After I helped him up along with my series of apologies, Lord Rumpelstiltskin took my hand and scanned me like I am a science specimen.
He looked down. He noticed my spirit animal Mr Whiskers giving him a puny look and then continued staring at me for few more seconds.
I gulped being the prey to his incoherent stares avoiding eye contact at cases.
And,.. It was then, when it finally hit me.
"Ah.. " I abruptly made a formal deep bow before him and introduced myself.
"Lord Rumple.. I am Anastasia De Rottenstein from, The Cinderella Fairytale. It's a pleasure to officially meet you, sire.
Enlightenment immediately gleamed on the dwarf's grey old eyes and he immediately turned his back towards me.
I was confused. I simply stood still blinking at his retreating back shoulders when he suddenly stopped walking and said with an bland voice.
"Follow me, grl."
"Oh, Y-Yes.. Sir! " I immediately obeyed his instruction while making Mr Whiskers enter my amulet again.
Without another word, Lord Rumple soon led through the currently empty class rooms, staffs refreshing rooms, the magical labs and many other rooms that were all located side by side on this certain long hallways.
And, when we reached before a certain seemingly normal looking door, we finally stopped.
I looked up and the enormous sign. 'The principal room' was written on it.
"The school headmistress wanted to see you. " he said emotionlessly and walked the other way before sitting on the wooden chairs that were arranged on a horizontal line beside the door.
Probably to wait for me to finish the talk I guess..
Wow.. He's exactly the carbon copy of Farala-san before I got to know her well.
He mustn't be socially awkward.. I suspect..
I thought twirling the golden colored crowshaped door nob and slowly opened the door.
And, when I did that, I was surprisingly welcomed with a gust of fresh raven black feathers that entered through the window.
The familiar woman in black clothes, I had seen on the assembly hall, stood before the giant window beside her large cushioned chair and wooden table with the principal signboard .
Her long black hair beautiful cascaded downwards on her shoulders softly brushing her elegant pointy ram horns.
And, Her glimmerering long black gown that was skinnier on her thighs but, thinner on the legs rolled down in the floor like a black shadow foam and covered the area underneath her sparkling shoes.
The netted black hat she had worn before was kept on the table but, nothing except her thickly painted smirking red lips was shown as her enormous black wings hid her entire form including her dress that, I couldn't see before she turned and looked at me elegantly with a ravishing smile.
Under that glimmering sunlight that escaped from the curtain covered windows,.. she literally looked like a beautiful dark angel.
A feature which might have made any other person admire her beauty with open jaws and drooly mouth but, nope.. Not me.
Though I confess, I did do the first thing though.. Opening the jaws I mean.. But, that was totally 'not' awkward because, for defence that's the exact same reaction the dark beauty did too...
I squeaked in surprise..
"Auntie Maleficent!! "
"Anastasia De Rottenstein!??"
The dark lady's meticulous smile fell apart dramatically. "You are the new student?"
I abruptly ran up to the table and leaned on it closer to her.
"And, you are the school's principal!!? Wowwww! And after all those anxiety of how my new school might turn out I can't believe you are the school's principal, Auntie Mal!! I don't even have enough words to thank my lucky stars!!! Yehh! "
I squealed excitedly at her presense completely ignoring her still shocked and speechless expression, when I saw a cute looking cup of candies being placed on her table.
My concentration abruptly got diverted to the food lying before me.
"Oh, is it Turkish delight? Itadakimasu!..(Bon appetite)" I grab a handful pull the visitors chair before me and start munching it. "Ohhhhhh delicious!!" I squealed.
At my guesture, Auntie Maleficent immediately got back to her senses. It seemed like only when she noticed me happily lusting after her delicacy could she finally accept this new reality.
She frowned. She was the most powerful person in the entire school where many students raised to be successful protagonists were totally frightened of her.
But, definitely only a naughty, extremely reckless villaness girl like me, would actually dare to get so close to her and munch the snacks on her table without a single hesitatation.
True, she would have roasted the person on the question, if it was anyone else. But, hello, it was her dear Anasta-chan.. So Auntie Mal could only massage her head at my actions.
"Anastasia De Rottenstein.. I can't believe the most popular fresher was actually you.. " She mussed and sat on her chair completely confused, her sweets were already half emptied.
And, this puzzled looking dark phoenix fae, sitting before me was.. Auntie Maleficent...
I-I mean, Lady M-Maleficent!!
--Lady Maleficent, aged 41, was the main villaness of The Sleeping Beauty Fairytale and my mother's very dear childhood friend, just like Zeno's mom.
In the past, My reincarnated mother who possessed memories of her former life, once gathered many female villanesses all around the Fairytale kingdom and organized a meeting in which she mentioned how we people might meet a bad end if we follow this path and lead to destruction.
Many villans from the meeting mocked my mother badly but, very few.. Very Very.. Few listened to my mom and gave thought to these things like her.
But, unfortunately, My mother soon gave up these thoughts and the meeting was officially discontinued but, the relationship she had with those numbered people wasn't gone, till date.
Auntie Maleficent was one among those few.
And, being a very little 5 year old who used to sneak out of her bedroom past her bed time and secretly peek at these meetings...
-- I still remember ending up sleeping on Auntie Maleficent's lap like a naughty brat and frustrate my mother.. under... the warm dimlited flame furnace on the cild shivery winter days.
Good times.. Those were really good times.,
I almost felt a happy tear shed my eye as I taste the unchanging flavour of Auntie Maleficent's most favourite snack that she used to bring especially for me in the past.
"Hmmmm... They really are delicious.. " The flavour was indeed so mesmerising..
Just munching them really takes me back to those wonderful days when my mother still cared about me and showered her love to me, only daughter, before our fairytale had officially began..
"So, how did you become the principal, Auntie Mal?.." I asked when a possiblity sparked on my brain. "Did your storyline change?? Did the writers make you a heroine..?? "
Auntie Mal awerted her eyes. "Well.. You could say that, I guess. Though I am not your usual stereotypical heroine who meets the male lead, her one true love.. Aurora and I have a good relationship on this life.. "
She explained as I rub my chin with my finger.
"Hmm.. I suspected that.. My Grim-Tale book did show that change on the new version of Sleeping Beauty.. " I said as Auntie Maleficent mussed softly.
"You still have that book, Anastasia? " Lady Mal, the only person my mother was close enough to share the secret of the mysterious book, was surprised I was still using it.
I nodded. "Ya, wanna see-" I wanted to grab my amulet and show her those mysterious pages but, Auntie Mal stopped me abruptly with a series of "No. No...Don't! "
She then massaged her head again and lit a long cigarette before placing them on her lips.
Smoke soon filled the room threatened series of coughs to spill out of my lips. This one of the very few the habits I loath on Auntie Mal..
"You cannot take the special book out, so carelessly like that... I know, you are very familiar with the book because, you were practically born with it.
But, like I always say, possessing a magical book that actually tells about another character's life is not 'normal'.. Anastasia.. I think, it is time for you to put serious study about the book.. "
"Ya, right.. " I mussed back.
Ya, right! She says that... I wonder how she would react if she knew, I was the one who restarted her Fairytale recently and looked through the life of a non protagonist character recently?
I am sure, she would be shocked and tell me to hand over this book to the scholars immediately for further examination. And, I am not willing to do that.
So, I guess it would be good if I talk low key about this book.
"Forget about that, Auntie Mal,.." I shook my head agitated and then smiled. "So, your desperate cries to change your Fairytale was somehow heard by your Writer huh?" I said with a smirk.
"Yes.. I guess it did.. You don't know how much happy I am about this though.. There are few minuses.. "
"What? Why? I mean, like how..? What did you do to-" Launching her with series of questions, I curiously lean on her table to see Auntie Mal when I noticed a large wound with freshly torn skin being revealed on the corner of her enormous wings.
"Oh... No.. That scar.... " I sang in low baritone remembering the incidents of her fairytale.. "And, this is done by-.. "
"King Stefan, My lover, yes.. Though I can't seem to love him at all in the first place... "
She said softly in deep thought as I sat on my seat feeling incredibly mournful.
I was genuinly happy Auntie Maleficent's villainess plotline had somehow changed, and still am.
But, as expected changing what's already there, is still very hard. And, that's the reason why Auntie Maleficent cannot escape the tragedy on both her lives.
Like people say, she had to love King Stefan even though even Auntie Mal could realize that their initial relationship was slowly turning toxic by each passing year, when she's not in the storybook page scene.
But, even then she cannot stop meeting him because that's what her 'inflexible story book' writings say.
The presence of the Three Fates on the past was the mend these rigid alignments and bring more flexiblity to the life of the characters.
But, since they are already gone.. This has been the fate of all the characters in the entire fiction world.
---To follow whatever is supposed to happen on the book and enact their 'given dialogues' on their 'stage' no matter what they desire when they are outside their story's screening scene.
Just, like how I had never been able to not stop my lips from saying mean things like.. 'You look ugly like the ashes and the cinders from the kitchen' to my adorable sister when I do not mean it at all, outside the page.
..
Or, like how my mother still renacted her signature lines..'You will not go to the ball!' to her most loved stepdaughter when all she really meant was you will not go to the ball because, 'I do not want you to get sick dancing and hurt yourself'.
This is how things are on this Fiction World for several reincarnations.
And, By knowing Auntie Maleficent's story through my Grim-Tale book, I know her majestic black wings would soon get completely ripped off according to the next few pages of her fairytale..
But,.
I abruptly looked at Auntie Mal's lightly wounded wings..
Her wings.. I blinked..
They had not been ripped off as of now..
How..?
"Auntie Mal.. Your wings.. Aren't they supposed to be-.. " I then bit my lips acknowledging how sensitive the topic was, but it seemed like she didn't really mind it because.. Her excitment was instantly diverted by something more exciting.
"Ya! You know right?? " She banged the bench abruptly.
"Oh, Anastasia.. To be honest, I was very scared that Stefan would really rip my black wing babies when he came to my forest when that thing happened.. And, because of that.. My wings are safe and until the next page of my scene.. I am so happy my wings would still be with me, as of now! Yeh! "
She chirped excitedly but, I was flabbergasted.
Wait.. That thing..?
"That experience was definitely the most happiest moment yet on my life.. Can you just imagine it?
..There you were, on that scene when you know something really tragical is gonna happen before-hand but, at that time a miracle, in form of a mysterious glowing light.. appears and saves you!?! That's exactly how I felt then!.. "
"Huh?? What happened? Auntie Mal what do you mean, the tragical scene stopped before it even got over? Am I missing something???? "
I literally exploded all my confutions at her when Auntie Mal glanced at me deeply.
"What?.. Anastasia.. You don't know..? Didn't you read the news headlines today..? " She asked taking of her cigarette from her lips and looked at me.
"What.. hea-"
And, that's when I noticed Lady Mal's pet crow suddenly enter the room through the window crawing irritatingly loud and slam the Fairytale daily newspaper before my face.
"Crawwww!!! " The crow then yelled before it sat on the table.
I abruptly snatched the newspaper from the crows mouth.
"Ugh.. So aggressive.. I must definitely order my cat to eat you, Diaval! *Bleh!" I stick out my tounge at the bird as Auntie Mal chuckles.
I soon opened the newspaper and see many articles about how the mysterious thief had stolen the lab specimens recently.. Something that has gone viral all around the town.
"Ay, I already know this Auntie Malafi-"
"The front page.. Anastasia.. " Auntie Maleficent coughed trying not to embarrass me.
"Oh.. " I grinned sheepishly and looked front.
••••
Hot news : A peculiar pause affects the fiction world.
The incident is said to have taken place on 14th April all around the globe on first time in history. Many main Fairytale characters have experienced this "glitch". .....
.....
......
...... Due to the following circumstances announcements of a formal gathering between the leaders of the four countries is said to be reported soon..
••••
I abruptly closed the paper sheet.
"Now.. What the hell is this, Auntie Mal???"
My mind was set up in a riot.. A 'pause'..in the fictional world.. What is this?.. They are right...
Something like this has never happened..
I knew it! I thought something's weird when we didn't reincarnated the moment Cinderella got married!..
Seems like my guess wasn't wrong.. Something really did stop that screenplay.. Because when that happens, I would have even never got the time to join this school anymore..
But, it.. I scratched my head.. didnt..
"How.. ??"
"No-one knows, Anastasia.. " Lady Maleficent told me. "But, isn't it for the best.. Because of this my body no longer moves the way I don't want it to! I am free. I do not have a stage anymore..
Meaning! I am never gonna meet that stupid guy Prince Stefan again! "
Her happiness was sooo visible on her face.
But, unfortunately I didn't have to think all this as I was busy biting my nails in nervousness...
Why..? Why..? Why did this happen..?
And, for some strange reason.. I feel like this has all happened because of me.. I was the one who first broke the regular order and went on a journey to save the heroine and..
If I estimate the date and day "this strange pause" occured on the globe.. It must probably be the time when..
I gasped abruptly.. "I was in the legendary Cave in Fairyland with Zeno and the others!!!! "
The time which I think, I have forgotten something very important there!
My head throbbed more when I tried thinking of those moments with few hazy silhouettes but, then everything disappeared in a snap again, just like before.
"Anastasia..? Are you alri-"
Auntie Mal tried asking me but, then I abruptly turned at her with my extremely stressed out scary villaness eyes.
"What is it Auntie Mal !!? "
Even Lady Mal was startled. But, then she cooled down.
"Anastasia.. I do not know what you are thinking... But, just calm down okay? You are not gonna do anything by stressing out.." She said softly as I abruptly dropped on the desk in exahastion.
She's right.. Nothing would happen because I keep stressing out..
"Just, look at the bright side kid. You can be whatever you want now.. And, it's not just the two of us.. Everyone in the Fiction world, can move freely without their screenplay to control them.
Even Cinderella would be able to live her married life for the first time like ever..!"
She talked sweetly filling some fresh water from her water can with a worried tone that my heart couldn't help but, melt.
I smiled. "You are probably right Auntie Mal.. As long as the good things happen.. Everything's okay right?.. "
I said taking the glass she handed to me and drink it.
She smiled but, then put on a grave look.
"You know, kid.. The global issue is that all the Storybook stages have been stopped all over the world..
But, though people do guess it like that.. I just can't stop thinking that..Maybe the reason all the stories have been paused isn't due to a simple error or a glitch.. Maybe.. They are just actually..
.. paving a way for a great legend to regenerate once again.."
"..paving a way for a great legend to regenerate once again.. "
I joined her in deep thought and soon we ended up saying the same lines exactly at the same time.
We gasped immediately in sync when the door knocked.
"Principal Maleficent are you done? "It was Lord Rumple's voice.
"Yes! In a minute " Auntie Mal responded and looked at me.
She got up from her seat.
"The reason, I called you in was because, I wanted to personally meet this brave villainess who had impressed few powerful people of the world and threaten her of course..
But, since it is you.. " She looked at me and caught my chuckle.
"Yup, the last thing i could think about is making you scared of me.. " She rolled her eyes and rubbed my short hair.
"But, Anastasia.. " She looked at me seriously.. " You are fortunate, I am the head mistress but, the world you would experience now is gonna be like nothing you have experienced so far.. Especially being the first villaness to enter the school purely through scholarship.. " She said meaning there were more perils I might face than how I did on my childhood.
"But.. Kid.. Do not get swayed by them.. Stand steadfast on these tribulations. Many would not accept you for who you are even when your conscience knows you doing the right thing....And, I.. of all other people know that well..
But, still Anastasia.. " Said the fellow villaness who had come across those struggles.
"Remember you are strong. And, no matter what happens, you are the heroine of your own life, an seperate individual called Anastasia De Rottenstein.. So, do not let anyone shake that identity from you dear.. "
"Principal Maleficent?? Are you there!!? " The door knocked again.
"Yes!! Yes! I am coming .. " Auntie Mal rushed to the door with her long sparkly black gown still flowing down like a dark fog and touched the knob.
"And, don't worry.. Anasta-chan..." She winked at me. "I will always be right here when you need me.." She said with a beautiful smile and abruptly patted her cheeks as though she was mentally preparing her plastic face.
She then opened the door.
"Principal Maleficent.."
"Yes, Lord Rumple.. Do you need something..? " Auntie Mal's friendly face abruptly turned glum and emotionless in seconds just like how her character is portrayed on the book.
Even I was surprised Lady Maleficent could actually look so scary when she wanted to. The Auntie Mal I knew never ever showed me that face when she fed me Turkish delight..
"It was getting late.. And, I was getting worried the student might have annoyed you and woke your wrath.. "
"No, she didn't.." Auntie Mal said expressionlessly. "I just wanted to warn her about few things of the school and I am done, now.. " She said as I rubbed my arm looking at the ground and pretended to look pale.
And, The Captain accepted that look with a nod. As though it was something common to the students and said.
"Then.. I'll take her for now..Ms Maleficent.. I-it's.. important for the new student to get familiarized by the new surrounding.." He said with a little bow not willing to look at Lady Mal's scary face.
"Yes, you may leave. " She said as I walked out of the room and followed Lord Rumple quietly.
I looked back at Auntie Mal for one last time and waved at her from my hands folded behind my waist..
Auntie Mal caught the guesture with a smile but, soon turned to the door regaining her scary composure.
And, we parted just like that.
***