Prologue for my untitled novel

“Oh, Wry!” The sharp sound of my friend’s voice pierces the early-morning dust. I could hear him trip outside my room and slam into my door. His groans sold it, the laughter bubbling from deep in my chest. 

“What did you even trip on?” I asked between gasping breaths, tears rolling down my face from laughing so hard. 

“Air,” he groaned, the door to my room swinging open, and he was still splayed flat on the floor, only causing me to laugh harder. I only stopped when he threw a shoe at me. “You prick!”

“You can’t just waltz in so comedically and not expect me to laugh at you.” I rolled my eyes, still smiling. 

Then a question rolled into my head. While he did often come by unannounced, he very rarely shows up so early. Of the 4 years we had been friends, it had only been twice before now. He never had given me an answer, but I could speculate. I’ve often seen him covered in bruises, which were always easy to see against his pale skin. His eyes always looked so tired, and his auburn hair had become so dull. I had often asked about why he looked the way he did, but he had the same answer every time. 

“Why are you here so early, Radix?” I asked, scanning the bit of his body I could see for bruises. Sure enough, there were three new ones, one on his collarbone, one on his wrist, and one long one across his neck. My heart shattered at the sight. “And what hap-”

“Complicated,” he cut me off, looking around. “Wanna go out to the woods today with me?”

I just stared at him for a moment, but decided not to pry. I don’t think I would want to tell either. To be fair, there was a lot I hadn’t told him either. I knew what kind of a man his father was, and I didn’t want to make things any worse for him.

“Yeah! Just wait outside for a minute, okay?” 

Once he had shuffled his way out of my room and closed the door, I shifted my way out of bed. I went to the small wardrobe my father had built me, in search of something to wear for today’s adventure. I found a green dress with matching leggings, something my father had sewn for me before she passed away. She sewed a dress for each birthday, and had sewn in advance for each year until my twentieth birthday. My father says she has something special for that day. 

I slipped into the green skirt, fixing the ruffles and sleeves before putting the leggings on. Looking in the mirror, I did a little twirl. It was a simple, and yes, beautiful dress. The ruffles around it reached just above my knees, and there was a simple flower embroidered into the front. “To make my princess feel even more royal” was the message on this one. 

I tugged my long brunette hair out of the back of my dress and pulled it into a messy ponytail. “Are you almost done?” Radix called out, right as I opened the door. “Oh...”

“Oh is right, loser!” I toss over my shoulder, bolting out of my room and towards the front door, a cheesy smile plastered on my face. “I’ll race you! Last one to get there is a rotten egg!” 

Blissful laughter rings out as we push and shove each other, especially when one of us falls.