Chrysanthemums For You [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

Chapter 8

A/N: Song - No Princess by Ashley Tisdale

Flower sat beneath the oak tree, staring at the pomegranate in her hands. The red skin had been broken and the little seeds inside were shining like jewels that had been pounded into perfection by a surging river. But these seeds, which had formerly brought her so much joy, brought nothing but sorrow. Flower gently picked one from the flesh and rolled it between her fingers, squishing it once and then twice, testing the strength of the skin holding the juice in. 

Instead of popping the seed between her lips as she normally would, she set it down beside her and pulled her knees to her chest, setting her chin down on her knees. She stared at the emerald grass as it danced before her as if trying to cheer her up. 

A week had passed since her return to Nisi, and once, Flower thought she would have been overjoyed to be returned to the shores she had known, and to the forests who loved her as their own. But instead, she had spent the last week amongst the trees, far from her house beneath the mountain, trying to ignore the pain in her heart. 

Flower leaned back against the tree and let out a deep breath. Was there something wrong with her? She should be happy now that she was back with her family, right? She should be happy now that she's back with Nisi. She should be happy. She had Sun and Moon and Sea and Dream. She had her brothers, her father, and her mother. She had everything she should want, right? She shouldn't be longing for anything else... Nisi gave her everything she wanted... right?

So why was she feeling this way? Why did she feel as though she was about to cry every waking moment? Why were her last thoughts before she went to sleep of the strange Shroud boys? Why was Idia continuously at the front of her mind? Why did everything remind her of him? Why was he the one that she saw in her dreams rather than the peaceful island of Nisi? Why did she think about his voice calling after her? Why did she think of his rare smiles and the looks that he gave her when he thought she wasn't paying attention to him? Why, why, why?

"Once, far away and long ago... was a tale, my daddy told... to me... He said... there's a land of fantasy... there's a prince who will fight for me... till the end..."

Flower rose to her feet and made her way through the forest, tears starting to pool in her eyes as she remembered the way Idia had looked at her. The way they had danced in his room before Sea's arrival. She could still hear his broken voice in her mind, calling to her and wishing for her to come back to him, even across the vast ocean separating them. 

"This isn't how I thought it was supposed to be... You were the one who I imagined next to me... But sometimes love will fell in the hands of the reckless... Cause this is no fairytale... And I... am no princess..." 

Flower reached up to her hair where a crown of chrysanthemums sat and pulled it off, staring at the flowers as they lay in her hand. Upon her return to the island, a small patch of chrysanthemums had blossomed on the outskirts of her forest. Blue like the flames of her love with pale golden spots in the middle where the pollen sat.

"No princess..."

A tear dripped from Flower's eye and fell onto a petal of one of the chrysanthemums. She sighed and tossed the crown aside. She didn't want to look at them anymore. They brought nothing but pain and memory, like the pomegranates of Nisi. They had all lost their lustre to her. She had lost her love for the flowers of Nisi, and her love of the pomegranates that had once been her favourite. It felt as though the world had turned grey during the short time she had spent away from the island.

"Now, we're living in the strangest dream... And I don't know what to believe... Cause when you said, 'I'm the one who'll fight for you... I'm the one you'd never lose' that was just pretend..."

Flower collapsed at the side of the river, tears clouding her vision as she stared into the crystal clear water. She dipped her finger beneath the surface as she sang, stirring the water. It reminded her of the time she had fallen into the fountain. It reminded her of how Idia had pulled her from the fountain and how he had cared for her, despite hardly knowing her. 

"This isn't how I thought it was supposed to be... You were the one who I imagined next to me... But sometimes love will fell in the hands of the reckless... Cause this is no fairytale... And I... am no princess..."

Flower lay down at the side of the river and allowed her tears to fall. They rolled over her skin, giving her a sorrowful kiss before tumbling into the river's water. 

"No princess..."

A gentle breeze embraced her, but instead of smiling at the sensation, she shivered and pulled her body into a little ball, the tears falling tenfold as she longed for Idia. She wanted Idia to embrace her and hold her and tell her that he would never leave her. She wanted Idia to love her. She wanted Idia to fight for her, to take her away from Nisi to a place where they could live together. 

"If I am a prisoner and fear is my captor, and I'll never know happily ever after... I'm no princess..."

But Nisi was selfish. Nisi would never allow Flower to leave her shores again. Not after Sea had ripped Flower away from her family, and from Nisi's forests, which had begun to fall into despair after Flower had left. Nisi would hold Flower as a child held its favourite plush toy. Nisi would guard Flower and keep her from the shores of the land, keeping her to the innermost parts of the island. 

"That's just how it is, but now I'm wiser, next time I'll write my own last chapter..."

Y/N started to sob, her body shaking as she lay there beside the river, her voice coming in shaky breaths and painful melodies. 

"This isn't how I thought it was supposed to be... You were the one who I imagined next to me... But sometimes love will fell in the hands of the reckless... Cause this is no fairytale... And I... am no princess..."

A wave of exhaustion overtook Y/N's body, and she gave one final sob to the world before succumbing to the call of sleep. Her body went limp and her lips parted as sleep came to her, easing the weight that was hanging on her shoulders. 

* * *

"I found her!"

Sun ran toward Flower's limp form and fell to his knees beside her. He tossed his lyre aside and scooped Flower into his arms, pulling her onto his lap and gently brushing away the hair that had fallen into her face. He let out a breath of relief and held her close as he got to his feet, picking up his lyre as he did so.

"Brother, you found her!"

It was Moon. The dark-haired girl was running up to her golden-haired brother and the girl in his arms. She too was relieved that Flower had been found, though, at the sight of her limpness, she felt her body grow cold. Was something wrong with Flower? Flower never slept in her forest. Her mother and family made sure of that. Her mother always called her back to the house before the night fell, and both Moon and Sun knew that Flower never took naps. Not when the sun was high and the day was only half-passed.

"Is she all right, Brother," Moon asked, taking Flower's hand and holding it gently.

Sun sighed. "I do not know, Sister."

"Where should we take her?"

"Home," Sun said simply. "Our house is closer than hers, and we can send a message through Nisi to her family and tell them that we have found her. I am sure Mother would be willing to care for Flower."

Moon nodded and took Flower from her brother, holding her gently. Together, the twins set off in the direction of their house on the ledge where their mother was waiting anxiously for their return.