Back then, when the world seemed a little smaller, there was a silence that couldn’t be explained.

The kingdom had always been like this, quieter than any other, and the citizens were living as if they were completely oblivious to the chaos that was going on in the court. The king of the land was trying to come up with a solution to the constant raids and invasions and attacks on this kingdom, the raids that they were trying to prevent.

Opal and Ryan were younger at the time, when the world seemed stagnant, and the people were unaware of its constant changes. Opal would be playing in the garden with her two “imaginary friends”, as Ryan would’ve called it, and he would be in the library, researching of the creatures that seemed to be mythical, and extinct.

There was one day, while they were still children when Opal decided to pick a bouquet of flowers for her father and brother, since they were busy doing things that she didn’t care for. She hummed softly as she skipped across the hallway to enter the garden, the hem of her silvery blue dress bouncing up and down rhythmically. The day was still young; the sun was shining and high in the sky.

Opal found two other children, filled with injuries, one that had glowing teardrops that could recall any memory in the past, present or future, as well as another that had other secrets behind his dark, baggy eyes. They were hiding in the royal garden, fending for themselves. The teardrop girl was the first to be found; she hid in a field of flowers that the princess always seemed to visit.

When the two of them met, it was a sight. The teardrop girl was crying, her tears falling into the palms of her hands, scars seemingly opening as she cried. Opal looked down at this mysterious figure, not sure what to say.

“Um, are you okay?” were the first words she whispered.

The other girl looked up at the princess, her tears suddenly stopping, leaving a glowing wet trail of tears down her face. Her eyes were a dazzling light blue, like the color of the sky, and her blonde hair flowed down like a waterfall. She had little red specks, no freckles, which covered a small part of her cheeks. When she was discovered her eyes widened. She immediately covered her face from Opal.

“I’m not going to hurt you, if that’s what you think,” the princess said calmly and curiously, in awe at the girl. She had never seen such a beautiful girl in her life. “Do you want to come out of there? I believe that you seem to be a little bit…” the princess couldn’t come up with the words.

“I would,” the teardrop girl replied, “but I don’t have any clothing. And if Abaddon and I are discovered, we will probably die by the Royals.”

Opal felt sudden pity from this poor girl, running away because she didn’t have any other choice. “Well, I could—”

“Thank you, but we don’t need your help,” the girl said. “We did fine on our own before, we will live.”

“But, what if someone finds you?” she asked.

“Don’t worry about it. We have backup. We’ll get help.”

Opal couldn’t accept this, so she ran away from the teardrop girl and returned to her chambers to find the stranger a change of clothes. Perhaps if she even had a little bit of clothing, the she could be able to roam around a little more freely.

There was one thing she couldn’t be able to understand though; why did the girl say that she would be killed? And by the hands of her very court?

After picking her clothes out, she ran quickly back into the garden, trying to search for the strange teardrop girl that hid in her field of flowers. However, she wasn’t there when she returned. She seemingly disappeared.

She quickly left the clothes that she picked and headed back into the castle. The sun was setting, and soon it would be time for dinner. Opal would be reunited with her brother and father, two people that she loved very much but couldn’t be able to spend time with because of their other affairs.

Opal quickly walked up to the library and tried to open the door. It was locked. She knocked on the door, hollering out his name. She heard quickly paced footsteps approaching the door, and a creak from the side. The giant door began to open slightly, and a familiar orange golden eye peeked out of the study.

“Opal?” he asked. “What is it?”

“Let’s eat, Ryan,” she replied bluntly. “I have something for you on the table,” she added before skipping away. She left him speechless, but she didn’t need to know that.

The princess would look up to her father, but he knew that he wouldn’t want to be disturbed. So instead, she immediately headed into the giant dining room, with a long table at the center of it and many chairs lining up next to each other. She saw the two bouquets that she placed neatly in front of her brother’s and father’s seats. She was rather pleased, but a little disappointed that weren’t coming right away to see her creation.

Soon, a platter from one of the servants rolled in. The princess sat down on her seat and stared at the servant bringing in her dinner. Where was the rest of her family? Why weren’t they here with her?

“I’m sorry my princess,” the servant said as she placed the covered plate on the table in front of her, “but your father isn’t going to be here tonight. It seems as if his work is going to monopolize his time right now. So he’ll be eating a little later.” This news disappointed the girl, and she didn’t want to hear anymore. She had a bad feeling that Ryan wouldn’t come anyway either.

“Have a good meal, Your Highness,” the servant greeted before rolling away. The girl slumped in sadness and looked at the covered tray. She lifted it and saw that it was her favorite food, lobster. She sighed and slowly began to cut off a piece of the lobster, not even caring about her manners at the moment. It wasn’t like there would be anyone to chastise her. She quickly finished her dinner and slid off her chair. She left the room quietly, not caring about anything at the moment.

When she returned to the garden, the sun was already beginning to set. The day was ending, and nothing spectacular happened except for the encounter with the teardrop girl. She was searching for the clothes she gave the girl, but she couldn’t seem to find them anywhere. She began to panic a bit; where could the dress gone? Would she get in trouble for losing an entire outfit?

“You shouldn’t be here,” Opal heard a voice say from the distance. Unlike the teardrop girl’s soft spoken voice, this one seemed a little deeper, and filled with an air of authority, of some sort. The princess turned around to see a boy in rags. He had dark hair and dark eyes, but she couldn’t make out anything else about him as the sky was getting darker.

She stared at the boy, who only stared back. Since his body blocked out the sun, she couldn’t be able to make out any specific details, but she knew that he was a boy and that he could be dangerous. “Why not?” she asked.

“There are many dangers out there. Even in the garden. Besides, it’s getting dark. Shouldn’t a little girl like you be heading back to sleep?”

“I was,” Opal began, “but I had lost my clothes. I can’t find them. Did, did the teardrop girl take them? Did you see her?”

“Yeah, in fact, I know where she is. And she’s wearing your clothes. She really likes them. Actually, now would be the time that I thank you on her behalf.”

The girl blushed at the sudden statement. She felt strangely flattered, despite his strange tone, as if he was sneering at her. However, she didn’t pay much attention to that.

“As for you, what is your business here, coming out into the open in the dark?” he asked slowly, as if he was raising his eyebrow.

“I, I just wanted to see if she was okay.”

“Lily’s okay… she’s smiling a little more. She’s no longer feeling the pain that comes with her tears. In a way, you saved her.”

Opal raised her arm and scratched behind her head. “Uh, well, do you think I can be able to see her again?” she asked innocently.

“No,” was his instant reply.

Silence soon followed, and then he spoke again, this time very clearly stating his true opinions on her and her family. “You have no idea what you and your family had put her through, what your family has done to stifle us. We are not you. We are not ‘normal’ as you Royals would call it.”

Opal puffed his cheeks. “You’re wrong! My family is not like that! We are good!” she protested, however, she only heard a slight chuckle from him.

“You truly have no idea on what they do, do you?” he asked. Those words struck a chord in her, and suddenly, all the frustration that she had inside of her burst out.

She stomped her little foot and began to scream. “Don’t say that! I thought, I thought… I just wanted someone to play with! My family is always too busy for me!” She burst into tears. “I’m so bored… I have no one… all I want is a playmate…”

Opal was crying, but the boy wasn’t fazed by her little outburst. “Well, that isn’t my problem, now is it?”

She ran afterwards, tears in her eyes, and wildly sobbing. She stifled her cries, knowing that her father and Ryan wouldn’t like it at all if she behaved this way. For a while, she would have to be the smiling child that they knew.

She didn’t like that boy, and nothing would convince her otherwise.