People are cruel.

I'm walking the streets, the day after I met Caspian. I want to see him again, but the chances of that are slim. We're from two different worlds.

Last night was the first time I've felt confident. But that was last night. Back to daylight, where I keep my head down and avoid looking anyone in the eye. More for my safety than theirs.

It's not like I'm new to being pushed around. My whole life has been dictated by the way I look. I've never been given work, never had friends, it even took my father six months after I was born to convince my mother that I wasn't a demon. Even then she never really thought I was quite human.

Everyone I've ever met has seen me as a demon, a witch, a devil. Mothers would cover their children's eyes when they saw me.

But then there was Caspian. He approached me. He smiled at me. He talked to me. He danced with me. He ignored everyone else, just to focus on me.

I'm lost in thought, not paying attention to where I'm actually going. I should have know that's dangerous. I bump into someone and they wheel around.

"Hey, watch it!" He shouts angrily.

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" I try to sidestep him, keeping my eyes on my feet.

"Wait, come back here." He calls out at me. This never goes well for me.

I decide it would be easier to just comply and  turn back around.

"Let's have a real apology now, buddy."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean." I hunch my back and make myself appear as small as possible.

"I mean, you're gonna look me right in the eye and apologize."

Great. I tilt my head upwards, and I'm not surprised or even hurt by his reaction.

"Oh, God! Man, what's with your eyes?"

"They're just two different colors."

"They're freaky looking is what they are!"

"I'm sorry for bumping into you." I turn to leave.

He "accidentally" pushes me into a fruit stand. My forehead scrapes the side of the stand, and I can feel the warm trickle of blood sliding down my temple.

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" He mocks my first apology, hunching his back and keeping his gaze low.

I brush it off. "Okay, okay, that was a good one." I laugh through the pain. "I've got to get to work. See you around though?" I don't wait for his response. I haul myself up to my feet, use my sleeve to wipe away the blood, and continue on the path to the castle. I reach the field where the knights practice.

"Davy?" Caspian calls from across the field. His face lights up, and he runs toward me. Why? 

"Caspian, hi." I keep my face down. "What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be... in there?" I point to the castle, risking raising my eyes a little bit.

"Nah, that's for the eldest son. I usually hang out here with the knights." Caspian laughs, but then he must catch a glimpse of my forehead. "What happened?" He takes my face in his hands. He's looking deep into my eyes. He's not scared of me, he's scared for me.

"I fell into a fruit stand." Not entirely a lie, but not entirely the truth.

"Are you okay? Come on, I'll clean you up." He takes my hand and leads me inside.

"I'll be late to work."

"I'll explain to Lian what happened." He says as he sits me down at a table and rips off his scarf. He takes a goblet of water and gently dabs at the cut.

"Your scarf'll get stained."

"Do you think that matters to me?" He pushes back my hair so he can work easier. "I've got a million scarves. I don't have many chances to get close to you."

I sit in stunned silence while he works on my wound. His skilled fingers are delicate when they brush up against my chin.

"You're good to go, Davy." Too soon, Caspian sets down his scarf, which is now dark red with my blood. "Have fun at work."

"I'll try." I smile at him.

"Oh, and Davy?" His cheeks are glowing pink.

"Yeah?"

"If- if you want to, I'd like to invite you to dine with my family and myself tonight?"

"That would be nice, thank you." I stand up, a little wobbly. Caspian puts his hand on my chest to stabilize me for a second while I regain my balance.

I leave Caspian in the Great Hall and make my way into the kitchen. Turns out, no one notices me slip in.

I pick up a sponge and start scrubbing at a pan.

"Hey there, buddy!" A familiar voice slides up to my side. I risk a look up. It's the same man I bumped into earlier.

"Oh, hello." I focus on the pan, praying he'll leave.

"Name's Ronan."

"Davy." I hope that will end the conversation.

"I noticed you and the prince looked pretty friendly last night. Care to share the details?"

"I've got a lot of dishes to wash, can we please not talk?"

Ronan "gently" pushes my shoulder. I'm so tiny it nearly knocks me over. "I asked for details, so come on, give me details. Is he a good kisser?"

"Is who a good kisser?" Another boy traps me on the other side.

"The prince, Khai." Ronan rolls his eyes.

Khai whistles low. "Didn't know the prince went for men."

"Stop talking about him like that." I try to push past them but a third boy blocks my opening.

"Jax!" Khai claps the third boy on the shoulder. "We've got fresh meat!"

"How fun!" Jax smiles wickedly. "What were you grilling him about?"

"Davy here and the prince ran off together last night."

"Boys!" Lian's sharp yell cuts trough the air. "Get back to work! Those dishes aren't going to clean themselves!"

I let out a sigh of relief as the trio groans but goes back to their stations. I feel my throat tighten up and I have to grip the edge of the counter as hard as I can to keep from exploding.

I don't know why I thought it would be any different here in Viâna. It never changes. No matter where I go, I'm always going to be kicked around by everyone who fears the way I look.

Everyone except Caspian.

I make it through the day without crying, though I came close a few times. The first was when Khai and Jax dumped flour on my head when Lian was out with her husband for lunch, then they took me outside and rinsed me off before she noticed. The next time was when I was walking past with a pot full of warm water and Jax "accidentally" stuck his foot out and tripped me, and I got the water all over my freshly-dried clothes. But by far, the one that took me the longest to recover from was when Ronan and Khai continued to make fun of Caspian and I at the ball.

"Davy! How was work?" Caspian greets me outside the door to the kitchen.

"It was..." I pause, unsure of whether or not to tell him the truth, "okay. It went okay." I sniffle a little louder than I meant to. Then my eyes betray me and let out a couple tears.

"Come on, let's go to my chambers." He takes me by the shoulders and leads me up the stairs and around the corner. "What happened?" He asks as he lets me sit on his bed. He kneels on the floor at my feet, looking up at me.

I take a deep breath and tell him everything. I start with this morning, when Ronan knocked me into the fruit stand. I explain that people are scared of me because of my eyes. Caspian doesn't say a word the whole time.

"I'm coming to work with you tomorrow." Is all he says when I finish.

"That'll only make things worse." I wipe my cheeks with my sleeve.

"Or it'll make things better. You never know."

"Caspian, you don't have to-"

"Hey, it's just Cas. And yes, I do have to do this. They made you cry."

I swallow hard and wipe my eyes. "I'm sorry I'm such a mess. I thought I'd be a little stronger than this."

"Go on and cry. My mother always says, 'Don't ever let yourself think emotions make you weak. You feel things for a reason. Don't be ashamed of it.' Besides, this has happened all your life, you have a right to be upset. I'm coming with you tomorrow."

"You think that's going to change how they treat me?"

"I'd like to see them try that kind of stuff with me around. If they're stupid enough, I'll send them packing. They want to act like that, then they shall. But not to you."

It was in that moment, when I was broken after my first day of work, with Caspian by my side, promising to keep me safe, that I knew he'd become my best friend.