Ace

"Your outer beauty may capture the eyes, but your inner beauty will capture the heart"

My Mother told me that everyday. But I knew that she, along with everyone else around me, hated and was even scared of my... deformity. The kids I tried to play with we're always so mean, calling me the "green-eyed monster", then they'd run away screaming. I couldn't even stand to look at myself in the mirror.

When I reached my teens, I'd already left home. "Maybe I'll find my purpose elsewhere?" I thought to myself. But, alas I found nothing. Even the people I passed by were scared of me. Why: "why me? Out of all my siblings, why did I have to be the one?" I asked myself everyday, but never of course, never got an answer. I begged the 11 Deities, please just tell me why, but never got an answer from them, either. So, I kept going on, resentfully.

My travels took me all the way through the Labyrinth, the Viridian Labyrinth, where I got lost. There wasn't any food or water nearby; the forest was dark and seemed to stretch on endlessly. Finally, I fell to the ground. I was give out and ready to give up. My seemingly meaningless life would come to an end there, in the middle of the forest, with no one else around. I closed my eyes, and went unconscious.

I guess hours had past, and then I woke up again. I felt warm sunshine against my face, there was a slight breeze in the air, and... petals? Yes, the petals of hundreds of Dew Laden White Rose passed me by, blowing slowly in the gentle breeze. I was still hungry, so I tried leaning upwards to get a better look at my surroundings. During my attempt to lean up, there was a faint voice urging me to lay back down; it startled me, but I decided to listen to it. Then, a door opened, and the smell of fresh hot tea filled the air. "You've finally awoken, I see." the voice said. Was it a woman's voice? Yes, it was, indeed, a woman's voice. I turned my head slowly to see the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on: her hair was coral-red, her eyes white as snow. "Can you... speak?" She asked. "Y-Yes.." I muttered. She giggled at me, for some reason. "Well then, what's your name, Sir?" I just stared at her for a minute. It was unusual, someone talking to me with such a normal attitude. "A.. Ace... that's my name." She nodded her head, crossed her arms and stood there thinking about something a few moments before beginning to talk again. "Well, I do hope your feeling better, Ace. It worried me when I saw you laying there motionless on the ground, so I brought you back here, to my house." Her words astounded me. She was worried... about me? I wanted to say she was lying, but her eyes we're so honest. "Oh yes, I almost forgot to tell you my name," she giggled once again. "My name is Carnation. Would you like something to eat, Ace?" I stared blankly at the wall, thinking for a moment. "If... it's not to much trouble, then yes please." Since I mostly lived a life of seclusion, I wasn't all that good at talking to others, but I at least knew how to say please. My mother taught me that.

3 days came and went, and I still hadn't left Carnation's home. She brought me flowers and set them beside the bed I laid on, Dew Laden White Roses, which she told me was her favorite flower. She seemed to have an attraction towards flowers big and small, I guess it's because she claimed to be a botanist, which does make sense, since she was always observing different types of them. Personally, I thought Botany was very boring, and didn't understand why she could ever be as fascinated with them as she was; she told me she'd tell me why whenever I got to feeling better.

A couple of weeks past by, and when I finally felt able to, Carnation took me outside to "show me something". I'd stepped a few feet away from her house, then looked back at it and was surprised to see that it was built into a tree! A literal tree-house. Anyway, I still had no idea what she was taking me to look at, until we reached the end of the forest, that is...

As soon as I took my first step out of the forest, sunshine once again beamed upon my face; it was bright(and quite frankly, blinding me), but felt so very good. I pulled a hand above my face so I could see, and opened my to see what seemed like a small piece of heaven: Flowers, in all colors, covering the field before me. "What do you think?" She asked me. For quite a few minutes, I remained speechless; staring in awe at the magnificent sight before me. "I-It's beautiful!" I shouted. A tiny white bird suddenly flew up to me out of nowhere. "Oh, that is a Peace-Dove named Miracle... I think she likes you, Ace~" Carnation said. I pulled my hand up slowly as to not scare "Miracle" away, and she actually landed on my finger. "She's tiny," I stated. "She is. The poor dear was born smaller than the rest of her siblings. She didn't manage to learn how to fly by the time her siblings were ready to leave the nest, so she was left, all alone. But, luckily I found her and nursed her back to health, just like I did you! Speaking of which, are you about ready to continue on your travels?" I wasn't. I didn't wanna go. Carnation was so nice to me, the only person that was ever nice to me. If I left, things would just go back to normal, and I'd be alone again. She tilted her head, looking straight at me. "Y'know, if you ever wanna come back here, your always welcome to, Ace." Her words nearly brought me to tears. I felt a bit better about leaving now. Miracle landed on my shoulder, I tried to shoo her away but she wouldn't budge. "She likes you, Miracle does. Why not take her along with you? I'm sure she'd make a great companion!" Carnation stated. "Well..." I was definitely considering not taking the little dove from her home, but she did seem to like me. Why not? The thought of having a companion made me more than happy, even if it was just a bird!

The very next day, I arose early to leave before Carnation woke up. I still wasn't that good with words, so I left her a note instead, one that expressed my gratitude towards her. And so, the next part of my, and Miracle's, journey began: To the Twisting Crescendo.

I learned a lesson from observing Carnation: though having them is nice, there's more to life than having friends. Like flowers, for instance: they smell good, attract all sorts of life like butterflies and bees, they come in all sorts of colors, and are quite the sight to behold. Every time I see a flower on my journey, I'm reminded of the lovely lady that's awaiting my return someday. Until then, Carnation, I hope you remain in good health!