Living Without A Heart (BxB)

Memories

I opened my eyes to familiar, yet unfamiliar scenery. It was the garden in the middle of the Sariu, but it looked different. Larger, scarier. I looked down and found myself sitting in a puddle of mud and trampled flowers, covered in both. My body felt smaller than it should've and my hair, while still snow white, was shorter. I swallowed and looked up. Surrounding me were the laughing faces of the Warriors, but a lot younger. My breath got stuck in a hard ball in my chest and I could hear my heartbeat thundering in my ears. No way. No way, no way. How did I end up back here?

"Hey! Come on, move over. This isn't cool, guys. Seriously." Someone yelled out. No, not someone. Captain. Actually, ten years ago he wasn't Captain, but simply Rage, ten years old to my eight. Everyone knew he was going to be Captain though.

I swallowed and wished I could close my eyes, but that didn't happen back then, so it wouldn't happen during my memory of it. Instead, I stared wide-eyed as Rage pushed people out of his way, Berserker right behind him, both looking absolutely livid. Back then, he used to show his emotions a lot more. When he made it to the front of the crowd, he saw me and his eyes went wide with shock and his jaw dropped. I could feel my tears of humiliation gathering, burning my eyes, and I blinked them back furiously. I remember how I felt; I didn't want to seem more girly than they already thought I was. Hence, the bullying. Hence, me being in a mud puddle.

Rage's brow furrowed and his lips twisted in a snarl. "What the hell, guys? You really think this kind of crap is funny?"

"Uh, yeah?" Someone from the crowd yelled. I ducked my head and shifted in the mud; it was seeping into my clothes.

"Well, then ya're an idiot." Berserker had a deep rumble of a voice even back then. "Doing something like this tah someone is neva funny."

I heard footsteps and looked up to see Rage coming towards me. When he reached me, he leaned down to help me up.

"Aw, everyone look. The Prince is going to save his Princess! Go ahead and cry from him Princess Snow."

To my utter shame, the burning in my eyes got worse. I pushed Rage away and fell back in the mud with a loud splack. More mud splashed onto my face and in my hair, turning most of it a murky brown, spotted with the white of my hair. This only made the others laugh harder. Berserker growled at them to shut up and Rage ignored them, peering down at me. I remember how his gaze made my skin tingle and how I felt the urge to shiver.

"You should just ignore them, you know."

I pulled my knees to my chest, not looking at him. "I tried. It doesn't work. Just leave me alone."

"No."

I looked up, startled, as he leaned down and put his arm under my knees, the other behind my back. A small squeak passed my lips as he suddenly lifted me into the air and I blushed deep red. The others continued to laugh and cat-called at us, whistling and clapping. Rage ignored them and started towards the Sariu in a brisk pace.

"Oh yeah, Rage! You get that ass! That's all yours. Your Princess."

I struggled to get out of his arms, but even then he was always stronger than me; his grip was firm. He continued to ignore the others and carried me inside; Berserker prevented the others from following us. A little ways inside, he slowed down and looked down at me.

"You can cry now. I won't judge you."

A lone tear slipped from my eye and tracked down my face as I stared at him. Slowly, more and more tears trekked down my cheeks and dripped off my chin, even as Rage stared at me. Before I knew it, I'd curled up and was sobbing into his chest. He did nothing more than hold me tightly. He was the only person to ever see me break down, even as the bullying got worse and worse, until I turned thirteen and, fed up, froze the dicks of a couple of the guys bullying me. Stopped the bullying right then and there.