The Tale of a Princess

Tia slid the empty bowl through the bars, stretching a bit before resting her back against the wall and sliding down into a sitting position.

She held her knees up and stared into space, gazing at nothing in particular.

I didn't want to disturb or annoy her, but the questions in my head outweighed my desire to be a gentleman.

"Um... How long have you been here?"

She glanced up at me with a melancholy expression.

"A while."

Her hands shifted, and she pulled her knees closer to her body.

Tia continued, "I just wanted some independence. Some time away from all those adults trying to control my future... and look where that got me."

Dried droplets of blood were scattered around her lips, and her skin had taken on a paler color. She closely resembled a vampire, which would've been comedic if we weren't stuck in this inhumane situation.

I scooted across the floor, taking a seat an arm's length away from her.

"I kind of get that. My story is... a lot to get into. But, you know, at least you were strong enough to run away. I..."

Tia stayed quiet, listening intently.

"I knew what was going on back then... but I was too weak, too frightened and too hopeless to do anything about it."

She tilted her head to the side, facing away from me.

"Lance, you didn't do anything wrong. I don't know what happened to you, and if you don't want to talk about it that's fine, but you're young - don't let feelings of regret consume you."

This was far too heavy a conversation for a pair of kids, but for a reincarnated genius with a mental age far higher than my physical age... the words hit hard.

I can't recall anything specific, but I had a sinking feeling that emotions of grief, sadness and revenge also plagued my past life. Trying to remember things from back then was an insurmountable challenge, as if I was an omniscient bird peering down on my past self - but said bird is half-blind, half-deaf and comes packaged with severe memory loss.

How did I know I was a genius then? Well, all reincarnated protagonists are. That's the law of reincarnation, so it would stand to reason that I'm no different, surely. For example, go ahead and ask me any question - any difficulty - I bet I know the answer.

"... Lance? I'm sorry if I upset you."

Oops, got caught up in my own little world there.

"No, no, I'm the one who's sorry for saying something so weird."

I peeked over in her direction as she was simultaneously turning her gaze back towards me. We made eye contact for a split-second before our eyes swiftly darted in different directions.

A moment of awkward silence ensued.

"Err, Lance... I don't mind telling you this, so... I'm not strong either, you know? One evening, my parents sat me down alongside my childhood friend and his parents. The adults started talking about my future, and his future, and our families' futures..."

She slid further down the wall, staring up at the roof. Her torn, discoloured dress was spread out across the floor. One of the shoulder straps had snapped, and her dirty vest was poking out under the fabric.

"It was about, well, marriage... and stuff... they wouldn't take no for an answer. The next morning, I ran away. I ran as fast and as far as my legs could carry me until I passed out."

I pondered on her story for a little while. In these times, it was probably normal for parents to coax their daughters into arranged marriages to secure alliances and fortune. That didn't make it the right thing to do. Nobody should be forced into anything, especially not something as life-altering as that. It wasn't necessarily the wrong thing either, though. From her parents' perspective, it was likely perfectly socially-acceptable, so who are the real villains here?

"Do you resent your parents?"

She looked over, a fiery glimmer in her eyes. Her response was instant.

"I don't resent them. I... resent this world."