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9. So close yet so far

September 2026,
Imporia, Soare-Luna Kingdom

Alyanna

I wiped the steam from the bathroom mirror and looked at myself.

Looking at myself every morning felt like a battle. I had to gather courage before I did it. Today, it felt particularly difficult. I felt empty. A shell of my old self.

For the longest time, I thought I would grow up to become a professional athlete. A sprinter. It was my dream to participate in the Olympics and win. I had come close. So fucking close.

But one accident ruined it all.

That dream of mine was stolen from me. And now, it would always remain just that. A dream.

It always hit harder after a long, hard run. Andrei made me train especially hard today. He knew that I took it easy when I wasn't at the palace, and this was his way of getting me to make up for it. I could barely finish one mile and my leg started aching. It made me feel pathetic.

Haunted brown eyes stared back at me. What the hell have you done to yourself?

Without makeup, my scars looked harsh.

There was a long line of raised, light pink skin along my hairline. I had a scar line across the apple of my cheek that extended to the middle of my cheek, and a smaller one on the top of my lip. And hundreds of tiny pink marks scattered across half of my face, neck, chest, and arm like they were freckles. My entire left collarbone was covered with marks of stitches.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

It's fine. You're alright. It's fine.

I took in a deep breath and released it.

These were battle scars. A sign that I survived. A sign of my strength.

I moved away from the mirror and fetched my body cream. It had a bit of foundation mixed in it. After a layer of this cream and well-done makeup, no one could tell that I even had a blemish on my skin. Bless the people who created makeup.

I got to work. Having done this every day for the past several years, I had gotten quite quick and efficient. It only took me an hour and a half to cover all of them. Well, most of them. A long-sleeved top and high-top sneakers took care of the rest.

Wanting to escape my thoughts, I headed to the library.

When I first saw the library at the palace, I knew that I would be spending a lot of my time here. It held so many books, both old and new. Most of the Volkov family members loved reading, which basically meant that the library held books of all genres and topics. It even had a few handwritten books, a few original drafts of famous authors, and a few first editions.

I roamed around the library, wondering if I should find a new book to read or reread an old one. A dilemma most readers faced.

I ended up in Oscar Wilde's section.

A smile formed on my face when I read the name 'The Happy Prince and Other Tales' on the spine of a book. I plucked it out of the shelf and headed towards the seating area. I took a seat on a reading chair by the window and pulled my legs up to make myself comfortable.

I flipped the book open and got sucked into an old memory.

***

August 2017,

Scars Bay, USA

The air whipped against my face as I zeroed in on the finish line. It was all I could see.