Motheaten Memories [Yandere Prince x Enemy Princess Reader]

10. Memories.

Y/N raced along behind Enicia through the halls of the crumbling castle. Everything was bathed in red flickering light from the many fires blazing in the city, continuing their path of destruction. They raced through halls, down spiral staircases, the maze-like layout of the Vascinian castle only inhibiting their escape.

After several minutes of running Y/N was out of breath and her little legs could carry her no further. She slowed down, her chest heaving as she tried to regain her stamina. The air she pulled into her lungs was warm and the strong scent of smoke lingered in the air as the castle began to burn as well.

Looking around the dark, smoky, chamber for a sense of familiarity, her large E/C eyes landed on a big portrait that hung on the wall. In it a man sat on a dark wooden throne, his hair was light blonde, his eyes as dark as coal, and atop his brow sat a silver crown with red jewels. He was King Dandini. His expression was one of warmth as he smiled down with love at the young girl sitting on his lap. She wore a pretty crimson dress covered in frills and a silver tiara sat atop her perfectly curled H/C hair as she grinned out of the canvas.

Despite the scary situation Y/N couldn't help but smile at the painting of herself and her father that had only recently been finished. He had promised her that everything would be fine, and even though she was scared of the rowdy shouts and bangs now within the castle itself, she was still confident that her father would be there soon. He would make everything better, he was the king after all, and then they could have a tea party just like he promised.

"Y/N we can't stay here," Enicia said urgently, taking hold of Y/N's hand and dragging her into a spiral stairwell. "We must get out of the castle before the whole place collapses!" As if on cue, the ceiling of the room they had just been in groaned and part of it gave in.

"But what about father?" The six-year-old asked uncertainty. "How will he find us if we go into the city? It's too big, we'll get lost and he won't be able to find us." Her father forbade her from leaving the castle for that very reason, and she didn't want to disobey him.

Enicia didn't respond as she dragged Y/N behind her down the stairs. Even though they were moving lower, the air was getting thicker and harder to breathe. More and more of the castle was collapsing around them as they continued to run, the only good thing was that the burning castle appeared to be void of life apart from them, so when Enicia spotted a gaping hole on the ground floor they could rush through it without any congestion of other people trying to flee.

The courtyard at the front of the castle passed in a blur, the wall that had once stood around the castle was nothing more than a pile of rubble. The pair dashed away before the enemy soldiers looming from the flickering shadows could catch them. To the frightened little girl, they didn't even appear as humans, but terrible fire-breathing monsters, like the dragons that she read about in fairytales.

The streets were filled with flames and the screams of anguish of those buried beneath debris or consumed by the flames. The once pristine Mountain City was unrecognizable. All the greenery was gone, and the once orderly white buildings had been blackened by soot and had fallen into the slumped form of ruins. Flames were everywhere, and the air was filled with floating ash like strange snow.

"I-I'm scared! I don't wanna go any further!" Y/N started to sob as she froze up in the middle of the street. It was too much for her. "I want my mommy! I want my daddy! They'll make all these bad things go away!" She wailed, but her cries quickly morphed into a fit of coughing as the hot smoky air seared her lungs.

"Listen to me Y/N," Enicia said sternly, trying to be gentle but also frank, given the dire situation. "The king and queen have already been captured by the Luccians, I saw the queen being taken with my own eyes."

"Then we have to save them!" Y/N exclaimed, trying to run back the way they had come only to be prevented by her governess grabbing her wrist. "Come on Enicia! We have to rescue them from the monsters!!" She insisted, tugging in a vain attempt to get free, desperation clear on her tear-streaked face.

"I'm sorry Y/N, but we can't do that," Enicia said, her voice beginning to quiver as her forced composure began to crack. "Your parents are probably already dead, as are mine, and we will be too if we stay here."

Y/N sank to the ground and began sobbing at the news. How could her father and mother be dead, they were the king and queen? Her father had promised that everything would be alright, how could he break his promise? How could they leave her all alone?

"Now's not the time to grieve," Enicia said, choking back her own sadness at the loss of her family as she tried to be the strong voice of reason. "Right now we need to focus on staying alive. Your mother made me promise to get you out alive, her last wish was for you to survive, do you think that you can do that for her?"

"Y-Yeah, I-I can try," Y/N sniffled, looking up with bloodshot eyes.

"Good," the governess replied with a forced smile as she patted the girl's head. "now-" before she could finish she was interrupted by the sound of heavy footfalls.

"THERE'S TWO MORE!!!" Two soldiers turned the corner of the road that Y/N and Enicia were in and pointed at them. Their silver weapons glinted in the light of the fire as they rushed forward, their red and purple tunics billowing behind them. "QUICKLY, KILL THEM!!!"

"RUN Y/N!!" Enicia screamed, pulling the child behind her at a sprint to try and evade the fast-approaching soldiers. To make matters worse, they rounded a bend to find that a burning building had fallen across the road. They were cornered with the soldiers already too close behind them to try and find another way. Blazing flames lay before them while sharp blades lay behind. If they were caught the soldiers would kill them, so Enicia did the only thing she could. "THIS WAY!!!" She commanded Y/N as they raced towards the burning barricade.

They ran through the searing heat as fast as they could, but still screamed as the licking tongues of the fire began to consume them. It was the most excruciating pain Y/N had ever felt and she couldn't keep from screaming as the fire continued to devour her body.

Y/N sat up in bed with a start, sweat and tears pouring down her face from the terrible nightmare she just had. She looked around the simple bedchamber she had been given since becoming Lady Cascia's handmaiden, trying to calm herself down. Cool moonlight shone in through the single window in her quarters, but it did nothing to calm the fear of the memories that had been burned into her mind.

She curled up in a ball beneath the blankets and began to sob, even though her burns had healed long ago, the phantom pain from the dream still lingered in her arms and legs. She cried until she eventually fell back asleep, wishing that her father and mother were there to comfort her.

A/N

A little bit more detail on Y/N's past. More will be coming in future sections like this.

In unrelated news, I will be switching back to working on Folie à Deux for the next ten days, so if you've been looking forward to that book you need not wait much longer. ^~^

Until next time I'll see you on the other side

~J. C. Coltt.~