onceuponacomm | Prologue

PROLOGUE

The clink of glasses, the clatter of utensils upon plates and the soft murmur of conversation flows smoothly in the warmly lit dining hall. It's a dinner party, a rather vivacious one at that, with the food flowing freely. Savory and sweet, regional specialties, refined and rustic, there's something for everyone. Omurice, chiffon cake, kimchi, sizzling porterhouse steaks—it might be more apt to call it a buffet than anything else.

Do buffets usually serve such a unique smorgasbord of food? And actually, weren't you doing something else? A free meal is usually a good thing but is anything truly free? Who are these people around you? And where exactly are you?

Whatever thoughts are racing through your mind, they're abruptly cut off by a note, high pitched G-sharp from a woodwind. All your senses return to you, though they won't tell you much. Maybe not all of them actually, if you're used to feats of heroic strength or manipulating reality or numerous other abilities. There is one clue at least, a heavy weighted paper beneath your plate, an embossed note rather than a list of courses.

"Enjoy yourselves. I'll come see you when you've had your fill. And don't try to dine and dash, huh? There's something I have—something I can do for you, after all. Besides, you've already agreed to the terms anyway!"

Welcome to your Fairy Tale.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He nods in agreement. ]

Sure. I was planning on getting more books. But only if you were heading that way.

[ Imposing too much would be bad. ]

It's no trouble! Besides, after everything that just happened...

...

Well, I think it would probably be better if we stayed together for now.

[ He'll nod solemly at that, and offer no more resistance to going back together. ]

...Yes, I guess so. It's not a good time for anyone to travel alone.

[ She has a point. Maybe when everyone cools down, it'll be fine, but emotions are still running high. Best to move with somebirdie else for now. ]

We can stay in the library together until you're ready to go again. It'll be nice to be able to stop and read a little.

[Especially since she didn't really stop to see the selection properly before.]

All right, sure. [ To the library they go. ] What sort of books did you want to look for?

Maybe... fairy tales?

There's a large selection of fairy tales. One of the series of collections might be a good start, if you were interested in seeing a variety of them? Usually they're meant to be read for bedtime stories.

[ He'll pause for a moment, trying to think of what else he could say. ]

They also have a lot of books just focused on retellings of one tale.

Which one?

Oh, many. I meant that, for example, there are a lot of retellings of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.

Oh, I see! I didn't realize there were so many. Did people just decide to change it for some reason?

I guess people just wanted to tell the story in their own style that they can pass on.

Do the different versions change a lot?

They can. It was strangely popular for a while to turn Snow White into a vampire.

Really?!

Mostly because of her description makes her sound like a typical one. I guess I can see why they'd think that about skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony.

Oh... I guess so. I never thought about it like that before!

Me neither before I saw those books. At least not all of them tried to turn her into a villain.

Was she villainous because she had to attack people for their blood?

Some of those Snow Whites were like that. Or that she was in fact plotting against her stepmother. I'm not really fond of those stories though.

It does give a very different feel, doesn't it?

Yes...what sort of story would you prefer?

...One with a happy ending for everyone.

...It'd be nice to see a story where the queen realizes the error of her ways. So she can sincerely make an effort to apologize to Snow White and atone.

Yes, I think so too. Besides, isn't it strange that she was so worried about her looks anyway?

It's not even important for ruling as a queen. She could easily get recognition for anything else, considering her powers.

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