Wishes and Wishes [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

Chapter 2

Y/N stared at her room. The room she had spent the last seven years in. The room that had been an extremely lavish prison, but a prison nonetheless. A room that she was now being told she had to leave, so she could move to another city entirely, to a place she had never been, where she would wed a boy she had never met. 

She turned to the mirror on the side of the room and sighed. Her parents had given her a beautiful outfit to wear for the journey to Silk City. An outfit worthy of a princess. But she was no longer a princess. Not that she had ever felt like a princess, locked away in her tower, a little more than a legend to the people of her kingdom. Simple clothing with billowing sleeves, a half skirt that fell to one side of her body, tight pants, and extravagant jewellery. Y/N supposed that it was her parent's final attempt to try and make up for being absent for the last seven years of her life. 

Seeming to sense Y/N's distress, Ranav approached the princess and gently bumped his head against her hand. 

Y/N smiled and turned to Ranav, crouching before him. "Thanks, Ranav," she said gently. She reached up and scratched her overgrown kitty behind the ears, rubbing her nose against his. "I'm glad you're coming with me." She knew Ranav wouldn't have let her leave without him going along with her, but it was comforting that the Asim family had been more than willing to allow Ranav to come along with her. Probably to try and give her a piece of her home to take with her, considering she was hardly taking anything else.

There was a knock on the door of her suite, and when Y/N looked up, she was surprised to see the matriarch of the Asim family standing at the door, with a young girl standing beside her. In her hands was a small black box, adorned with diamonds and rubies. The gems of the kingdom. The gems of Silk City. Y/N stood and approached the two ladies.

"Can I help you?"

The older of the two smiled and glanced around the room. "We just wanted to come and see if you were ready to depart. We'll be leaving soon."

Y/N let out a long sigh and cast a glance over her shoulder. She had only packed a few things. Some clothes that she was particularly partial to, a few of the books that her mother and father had given her over the years, her favourite golden brush with the carving of a lamp on the back, some jewellery that had been given to her by her mother throughout the years, and a few other personal items. It was hardly more than two trunks.

"I think I'm ready," Y/N muttered. "I might just grab a few more books before we go."

The woman smiled. "Good." She paused and set a hand on the shoulder of the younger girl. The girl bore a striking resemblance to the Asim matriarch and Y/N guessed that this girl was one of their daughters. 

"This is Nadia," the woman said, gently pushing the girl forward. "She will help you adjust to life in Silk City." In truth, what should have been said was that Nadia would help Y/N adjust to life outside the constricting confines of her tower room and back into normal society where she would be allowed the freedom to do as she pleased. 

"And I know that you are being forced to give up your royal position," the woman continued, "but Nadia and I wanted to give this to you. As a welcome present." 

Nadia lifted the lid of the box, and Y/N gasped. Sitting inside the box, on a velvet cushion, was the most beautiful circlet Y/N had ever seen. Nothing like the golden crown that she was forced to wear for the days when her mother and father decided to make the trek to their daughter's tower. Golden wires bending and curving like the waves of the dunes, surrounding diamonds, rubies, and topazes, and a single amber gem in the centre that sparkled like the sand in the light of the moon. 

"It's beautiful," Y/N said. 

The woman smiled and gently took the circlet from the box. "You may not be royal by title any more, Y/N, but you are a princess to us." She held the circlet up to Y/N, gesturing silently. Y/N smiled and bowed her head, allowing the woman to place the circlet on her head. It fit like a glove.