Twisted Wonderland Book 2: The Usurper from the Wilds

Chapter 27: A Prince With Naught

Soon, Briar opens her eyes, and finds herself in some dark abyss.

Briar looks around and says, "This... this looks like the same place... like what happened with Riddle..."

Briar begins to walk forward to find a clue to where Leona is. If it's the same as before, then she might hear Leona's voice or see a piece of his past.

And right on cue, Briar hears Leona's voice, "From the moment I was born, there's been a boulder on top of me that's too heavy to move."

Soon, a black and white, and a little gray scenery appears. Briar finds herself in some building with pillars that has a big opening. She looks outside to see a large field area, kind of like the Savanna of Africa. There is also a large rock formation distance away, and a large sin.

Suddenly, Briar begins to hear a voice of a man, "Crown prince Falena is such a bright and cheerful young man."

Briar turns her head to see a group of people in black silhouettes talking among themselves.

The man's voice continues, "I don't understand why his younger brother has to be so moody all the time."

Then hears a woman's voice, "And he possesses such a terrifying power! Imagine being able to turn anything to sand!"

Then a second man's voice appears, "Both of you, cease this conversation right now! What if someone overhears you?!"

Hearing the conversation, Briar begins to wonder if the younger brother they're referring to is Leona, and the other must be his older brother.

Then the scene disappears. Briar then decides to continue forward.

Then she hears Leona's voice again, "I bet that... if I were the crown prince,... this is what they would have said: 'Crown prince Leona is a judicious young man—look how he controls such powerful magic! I don't understand how Falena can be so carefree. This is all because I was born second. They'd find fault in me no matter what—just so they could use it as a pretext to praise my brother. No matter what I do, I can never be the best."

Just then, another room appears around her. It seems to have a little bit of African like decor on the walls, and there are a few windows on one side of the room with curtains. Just then, Briar sees two figures appear before her. One of them is Leona, but the other is a silhouette of an older man. Judging by the appearance and how Leona seems annoyed to see his face, Briar has to suspect this must be Leona's older brother, Falena.

She hears Falena asking Leona sternly, "Leona! Why weren't you at today's ceremony?

Leona"

"Ceremony?" Leona questions.

Then says, like he remembers, "Ah, you mean the self-indulgent party where you show off your son to the people?" But he doesn't seem to care. "Yeah, sorry I missed that. I fell asleep.

"Showing the people the face of their future king is an important affair," Falena says.

"Yeah, it's a happy day for sure—also known as the day the despised second son loses what little claim he had to the throne forever," Leona says, annoyed.

"Do not frame it in such terms!" Falena sternly says.

"Must be nice to be the firstborn, huh? Leona questions.

And says, "You can spend every day singing and napping and still become king."

Falena tries to reason with Leona, "Leona... You may never become king, but you are still wise. There is much you could do for this country."

"And maybe if this country selected its kings on the basis of intelligence, I'd be motivated to do something with that wisdom," Leona says bitterly and decides to leave the room.