The Nameless Girl (GxG)

Part 3

Soft golden eyes met her frightened gaze, and everything clicked into place.

An odd blue haze encircled the dragon, which tilted its head to the sky in a painful roar, before it simply disappeared into thin air.

The girl blinked at the spot where the dragon once stood, when her attention was caught by a swift movement below, in the middle of the ballroom. Indeed, there was a human silhouette, which struggled to get to its feet. While the other human was busy with getting themselves together, she descended the steps, as quietly as possible, and marched towards the intruder. Or rather, the dragon that had now turned into an intruder.

When she was close enough, the girl could see that the intruder was in fact a short, young woman that was entirely covered in cinders.

The woman turned around and looked at her dead in the eye. A small smile graced her soot-painted lips.

"Finally, you looked at me."

"W... Who... Who are you?" The prisoned girl opened her mouth in shock as she figured she could speak just like any other human.

The woman before her simply chuckled.

"Even after you broke the curse, you still do not remember? Now, please. Try better. Who might I be?"

"Kiryana?" The girl frowned in confusion.

"Oh, that! No, no, no. I am not Kiryana." And this time, the woman literally burst into laughter, causing some soot to fall off her body, revealing the smooth, graceful traits of her visage. When she finally regained her composure, she took a step forward, and placed a hand under her chin. Brown eyes appeared from under the dark cinder, and searched for her own eyes – eyes that she did not know –, as if seeking for a clue, seeking for the truth. And she spoke again, her voice deadly grave.

"No. You are Kiryana."

At this very instant, it felt as if her whole world had been turned upside down. Or reduced to ashes, she could not say the difference, really.

It did not make any sense. There was the handkerchief in her room, it read "Danae". There was not doubt that the piece of fabric was Danae's, and since she had it with her, then...

She was interrupted in her thoughts as the woman shook her head violently, causing soot to fall off her head and hair as well, and under the grey cinder appeared slender black locks. She could not help but inhale audibly.

"Danae. It's you."

"Yes," the woman answered in a melancholic smile. "It's me. The princess you cursed to live in peace and loneliness."

As the princess spoke, she felt her body react to each word, transform with each syllable, so much that at the end of the sentence, she looked down to see herself clad in a long ice-white dress made of thin tulle and stylish lace. One heavy crystal ring imprisoned her right forefinger, and she bent her head sideways in time to see long, wavy white-blond hair float around her head and shoulders. When she reported her attention on the lost princess before her, she could finally see her as she truly was. The soot had been replaced by a blood red silken dress, and the cinder had left room for a gold crown to sit on top of her head. Danae was smiling at her, satisfied and wistful.

Beautiful.

"I don't understand," she heard herself saying, and she found that indeed, her voice were that of the cool, insensitive sorceress. "I have a handkerchief in my bedroom, the name embroidered is yours. And I am pretty sure I had dark blonde hair, as recently as this morning. It was not white."

"Don't you remember?" asked Danae, sounding genuinely surprised. "I gave you this handkerchief, many years ago." She reached out to her, and the sorceress stared at the stretched hand in disbelief, until she followed the princess' pointed look. Indeed, in her left hand, still cradled between her fingers, was the handkerchief.