A Cursed Blessing

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at [Link]

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: Gen
Fandom: +Anima (Manga)
Character: Husky | Myrrha
Additional Tags: Whumptober 2024, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Angst,
Drowning
Language: English
Series: Part 27 of Whumptober 2024 (Cobalt's Edition)
Collections: Whumptober 2024
Stats: Published: 2024-11-01 Words: 637 Chapters: 1/1
 A Cursed Blessing
by CobaltCloud13

Summary

Water subsumed Myrrha before he could even scream. He could not breathe. All he could see
was his stepmother’s face blurring as he sank to his death.

Notes

I wrote this for Whumptober 2024.

Day 27: Voiceless

See the end of the work for more notes

Growing up, Myrrha had been one child among many. The castle was bustling with children,
all potential heirs to the throne. Every day was a trial. Every day was a test.

He could feel eyes on him everywhere he went. He had inherited his mother’s beauty, and he
hated it. He had to be strong. He had to be intelligent. What worth did his beauty have in the
face of the lionesses all around him, ready to strike at the slightest moment of weakness?

He was a prince and then one day, his father declared him to be the crown prince. Someday,
Myrrha could be king. He could become King Myrrha…if he survived.

The crown princes before him had all died. Myrrha did not want to be next. He wanted to
give the title back, tell his father, “No, thank you.” But he couldn’t. No one dared to refuse
the king.

Myrrha sat by the royal pond, lost in his thoughts. The elegant fish were swimming around,
and absentmindedly, he sprinkled food into the water for them. The water rippled along with
their movements.

If only I could be that carefree, Myrrha thought, watching as the fish lipped at the water for
food.

Then he was falling. There was a hand on his back shoving him forward. Before he could
even yell, the water was all around him.

His vision was blurring, but he saw a face. He knew that face. It was Lady Dylana, one of the
consorts of the king.

He knew her son, Keane. Keane was his half-brother. He was mean, always mocking him for
his face and voice.

“Husky!” Keane would call him, jeering, and their other brothers would laugh.

Myrrha couldn’t breathe. The world was growing dark.

He thrashed in the water, but he couldn’t move it like the fish could.

If only he could.

If only he could live.

If only he could see the sun again.

Myrrha looked up. He saw the fish swimming above him, their silver scales glimmering.

Myrrha reached out.

The next thing he knew, he was breathing. He was alive.

He gasped. He screamed, or at least, he tried to scream. No sound came out.

The water was still all around him. He looked down and then froze.

His legs were gone.

He had a long, elegant tail, like the fish swimming around him. Slowly, Myrrha reached
down, feeling the smooth but firm scales of the tail. Then, he raised his hands to his neck.
Beneath his hands, gills flared.

What happened to me? Myrrha wondered, but he knew. He knew what it meant when a child
had the characteristics of an animal.

Somehow, he had become a +Anima.

Myrrha choked. No.

He couldn’t be a +Anima. He was a prince of Sailand. He couldn’t be a +Anima.

In Sailand, +Anima were slaves. They had no freedom. They had no choices. They were
owned.

But how was that really different from how Myrrha had lived his life?

Myrrha never had freedom. He had never been able to do as he wished, to live as he wished.
He was always someone’s pawn, his father’s pawn, his mother’s pawn, his aunt’s pawn, the
pawn of the harem.

Myrrha cried.

He couldn’t go home as a +Anima. Who knew what his father would do to him if he found
him like that. Who knew what his mother would think.

He had to go. He had to swim as far away as he could.

He had to leave Sailand. He had to get to Astaria.

Myrrha swam on.

Maybe one day, in Astaria, he could build a life of his own. Maybe one day, he could live as
he wished. Maybe one day, he could be more than a voiceless pawn in a game he never
wanted to play.
End Notes

Fun fact! The capital of Sailand is Stella.

Thanks for reading! :)

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