Sleeping Beauty [WMMAP Fanfiction]

Chapter Eleven: Debutante Escort

Alice never thought that a day would come, where she would like who she saw in the mirror.

That was what she reflected on, sitting on the edge of her bed that night, looking at her palms. Her hands were always cold, and where her magic circles would begin.

The features she loathed were hers, not her father's, because she was not him. She trusted their judgement of her, that she was herself, that she was worth their time, that she was not something ugly. Maybe, just maybe, they were right.

And yet, yet...

"You're cursed, aren't you."

Those words seemed to travel through space, through time, as fresh as the day they were first spoken, always coming back to haunt her. It served as a cruel reminder to her, that things would not last forever. That they would leave eventually; or maybe she would do it first.

Just how much time did she have left to be happy? How much pain had to happen to her until the world was satisfied? How much longer was she allowed to be with them? When would that curse makes its appearance? She didn't even know what would happen when it appeared, and the idea was scary.

Something stirred behind her, but she paid no mind.

"You're cursed, aren't you," Lucas had inquired of her, back when he first came to the palace.

"I'm not," she refuted, knowing she never used black magic.

"Did you use black magic? Or did someone use it on you?"

She didn't say anything; the idea of her using black magic, even if it was her, was farfetched.

"I told mister red to leave because this is a sensitive subject," Lucas continued in a soft voice, his limbs hidden in his big robe. "But I think that someone cursed you. It's been appearing recently, so be careful, okay. Don't use your magic too much, and, um.. be careful. I can't really get rid of it; I'm still in training, and it's reallllyyy woven into you."

"Do you know what kind of curse it is?"

"Curses can destroy someone... I can't tell with you. But you have more than one mana in you. That can destroy your magic system, so you have to be careful with that too..."

Even now, Lucas could not rid her of the curse he mentioned.

She had no options to live as she liked. She could either succumb to the curse, or have her magic system shatter and possibly take her life.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

"Did you?" she retorted without missing a beat, turning around to see Felix squinting at her.

"Maybe," he muttered, half-awake.

"Alright then." She laid back down beside him, laying her arm out. He shuffled over so his head rested on it. "You up to chat?"

"... Do you ever wonder about potatoes being fused with a couch?"

"That's the dream?"

"Yeah..."

"It's a literal couch potato, redhead."

"It was chasing me."

"Potatoes don't have feet."

"Oh, right...."

Alice let out a breath when he went back to sleep right away. At least he didn't remember; she didn't want anyone else to know about her curse.

She definitely bugged him about that when the day arrived. He denied it all, not remembering.

"Wait. Why were you awake then?"