn't like what was out there was better than what was happening here.

For now. Let's attempt a healthy relationship.

"My names Mallory!" I held my chubby hand out to him with a grin.

He stared at it with a sceptic brow, as if he wondered what exactly I was even doing.

Reluctantly, he pushed my hand away from him and just ignored me.

Woah... woah! Must be Mallory's super powers acting up again.... but to ignore me like that... I couldn't help but feel a bit hurt.

"I'm talking to you! Hey kid! Don't ignore me!"

And that did nothing...

Unbeknownst to me, Edmund noticed my turmoil and spoke up on my behalf.

"The princess is speaking to you", maybe it was the frightening aura the boy gave off but whatever it was it made the uninterested boy look up at him with peculiar eyes.

"Who are you?" He finally showed some interest in something.

Edmund seemed surprised at his interest and replied, "Edmund Arian".

"Arian, huh? No wonder... you don't look like a commoner servant", it was the most he said since arriving.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Edward raised a brow.

The boy didn't reply and instead seemed to look away with a gaze that revealed an age wiser beyond his years. In what might have been a coincidence we caught eyes. He stared hard at me, as if expecting me to break or something? Instead I stared back, wondering just what was going on in his mind.

He turned to Victor with that gaze. The boy on the receiving end didn't notice and was preoccupied with chasing a butterfly, he didn't hold his interest for much longer as he turned back to me with muddled face.

Something clearly bothered him, eyes darting between me and Victor as if he wasn't certain at what he was seeing and suddenly he spoke up.

"She isn't really a princess, is she?" He turned to Edmund with a disbelief.

"Of course she is".

What made him think I wasn't?

"How strange..."

"What is?" I asked curiously.

"You feel more like a commoner".

My eyes widened. How perceptive was this kid?

"How?" I asked before I could even think.

"I'm not sure. But usually I'm a good judge of things like this" he looked me up and down and shook his head, "must've just been a mistake".

It wasn't.

Lance's love story wasn't like the others. It was more of a secret adoration. Small snippets of dialogue that conveyed his love for the heroine.

It was sweet. The perfect break in between drama and attempted murders, but of course it revealed how he loathed himself. Which the heroine had unbeknownst to herself cured.

In all honesty he was a favourite. The sweet cinnamon roll I didn't want to see him endure the hardships the story had planned for him.

Gosh darn it!

So how do I save him?!