Ray

1

I don’t think I’ll ever understand why the people who have everything feel nothing. They place all of what’s left of themselves into their power and succumb to its cruel calling. I’ve always thought of power like the sirens in stories that my mother used to read me. It calls out, and those too weak to resist end up being consumed by it, which eventually leads to an untimely, twisted death. Sometimes I have to question my own strength, seeing what power has done to my father. Looking in the mirror now, I see more of him in me each day. His tired eyes used to be as wild as the ocean but now the vivid blue has faded to a jaded grey. I guess, it’s inevitable.

The Royal Gardens is the only place where I feel like my mind is safe and clear from the haunting reality awaiting me. In a corner deep in the gardens, there’s a small cottage where, for as long as I can remember, a boy around my age has lived. He’s not like me. His life isn’t leading anywhere, yet every time I see him tending to our garden, he seems entirely content. Watching him is fascinating, the way he stares up at the sky, thinking. Just thinking. Today he’s lying in a patch of daisies, dirt stuck to his face, yet he smiles. Every day, since I was a girl, I’ve come to the Gardens and every day, since I was a girl, he’s been there. His dark eyes narrow as he notices me.
“Milady, good day for a picnic, don’t you think?” he calls out, sitting up and sending a flurry of daisies flying into the air. His pale lips open wide as he lets out a deep, hearty laugh.
“Perhaps, Valentino. Perhaps,”

Father always told me not to talk to the boy who lives in the cottage. He’s just a servant, he means nothing and adds no value to my life, apparently. But it’s hard to resist a man who emits a feeling that’s hard to come by. Happiness. Carefully, I sit down next to him.
“I’ve told you to call me Astraea, please,” I insist. His eyes meet mine briefly, with a look that I don’t understand, or perhaps don’t want to.
“Your coronation, it’s next season, isn’t it?” he asks. I’m not sure who’s sake he’s asking for, though, because when you look even further into his eyes you can see that he’s known for a long time. I nod. My father’s body is slowly destroying himself, just as he destroyed his own mind, making him incapable of staying on as King. Not that he was ever capable, in my opinion. Val looks over to the headstone just a couple feet away from us, then back to me. He smiles again, but this time it’s different. “She was perfect,” he takes a breath, catching my stare as his smile fades, his eyes growing intense. “As I’m sure you will be,”