The same image greeted her in the mirror.
Messy hair from struggling.
Dull, tired eyes from her insomnia.
Her face adorned with bruises.
She keeled-over from the sudden wave of nausea and stabbing pain in her stomach. A pained sound came from her mouth as the crimson fluid lurched from her mouth and into the sink before her.
She knew.
She had known since long ago.
Her time was almost up.
It'd seemed distant when she was a child.
But now...
It stared her in the face.
The truth.
Plain as could be.
Like a wounded fish amongst sharks.
It could no longer hide.
And it terrified her.
...
Mama's been tired lately.
I don't know why.
She says the red slime in the sink is nothing to worry about.
But she's telling me to prepare for looking-after my siblings.
I don't understand.
I don't think I could.
But she's saying she's sorry.
And that she loves us.
But I don't understand...
Why does she say that?
What does she mean?
Why would I need to look after them?
...Where's mama going to go?
I do know now.
I'm not sure I want to.
Would it have been better if she'd just left us by a roadside and told us she'd be right back?
Would it?
Probably...
Though, I don't know that.
I'm not sure I can.
But I can only hope.
Only then could I ever do this...
Only then...
But how come?
Why did she leave us? Why did hope abandon us?
Why can't I just open my eyes and accept reality?
Heh, how mature...
Even in such times as this...
I'm still just a fool.
I've always been.
But maybe...
That's just childhood.
...What childhood?
Isn't it over now?
Probably.
No, certainly.
I need to do as she said.
I need to become an adult.
I need to.
I need to...
I...
The weather had been terrible.
The starvation had been terrible.
The injuries had been terrible.
But they'd made it.
They'd made it to the city where they'd find decent shelter.
A loving home.
Enough food.
And yet...
Fate had seemed to screw them over again.
There he lay.
In the road.
The traffic had stopped.
They'd crowded around him.
Wailing.
Many others had done the same.
In the boy's eyes, a memory flashed.
A flower made into a ring.
The other was older, but around the same height as him.
Curly brown hair with a hint of auburn.
Blue eyes concealed by the glare of the Summer sun.
But just as soon, it had vanished.
A hand pressed against his neck.
A voice shouted something.
And then it all faded to black.
He was sure he'd seen that face before...
The room was white.
A faint humming and clicking of machinery sounded in the background. His breathing was a little restricted by what he could only guess was an itchy fabric.
A low voice was heard.
"Welcome to the royal family, kid."