Daughter of the Night [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

Chapter 9

... ONE MONTH LATER ...

[Two weeks until Y/N's wedding]

Y/N sat in her room in Lady Fayette's manor, nursing a glass of wine as she reviewed the notes from the past few weeks. She had already shared most of them with the rest of the council, having sent most of them along with Alette's and Ozul's notes, but there were still a few in the most recent days that had yet to be reviewed by them. 

The council had agreed, almost unanimously, to pull the other investigative teams from the other two manors, and focus entirely on Lady Fayette to make sure that nothing went wrong. The team that had been three, was now six. They had been joined by Theron and Tein in the past week after the council decided to pull the other two teams. Thankfully, Theron now shared a room with Ozul, while Alette and Tein shared a room, meaning that Y/N was free to think by herself. She wondered if this had anything to do with her status as a high-born lady. She was not high in rank, but she was still higher than the other four. 

"Y/N! Y/N! Hurry!"

Y/N shot up from her seat as she heard Alette's voice approaching outside her room. She flung the door open to reveal a panicked Alette on the other side.

"C'mon," she hissed, grabbing Y/N's hand. "He's here!"

"Who's here?"

"The prince!"

⚔⚜⚔

Y/N watched as Malleus and Lilia descended from the carriage, followed shortly after by Silver and Sebek. Of course, they would come with him. There was nowhere Malleus went that they too didn't also go. Y/N fought back the urge to smile at how loyal the two boys were. 

"Prince Malleus of Briar Valley," the footman called. 

Everyone bowed to the prince, and Malleus took the opportunity to scan the crowd and see who was there. His eyes widened in shock when he saw Y/N standing near the back of the crowd, dressed in a beautiful black and f/c dress. Her fan was clutched in her hand, as it usually was, and her hair was pulled back into an elegant braided bun that sat where her hairline met her neck. As she raised her eyes, Malleus thought his heart would stop beating right there. She was stunning. He wanted to run to her and throw his arms around her, demanding an explanation as to why she left the school so quickly, but he knew that in front of a crowd, she would claim that she had never before met the prince. She would keep her professional air about her, no matter what she wanted.

"Welcome to The Stella Manor, Your Highness," Lord Delwyn said, taking a step forward. He bowed to the prince once more as his family stepped up beside him. "This is my wife, Lady Ivy," the lady curtsied to the prince as she was introduced, "And my daughter Lady Fayetta."

"Wonderful to meet you all," Malleus said, forcing his eyes off of Y/N's figure near the back. 

"And I trust that you are aware that your council has sent members to stay with us and ensure that our daughter is the right choice for you?"

"Yes." No. He had not been informed of this information and made a note to speak with Lilia on the matter.

"Shall I introduce you to them?"

Malleus nodded and followed beside Lord Delwyn as he introduced Malleus to the crown's council. "Lady Alette, Lady Tein, Lord Ozul, Lord Theron, and Lady Y/N." 

Each bowed or curtsied as their name was called, and Y/N forced herself to remain upright as she was introduced. She kept her eyes averted from the prince's knowing that if she were to look him in the eyes, no one would be convinced that they didn't know one another. And besides, it wasn't proper for him to look the Prince in the eyes when she was a low-born noble.