THE TYRANT

Chapter 0 | Promotion

May 2nd, 2019.
Pays de la Loire, France

"Félicitations!"
[Congratulations!]

"Wow! Quel l'exploit, Mme. Roi!"
[Wow! Quite the feat, Ms. Roi!]

"Je parie que vos parents seront très fiers de vous!"
[I bet your parents will be so proud of you!]

"Je savais que vous pouviez le faire!"
[I knew you could do it!]

Meaningless, thoughtless praises rung louder than her seizing heart in her ears. The young woman stumbled through the day, the faceless people around her praising her for her accomplishments. 

They meant nothing. She shook hands for the entire day and threw fake smiles at faceless people who had never uttered a word. 

They didn't bat an eye when she was drowning by herself, flailing and screaming to be saved. 

But now, when she dragged herself out the rapids, they praise her for her exploits? It felt like her head was spinning.

River Roi is a 30-year-old woman working in Marine Biology. She always wanted to become a vet, but she loved reptiles and fish much more than mammals. 

So, why not mix the two up? Marine Veterinarian. 

Despite her mental struggles, her goal was to tend to little fishies.

To others, fish were mindless jewelry floating around in tubs of water. To her, fish were scaley friends wiggling around in a weightless, carefree world.  Fish could show love and adoration without saying a single word, which meant the entire world to her. 

For something to work their hardest, despite physical limitations, to show their love.

Her long white hair was tucked into a high ponytail, bouncing and waving behind her as she swerved around the office of her workplace. 

River was an incredibly pale, white-haired woman. Her Albinism, which comes from a shockingly strong family genetic, turned her brows and eyelashes a platinum colour from birth. There was very little explanation for why she didn't have any other traits of albinism or why it was so strong in her family genes.

There are no pale eyes, vision problems, lazy eyes, or typical hair colours. People suffering from albinism usually have pale blonde, brown, or red hair, depending on their parents' genes.

But River's hair was purely white.

Anyone related to her had white or slightly grey hair. It didn't matter how far down the family tree or how thrice removed they were; they always had white hair.

The 5'4 woman was petite but wide- her pear-shaped physic giving her a tummy she wanted nothing more than to will away. She was a healthy woman, but her chubby frame always made her insecure. 

She needed to escape her workplace. She was graciously promoted and had to move away from France to Washington, America. River could be closer to the Pacific Ocean and restart her life there. 

Alone. 

Someone as young as her going such a far distance for work? Practically unheard of.

The doors of her workplace shut behind her as she finally exited the suffocating box. 

The warm air of Pays de la Loire delicately drummed its fingers along her pale skin, the spring season not hot enough to make the woman boil under her tan turtleneck. 

A loud vibration hummed in her front pocket before River could ease herself of her social anxiety.

River blinked her brilliant ice-blue eyes down, fingers slipping into her jean pocket to pull out her iPhone 7. The caller ID was named "Signey Roi," a name that haunted her nightmares.

Her mother was calling her. 

Immediately, dread sank into the pit of her heart. With a shaky sigh, she tapped the accept button and lifted it to her ear.

"Enfin!" Roared into her ear, making River repress a groan. "Salut, Signey." She greeted coldly. For years, River refused to call her mother by her first name.
[Finally!] - [Hello, Signey...]

"J'ai entendu dire que tu avais été promu." Straight to the point.
[I heard you got promoted.]

"... Oui." She nibbled on her bottom lip. Her mother always knew things she wasn't supposed to know.
[... Yes]

"Pourquoi travaillez-vous toujours à ce poste?" Her mother complained, "Non pas que ce soit un. C'est juste du poisson."
[Why're you still working that job? Not that it is one. It's just fish.]

Within her core, she felt the cracks of her bottled emotions exfoliate. Rage seeped through the seams. Her mother refused to believe Marine Biology was a proper branch of work, saying that fish weren't as important as people. 

Signey always wanted River to become a lawyer or doctor. 

She became a doctor! Just a fish doctor! Her mother should've specified.

"Qu'est-ce que tu veux?" River whispered into her phone, eyebrows creasing down.
[What do you want?]

There was a pause. "Je veux te convaincre de changer de voie avant que tu ne le regrettes."
[I want to convince you to change your path before you regret it.]

River sealed her eyes shut. Not another thought passed by, her heart speaking for itself. "C'est tout ce dont vous vouliez parler?" She muttered into the phone.
[Is that all you wanted to talk about?]

"... Oui." She sighed.
[Yes.]

Closing her eyes, River paused to gather her thoughts. She knew that exploding on her mother would only make things worse, so she decided to entertain the idea.

"Je vais y réfléchir." She told her mother.
[I'll think about it.]

"Bon," Signey said, sounding pleased, before abruptly hanging up on River.
[Good.]

Wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand, The petite woman frowned and looked down at the concrete. She slowly took her phone from her ear as anxious thoughts whirled.

Signey didn't know it, but River was leaving. She'll figure it out on her own. River needed to escape her family, spread her wings, and leave the nest.

It just so happened the nest was the entirety of France.