Once, there was a bird with feathers that shimmered gold, whose song could charm even the harshest heart. Humans caught it and placed it in a cage, not to protect it, but to own it. They wanted its beauty for themselves, to marvel at its song only when it pleased them.
At first, the bird was pampered, fed well, treated gently, and praised for every note. But as the days passed, affection turned into cruelty. The masters grew impatient. If the bird's song faltered, they screamed. If it did not sound sweet enough, they mocked its size, its wings, its very existence.
Fear choked the bird. Every note it sang was no longer for joy, but out of terror that if it displeased them, they would kill it. Yet fate shifted one day, the cage toppled, its bars bending just enough. For a long moment, the bird trembled, too afraid to believe in freedom. But resolve stirred. Beating its wings with desperate strength, the bird escaped, soaring into the open sky. Higher, higher, until the air itself embraced it. It never looked back. The bird was free once more.
"...You keep telling me this story, Kaito. Why is that?" The girl's soft voice broke the silence. Her murky gray eyes, showing she was blind, turned toward the spirit floating before her.
The spirit appeared as a young boy with a dark aura constantly floating around him, his small palm-sized body glowing faintly with dark mist. "Because I want you to be free too, Historia!" He yelled huffing. "Let's leave this awful place together!"
Historia's lips quivered, but no tears came. She shifted, revealing the dark bruises staining her tan skin. Her wavy pink hair tumbled around her face as she steadied herself against a shelf in the library. "Free…" Her tone was distant, cold. "Yes. I want to leave too. I'm so tired of all this." She forced herself to stand up and leave the library.
_____
The next morning, Historia stood silently at the edge of the training grounds, her gray eyes fixed on the blinding glow of the knights' life forces as they swung their sword. She couldn't see their blades, nor the wood dummies they struck, but she listened, every grunt, every clash, every rhythm of their feet and watching the glow of their movement their life force made.
Kaito's voice whispered in her ear. "Historia, can you even see the wood dummies? I thought you could only see people's life force."
"You're right," she murmured. "I can't see objects. But I can understand their movements… by watching the flow of their energy."
Before Kaito could reply, a sneering voice cut through the courtyard. "Well, look at this. The filthy blind half-born dares to crawl out of her room?"
A boy, tall for his age, strode forward. Abel, fifteen, with jet-black hair and bright blue eyes, the duchess' prized heir. His fair skin shone in the sun. Only wearing shorts with no shirt as he has paused his training.
Historia tilted her head, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. "Funny. You mock me, yet I look more like Father than you ever will, Abel.". Comparing them it would be hard to tell that they even related. Unlike his black hair Historia had wavy pink hair and grey eyes, tan skin and looked around 13 years old. She looked like a living doll.
The words struck like a blade. Abel's face twisted with fury. Without hesitation, his hand snapped across her cheek in a resounding slap.
But Historia did not falter. She focused, watching the glow of his life force, predicting his movements. As his hand lingered too close again, she lunged, her teeth sank deep into his flesh. The copper taste of blood filled her mouth as she tore away a strip of skin.
"Arghh! She….she bit me!" Abel howled, clutching his bleeding hand. He stumbled back, his cries echoing across the courtyard.
Historia spat the flesh onto the dirt, her gray eyes cold, merciless. "Scram."
Servants rushed to Abel's side, fussing. Not a single one stepped toward her. Not even to ask if she was hurt.
Then came the Duchess.
Green light flared as Elowen materialized with teleportation magic, her black hair cascading like a waterfall of ink, her golden eyes burning with fury. She knelt by her son, her mana flaring violently.
Historia on the other hand just saw a light green aura of life force surrounding Elowe's entire body.
"Mother, she bit me!" Abel wailed, shaking her arm as though she were his savior.
"You insolent brat!" Elowen's voice thundered across the courtyard as she glared at Historia. "After all we've done for you, you dare to lay a hand on your brother?!"
Historia's cold laughter echoed in her mind, though her lips stayed still. 'Done for me? What a load of bullshit. I should have never come back here with that stupid so-called father of mine if I was going to suffer like this. Well at least coming to this place helped me train my eyes.'
"Summon a healer for my son at once!" Elowen snapped. Maids scurried like frightened mice.
'I wanna kill them. I want them to die, I want to rip them to shreds and watch their expression as I strangle them with my hands,' Historia thought as she stared coldly at them. Just staring at their faces made so many unlikable memories flood into her mind. The duchess' words were nothing but pure hypocrisy.
Kaito's bitter voice hissed at her ear. "That woman's a hypocrite! She doesn't care for anyone but her spoiled brats!"
Historia's lips twisted. Elowen's gaze met hers, and the duchess snarled. "Don't you dare look at me with those cursed eyes!" Her foot lashed out, slamming into Historia's stomach.
'My body aches, this is so annoying,' Historia thought as her fury began to boil once more.
This kick was nothing more than a normal occurrence in this castle that's why everybody avoided their gaze.
Cause who would be stupid enough to make an enemy out of the Duchess? Kicks, slaps, whips, she endured it all from this blasted woman. In Historia's eyes Elowen was nothing more than a coward who took out her frustrations on a child because the Duke didn't love her.
'There's no use in arguing with this woman because no matter what I say I'm always in the wrong,' Historia thought coldly as she slowly struggled to get up.
"If you're done hitting me…" Her voice cracked but did not waver. "I'll take my leave." Limping, she turned, clutching her chest.
____
Later, in her room, a young maid carefully wrapped her bandaged chest, tears brimming in her eyes. "My lady… you shouldn't have to endure this. I'm so sorry…"
Historia's face was calm, too calm. "It's fine. I'm used to it."
Kaito snarled, pacing in the air. "Used to it? That boy Abel deserved worse! And the duchess… tch! Always defending her pathetic son!"
When the maid left, leaving food on the table, Historia dragged herself over and forced the food into her mouth despite her trembling hands. "At least… I don't starve. Unlike when I was on the streets." She gave a bitter chuckle.
"You could always ask me to help," Kaito said softly, though his voice carried rage beneath it. "If not for you, I'd have killed them all already."
"If they have magic to bind spirits, you'd be caught. I won't risk that."
"Historia!" Kaito's shadow flared angrily. "That's the same excuse you gave when your mother stole your magic eyes eight years ago! How long will you keep pretending humans are anything but rotten?!"
"You're right," Historia whispered, her voice hollow. "I really am pathetic."
"Pathetic, of course you are!" Kaito yelled. "You let her take the very magic from your eyes, the gift that lets you see spirits. She abandoned you on the streets. That so-called Duke only noticed you because of your singing, nothing else! And I regret urging you to go with him. If I had known you'd suffer like this, I'd have dragged you far away! And that damned duchess, what kind of grown woman torments a child?!"
Historia let him vent, her face unreadable. When he finally quieted, she spoke softly. "Do you know why I endure, Kaito?"
He froze. "...Why?"
"You remember how I made you read every book, every magic book you could find for me?"
Kaito blinked, then widened his eyes. "Wait…you've been enduring just to study… to learn magic?"
"Yes." Historia's gray eyes glimmered faintly. "And because of this cursed place, the mana is so dense… my magic capacity has grown. I can now see life force more clearly. Their colors, their flow. I was hoping… maybe, one day, I could find a way to heal my eyes. After all, only nobles get the ability to learn complex magic."
Kaito's expression darkened. "Healing magic won't get your eyesight back not without killing your mother who stole it. Healing magic won't undo something that still exists. Are you willing to do that, Historia? To kill your mother?"
Silence stretched between them.
Then Historia's lips curved into a smile, "Yes. I'll kill her. She's the reason my life became this hell. And one day… I'll make her pay."