technicolor dreams • a modern fairy tale

• 013 •

It proved to be easier than he had anticipated.
After he had eventually overcome the bout of disappointment and let out his anger by kicking around a few trash cans and punching a wall, Xenopus had set off towards the nearest internet café.
He supposed that the little princess could be famous enough to appear in a gossip magazine or another, what with the air of superiority she had behaved and the cash she definitely seemed to have enough of.

And he wasn't wrong with his suspicion.
Actually, he now even understood why she hadn't paid him any mind anymore after he had saved her life. He simply wasn't worthwhile to hold her interest.

Now, this Tiana Persephone Holloway had made quite a name for herself. She was only nineteen but was rumoured to change her boy toys more often than some people changed their underwear.
Her attention span was too short to let them last longer than a week, and their social statuses ranged from one being a literal prince, to heirs of important businesses, to incredibly talented scholarship students.

But definitely no one was a tramp such as Xenopus.
Therefore, he should probably feel honoured to even have been allowed to save her from Frank and his cohorts without being pushed away and deemed as unworthy of her presence.

Xenopus snorted sarcastically at the thought and ignored the little twinge in his chest. Well, at least all this gossip meant information, and information meant being able to figure out where the Holloways lived, and knowing where they lived meant that he could finally go and demand from Tiana what she had promised him, no matter what she thought of him.

By now, the sun had set and Xenopus doubted that he'd be able to reach the other end of the city before nightfall. He wasn't going to let that fact disturb him though; he knew that it was only a matter of time until withdrawals would set in now. And as soon as that happened it was going to be a feat to even climb a flight of stairs without breaking down and retching and puking.

So, he'd have to set out now because Xenopus was aware of the fact that if he didn't get help anytime soon, his chances of ever leading a normal life were dwindling steadily.

He was sick and tired of feeling like shit whenever he hadn't taken any drugs, sick and tired of having to fight for the scraps life threw at him, of wondering if he would live to see the next morning. Xenopus wanted to be able to lead a life that was not dictated by drugs, and even though he realised that it was going to be hard, he really wanted to try.

But the will alone wasn't enough, he knew that by now. Because his will always faded over time, and in the four or so years he'd been addicted he hadn't once been able to fulfil his dream of getting clean. Xenopus realised that his best chances lay in going cold-turkey somewhere where the risk of relapsing wasn't quite as looming. And since he didn't have the means to do so in some fancy rehabilitation centre, he would just track down the palace Tiana Persephone Holloway lived in and take residence there.