Chapter Text
Sunlight blinded her. She shut her eyes tight. Just let me sleep.
Wait.
She wasn’t dead.
Her eyes ripped open and she sat up quickly, instantly regretting it when stars danced across her vision.
“Careful, princess. You don’t want to get up too fast.”
What was happening?
Warm hands gently pushed her back down, and moments later a cool glass was placed to her lips. A sweet liquid poured down her throat, and she swallowed greedily, throat parched.
“There. Now try to get up. Slowly, this time.”
An arm wrapped around her waist and slowly helped her up. Lilli’s vision began to focus.
When the stars cleared, she stared into the dark eyes of a prince.
At least, she assumed he was a prince. A golden crown wrought into the shape of leaves was nestled in his dark brown hair.
“Don’t worry, princess. You’re safe now.”
Something about his eyes unnerved her. They were dark. Too dark.
She screamed.
Lilli shoved the shiro off of her, backing away as fast as possible. She was lying in a bed, and on the nightstand next to it, she spotted a glass vase. She grabbed it, thrusting it at the shiro, wielding it like a sword.
Shiron could take any form, but their eyes always remained black. No one had eyes that black naturally. The creature in front of her was not a prince, but a monster. The monster she had hidden from her entire life.
“Don’t fear me. I saved you. You were seconds from death when I found you.”
Lilli didn’t dare speak. She wasn’t sure what to do. Did she run? Fight?
“I'll give you anything you want, princess. Anything at all.”
It would give her anything, sure, but at a terrible cost. Her mind. What she wanted wouldn’t matter if she had no control over herself.
“Get away from me!” she yelled, and threw the vase at the shiro.
While it was distracted, she shot out of bed, ignoring the fog that clouded her head at the sudden movement. She glanced around wildly for a way out.
There was a door, but the shiro blocked it.
And a balcony.
She flung open the door and stepped outside onto a balcony covered in ivy. Looking down, she saw a pond covered in water lilies, pale pink flowers blooming.
The balcony was only a story or so high. Before she could think better of it, she jumped.
Cold water enveloped her, and every breath felt like a knife stabbing her lungs. Her body instantly ached with cold as she kicked to the surface. Every movement brought a new kind of pain.
When she surfaced, she quickly dragged herself to the shore, looking up to the balcony.
The shiro stood calmly. And then it jumped.
It didn’t need water to break its fall. It drifted slowly like a shadow, landing gently on the ground.
No time to stare. She stumbled onto the shore and took off running, weaving between dense trees. Branches scratched at her and her lungs burned. But she kept running.
The shadows around her shifted frighteningly. She spotted a pair of dark eyes to her left. Then her right. Panic gripped her, urging her forward, even though she knew she couldn’t outrun the shiro.
“Stop running, princess, and we can talk.”
She covered her ears with her hands to block out the shiro’s voice. She could feel it grating against her senses, compelling her. Trying to take over.
She wouldn’t let it.
Ice flooded her head and she fell to the ground screaming. It felt like someone was clawing at her brain, like it was leaking out of her ears. She curled into a ball and sobbed, furious. The shiro was doing this. And she was powerless against it.
The icy feeling vanished just as quickly as it came, leaving her shaking on the forest floor. Her nightgown was ripped and stained with blood and dirt. She felt branches tangled in her hair.
The shiro appeared in front of her suddenly, and Lilli nearly threw up her dinner. It had taken the form of Isolde, crouched in front of her, reaching out a hand. Lilli slapped it away and tried to run, but she couldn’t anymore. Her foot snagged on a root and she tumbled to the ground.
“I know you want answers,” came Isolde’s voice, though Lilli knew it was all a lie. A trick. “Why did the handsome prince push me? When will I get my happily ever after?”
Lilli covered her ears and screamed, trying to drown out the shiro’s voice. But cold hands- no, not hands, shadows- pulled them away and bound them by her sides. The shadows turned her to face the shiro, who’d turned back into the form of the prince.
“Ask a question, Lilli, and I’ll answer it. I’ll answer anything you want.”
She spat at it and kept her mouth shut. She wouldn’t converse with this creature. She needed to get away from it and find her way back to the castle.
“I can take you back. In a heartbeat, I’ll take you back. But to what? A murderous prince? Stay with me, Lilli. Just follow everywhere I go. We’ll explore the tops of the distant mountains, the lowest valleys lush with plants and animals you’ve never seen before.”
She tried to pry her eyes away, but the shiro’s pull was too strong. She was staring now, entranced.
“I’ll give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of. Everything you want- gold, stolen kisses, an entire kingdom if you so please. I’ll be the magic stories you’ve read your entire life. And you’ll be safe. All at a small cost. Doesn’t that sound wonderful, Lilli?”
She blinked blearily at the prince- no, the shiro. This was a dangerous, deadly shiro. With tousled hair, and glowing skin, and a gleaming crown…
A shiro.
A prince.
Was there a difference?
A shiro dressed up like a prince.
A prince of shadows.
“I…” Lilli wasn’t sure what to say. She wanted, so badly, to accept the prince’s offer. But she shouldn’t. There was a reason why she shouldn’t. But she couldn’t quite remember what it was.
“You’ll keep me safe? And we’ll explore together?”
The prince nodded.
“And…” something was tugging at the back of her mind, a thought that was slowly slipping away. She latched on at the last moment. “My family? What will happen to them?”
The prince smiled pleasantly. “Do not worry about that, Lilli. That is behind us.”
“But,” she stammered, “they’re important- I think.”
His brow furrowed with concern. “Lilli, dear, you must be exhausted. Let me take you back to the cottage. Have some sleep, and tomorrow we’ll go exploring.”
Lilli allowed him to lift and carry her to the cottage. The cottage she had run away from in- fear? No, that wasn’t right. Why would she fear her prince? She was just so tired. She yarned, burrowing her face in her prince's hair.
He carried her up the stairs and laid her on the bed. Then he leaned in close, whispering in her ear. “Everything you want, Lilli. I just need you to let me in. Will you let me in?”
She nodded before drifting off to sleep