Sin looked at the ring on her finger. How perfect it seemed to fit her finger. But now it was a bitter reminder of the words that rang in her ears. He did a grand job at fooling you then hasn’t he?
Sin, I began, feeling pity for this usually pessimistic and irritable personality, you know they’re only saying that to get under your skin. When there was no response, I continued, They covet your success. If I had to make a reasonable guess that made sense, it wouldn’t surprise me if they took advantage of Eroy to unknowingly deliver a cursed item to you. If he had known he wouldn’t have done such a thing to you. You know he loves you.
You know what else makes sense? Sin finally spoke, that Eroy is of Royalty! I’m sure they paid him a pretty penny to work for them. I have no money! I have no status other than a street performer and hunter. Nothing remotely respectable for a Royal family! I’m just another street urchin, she fumed, choking back tears.
With that, Sin took the ring off and threw it across the room. The echo of the ring hitting the wall, then the floor, was short lived but left the room seeming more hollow than it was. I gave Sin her time to control her feelings as she fought the pain that was consuming her.
We’ll leave in the morning, Sin announced, this place holds nothing for me.
What about those who care for you? I asked.
Hmph. I’m more concerned about getting away from those performers who are ungrateful about what they have.
Then they would win. Are you okay with that, I said, hoping to bait her. If anything, I didn’t want those folk thinking they could terrorize someone half their age and Sin would be the personality to want revenge. So it was surprising to hear her response.
That’s just it Jiji, they already have won! Over a year they’ve been trying to get me and I let my guard down for over 6 months and this is what happens! They let Alysin, myself, get emotionally attached and exploit it for their purposes! I might as well be hiding once more if I choose to stay here and keep making a living for us.
It was more true than I had thought. If Sin stayed, we would have to forever be on our guard. It would be back to those year home trying to keep our nose clean, hiding whenever trouble arose... very much like tonight how we’re still under the cover of invisibility. It irritated me greatly. This feeling of not wanting them to win, especially after how they’ve harassed my person, was foreign, yet so desirable when paired with the thought of revenge. Even Delia squirmed under the surface of Sin agreeing with my thoughts and feelings.
Even Jiji agrees that you ought to seek revenge, Delia began taking my feelings as an opportunity to persuade Sin, I’m not saying kill them, though I feel that is exactly what this world deserves is to be rid of their existence, BUT to terrorize them. Remind them of what you are! You’re a sorceress and deserve to be treated with respect!
The thought was very tempting, yet Sin somehow couldn’t pull herself to scaring others. She didn’t want to stoop to their level though every part of her being craved for that exact thing.
Until sleep came to silence the mind, Delia, Sin and I kept beating around the bush trying to find a plan of action that satisfied our anger and pain. Unfortunately no such plan was made. As Alysin woke to the battered room the following morning, it was a grim reminder of how unwelcome she was. She began to gather her things so we could make for a quick and silent departure.
“We can’t go! You have a wedding to plan!” Aly said. Alysin shook her head at her make believe friend.
“Aly, he doesn’t love me. It was all a ruse to get me cursed... which somehow has lost it’s effect on me but I’m not safe here any more. I haven’t been for a while now and I’m tired. Eroy has already gone home,” Alysin said as tenderly as she could to her hopeless romantic of a friend. Today it didn’t seem to weird me out as much with Alysin talking to an imaginary person. It seemed therapeutic for her to continue to vent her emotions aloud and get out of her head.
“How can you say that! He got on one knee! That ring is absolutely gorgeous! He’d be a fool to have worked for those men!” Aly said in dismay. The arguing went back and forth. Alysin sounded like a mother being continually pestered with the same exact question reworded 20 different times but politely kept responding and reminding Aly of her answers and reasons.
After Alysin packed and tidied the place once more, Aly was in a huge fit. She demanded Alysin not throw away the one good thing in her life which got her close to yelling back in anger as the pain was still smoldering in her heart at the loss of what she knew to be false love.
Then there was a knock on her room door. Alysin became visible before answering the door.
“Good morning Alysin,” Eroy said once the door was pulled wide open. A surge of hate, fear, and hope swept through Alysin at the sight of him. She figured him to be gone by now. Yet here he was in sight and how hopeful she was. But as hopeful she was, he did give her the cursed ring and there was no proof he wasn’t working for the performers. This made her very guarded.
Alysin clenched the door, ready to swing it such when that magical shift happened once more. I listened for the voice, thinking maybe Eroy delivered another curse or somehow triggered the childish curse to come back.
I’m not going to let you ruin this Alysin!
“Alysin?” Eroy asked after what seemed like an eternity of silence.
“Good morning to you too Eroy. You can just call me Aly,” Aly responded putting on a winning smile. He took her hand and gave it s gentle kiss. Aly blushed and ate up the romance. She was a giddy little girl inside a young adult body. However, I saw the look on Eroy’s face before Aly could registered anything other than how handsome he was. He had kissed her left hand, which was bare.
“Um, Aly... where’s the ring?” Eroy asked, his voice questioning.
“Oh! I forgot I had thrown it off last night,” she replied matter-of-factly. With that she turned on her heels and went to the corner of the room she had purposely avoided due to the ring being over there.
“Threw it off?”
“Yep,” came the chipper response, “you see, this ring is actually cursed.” Aly picked it up and began to walk it back over to Eroy. His whole body seemed more composed. Not has carefree when the door first opened. Now he seemed hesitant, assessing what was going on, questioning who this girl was in front of him who seemed very different from the humble, not over the top happy, and less blunt woman he had been dating. He especially tensed at the accusation of him giving her a cursed ring.
“You think I gave you a cursed ring?”
“I know you did.”
“Why would you think I would give you a cursed ring?”
“Okay, from what I’ve been hearing people tell me, is that I’m just a simple, penniless girl. They also said that you’re working for them to help run me out of town and that you never really loved me,” once more Aly said in that matter-of-fact tone with too much chipperness to it. Eroyhind seemed appalled at what he was hearing. Seeing his questioning face, Aly tried to ease his thoughts of worry,
“Oh don’t worry! I know you love me and I love you! I’m so excited to be a princess and to enjoy all the fun and wonderful things that only royalty can do,” and topped it off with that charming smile of hers. Eroy took a step back.
“Alysin,” he said, taking time to think of the words he wanted to say, “why do you love me?” Aly gave him a gave that suggested that it was a silly and easy question he could have asked.
“Because you’re the prince! And by all means, you’ve been the kindest, sweetest prince I’ve ever met! I mean, you’re the only prince I’ve even met, but from what I’ve heard, definitely the best!”
Eroy didn’t have to say anything. I could see it in his eyes. The same look was there when Sin was convinced that he didn’t love her and had betrayed her. Now it was Eroy’s eyes that said that he had been the fool. How my own heart ached at what was unraveling before me.
The performers had lied. Eroy wasn’t working for them. It was all too evident in his whole body language. He fell in love with Alysin. If only Alysin was able to have kept control maybe things could have been better said, better explained in a way that Eroy could still see the woman he fell in love with and not the imaginary friend who doesn’t have a clue.
That got me thinking. Alysin had 6 personalities now. No wonder Aly was able to take control. Her mind must be a feeble mess trying to make sense of things and handle everything life has thrown at her. But the scarier part was if it was that easy for Aly. the make believe friend, to manifest, then what was holding Delia back?
I snapped out of my realizations. Eroy had begun to turn, his face still heavy with disbelief.
“Where are you going Eroy?” Aly asked, “I’ll come with-”
“No!” Eroy said firmly. This stopped Aly in mid step. “I don’t know what’s going on... but I find it impossible to believe for months I’m the one who’s been played the fool Alysin. I thought I found someone who loved me for being an ordinary person. Someone who didn’t care about money. A smart girl who’s self sufficient and cared for those around her. For you to claim my ring is cursed is... insulting!” Eroy took a moment to breathe and look into the shocked, brown eyes of Aly’s, “I’m sorry Alysin. But if this is how you act after a proposal, then what am I to expect for a 100 years down the road?”
Eroy turned his back and without looking back left Aly in her doorway with the ring still in her hand. Aly, seeming unaffected by what just happened kept an optimistic outlook, thinking Eroy would change his mind and come back for her.
Aly, he’s not coming back, I attempted to explain.
He will Jiji. You wait and see.
How would you feel if you went to him the morning after you gave him a very precious gift and found him claiming it to be cursed and not wearing it? This made it through her thick head. She for a moment felt hurt at the thought of her gift being rejected.
Well... if he explained it well enough I suppose I would believe him. Wait! Suppose if I go around town wearing the ring maybe that’ll show that I’m devoted to him and he’ll see my proof that I love him! And just like that, the memory of the ring being cursed was gone and the ring back on her finger. Little Alysin was back and soon the thoughts of last night and this morning came rushing in.
Oh Jiji! What am I to do? I can’t be a pwincess and I can’t stay heeya. What if the people in the next town hate me too? Alys lamented.
We’ll make new friends Alys. They will learn to love you. Some people can’t see how amazing you are and I’m sure once they see you’re gone, they’ll wish they had you back for all the good you brought to the community, I responded encouragingly. Yet even that was the wrong choice of words to say.
Alysin’s head came up and thought about what I said. Then a big happy smile stretched across her face.
You might be wight Jiji, I mentally patted myself on the back, but then came the shocking announcement, maybe dad has been wishing to see me again foe yeaws now! Alysin said excitedly. Quickly she put on her pack and began to head out the door announcing, “We’re going back home!”
With how dramatic everything had been over the past 12 hours, it was comforting to see Alysin cheerful. But going back to that broken home did not seem like a good idea. Once more, Delia and I agreed and thought in unison, No!
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