I can't begin to tell you how quickly I typed this- it hit me so hard that I needed to write it down the very second I thought of it. It's short, but oh well :D I say that a lot, don't I?

This, too, will be continued from another's POV. I'm really digging myself into a deep hole with all these in progress things…Lord help me…

"Nobody's Home" by Avril Lavigne started this whole thing…

As she paced back in forth in her bedroom, she thought. She thought about her family and friends. Unfortunately for her, whenever she thought about it- or anything in general- she would lose her mind and losing her mind was not a very safe thing to do. It was not safe simply because of what lie within the poor woman. She contained a dark secret, one everyone knew probably existed, but ignored it anyway; one that nobody was positive about, but they considered it maybe once in their lifetime. It was a dark secret that was just what it was called- dark- literally. She- the pure white and calm Queen that all of Underland loved- was a dangerous being. She was dangerous to herself in particular. That dark secret was like a recreation of Queen, only a lot more evil-like. It was a tiny person, it was lost within the depths of the white hair and the fluffy dresses and even that fake smile she gave to everyone. It was as if she was lost inside herself, trying to break her way out, but if she did get out, Underland would be in turmoil. She knew that she needed to keep herself together, no matter how broken and battered she was under the fluff. She'd rejected herself so many times that she couldn't remember when she began. She hated herself with every fiber of her being. She couldn't remember her dreams from when she was a mere princess. She couldn't remember where she belonged, if anywhere. She wanted to find the reasons why- why couldn't she remember? Why couldn't she remember the life she left behind with that one choice? She knew she had to be strong; she had had to be strong since she was far too young to know why. But- now- she had far too many problems to even care. But she really did care about her choice. Why had she chosen this destiny?

"I wonder what might've been different, had I given up at first," she mused, confusing herself. Of course she wouldn't give up and let the Little Mirana out. She cared far too much for her Kingdom; for her Underland. When she was younger- just before she gained the crown, in fact- she had realized she had a choice to make. The nightmares had begun- the images that flashed in her brain, the pain she felt both inside and outside. She knew what was happening; Iracebeth had gone through the same thing and had chosen to go along with the torture in order to have an easy path through life. Mirana knew, though, that the easy path through life wasn't always the best. She chose to withstand the darkness that boiled in her blood, which seeped into every part of her. It was like a huge boulder was pressing down on her, persuading her to drop the damned thing and be happy already. It was like a voice in the back of her head- one that was dripping with sweetness, telling her that it would be alright to try it just once. And a few times, she almost broke- broke like the glass bowl on the kitchen floor, the one that made the shards of glass she used to cut herself that one time.

But Mirana knew better than that. She knew that if she tried it ever again, she wouldn't be able to stop. Or so she thought. She made everything around her so light and happy that even she sometimes forgot the evil inside of her. She had convinced herself that everything was fine just the way it was; she made her own little world where everything was perfect and she lived in it almost constantly. And, sadly, she lived in that place out of fear- fear that once she began hurting, she'd never be able to stop. And, again, sadly, she began the pain shortly after the first time. And she was right- she couldn't stop. She felt the need for bloodshed every night, and she didn't know why, but she gave into it. She would find some way to hurt herself and, even in pain, find relief from the torturous images that filled her head every time she refused the sweet, savory, persuading voice. She rarely thought that she would be hurting others while doing this, but she was wrong.

Oh so very wrong.

She often wanted to turn back, to go back to her childhood and rethink her decision. Even if she knew it wouldn't be different, she wanted to rethink it. She wanted to know what it would be like to not lose her mind for once, what it would be like to not hide her true feelings and thoughts, what it would be like if she could just go home. But…nobody was home. Her parent's castle- the Castle of Crims- was buried in debris somewhere between Marmoreal and Salazen Grum. She wanted somewhere to dry her eyes as the tears sprang free while she retrieved a clean cloth and a sharp piece of whatever she could find. And tonight, when she went to cut herself once more, she realized something. There was someone watching her. Someone she knew very well. Someone she knew that wouldn't appreciate her self-inflicted pain. And that someone, she knew, had been watching her all these nights since she had first begun in the kitchen that fateful night.

"Tarrant," she whispered, standing as still as the marble her castle was made from. She turned around, trying so hard to gather her thoughts, her feelings, her whole body. She felt like she was strewn everywhere, open for him to see. He'd seen the worst of it, obviously. She knew she couldn't cover this up but she had to do it! It kept her mind at bay during the day. In the dark of her bedroom, she was vulnerable- too vulnerable to withstand anything. She could succumb to it so easily knowing that she wouldn't hurt anyone...other than herself.

"Why?"