Miscolored

~Chapter 1~

When I think about a person, I think about someone with dimension. Someone who will listen to me when I want to cry, someone who will give me a hug when my dog dies, someone who will play me music while I work in the garden, someone who will care for my wounds when I get injured. Sadly, that's only the minority of people in the world. The people around me.

In the world I know, despite how confusing and wrong it is, is split into two types of people. The caring colorful minority, and the gray and emotionless majority. In my math classes of my youth, they always told me the majority was more important. No wonder the gray people were the wealthy ones, the ones with kings, wealth, silver, fabrics, and food they don't even have to grow themselves. I was okay with this.

"If you just stay away from the forest, you will be safe." My mother always told me. But once I had to break that rule, and it changed my whole way of life.

The sun shown through my window, shining bright rays in my eyes. The rooster screamed into the morning cold and my eyes shot open like a bullet had sounded. I jumped out of bed, already jumping into my clothes and fixing my bright red curly hair. I skipped out of my room and into the kitchen, my blue eyes full of energy even though I've been awake for a span of 5 minutes. I have always been a morning person, that's always been the case. My mother was tiredly sitting on the kitchen counter.

"Good morning sprout." She croaked with a warm motherly smile on her face. I smiled back and grabbed a slice of buttered bread and my garden gloves by the door, sliding down the dirt path to the large garden my family had been keeping for generations. I downed the rest of my dry bread and cleared my throat, cracking my fingers and slipping my calloused, tough fingers into my old musty garden gloves. I grabbed my shovel from the ground and stabbed the ground that was already filled to the brim with spring weeds.

"Working hard aren't you." My mother chuckled softly, now by the door. "I still don't understand how you manage to keep up that energy."

"Early bed, early wake." I answered, pulling up a weed and tossing it in the old rusty pale behind me from yesterday's work. Mother just smiled.

"I have to go to the market for more seeds." She remarked.

"Oh, can I come?" I stopped weeding, looking at Mother hopefully.

"Finish that weeding job and we can grow some carrots." She added. I nodded and got back to work, waving goodbye to Mother as she walked down the old gravely path to the village by the dark woods.

Time went by, and Mother didn't come back. As the hours flew by I grew more concerned, staying in my room for safety.

There was a calm knock on my door, I got up and answered. It was the local fisherman from the village. His face was full of worry in contrast to his normal unreadable wrinkly face. I blinked.

"Yes?"

"Aldis, your mother was taken." The fisherman mumbled.

"What? What do you mean." I glared at the fisherman. Impossible. No one would take Mother, she was a perfectly capable woman.

"The Gray King." He said simply. The color left my face. I swore. "Language." I answered by slamming the door angrily in his face. Running to my room in a panic. What was I going to do, go after her? I was a gardener, not a knight. I wasn't a hero or anything, maybe I could protect roses from weeds, but not save family from corrupt Kings.

But then again, how would I live by myself, with only myself, a lonely cottage and a rather idiotic rooster. I had to rescue Mother. But I didn't know how. I darted to the kitchen and went into the cupboard, grabbing a blunt kitchen knife. I was definitely going to die.

With a bag of bread and butter on my back, and an old blunt kitchen knife, I stepped out of the cottage, clumsily stumbling down the rocky rough path until I made it past my fence. I waved goodbye to the rooster and took a deep breath, facing myself towards the forest. I began to walk to the ominous wood, the knife trembling in my hand.