Hey guys! What's up? I'm feeling way better now, thank you guys for all your concern! That was so sweet to read. The play I was in is finally over and now I actually have time to write. Time, like, what? I'm forgetting what having free time even is.

But yeah. This isn't the longest chapter, but I hope to have another chapter up at sometime this week, because it's Thanksgiving break and I have the whole week off (SCORE!). Sadly, homework has to been done in some of that time, and I have original books on Wattpad to update to, but I should find time to do another intro chapter at some point.

Since this is the first intro chapter, I only wanted to do one girl, because we've met a lot of new characters in the first three chapters and I wanted to another part focusing on Percy, because despite him being the main character and crown Prince, I really haven't given him a ton of focus.

Also, before I start, this SYOC is now closed! Thank you guys! I have 21 amazing characters and the first of them will be introduced today along with a palace scene.

I think that's it. BTW, the song lyrics I used in the beginning belong to Lindsey Stirling and Lzzy Hale, from their amazing song "Shatter Me", which seemed to fit Percy's feelings involved in this chapter. Riley, the girl introduced, was created by the user Of Darkness and Light.

I tried something different with inter lapping POVs of Percy and Riley, because time passes between each of them, but the same amount of time for each, so they happen simultaneously. I don't know what I think, but it's different and I kind of like it.

Somebody shine a light

I'm frozen by the fear in me

Somebody make me feel alive

And shatter me

The cork of the bottle popped off easily in Percy's hands. The strong smell that emerged from it was enough to make him light-headed. The Prince held the bottle tentatively, as if instead of alcohol, it contained a demon that might emerge at any moment and destroy him.

If only, he thought bitterly, as he took another sniff of the reddish colored liquid and was almost overcome. He didn't even like wine, if he was being honest with himself. Of course, in Illéa, it was against the law for anyone below 21 to drink, but he'd had the occasional sip of alcohol when he was visiting places like France or England with Alex and his family, where there was no drinking age. However, he'd really only done it to be polite. He shared no love of the substance, although he knew that Ciara enjoyed a glass with dinner, ever since she'd turned 18. That was the custom in Ireland, though.

He remembered that his twin brother hadn't liked the substance anymore than he had. A memory appeared in Percy's mind. They had both been 19, and were in Italy, visiting the monarchy. Both boys had been offered a rich red wine that had been stomped and prepared with the finest grapes in the country. Of course, it would be rude to refuse the Italians, who were such friendly, welcoming people. Both Alex and Percy had chugged the drink down in an effort to avoid tasting it. As it turned out, that had not been the best idea and most of the rest of the night was still fuzzy in Percy's mind.

The memory of his brother was like a stab in the chest and that was enough to cause Percy to take a swig from the bottle. He almost wretched at how strong it was, but he knew it would numb him. That's what he needed. A numbness. No more pain. Percy raised the bottle to his lips again and took another long swig. That gulp wasn't so bad, he thought. He was starting to feel a warmth inside him, something that had been gone since Alex left him.

And after a week, Percy wanted to be warm again. So he took another swig, and another, and another, and he drank until he forgot his brother's name.

Outside the window, it started to rain.

-LINE BREAK-

In Hudson, the rain poured down hard on the gray sidewalks and white-walled buildings. So hard, in fact, that most of the hardy citizens had abandoned their tasks needed to be completed on this Sunday morning and stayed inside their warm, dry houses. The usual hustle and bustle of the urbanized province was now only a few people rushing here and there, umbrellas up and raincoats zipped up as high as they could be. No one stopped to talk on the streets as they sometimes did. Outdoor stalls of the daily Farmer's Market were boarded up and locked.

Riley Fay, however, had no rain coat or umbrella as she strolled down the street with a slight smile on her face. Her blueish eyes were wide as she looked around the dismal scene, but she didn't seem to be looking at the sadness in the scene. She looked at the beauty in the rain and was calm as she walked down the familiar path she always traveled on Sundays to the bakery.

Passing by stores open, but unoccupied, Riley strolled. Her walk was not the one of someone in a hurry, but of someone who had a purpose. There was always a bounce in her stride, people who'd seen the brunette would say. Of course, no one had really seen Riley, despite her having been a member of the Hudson community her entire life. However, it was an overcrowded city, with gang violence and street crime rates one of the worst in the country. No one really knew anyone in Hudson, besides friends they'd known all their lives. When they did pass the girl, they avoided eye contact and kept their heads down, afraid that Riley, too, was a part of a gang. With her ears pierced three times on each side and the occasional glimpse of a few tattoos, it wasn't a far sketch.

However, if people bothered to look at the young adult closely, they'd see things that didn't show a gang member. They showed a person.

Her hair was a light brown, with golden tinge to it. Her eyes were blue, but they had a rim of brown around the edges. Her figure was delicate and slim, although both her chest and lower area were things the guys on the street tended to notice and whistle at. She was a petite girl, standing only around 5'4, with a curious sort of gaze about her. If she happened to be wearing a dress when she was walking, one might observe a small heart outline inked right below her collar bone on the right side. It was only about a centimeter in diameter, and easy to miss if one didn't know what they were looking for. The same could be said for the feather tattoo behind her left ear. Only visible if Riley pulled her hair up in a ponytail or a bun. Only apparent if someone knew exactly what they were looking for.

On the damp streets of Hudson, the people passed her by without even a second glance.

-LINE BREAK-

It's funny how often memories come to those who are trying to forget.

As Percy drowned more than half the bottle, memories, sharp memories, came back to him of his brother. More clearly and more precise than he knew he could have remembered them when he was sober.

There was the time when he and Alex had been seven, and had told Callie, who was then 5, that the fountain in the garden courtyard was magical. It had been Percy's idea to prank their younger sister, of course. Alex would never have started the idea. However, both boys thought it was funny until Callie had nearly drowned trying to swim in the fountain when she didn't know how. Despite both their actions into the prank, the Queen had only punished Percy, knowing that Alex would never have instigated the trick. Percy hadn't spoken to his twin for five days after that, furious that Alex hadn't been forced to give up his dessert to. Of course, on the sixth day after Alex slipped Percy a slice of cake from the dinner table they were friends again.

Another gulp, half the bottle gone.

The first time they'd met Ciara came into mind. They were nine, now, and she was eight. Percy remembered how big her green eyes had been when she walked into the Illéan palace for the first time and how frizzy her red hair was. Her parents, the Irish king and queen, had been nice. They'd gotten along well with his parents. "Run along and play now." he remembered his father telling him and Alex, who were unsure around this quaint, energetic new girl in the green dress. They'd shown Ciara, slightly nervously, their Royal game room. She didn't seem impressed by it and told them she'd rather go see the barn, if they had one. Alex, not usually the first to go outside, had jumped to his feet and showed her the way, the redhead chasing right after him. Percy had followed, too, not willing to be left behind on the journey. When they reached the stables, Percy had accidentally opened the door and let one of the stallions out of the stalls, which had turned and tried to charge them. Percy would have been dead if Ciara hadn't calmed the horse down and coaxed it back into its stall. Even then, she'd been a terrific horse person. Alex had simply roared with laughter over the whole thing.

This alcohol's defective, Percy thought, blinking away memories from his eyes and taking another drink. The bottle was considerably lighter in his hand now. Perhaps you had to drink the whole thing in order to stop feeling pain.

Then there was Alex and his sixteenth birthday party, which had turned out to be a disaster. The Queen at this point had just announced she was pregnant with Courtney and was having a horrible time with morning sickness, which was unusual. None of her other children, not even the twins, had made her this sick. On top of this, she'd caught the flu epidemic that had been passing around the castle. For three days she was unable to leave her bed and was so sick that there were rumors among the palace staff that the Queen and the Royal child might not make it. The happy plans for the sixteenth birthday of the two princes were quickly forgotten by everyone, even the boys themselves. On the night before their birthday, all the siblings slept in the old nursery with Aiden, having come back from their grown up rooms to the room they'd all once lived in. They didn't talk much that night, each one embarrassed that they relied on each other for company. Aiden, who was only three and a half at the time was asleep early, but Aria, Callie, Alex, and he'd been up all night worried about their mom. It wasn't until two in the morning, when the youngest brother had woken up and crawled into Callie's lap when Alex had suggested that they should read a bedtime story. Alex pulled out a worn, well-loved copy of "Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes" and read in his calm voice until everyone except he and Percy were asleep. And although Percy never would admit he needed to hear the story to fall asleep, he knew his twin had known to keep reading until he'd finally fallen asleep to. In the morning, all five children had been woken up to a maid's joyous calls. The Queen's fever had broken in the night. She was going to be ok.

How much did you have to drink to forget things like that? Percy wasn't sure, but he knew he was going to get there eventually. He took another drink of the liquid.

-LINE BREAK-

Although no one noticed Riley as she walked down the street, the odd, golden haired girl noticed everyone and everything. She saw the businessman in a suit rush in front of her, in hurry to reach one meeting or another. She watched as the young couple held hands and laughed as they walked under their umbrella. They look happy, she thought, and for a moment there was an ache in her chance. Of course they were happy. They had each other. They were in love. Most of all, someone loved them back.

All Riley had in life was herself. And her camera.

No matter where Riley went, she always had her camera. It was her one treasured possession, really, as she drifted from place to place, province to province. Of course, it was also her key to living, but she loved it for so much more than that. As a five, there weren't a whole lot of jobs she could do without a camera.

With a camera, she could be so much more than just Riley Fay, a 20 year old girl with no family, no friends, and nowhere to go but forward. Much as she wanted to go backwards, to see her grandma, her mom, her old house once more time, she couldn't. They were gone. They'd all left her at one point. Now, she was alone. A feather in the wind blowing in every direction at once.

Her mother had in childbirth, giving birth to Riley. To this day, her death had been a source of guilt and curiosity to herself. Complications in birth were not unheard at all as a Five. However, Riley still wondered if her mother had regretted becoming pregnant with her as she lay dying. She certainly regretted who Riley's father was, the girl guessed, having been told by her grandmother that her father ran off when she found out that Riley's mom was pregnant with him.

Sometimes things were easier looking through a lens, Riley mused as she walked and remembered her upbringing. Maybe that was why she always had enjoyed photography so much. You saw just enough through the camera lens and in pictures. Enough to see the story, but not to experience all the pain and the hardship in the world.

That thought made Riley remember her grandmother and, with a pain in her chest, her grandmother's death. It had been two years ago, now, since her passing. Riley could still remember it like it was yesterday, however. Her grandmother had raised her since she'd been an infant. She'd been the only family Riley had ever known. Saying goodbye to her had been the hardest thing she'd ever have to do. The weight of her loss still could be felt in her heart, everyday.

Sometimes the hardest thing about loss is learning how to breathe again.

-LINE BREAK-

How come you can feel like you're drowning when you know you breathe so rapidly?

The alcohol had numbed most of the pain by now, although twinges of grief came here and there occasionally, when Percy was staring out into space. He didn't know what he was looking at, really. The blank wall wasn't remotely interesting, but he stared at it and started laughing anyway.

It wasn't funny, either, and the laugh wasn't really, but it felt good to laugh anyway.

-LINE BREAK-

"Grandma?" Riley had asked, kneeling at the bedside of the dying old woman with tears in her blue eyes. She clutched at the wrinkled hand, as if it was she and not her grandmother who needed to hang on to the world around her.

She was barely breathing now, Riley knew. It wouldn't be long until she passed. The doctor's had told her to be glad she'd had this long. She was 72, which was almost unheard of for a Five to be living to.

It wasn't long enough, Riley knew.

-LINE BREAK-

The thing that hurts the most about grief is being able to hold someone in your thoughts, but not being able to have them in your arms. This was what Percy was feeling now, as he sat laughing at the wall with three fourths of the wine in his stomach. Though he didn't really understand why he was laughing, he knew that it was something he shouldn't be doing. But, try as he might, he couldn't get himself to stop.

"My brother's dead." he whispered, and then giggled like a small child. What was wrong with him, he wondered. Maybe he was just simply that awful of a human being, to be drinking and laughing when he should be crying and morning the loss of Alex.

"He's dead." he said, slightly louder this time. His words seemed to echo around his head, as if he hadn't ever understood them before he'd said them.

Percy got to his feet, unsteadily, and picked up the bottle. There was still a few mouthfuls of the drink in the bottom of the bottle. Somewhere in the fogginess of Percy's brain, he knew that drinking them would truly make him forget his pain for this night at least. If he drank the rest, he knew he'd wake up and have no recollection of what happened this night.

Of course he probably wouldn't anyway, he thought as he drowned another gulp before staggering into his bathroom to throw up into the toilet his maids had worked for hours to polish.

-LINE BREAK-

The breathing rate was slowing down even more, Riley could tell as she sat by the bed of the only family she'd ever known. She knew she should have been crying by this point. Any good granddaughter would be at this point. However, her eyes stayed dry as she walked the seconds on the wall clock tick down the few minutes her grandmother had left.

All she felt was this empty feeling, as if a part of her heart had decided to get up and leave her.

Was this normal? Was she supposed to feel as if her heart had been ripped out? Like a part of her was leaving the world and never coming back?

"Riley?" the weak voice of her grandmother startled the girl and she immediately dropped onto her knees besides the old woman's bed.

Her blue eyes were wide with concern, but they still let out no tears. Her voice, however, trembled as she spoke. "Grandma?" she spoke quietly, as if she was afraid her voice could do more damage to the dying woman. "Grandma, please! Don't leave me."

Her grandmother's left hand reached out, shakily and unsteadily, to stroke Riley's cheek. She ignored the question, as if she hadn't heard her granddaughter speak. "You're all grown up, now. I did my job well."

The tears came now, just as Riley had decided she had be strong. "No, Grandma. I haven't grown up yet. I still need you. Please." she touched the hand of her grandmother, which still rested on her cheek. "Don't go."

"I'm afraid I must." her grandmother's voice was fading as her hand dropped from Riley's cheek. "I pray life will be kinder to you than it was to me." She ignored the tight squeeze Riley had on her other hand and went on. "Life is hard and ugly and terrible. Except love. Love's good." she said, and her eyes became glazed and unfocused. They drifted up to the ceiling and she smiled slightly, as if she could see something that Riley couldn't. One of the girl's tears fell off of her cheek and on to her grandmother's hands, but she didn't notice. She was busy talking to someone who wasn't their. Her breathing came in slower and slower breaths until eventually, it was nothing.

"Is that you, Conar?" she asked, so quietly that Riley almost didn't hear. "I'm ready now."

Inside Riley's strong grip, her grandmother's hand became limp and Riley knew she was gone. It was all over.

-LINE BREAK-

When your heart breaks, it tends not to do so evenly.

After heaving the contents of his stomach into the toilet, Percy rose to his feet, nearly falling down as he did so. He walked shakily to the mirror, where he saw Alex's face staring back at him. The same brown eyes and chocolatey hair.

"You're not real." Percy told him, angrily.

The Alex in the mirror said nothing, simply looked at Percy with the calm expression his twin had always used to wear, as if he was appraising him. Calculating whether he should risk the argument or not.

Percy's knees were shaking badly now and he had to grip the counter to keep himself upright. He screamed at the Alex in the mirror, furious that his brother wasn't speaking to him. "Why did you leave us?! We needed you! I needed you! Were you just too afraid to live up to your duty that you were supposed to do?"

He looked away from the figure of his brother, still unspeaking and wearing that calm smile. Percy's knuckles were white from gripping the marble countertop. "Coward." he whispered, under his breath.

The boy in the mirror hadn't answered him or made any response. He just stood, staring at Percy as if he couldn't believe what he was doing. The same, calm smile he always wore. The same one he'd been buried wearing, although the hole in his forehead had made it difficult to look at.

"COWARD!" Percy screamed and he slammed his fist into the mirror as hard as he could. The glass cracked and shattered into a million pieces. Some sliced into Percy's hand, but he didn't care. His brother was gone. Now, as he looked down at the glass shards, the remanence of the ornate mirror, he saw only his pale, angry looking reflection. However, because the two had been identical, there was almost no change.

-LINE BREAK-

Riley had called someone to pick up her grandmother's body and packed her bag. She'd left the door unlocked behind her into the small apartment before she'd left. She had no idea where she was going, but she couldn't stay in that haunted house anymore. She needed to leave, to be free of the pain.

She swung her tote bag over her shoulder and adjusted her camera bag around her neck.

Maybe if she pretended to look at her life through a lens, she could feel numb.

-LINE BREAK-

The rest of the bottle went down in three gulps and then Percy collapsed on his bed, lights fading. He let the bottle slip from his hands and was awake just long enough to hear the cracking of the glass against his floors before the world went dark and the pain slipped away from him for the first time that night.

Thanks everyone! Also, I'm probably starting a tumblr for this story, so I'll post the link or what it's called next chapter if I have it up and ready.

~Sora