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

🐙 Chapter 95

While the boys went to go and work out, Y/N decided to wander the dorm a bit. She had only been here a few times before, and now that she was here, and was to be living here for the next while, she thought it to be a good idea for her to roam a bit. 

As she walked, she suddenly noticed a draft that seemed to be coming from one room in particular. She frowned and walked toward it, rubbing her arms as the temperature seemed to drop the closer she got. The door seemed to be just like everyone else's doors in the dorm and Y/N guessed that it was one of the spare rooms that they had stocked up with random junk. 

'Would Leona be okay with me poking around a bit,' Y/N thought, glancing over her shoulder. She could still hear the dorm thumping around on the field outside as they warmed up, and shrugged. The worst he could do was ban her from Savanaclaw... right? She thought back to their interaction with Edurne in the garden and shook like a leaf as a chill ran down her spine. 

Y/N inhaled sharply and grasped the handle of the door, somewhat surprised to find it unlocked. In a den of thieves and cheats, the door was left unlocked. Clearly, there was nothing of any value in the room, but still, there was an overwhelming sense of curiosity that led Y/N into the depths of the room.

The dark embraced her and Y/N felt her breath catch in her throat as she quietly shut the door behind her. There was no sense in leaving it open if she wasn't supposed to be in there. 

Carefully, she took another step, stretching her hand out in front of her to make sure that she didn't bump into anything. Who knows what junk the boys may have stored here over the many years, tossed aside and left to fall victim to dust and bugs? Y/N shuddered at the thought of the creepy crawlies but continued on.

Her hand eventually brushed a wooden crate and she frowned, wondering what was in it. She clenched her hand and when she released the muscles, a pale yellow light shone out from her palm, illuminating the black ink on the side of the box. Sadly, she was still unable to read it, as years of sitting here had slowly peeled away the pigment, but she carefully clambered up onto another smaller crate at her feet and pushed the top of the box off.

Inside was a strangely ornate box with what appeared to be a moonstone set in the wooden top, surrounded by small silver runes. Y/N glanced toward the door, hoping that no one was about to barge in on her, and took a breath. She leaned over the edge of the box and slowly picked it up, holding it carefully in one hand as she jumped back down to the ground. It felt odd to hold it in her hands, but it wasn't the fact that it was so odd that made Y/N pause in her exploration. Instead, it was the familiarity of the box and the markings on the sides.

"Callisto," Y/N whispered, remembering her kingdom's name. She set the box down on a barrel and gently tried to pry the lid open. She frowned when she realised that it was locked, and when she bent down to inspect the lock, she was even more frustrated to find that it needed a key to be opened. Where was she supposed to find a key to this ancient box? 

She returned to the crate where she had found it and peered in, searching through the hay for any sign of a key that she could use. It came of no surprise when she found no sort of key, but she was pleased to find a few other things that were decorated with her family name.  Soon, she had amassed a large collection of what appeared to be historical artefacts, all with her kingdom's name on them. There were even a few engraved with the name 'Artem', though none of them bore Y/N's name. 

She sat on one of the crates and pulled her legs up to sit cross-legged. Her attention was focused on a large scarlet book that she had found, and feeling daring, she pulled back the cover, curious as to what the book might say. 

The first page bore the coat of arms of the Artem Family. A sword and an arrow made an 'x' on the page, underneath what looked like a dragon and phoenix forming a heart. And finally, ivy wrapped around in the shape of a shield. Y/N gently caressed the golden phoenix, smiling at the smooth feeling of the ink beneath her fingers.