“This is a complete violation of Nil’s privacy!” I spat at Dha. Dha just chuckled in response as everything paused. I think Krahinn said pausing this
“I know it is; it wouldn’t be entertaining if it wasn’t!” Dha retorted with a giant grin on his featureless form.
Nil hated talking about his past life, and the few bits he did say were all horrible; he always looked so depressed and crushed when I probed as he clearly remembered bad memories. Nil and I both told parts of our previous lives to each other once in a while, but it was a topic we cagily discussed. This was about to vastly cross Nil’s boundaries and Dha knew it. This wasn’t worth it; I didn’t want the
“Stop. This isn’t worth it to me.” I told Dha. Dha cocked his head sideways, oozing this inky darkness.
“When did I ever say the adventure was allowed to stop?” Dha checked in a tone that turned my blood to ice.
“You didn’t; I do not want to shortcut anymore.” I replied, trying to keep my voice level.
“Ah, you were under the impression that once you said yes you could say stop. That’s no fun as once you know the trick, the adventure is ruined. Hate to tell you Luna, once this ride started, there was no getting off.” Dha retorted as he kept emitting that ominous aura.
I just let out a deep sigh. There was no changing his mind and pressing Dha would only end poorly if I was lucky. He tricked me; what a sore loser. I’m sorry, Nil. I… I didn’t realize. It was so irritating being this powerless. At least Dha is a Lord, that’s a level of power I am never reaching. I wished I connected the dots of his trick sooner; why didn’t it occur to me that he would interfere with my relationship? Being honest, the thought he could recreate memories of Nil’s previous life never entered my mind until it was too late. I’ll make this up to you, Nil. I don’t know how yet, but I will figure something out. This was going to be awful, and Dha was going to relish every second of it.
Once Dha realized I wasn’t pressing my luck any further, he snapped his fingers to resume the memory. The two of us immediately snapped onto a human teenager who was dressed in all black, with fake piercings, some form of bag over his shoulder, and wearing these things over his ears bobbing his head back and forth while walking inside some large building. Nil used to look quite plain. There were many humans walking around this place that had many stores lining each side of the building. It’s some kind of indoor marketplace. Nil was walking around, checking the different windows to see what was on sale in each. After a few minutes of his casual walking pace, we passed some sort of area with a lot food stalls that he excitedly walked up to. Nil went to one with a name that made no sense, ordered something, and got his food in less than five minutes. What? That was oddly fast; how do you get food that fast? He was given this brown bag where he pulled out something that screamed unhealthy which would never get served at the castle. It was a cluster of slender golden sticks that reeked of grease and fat he shoveled into his mouth with none of the refinement I was used to seeing from him. Nil followed up the shoveling of the golden sticks by pulling out a sandwich made to be as unhealthy as possible before wolfing it down with relish. I highly doubt this memory is just Nil eating something wildly unhealthy like some sort of starving gremlin knowing that Dha selected it himself. I did want to ask Nil what the foods were later, however.
Dha, ever the Lord of drama, clearly started the memory way earlier than was necessary. Did he really start it this far back just to show a slightly less than flattering side of Nil? Like no one ever ate something unhealthy with delight. It was nagging at me as I knew Dha would select something horrible, but this seemed like an awfully plain memory so far. What was the catch? Voices in the back of my mind were gnawing at me as I knew this memory was likely going to go wrong fast. Just, how? What could turn such a simple memory sour? What was it? Nil polished off the contents of the brown bag before tossing it in the trash. He was still just moving his head back and forth for some reason. He began walking around the indoor market some more. Dha was floating along, seeming entranced in the memory. Maybe he just wanted to admire some of what he recreated is why he started the memory so far back. I knew there was a punchline coming; there had to be.
Nil stopped outside a store with some things moving on their own, seeming enthralled by what was inside. Huh, that expression is still the same. It was cute seeing Nil had the same expression nowadays when he was interested in something. Nil pulled something out of his pocket, counted some green paper, and then let out a disappointed sigh before putting it back away. He turned around, perking up as he saw something. Nil adjusted the mess he called his hair, straightened his clothes, and took a few quick breaths. Nil has always sucked at making his hair neat. I had no idea how old the Nil I was currently looking at was, but I’d guess somewhere in his teens. At least a decade later he’s still bad at it. Wait, he tended to do that when he thought I couldn’t see him before walking over. It’s a girl he saw. Nil took the things off his ear which I now could hear what I think was supposed to be music emanating from them. What kind of sounds are those? The percussion was rapid, the string component had this odd distortion to it, and the singing was rough with harsh tones similar to screaming. Nil pulled a rectangle out, tapped it, and the music stopped before walking over to a human girl about his age.
“He~Y.” Nil squeaked, his voice cracking as he tried saying hello. His face looked embarrassed, but he stood firm.
“Oh, hi!” the girl replied, looking at him thinly veiled disgust. Her smile was obviously fake as her eyes were looking at Nil like he was shiza on her shoe. Wait, Nil was never good at reading people like this.
“Really? A memory of Nil getting rejected? That’s the big punchline?” I asked Dha. That seemed too simple, too anticlimactic.
“Shh. We finally reached the entertaining portion!” Dha snarled back, looking on with growing anticipation.
“So, um, uh, Homecoming is coming up, and I was…was wondering if you’d l-like to go with me?” Nil inquired; his face was so full of hope. She immediately began laughing. Bezka.
“Me? With you? Not a chance!” the girl laughed, seeming excessively amused by the news.
“Oh.” Nil stated, looking crushed.
“Why would you think that? Because we do homework together?” the girl checked, still laughing at Nil.
“Yes. We usually work on teams a lot.” Nil defended himself, his expression shifting as he was trying to figure out what was going wrong. Knowing him, he practiced this moment hoping for a chance to ask.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“You’re a nerd who gets the work done fast.” The girl explained between chuckles. At this point, several other girls walked over.
“There you are!” One of them chimed.
“Can you believe this, Nil asked me to Homecoming!” she informed the others. Wait. Why did his name come out as Nil? It sounded artificial; I looked at Dha in confusion.
“I did take the memory from Nil, but he does tend to block out his old life and name to distance them from himself. It might also be an artifact from the fact his name is now Nil, with some details colored by his perception of them. Now focus.” Dha told me before I interrupted his show. All the girls were laughing at him now.
“Who would want to go to a dance with a freak like you?” a different one mocked him as Nil now looked fully upset. I know Nil struggles to read others, but I never thought it was this bad. This was definitely not a pleasant memory, but I still failed to see how this won Dha’s approval.
“Wait, instead of Chris who asked her yesterday, you know who is good looking and popular, she might want to go with the antisocial loser obsessed with robots.” Another one taunted. Nil seemed to check out of the conversation.
“Sorry I asked.” Nil muttered. He let out a defeated sigh, as this black mass marched up behind Nil, yanking him by his ear. Nil spun to see who it was, as all color drained from his face.
“What are you wearing young man?! What are these?! Piercings?! Are you insane?! Are you trying to stress me out?! Look like a drug addict?! I do not know what sort of hip nonsense this is but take those out right now!’ the black mass screamed at him. The girls were only laughing harder. I looked at Dha, who looked delighted. This is why.
“They’re not re-“ Nil began, but he had a hand in his face immediately.
“Do not back talk me young man! Trying to look tough for some girls! You do not have time for this nonsense!” the figure roared to cut him off. Nil was trying to move away from his classmates, who were now holding similar rectangles to what Nil pulled out earlier with all of them facing him.
“Can we move aw-“ Nil tried in vain.
“Less back talk and more removing those piercings! You have five seconds before I pull them out myself mister!” the being roared at him. Nil quickly unclipped them, trying to escape from where he was.
“Where are the clothes we got you?! Is this what you waste your money on?! These awful rags?! You look ridiculous! All the money your father and I spend on you, and this is what you choose to reward us with?! Looking like some failed art major?!” the being continued. THAT’S HIS MOTHER?! No wonder he loved Empress Senna so much.
“Can we please have this conve-“ Nil attempted again. Dha was shuffling with glee as the scene unfolded.
“We let you visit this cesspool, and I find this! This is how you repay all of our efforts?! Dressing like a homeless bum?! Imitating drug addicts?! Were you bothering these young ladies with your nonsense?! Is that why their phones are out?! Making sure you didn’t cause a scene?!” the black mass that I think was his mother continued, catching on to those rectangles.
“No, they started recording when y-“ Nil began to say, looking like his soul had left his body.
“He was bothering us ma’am. He was harassing us to go to Homecoming with him.” One lied. Nil winced as his face somehow got worse. I looked over at Dha absorbing every moment with sadistic satisfaction.
“Apologize to them! This instant!” the monster ordered him. The guilt and pain my heart was in began to get unbearable. I don’t think Nil would ever share this memory with me. I shouldn’t know this; I definitely shouldn’t be annoyed he wouldn’t want to tell me this. I just had to stand here and watch something I had no right to know.
“I’m sorry.” Nil choked out; his gaze having gotten completely despondent.
“I couldn’t hear that, what did you say?” the original taunted him. Nil’s gaze was so pained as each word left the bezka’s mouth.
“Apologize properly! You are embarrassing me! While they’re recording too! Do you have any shame?!” the monster snarled at him.
“I am sorry to have bothered you.” Nil stated, glaring at the little rectangle. What’s recording? Something told me that added another layer of misery to this memory.
“From what I gathered, it’s a way to be able to replay the events later for others to witness.” Dha told me. Why? What did Nil do to deserve this? At this point, Nil was dragged away by what was supposed to be his mother.
“We try and love you, try and raise you right, and this is how you act?!” the monster growled at him. Something else clicked. Nil doesn’t even look like he wants to cry. Why? This had to be awful, so why wasn’t he expressing that?
“They lied to you, Mother.” Nil said weakly.
“Why would they lie about that?! Do not make excuses for your bad behavior! You know better!” the beast snapped back immediately.
“Why are you even here? I was supposed to be picked up in an hour.” Nil deflected, his gaze devoid of all life.
“I was worried you were getting in trouble! And good thing I came early! You were harassing those poor girls! You should be ashamed of such behavior!” the beast continued.
“I wasn’t.” Nil defended himself. It was so faint, so defeated, like he knew what was about to happen. Oh. This was normal for her, wasn’t it? That realization hurt.
“Do not lie to me! Just wait till your father hears about this! Can’t believe we let you miss a piano lesson for you to go and act like this! Do you just stay up late at night thinking of ways to hurt me?!” the beast snapped at him. He just let out a slightly longer breath in response.
“Do not sigh at me! You should face the consequences of your actions like a man! You behave like some crazed drug addict and then have the audacity to sigh at me?!” the beast yelled at him, radiating these odd waves over such a small gesture.
“It wasn’t a sigh, Mother.” Nil said while his voice sounded completely disassociated.
“Are you calling me a liar?! That I don’t have ears to hear you with?!” the beast challenged him. I saw Nil mouth the words: like you ever listen to me.
“No Mother.” Nil answered. His entire body was slumped over as he just looked at the ground.
“We are nowhere near done discussing this mister!” the beast snapped at him.
“I understand.” Nil replied in complete monotone.
“Unbelievable. My son is such a disgrace.” The beast grumbled, shaking its head in disgust.
“I’m sorry I didn’t live up to your expectations.” Nil apologized. Nil, you don’t have to apologize to her; you did nothing wrong.
“You’re only sorry you got caught! I am not buying this fake nonsense of yours!” the beast shot back in an instant. How does it keep getting worse?
“Do you want me to change back into the clothes you bought me?” Nil inquired. Just everything about how Nil looked currently hurt. It hit something deep inside me. Just how much pain do you shoulder Nil?
“Oh, so now they’re good enough for you?! We will be showing your father this ridiculous outfit of yours! And those piercings! Piercings! Why would you choose to look like a failure?!” the monster roared at him.
Nil just went silent, walking while looking completely crushed. How much longer? Please be over. Please be over. I didn’t want to keep seeing this. Just stand here powerlessly and watch what had to be one of his worst memories. Please be one of his worst. Please tell me he can’t top it. Dha seemed to be enjoying himself, looking between past Nil and me. The memory faded around us, returning us to the blank void. I glared at Dha. Dha smiled back, oozing this smugness that made me want to attack him. Why? Why show me that? It definitely achieved the goal of upsetting me. And Dha just seemed to relish the agony of Nil while stomping all over his privacy. Something dark was festering in me that I wanted to shout at Dha to let him know how terrible of a being he was. I bit my tongue as I went to scream obscenities at him. Wait. That’s what he wanted; he was trying to provoke me into screaming at him, wasn’t he?
“Thank you for showing me that, Dha.” I told him through grit teeth. Deep breaths. Do not give Dha the reaction he wants.
“Darn, I was hoping you’d start yelling at me. Fine, you put my mind to rest. Have fun facing your prince.” Dha confirmed for me as I was back in the dining room, seeing several adults staring at me a bit concerned. Nil was there, also staring at me before a wide smile went across his face when he noticed I was fine. He looked so happy as he looked at me. I shot over to him, hugging him as hard as I could.
“I’m sorry, Nil.” I apologized, holding my dorky prince as tightly as I could.