Chapter 18

As Azure dug through the tiny metal box, memories resurfaced after being hidden in his mind for so long. He found a meager roll of gauze, the corners of it a rusty color, the telltale sign of dried blood. He found his needle, the horridly dull little thing he'd used to stitch himself up numerous times. His hands fell to his side, and suddenly he was back to how it all began…

Azure's abuse had begun before he could even remember. He had suffered a broken arm, his first injury by mistreatment, at only three months old. After that he was moved to a different part of the castle, sent to be taken care of by maids. He was safe from Moschef until…

Well until the King started to truly lose his mind.

After that, Azure was on his own…Yet, not entirely on his own.

Despite the challenges he faced every night, Azure had support from a girl he met and grew up with in his nursery. The daughter of a maid, and doomed to have the same profession all her life as well, little Katrina would sneak into Azure's room every night, helping him when no one else would.

And no one else could.

It was a Sky curse to have the mother die in childbirth…and the King always produced a son, which of course would go on to bear another son, and so on. Azure had lost his mother the second he was born, and grew up without ever knowing of her existence. Katrina filled that void, giving him the affection and maternal care he had never received. She was a year younger, but brave and wise beyond her years. She wasn't afraid of Moschef.

Not until the very end

-

Azure gripped the cloth at his side tightly, eyes closing and teeth clenching as more memories of pain enveloped his mind. He tried to hurry these ones along, for though they did not come often, the little episodes often left him with only half his mind. And he needed to be focused.

He remembered having to crawl up the stone stairways, already bloodied knees scraping along the lichen covered stone and he tried to hide somewhere and let himself heal. A child whose age had even reached the double digits, and already he gone through as much hardship as an adult…

Azure pinched the pointed side of the pin between his fingers, using the side with the hole to insert in the lock. He patiently prodded and poked, twisting, meticulously scraping at the tarnished metal inside. After nearly fifteen minutes of endless frustration, a flash a rage lit his eyes, and he crushed the lock in his hand, willing it to shatter, but knowing the solid metal would never give out. He slammed it against the headboard, releasing a whisper of a scream as he brought the lock down once again, this time the pin, still inserted, facing downwards so that it would be rammed inside the lock.

As the pointed needle stuck into the wood of the headboard, there was a meek little click beneath his fingers, and the lock popped open, releasing the chain.

He stared at the opened lock, panting as he listened to the clink of chains it noisily pooled at the side of the bed.

Suddenly, he pulled the rest of the chain through the brace at his ankle, unstringing it so that it no longer held him captive. The rusted shackle, which looked like it was unlocked by something different, would have to be left there. It wouldn't weigh him down too terribly,

he hoped.

He quickly rushed over to the girl, falling to his knees before her painfully when he realized the muscle relaxant still hadn't worn off. His lungs wouldn't seem to work as he searched her pockets, mostly there only for decoration and too small to contain much. He found another bottle of sedative, pocketing it with no intention of using it. Panic rising, he searched her body until at last he found the key to his door, stuffed down her bodice.

He stood slowly this time, pausing only for a moment to again look at his striking red eyes in the mirror.

He was the only person in the world who had red eyes. His father had them…but Moschef, or Coryn, most likely, had murdered him. Azure had felt nothing at the news at his father's death. He was must too busy

Escaping.

Azure's grandfather, whom died long before Azure was born, had red eyes. His ancestral line for two thousand years, all princes and kings, had red eyes.

And if Azure ever made it to that day, his son would have red eyes as well.

-

Stone passageways lit only by a sky that never grew brighter or darker, Azure fled down them with his mind clear, his memories steering him and the immense will to live pushing him to sprint yet make no noise. He felt weightless, almost like a shadow as he sped through room and room again, creeping around corners, hiding in the dark.

The castle was empty.

At last Azure stopped in a vast room that was familiar to him. His hand ached dully, but it was a good sign. He thought maybe his wrist had been broken, but already he could feel the tips of his fingers. Throwing caution to the wind, he slowly climbed a wooden staircase, sitting with his legs dangling through the railing at the top. He breathed through his nose as he began to bite at the bandages around his fractured wrist, unrolling them gently and finally baring the skin.

The bandages had kept the swelling down, and now it only looked like a green and yellowish stain upon his skin. Immediately his wrist began to throb, followed by a sharp, pulsing pain on top of it. He willed the full extent of the pain to appear on his skin, on top of the clammy shine of adrenaline and a few disturbed hairs. He slowly turned his wrist over, looking at the long, centimeter thick scar that ran from his palm all the way to the crease of his elbow, a shallow ridge that was surrounded by tiny suture scars. It was a permanent reminder of one of the times Moschef had tried to kill him.

He rested his head against the balcony rungs, sighing forcedly. He had to relax. He had to think. It always seemed to work when he came here, to this hall. The ceiling was made of stained glass, and the entire room was circular, all centering on a coffin in the center of the floor. A beautiful balcony was erected behind it, where Azure now perched, and beyond was the many empty rooms and quarters that had once belonged

to the queen.

Azure redressed his damaged wrist, and took a look at his new tattoo as well. The skin was red, but it no longer hurt. When he brushed his fingers over it, the skin tingled alive again. He remembered the malice he had witnessed in the eyes of everyone as they forced him to be still and tattooed his skin. It probably wouldn't have hurt nearly as much if Azure hadn't fought them…still, they were so emotional about what had happened to Eliya that not much mattered to them. And all Azure could think about was Lunik's sickening smile.

He stared down at his mother's grave, which was sealed with eight iron clasps. In his youth he had tried to open it, to see if she really did exist, but the permanent locks were secure and would be for another thousand years. His thoughts drifted from their emergent state to nearly nothing. He nodded off, not sleeping, but not fully conscious either.

A soft glow suddenly crept from behind him. A voice that was both in his head and echoing throughout the stone rooms room whispered,

"Are you dying Azure?"

Azure turned slowly, seeing Katrina just behind him, looking beautiful as ever.

"No. I guess not." She answered herself, eyeing Azure with dismay. "I thought you were finally going to join me."

"Kat…" Azure whispered, eyes widening. He stood, too quickly, and slumped back against the rail, using it to support himself.

Katrina rushed towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Her hair brushed his exposed neck as she looked down over him, her white, bloodless lips in a soft smile. Her hold was tight, and for a moment Azure believed she was actually alive. But he knew she had died. He saw her…

His heart seemed to slow and beat with more intensity, more passion. Katrina's skin was soft, and so real, and they had never been like this before, so close, he in her arms.

"Azure please…" She whispered, looking down into his eyes. "Won't you die?"

Suddenly Azure felt sick, and he collapsed dead weight, nearly pulling her down with him. He landed on his wrist and the pain sent him back to reality, to his senses. "Katrina!" He said, his voice wispy. "You're dead…and I cannot follow you. There is more I have to do here… I have to live…please…"

She stooped over him, taking him by his biceps, and suddenly with inhuman strength she lifted him to his feet and slammed him against the frail wooden railing, her face inches from his.

"I died for you!" She screamed, nails clawing there way to his back. "And you will do the same for me."

Her weight was crushing him from all sides, sucking his breath and scraping it's way down his back. He tried to shove her away, but she pushed him flat against the rail, making it splinter, making it crack, until at last it shattered and she shoved him over to fall, smirking at him as he plummeted a story below…