vers. 51.1

Évdomos Hai Marinus

Évdomos Hai Marinus. This is the name of the outcast seventh child of the Royal Family in the North. My name. It is a tradition for royal children to be named after the king and queen. In addition, you get a main name from your father, the king, and if you count 16, you get a sacred name from the gods. After all, you identify yourself with your last name, which represents the entire royal family. Altogether that would be 5 names. If the head of the family sees great potential in you, he can give you more names. Up to 3 more. That would be 8. I only ever had three names, even though I'm of blue blood. I'm sure you can guess how I feel about the King of the North. Or at least how I had felt the first few times around.

I was four years old when my mother pulled me to the enormous palace by the sea and almost threw me at the feet of the man sitting on a huge silver throne. Just like she does now once more.

My mother says only these four words:

"He is your son!"

The whole hall fell into silence and then into whispers, finally a loud commotion broke out until the man with blue hair cleared his throat and raised his hand.

"What's your proof, woman?", she remained silent, bent down, and yanked my head up by my hair, which was also blue. I narrowed my eyes in pain.

"Boy, open your eyes!", I didn't want to, I couldn't, the light hurt too much. Like always. But I had to. Slowly, I forced myself to open my eyes through the pain. Everyone who was in my field of vision drew in a sharp breath.

"Black eyes, indeed," said an old nobleman who, as I later learned, was the king's advisor.

"See? Take it back! I bore the king a son!", she had a triumphant smile on her face, but the man on the throne looked closely at my mother.

"He counts to four!"

"So you've kept my son for me for four years? What kindness!" he raised his voice menacingly at the last word. I felt my mother start shaking next to me. She threw herself on her knees and finally let go of my head. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Please forgive me! I-I-he got the black eyes from the gods just a few weeks ago!", lie. What's that even supposed to mean?

"I was so worried that it was a rare disease that I wouldn't let him out of the house!"

She never let me out of the house. A fact was, that this was the first time she had let me out of the dark hut that represented my whole world in the first round.

"It didn't occur to me that he could be his grace’s son until my sister pointed it out to me."

Oh, what a surprise, I have an aunt!

"Please forgive this unworthy one!"

"I like people who know what they are. Insolent! Are you implying that you missed a night with the king?" she started.

"N-NO! NEVER! Your Highness, please! How would I dare to forget-"

"ENOUGH! You've defiled me enough! Get rid of the strumpet!"

Once more my mother was violently pulled away by two soldiers on her shoulders while she screamed and kicked. Though this time, I’ll never saw her again after.

To this day, I don't know why she waited until I was four to go to the palace. Which is a little sad of a fact considering how much time I’ve had.

The man I was to call father from now on was still surprisingly very young.

At four he looked old to me, but he was actually only 23. He gave me his main name Hai, the family name Marinus and finally, he gave me my main name Évdomos. Again, the Queen refused to give me her name.

"He's a bastard child. What are people supposed to think when it has my name on it?!" she shrieked. Adorable, isn’t she? I don't even get me started on the fact that my new name simply means seventh shark Marinus.

Shortly thereafter, I was locked in a room. I found it luxurious, but years later, when I saw my siblings' rooms, I realized that this room was the shabbiest in the whole castle. It was better than the dirty, dark hut I lived in with Mother. I had to learn etiquette, history, and everything that went with it. Not necessarily easy if you can't read yet. Luckily, I already can.

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Each of my teachers looked down on me, insulting me. Even though I should be considered a prodigy with how unusual my amount of knowledge was for a simple four-year-old. Whatever, this world was rigged anyway.

I was constantly compared to the other children. No matter what I did. "The first prince was able to do that at the age of three." (Honestly, I’m not laughing, you are.)

"Even the second princess showed more potential than you at age two!"

They’d in the past forbid me from drinking and eating until I was on the verge of death. After they gave me something to eat and drink, they didn't let me sleep until I could recite everything they told me backward and upside down. That’s why even after the eightieth run-through, it was still branded into my memory. Funny, isn’t it?

The most important things I was told to learn were the names and dates of my siblings, the ‘pure’ family tree of the family, and the royal family in the south. I have 10 half-siblings and will have about six more until his highness has a rather embarrassing accident that will render him infertile.

4 of them are from the Queen. 6 are of the king's two concubines. The future ones are from future concubines, although one more will come from the queen. Why these children are considered full-fledged royal children (but I am not) is to be explained by whomever wants. Oh? I sound jealous? Mhh, who knows. Maybe I was? Maybe I’m still bitter? I won’t tell you.

I am the seventh child of the king. I am the third prince. In the line of succession to the throne, however, I would be, contrary to tradition, currently in 11th place. Even behind the princess, who was born just two weeks ago. Hahhh. Despite this fact, which was drummed into me after only a few weeks, everyone still pointed their finger at me when the first prince, the king's favorite, was poisoned... Ah, but I’m spoiling the story for you, my dear imaginary friend.

When I turned 8, the first prince started to show interest in me. He was 15 at the time. I don't know exactly why. Maybe because I didn't pose a threat to him? Or because I was always alone and he wanted to see himself as a savior? That is very likely considering his savior complex.

"Would you like to?" he had asked, handing me a piece of candy that I had been staring at. That was our first real interaction. One with proper eye contact. He wasn't the man who stood stiff as a stick right next to our father's throne and wore his nose so high that it could have rained into it, and for once I wasn't the king's useless bastard child. We were just two normal children.

Since he was the king's favorite, he had seven names. Panagiotis, Plato, .

When I think about it, I'm glad I only ever had three names. This shit is ridiculous. He showed me how to hold a sword and snuck out of the castle with me to play on the nearby private beach. Thus I owe him. He’ll be the one I’ll always keep alive the longest.

"What are you going to do when you grow up?" he had once asked. He continued talking before I could answer.

"I think I want to travel the world..." he looked at the blue sea, his eyes of the same color as my deep void, sparkling with what I would describe as anticipation. His shoulder-length hair was blowing in the wind, he looked like a beautiful picture, like the ones hanging in the long hallway that showed all our supposed ancestors.

"When you travel the world, then... then I will become king and abolish the monarchy!", I smiled proudly at him, even though I didn't know exactly what a monarchy was, I knew that it was to blame for my suffering, but he just laughed.

"Yes, that's just as impossible as my dream. Come on, we should go back before anyone notices that we left.", then he started sprinting and I ran after him confused. I didn't understand why he had said that. After all, I was serious.

One day, when I was 10, he invited me for tea. He had never invited me to tea in his room. What was also unusual was that this meeting was exactly one week before his 18th year. On that day, the king would have appointed him as his official successor, crown prince. Suddenly, his eyes widened. His face was contorted in pain and he started coughing. Blood. He was coughing up blood and a lot of it. If I hadn’t been a stupid little kid that first time, I may would have been able to hear him croak out his last words with deep sitting hatred:

“You… switched them…how…”

But alas, it was my first time seeing someone poisoned. Everything was in slow motion. People ran to him. Snatched me away from him. A few hours later, he was pronounced dead. And I to be the murderer.

Quite ironic huh. But don’t worry brother, even though you were wrong the first time around with your accusation, I’ll repay you over and over.

They kept me in the palace for a few more weeks until it was decided. The bastard is to be banished. That would still be gracious. Some said it too gracious. Normally, they would have chopped my head off, but for some reason, the king decided against it. Then I was sitting there. In a crumbling palace in a dangerous forest where a mad, psychotic forgotten alchemist had housed.

Oh, and with some nice servants!

Hai, my father, only allowed them there to keep me away from the land. These things are hybrids of humans and animals. They aren’t even granted a proper identifiable name like we use ‘human’ for us. They are literal Things.

Either they look absolutely hideous, or way too close to real people. Those who are too much like people, however, are those with the fewest emotions. It seems that the monsters who created Things failed to give these animals both human appearance and human emotions. Without exception.

Anyway, I’ve lost my train of thought again. That has not really a lot to do with what you have to know about me. So much info dumping. Haiz. But ay, you are my imaginary friend. I’ll just force you to listen to me!

You are listening to me, aren’t you?

Now, it happened there that said alchemist promised me a chance to get revenge if I were to give her my royal blood. How? Through ‘immortality’ of course. In hindsight I should have known better. After all, immortality was a widely laughed-at myth.

Now look at me.

On my fifty-first re-run of this very life.

You know, I already got a little bored with the normal revenge after the first three times. But what can you do?

I think I’m starting to go crazy. I mean, I’m even talking to you. Someone that’s not even here!

But this, something happened. Something that hadn’t ever happened before. An event I didn’t know about. Apparently, there has been an explosion in that forest. How did that crazy woman break my time loop without me even doing anything?!

That’s when I made up my mind. This life, she’ll be the first person I’ll entertain myself with.

The four-year-old eyes of my still fragile body stared at me from inside the mirror. He still had no idea what I had planned. Poor baby.

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