Years pass in an infuriatingly chaotic blur. I use the Vial to maintain the illusion that I'm a normal human servant in the palace, despite not having aged a day since the moment I mastered the power of starlight. Not that I think any of the Masters would notice. But it's better to be safe than sorry.

     For the past thirty-two years, I've been working tirelessly to fight the disasters, research the kingdom's token magical beings, and work like a normal servant. It's exhausting.

     But this year, Seer Sahera's visions are coming true. I snuck a peek at the list of Racers, and one name in particular caught my eye. Katie McNary. That surname is like a punch in the gut. I know Brian is dead; we all heard the rumors after such a strong and famous Hunter passed away. But to accept that his daughter will be racing this year instead of him is accepting that he's really gone.

     And I don't want to accept that he's gone. However, I know that if there's a Heaven where he's watching me right now, he'd ask me to protect his daughter. He'd tell me to break the curse, defeat the faery and/or witch, and stop moping around like a wet cat. He'd punch me in the arm and say, "R, you're strong. And stupid. But also strong. You can do this." And I know he'd tell me that he died for a reason. That it wasn't my fault. That I could make things right and avenge him.

     Oh yeah, there would be a lot of "Avenge me, R!" and "Get revenge on that stupid fever!" because of course he died of the White Fire and not even a hero's death in the Hunt. But he was a hero to me, because he never turned me in. And even though he didn't know it, he raised a child who would be the key to a prophecy I got oh-so-long ago.

*****

     I've taken to wandering around the castle at night, invisible, just studying the constellations splattered across the sky. The stars are patterns, and I'm convinced that maybe one day they could give me a clue. I'm - I was - a Hunter, after all, and we relied on the stars to be our guide. That's what I remember from my encounters with the witch and the faery. Both times, I couldn't see the stars.

     I feel like that's significant somehow, but I can't figure out why. But parts of Sahera's prophecy are already coming true. I achieved inner peace (or something), I stayed undetected in the castle for over thirty years, and somehow, one way or another, Brian's daughter found her way to me. Or like, close to me.

     I'm wandering through the corridor where the Racers are when I hear muffled conversation from a balcony. I slip outside, unnoticed by the two Racers sitting on the railing. The girl shifts positions, and as the moonlight hits her face, I have to stifle a gasp.

     It's her. It has to be. She looks exactly like Brian, but I also recognize him in her mannerisms, the twisting of her bracelet and the bouncing of her leg. The other one must be the other child, the two Hunters that I must break the curse with. Having given the prophecy a lot of thought, I know that I'll have to help them through the Race, to ensure that they become Hunters - Sahera said 'Hunters' instead of 'Racers' for a reason - and can fulfill the vision.

     So I step out of the shadows, remove my invisibility, and show myself for the first time in thirty-two years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Written January 5, 2024

Word count: 609

{ok first off, the word count (hehe). second, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I CAN'T BELIEVE I ACTUALLY MADE IT TO 20 CHAPTERS AND THE END OF PT 1!! third, they met rheid  o m g  i'm so excited}