[Discontinued*] The Darling Princess [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

Chapter 17

"I'm sorry." The voice dripped with pity, and Y/N turned her head to the side to see that a young man was sitting next to her, a clipboard in his hand. He was flipping through a few papers, making a gentle rustling sound as he did so.

"What are you sorry for?"

The man looked up from his papers and ran a hand through his dark ebony hair. He seemed like a kind-hearted person, as his eyes seemed to swell with happiness when he saw that Y/N was looking at him. He set his clipboard down on the table next to Y/N's bed and switched his seating so that he was resting on the edge of her bed now. He reached out and took one of her hands in his, one underneath while the other traced comforting patterns on the back of her hand. 

"There's nothing I can do. You... you'll be like this forever."

Y/N let out a long sigh, her head sinking further into the pillows that had been carefully arranged behind her head. She didn't seem to be in any familiar room. This room appeared to be a medical wing of sorts, with large windows all around the room, letting in thousands of little drops of sunlight. The rest of the room seemed to be made from white ivory or marble, with multiple beds spread out around the edges of the room.

"So I'll have this curse forever?"

The man nodded. "Yes. I am sorry, but my magic can only do so much. And when you face a curse as powerful as this..." His head drooped and Y/N felt his hands tighten around her own. "I have let you down, Y/N. I should have been there to protect you. It is the job of my twin and me to protect you at all costs. But still, we allowed you to fall prey to the malicious intentions of the one who had tried to assassinate you just after your birth."

"Have they been captured?"

The man nodded, not daring to raise his head in the presence of this woman. 

Y/N smiled and reached out her other hand, ignoring the tiredness that fought to pull her into the dream world. She cupped the man's chin and lifted it so that he would be forced to meet her eyes. "You have done all that you could, my dear friend. You and your brother must not blame yourselves for my misfortune. Had I paid more attention to my tutors, I would have been able to better protect myself. Perhaps I might have even been able to see through the disguise spell, but I failed my task to protect those around me."

The man took Y/N's hand away from his chin and held it to his lips. "Still, I wish I could have done more."

"You may wish that, but you must accept that the events that have transpired cannot be changed. It is impossible to change the past. So, for now, we shall learn and prepare for a brighter future. I will learn to cope with this curse, and with sufficient training, I should be able to survive it longer than the mage intended. Perhaps eventually, should I live long enough, we shall be able to find a cure or a possible spell that can reverse this misfortune."

"How you manage to remain hopeful is beyond me, Y/N." The man pressed a kiss to the back of Y/N's hand and got up from his spot. "I shall take my leave, if it suits you, Y/N. My brother wishes to speak with you and apologize, and I suggest that you get sufficient bed rest if you hope to return to your prior condition."

"Yes. I suppose rest would be beneficial. Very well. Send Threx in and I shall speak with him before I rest. Please inform my parents that I am on the mend and that I shall see them tomorrow, should they wish to visit me."

"I am sure that they would love to visit you. I shall inform them of your wishes." The man bowed low and left the room, soon replaced by a man nearly identical to him. Instead of the beautiful hazel eyes that the previous man had held like treasures, this man had eyes the colour of a dying fire.