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Mina’s will. Mina’s humanity. Her flesh, her tears, her angel-like voice—none of it was enough. I craved to rule her agency. I needed her to choose me, to surrender her own free will to mine. That was the only victory that mattered.

Just for now.

STAGE TWO: Broken

Raymond

By the time we turned sixteen, the perfect little dream of Princess Mina and her loyal knight Remi had long run its course.

We didn’t spend much time in the garden anymore. The nannies had quit, and Mina’s father barely came home. I, on the other hand, was as numb as I sat with my feet up on the table, staring blankly at Mina’s bookcase.

Some things had changed. Well, many things.

Mina wasn’t my only addiction anymore. She was still the most beautiful, the most precious one, but I couldn’t be loyal to her alone. I closed my eyes, put one of the sleeping pills in my mouth and swallowed it.

For a moment, I couldn’t grasp where I was. What I was doing. Who I was.

These blackouts used to happen more often when I was younger. Back then, the red-haired figure would emerge from every doorway, painting pictures across the walls of my supposedly blank memory with her own blood.

But lately, she had been drifting further and further away, and I couldn’t breathe the way I used to. I had lost my peace of mind.

Without her, I needed those damn pills.

I had always hated them—the very pills my mother had put on the market years ago. Yet lately, they were the only thing keeping me functional. Sane.

Beyond that, I had also taken to snorting the powder; Loxton brought me some of the finest grade this time. I was seeing him more often these days, spending time with him entirely by design. At the grand table where I dined alone, there were many vying for my position, and Loxton was the least headache-inducing of them all. At least I could see right through him.

I knew how power-obsessed he was, and Loxton also had figured out how obsessed I was with Mina. I never let the bastard out of my sight; allowing anyone from that wretched world near her was not possible.

We may have stopped playing those innocent games, but I was still her knight.

When I arrived at the Olinds’ house, neither Mina nor her father was anywhere to be seen. With cautious steps, I ascended to her room. I cracked the door open slightly, and the resulting creak startled Mina, who was sitting on the bed. She raised her head and looked at me, yet… it was as though she did not see me. Normally, she would have smiled broadly and rushed into my arms, but now she was merely staring into the distance.

Trying not to panic, I assumed a nonchalant posture, crossed my arms, and leaned my back against the wall.

“So… How was school?”

She flinched, her gaze escaped at the carpet. I kept glancing at her, my chest heaved. I drew a long breath. This won’t do. I closed the distance between us, then knelt down in front of her, gently lifting her chin to my eye-level.

Her browns were dull, red-rimmed and swollen. Maybe it had been a while, but she had cried, oh, she cried. Although she looked cute with her tear-stung eyes, I hated her being sad. It reminded me of the ocean, the giant waves rising toward the sky of the Earth, strong enough to sink ships…

She broke free from my grip, her gaze dropping to the floor.

“What’s wrong?”

“I am… I am sorry, Remi. Can you leave me alone?”

There was a pleading tone in her voice, begging me not to ask any more questions, but I couldn’t do that. Mina was someone who quickly disappeared into her own world, and I had to tear down the walls she was building around herself while they were still under construction.

Without taking my eyes off her, I found her cold fingers and squeezed them tightly, infusing her skin with my own warmth. “Hey, Mina…” I repeated. “What’s wrong?”

Her lower lip began to tremble. “The butterfly… broke.”

I followed her gaze to find what she was watching. The golden butterfly had shattered without emanating warmth, flitting beneath the table. I did not linger long; my eyes sought Mina once more, but this time she was weeping. Again. Seeing tears pooling within her sweet brown eyes, I swallowed hard.

“It’s okay. I’ll make another one, why would you…” When she turned slightly to the left, I froze. I pushed her curly hair back, looking closely, and Mina shrank back. She couldn’t make eye contact with me, trying hard to cover her face again. But I already saw it.

There was a sharp flush on her pale cheek. Undoubtedly, the shape of a hand.