Chapter Text
Earth.
A planet far off in another star system, with a climate so complex that no being of the Republic could ever understand it’s strange nature. Some places were dry with deserts, others had a more mid-climate where most of the planet’s inhabitants lived, and some places were so cold that ice deserts existed. It truly was a planet with a strange will of its own.
Somewhere on this vast planet was a school where loads of children were playing around at the playground.
Catherine White was one of the few, if not the only one, who was seated quietly underneath a tree, away from all the other kids her age, reading a book. The girl was fully engrossed into the story that she was reading, turning every page with great excitement, curious what was to come next. Whilst most would find the book difficult to read, given it’s amount of pages and lack of pictures in it, an advanced reader like Catherine found great joy in it. The wind blew into her light blonde hair, whilst little blossom flowers blew off of the tree and scattered around her, some even landing in her hair. Every now and then, Catherine would brush off the blossoms, lightly smiling as she looked and admired the pretty flowers.
Everything was so peaceful. It was nowadays rare for Catherine to find peace, especially at school. But then again, life wasn’t meant to be always peaceful. And she knew full well that everything she experiences in life is to help her grow. Yet sometimes she needed an escape from her every day troubles to ensure she would not get burned out by everything. That’s why she loved books so much; they offered her a way to escape all of that drama. Especially the fantasy books, as they could transport her mind to a world where anything is possible, where she may even be loved for who she is.
A smile bloomed on Catherine’s lips as turned the page, eager to finally get to the part where the charming prince meets the princess.
Already mid-day, the sun was burning brightly over the playground. The warmth of the sun was welcoming, although it would most definitely be too hot if you were standing in the light without shadows helping to cool it down. Catherine was a girl who could handle some heat, but not overly too hot. She recalled how one of her classmates nearly gotten an heatstroke for being out in the blazing sun too long, and she did not want the same happening to her.
That’s why sitting underneath the blossom tree of the school was the perfect spot for her to read her book outside, being surrounded by the beauty of nature.
She continued to read calmly as she kept turning page after page, engrossed into the story.
She knew students were watching her with their judgemental stares from time to time, and she did her best to just ignore them. With her blonde hair put into a ponytail, and wearing her light-blue summer dress, Catherine could feel every now and then the gentle summer breeze hit against her pale skin. Sometimes, she couldn’t help but fantasize that she was a princess, waiting for her Prince Charming to turn up someday. She knew it was best to not get carried away in those fantasies, but being as lonely as she was, it was the only thing they kept her from going down a dark path in her life. Sometimes, she couldn’t help but wonder if she even belonged here, on Earth… Whilst her mind scolded her often for thinking of something so foolish, her heart continued to scream at her that this is not where she belonged, not truly.
That maybe, she was meant to be somewhere far away, where her true self can shine as bright as the sun.
A ball almost hit her straight in the face, but she ducked out of the way just in time, whilst the body of Nicolas Mavis flashed by, a huge, mean grin formed on his face. Catherine couldn’t help but frown at the school’s biggest bully, knowing full well that little bastard had tried to get the ball hit her on purpose. Nicolas was a boy roughly her age, quite putty, and he often liked to make the life of the students hell, unless you were part of his “club”. The boy was vile and a little devil, his eyes always gleaming with sick joy as he tormented those who he deemed to be easy targets. Catherine had been the victim of his bullying as well – therefore, she often avoided him and his little “followers” as much as she could.
Deciding that it was best to ignore him, Catherine took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and continued to read.
It didn’t help her that she was the least violent student in the school, giving Nicolas and his friends the perfect target who wouldn’t fight back. After all, a little girl who was introverted and quite peaceful was the ultimate treat for any bully to play with. Then again, barely any of Nicolas’ victims ever fought back, as he was always backed up by his friend group.
But whilst Catherine was no fighter, and definitely not strong physically, that did not mean she could hold her own when it came to words. It was a talent not many had, and a talent that had become a thorn to Nicolas’ side.
A few weeks ago, the two children had gotten into a heated argument over a toy. He was shut down immediately after his insults of Catherine’s appearance, when Catherine chewed him out over his own appearance and flaws. It did earn her another beating from him, but at least she had hurt him in the heart. Whilst Nicolas made her life a living nightmare, it gave her some satisfaction that she knew how to hurt him with her own words.
As the other children continued to play football with Nicolas, Catherine resumed her reading peacefully. Every now and then, as she glanced up, she could see some of the teachers staring at her with a look of pity and confusion. After all, even they couldn’t understand why a young girl of nine preferred to be alone reading, than to play with her fellow classmates. Catherine knew they would never understand such a thing. The only adult who truly understood her was her mother; Mary White. She knew of the bullying her daughter faced, and Catherine could tell how much it ate away at her, knowing there was nothing she could to help it stop. Catherine knew her mother did pull everything in her power to ensure that her daughter would grow up with love and the knowledge she mattered in this world. So far, she had succeeded at it mostly. Whilst Catherine wasn’t as happy as she used to be as a younger girl, and definitely had signs of depression, she knew that at least her mother loved her more than anything in this world. And she thanked fate every time whenever her mother proved to be fiercely loyal to her. It was because of her that Catherine refrained from doing what those dark thoughts in her head told her to do.
Besides, she couldn’t give up. She knew she was intelligent, she knew she had something to offer the world, and she knew a destiny was waiting for her. Giving up was out of the question, and it was a word that did not exist in Catherine’s vocabulary.
As she kept on reading her book, she could hear her classmates were cheering or screaming in excitement. Nicolas was of course kicking and playing the ball the most, assuming his role as the leader, yet every now and then, he shot nasty glances to Catherine. Some of his friends mimicked his expressions, making even ridiculing faces to her. Of course they all did that to please their ring leader. Whilst it did hurt Catherine, knowing how truly alone she was in this place, she reminded herself it was better to be alone than behave as someone she isn’t. If there was one thing Catherine had vowed to never do, it was to change herself. She wouldn’t do it for anyone, not even for her family. It was better to stay true to yourself than become a copy of what everyone was like.
Not everyone was as predictable as Nicolas and his friends. Kai and Macy, children who Catherine got along with, were just like her; staying true to themselves, instead of following the herd. Britney on the other hand, someone Catherine used to consider a friend, had abandoned that idea and turned into another snooty girl that made fun of people like Catherine. Whilst it had hurt Catherine, to see a former friend of hers turn their back on her, she also finally saw their true colours, and was glad the friendship had ended. Again, it was better to be alone than to be surrounded by fake friends. The wind kept blowing around her, making sure that every now and then, her skin was cooling from the hot summer sun. Finally, some peace returned to her for a moment, and she could feel herself returning back into the world of her book.
But again, her peace was disturbed as she could hear the snickers of Britney, who was staring at her, along with the popular girls from their class. Of course, Catherine did not need to be smart to know they were likely gossiping about her. Again, the mean glances did hurt Catherine from time to time, but she had learned by now how to mask it. She simply shot her former friend a look of disappointment. She could see that whilst Britney rolled her eyes, feigning no interest, she could tell from the look in her eyes, though, that she hit a nerve with her glance. Suddenly, Nicolas ran past the popular group girls and bumped his shoulder harshly into Britney. Lucky for her, the girls caught her just in time, or she would have fallen straight into the dirt. Catherine knew Nicolas had done that on purpose, as she could see his lips mumble curses out. Catherine simply ignored his behaviour, even though every viber of being wanted to tell him off or snitch him to the teacher. She could snitch on him, as she was beloved by her teachers for being an excellent student. But Catherine had learned by now that the teachers would rather keep the peace than punish the biggest bully at the school, as he did not even care for punishments. And if she told on him, he would find out about it and go after her again.
It was better to give Nicolas no reason to go after her, so she could avoid getting any more bruises on her body.
Everyone knew it was best not to antagonize a bully, as the consequences could be dire if you had no means to protect yourself against them. But then again, one could never be so sure with Nicolas. And this time was no different, as he passed Catherine again, and purposefully kicked her legs harshly. It was clear he purposefully had kicked the ball close enough to Catherine to pretend he tried to hit the ball instead of her legs.
Some students looked in shock as Catherine cried out in pain and held her right leg. It was already turning red, and no doubt another bruise would form upon her skin.
She should’ve expected he would pull off a stunt like that. Luckily, because he had kicked her outstretched legs, he had also managed to get himself tripped over, causing him to fall flat onto the ground. She saw through her tears that he glared at her as was on the ground, but even he knew that he couldn’t twist into her being the villain. The bruise that was forming on Catherine’s leg and her crying was enough proof for any teacher to believe her over him.
It took her so much strength to stop crying as a teacher immediately hurried over to her to check what was going on. Catherine winced as she gently touched the bruise to see how bad it was. Judging from the teacher’s look in her eyes, Catherine knew that it was likely one of the times that Nicolas would get in trouble indeed.
The teacher stormed over to Nicolas, and Catherine could see some hint of fear glinting in his eyes as he faced the fury of a teacher. Carefully, Catherine lifted herself back up as she used the tree as support for her now bruised leg. Another teacher rushed over to her to help her to walk to the school nurse. Most students stared at her in silence as she was brought back inside, whilst the teacher that had first checked on her was scolding Nicolas for his behaviour.
As she was brought to the school nurse, Catherine could hear the teacher pulling Nicolas by his ear to the principal. She knew what that meant. Both her and his parents would be notified of this incident.
And her parents would be furious that the little devil had hurt their little girl, again.
Catherine sat in a chair as the school nurse quickly checked her bruise before putting on some cream to soothe the pain, making her sigh in relief. She knew that it wouldn’t take long for her mother to arrive at school, as soon as was notified of what happened. Her father would likely be fed up with Nicolas continuingly to hurt her. But her mother would likely calm him down, give her a big hug, and comforting her that all will be well in the end. Catherine had to admit, it was becoming tiresome to continue on living this way, but she knew that by persevering, she’ll be eventually rewarded. If Nicolas would just leave her alone for once, none of these troubles between their families would be happening.
She sighed as she kept the book she had been reading close to her heart.
Someday, she would get out of this hellhole. She’ll find a happy place, where she can amongst people who would like her and accept her for who she is.