"The prettiest smiles hide the deepest secrets. The prettiest eyes have shed the most tears. And the kindest hearts have felt the most pain."
Rose's POV:
I saw Harry's eyes widen in shock and confusion as he looked from me to this stranger, trying to piece it together. The man in front of us had blonde hair and grey eyes, with a sick smile plastered on his face. While I had my strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes, with a terrified expression reflected on my face.
"He's your...brother?" Harry asks shocked and I feel a tear slip down my face as this man laughs. "How does it feel, half-breed? To know that still, despite all your efforts, you are still rejected and betrayed in the end?" he snarls at me and I begin to cry, memories surfacing up in my brain that I had been so desperate to keep hidden, but they were now breaking through.
"Today's the exact day it happened too, isn't it? How fortunate for me to witness such a tragic day for the lovely Princess." he continues to chide me and I begin to shake as Harry looks at me worriedly.
"Rose, what is he talking about?" Harry asks but I can't bear to stay here any longer. My body is shaking as my memories are threatening to break through the surface. I can't have it happen again. No, not a second time. I don't think I could stand it.
"No." I cry out, turning around and running away from them, listening as he laughed cruelly at me. Harry called for me but I ignored him, running until I reached the safety of the forest. At least, that was the safest place for me at the moment it felt like. I knelt down against a tree, my head sinking into my hands as I began to sob.
Memories began to come crashing into my mind, ones that he brought up, just by showing up. Of all days, he had to show up on the day when everything happened. That day would never be erased from my memory, no matter how hard I tried to hide it.
'It was when I was three years old, that was my first memory of it happening. I was playing with a stuffed toy, my face bright and happy. I giggled as I saw my father come up to me, his attire rough and torn, as if he'd been in another fight. He's been getting into those a lot lately.
"Hi Daddy!" I say and he glares at me, picking up the stuffed toy I was playing with and ripping it apart in front of me. I screamed out in sadness as I saw the destroyed toy being dropped to the ground, disfigured and no longer usable. My father gripped my hair tightly, making me cry out in pain.
He began to drag me across the floor by my hair, ignoring my cries and taking me into another room. "Daddy! Daddy stop!!" I cry, only to be picked up roughly by him and thrown into a large wooden chair. I whimpered in pain as I saw him approach me with something in his hand.
"Daddy...daddy why?" I cry, sobbing at the pain that engulfed my small body. "You disgusting half-breed!" he shouts and slaps me across the face. I scream out, but that only makes him hit me again. I see something that looked dangerous in his hand and I looked at him in fear.
"Why?" I ask and he chuckles darkly. "My stupid, stupid daughter. You were never meant to be born!" he says, pressing a button on the thing in his hand, making fire come out of one end. "I will show you, what it's like to bear the pain your parents have to live with for having a disgrace like you for a child!" he rages, putting the flame onto my shirt and setting me on fire.
I screamed in pain as the fire ate at my flesh, my tiny body being engulfed by the flames. The pain was excruciating and unbearable, my entire body being swallowed up by the harsh fire. Something cold was thrown on me, but I couldn't really tell the difference until I noticed that the flames were now out. My father had thrown water on me to put out the flames. "You will know pain. Pain will be your teacher." He says before picking me up by the neck and throwing me to the ground, watching me curl up in a ball and cry out in pain.
"This is now your room. The Room of Punishment. We've spent three years preparing this for you." my father hisses before walking out of the room, slamming the metal door behind him. I sat there in that room, crying and crying for hours at my burning skin. I couldn't move and I couldn't talk, just cry. That was where it all began.
Two years later, when I was five, I was let out of that room. It was the first time in two years that I had seen daylight. My seemingly permanently bruised face shone with relief as I looked around at the forest they had brought me to, but my relief didn't last for long. "Come over here." My mother hissed at me and I nodded my head slowly, walking over to her before she yanked me to her by my hair, making me whimper.
"Hold on to this." She instructs, handing me a heavy metal object and I nearly fell to the ground because of the weight. "Mummy, it's heavy." I murmur and she slaps me. "Don't complain, you ungrateful rat!" she snaps and I sniffle, trying not to cry. If I cried that meant more pain for me.
She left me there after instructing me to stay put. I stared down at the metal object curiously, not knowing what this was. It was solid and it was shaped like a round ball. I think...I'm not too sure...I haven't been taught anything yet. Only pain. Pain is my teacher. And that's the only thing that will be my teacher.
Soon, I saw someone appear in front of me, a boy with blonde hair and grey eyes. "H-hello?" I ask and he smiles at me darkly. He had to be at least five years older than me, he looked older. "So, you're the wretch who took the sphere." He states and I shake my head fearfully.
"No, no. Rose hasn't took nothing." I mutter, my grammar not good enough to match his. "Don't lie to me! Our parents told me the whole thing. So you better stick to the truth." He says sickly, coming up to me with a whip in his hand. "Please...please don't hurt me." I whimper, flinching as his hand strokes my hair away from my face, just like father had before he cut me with the knife.
"You've been a bad girl." He says before lashing the whip across my skin, making me cry in pain. I fall to the ground, dropping the metal thing and holding my arm painfully. He laughs at me, whipping me some more while I begin to bleed horribly, the blood pooling around me and onto the forest floor. He cackles, throwing his head back before kicking me several times in the stomach, laughing at my pain.
"I'm surprised they've kept you alive for two years!" he snarls at me and I cover my face with my hands as he continues to kick me. My side is on fire, as well as the rest of my body. I think I would rather take daddy's beatings to this. At least daddy doesn't whip me this much, this guy...he's cruel and ruthless. He continues to whip me and kick me until I feel dizzy and I can hardly move, my blood covering the forest floor.
When he stops, I slowly look up to see him holding the metal thing, a smirk on his face. "You'll be seeing me soon, I can promise you that." He says and turns to walk away, but pauses and looks back at me. "The name's Seth, by the way. Don't forget it." He says and leaves me on the forest floor, a wreck, bleeding and in pain.
Another two years pass, and it's my 7th birthday. Daddy said they had something special in store for me, but that news only made me more afraid. I never liked mommy and daddy's surprises, they always led to me getting hurt badly. I didn't like Seth either, he was...cruel. He even said he was my brother, and he treats me so badly.
Why does my family hate me? What did I do?
I was led in heavy, silver shackles to the forest, now the usual place for my punishment. My father grabbed me by the back of my neck and held it tight, making me cry out. "You're dead to us now." He says hatefully, throwing me to the ground, making me land in the dirt hard.
"You will die out here. You're miles away from the nearest town, I'll be surprised if the wolves don't eat you." my mother sneers at me as they take each other's hands, turning around and walking away. Tears welled in my eyes as I tried to stand up, trying to go back to them.
"Mommy, Daddy, where are you going?" I ask them sadly, not wanting them to leave me. No matter how badly they treated me, I didn't want them to leave me. They were my family...I needed someone.
"We're going to live a life free of you. You're a worthless, disgusting half-breed." My father spits at me, and tears threaten to spill out of my eyes. "Mommy...please don't leave me." I beg and she stops, turning to look at me with hateful eyes.
"And live with the disappointment that your very existence brought us? No. I'll pass on that horrid life. Happy Birthday, vermin. I hope you rot in this wretched place." She says hatefully and they both turn around, leaving me alone in the forest.
I begin to cry, my tears spilling over as I am surrounded by trees, alone in the forest. "Mommy, Daddy...what did I do?" I whisper, looking at the place where they once stood. More tears spilled out from my eyes as I realized what just happened. I slowly stood up in my shackles, shuffling through the forest and trying to find anyone. My body was still in pain from all the torture I was put through, and I was crying, blindly going through the trees until I tripped over my shackles, sending me falling to the ground.
I gave up trying, not seeing the use anymore and curled up in a ball and cried my eyes out. My mommy and daddy, who've tortured me for four years without missing a day, have now abandoned me in the forest. They've left me to die...I don't know what I did to them. I don't know what I did to make them hate me!!
I cried and cried, not noticing how dark it was getting until a cold wind blew through the trees, making me shiver. The air was cold and it nipped my skin, which was torn from the countless beatings and whippings that I've been through.
I looked up, my eyes red and tired from crying. I saw a distinct light in the distance, and it looked like it was coming closer to me. Instinct made me cower against a tree, trying to hide away from the light. Whenever there was light, there was always pain. I've always been kept in the dark, so I didn't like the light. It was a sign of pain for me.
I saw three figures appear in the forest's night, the light illuminating their figures so that I could clearly make them out. One of them spotted me, gasping and pointing at me in surprise before they all came towards me. I cowered in fear, hiding from them until I saw a kind smile, and warm green eyes.
"Don't worry sweetie, you'll be alright." She coaxed, holding out her arms to me. I stared at them for the longest time before hesitantly shifted towards them. She picked me up gently in her arms, her smile dazzling in the night.
"I'm Queen Anna, and you, my dear Princess, have nothing else to fear." She whispers, and for the first time in a long time, I smiled.
"Are you going to be my mommy now?" I asked her and she gives me a bright smile, nodding her head. "Yes, I'm your mother now. You have nothing to worry about, Princess.'
I was brought out of my memories with a sob, trying to keep myself from crying so much. Yes, it is true.
I am not Queen Anna's and King George's daughter, I was abandoned in this very forest I cry in now by my real parents, who tortured me and beat me nearly to death for four years straight. The King and Queen found me, luckily, and saved me from dying in the forest.
And somehow, my brother found me. Seth is indeed my brother, one who had whipped and beaten me as well for two years, and now he's found me. For some reason I was cursed with, he is back.
I wipe my eyes, trying to rid my tears as I hear shouting and something slam into a nearby tree, making my eyes widen. I stand to my feet, running towards the sound of the noise. I was praying that Harry wasn't hurt, but tears welled in my eyes as I saw Seth still standing in the field, a crooked smile on his face while Harry was against a tree, gritting his teeth together angrily.
Enough...I've had enough.
Tears welled in my eyes as I grit my teeth together, running over to where Harry was as I saw Seth about to attack him again. Just as Seth created a dagger made from wind, I pushed Harry to the side, making the dagger hit me instead of Harry.
I gasp and fall to the ground, watching as Harry's eyes widen when he sees me. "Rose!" he calls out and I get up, forcing a smile onto my face even though I know I'm crying. "I'm alright Harry." I say and I hear Seth laugh.
"How sweet, what's wrong Rose? Can't stand running away from your fate anymore? Because I'll gladly let you meet your end right here." he says, the whip in his hand tauntingly.
The hit I took from the wind didn't bother me as much as I thought it would, and I turned to Seth with a glare. "Enough, Seth. I've had enough!!" I scream, his eyes widening as an amused smile comes to his face.
"Someone's fighting back. I thought we had that beat out of you ten years ago." he says, a dark look crossing his face and I begin to shake, trying to stay strong for both my sake and Harry's sake as well.
"I've earned it back." I snap at him and he laughs, twirling the whip around in his hand. Harry now stood up, standing beside me as he gave me a worried look. "Rose, just what's going on?" he asks me and I close my eyes tightly before taking a deep breath, opening them with a new intensity as I stared at Seth.
"This is Seth. He is indeed my brother...and he is a demon." I say and I hear Seth laugh. "Well that's obvious, Princess, why don't you tell him the rest of it?" he taunts me and I narrow my eyes slightly, looking at Harry with a hint of sorrow in my eyes.
"I was abandoned by my real family when I was seven years old. Queen Anna found me in the woods and took me in, making me the Princess of Dragmere." I take a deep breath, watching as Harry began to piece it together for himself as I spat the next few words out.
"I'm a demon, Harry."
Did any of you guess it? I'd love to know if you did!! :D Please let me know how you liked this chapter too haha. Please Comment and Vote!! xx