6

It was raining. Unsurprisingly, it hadn't rained like this since last year, when the prince fell off his horse at school and broke his arm, but the way the drops hit the window made him shiver. The castle was always warm and comfortable in terms of temperature, the dungeons were much nicer than his current home. It wasn't that, though, his father decided to move them away from the palace so that he wouldn't have too many vegetables about what his mother had become, but instead of moving to more secluded grounds, he chose another place. And now they were living here, in this cold, abandoned, drafty mansion with a roof that leaked like a sieve and two children in diapers. The door opened and closed behind him as his mother entered the room. She didn't look very happy, and he thought he should apologize for leaving later than she expected; after all, she was worried that he might get sick while traveling so far away from the kingdom. But he couldn't say anything; not now, not ever again. "Good Morning!" His mother said, cheerfully as always. "I see you are comfortable. I hope you slept well?

He gave her a smile, which he hoped seemed sincere enough. His smile lasted only a moment before his eyes moved away again, searching the ground. He didn't know why he did that either, he usually tried to talk to her, ask questions or at least just listen, but today he couldn't do any of that. It felt wrong to talk to her without actually doing what she wanted, as if saying things out loud made everything real. So instead he stayed silent, staring at the table where his breakfast was untouched and staring straight ahead. He didn't want to eat. His mother sat down next to him and gently touched his shoulder. "What do you think about?" He didn't know if she wanted to say it now, but he knew what he was thinking about. What he would think about. He could tell she already knew what it was because her expression changed, almost imperceptibly, but he caught it. Her eyebrows rose slightly and her eyes narrowed, but she remained composed. If only he could do the same... "You don't have to tell me, honey," she continued, "But you'll have to do it sometime, I promise. I'm just trying to help you." "I know. Thanks, Mom," he said. And she smiled, a sad smile. She squeezed his shoulder gently, then stood up and walked to the door, stopping just behind him. "Don't let anything occupy your mind, okay?" she said before she left. He nodded. She was gone. The door closed, leaving him alone again. There was really nothing else to look at, except the little white clock on the kitchen wall. 7h23. It was a Saturday, so he shouldn't have woken up yet, but he hadn't slept well anyway. Too much noise when the others were in their rooms - his brothers snoring, talking and fighting. Even when his parents came home early, they always fell asleep immediately. But tonight something changed, as if his brothers were restless or something. And maybe this was partly his fault. Because he couldn't sleep. Not after everything that happened this morning. After everything. The thing he still didn't understand. Why did they go to that school anyway? Didn't they know about the monsters in the forest outside the city? Wasn't it a good idea to avoid them? Maybe they should stay at home?

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