Fleeting on Dragonfly Wings

The End

I leaned forward, barely breathing. My mind was racing.

"My name is Caius Scartunt," I whispered to myself. "I am born of Evan Scartunt and Christie Scartunt. I am of the Nocturne Eve Fae, in Listandel, Newartic."

The wind whistled straight through the curtains. I lost focus as my curtains rustled. I had to start over start over start over start over.

My hands were shaking. "My name is Caius Scartunt. I am born of Evan Scartunt and Christie Scartunt. I am of the Nocturne Eve Fae, in Listandel, Newartic. I am twelve years old, born under the blood moon."

Again, the whistling wind interrupted my thoughts. I glared at the window. How dare you.

"My name is Caius," I ran my hands feverishly through my hair. "Scartunt. Caius. Caius. Caius Caius Caius Caius Caius."

Silence.

"Boy, get down here!" My father's voice carried from upstairs.

There was silence in the fleeting seconds. I had to go. I pushed myself off the bed, if you could call it that. My leg screamed in pain. I ignored it. If my father could ignore my cries, I could ignore my own. I eased myself down the stairs swiftly. If I let him wait much longer, it wasn't going to be pleasant. Either way, it wouldn't be. I was a boy with no hope, no future, no present, no existence, unknown unknown unknown.

"What is this?" My father gestured to the floor.

I looked towards where he was pointing. There was a distinct reminder of a stain on the floor. It had been caused by my blood my blood my blood. The remains of last night. My own blood. I had tried to clean it up, but it managed to stick into the floor's wood. It would require magic to remove it if I could. I didn't know magic. My father never let me out of the house. There was an entire world I watched through my one window, the window that screamed in the night air.

"I couldn't-" a swift smack across my face silenced me. I crumbled to the ground, my breath clouding the finish on the wood floor.

"That is unacceptable!" He screamed at me. "You know this house has to be presentable. How am I supposed to show off in a house with an inexpiable stain?"

I bit down on my cheek, releasing the familiar taste of blood into my mouth. I couldn't beg to differ. I'd only get hurt. I glanced over to my mother and my sisters. My mother held a baby in her arms, the youngest and newest girl. I was the only boy. The eldest and the only. My five sisters, well, six, were all younger, starting with Analeise, five years my junior. Along came Nintia, Clara, Tega, Licirus, and lastly, Babany. My father only wanted daughters to strengthen his ties with the Fretela Star Fae. My family came from constellations. They were worth something. They could be used as life companions to the Fretela. I wasn't worth it. No one wanted a boy, much less one as warped and twisted as I was. I was a punching bag. Wounded beyond belief.

"I'm sorry," I flinched, preparing for impact. "I'll try harder."

It came with a crunch. My father's foot landed upon my shoulder, pushing my arm out of place. My mind screamed, but I stayed quiet through gritted teeth. This was wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong.

"You better try harder," he snarled. "This better be clean by tomorrow. Get out of here. You're pitiful. No dinner for you tonight."

I never understood why he continued to say that. Every night for the last seven years, I was told I wasn't allowed to have dinner. Every night for the last seven years, I was banned from the table. Every night for seven years, I felt the pain my father inflicted upon me.

He lumbered back to the table. I noticed Analeise's hand move. She was hiding food for me. She tended to be the only one to feed me at night. Sometimes she'd bandage me too, but largely that was my mother's and Clara's job. My mother also tended to fix whatever issue my father shoved onto me each evening. I noticed that no one dared to meet his eyes. They were bright red with murder, just like mine. The girls all had my mother's soft green eyes.