Lilac
I stood before the silver waterfall out here in the gardens. The wind blasted behind me, whipping my hair around my face. My eyes were bleak, empty and filled with sadness as I stared at my reflection in the water.
My mother named me Lilac because of the colors of my eyes- warm lilac that twinkles in the sun, and because it was gender neutral.
I pushed my long curls out of my face. My hair was in an elegant bun, but some strands had managed to escape it after that disaster. I've never cut my hair since I was born, so it was long enough to go past my waist.
The tiara perched on my head felt like a mockery.
Disguising as a girl was fairly easy due to my appearance. I took after my mother- I had her round face, button nose and pouty, round lips. Although, if people looked closer, they'd be able to pick out the sharp outline of my jaw, and the sharpness of my features which could easily give away the fact that I wasn't a girl. I guess this is the part where makeup comes in. With makeup on, I was almost as flawless like my sisters.
I let my eyes take in the state of my dress. The once gleaming white dress was now stained with so many blotches of food that it would be impossible to get it out even if I start scrubbing at it right now. However, if I had the gift of manipulating water like some people here does, that would have been a piece of cake.
Some people have the gift of seeing the future, some have the gift of supernatural strength, the gift to levitate things, the gift to float in the air, the gift to be super fast, and the gift to breathe underwater.
At age six, every child born in the last hundred years till date have all successfully awakened a special gift tuned in with their soul.
As if putting up a facade of being a girl my entire seventeen years of living wasn't hard enough, I was also giftless- which was what earned me the title 'cursed freak'.
From the moment my father called me a cursed freak in public during the Nirvana ritual whereby every six year old kid participating, awakened their heavenly gifts except me, it spread past our kingdom, into other kingdoms, completely damaging my reputation everywhere.
Since then, whenever people see me, they instantly think of a 'cursed 'freak'.
"There you are." A deep voice drawled from behind me and I instantly stiffened, and a look at the reflections approaching me in the waterfall revealed three familiar faces that sent my heart flying into my throat at once.
Theo, Cyrus and Eli.
They were the bane of my existence, and my tormentors since I could remember. They enjoyed making life hell for me, and they made it their duty to always remind me that I was worthless and a freak.
"Hiding away alone here?" Eli drawled with a snicker and my heartbeat picked up, my eyes instantly darting around for a means of escape.
Once upon a time when we were younger, I used to try fighting them back– because back then, fighting was forbidden for girls and I despised pretending to be a girl and was rebelling out that way since I didn't fully understand my mother's reason for making me do that. It made me detest her, because pretending to be a girl deprived me of a lot of things girls weren't supposed to be caught doing- like wielding a sword, engaging in competitive fights, accompanying the kingdom's hunters on a celebratory hunt, and so on.
And after I got old enough to have started growing breasts, I had to start wearing padded dresses, which was why my mother sat me down and thoroughly explained everything from the beginning to me, and that was the moment I had to completely give up trying to fight back whenever people tried to mess with me. Because that way, one would be able to tell I didn't actually have breasts should they mistakenly brush against my chest during those squabbles.
Not like I was a strong fighter anyway, I always got beat up, but I still liked to fight back. However, after I started wearing fake breasts, I had to completely stop fighting anyone back no matter what, to protect my secret.
Sadly, that gave people like these assholes the avenue to mess with me to their hearts' content
As they got closer, I picked up my dress, panic spreading through my veins because this was a secluded area. I had chosen this spot so no one would keep staring at me in my current state, and I had hoped to wait here till the ball was over. I couldn't even comprehend how these assholes found me, or why they were out here when they should be mingling with eligible and willing girls from important families.
I attempted running left, but Cyrus instantly blocked the area. I turned right and Theo was right there, a dark grin across his face.
Fuck.
My heartbeat picked up even more on realizing that I was cornered.
As Eli stepped forward, I took one backward and kept walking till my back hit a large tree. Eli began to close the distance between us and I held my hands out before me, pushing at his hard chest.
"What are you doing?" I demanded, eyes darting between the three boys.
Eli grinned and pressed closer, and my hands shook but I pressed harder against his chest, already contemplating screaming for help.
"Don't bother calling for help, you know how it would look like for you." He drawled, leaning down till our faces were close. My eyes widened and I gasped as it clicked.
Should people arrive here right now, they'd think I was messing around with three guys at once: then at that point, my father would strangle me to death for ruining my innocence in such a cheap way and bringing him more shame.
"Please, leave me alone." I whispered, voice a little shaky.
These three guys were way stronger than I am, and way taller.
Because they could train since they were young, they all ended up bulking up impressively. They were also blessed with impressive height, making them tower over me. It was honestly pathetic and humiliating— the fact that I was this short as a boy. Because my mother wanted to protect her secret, she had someone brew her a portion that was fed to me while I was a few months old. That was supposed to kill off any manly features I might sprout once puberty hits, like beards, muscles, deep voice, and that also affected my height. Leaving me at a measly five foot three, which makes me feel extremely inferior at all times.
"Relax, princess." Theo drawled from my left side, mockery dripping from his words.
"We only want to make a few things clear, that's all." He added and I shoved at Eli's chest again, praying to the heavens to save me tonight.
"Say whatever you want without touching me." I hurled at them, my voice thankfully steady. Theo ignored my words and reached for my hair, rolling the curl in his fingers.
"We just want to check if you're still untouched." Eli drawled, grasping my wrists and yanking them down, pulling a strangled sound from my throat as he stepped closer till barely any gap remained between us.
"How's that any of your business?" I cried out, dread coiling inside my stomach at the thought of them discovering my secret tonight.
"We're just worried. We don't want any unfortunate fool you'll end up with to land a soiled bride." Cyrus chirped in, leaning in to sniff at my throat and I flinched away, the tree digging into my back.
"Although, I hope you aren't deluding yourself into thinking you'll land a prince or even a royal court member. You see how you were avoided back in the hall? It's because no one wants you. Everyone knows you're a cursed freak. You should honestly be grateful we're willing to be this close to you." Eli added, a grin spreading out across his face as he grasped my chin and tilted my head up, lips grazing my cheek as he spoke and my eyes squeezed shut as tears of frustration welled in my eyes.
I felt hands pulling my dress up and starting to slip underneath, and I began to shake, thinking my secret would be discovered moments from now.
However, a sharp voice pieced through the air.
"Guys, cut that out."
I recognized the voice instantly.
When my father wanted to take a new wife because he wanted a son after killing off all his living sons and was told the prophecy has passed, my mother could have come clean to the king about me being a boy, but because she knew the king would still have me killed, she kept silent, and my father married Tracy- and Tracy birthed a son, exactly seven months after I was born— Malachi.
Relief coursed through me as Malachi stepped out from the shadows, looking regal and powerful in his princely attire, his black coat that has gold embroidery blowing behind him. He was the most sought after prince at tonight's ball, since he was everything a prince should be. Theo, Cyrus and Eli were his friends since childhood, which was why I grew up constantly being bullied by them- because Malachi always had them over.
They all let out disappointed groans as they pulled away from me, and my entire body shook with relief as I struggled to breathe properly, feeling extremely grateful to Malachi.
Malachi and I were never best of friends, we almost never interacted but he never joined his mother and siblings in making life hell for me, and he always stopped his friends from bullying me whenever he was present.
"We were just having a little fun with her." Eli drawled as they all stood before Malachi who had his hands pocketed. He nodded, already looking extremely uninterested.
"The king is giving a speech, you should all head in." He informed his friends and they all responded before starting to head back to the ball without sparing me another glance, like I suddenly didn't matter anymore.
Malachi remained in the same spot long after they were gone and when his eyes panned in my direction, my heartbeat picked up again. I was seven months older than him, but sometimes it feels like he's the older one.
Like right now for example.
"Um… thank you for saving me." I whispered awkwardly, my voice coming out shaky and choked.
The moment stretched out between us, and I began to grow more nervous.
In the next moment, he closed the distance between us in a flash, thanks to his gift of fast speed, and my heart flew into my throat at once as I peered up at him, wondering what he was doing standing so close to me, and why he wasn't heading back yet.
"You should be careful. I won't help you out next time." He spoke, voice deep and husky despite being low.
I swallowed emptily, tongue feeling heavy in my throat.
Before I could respond, he whirled around, the moon making him appear more regal as it illuminated his tall figure even more, and before I could blink, he had sped away like he was never here.