[Discontinued*] The Darling Princess [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

Chapter 9

'Why do these people look familiar to me,' Y/N thought to herself, stepping away from Yuu and up to a large stone statue that had been set on the side of the street. This particular statue had been sculpted to depict a lion standing on a rock, his face turned toward the sun as if he was a magnificent king. Y/N noticed that there was a small stone plaque underneath the beast, and underneath that was a little bit of information.

"King of Beasts," Y/N whispered to herself. Her fingers delicately traced the intricate carving of the words. "A king known far and wide for his persistence for claiming the throne that was rightfully his. During his rule, the hyenas weren't shunned and were allowed to live in the land like the rest of the animals. Sadly, he was overthrown a few years after the start of his reign by his nephew." Y/N glanced up at the lion and frowned. 

Suddenly, her eyes narrowed in on the scar running down the lion's face, crossing over his eye, and she bit her lip, wishing that she could remember something. It was like the memory was a wisp of smoke that she was trying to catch with her bare hand. Every time she got close, the memory would slip away like a ghost, taunting her as it fluttered just out of reach.

From somewhere behind her, she could hear Yuu and Grim marvelling at the magnificence of Main Street, but her concerns were presently occupied with the six other statues that she still had to investigate. She walked to the one almost directly across from the lion's statue and found herself staring up at a man with what looked like flames for hair. 

"King of the Underworld. A diligent servant who was willing to take up the task that none of his fellow gods were willing to oversee."

Suddenly, Y/N felt something touch her wrist and she jumped, nearly tumbling straight into the statue. She managed to catch herself at the last moment and found herself staring down at a little boy who seemed to be decked out in some sort of robotic clothing. His hair was flaming blue and flickered like it was about to be blown out by the wind.

"Were you looking at the King of the Underworld," he asked. 

"Uh, yeah. I guess."

The boy smiled at Y/N. "I thought so! I'm Ortho Shroud, Idia Shroud's little brother!"

Y/N felt her heart melt at the sight of the young boy. From what she had seen last night, she had been worried that the male population of this school would be more of the sort to look out for themselves and no one else, but it was refreshing to see one as young as Ortho.

"What's your name," Ortho asked, tilting his head to the side a little.

"O-oh. Y/N," Y/N said with a small incline of the head. "Y/N Artem. It's nice to meet you Ortho." She turned back to the statue of the King of the Underworld. "Do you know anything more about him?"

Ortho turned his sight to the statue as well, taking in the appearance of the familiar figure. "The King of the Underworld was the inspiration for Ignihyde Dorm. I could try and find you more information if you wish."

Y/N smiled. "That would be great, thank you."

Ortho suddenly jumped and his eyes went wide. "I just remembered that nii-san wanted me to go and get him some things from Sam's shop!" The young boy quickly wrapped his arms around Y/N's torso, giving her a fleeting hug, before floating off down the busy street. 

Y/N chuckled as she watched the boy leave. It truly was nice to see such a young face in a sea of hormone crazy teenagers.

"Y/N?!"

Y/N suddenly heard rapid footsteps and turned to see Yuu running up to her with Grim hanging from his hand.

"Don't rush off like that," Yuu panted as he dropped Grim to the ground.