- Rҽαʅιƚყ - Sҽϙυαʅ ƚσ Iɱαɠιɳαƚισɳ -

[12] After All This Time

CW: Gore, torture, death (I've been watching way too much supernatural...)

Meissa was tired.

Tired of dealing with politics.

Tired of losing the people closest to her.

Tired of being in the background.

That's why, when she found out she could bring Y/n back to life, she took the opportunity.

Seraphina had seemed nice enough. Maybe a little suspicious, but she could overlook that if it meant getting the love of her life back.

When she had first proposed the idea, Meissa thought she was clinically insane. But after proving she could bring people back to life, there was no way Meissa could resist.

Of course, she didn't think that would mean Seraphina would bring Y/n back without her, or that she would be revived with no memories. Or that she would keep Y/n away from everyone.

But it was fine.

Y/n was back, and that's all that mattered.

..Right?

- - -

For a good week after the incident, the castle was bustling with activity. Servants rushing from room to room. Princesses checking the palace for any more clues. And of course guards making their rounds in pairs.

But after that week, things started to settle down. And for y/n, it didn't seem much different. She still stayed in the infirmary (As some of her injuries hadn't quite healed yet) and played cards with Frosta, did yoga with perfuma, or gossiped with mermista. All of which, she apparently knew before she had somehow lost all of her memories.

She had her theories of course, but didn't let them get the best of her.

And the closer she grew with her former friends, the more memories she re-gained in the process. Which was helpful in answering some of her previous questions.

- Y/n POV -

"Ok, because the commotion in the castle has began to die down, I've decided that for this meditation sequence, we're going to go out to the palace gardens!" Perfuma exclaimed with a shout of joy.

Y/n nodded, giving the blonde a small smile.

"Aaaaand, if everything goes right, we'll have a special guest joining us this afternoon!"

"Who?" I asked right away.

Perfuma smiled, "You'll just have to wait and see! Now c'mon!"

And with that, I was being dragged through the palace and out through a set of doors.

The garden was of course, beautiful. There were many arrangments of flowers, trees cut perfectly, and fountains placed in random areas all around.

But the thing that stood out the most, was a patch of black roses.

"Alright." Perfuma laid out the mats, "like always, were going to do some simple stretches. We don't want to hurt you even more than you already are."

I followed her lead, doing the same things she did and letting her instruct me when I was wrong.

And although the yoga did calm the raging fire that seemed to always be in my bones, it did almost nothing for the burning questions that were plaguing my mind.

"Hey Perfuma?"

"Yes?"

"What can you tell me about- well..me? At least, 'me' when I had my memories..."

She thought for a moment, putting a finger on her chin.

"Well, you were very brave, and you always put other people before yourself. At least most of the time I think. Oh! And you were the only one of us who could cast illusions."

Now that perked my interest.

"...Illusions?"

"Yes! Whenever you were anxious, you would always make black roses appear out of the floor! Only people who were near you could see them. And maybe illusion isn't the right word... More of a mind manipulation?"

"...Go on..."

"Well for starters, you could calm anxiety farely decently. And make people see things that weren't actually there."

I thought for a moment, "Interesting..."

Suddenly, I sensed a presence from behind me and Perfuma seemed to notice as well because of the way she gasped.

"Meissa! Oh good your here!" Perfuma got up, and walked past me.

As casually as I could, I turned around, seeing a girl not much older than me

She had blue ringlet curls, and wore an outfit that could only be described as formal and elegant. 

"Hello. I'm Y/n," I said before extending a hand for her to shake, "And I'm guessing your Meissa?"

She let out a shaky breath and her hand met mine, "Yes. It's nice to see- to meet you..." we locked eyes for a second, but the moment was short lived, as she pulled away and turned to the door. 

"I- uh, should report to Queen Glimmer. We have a lot to discuss..." and faster than I thought possible, she was inside the palace. 

But as she walked away, I couldn't help but wonder about a small device that seemed to be attached to the back of her neck...

'I'll have to ask about that later...'

- - - 

"P-Please! I don't know anything!" the person struggled, trying to get away from the chair they were chained to.

Seraphina narrowed her eyes before digging the dagger deeper into the ex-guards palm, a pained scream following the action.

"Your lying." she seethed, pulling the object out of their hand and placing it on a table, "You are one of two remaining surivors of a fallen kingdom, and your telling me you know NOTHING, of King F/N, despite being a member of his PERSONAL royal guard?!"

Tears fell down their face, and sobs echoed throughout the room, "I- All I know, is that the queen had him exiled. H- him and- and his-"

"Get on with it."

"He- he had a daughter, not Princess Y/n, a different girl."

Seraphina scoffed, "thats old knews buddy. Hm, but... what did she do to him before he was banished?"

"...Pardon?"

"YOU HEARD ME," she turned around, holding the dagger to their neck, "What kind of poison did she use on him?"

"I-" they paused to cough, blood dribbling down their busted lip, "it wasn't poison, she created a potion to permanently remove his powers."

Smiling, Seraphina grabbed a pen and a paper, "And, do you by chance know what was in this potion?"

They nodded, "It was mostly magic. A- an extracting spell, but for the substance part it was two black roses, 1 feather from any type of avian, and-..."

"And?"

"..." they swallowed, "blood from a pure blooded elesphian..."

She put the pen and the paper down, and grabbed the dagger. Giving the ex-guard a pity-ful look, she put her hand on their face before whispering into their ear. 

"I was that girl..." then, with a quick motion, she slit their neck and placed a cup underneath it to get as much blood as she could. 

- CHAPTER 12 END -