Ruby was destined to be miserable.

She had been born with the cursed mark, the cursed 'destiny' that took everything away from her. Her kingdom, the possibility of her making friends, but at least she was left with her family.

But it was only a matter of time until that was taken away from her, too. She knows that future royalty must go through special training as soon as they come of age, so she had mentally counted down how many years it would be until she has to move to the Fairy Kingdom's castle. What she hadn't counted, however, was when the other future Rabbit Royalty, Watanabe You, would come of age.

When that time came, as traditions dictated, the current reigning king, queen, and princess would contribute to the training. And the training would be held at the Rabbit Castle, far away from the neutral territory she lived in. Her family would leave her.

It was a realization that came too late. She had only been aware of it a month before they were to return to their kingdom. In that one month, her family attempted to entertain her. Spending whatever spare time they have with her, buying her favorite food, playing games with her. And Ruby wanted to enjoy them, she really did. She never could, though.

Eventually, the day arrived. With tears in their eyes, her mother and father embraced her in a tight hug. As soon as they broke off the hug, Dia moved towards her and hugged her even tighter. Unlike their parents, tears flowed from her eyes freely.

Dia had grown so much. The pair of long ears on her head, that had grown as soon as she had come of age, is proof of that. But in that brief moment, the normally calm and collected girl broke down into tears in the arms of her sister.

"Ruby, I want to see you again," she said, her voice cracking. "So please take care of yourself. I'm begging you. Please stay healthy. If you need anything, send us a letter and we'll have a servant ready for you."

I don't want a servant, she thought, nuzzling into the crook of her sister's neck. I want you. I want Mom and Dad.

Her thoughts remained unvoiced, and she only nodded her head. As the sisters embraced, their parents began preparations to depart, loading their belongings onto their carriage. Eventually, her sister, the person who had remained by her side for her entire life, had to leave her. With a kiss on the forehead, she separated from Ruby. They shared a look, and with a wave, Dia exited the house, closing the door behind her.

Ruby remained frozen in place, waiting as the sounds of the carriage departing reached her ears. She waited until she could no longer hear them, and then everything hit her at once.

She was alone.

She looked around the house she lived in. Her parents had told her that it's smaller compared to their castle, but even the humble house felt too big for her.

She was alone.

Tears stung in her eyes as she stumbled towards her parents' room. Nothing there, other than their beds completely stripped of their personal belongings.

She was alone.

Her sister's room was in a similar state, but she as she checked the drawers she realized that Dia had forgotten two things. Two framed pictures.

One is of her mother, father, and Dia, posing in front of the castle. The second one has her in it, but rather than the castle, the picture was taken in front of their current house. As she stared at them, she felt like she had destroyed the family. That they would've been better off without her. And now, she had to pay for her sins. Her family had left her.

She was alone.

She tossed the two pictures onto Dia's bed as she exited her room, wanting to forget about their existence. The house was silent, without even the sounds of nature breaking it. She returned to her room and buried her face in a pillow before the first sob wracked her body.

She was alone.

She was truly alone.

The cursed mark had finally taken everything from her.

Her final chance at a happy life felt like a fading dream.