Well, random one-shot inspiration time Yay. Am I the only one who thinks the song Viva la Vida fits Husky nearly perfectly? This is only my second ever attempt at first person POV, so I hope it's not that bad. Huh, I wonder if anyone who hasn't read the entire series will accuse me of posting my story in the wrong section just from the summery. Not that I blame them, they certainly have every right to be mad about how cluttered the section is.

This takes place right before the group gets to Sandra in chapter 25, book 5. Although it has spoilers for books seven and eight as well. Hope you enjoy and please read and review.

Honest Words

"Husky, how long till the food's done?" I hear Cooro ask from across the fire. I can barely resist rolling my eyes at the question. Sure, it had been several hours since any of us ate, and it was getting kind of late, but he still didn't have any reason to ask me.

"How should I know? Ask Senri, he's the one cooking," I tell him, and he actually seems to get the picture, quickly turning to the cook instead. I didn't hear the answer though, but maybe Senri didn't actually answer out loud anyway, it wouldn't surprise me. Instead I just kind of stare at the fire and try to block the others out. They're always so loud, except for Senri of course, when we first started traveling together it was nearly impossible, but after a while I guess you just get used to it.

"-usky, you in there? Husky, food's done," I mentally curse myself for jutting up so suddenly when I noticed Nana placing a plate of food in front of my face. I can barely see it through all the spots glittering through my vision, although I just ignore them and grab the plate from her without saying anything. Spacing out while staring at a fire. Not one of my best ideas.

"Hey, is everything alright? You've been kind of out of it lately," Nana asked after I started eating. She's always trying to pry into other people's business, not that I expected anything different. Sometimes I wonder why I ever let myself travel with a girl in the first place.

"No I haven't," I tell her, which is true. I haven't been out of it, at least no more then usual, I think, and even if I was, it's none of her business. She's already rolling her eyes though, and I can just tell this is going to end in another fight. It's starting to get pretty dark though, and we're in the woods, so at least if I need to leave I know she wont follow me.

"Don't lie. Cooro, hasn't he been all spacey lately?" of course she'd bring Cooro into this. I don't get what her problem is. So what if I've been thinking a lot lately, it's not like we don't all have our moments. From the look in Cooro's eye though, it seems like he'd going to agree with her. Just my luck.

"It is true, you have seemed kind of off. Is everything okay?" he asks, and I just roll my eyes, which only have a few lingering spots of distorted color left.

"Yes, everything's fine," I mumbled a bit more then I liked, and stood up, leaving my plate on the ground. I'm not really hungry anyway. I can hear all three stand up and start to follow behind me as I start towards the edge of the clearing.

"Husky, what's wrong?" Nana asked. What was that, the third time I was asked in the last three minutes? There's nothing wrong with me.

"Nothing, I'm going for a walk," they're not following me anymore, but they're still standing. Soon enough I'm out of the little clearing we decided to settle in and can no longer feel their gaze on my back. As long as no one decides to try and follow me from the shadows it should be fine.

I can kind of get why Nana doesn't like forest at night, even without what happened to her. They aren't exactly the most comforting place in the world. It's not yet pitch black though, and I'm not going to stay out long enough for it to get that way, I just need some time away from the fires, and the others.

Why do they think something's wrong with me anyway? Th's not. I haven't been distracted lately. Urg, even when she's not here that stupid girl wont leave me alone, her 'don't lie' echoing through my head like she personally decided to be my conscious for the night. I'm not lying though. At least I don't think I am.

"Ahhhh!" What the hell?… I'm an idiot… Stupid, stupid pond! How'd I even manage to fall in? …maybe I have been a little out of it.

This is just great, now I'm soaking wet and Cooro and Nana are definitely going to ask why. Whatever, I'll just stay here for a little while. Damn, that wind is cold. Maybe I should take off my cloak, it's not exactly keeping me warm at this point. That's a little better, I guess.

Hmm, it's not that cold when you lay down. I guess it's because the wind isn't hitting you that much. It's weird, the sky here always looks a little different then the sky in Sailand. Sailand… Okay, maybe that's what's been bothering me lately. We're getting pretty close to the border. I could probably head back soon, if I wanted to. I couldn't take the others, but they'd get over it. It would be for there own good anyway.

It's pretty dark, I should head back soon. I really don't feel like getting up though. Maybe five more minutes…

Myrrha pulled himself out of the ocean, quickly changing his fishtail back into legs. He still couldn't get used to that. He was an anima… and now he was in Asteria. At least, he thinks he is, although it was hard to tell without a map and any clear idea exactly how far he'd swam. He'd definitely gone by the mountain ridge though, so he should be out of the Sailand.

Out of Sailand… and he couldn't go back either. Not if he didn't want to become a slave, that is. Standing up, the silver boy tried to dust a bit of the sand off his clothes. He'd have to get new ones if he wasn't going to stand out. Taking a deep breath, he started away from the beach. This was it. He could do this, and he could do it alone.

It was almost sunrise by the time the boy made it into town. Only a few people were up at this hour, although he was very aware of the odd glances they gave him. He needed new clothes, but he didn't have any sort of money.

It was definitely strange. That was the first time the boy had ever had to think about money. He almost felt ashamed of his previous privileges, but quickly pushed those thoughts to the back of his head. He could deal with them later, right now he needed to find a way to blend in.

He supposed he could always just steal the clothes, and tried to ignore the bad taste the thought left in his mouth. Royalty shouldn't steal. He quickly told himself he wasn't royalty anymore.

Finding an unwatched clothes line, he pulled off a simple brown shirt and pants. He hated wearing brown, but right now he was in no position to be picky. Leaving the yard as fast as he could, he changed from his obviously Sailandic clothes into the Asterian outfit. They were both at least two sizes too big on the skinny boy, and he had to use a sash from his old clothes to keep the pants from falling down, but it was better then nothing. Taking the rest of his old outfit, he buried it by the base of a large tree. It wasn't like he'd need it anymore.

Standing up, he decided to make his way away from the town. He was hungry and couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten, but if someone recognized the clothes he had on as stolen he'd get in even more trouble. He wasn't dumb enough to try and find anything edible in the forest though. Sure, he knew a good deal about what plants were poisonous in Sailand, but he hadn't a clue when it came to these.

It was maybe a day later when Myrrha reached another town. He needed food. The silver boy had never gone so long without any before. He hadn't the first clue on how to steal something when someone was watching though, the clothes had been just luck.

Reaching a marketplace, his hopes became even more dashed. There were so many people… There's no way no one would notice if he tried anything. He was just standing there and people tended to glance at him as they walked by.

The silver boy was continuing to think over his options of obtaining food before he starved when a group of boys stopped in front of him. He didn't notice at first, too caught up in his thoughts, but finally broke through when a tall one with dark brown hair began to talk.

"Hey there, what's your name?" he asked, and the skinny boy's brain froze. There was no way he could say Myrrha, it was so Sailandian it hurt. So instead he just stood there, gapping like an idiot, as if that was any less suspicious. Before he was able to spew out the first thing that came to his head, one of the other boys, a slightly shorter one with blonde hair, spoke up.

"C'mon cutie, no need to be shy," he said, and Myrrha's look of worry was immediately replaced with one of anger. As if he didn't have to deal with this enough from Keane and the others, now it was people he didn't even know. Without thinking he punched the blonde hard enough to send him flying back, his two friends just barely managing to catch him.

"I'm a boy!" he yelled, stomping away from the three as they stood in shock at the sudden change of events. The silver haired boy was fuming as he walked aimlessly through town, his hunger temporarily forgotten. He positively, absolutely hated girls! The queens and princesses back home were always so petty and angry! They were rude and annoying and, and…

The silver boy trailed off of his mental tirade as he realized that he'd somehow made his way back to the ocean. Maybe he could give fishing a try… Then he wouldn't have to steal and not accidentally poison himself either. Glancing around to make sure he was alone, he leaped into the water during his transformation.

The water engulfed him from all sides, and it was hard to keep the panic from setting in. He just had to tell himself it was alright. He could breath now. There was no way for him to drown anymore. Once he'd successfully calmed himself down he started swimming out towards the deeper parts of the ocean, not entirely sure about the first thing he could do to catch a fish. Wouldn't they just run away from him?

After maybe an hour of pointlessly chasing fish around, the silver boy caught sight of what looked like a school of fish up ahead. If it was an entire school, then there was no way they could all run off, right? Okay, maybe they could, but it was worth a try.

Swimming into the middle of the swarm he'd actually managed to get a hold of one, only for it to swim right out of his grip… what in the world was he doing trying to grab fish with his bare hands under water for over an hour…? Shaking his head, he decided to just give it up already and turned around to head back to shore.

What the hell was this? The skinny boy started pulling at what looked like a net in front of him. Okay, it was a net. No need to panic, just keep swimming along the edge until you reach the end. It didn't take him very long to realize that the net was in the shape of a circle. Okay, this was not good. Looking up, he saw the boat that the net was attached to, looking down he saw nothing but panicking fish.

Oh shit, oh shit, the net was rising. The stupid net's rising! Don't panic, don't panic. There had to be some way out, he can't just freak like all those brainless fishes. Those fishes definitely weren't helping though. He could barely think straight as they started closing in on him.

Breaking through from the water, he tried to get closer to the edge of the net. Maybe he could jump overboard once they lowered it. After what seemed like an eternity in the air being crushed by slimy fish, they were pulled over onto the deck of the ship. Before he had time to change back he could hear people yelling. Shit, they had to of saw him. Looking up, the last thing he saw was a rather large man standing in front of him, a wooden oar raised above his head.

How'd he get into these situations? When he woke up he was trapped in some sort of jar filled with water, and then he was sold to some circus. As if it could get anymore cliché. That had all happened yesterday. Right now he was sitting in front of the ring master, rubbing his ears absently. Bastard had taken the earrings off when he slept last night. Damn it…

"So, why don't you tell me your name," the man said, and Myrrha just continued to glare at him, partly because he was pissed and didn't want to tell him anything, and partly because he still hadn't thought of a fake name. He actually hadn't said a word to the man yet, not even after the repeated mistakes of thinking he was a girl.

The ringmaster didn't seem all that upset though, continuing to walk around the room in front of him, an arrogant smirk on his lips. "C'mon now, my little mermaid, it'll be best if you just corporate with us," he said, but the silver boy only glared harder. The man had already told him all about his 'mermaid princess' idea for his show. Needless to say he was absolutely sicken. There was no way he would do something so degrading.

The ringmaster started messing with the necklaces he was wearing, the one Myrrha knew had his earrings inside. "Well, if you're going to be like that, why I don't I just give you a new name? How do you like Sapphire?" that was it. He wasn't going to give him his real name, but he wasn't about to be openly mocked either. Instead, he went with the first name that came to his head.

"Husky," he nearly growled, earning the older man's attention almost immediately. He had no idea why he'd decided to go with that name. It was something Keane had thought up as an insult, but it really had stuck around the palace.

"Now what was that? I didn't quite hear you," he asked, an amused tone to his voice, and the silver boy had to use all of his control to keep himself from attacking the man then and there. Not even his brothers had managed to piss him off this much.

"Husky," he repeated, "my name is Husky and I am a boy," he spat, the second part of his statement clearly shocking the ringmaster quite a bit, who coughed awkwardly in an attempt to recover himself, nodding several times.

"Why of course you're a boy. Well then, Husky, I don't think there should be any reason to change my plans," he said, looking him up and down as if he still couldn't believe he was male, "Just to be safe though, I think we'll buy a wig to go along with your costume," Myrrha's knuckles were turning white from the pressure he was putting into his fist. There was no way he could do this. No way in hell.

His eyes fell back onto the pendant holding his earrings. He should just leave them. He'd already gotten rid of everything else that connected him to Sailand, why couldn't he abandon those stupid pieces of jewelry as well?

The ring master smirked as he walked up to the silver haired boy, who couldn't help but wonder what the point was of coming to Asteria if he was just going to become a slave anyway? The older man placed his hands on his boney shoulders as he looked down at him, Myrrha meeting his gaze with a fierce glare. "I'm glad you see it my way, boy."

He'd been in the circus for maybe three months now. It was absolute torture. No matter what he did though, he couldn't find a way to get his jewels away from that grubby old man so he could leave. One thing he could be thankful for was that no one doubted he was anyone but Husky, the fish +anima playing mermaid princess without a family or background. Even his accent went mostly unnoticed, not that he spoke with many of the other workers much anyway.

Placing the wig on his head, he scowled into the dirty mirror as he got ready for yet another performance. There had to be a way out of here, and as soon as he found it he'd take it without a second thought. Slavery was the whole reason he left Sailand.

He told himself all the time that all he had to do was be patient and something would happen, but he was starting to lose it. If that something didn't happen soon, then he was going to take matters into his own hands.

"Husky! Husky wake up!" Urg, what in the world? What's got Cooro all worked up? Opening my eyes, Cooro, Nana and Senri were all standing over me. What the? I sat up as fast as I could and looked around. Did something happen? Where are we anyway, I can't even remember falling asleep.

"What happened? You left and didn't come back for hours. We're you trying to worry us?" Nana yelled in my ear. Wait, left? Oh yeah… I went for a walk after dinner, and fell in a pond. Then I apparently fell asleep. Whoops…

"I uhh… fell asleep?" Okay, that was pretty weak, and Nana looks pissed and Cooro and Senri worried. Forget about staring at fires, this definitely beat that.

"You're okay though, right?" Cooro asked me as I stood up, and I nodded at him. The moon's pretty high up, how long had I been out?

"Yeah, I'm fine, let's just get back to camp," I grumbled, already walking in the direction of the clearing. The others just follow me, not saying anything thankfully. Hmm, that dream I had was kind of strange. Okay, so maybe a lot of the dreams I have tend to be of things that have actually happened to me, but it's not usually that part of my life. I hadn't thought about that part hardly at all lately.

The last instance of the dream had been the day I'd met Cooro and finally started to put into motion getting out of that hellhole.

Towards the west it was still completely dark, but the mountains that separated Sailand from Asteria were right at the edge of the horizon. It didn't make any sense. Why can't I just let it go? I could never go back forever, so why even for a little bit? I should just be happy with what I have, I guess, but that stupid tug wont let me get those mountains out of my head.

We finally reach the clearing and the others start making their beds. I guess they're tired after waiting for me to come back then having to go looking. Nana placed my cloak down on one of the logs in the clearing. Whoops, I almost left it by the pond.

I decide to just lay down and go back to sleep. I can tell the others want to know what in the world all that had been about, but I can't tell them if I'm not even sure what it is. Besides, I wont be here much longer, with the mountains coming closer and closer. They can't come with me, and they don't even know who I am, really, so why should it matter.

It's not like I could ever tell them, since they never noticed anything odd besides the fact that I have expensive earrings. Like that would be enough to prepare them for the truth. They didn't even notice I had an accent either, and I talked to them way more than anyone at the circus.

None of it would matter, so I should just go to sleep. One last thought rang through my head before I finally dozed off, something I guess I would like to tell my friends, but I know I never will. They wont even be my friends once I have to leave, so I shouldn't even worry about that, and instead just hope it manages to stay out of my dreams instead.

Hello, my name is Myrrha, crowned prince of Sailand, and I used to rule the world.