Sharing A Part Of Me
1085 Words
[Zane’s Pov]
I took Roanna to the basement where I kept my favorite things. I get the feeling that Roanna is struggling to accept a part of herself. And I’m quite the honest fellow. The only secret I have involves my aunt and my preference for a more dominant woman.
I have a large nest- yes, a nest made of shredded clothes and a bunch of other items I find comfortable. It’s almost like I’m more animal than man... which is true. I grew up loving the feeling of just walking without shoes, hunting for my food, and crawling.
The feeling of being in the wild made me feel happy. I wasn’t the brightest kid. I was dyslexic for probably all of my childhood, and even now, I read things a bit slowly. Rylan was the one to teach me how to read, and how to cope with who I am.
He made it clear that whether I could read or not did make me any less of a valtero. And I stood by that.
I think my brother is amazing the moment you get to know him. Wyndorians love their king for a good reason. He is amazing.
I think what’s down here might be able to help her as well. I’m not shy to admit certain things. When Aspen and I were on the acquaintance level, I shared insight on what I thought she needed to hear. Not what she wanted.
I may not be the brightest or the nicest, but I’m not some grinch who is too stuck up to admit certain wrongs. Sure it’ll take time but I eventually get there, and I do what needs to be done.
I’m not too proud.
“Here, sit.” I pointed to the nest. Roanna looked like she was waiting for me to kill her or do something cruel. But she listened, and she went towards it. Crouching until her buttocks touched the nest. I heard her sigh delightfully.
It’s comfortable, I know it. It helps me during heat, and when I’m feeling overwhelmed by life. I was born to be a king, I was made one.
I thought I would be bad at it but I found my place amongst these people. Then I earned their trust, and a right to be their king. I think trust is important for everything.
Trust in yourself, trust in life, trust in everything.
Roanna seems conditioned to do what her family says, and it makes it hard for her to live for herself. I didn’t figure this out, aspen told me earlier today when I went to speak with Rylan.
“What is this place?”
“It’s my nest. I spend my personal time when things get too hard.” I explained, reaching for the chest where I kept the book Rylan used to read to me. It was full of decent pieces of advice that helped me so much growing up.
I brought it over to her, taking a seat on the spot next to her.
“When I was a kid, I gravitated towards the more animalistic side of things. I liked the idea of being lost in the wild, building my own home, and having to hunt for my food. For everything that I needed to live. The valteros are all dead, the only living ones are me and my brothers. And Rosalia, although, if anyone asks, Xavier is a true valtero. More than anyone. On that land, people did things differently. They didn’t want to get messy the way I wanted to. At the time, draconia wasn’t divided into just three factions.”
“I can’t imagine,” she says. Most people have only known the dragon shifters from when me and my brothers took over.
“Yeah, I know. It was mostly Rylan. Look, I felt uncomfortable. Like I was failing because I wasn’t like the valteros around me. But Rylan helped me come to terms with who I am. He made it so easy to exist. I do think you should talk to him, he offers such great bits of advice. I think you should talk to him, but until then... please read this. There’s something comforting about this story that made my life less... tasking. It’s partially why I grew up being who I am. Half of my hands are covered in marks I earned while learning things by myself. My first hunt wasn’t easy, Rylan followed me, and thank f**k. But the story is about someone struggling with a part of himself.” I smiled fondly. “It’s not a real story. Rylan made it himself, he revamped it once we were royalty but I loved every bit of it. He knew it would help me and he was right.”
She shakily reached for the book. It's something I don’t share with people. In fact, other than Rylan, no one else knows it exists. I just feel like it would help her.
It’s a deeply focused story that involves a character with a problem, and how they learn what others are calling a problem... isn’t really something to worry about.
He made the story in a way that leaves you understanding what’s a problem, and what isn’t. There are certain things that are definitely wrong... and other things that really don’t cause issues for others. They just don’t like it.
“Thank you. I can tell this is something special. You’re a different guy, King Zane. Why are you so honest? Why are you nice to me?”
I shrug. “I don’t think you’re as despicable as I thought. I’m an easy guy. I’d like to get to know you. Figure out why you are the way you are. Rylan hates lying. If he doesn’t want to tell you something, then he just won’t tell you. But he’d never lie. I was raised to follow the same principle. I don’t like being played, and I’m willing to forgive your horrible family, but I think if this deal works out well.... soleria could be a home to you. You’d fit in here. You just need that fight. I keep thinking I stole it from you, and I partially did... but I also think it hurt you more than you’re willing to admit when your family tricked you.”
She looks down, planting her chin on her knees. I don’t say anything more, and Roanna stays quiet, getting lost in her thoughts. I hope this helped.
- Writer
