Motheaten Memories [Yandere Prince x Enemy Princess Reader]

53. Queen Y/N of Luccia pt3.

Abeloni stood on the highest balcony in the whole palace, overlooking the glittering black water in the harbor so far below him that glancing down was enough to make him dizzy. Even though the sun had set hours ago, and only faint light from the moon partly shrouded by clouds brought light to the night, he didn't feel drowsy at all. You're my mother's most treasured possession, he thought as he gazed down at the golden bracelet he had been carrying in his palm ever since he found it. What were you doing in Y/N's room?

He clenched his fist in frustration, his knuckles turning white as the metal of the bracelet dug into his hand. Why? Why does nothing about Y/N make sense? Why is the only thing that makes sense about her mean that she has to die...

His handsome face twisted into a snarl, his teeth bared as he fought with all the emotions bubbling inside of him. His hands were clammy and he had begun to tremble like a leaf in the wind. Why does my heart throb so desperately? I feel as though my execution is tomorrow, not hers.

"Something on your mind, my son?" A gentle voice called from behind him, he flinched and nearly dropped the bracelet as he turned to face his unexpected company. His mother stood behind him clad in a flowing silk robe, her H/C hair loose and her skin glowing a ghostly pale in the moonlight.

"Mother, you shouldn't be out here," Abeloni stated, concerned about his mother's weak health as he tried to guide her back inside and away from the chilling ocean breeze. "You'll catch a cold."

"I won't leave until you tell me what troubles you," she stated firmly, slipping out of his arms and walking back onto the balcony.

After a moment's consideration, Abeloni opened his hand to show his mother the bracelet and voiced the question that had been plaguing him since he found it. "Mother, why was your butterfly bracelet in Y/N's chamber on the floor?"

"That's not mine," she told him at once. Sensing his disbelief she rolled up the sleeve of her robe to reveal an identical bracelet. "Mine is on my wrist as always."

"Then... Where did this come from, it's exactly like yours?" He asked, looking from the bracelet to his mother, desperate for answers.

"That belongs to Y/N," His mother answered, her lips pressed into a thin line as she looked sadly at the mentioned piece of jewelry. "It was a gift from her father."

"I haven't been able to discover any of this about her no matter how hard I tried," He laughed, filled with self-loathing at how useless he was at gathering information about Y/N. "So how do you know so much about her?"

The Queen sighed, gazing down at her hands for a moment before she spoke. "You probably don't remember because of how young you were at the time, but for the first seven years of your life Luccia was at war with a nation to the west named Vascini."

"But I know this," Abeloni protested, recalling the stories that his father used to tell him about the war and the accounts of the war that he had read over the years in the history books. "Father brought you home to be his bride after you fell in love, only for the lunatic prince of Vascini to declare war on Luccia, claiming that all the women in Vascini were his birthright."

"That's a lie that was spread to make the war seem justified," his mother stated bitterly, catching him off guard by the cold tone in her voice. "The truth is more complex than that. When I was not much younger than you, I fell in love with a boy from my home country. He was so sweet to me, little did I know than the monster that slumbered within him. When I discovered his true colors I tried to escape, I was a fool. He was the Crown Prince of Vascini and used all the resources at his disposal to get me back, he killed my family and forced me to marry him... If your father hadn't stolen me away I would still be rotting in his clutches..." Her voice trailed off as she reflected on how her life could have turned out.

"That's awful!" He exclaimed, greatly troubled that his mother had suffered so much. "I can't believe you had to go through something like that mother, I'm so glad that father saved you from that beast."

"Yes, but that's not the end of the story," She took in a deep breath to calm her rising emotions before continuing her tale. "Given that I was his legal wife the prince had every right to want to declare war on Luccia if I was not returned to him. He murdered his father to take the throne and thus the war began, but I never could have imagined what he did next. In an act of final desperation, he married a woman who resembled me and gave his daughter both my name and a copy of my most treasured possession... It makes me sick to think of what plans he had for her." She scowled darkly at the thought of his plans for his own daughter.

Abeloni's stomach twisted into a sickening knot at what his mother's words implied. "So that's why Y/N had this, why you share a name and look so similar?" He asked, horrified at the thought of her father raising her to be a replacement for his stolen lover.

"Yes," she didn't look at him as she answered, her gaze resting on her golden bracelet instead. "Since the day she was born she has been fated to a tragic life, but I certainly didn't make it any easier for her..." She bit her lip, her eyes filling with regret.

"W-what do you mean mother?" He stammered, taken aback.

She hesitated for a moment, gathering her thoughts before she opened her mouth to continue, "When we received word that the war was won and the general asked how he wanted the surrender you're father asked me what I wanted to be done. I was still so filled with rage at everything done to me by the prince that I said I wanted to Burn Vascini to the ground..." She closed her eyes and breathed in the cool night air deeply, hoping for relief from the guilt she felt. "And so it was, countless lives were lost... All because of my blind hatred..." She shivered, but whether it was because of the cold or her uneasy conscience was unknown.

"So those burns on Y/N's arms... They came from..." Abeloni felt nauseous as he imagined the amount of fire that would be needed to inflict such scars onto someone.

"Yes, came from the night Vascini fell," she confirmed, continuing to shiver as she pulled her silk robe closer around herself. "She was only a child but lady Luccia only knows what she saw that night. She may have escaped the flames, but it doubtlessly left a scar on her soul as permanent as the ones on her arms." Her expression was pensive and sad as she finished her story.

Silence hung in the air between them as the crown prince struggled to contain his thoughts, he ached down to his very bones at the thought of all the suffering that Y/N had endured, but a scowl came over his face and he forced his heart to harden as he recalled that she had only been using his affections to assassinate them. "Even if she had all the justification in the world I'd still hate her for wanting to hurt us, wanting to hurt you," he spat angrily, his words falling from his tongue like venom. "Here execution can't come soon enough!"

"I have seen how much you cared for her, do you really want her to die?" His mother asked, placing a hand on his cheek as she looked up into his blue eyes. "She doesn't have to you know."

"Father would never pardon her, not now that he knows who she is..." He stated as he turned away, unable to see the worried expression on his mother's features. "She'll be executed tomorrow at noon, whether I love her or not will have no impact on it..." He tried to hold it in but he couldn't keep the tears from falling from his eyes as a wave of sadness washed over him.

"I wouldn't be sure of that, much can be changed in a single night-" before she could say more she began to cough so violently that he had to help support her. "I must retire now, but promise me something before I go," She told him once the coughing fit had passed.

"Of course, anything!" He agreed at once, worried about his mother and wanting to do whatever he could to ease her mind.

"Promise me that you'll follow your heart," she said, pulling his head down so that she could place a kiss on his forehead before turning to leave the balcony. "Even if it leads to seeming madness, as long as you follow your heart you will never lose your way."

A/N

I love queen Y/N so much! She has gone through such amazing growth and guides the people around her so well. ^~^

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

~J. C. Coltt.~