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

🦁 Chapter 74

"Since I was born, it's felt like there's an immovable stone atop my head."

Y/N blinked upon hearing Leona's voice. She was lying on her back once more, looking around at the world that surrounded her. Instead of seeing a memory right away, it seemed that there was nothing in front of her but a thick stone wall. She got to her feet and pressed a hand against it, flinching at the sheer frigidness of the stone. 

The wall faded away as the glass had in Riddle's memories, and Y/N turned, already expecting what she saw. A beautiful monochrome landscape stretched out before her, a sun setting in the distance, casting shadows on the lush green bushes and trees that dotted the land. She could even see the rock from her own dreams in the far off distance, standing like a statue that served as a reminder of ages long past.

She was standing in a magnificent castle hall with polished tile floors, towers that stretched to the heavens, and a cool wind that blew through the balcony. Or was it a balcony? It seemed like more of a hall than anything.

As she stood there, wondering about her surroundings, she noticed that two shadowy figures were making their way toward her. One seemed to be the silhouette of a man, while the other seemed to be a woman. Both were carrying items in their hands, though these two were simple shadowy figures rather than actual items that Y/N could identify, so Y/N assumed that they were servants in this beautiful home.

"His Highness Farena is so bright and cheerful," one of the servants, the man, said. "But..." He paused and seemed to glance around the hall as if he was scared that someone might overhear him. "Why is his younger brother so hard to please?"

"On top of that, he can use magic that can change anything to sand. So terrifying..." It almost seemed like the woman was whimpering in fear. 

Y/n knew exactly where she was. The home of Farena and Leona Kingscholar. The palace of Sunset Savannah. 

A third servant rounded the corner behind them and ran to approach them. "Could the two of you keep your mouths shut? What if someone heard you?"

As the vision started to fade, Y/N noticed another silhouette down the hall, this one also in the shape of a young female, though she seemed to be wearing different clothes than what the servants were wearing. 

The vision went dark and Y/N was faced with the stone wall again. She gritted her teeth, ready for the pain that would come, and flung her fist forward. It felt like her fist was on fire and she stumbled back, cradling her hand. 

"This isn't going to work," she muttered. She tried to summon her magic to blow the wall to pieces, but like the dreaded room with no windows and no walls, it seemed that her magic wasn't able to work here either. 

"Leona," she yelled. "Leona, can you hear me?"

"Had I been born first, I'm sure they'd sing a different tune. 'His Highness Leona is so thoughtful and an extremely formidable wizard. Completely different from his carefree brother."

Y/N gritted her teeth and flung her arm out again, wincing as she felt the impact on her hand. Though her magic didn't seem to work here, it seemed that there was an enchantment on her bones that kept them from breaking. 

"But because I was born second instead..."

"Leona!" Y/N punched the wall again, breathing out when she saw a crack starting to form at the impact site.

"Everything I do gets nitpicked, they extol the firstborn at the expense of the second. No matter what I do, I'll never be first."

The wall faded as Y/N was about to punch it again, and she found herself stumbling into another vision. This one was in a room, more closed off than the hallway, though still with an air of freedom that came from the large windows at the other end of the room. it seemed to be a bed-chamber of sorts, with decorations hanging from the walls and extravagant trinkets on a table beneath a tapestry.