I read through Julian’s books. I had already finished reading the books on magic. They weren’t very interesting, as they were more spell lists than anything else. As a beast I could cast magic with my imagination and didn’t need a spell, however I did learn of the stronger spells’ animals could wield, such as the ring of fire bolts. I needed all this information to blend into human society.

Now I read The Purple Dragons­, the only work of fiction in his library. It only helped to impress upon me impossibility of learning all customs and traditions of human society. I closed the book, overwhelmed by both the customs and tragic stories of cursed princesses, of betrayed lords, and evil witches. I’d rely on Julian’s memories and piece together the rest.

Magic was much easier. I imagined heat accumulate atop my palm. A small flame awoke. I tried to form it into a sphere, but the fire only wavered. My magic control was too low. Afraid to awaken a secret power like in those tales and burn down the room, I closed my hand, extinguishing the fire.

I was cold. I tucked my knees into my chest and wrapped them in my arms.

Mental dam (proficiency 14%)

I prayed for the memories to stop, to sink in the winter seas of the past; now was summer. Even though they brought me useful knowledge, they hurt. Frost wrapped my head, smoke clogged my lungs, the pain in my heart – it was too much. Not even the blankets of a quiet room and comfort of a royal bed could relax my aching soul or stop the fear of being lost in a mixture with another spirit.

I sifted through the previous memories, careful to identify each as mine or another’s. That was the most I could do.

#

Someone knocked. “Who is it?” I called out.

“It’s Diane. I’ve brought your shipment.”

“Enter.” The thick ebony door creaked open. Diane’s white shoes peeked through the gap. She squeezed in and closed the door–it caught her white dress and ripped off the bottom quarter of her robe, revealing her shin.

A scar ran down her tibia onto her ankle. It reminded me of Rose. Everything reminded me of Rose... Once, a hunter managed to graze my chest with an arrow. For a week, I was grounded and could barely move. Rose brought me food for an entire month, even though we had only hunted together for a month at that point. I touched my stomach. I hope the scare transferred to this body. “How did you get that?” I asked, looking up.

“Oh this.” She bent down to touch her scar. Her lightly curled black hair fell and covered the side of her face. “I had a short stint as an adventurer before I had to come back and take up my family’s responsibilities.”

Humans certainly lived a strict and restrained life. Perhaps that’s why they fought so hard to climb to the top. Perhaps there they could stare up at the sky. “Do you have my new frames?” I asked. With them, I could at least go outside. They could help me. With them, I could blend into human society. I too wanted to aim for the top. It didn’t sound so bad anymore, rather, it felt like where I belonged. I shook my head; those weren’t my thoughts.

“Ah yes.” She handed me a box made of oak wood. I was slightly surprised. I was starting to think that everything built of wood in this kingdom would be done with ebony wood.

“Get up from the floor. It’s not a good habit. Your clothes will get dirty.”

“I’m tired.” The memories brought about nausea and confusion. I shifted my attention back to the matter at hand. The frames were large, rectangular, with rounded edges, and made of gold. I put them on. “How does it look?”

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“You look striking. It fits perfectly. Let’s show your father.” Her smile didn’t reflect her words. Her eyes dimmed. “You’re not him.” She looked down to her shin. “If you want, we can have tea before we go see the king. I haven’t talked in a long while.”

No. “It’s fine, I really want to show Father my glasses.” Her eyes weren’t those of a friend, and her words coiled round my ears. Even now, without windows, she was in the way of the only exit. She was constricting, trapping. My throat tightened, but I managed to speak, “Let… Let’s go.”

She looked up, a glint of anger momentarily painted her eyes black.

#

I exited the throne room. Diane stayed back to talk about my condition with the King. I really hoped they wouldn’t find out I wasn’t human. They probably knew something was up. As long as they didn’t act on it, it would work out. It would be in the king's best interest to keep me after all. As long as I didn’t act out of line with his perception of Julian, all would be well.

An eyelash fell into my eye. I reached for it but hit my finger in the glass. I tried to get it from the side, but there was another glass placed there to hide my black eyes from all angles. I pulled off my glasses and rubbed my eye until the lash fell out. Steps approached. I popped my glasses back on. Albert came around the corner with his permanently downcast head.

“What’s with you spending all your time with Father?” He wore a close fitted baby blue shirt and white pants.

“I was kidnapped. Isn’t it normal for Father to care about me?” I didn’t know what he wanted, nor did I have the strength or courage to fetch the answer in Julian’s memories.

Albert’s fists closed, turned white, and trembled. “Don’t you understand? I’m going to be king! I’m going to be king! I am going to be king!” His chest heaved up and down. His veins popped out and were even more visible than the Kings. He resembled those birds who fought and died fighting over dead rats. Thankfully, in this case, I didn’t want or need the rat…

“No,” the word escaped my tongue. “I don’t want to be king, it’s fine,” I corrected myself.

Albert looked up. His eyes were blue. I had never seen blue eyes. Perhaps it was a curse. It would explain why he always kept them to the ground. After a few instants, he looked back down.

“You’re lying. You’ve always wanted to please Father. You’ve always wanted to be king. Don’t try to act different just because you escaped a vampire.” He took a few steps forwards. “Yes! You are a vampire.” A gust of wind kicked up. An orb glinted in his pocket. My frame flew into the air and a shatter resounded. I jerked back and picked up my glasses. Why were there no guards here? How did he know I’d be here? Add to that, originally Diane should have accompanied me. The cause of this was obvious. My glasses’ lenses were shattered. I ran back to the hall. The king was the only one I could trust. I ran and pushed open the hall’s door. There, Diane spoke to the king.

My heartbeat’s thump reverberated in my ears. I couldn’t lie, I was scared. Scared to lose the easy path to Rose’s revival. “Your Highness,” I said. “Albert has gone crazy. He was yelling about me becoming king and attacked me with magic. My glasses flew away and broke. He saw my eyes. You must send the knights!”

The king slowly rose from his throne, his fists clenching.

“That brat doesn’t understand his place, talent can’t cover for insolence.” He moved forward. “Are there no knights patrolling the corridors?”

This was most definitely Diane’s plan. I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t know the king well enough to predict his reaction. “No, father. It might be a trap. There are too many oddities.”

“A trap?” repeated the king. He sat back down and pondered.

It seems that paranoia in a king wasn’t the worst flaw. Perhaps I could accuse Diane here and now, however, if he didn’t believe me and suspected I wanted to start a conflict in order to seize the throne… I hesitated. “Ye—”

“No, you have to go now!” Diane interrupted. She clutched her chest and stuttered out a few words. “I heard Sir Richard was planning something. The knights–I believe they’re rallying to overthrow you. That must be why Sir Richard refused to head out and search for the vampire. I’m sure Albert is heading their way to take the lead. They may use Julian’s curse to justify their actions.”

The king’s eyes looked resolute. I had no choice but to expose Diane. “No! Dia—”

However, before I could finish my statement the king exploded down the hall, propelled forward by hurricane like winds.

“…ne is the one planning th…” Shit! I looked back. Diane’s eyes turned red.

“That was close,” she muttered. The surrounding air dried and two thin, scythe-shaped blobs of water formed midair. “But it seems like I’ve won.” The scythes shot towards me.