Forest of Fireflies

Chapter 26

(Daniella's POV)

I woke up early this morning. After putting a cloak around my shoulders, I sneaked down to the lower gardens. There, I watched as prisoners from the dungeons marched out of the side of the palace. They would all be executed this morning, save for one. Teagan was lead by a guard onto a path that leads out of the palace grounds. As soon as the guard left her to herself, I ran down the hill to catch up with Teagan. I was several metres away from her when she turned around and glanced over her shoulder. Seeing me, she stopped. Once I approached her, she greeted me simply, "Daniella."

"Morning, Teagan."

Teagan continued to walk along the path but I followed her. Eventually, she broke the silence by quietly asking me, "Are you happy, Daniella?"

"The happiest I've been in my life."

"Really? Why is that?"

I paused, thinking of how I should respond. Then I answered, "When life throws sticks and stones at you, home is the best place to be."

Teagan didn't reply instantly. She sighed and looked away from my gaze. Then, she chuckled, "I know you're a good girl, Daniella...I guess there's just some things I don't understand right?"

I looked at Teagan with wide eyes. I never thought that she would say these words so I stuttered back, "uh, ok..."

"Daniella, I want to know your story. You've heard mine when I told Snow about how I came to take care of the orphanage... but I don't believe I know hers or yours."

I nodded. "Well I'm not sure how much I should reveal but yeah...I guess I can talk a bit about me."

Teagan glanced at me with anticipation before putting her arm across my back. "Only if you're comfortable to speak about it."

"I know." I exhaled. Then, I began, "For starters, I'm not exactly ten years old. I'm sixteen."

Teagan stopped walking beside me, "Wait what?"

I chuckled, "Yeah. I'm not sure if you remember but in the first year of my mother's marriage with the King, I was born."

"Yeah, I faintly remember that; I was very young when they announced that the Queen has given birth to a baby girl...So you are Snow's sister?"

I surveyed Teagan's face before lowering my voice and whispering, "Please don't tell this to anyone, alright Teagan? This remains between us."

"Alright..."

"Well then, I'm not blood related to Snow or the King at all."

Teagan's face remained expressionless but she inquired, "And how does this affect your story?"

"The King found out. That's what happened. The thing is however, I was conceived before mother married him. I mean, I have proof of that; I'm a product of true love."

"You're a product of true love?!"

I laughed nervously and said sarcastically, "Yeah, believe it or not, the Evil Queen once had true love." Teagan's silence prompted me to continue, "Anyway, the King wanted to be rid of me so a servant took me out into the village and left me there. However, a portal took me to Wonderland and that's where I spent eight years of my life. Wonderland was horrid but when I was finally able to escape and come back to the Enchanted Forest, I realised that time operated differently between realms. Here, fifteen years had passed since I was taken from my mother. I was still an orphan, of course...so that's when you took me in."

Teagan took a moment to process my story before she asked, "And what of your father?"

I looked down and answered, "He's dead. He was killed because Snow broke a promise to keep my mother's secret. After my father died, mother found out that she was pregnant with me but she was forced to marry the King so she had to pretend that I was his."