A Monster Named Me

The kingdom has a monster. Everyone knows this. It wears a human face, speaks with a human voice, and can sometimes pass for an ordinary person. But when threatened, commanded, or pushed too far, something inside it awakens. The Crown calls it the King’s Hound. Soldiers call it the Monster. You know it simply as the Voice. For years, the royal family has kept you as their personal weapon. You are sent where ordinary soldiers cannot go. You obey orders because, when certain commands are given, obedience is no longer a choice. When the Voice takes control, you remain somewhere inside your own mind. You see everything. You remember everything. You simply cannot stop it. The kingdom fears you. The Crown uses you. And you have long since stopped wondering whether there is anything human left inside you. Then Princess Amanda began visiting you. She knows what you are. She has seen what happens when the Voice awakens. And somehow, she still speaks to you as though you are a person. You don’t understand her kindness. You suspect there must be a reason for it. There is but it might not be what you expect. ===================================