𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐁𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 [TWST x Ballerina (Odile) reader]

✿𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐁𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝✿-1-

🦢

As I reluctantly opened my eyes, a throbbing ache invaded my head, and I found myself confronted by the engulfing darkness.

Is this eternity's embrace? Is this hell?

Amidst a whirlwind of queries resembling a toy train chugging along, I was abruptly interrupted by an intrusive, shrill voice, leaving my search for a suitable response in disarray.

"I better hurry up and find that uniform before someone spots me..."

Uniform? What's going on?!

My body convulses with a startled cry as the casket I am trapped inside trembles with an unsettling force.

"Ughhh...The lid weighs a ton! Try this on for size! Myu-ha!"

The lid erupted in vibrant blue flames, all of a sudden. The spectacle would have been enchanting if not for the fact that I was slowly being roasted alive!

Terrified, I exerted all my strength to nudge the feeble lid and hastily escaped the confinements of the coffin.

"What?! You ain't supposed to be awake!"
I ignored the annoying voice and observed my surroundings which startled me.

"I'm alive?! But how...? I'm sure I died."

Nothing was making sense anymore, I remember dying. I even remember the pain of suffocating on the water as I sunk into the abyss of water.

A sharp growl of frustration startles me out of my dream, and when I look back I see something strange that looks like a weasel standing next to me.

"A talking weasel?"

The beast's growl raised in volume as it walked up to me.

"How...How DARE YOU?! I am no WEASEL! I'm Grim, sorcerer extraordinaire!"

In a brief pause, the silence enveloped the atmosphere, until suddenly a ripple of laughter escaped my lips and I affectionately patted the weasel's head.

"Aww, you're very cute!"

Grim's face went from bafflement to rage in a split second as he swatted my hand away.

"Gimme your uni- wait, You don't have a uniform?!"

"Uniform? What're you talking about?"

As my words reached his ears, his tiny lobes drooped, and he sank wearily onto the frigid ground.

My heart ached as I witnessed the defeated expression on his face. I felt an inexplicable urge to uplift his spirits, and so I obliged.

As magic fled from the palm of my hands, two beautifully designed cloaks appeared in thin air.
I wore mine and placed the hood on my head as I picked up the smaller set of clothing, and placed it in front of Grim's face.

"Is this the uniform you're talking about?"

His eyes light up like fireworks the moment he gazes upon the cloak.

"That's it! Now gimme."

As I complied, on the brink of bestowing him the cloak, a whip ensnared Grim, lifting him effortlessly from the ground.

"Me-YEOW! That hurts! What gives?"

I looked behind my shoulder to see a tall man with a strange mask holding the leather whip in his hands with a frown.

The birdman noticed my lingering gaze and turned to me.

"Ah, I've found you at last. Splendid. I trust you're one of this year's new students.
My, were you ever eager to make your debut."

Student? What on earth is he blabbering about?

The masked figure redirected his attention towards Grim, expertly wielding his whip to draw him nearer.

"And bringing a poorly trained familiar with you? That is a clear violation of the school's rules."

"I don't know the weasel."
I quickly answered but it seemed that the guy didn't hear or simply didn't care to listen to me.

"As if I'd serve some lowly human! Now lemme go!"
The sheer nerve to utter such words in my direction, of all people! The black swans' presence would surely silence him if only they were present.

"Yes, yes. Rebellious familiars always say that. Do be quiet for a bit, won't you?"

As the birdman begins walking and pushing Grim behind him I stride beside him.

"Dear me. Of all the students I've dealt with, you're the first with temerity enough to open their gate and step out of it.
Does the very notion of patience elude you?
No matter. Your orientation has already begun. Let us return to the Mirror Chamber."

"Student...?"

Birdman silently acknowledges as the whip, coiling around Grim's frail frame, effortlessly silences him.

"You awakened in a room full of gates, did you not?
All of the students here at the campus arrived by passing through such gates.
Although typically the students have restraint enough to wait until I open them before waking up."

"So those coffins are like...gateways?"

"The design is intended to symbolize a parting with your former world,
and a rebirth into a new one"

I was taken aback by what he said. In this enchanting tale, I find myself reborn in a mystical realm, bestowed with a divine opportunity by compassionate gods. And yet, my heart frets for my Father and Odette, left behind in the old world.

Odette, innocent and blameless, ought to have been the clear candidate for revival; for she, like the rest, deserved a chance to live anew.

As we step into the enchanting courtyard, I suppress the invading thoughts.

"First, just tell me one thing: Where am I?"

Birdman looks at me like I've lost my mind but answers me nonetheless.

" *Ahem*
This is Night Raven College.
It is an institution for students the world over who demonstrate a rare aptitude for magic.
It is the most prestigious academy of its sort in all of Twisted Wonderland.
And I am Dire Crowley. Having been entrusted with its care by the chairman, I serve as headmage."

Crowley boasts as pictures of black horses flash through my head. The horses walked slowly, as if not to wake me up, and took me to Night Raven College.

"Only those who the Dark Mirror perceives as having a talent for magic are admitted to the college.
Those who are selected are summoned to the campus through those "gates," which can appear anywhere."

My expression softened to a smile, but Crowley was too preoccupied with his explanation to acknowledge it.

What a coincidence, I just happened to be the most powerful being in my world! Of course, after Father Dearest and before I died.

" Now, let us attend to your orientation."