I attempted to hide behind a bookcase.
But I made a careless mistake.
My head was hidden—my body was not.
The girl crept up behind me.
I was startled. I spun around—and for a moment, I was lost in her eye.
It felt like a gulf that had always been in front of me… closed.
I reached out my hand, instinctively.
"Um, what are you doing?"
Shit.
"I didn't know—I mean—I was trying to shake your hand. To say hello."
The corners of her mouth curled.
"What are you, a dog?" she said, smiling down at me. Down at me?
"What are you, an idiot?" I snapped.
She gave me a cold stare.
"I mean—uh… I thought a fairy princess would recognize one of the mansion's servants."
"That's better. But 'servant,' is that right?"
She didn't believe me. She wouldn't leave me alone.
Well, I invited it upon myself.
"No... I'm Thales Miray. I live here."
"Miray," she repeated, her voice soft with confusion.
"Yeah. And who are you, my dear pixie of the labyrinth?"
"Why is your hair that shade of green—celadon? I haven't really seen that color before. It's almost this otherworldly blue in the light… but it flickers. My eyes must be going bad."
She dodged the question. And she picked the wrong peculiarity. How about my pitch-black irises?
"Oh, I'll give you my name if you survive. Maybe then, we can be friends."
"What do you mean 'if I survive'?"
"And why are you wearing an eye-patch?"
"Good luck with your Trial, little dragon… Thales Miray."
And with that, she turned—slowly, gracefully—and walked through the door to the other side.
That was the last time I saw her.
When I was three.