𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕥 {𝕍𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕩 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣}

-Chapter Twenty-Six- Revived

author's note: this chapter contains graphic descriptions of a panic attack. if this triggers you, or you are uncomfortable reading about severe anxiety, the descriptions will be over by the first paragraph marker, looking like this: (─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───). after that, any detailed descriptions will be over. you won't be missing anything major in the first section, so if this is triggering for you, it's completely fine to skip this part of the chapter.

/am i the bad guy?/ i'll be the bad guy again/ just like last time/ and we all know how that ends/ no one came to help/ so i'll help myself instead/ you think i cared?/ it was always a means to an end/

-revived, derivakat

Y/n was, frankly, confused by the emotions that arose upon returning to her kingdom.

She felt mildly relieved. Despite everything, she'd been alone in the wilderness for six months, and the familiarity of the land below her lifted some of that weight off her shoulders.

Along with that, though, she felt her familiar anger growing stronger, recalling everything this broken land had done to her.

There was sorrow, too. This was where she had met Varian, but this was also where she had let him go- the place where she had lost everything.

And under it all, Y/n was bewildered to detect a hint of regret. In another world, maybe they would have welcomed you home. Maybe you could have loved Rapunzel- maybe the kingdom could have loved you too.

She shook these thoughts away. Dwelling on lost possibilities wouldn't change a thing. Besides, she was here, she was back, she was going to save Varian, and she was going to make Corona pay.

Maybe you can finally be happy if you do.

"We'll land in no less than an hour." Clementine commented from behind her, and Y/n turned from where she stood at the railing to stare down at the woman. "We hit the dungeons first, then the throne room. We'll take care of any resistance on the way."

She raised an eyebrow. "You got a sword, or do you just plan to sass them all to death?"

Her hands flitted to her tool belt, stashed with alchemical compounds from the last six months. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeves. Don't worry about me."

Clementine rolled her eyes. "Good. I won't."

Y/n did not bother to acknowledge this with a response, and she heard three sets of footsteps begin to walk away from her as she turned back to the railing to face the view below. Despite her solitude, her talent for listening was still just as strong as ever- she heard Juniper's careful and controlled steps, Kai's heavy, reckless footfalls, and Clementine skittering away like a mouse.

The only ones missing were Maisie's.

"Is there something you wanted to say, or do you plan to keep staring at me until we arrive?" Y/n asked, her eyes never leaving the palace in the distance, growing steadily closer as the wind pulled the boat towards their destination.

"Maybe I'm just enjoying the scenery."

"Now, why on earth would I not believe that one?"

Maisie laughed, and Y/n detected a sharp edge beneath her humorous tone. In an eerie way, it reminded her of herself. "Alright, fine, you got me. I needed to have a word with you."

Y/n managed to tear her eyes away from the gleaming castle and turned to face Maisie, leaning on the railing with one gloved hand, the other resting at her side. "Well, we're here, we're having words. What, exactly, do you want?"