Author's Notes: Chapter beta-read by Moofy-Fan. Even if you say you didn't do much, it was a huge relief just to get your okay! Thanks again!
"Brother. Don't do this," said Lady Crystala firmly, speaking to her stubborn twin. For the first time in years, she was actually kneeling on the ground before her brother, in the manner of a lord pleading favor. Her head, however, was raised proudly, glaring warningly at her brother. "It's still Myrrha, no matter his form. Marein's child. Your son."
"I have no choice, Crystala!" retorted the king of Sailand angrily. He stood stiffly before her, though his eyes were staring hard at the wall behind his sister. "I have to make an example of him! Can you imagine what people will say if I make an exception?"
"Then abolish these stupid, inhumane laws! Let the +anima be free!"
"Ridiculous!" shouted the king, glaring at his sister but he quickly shifted his eyes back to the wall. His hands fisted at his sides. "I would be assassinated! Slavery is a time-honored tradition and a vital part of our economy! Besides, you should know very well how other countries treat +anima. At least he won't be slaughtered like some wild beast."
"He's. Your. Son." Crystala's words were spoken with a chilling strength behind them. A strength that had allowed her to leave the palace unharmed when so many sought to kill her, that had allowed her to attain a court standing equal to any lord's, and that forced others to tolerate her 'collecting' of abused slaves and runaway +anima into her caravan as she traveled the country.
"Not anymore. He's simply another palace slave, as all will know after the announcement." The king said, a note of finality in his tone that would have dismissed anyone else.
Lady Crystala angrily got to her feet and grabbed her brother's shoulder, forcing him to turn and look at her. They were of equal height and similar build, making it that much harder for the King of Sailand to remember his position. His sister's eyes glimmered with anger and disgust as her eyes locked with his.
"You know Myrrha will never be allowed to be a normal slave! He'll end up as someone's pet."
The king yanked himself free from his twin sister, from those disapproving eyes, and turned to leave. The politics involved would never allow him to free his son, would never allow him to make any sort of exception. And Myrrha's uncovering as a +anima had involved too many people to try cover this up or hide him away – the story was undoubtedly the hot topic in every corner of the castle and quickly spreading beyond.
His son was now a +anima, a slave to be treated as any other.
"He's going to be abused," said Crystala, her voice tense and cold. "You know it as well as I. The only protection he had before was his status and the safety of the harem. This country of yours is filled with monsters who prey on these poor +anima children, and Myrrha's past status as prince will only make him that much more of a prize. He'll be raped and tortured and broken."
The king said nothing. Could deny nothing. After several long, accusing minutes of silence, he sighed.
"Maybe you could… I mean, you're a slaveowner…"
"I travel," said Crystala succinctly. "In a caravan. I would take Myrrha under my wing in a heartbeat, but it would be impossible for me to protect him completely. I sometimes have a hard time keeping my own head attached."
"I could put him in the kitchens or something…"
"He'll only be sold by the palace steward to the highest bidder. Even if we subtract normal slaveowners from the equation, after your announcement tomorrow, you're going to have noblemen crawling out of the woodwork, bidding for the ownership of your son."
There was another long silence.
"I don't have a choice, Crystala," said the king finally, in a voice finally beginning to tremble with doubt. With the pain of losing a beloved son. With knowing he could do nothing to free his son from this fate, or even to try protect him. He swallowed.
"Marein will never talk to you again. Any relations you have with her from now on will be pathetically one-sided," said Crystala harshly, meaning the words to be cutting and cruel.
"I know… She was in here before you."
"I know, brother. I passed her as I came in. She was crying. Marein, the so-called ice queen, the silver princess, was crying."
The king seemed to wilt, but he did not raise his eyes to look at his twin sister. "I have no choice."
"You always have a choice!"
"No. I really don't this time. Please, Crystala… if you can…?"
Lady Crystala rubbed at her forehead in exasperation. "You know how the other nobles and slaveowners look down on the disgraced sister of the king! The woman they'd all been expecting to be killed as part of your coronation ceremony. Who was only let off on some silly superstition about the lives of twins being interwoven – or so you allowed everyone to think."
The king finally turned to look at her. And she could not look away from the expression on her twin's face. A look he hadn't shown since they were teenagers and their father had told them Crystala would have to be sacrificed to make his seat on the throne firm. Which only reminded her how much she owed her dear brother, her best friend, her twin. A man, a boy, who always tried so hard to be what others wanted of him. Never what he wanted for himself.
He spoke just three words to change his sister's heart.
"I love him."
Crystala's resolve not to let her brother push this onto her broke at that frank admission. He had finally admitted this was not just some random kid. That this was his son, his secret favorite, the only one out of all his children that could rightfully be called a good boy. The spitting image of the woman he had fallen madly in love with at first sight, but yet could never say as much, as his position had forced him into accepting so many other women. To making the one, the only one he actually wanted, into just one of many.
"FINE. I'll take ownership of Myrrha. I will fight to keep him as safe as possible. But don't you dare blame me when the inevitable happens."
She glared at her brother, hands fisting at her sides. She knew very well that, despite her best efforts, despite the best efforts of her most trusted companions in her caravan, they would not be able to protect her beloved nephew from every person wishing him harm. Just as she had failed at protecting so many pitiful +anima children in the past.
"I will be taking him tonight. I don't care about that disgusting tradition of the disgraced personage having to be present during his announcement, as an object to be insulted and jeered at. Farewell, brother. You'll never have to see Myrrha again, which is, of course, the perfect political solution to this scandal."
She turned with a whoosh of robes and strode haughtily out of the room, every inch the king's equal though she had nowhere near his power. Perhaps because she actually used the power she did have.
Lady Crystala went straight to the dungeons after leaving her brother. After all those years of visiting Myrrha and Marein in the harem, she certainly never would've dreamed of fetching Myrrha from the dungeon. The only comfort was knowing that the palace dungeons were usually empty and very clean, as usually criminals and disgraced officials were taken directly to the city prisons to await judgment.
That was poor comfort as she approached the only cell with a guard posted in front of it. The palace guard quickly dropped into a bow, and wordlessly handed over the keys when she held out her hand. She took them and dismissed the guard, not allowing him any sort of protest. Once he was out of earshot, she unlocked the barred door and approached the small sleeping figure, curled up in a corner of the cell.
"Myrrha," called Crystala gently, kneeling at his side. She lightly stroked her nephew's hair and patted his face. "Myrrha, you have to get up."
His beautiful light-blue eyes fluttered open and gazed for a moment at his aunt in incomprehension. He was cold and hurt all over. He was laying uncomfortably on hard rock and mortar. His wrists were shackled together in front of him.
"Aunty?" he whimpered, unsure of what was going on. Not wanting to face the flickers of memory trying to shove their way into his consciousness. The trembling in his voice, coupled with those big pleading eyes turned her way, absolutely begged her to explain that this was all some sort of misunderstanding. That everything was fine now.
Instead she unlocked the shackles, set them aside, and pulled him into a tight hug.
"It's true? I'm a +anima?" he whispered to her, not quite believing it himself.
"Yes," she said simply, holding him close.
They were silent for a long time. Myrrha whimpered and clung tighter to his aunt as he remembered suffocating, drowning, suddenly being able to breathe only to find he had turned into a +anima. Trying to escape, being grabbed, being trapped in a net and dumped out like a fish. His mother's shout, his father's dismissal, his struggles with the guards as he was hauled down here, shackled, and thrown into this cell…
It was all true. He was a +anima.
"I'm never going to see my mother again, am I?" he whispered hopelessly.
It didn't really need an answer. The question had been spoken in a purely rhetorical manner. But Crystala could not allow him to entertain dangerous hopes and wishes like that. Even if he lost his anima, he'd never be welcome in the palace again.
"No, Myrrha. You are not."
He started crying softly, clinging tightly to his aunt's robes. Even now, the proud little boy, so like his mother, tried to hide his face and get control of himself.
Crystala held him close and let him cry for a few minutes. She took the time to examine the ring of bruising around his throat. Her fingers then drifted from the bruising to the sharp black wavelike markings on either side of his neck. A fish +anima marking , and while not a common one, certainly one that would be recognized easily for what it was.
"What happened?" she finally asked.
"D… Dylana… She tried to kill me…" whispered Myrhha, sounding almost scared to accuse such a thing of one of the queens. Especially the crown prince's mother.
"Your mother suspected as much."
Husky looked up, eyes wide in surprise. He'd certainly never thought anyone would believe him, let alone have already figured the situation out on their own. If he'd succeeded in escaping, he would've kept the secret to his grave.
"Mother? Why would she…? And what…?"
Crystala smiled slightly, then sighed. "Nothing gets past your mother. And nothing happened to Dylana, of course." Her eyes narrowed in disgust. "That selfish, jealous old hag got off scot free. No one's going to look for the reason a child turned into a +anima. And no judge will ever condemn someone for a crime against a slave."
Many a time had Crystala been accused of being too blunt with children. But many a time had those same children returned years later and thanked her with tears in their eyes for preparing them to face reality.
"She's still out there?" the child whimpered, lifting his hands subconsciously to shield his throat.
The king's sister sighed deeply and took his hands in hers, lowering them back to his lap. Then she lifted his chin with one hand and gave him her best strict teacher look. It helped that she actually had been one of his instructors and had long since won his admiration. He looked away in embarrassment, accepting her reproof.
"You can do nothing about that, Myrrha. No one can. You will have to be strong and get past it on your own."
The silver-haired boy looked up and met his aunt's eyes, his own full of trust and respect. He nodded firmly.
"Do you understand your situation, Myrrha?"
Myrrha nodded, then replied.
"I'm a +anima now, not a prince. I have the status of a slave and can be freely bought and sold. I am not allowed to fight outside of a betting ring and am strictly forbidden from any sort of retaliation or disobedience to who-so-ever becomes my owner."
As she had expected, a perfectly textbook answer. That he could do that much told her that at least some part of his mind was taking in the facts of the situation and beginning to understand that his life had changed. How much he actually understood remained to be seen.
"Very good, Myrrha. Now, do you understand what sexual relations are?"
The boy blinked in surprise and blushed red, completely not understanding how this was related. "My mom explained it to me. When a man and a woman lie down together and… and become one. It creates children."
"That's the basics, yes. It involves a lot of touching – touching that is not comfortable if you do not want it. I need you to be aware that there are people out there who do not care if their partner is consenting, or even if their partner is a child or of the same gender as themselves."
The child's eyes widened. Crystala's heart sunk at having to give her innocent nephew such a lecture, a lecture she'd been forced to give many a young +anima slave in the past.
"There will be people who try to touch you that way, Myrrha. You have to be on the alert at all times. I will tell you what to do, and you must do exactly as I say."
"Yes, Aunty Crystala."
"As soon as someone starts touching or threatening you, scream for help. Run away if you can. If you cannot, clench your jaw, curl up as small as you can, and transform into your +anima fish form. They cannot do to your fish form what they want to do to you, so do not transform back until they are gone. Close your eyes and wait for them to go away, no matter how long it takes or what they do or say. Promise me."
"I promise," whispered the boy, beginning to tremble. Unfortunately, in this case his high intelligence allowed him to understand there was so very much his aunty was leaving unsaid. So many questions that choked in his throat as his wiser half told him he did not want the answers. Crystala took his small hands in hers and held them firmly.
"I'm not done, Myrrha. You must always, always sleep in your +anima form. Do not let anyone catch you asleep or unconscious in your human form. Promise?"
"Yes. I promise," he replied quietly.
"I'm your slaveowner, Myrrha. I will try to keep you safe, but I will not be able to be with you all the time."
He looked at her with wide, confused eyes. Trying to reconcile the idea of his loving, and occasionally fierce, aunty suddenly being his slaveowner. His… master?
Lady Crystala waited a few seconds for this news to sink in before continuing.
"I will assign you to a group, and within that group you will have a partner. Never leave your partner or your group unless you feel threatened in some way – in which case you come straight to me. You will tell me if anyone is acting weird or violent or tries to touch you in strange ways. You will tell me if anyone says something to you that makes you uncomfortable or physically hurts you in any way – even if it seems to be something small. You can talk to me at any time, though you may have to wait a few minutes if I'm talking to someone. Understood?"
The little boy was frowning, but he nodded. His eyes were narrowed slightly as he carefully memorized his aunt's every word.
"Never doubt that I love you and care about you, no matter what anyone says. Many people are very bitter about things they cannot control, and may often say things they don't mean."
He nodded, though his eyes flashed with a trace of anger. Well, of course, since Myrrha and Marein were often the butt of bitter jokes, slander, and downright cruelty. Clearly, no matter what she said, he would not be very patient with those who spoke too carelessly – though she hoped he would at least not take their words to heart.
"Lastly, I am very sorry Myrrha, but you may not call me Aunty anymore. You will have to call me Lady Crystala."
The little boy flinched as if he'd been struck. He quickly snatched back his hands from where they'd been twisted in her robes, as if he'd been caught doing something bad.
Perhaps he actually did understand what it meant to be a slave.
Crystala pulled him into a hug. "Never doubt that I love you," she repeated, nuzzling his silky smooth hair. "I don't say things I don't mean." He relaxed a little, but didn't reach out to return the hug. She sighed.
"I'd like to let you call my Aunty in private, Myrrha, I really would. But there's a chance you might slip up. That would be very dangerous to you. My other slaves and the members of my caravan might turn on you if they believe you think yourself better than them. It probably would be best to only talk when you absolutely need to, at least at the beginning."
Myrrha didn't meet her eyes, but his expression hardened with seriousness, or was that stubbornness?, and he nodded. He understood.
Crystala kissed his forehead and stood up. She easily lifted the boy up into her arms and carried him out of the dark, cold cell.
Her nephew pulled gently on her sleeve. "Aun… Lady Crystala? Don't I have to… tomorrow…?"
"No."
"But…"
"You do not have to be there for the announcement, Myrrha."
She felt a measure of relief come over the child and he relaxed in her arms.
"What did I say about sleeping?" she asked, almost teasingly, as she saw his eyelids begin to droop.
Myrrha smiled slightly and transformed into his fish form. The surprised look on his face made it clear that he was surprised how easy the transformation actually was.
"Good boy. Now you can sleep."