Ali Lake was a completely normal person. They lived in a complete normal village, with the normal amount of houses and farmland, the normal payment of taxes to the King, and the normal population of villagers who lived there. Ali was just like all of the other villagers, they paid their taxes, they worked their land, and they were dirt poor. They were just like everyone else and there was nothing wrong with that. Ali was perfectly content with being a completely normal person.

Okay, sure, not everything about them was completely normal. Yes, they had a bit more of an attitude than most; and yes, their flaming red hair couldn't be found on anyone else in their village. That didn't make them any less normal. So maybe they were noticeably paler than all of the others, maybe they had far more freckles covering each inch of their body, and maybe, just maybe, strange things seemed to happen whenever they were around. There was also the fact that they were the bastard child of the King.

But that didn't make them any less normal. Not one bit. Not as far as they were concerned. If it was up to them, they wouldn't even be aware of that tiny detail. It wasn't as if it even mattered, they had never even met the guy. The only evidence supporting the claim besides their mother's word was the small pouch of coins delivered by the King's messenger each month in return for their silence on the subject. Well, that and the fact that Ali's hair was supposedly the same brilliant shade of orange as the King's, and that their skin was said to be the same blinding white. Those were just small similarities. Nothing too noticable. Nothing that anyone who didn't know better would think twice about.

Unfortunately, Ali did know better. They noticed these tiny details that linked them to a stranger to whom they were said to be related. They noticed how their long, ginger hair stood out in sharp contrast to their mother's dark locks. They remembered the piercing green of their own eyes each time they looked into the browns or blues of the people around them. They always noticed the way their pale skin caught the sunlight, or how people quickly looked away whenever they caught them staring.

It didn't matter, though. Ali was still as normal as they cared to be. As long as the public as a whole remained unaware of their lineage, they could continue to live a relatively normal life. A life where they woke up each morning to perform their daily chores, just like everyone else. There was nothing wrong with normalcy.

Ali finished their chores as quickly as they could get through them, walking to the well in the middle of the village. They blew away a strand of hair that had fallen into their eyes as they lowered their bucket into the water. They heard giggling from across the street and glanced up at the gaggle of schoolgirls who were smirking and pointing in their direction. They scowled at them, pulling a menacing expression. They rose a challenging eyebrow, simply daring the group to confront them.

The girls flushed and quickly avoided Ali's gaze, searching for something to fixate their eyes on. Ali scoffed and rolled their eyes. "That's what I thought." They muttered under their breath, removing their bucket from the well. They lifted it and carried it down the path towards their house, attempting to avoid upsetting the bucket's contents. They pushed the front door open with their shoulder, both hands firmly gripping the handle.

"Mom, I have the water!" They called into the small shack, setting the bucket down on the kitchen floor. "That's it, right? Am I done?"

Their mother appeared in the doorway, her brown hair falling in waves down her back. She smiled, wiping her hands off on a washcloth as she nodded. "For now, yes." She confirmed, stepping towards her child. "The rest of the afternoon is yours, but I need you to be back by sundown."

"Yes, ma'am." Ali agreed, fighting back the urge to roll their eyes. They knew the rules, they'd heard them everyday since they were a child. They pulled their braid over their shoulder and wiped any remaining moisture from their hands onto their pants. "I'll see you later tonight." They slipped out the door and down the street without a second glance. They had settled into a routine and knew they'd see their mother again at sundown.

They continued down the familiar path toward the woods, but stopped when a familiar voice called out their name.

"Ali! Hey, Ali!" A young girl with dark hair came running towards them, panting for breath. "Hi, Ali!" She chirped cheerfully, a wide grin spread across her face. "Where are you going?" She asked, rocking back and forth on her heels.

Ali sighed heavily. "Away from you." They said sharply. Myriam was three years their junior and was somehow even more annoying than her peers. She never seemed to be able to stop pestering Ali at every second of every day. Every single time she spotted them, she would jump up and start talking to them as if the two of them were on friendly terms. Ali had made it as clear as possible that they absolutely weren't interested in being her playmate, but she couldn't seem to take the hint.

"O-Oh." Myriam's face fell. "Well, may I come?" She put her hands behind her back, obviously fidgeting with her fingers. "Well, I guess that if I came, it wouldn't be away from me, but..." She trailed off, cheeks turning pink. "Or maybe you could come to my house!" She quickly tried to rectify her mistake. "My mother made me a new dress. It's blue and very pretty. You could come over and see!"

Did this kid really not get it? "Thanks, but I already have plans." They made a face that was some sort of sarcastic appropriation of an apologetic smile.

"Oh." Myriam bowed her head in disappointment. "Maybe when you're done?" She chirped, eyes shining with hope and desperation. "Or maybe tomorrow?"

Ali stepped past the girl, pushing her lightly on the shoulder to get her to move out of their way. "Yeah, I'll still be busy." They walked past her without looking back. They simply didn't understand why some people just couldn't learn when to leave others alone. They didn't have to turn around to know that Myriam had that crushed, puppy-dog look on her face. It was pathetic, really.

The ginger continued down the path toward the forest, ducking in between the trees. They whistled to themself as they strolled down the river. They kept an eye out, scanning the area for any sudden movements.

They caught the familiar swoosh of a black tail hanging from a tree branch out of the corner of their eye. They held their arms behind their back as they crept closer to the swinging limb. They hummed under their breath before reaching out and running a single finger over the length, causing the figure to which it was attached to jump up and hiss, falling clean off the branch.

Ali laughed loudly as two pointed ears rose from the brambles they had fallen into, peeking out from under a mop of black hair. The ears and hair were followed by a pair of dark, yellow eyes and pale skin. "I can't believe you didn't see that coming." Ali smirked, crossing their arms at their companion. "You should really keep your tail away from where people can grab it."

"I didn't expect for anyone to mess with my tail while I was sleeping." Minute replied dryly, slowly rising to his feet and dusting the leaves from his hair. "That was quite rude." He said through a yawn that made his ears flatten against the top of his head.

Ali snorted, climbing into the tree where the polyling had been napping. "You should know me better than that." They pointed out, sitting on the branch and allowing their legs to dangle off. "If I see a hanging tail, I'm going to mess with it."

"That's your problem." Minute glared, hopping into the tree beside them. His movements were collected and graceful, tail helping him maintain perfect balance. He sat with his back leaning against the trunk of the tree, licking his palm and slicking his hair back as his ears twitched atop his head.

"I'm not the one who fell out of a tree." Ali said pointedly, swinging their legs back and forth. "What are you doing sleeping, anyway? It's late in the day."

Minute shrugged lazily, eyes following a fly buzzing through the air beside his head. "I like sleeping." He said simply, not going into any more detail for an explanation.

"Sleeping is so boring." Ali insisted, watching as he studied the fly. "It's literally laying still and doing nothing"

"It's quiet and peaceful." Minute lashed his hand out and snatched the fly out of the air before throwing it into his mouth. "Don't have to talk to you when I'm asleep."

Ali scowled, face screwing up in disgust as he ate the bug. "Now who's the rude one?"

"Still you." The polyling yawned and closed his eyes, settling comfortably against the tree.

Ali hopped off of the branch, bending their knees before landing to spare their ankles the strain. They straightened out, dusting off their tunic. "Come on. We're not sitting around for the rest of the day."

"And why not?" Minute cracked open a single yellow eye. "I'm perfectly happy right here."

Ali tapped their foot against the ground, not wanting to waste energy on a pointless argument that they would win anyway. "If you don't get up, your tail's getting yanked." They threatened, hands on their hips. They were too full of energy to stay still for long.

The dark haired boy put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. You win." He grumbled, sliding off of his own branch. "What are we doing?"

Ali had already started off through the forest. "Just follow me." They called behind them, still facing forward. They marched through the trees and bushes, ducking under branches and over brambles. They continued on until they reached a large clearing with a lake spanning several feet across. They quickly worked on removing their overclothes before diving into the clear water. It was cool and refreshing against their dry skin. They swam beneath the surface, letting the water flow through their hair and around their body.

Minute scowled from where he stood on the bank. "I don't do wet." He said firmly, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

"Don't you?" Ali swam to the surface with a smirk, gathering some water into their mouth before spitting it at the polyling, who dashed out of the way.

"Nice try." He hissed, climbing lazily into a tree. "I think I'll just watch, thanks." He drawled, shifting until was lying comfortably.

Ali laughed and dipped their head back under the water. "Suit yourself." They floated onto their back and embraced the soothing waves that surrounded them. They closed their eyes and felt the sun hitting their face, the warmth a solid contrast to the coolness of the water. They could have remained their forever, with their mind drifting off as their body enjoyed comfort. They tended to feel most at home in the water, where everything was quiet and calm. Hours ticked by like that, with Ali alternating between swimming and floating, enjoying every moment granted to them. When the sun began to dip behind the trees, they reluctantly returned to land. They wrung their hair out before stepping back into their dry clothing. Their underclothes, still soaking wet, clung to their skin as they attempted to dry themself in the remaining sunlight.

"Oh, are we done?" Minute looked up, somehow still appearing ready for another nap. "Well, that was fun." He sat up and stretched, joints cracking. He rolled his neck around before glancing at Ali. "You're going back to town drenched like that?"

Ali rolled their eyes, but knew that the sun wasn't enough to completely dry them. They glanced down at their pale hand, an idea forming in their mind. They closed their eyes and tried to focus on their breathing. In and out. In and out. Like a flame flickering in the wind. In and out. Focus. They've done it before. They could do it again. They evened out their breathing and listened to the steady beating of their heart. They felt a familiar warmth glowing in their chest, spreading down to pool in their stomach before creeping across their limbs, until it was bubbling just under their skin. Their eyes snapped open and they stared down at their hand, attempting to draw the heat from it. Their eyes widened as a tiny ball of flame appeared in their palm, causing them to gasp and jump back, losing the heat and allowing the fire to dissipate.

"Are you ever going to be able to do that without immediately freaking out and ruining it?" Minute asked lazily, scratching behind his ear.

Ali glared at him. "You try summoning fire without any training!" They snapped, a blush creeping down their neck and up their ears. They looked down at their freshly dried clothes. "At least I'm dry!"

"In case you have forgotten, I am not a mage." Minute rolled his eyes. "Polylings can't be mages." He plucked a flea from his tail and squashed it between his fingers, appearing wholey disinterested.

Ali huffed, hands balled into tight fists at their sides. Anger always came faster to them after performing fire magic. "I still did what I needed to do!" They could feel the heat still burning under their skin. "Being a natural-born mage is still more impressive than being a cat creature!" They spun around and stormed off, not wanting to converse with Minute any longer.

They grumbled under their breath the entire way to forest exit, frustrated at themself for not being able to keep the flame, and frustrated at Minute for calling them out on it. They followed the path towards their shack as the sun set behind them. Their gaze was trained firmly on the ground underneath their feet and they were paying such little attention to their surroundings that they didn't notice the brilliant white carriage sitting outside of their front door until they were upon it. They froze and glanced up at the delicately crafted vehicle, decorated with a trim of pure gold, and led by two majestic, white horses with manes like silk. It was the most extravagant vehicle that Ali had ever laid eyes on. Nicer still than even the fine, wooden carriage ridden by the King's messenger.

"Mom?" Ali pushed the front door open. "Mom, what's-" They stopped in their tracks, staring at their mother, who was speaking with two people dressed head-to-toe in clearly expensive armor.

One of them turned to face Ali with no expression. "Ali Lake? We are with the Royal Guard. You need to come with us."