Daughter of the Night [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

Chapter 20

Y/N grunted in pain as the henchman lay a kick to her stomach, driving her own dagger deeper into her side as his heel caught the hilt. It had missed the vital organs, thank goodness, but it was still a bad enough wound that she would bleed out in a matter of minutes if she didn't get medical attention. Not that the henchman would be willing to give her medical attention. Not after using her own dagger against her and plunging it into her.

"What do I do with 'er, Mistress," the henchman asked, pulling out his mirror.

"Take her to the Shaftlands and leave her to bleed in the forest," the queen snarled. "No one will find her there. And leave the boy in peace. The dead girl is good enough for me."

The henchman nodded and pulled a small crystal from his pouch. He whispered a few incoherent words to it before slamming it on the ground, causing it to fracture into a million different pieces. A swirling vortex of black and green appeared before the two of them. Y/N tried to pull herself away from the henchman as he turned to her, but he quickly picked her up by her hair, wrapping his other hand around her stomach, ignoring the dagger still pressing into her, and unceremoniously tossed her through the portal, sending her who knows where. 

⚔⚜⚔

The dark forest was exactly what Y/N had expected. Dark, mysterious, and evil. She had heard stories of the dark forest of the Shaftlands, said to be home to the most dangerous criminals and outlaws, and the place where creatures of malice and hatred lurked, waiting for the weary and weak to become their meal. 

"Wish you would have killed me by your own hand," Y/N grunted, pulling herself to her knees. She coughed at the effort, spitting out the blood that pooled in her lips. It landed on the ground in front of her, but the forest was dark enough that she couldn't tell her blood apart from the grass, despite the colour change. With another grunt of effort, Y/N got to her feet, leaning against the nearest tree, trying not to pass out. 

An eerie howl echoed around the forest and Y/N sighed, now leaning all her weight on the tree beside her, ignoring the sharp branches that stabbed her on her other side, and the rough bark that scratched at her hands. The henchman had done a number on her, even before stabbing her in the side with her family's weapon. 

"What shall I do with her, Mistress?"

"Punish her for corrupting my son," the queen hissed through the mirror, her voice warbled by the distance. Her magic was strong, but even she had a limit. 

"Of course, Your Majesty," the henchman snarled, his lips curling into a cruel smirk. He tucked the mirror back into his pocket and turned towards Y/N. He had disarmed her of her dagger, which now lay to the side of the cavern, next to the lantern. The blade gleamed in the firelight, and Y/N desperately wished that she had enough strength to grab it, but after being punched in the gut too many times to count and being hit in the head, nearly hard enough to knock her out, she hardly had any strength left to stay conscious, let alone get to her feet and fight the henchman. 

She let out a grunt of pain as the henchman grabbed her by her shoulders, pulling her back to a large wooden post that had been mounted in the middle of the cavern. Bloody manacles hung from a strip of metal embedded about three-quarters of the way up the post, and Y/N snarled at the sight of them.

"You dared to tie Silver to this and beat him," she hissed, fighting against the man as he pulled her to the post.

"Yes, I dared," the man snarled, forcing Y/N to her knees and pressing her forehead against the spot. "I dared to beat him within an inch of his life every day as he screamed for mercy. Because I, unlike you, serve my queen without hesitation."