(Sorry for bad grammar, but I'm not a native speaker! The image is not mine. It's an AU.)

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The Queendom of Roses has always been associated with beautiful roses that bloomed every spring, releasing an incredible rosy fragrance that took the breath away from all travelers who entered the kingdom. It was truly beautiful and almost majestic, but there was a hitch that shattered the image many imagined of a perfect, romantic kingdom. The King of Hearts. Riddle Rosehearts.

When the Queen of Hearts' bloody reign came to an end, the inhabitants of the Queendom of Roses breathed a sigh of relief. The kingdom rekindled with a joyful life centered on freedom and the absence of the obligation to adhere to rules that, to many, were cruelly senseless. The new family that took power seemed ideal for its subjects. For generations, they ruled and kept the land free, making the civilian population love this family more than any ruler before.

However, their happiness ran out. When the only son of this family married a descendant of Princess Rapunzel, and the new Queen gave birth to a daughter whose hair magically resembled Rapunzel's, news of Rapunzel's first offspring possessing her hair spread quickly. Bandits broke into the kingdom and were about to kidnap the princess when the royal army suddenly sprang into action. The Bloody Night went down in the history of the Queendom of Roses as the second greatest tragedy, right after the Queen of Hearts' ascension to the throne. The attackers were killed or captured, but the royal couple were murdered, and no trace of the little princess remained.

With the loss of its rulers, chaos reigned in the Queendom of Roses, but then, like a knight on a white horse, someone with the maturity to lead the kingdom appeared. He introduced ironclad rules and seized power almost by force. After a dozen years, the new royal couple's son, Riddle, ascended the throne. He considered the Queen of Hearts a role model and swore to rule like the Queen he so admired.

The kingdom was once again plunged into fear of beheadings resulting from failure to adhere to such foolish rules. Initially, they wanted to wait out Riddle's titanic rule, but as soon as an opportunity arose, a small, faint glimmer of hope, the people quickly decided to seize the uncertain plan to free themselves from his cruel rule. And surprisingly, the overthrow plan worked.

Turning their backs on Riddle, the kingdom rose in rebellion and overthrew the tyrant, but the red-haired prince managed to escape the castle, cursing the names of traitors under his breath. Powerless against the overwhelming numbers of his subjects, he fled toward the forest, but the raging crowd followed him, hot on his heels.

At one point, he stared back, listening to the sounds of the approaching crowd, and realized too late that he was running straight into a stone wall covered with lush vines. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the impact with the wall, but his surprise was unfulfilled. The vines had covered the hole Riddle had entered. The sounds of the approaching crowd forced the red-haired man to quickly decide to take a strange passageway, thus evading pursuit.

He hesitantly walked through the tunnel and came upon a small, picturesque clearing surrounded by high mountains. The scene itself might have been beautiful, but the landscape was marred by a seemingly unadorned tower standing alone among the mountains. Riddle began to wonder how the structure had gotten there, but decided to climb it despite his suspicions, as it could be a form of rescue.

A soft humming sound caught his attention and caused him to frown as he realized someone was inside. Nevertheless, he climbed onto the tower's seemingly only window to see a beautiful girl with long hair humming softly, apparently minding her own business. But upon seeing Riddle in the window, she immediately stopped humming.

“Um…hello?”

Riddle said hesitantly, tensing his muscles as if expecting an attack from the girl.