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GAME: ESCAPE THE DRAGON
RULES: DON’T LOOK BACK
PARTICIPANTS: ALLUKA, THE DRAGON
Dark hair flew in the wind, burning in her lungs, burning in her legs, a burning sense of urgency in her mind. She ran laps around her room, her ankles protesting with each sharp turn. She leapt onto her bed; one step on her blankets, then back to the floor. Turn, run, turn, run, turn, run. The dragon was catching up as Alluka’s pace slowed. If only her legs could race as fast as her heart.
Before long, she had to step twice on her bed to make it over to the other side. Then three times. The seconds between each turn got longer and longer. She could feel the hot breath of the dragon burning her from the inside, but she was so, so tired…
This time, when she tried to jump on her bed, her legs gave out, and she flopped face-first onto the soft mattress. At least it wasn’t the floor.
The dragon must be eating her now. Why else would her thighs hurt so much? Why else would her throat be so sore?
“Stop that,” Nanika whined. “Hot.”
Alluka turned on her back and sat up, breathing heavily. “I made it seventy-three laps that time!” She croaked out with a smile. She laid back down for another minute, then finally mustered up the energy to stand up and get a glass of water.
“You can get water from your hair,” Nanika remarked as Alluka entered the bathroom.
“I’m not that sweaty,” Alluka protested. Nanika just sighed. “I was gonna take a shower anyways, don’t worry.”
As she took another sip of water, she accidentally made eye contact with the mirror and kicked herself silently. There were Rules about mirrors that everyone had to follow. One of the most basic ones was to not stare directly at it. If you made eye contact with your reflection, you’d have to see yourself, in all your horrible glory. Who would want that?
Pale blue eyes, pale skin shining with sweat, a body that was a little too young to need to conform to female beauty standards, and still fell completely flat. At least her slick hair had grown out since the last time she’d attempted to trim her bangs and accidentally cut them halfway up her forehead. The raven locks fell past her shoulders, just below her chest, and her bangs were… bang length. Eyebrow length? Good for now, but in a couple of weeks she’d probably need to trim them again.
“Maybe I should cover the mirror,” Alluka said softly. “It’s not doing me any good.”
Nanika said nothing, but the sympathy was there all the same.
“I’ll get to seventy-five tomorrow,” Alluka promised herself. “But first, it’s time for a shower.”
GAME: TEA PARTY DRAMA
RULES: NO RULES JUST TEA. WAIT, ONE RULE. ADHERE TO THE NARRATIVE.
PARTICIPANTS: MR PANDA, HOARSE, FLORIDIA, LADY ORANGITANG, SIR KITTENSFLUFF, BLUE, CORDELITA, TONY, ALLUKA, NANIKA, AND SOME SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCES LATER
Six sat around a table, human and animal alike (a human, a tiger, a peacock, a kitten, an orangutan, and a panda, to be specific). They were having tea to relax after the death of their beloved peacock friend, but soon they would find that there was more to the case than they first expected.
"Lovely weather, isn"t it?" Mr. Panda asked.
"Yup! Sunny as always!" Alluka grinned.
"I hate the sun," Cordelita scoffed, bright blue-green feathers shifting with her tone. "I wish it would rain at least one day a year."
"But my stuff would get wet," Alluka protested.
"You can make it rain by spilling tea all over the place," Sir Kittensfluff advised.
"That"s not how rain works, you dumb dumb!" Cordelita snapped. Everyone gasped.
"THAT"S MEAN!!" Alluka cried. "Apologize to Sir Kittensfluff right now!"
"It"s quite alright, Princess Alluka. Perhaps we can-"
"No!" Cordelita screamed. "Did that stupid cat apologize when he hunted down my husband? Did that "noble soldier" apologize when I was crying at the funeral?"
"Not this again," Mr. Panda groaned.
"YOU"RE THE ONE WHO KILLED BLUE?!?!" Floridia shouted. "BLUE WAS MY FAVORITE PEACOCK! CORDELITA SUCKS!!"
"YOU SUCK!!!" Cordelita yelled.
"I just wanted some tea…" Lady Orangitang whimpered.
"Look, ladies, I can explain-" Sir Kittensfluff said nervously, eyes darting from peacock to tiger, tiger to peacock.
"I"ll rip you apart with my claws! Don"t forget who"s the superior cat here!" Floridia warned. If she had had real claws instead of felt strips and a mouth full of teeth instead of a docile smile, that threat may have held some more weight, but Sir Kittensfluff seemed shaken nonetheless.
"W-well… You can"t defeat me! Everyone knows I"m the strongest knight in our kingdom!" Sir Kittensfluff shivered. Alluka made little clinking noises with her tongue to imitate how the paper armor she"d put on him was supposed to sound.
"Nanika is strongest," Nanika interjected.
"That"s true," Mr. Panda agreed.
"Come on, guys! Can"t you side with me for once?" Sir Kittensfluff begged.
"You say you"re brave and strong, but you"re begging for support in front of me," Floridia scoffed. "Pathetic. You"re not worth my time."
"You should have killed him," Cordelita rolled her eyes. Well. You can"t roll plastic eyes. Just IMAGINE Cordelita rolling her eyes. That"s what happened.
"Cordelita, you know the rules," Alluka said gently.
"You think you"re innocent, don"t you?" Cordelita turned towards Alluka now. "I know the truth, "Princess". I know all about the murder, how you blamed it on Sir Kittensfluff-"
"Wait, Cordelita, stop," Alluka interrupted. "You don"t know that. Just a minute ago you totally believed it was Sir Kittensfluff who killed your husband, Blue. The scandal that reveals the fact that I killed him hasn"t happened yet."
" YOU KILLED BLUE?!?!" Floridia screeched.
"Oh god, not again," Mr. Panda and Lady Orangitang sighed simultaneously.
"No, no, you guys, that"s not how the story works. Hearing us arguing, Hoarse bursts in. He was the only witness to the crime. He"s kept it secret for a while, but he"s ready to reveal the truth now. We sit and listen, I come clean, and then Floridia reveals her secret; she was seeing Blue behind Cordelita"s back. She wanted her and Blue to divorce so they could be together. Come on, guys, this is basic stuff," Alluka explained. But instead of the explosive reaction from Cordelita she"d expected, the room was silent.
Oh right. Cordelita would fall asleep if you were talking for too long. Alluka leaned over, gripped Cordelita"s blue body, and readied her "fancy" accent.
"YOU WHAT ?!?!" Cordelita squawked. "Floridia, I trusted y-"
Whoops. Alluka hadn"t gripped her tight enough, and she"d fallen off her chair.
Alluka waited patiently for the rest of the animals to react, to ask if Cordelita was okay, to berate Floridia, to defend their innocence. But, again, nothing came.
Cordelita was silent, plush peacock feathers against the pink carpet. Mr. Panda was silent, head tipped to the side like he was asleep. Floridia and Sir Kittensfluff remained solid in their Confrontational Poses (as confrontational as you could get two heaps of fluff to be). Alluka waited, but Hoarse didn"t throw the doors open and begin monologuing. As a last-ditch effort, she took a sip from her tea cup. It was filled with tap water.
Right. This was a game.
"Is water," Nanika offered.
"I know," Alluka sighed.
"You want?"
"Yeah," Alluka said, although she wasn"t sure exactly what Nanika was referring to.
"Kay," Nanika nodded. Alluka woke up a couple of seconds later. Her hands were still holding the half-empty cup of water, Cordelita was still silent on the floor, the doors were still shut tight, the silence was still deafening.
"Sorry," Alluka whispered. "It"s selfish of me to try and make you get me out of here when this is the punishment I deserve."
"No," Nanika said, but she didn"t elaborate.
"You"re my sister," Alluka smiled with all the happiness she could muster. "I don"t care if we die here, as long as we"re together."
"I miss Killua."
"...Yeah."
Then she picked up Cordelita, stacked the tea set in the middle of the table, and went to bed without looking in the mirror.
GAME: TEA PARTY DRAMA
RULES: NO RULES JUST TEA
PARTICIPANTS: MR PANDA, HOARSE, FLORIDIA, LADY ORANGITANG, SIR KITTENSFLUFF, BLUE, CORDELITA, TONY, ALLUKA, NANIKA, AND SOME SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCES LATER
GAME: IGNORE THE SHADOWS
RULES: IGNORE THE SHADOWS
PARTICIPANTS: ALLUKA, THE SHADOWS
Half a year after she’d been locked in the basement, three months after she’d run out of games to play, and one month after she’d run out of the energy to move, Alluka started to see shadows. At first, they kept to the edges of her vision. At first, they weren’t much more than a flicker of light when she turned her head. But they crept closer as the days passed, stretching up to the ceiling. They never had faces, never touched Alluka, never did anything but observe, but she knew in her gut that they wanted to swallow her, just like they swallowed the ceiling.
There was nowhere to run, so she let herself be consumed.
That was the first time she saw Nanika. Alone in the void, a sobbing voice was crumpled on the floor. Upon further inspection, it developed Alluka’s own body.
“Are you ok?” Alluka asked.
“Alone,” the void-girl cried. “Alone.”
“I am, too,” Alluka said, sitting down in front of her and placing a gentle hand on her back. “We can be alone together.”
“I want,” the girl whispered.
“ What do you want?” Alluka prompted.
“Love…?” She whimpered.
“I’ll love you,” Alluka promised. “I don’t know how, but I’ll do it.”
“I’ll… love you…” the girl said softly as she sat up.
“Yeah. I’ll keep your secrets and play dolls with you,” Alluka nodded. “If the shadows eat you again, I’ll get eaten too.”
The girl finally opened her eyes, revealing pits of ink. Alluka gasped, but she didn’t feel scared. Those eyes were black, sure, but not an empty black. They were a black that shined with grief and loneliness and love and desire.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Alluka smiled. “I’m Alluka.”
As she extended her hand to the girl, she broke her first rule.
GAME: DRESS UP
RULES: LOOK PRETTY FEEL PRETTY
PARTICIPANTS: ALLUKA, MARI, NANIKA?
Alluka"s newest butler, a short, tan woman with very long hair, brought Alluka her meals, but not much more. Alluka did talk to her sometimes. The butler told her she wasn’t allowed to request anything, but she could ask questions. So Alluka would sit there with her and ask everything that came to mind, all the little things she wondered about that no one had ever bothered to answer. Like,
how do you make a braid?
(Answer: separate the hair into three strands, like this. Now cross the right one over the middle one. Then cross the leftmost one over the middle one, that right strand that you just moved. Keep repeating that pattern. With some practice, you’ll get better at it.) or
why am I stuck here?
(Answer: you’re dangerous.)
"Excuse me, miss!" Alluka chirped as she entered with a tray of food and water. "Can you please make me pretty? Please?"
“You’re not allowed to make requests,” the woman reminded her gently.
“Pretty please with a cherry on top?” Alluka begged.
"...Fine.” She sat the tray down on the vanity and picked up Alluka’s hairbrush. “Sit on the bed.” Alluka obeyed, and her butler began brushing out her hair.
“Oh, I forgot to ask earlier! What’s your name, Miss?” Alluka asked excitedly.
“Mari,” she responded. “Would you like your hair in braids, a ponytail, or a bun?”
“Like the one from the secret garden?!” Alluka turned around, yanking her hair from Mari’s hands. “The contrary Mistress Mari?”
“Something like that,” Mari smiled halfheartedly. “Although I’m not a gardener.”
“I’m a gardener!” Alluka said proudly, pointing to the sunflowers on her walls. “I keep those flowers growing strong!”
“That’s wonderful, Mister,” Mari stared at the walls blankly for a couple of seconds.
Mister.
“Can you put my hair in an updo?” Alluka asked, brushing off the title.
“Alri-” Mari was cut off by a horrible, deafening beep. A flatline, dragging on forever. Parallel lines that never met, a blip in her eternal sentence, noise louder than anything Alluka ever heard in the split seconds her door was open. The beep was a warning, or was it the punishment? The jury, the defendant, and the victim all at once, unclear intentions, unclear, unclear unclear unclear. Loud loud loud loud long long loud long unclear unclear loud long-
“Maybe I’ll wish for them to not play that alarm,” Mari muttered under her breath as the beep finally stopped.
“Loud…” Alluka murmured, coming back to her senses. Her hands were over her ears, and she could tell Nanika had woken up. “Hurts…”
“I’ll leave after I finish his hair,” Mari snapped, to no one in particular. Is she talking to God? Alluka couldn’t help but wonder. She’d never been taught anything about this God, but she often prayed for a happy ending, for the author of her story to take pity on her and reunite her with her Prince Charming. So far, it hadn’t worked.
Another beep sounded, just as loud but (thankfully) not nearly as long.
“I’m not scared of death,” Mari told God. She got up and faced the door. “Nor am I scared of this little kid. You are, though, right? Look, if you want a docile tiger, someone has to tame it first.”
Deafening beep number three. Alluka’s hands never left her ears.
“I’m so fired,” Mari laughed to herself, but she kept going. “Whatever. I have life insurance. Okay, I’ll prove it to you. I’m worth keeping around. Hey, let’s make a deal. I’ll wish for a bead. Nothing big. If I wish for anything else, you can kill me on the spot. But if I wish for a bead, I get to finish Mister Alluka’s hair.”
Alluka wasn’t entirely sure what was happening, who she was talking to, or why. But as Mari"s silhouette stood in front of her, so out of place in this lonely, lonely room, so defiant (defying the laws for her ), Alluka couldn’t help but feel a little bit more loved.
The doors opened, the usually clunky sound inaudible under the sharp blanket of the flatline. A couple more butlers streamed in as the blue walls of her prison were bathed in red light. Loud loud bright loud swarms took Mari in their arms and became a mess of writhing limbs.
And left the door open .
GAME: ESCAPE
RULES: DON"T GET CAUGHT
PARTICIPANTS: THE PRISONERS
Alluka was never one to break the rules. She was just a little kid when she first woke up to red, just a little kid when she was shoved into a metal box, just a little kid when she started to read the fairy tales that promised her a happy ending, if only she was good.
But Alluka was also not Kalluto, who stared longingly at what they wanted, and pretended it was always out of reach even when it was right in front of them. Alluka knew what she wanted. She knew how to get it. She knew torture, she knew boredom, she knew loneliness.
She knew how to run.
So she ran.
Past the mess of butlers, through the giant door, down the stone hallway, up the stone stairs. Turn left. Maybe turn right this time? One more right just to be safe. Left. Right. Left. Left. Her ankles were used to turning. The beep was chasing her now, sounding through the whole mansion, like the roar of a dragon. Down another stone hallway. Up another set of stone stairs. Right right left right left right left. Her surroundings faded away, her existence reduced to run run run run run run run run. She ran and ran and yet the mansion was so big, it seemed like it was swallowing her whole. Footsteps echoed through every hall. She was unsure whether or not they were her own, but she didn’t look back. She knew the rules.
In the distance, she saw a set of doors grander than the rest of them. This had to be it. But as Alluka neared the doors, she made one fatal mistake.
She allowed herself to hope. She allowed herself to think she was the protagonist, finally breaking out of the villain’s labyrinth, that the worst of her life was behind her, and she could leave it in the dust just like whoever was inevitably chasing her.
She should have remembered.
“ We don’t have ‘normal’ objects. Every cup in this house weighs way, way more than any cup ever should. It’s the same for the furniture, too. If you want to open the door to your own room, you better start training.”
She tried to pull the doors open, but they wouldn’t budge.
Okay. Rookie mistake. They must be push doors.
She pushed with all her might, straining against the doors, and yet they only moved a centimeter.
Then the footsteps caught up to her.
When Alluka was running in her room, the only punishment for stopping was that she wouldn’t get as high of a score as she would have if she’d done another lap. But outside of her room, there were other rules. Rules someone else had made up. Rules she was never taught.
Outside of her room, the dragon was real.
GAME: DRESS UP
RULES: LOOK PRETTY FEEL PRETTY
PARTICIPANTS: ALLUKA, MARI, NANIKA?
GAME: ESCAPE THE DRAGON
RULES: DON’T LOOK BACK
PARTICIPANTS: ALLUKA, THE DRAGON
GAME: ESCAPE
RULES: DON"T GET CAUGHT
PARTICIPANTS: THE PRISONERS
GAME: DON’T DIE FROM STOMACH ACID
RULES: YOU ARE ALONE IN THE BELLY OF THE BEAST
PARTICIPANTS: HELP ME
help me help me save me help me save me it hurts i want to get out get me out get me out get me out get me out get me out get me out get me out get me out it burns im burning im drowning it hurts it burns help me help me help me help
GAME: PLEASE
RULES: NO CRY
PARTICIPANTS: LUKA
“No cry,” Nanika frowned. “No sad. No hurt.”
“I can’t,” Alluka sobbed. “I can’t.”
“Please?” Nanika asked.
“I can’t,” was all she could reply between breaths. Sobbing felt a little like drowning on land. Her lungs were taking in all the oxygen in the room, and still, it wasn’t enough.
Nanika hugged Alluka gently, metaphorically, or mentally, or maybe even physically. The lines were blurry now. Her room was blurry, too, like she was underwater. Drowning. Drowning drowning drowning drowning drowning drowni
GAME: NO DROWN
RULES: PLEASE
I can’t I can’t I can’t I can’t I can’t
GAME: NO DROWN NO CRY NO DIE PLEASE
RULES: PLEASE
The room was blurrier, darker, her lungs working harder than they had even in the jaws of the dragon. Her eyes were sore, her throat was sore, and her whole body ached (well, she couldn’t be sure the eyes or throat or body belonged to her). Something hurt, everything hurt, blurry blurry drowning drowning drowns.
And she drowned.
GAME:
RULES:
PARTICIPANTS:
GAME: ???????????
RULES: ????????????
PARTICIPANTS: ALLUKA, NANIKA?
When Alluka came to her senses, she was lying in bed with a massive headache. She sat up and ran a hand through her hair. It still stopped just below her chest. Her bed was still plush and pink. She looked around. Nothing seemed out of place except her.
“What happened?” She asked Nanika.
“Drowned,” Nanika said cryptically.
“Sure feels like it,” Alluka sighed, and then she dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom. She looked the mirror straight on this time, but still winced when she saw her reflection; it was worse than she’d expected. Her headache had drowned out most of her other pain, but her body’s aching seemed to triple when she saw the bruises blooming up her arms.
She remembered how once, when she was younger, Illumi stabbed her. It had been about six years since then, but the scar was still dark and fresh on the side of her stomach. Alluka had never felt pain like that. She could still remember the sound of her own screams, the way Illumi pushed the knife a little deeper to shut her up. It was traumatic, the first big plunge into a life filled with despair, but it taught her a lot. And after that, the normal beatings she’d been receiving stopped hurting.
She was pretty disappointed to find out that that invincibility hadn’t lasted.
“I look like a mess,” Alluka laughed. But, as usual, they’d left her face alone. With a shower, some rest, and a long-sleeve shirt, the ‘mess’ would be gone.
Alluka put on a tank top and left the bathroom to run.
GAME: QUESTIONS
RULES: WONDER
PARTICIPANTS: ALLUKA, MARI
Why did Mari say she wasn’t afraid of death? Why did she stand up to God just to put a bun in my hair? Why did she risk herself for me ?
(Answer: doesn’t matter. Mari never came back.)
GAME: PLAY PRINCESS
RULES: NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE YOU
PARTICIPANTS: ALLUKA, KILLUA
When Alluka was younger, just at the beginning of her sentence, Killua snuck into her room. He said he wasn’t allowed to let her leave, but he could talk for a couple of minutes. He said they could play anything Alluka wanted.
“I want you to save me!” Alluka had requested immediately. “Like a prince!”
“Okay,” he agreed. “What am I saving you from?”
“The dragon, obviously,” Alluka scoffed.
“...Sure. Go sit in your bed - that’ll be the tower - and watch me slay the dragon.”
Killua spent the next couple of minutes showing off his flips, twisting through the air while carrying an imaginary blade. Alluka gasped each time he pretended to lose his balance or take a hit. At one point, he lost his sword and had to change directions in midair to get it back. The final blow was a combo attack, where Killua darted through the air so fast his silver bangs never settled. Alluka hung on every movement, watching her brother twist around the room like gravity didn’t exist. When he was finally done, he knelt on the floor, breathing hard. Then he picked Alluka up and held her tight.
“I rescued you,” he boasted.
“I am internally in your gratitude,” Alluka nuzzled closer.
“That’s not even remotely correct.”
“Promise that one day you’ll save me for real.”
“I promise. I won’t forget about you,” Killua murmured into her hair. “Even if I’m never allowed back in here. I’ll find a way somehow.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I guess he forgot.
GAME: WHY DOES NOBODY LIKE ME?
RULES:
PARTICIPANTS: ALLUKA
“Maybe I’m too fat,” Alluka observed as she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. “Or too skinny.”
“They must think I’m annoying. That I’m too happy. Or too depressing. Maybe I drew too much and it made them mad. Maybe I didn’t heal fast enough after they stabbed me. Maybe I’m just boring. I sure am bored.”
There was no reason for saying this out loud. For all Alluka knew, a God could be listening. But she liked the way her voice filled the space. She’d had enough of silence.
“I’m too girly. Too boyish. Too loud. Too quiet. Too rebellious. Too obnoxious,” Alluka guessed. “I like too many things that are pink.
“I’m mean. I’m selfish. I’m a disappointment. I’m too tall. I’m too short. My eyes are too blue. My eyes aren’t blue enough. I’m flat. I’m not good at killing people. I scream too much. I talk too much. I’m overbearing. I’m forgetful. I’m miserable. I run too much. I’m too fat- wait, I said that already.”
“My fault,” Nanika murmured in her sleep.
“No way,” Alluka said. “It’s because I’m too tall.”
“Me,” Nanika insisted.
“I’ll just crouch a little. Then people will like me.”
“ I .”
“You don’t have to crouch, Nanika. You’re lovely as you are.”
“Nanika fault.”
“You sound ridiculous. People hate me because I have Nanika as my sister? That’s definitely not it,” Alluka deflected.
“Red,” Nanika said before drifting back to sleep.
…I know. Alluka looked away.
“Oh, read? You’re right! It’s because I read too much!”
GAME: READ
RULES: READ. THERE"S NOTHING ELSE TO DO, IS THERE?
A princess is locked in her tower. It’s a beautiful tower made of ornate stone and covered in flowering vines. Everything she’s ever known is crammed into this room; she has everything she needs right in her grasp.
But she is still not happy.
She, too, has heard the stories of the other princesses. She’s read all the books where love triumphs over evil, the good defeats the bad, and the suffering is all worth it in the end. She knows how the story ends; she knows that if you say please and thank you and sit quietly you’ll be rescued someday.
The story skips over her waiting. They tell you she’s a good girl, that she made one mistake as a child and that little lever she pulled switched her onto the track of lifelong despair. They tell you she waited in her tower for years, that she sang to hummingbirds every day, and grew up to be a beautiful woman without seeing much more than the sky. But they do not elaborate further. The suffering of the princess doesn’t matter, because even though she’s the main character, she’s not important. She’s the end goal, the love interest, the accessory. She’s not the one who slays the dragon.
It’s as simple as this: you can’t have a story where nothing happens.
So something happens. A handsome boy with hair the color of amber comes to steal her away, leaving the corpse of a dragon in his wake. The princess didn’t see him defeat the dragon. She just trusts that he did.
And she falls in love with him, because there’s no one else to fall in love with. Because all those years she spent waiting had only one meaning; to get married and have kids. To be free is to succumb, not to explore the world or make new friends or become an artist or defeat some dragons herself. All those years she spent waiting were a ploy to make her desperate, desperate enough to live whatever life her savior wanted her to.
The princess trades one form of imprisonment for another. But at least in this one, they say she’s happy.
Alluka’s happy for her. Really.
GAME: GET LET OUT
RULES: BE NICE, BE GOOD, BE KIND
PARTICIPANTS: THE PRINCESS
Mari told Alluka she was dangerous. She wasn’t trying to be. She couldn’t tell what, exactly, was dangerous about her, either. The only solution was to baby-proof her whole personality, to become so tender and loving and kind that God would finally believe she wasn’t dangerous at all.
It was difficult to showcase just how kind she could be in a room where there was no one else to be kind to.
After Mari left, all the other butlers did, too. Food and clothing were slid to her in a slot under the door. No one came in to answer her questions. No one gave her new books or multiplayer board games. God didn’t beep when she requested something from him (them? her? she wasn’t sure). Alluka was starting to remember the months before she could talk to Nanika. The months she spent in bed, watching the shadows.
“I’ll be nice to you, shadows,” Alluka called out. “Don’t be scared of me. You can eat me if you want. There’s nothing else to do in here.”
No response.
I guess I’m already a shadow creature, Alluka thought. I’m already too corrupted to save.
GAME: GET LET OUT
RULES: BE NICE, BE GOOD, BE KIND
PARTICIPANTS: THE PRINCESS
GAME: PLAY GIRL
RULES: DON"T BE A BOY
PARTICIPANTS: THE PRISONER
Alluka put on her favorite dress, with long, transparent sleeves and ribbons long enough to reach the floor. It was white, with a little corset and a lot of ruffles. The skirt had a built-in petticoat (wonderful for twirling) and star-patterned lace at the hem.
It felt beautiful. She felt beautiful.
She put half of her hair in a ponytail and braided the strands that were pulled away from her face. It had taken a lot of practice, but she was pretty proud to say that the hairstyle was nearly effortless now. She didn’t have any shoes, as she never went anywhere, but she walked on her tiptoes to imitate a high heel.
Alluka had no makeup, no friendship bracelets, no golden heart lockets with her sibling’s pictures in them. Her only accessories were a couple of worse bruises that still hadn’t fully healed. She couldn’t help but feel that the look was incomplete, even with a white headband and cat socks.
It’s because you’re not a girl, something deep in her brain said. This would look fine on a real girl.
“That’s not true,” Alluka said aloud. “Nanika’s wearing the same thing. It looks plain on her, too.”
Did you check?
Alluka bit her lip and closed her eyes. Nanika was asleep, her braids twirling on the floor like a halo. She looked beautiful, like a fallen angel. Nothing about her outfit could be described as ‘simple’.
“It’s just cause of how she’s posing,” Alluka argued. “I’m just standing here. That’s why it looks boring.”
Really? You want to lie down? Take a handheld mirror to your face and see the truth?
“...”
Do it.
“No.” Alluka shook her head. “I know you’re right. I don’t need to see what I already know.”
Good boy.
“But that doesn’t mean I’ll keep standing here idly, either,” Alluka narrowed her eyes at her reflection. “I’ll be a real girl someday. I’ll slay the dragon with my own two hands, and I’ll explore the world and make new friends and I’ll kick the narrative in its face!”
There are rules about that.
“I don’t want rules anymore,” Alluka declared. “I don’t want to know how the story ends. I don’t want to sit back and pretend everything I love is far away. Killua’s right outside that door. Nanika’s right here with me.”
THERE ARE RULES.
“Rules that say I can’t be a girl? Rules that say I have to grow up complacent? Rules that never once got me out of here?”
Rules that kept you safe , before you broke them.
Then the mirror broke.
Alluka looked at the shards of glass on the counter, then at the cuts on her knuckles, and then back to the glass on the counter.
“Mean mirror,” Nanika declared, and then it made sense. Alluka started to chuckle despite the pain in her fist.
“You’re right about that. Thank you, Nanika.”
“I love you,” Nanika smiled.
“I love you too.”
And I’m never gonna forget it.
GAME: PLAY GIRL
RULES: DON"T BE A BOY
PARTICIPANTS: THE PRISONER