Author's Preface
Content Warning: Child injury, gaslighting/manipulation, references to murder and child abuse.
Noise leaked effortlessly into the room. It was distant, but Shani could make out the sounds of running, heavy pants, and yelling, although she couldn’t make out the words. Shani opened her heavy lids and stared blankly ahead. It was dark. Why were people screaming in the middle of the night?
She pushed herself up with a groan. Her head thundered behind her eyes and her whole body ached at the effort. Her arms trembled in protest, but she managed to sit upright. She looked around the room, her head spinning. The room spun much too fast. She covered her mouth, trying to hold back the sick. It was hard… but eventually her stomach calmed down.
She grasped her head as tears flowed from her eyes. It hurt… why did her head hurt so much?
“Princess Shani! Where are you?!”
One of the distant voices screeched. She looked towards where the sound came from and scooted toward it. Shani examined the wall carefully until she noticed something poking out. She stood shakily and reached for the bar.
She barely managed to grab it when her head retaliated. She flinched and dropped to her knees once more. The wall clicked and a crack of light formed. Shani’s eyes widened.
Oh… it’s a door.
She placed the palms of her hands on the door and began to push it. She needed everyone to know she was okay. The door felt heavier than she remembered. Frustrated tears pricked at her eyes. She wanted out. It was dark. She wanted her mom. She didn’t understand why she felt so scared. Tears fell faster as she dropped her hands and wailed.
The door opened a breath later. Shani flinched at the sudden light that poured in. When her eyes finally adjusted, she saw Jaziel in the doorway. He was dripping in sweat and breathing quite fast. But his eyes were strangely calm. The moment Shani saw him, relief washed over her. She wailed and raised her arms to him.
“Uncle… My head hurts…” she whined. Jaziel’s mouth tightened into a thin line. He reached down and lifted her into his arms. His fingers carefully brushed over her head and temple.
“Princess… What happened? This is quite the cut.”
Shani’s eyes widened. Cut? She had a cut? Slowly she reached up and touched her hair. She felt something hard clinging to one of her curls. She then noticed bruises and other cuts all over her body. Shani bit her lip. This was wrong… this wasn’t the hall of her room. And where did all these injuries come from? They looked familiar.
Slowly, pieces of that morning came back to her. Got dressed. Town. Meat on sticks. Mom left.
“A girl took my bracelet…” Shani mumbled in a daze. Jaziel’s eyes widened.
“What?”
“I told her no… I even kicked her… but she got it anyway. Then…” Shani’s lips quivered.
“Uncle… Everyone got really mad at me… but why? I know hitting is bad… but I was scared…” Shani’s lavender eyes met his. His face softened and he pulled her into a hug.
“It’s okay… you are home. You are safe.”
Shani gripped his shirt. Strangely enough, now that she remembered… she didn’t feel like crying anymore. But something kept nagging at her. The color of crimson, and someone sleeping. Shani looked back towards the room she had come out of. Her stomach dropped.
“Uncle… is there anyone else in that room?” she asked as her body began to tremble. Jaziel stiffened, but grabbed a torch from the wall and stalked into the room.
The faint torchlight bathed their path in a warm orange glow. Jaziel’s steps echoed across the floor. Shani looked ahead anxiously. Her heart was thundering in her chest. There was someone here… someone she knew. She clenched her eyes shut, trying to recall.
A sleeping body… a crimson pool… who was the sleeping body?
Her eyes snapped open. “Nimue!” Jaziel froze and looked down at his niece. Shani met his gaze as her eyes filled with tears once more.
“Nimue is hurt… I saw her! She’s right there!” Shani said, pointing to the spot illuminated by the torchlight. Her eyes widened. Nothing. There was nothing there. She pushed against Jaziel’s arms, and he let her down gently.
Shani staggered to the spot. It was cold… but she saw her. Nimue was here and hurt. And… and someone grabbed her. She looked back towards her uncle, whose eyes were filled with sympathy and something else. Relief? No… that couldn’t be right.
“She was right here! I saw her! And someone even grabbed me!” Shani insisted. She wasn’t lying. He had to know she wasn’t lying, right? She would never lie about something so scary. Jaziel squatted down so he was eye to eye with her.
“Princess… Today was a scary day… perhaps—”
“No! I felt him! It was real! My nose still hurts!” Shani hissed. Her eyes were wide, begging. She needed her uncle to believe her… she did see Nimue hurt. Didn’t she?
“If… If you’re saying it’s not real… then where is Nimue?” Shani stared fiercely at her uncle. Jaziel let out a long sigh as a comforting smile pulled at his lips.
“Nimue left this morning to see her family.” Jaziel’s voice was calm, but there was something in his eyes Shani didn’t like.
“She left to see… family?”
“That’s right. I saw her off myself, since you two were in town.”
Nimue left? But she didn’t seem like she wanted to leave. She said she still had things to do. And would Nimue leave without letting her mother or Shani know? Everything about what Jaziel was saying was rubbing Shani the wrong way. Between his eyes and the story itself, something felt… wrong.
“Uncle… I thought you didn’t like Nimue…” Shani muttered. Jaziel laughed abruptly, but then scratched his neck. He only did that when he was uncomfortable… something was wrong.
“Yes… I didn’t… but we had a heart-to-heart before she left.” His eyes softened. Shani watched him carefully… he seemed to be telling the truth, yet something kept nagging at her mind.
“Now come along, Princess. Your mother is worried sick.” Jaziel reached for Shani, but she stepped away. His eyes widened.
“Liar… Uncle, you’re a liar.” The words came out less forceful than she would have liked. Jaziel remained frozen for a moment. Then his shoulders fell with a sigh. He grabbed Shani before she could react and began walking towards the door.
Shani flailed and screamed. But she didn’t budge in his arms. “Let me down!”
“You think I’m lying? Fine, then let’s go find someone else.” His tone was curt. He looked upset. Shani had never seen Jaziel upset with her before. She no longer knew what to do, so she stopped moving. She would ask someone else. Besides, her uncle could find his way faster than she could.
They walked down the dimly lit hall for a few moments as the voices grew louder and louder.
“I thought she was supposed to be in the infirmary!”
“She was! But she suddenly left quite a while ago, saying she heard something strange!”
The voices continued to bicker. Some were old and some young, but they were all familiar. Jaziel stepped out of the hall and into the brightly lit foyer. Knights, aides, maids, and even the head doctor all looked toward Jaziel. They all looked exhausted, with anxiety in their eyes. But the minute they noticed Shani, relieved smiles spread across their faces.
They came rushing up, asking where she had been, what happened, and why she was gone for so long. None of them gave her a chance to explain herself. Jaziel held up a hand. Everyone quieted down.
“You… go get Her Majesty. Tell her I found Shani,” he ordered, pointing at a young knight in training. The boy’s eyes widened, but he bowed and ran off a breath later. Jaziel’s attention then drifted down to Shani.
“Well? Ask them,” he said, motioning toward the confused staff. Shani bit her lip and looked toward the crowd that was gathering.
“Where is Nimue…” Her voice was quiet.
“Nimue?” one said. The others looked between one another as understanding dawned on their features. A young maid stepped forward with a kind, gentle smile.
“Lady Nimue left early today. She asked for leave,” she said brightly. Shani’s eyes widened. She shook her head.
“No… I saw her! She was hurt badly! Lying in blood!” Shani insisted. The maid stepped back as concern crossed her features. But not for Nimue… it was directed at her.
The head physician stepped forward, examining Shani’s body carefully. “You got that big gash on your head in town… correct, Princess?” he asked calmly.
Shani nodded.
“Headache? Are you feeling sleepy?” he asked. Shani began to feel frustrated. She wanted to know about Nimue, not herself. But she nodded anyway. He had asked, and it was only polite to answer.
“Were you asleep, Princess?” he asked after a moment. Shani nodded again. The older man stroked his white beard for a moment before nodding in understanding.
“I see… after a hard hit to the head, dreams and memories can become muddled,” he said. After getting permission from Jaziel, he approached and began examining her eyes. He clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“Adults throwing rocks at a child… no wonder you are confused, dear,” he said as he shook his head. Shani’s eyes widened. She remembered hearing Nimue yelling. Shani had left to make sure she was okay… then she’d heard a sharp gasp and nothing. When she got to the room, Nimue was… was she dead? Not sleeping but dead.
Was that truly all a bad dream? It couldn’t be. She wasn’t confused. She knew what she saw. At least she thought she did.
“Shani!” A voice screeched. Shani looked up to see her mother running towards her. Her mother. Her mother would tell her. She wiggled in Jaziel’s arms, trying to get loose. He put her down gently, and Shani limped to her mother. Her knees suddenly hurt quite a bit more than before. Jamila dropped to her knees, and Shani hugged her.
“Where on earth have you been? Are you hurt?” Jamila held her daughter at arm’s length and grimaced at what she saw. Shani looked down at herself. She also winced. Her skin looked like an oil painting with shades of red, purple, and yellow.
She needed a bath… but that could wait.
“Mama… Where is Nimue?” Shani asked, much less forcefully than before. Jamila’s brows knitted together.
“Nimue left to visit some family… But more impor—”
“How can you be sure?” Shani’s eyes were glistening. Her chin trembled. Jamila looked past Shani for a moment. Then a look of understanding crossed her face. She returned her gaze to her daughter and pulled a piece of parchment from her sash.
“I received this when I finished with the knight. It’s a request for leave… and Nimue signed it,” Jamila said softly, handing the document to Shani.
Shani unfolded it with shaky hands. She tried to read the document, but there were too many grown-up words in it, so she skipped over those sections. She then glanced down at the bottom and felt her heart stop. Nimue… Nimue had signed the document… and so had her uncle. Was she truly dreaming? Was Nimue really okay?
Shani bit her lip. No… Nimue was okay. Because the alternative terrified her. She handed the document back to Jamila, who tucked it back into her sash. Then she turned her attention back to Jaziel. She hesitated a moment, her mouth hanging open for a breath before the words finally formed.
“Uncle… I’m sorry I called you a liar.” Her voice trembled. Jaziel smiled and approached her, kneeling down in front of her. His face softened once more. He was back to normal.
“Oh, Princess… I appreciate the apology, but I understand. Dreams can feel so real,” he said gently as he stroked her hair. Shani nodded, still feeling quite embarrassed for how she had acted toward her uncle.
“I mean, look,” Jaziel said, lifting his white hair away from his face and parting it. Shani’s eyes widened as she took in an ugly old scar that ran along his temple and wrapped ever so slightly around his ear. She had never noticed it before because of how Jaziel always wore his hair.
“I got this when I did something bad and had to be disciplined… I suffered from nightmares for weeks,” he said with a bright smile. A chill ran down Shani’s spine. Discipline? Her grandfather had done that to discipline him? Was that normal? Her mother rarely yelled at her.
She looked back at her mother, who had gone pale and was looking away from Jaziel. She had never seen her mother so uncomfortable. Jaziel noticed and dropped his hair. A sad smile crossed his lips. Shani bit her lip and fiddled with her fingers. She stepped forward and gripped Jaziel’s shirt.
“I… really am sorry…” she muttered.
Jaziel sighed and lifted her once more. “Princess… I want you to remember. Your uncle would never lie to you.” His voice was low and gentle. Shani nodded.
“You will never lie to me…” she repeated, and Jaziel brightened.
“Good girl.” He kissed her forehead affectionately before following the physician, who still needed to finish examining Shani. The Empress followed close behind. The walk was quiet and Shani continued to repeat the words in her head.
Uncle doesn’t lie.
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