Lucien Yvel Britton had never, not even in his wildest dreams, expected to end up in such a position.
Stupid. So stupid.
Mother was right.
All people do is trick you and use you for their own gain.
Maybe if I had listened to her and Lucette, I wouldn't be in this position right now, he thought with a tinge of bitterness. If only he had listened, if only he had stayed at the palace with Lucette, maybe then he would not have ended up cursed. But no, he had stormed out by himself after an argument with his twin, not even taking any guards with him. By the time he stopped to think, he'd gotten hopelessly lost. And was completely alone.
He ended up wandering the empty streets of Angielle at night, shivering and biting his lip to stave off tears.
Tears are weakness. You must not show weakness.
(he had failed mother already; he refused to do so again)
The only reason he and Lucette had gotten into an argument in the first place was because he had made a friend. Lucette found out and objected fiercely, citing all their mother's teachings as warning. And she was right: that same friend betrayed him and sold him out to a witch. Trusting anyone except his mother and sister had been a mistake. Lucien had dared to open his heart and gotten a Fairytale curse in return. This is where trust had gotten him.
It was only one bite...
...one bite of a bright, jewel-red, juicy apple...
Lucien had a bit of a weakness for this particular fruit. It was perhaps his favourite food and flavour; it reminded him of happier times, for some now-forgotten reason. Another odd hole in his memory.
The last thing he remembered before being cursed was...
One bite of an apple.
A witch's triumphant laughter.
"Sweet dreams, Ice Prince. Or should I say-
-Snow White."