Cinderella - Act I
I should have just kept walking, Yumi thought to herself as she looked nervously at the Roses arrayed before her. The Roses, yellow white and red, though perhaps better known here at Lillian Girls Academy as Foetida, Gigantea and Chinensis respectively. The three leaders of the 'Mountain Lily' or Yamayurikai as it was correctly called. It was all the same, the student council. Mentally she was thinking about the events of that morning and that she should have just acted not to hear when called to wait. She was sitting in the upstairs room at the Rose Mansion, the student council's meeting place, having just had the details of the Yamayurikai's production of Cinderella announced to her. Before her on the table was an untouched cup of black tea cradled within a plain white cup. I'm like that cup when compared to the beautiful girls in this room. I'm plain with noting remarkable or noteworthy to mention. Even Tsutako-san out shines me! Perhaps more importantly than the play, though it was exciting to picture Sachiko-sama as Cinderella, she now knew exactly the reason why Sachiko-sama wanted to make her the Petite Sœur of herself, the Rosa Chinensis en Bouton. As if I could ever fit within her world, she thought sliding a sideways glance at the raven haired beauty sitting next to her. Look at her sitting there so calm and collected, she thought as she felt her heart beat erratically within her bosom. Just to be sitting this close to the upperclassman she was a fan of had her heart all aflutter. I'm pathetic! For the time being she chose to forget that she was only being used by the same said person. Sitting there was more than she had even hoped to dream for. She both wished for and dreaded the ending of this meeting, doubting she would ever again be able to sit this close to the person she admired from afar for the past several months. This is all some misunderstanding after all. Once they realize that and clear it up I'll be asked to leave here.
A corner of her mind continued to listen as the Roses explained to Tsutako-san and her about the play itself and Sachiko-sama's role in it with the president of the Hanadera school council. It's the alarm clocks fault entirely, she determined silently within her mind. No, it's the manufacturer or engineer who created the clock and decided to add that snooze button to it! Mentally she nodded, certain that was the entire reason and proper sacrificial alter to place the blame upon. If they had made the snooze button harder to find and utilize I would have woken up on time and not been running late this morning!
In all honesty she had to admit to herself that this morning had been no different than any other in that she possessed a certain affinity for the use of the overly large snooze button located on the top of the alarm clock. It was far easier to reach out and tap the button than it was to slip from beneath the covers and start the day. She had tried once to place the clock across the room from her in the hopes that this would force her to leave the warm comfort of her bed to answer its beckoning call. Sadly the only result was that she didn't hear the alarm clock and Yuuki, her younger brother, had to come into the room to turn the alarm off and then wake her up. After a few days of this routine he decided to do the former without the later and if not for her mother coming to wake her up she would have missed her first class that day. She couldn't really blame him as no one really enjoyed being an alarm clock for another…no matter how much they said to the contrary.
No, it wasn't the alarm clocks fault, she assessed internally, it was the homework! Now that she thought more clearly about it she realized that she had been in a hurry to arrive at her classroom so that she could finish her homework from the previous night. Despite getting ready late she had managed to arrive at the bus stop to catch the bus that ran earlier than her usual one. Therefore it was still early when she arrived at school, upon seeing no other students in her general vicinity she had decided to sprint to her classroom, a very unladylike mannerism; so that she would have additional time to work on her English translation homework. No, it was the sprinting that had ruffled my pleated skirt and shifted my sailor collar giving me a slovenly appearance, she finally admitted to herself. I've no one to blame but myself, she mentally sighed. If I had worked harder at my homework the night before I wouldn't have been in a hurry to get to class early to finish it. Pausing upon reaching the statute of Maria-sama she had clasped her hands together in prayer and to allow herself to catch her breath. Please allow me to live righteously today, she prayed. "Wait." The voice that she heard was commanding and piercing…one that was not to be ignored. I should have just kept walking; she thought once more recalling that moment in the morning all too vividly. She realized that it was because she had stopped and turned her entire body in answer that she was now sitting here, a brier, among the Roses. Could a person ever be more out of place, she wondered dejectedly?
In her own defense she couldn't have known that the chance encounter from this morning, even being as embarrassing as it was, would lead to such a development. It would have been impossible for a mere mortal such as herself to have been able to predict that Tsutako-san would be present with her camera and take a two shot of the event. To complicate matters more she would never have begun to believe that Tsutako-san would offer her a copy of the photos, one a close up and one at a greater distance, if she received Sachiko-sama's permission to use the photos in a display for the festival. Not even the most psychic of persons would have been able to predict that she, an all-around average girl, would be flattened by the star of Lillian Girl's Academy, Ogasawara Sachiko-sama. To add to the already insurmountable impossibilities, Sachiko-sama had announced to the entire Yamayurikai that she, Fukuzawa Yumi, was to be her Petite Sœur. Her head spun just thinking about the day's events!
"Now that you know you will not be allowed to leave the role of Cinderella, what is Yumi-san to you Sachiko?" The Rosa Chinensis's calm voice inquired of her Petite Sœur.
"Onee-sama, you insult me," Sachiko replied in an indignant tone of voice rising to her feet. "Yumi is my little sister and I will lead and instruct her as such," she answered laying one hand upon the smaller girls shoulder.
"Ah…ummm…," Yumi started to say.
"Just be silent," Sachiko cautioned her sharply, effectively cutting off any objections she might have voiced.
Just how long will she carry on this travesty, Yumi wondered. She can't possibly intend to follow through upon her words with actions and make me her Petite Sœur! Can she? The thought that someone set higher than the stars would stoop low enough to raise the likes of herself up, if even only a little ways, was to preposterous as to be unthinkable to Yumi.
"Good," the Rosa Chinensis continued. "Had you let her go at this point I would have been forced to sever all ties with you." As Yumi was watching Sachiko closely she noticed the older girl's eye slightly dilate at the upperclassman's words. "Have you presented her your rosary yet?"
"Not yet," Sachiko replied as she slipped one hand into her pocket. Yumi, sitting as she was close to the standing girl, heard the faint sound of clinking and had no doubt that the item in question was even then being handled within that pocket. "I would be honored if I could do it now before the Onee-sama's."
"You look like you have something to say," Rosa Gigantea said as Yumi suddenly sprung to her feet. Yumi wanted to tell them that the joke had gone on long enough, that they could stop acting like they were alright with this, but she suddenly found that she couldn't speak as everyone's gaze fell upon her. In her heart she had always dreamed of being Sachiko-sama's Petite Sœur. Essentially that is what all fans dreamed of in their hearts of the person they idolize. The nice thing about a dream is that it was always there to be picked up or placed down again as desired. This was no dream and should she accept Sachiko-sama's rosary it would be a reality that they would be sisters together. Isn't that what I want though? Her heart raced at just the thought of that while her brain strove to remind her that she was not good enough for the likes of Sachiko-sama. Sachiko-sama has to know that.
"Perhaps," Shimako said into the silence following the Rosa Gigantea's question, "we are being rude." Shimako looked to her classmate as all eyes turned to regard her instead of Yumi. "We have heard Sachiko-sama's intentions yet we've failed to ask Yumi-san what she would like," Shimako clarified.
"Oh come now," the Rosa Foetida chimed in finding this all very interesting, "how could any first year not want to accept a rosary from an upperclassman? Especially from such a sought after catch as Sachiko certainly is?"
"There are those that wish to remain alone," commented Rosa Gigantea with a slight nod of her head towards Shimako for pointing out their rudeness, however unintentional it might have been. Shimako blushed slightly and lowered her gaze to the table top upon seeing her Onee-sama's look of praise. The moments when all attention was focused on Shimako gave Yumi the chance to regain her composure. "Only about two-thirds of the student body become Sœur's," Rose Gigantea stated as a reminder to those present.
"So you're suggesting that Yumi-san may say no and make the second rejection of Sachiko," Rosa Chinensis pondered that for a long moment. "I guess it is possible. We'll just have to see," she finished with motioning to Sachiko to continue.
"Yumi." The brunette girl with pigtails turned to face the upperclassman directly, fidgeting as the tension built within her as well as around her in the room. "Stay still, Yumi," Sachiko admonished as she withdrew her hand from her pocket; the light from the overhead fixtures sparkled off the silver metallic edges of the rosary in that slim delicate hand. With both hands the raven haired beauty spread the rosary out and held it up at the level of Yumi's head. "May I," Sachiko asked after swallowing heavily.
She's holding her breath, Yumi noticed finding it odd that a refined woman of Sachiko-sama's stature would ever be nervous about something of this nature. It was only then that she realized that she was holding her breath as well. All I need to do is lean forward and let her place that around my neck, she thought regarding the suspended rosary before her. Her eyes looked past the rosary and met the bluest eyes she had even seen. Till now she had never been able to look directly into the eyes of the woman she had been a fan of since the first years welcoming ceremony where she had seen Sachiko-sama playing the organ. She knew that it had been at that very moment when she had become a hopeless fan of the woman before her. Still, in all that time she had never had the opportunity to regard, up close that is, the face of the woman before her. Even that morning, when the hands now holding that rosary before her had been tying her scarf, she had been too embarrassed to look up and into the face of the person she idolized. She really is so incredibly beautiful, was her first thought as her heart skipped a beat.
Yumi couldn't miss the hopeful look on Sachiko's face. She must really hate men, she thought. She only picked me because I was the first girl she ran into who was a first year student and didn't have an Onee-sama. She didn't even remember this morning when she saw the picture Tsutako brought and passed around. Thoughts flashed through her mind quicker than a bullet train at full speed. She had dreamed of this moment when Sachiko would ask her to be her Petite Sœur though in her dreams it hadn't been like this. She envisioned it like a scene out of the movies where the beautiful lead female ran after the hopelessly average hero, picking him…well her…over the other, more refined and perhaps better suited ones.
As her eyes looked into the twin sapphire luminous pools before her all thoughts of what she wanted or didn't want slipped away from her. How can I call myself a fan of the Sachiko-sama if all I can think about are my own desires? To accept the rosary hung precariously before her meant one thing to her. I can save her from her fate. I can do this for her and her alone. None other than I can do this, only me. In a blink of an eye she made her decision and bowed her head accepting the rosary. The weight, as it settled around her neck, felt far heavier than it actually was.
Those gathered in the room let out a collective sigh once the rosary settled into place. "Well, all is well that ends well," the Rosa Chinensis said rising from her seat to walk around the table and congratulate her Petite Sœur and the newest member of the Chinensis family. "I'm so proud of you Sachiko," Youko said embracing the younger girl for a long moment before turning and giving Yum a hug as well. "I expect to see you here every day Yumi-chan," she said with a warm smile before stepping away so that the others could offer their well wishes and hugs.
"What an interesting afternoon," the Rosa Foetida commented in general once the flow of warm wishes had subsided and everyone returned to their chairs. "I think maybe we should call it a day if there isn't anything pressing."
"I agree," confirmed the Rosa Chinensis looking around the table only to pause as she noticed Yumi had raised her hand. "Yumi-chan, there is no need to raise your hand," she commented with a smile. "If you have something to say please do so."
"ummm…" Yumi started with but then seemed to shrink into herself as all eyes, including those of her newly acquired Onee-sama sitting next to her, suddenly turned and regarded her. "R…Rosa Chinensis, I'm slightly confused," she finally continued with.
"Concerning what," asked the older girl leaning forward in her seat to regard the brunette across the table from her intently.
"Isn't it wrong to force someone to do something they don't want to," Yumi suddenly blurted out in a loud voice as her eyes shot up and she locked gazes with the Rosa Chinensis, her Grand Sœur.
"That's enough! If you say anything more I shall not forgive you!" Sachiko said sharply turning to regard the girl next to her upon hearing her words. "I know you are only saying this for my benefit but please do not trouble the Onee-sama's over this matter!" Sachiko quickly turned back with an apologetic expression towards Youko. "I'm sorry Onee-sama. I'll properly scold her later."
"Yumi-chan does have a point," Sei-sama, the Rosa Gigantea, said thoughtfully.
"If we force or coerce our juniors into doing what they don't want to then we're not fit to lead," Eriko-sama, the Rosa Foetida, stated grasping the root of the conversation instantly.
"Then what should we do," asked Youko-sama, the Rosa Chinensis, regarding her fellow Roses.
"I…I'll do it." All eyes in the room once again turned and regarded the small brunette with pigtails in total shock, perhaps none more so than the pair of sapphire ones sitting beside her. Sitting up straighter in her chair she raised her chin and looked to the three Roses. "I'll take Sachiko-sama's place and be Cinderella," she said in a firm and controlled voice.
"My but these first year students really are something this year," Eriko commented with an amused chuckle.
Author's Note:
The Muse had to take a break from Living The Dream. After writing 54 chapters and nearly a quarter of a million words in three plus months she was a little burnt out. Rest assured that she will finish that story, but for now she wanted to present this retelling to you. It's already complete and is a short six chapters as it stands currently. I've already completed all the chapters but I still have to polish them some before I post them. I hope that you'll enjoy my slightly altered retelling of the events leading up to and including the fall festival at the start of season 1.
As always, though certainly not required, I do appreciate any and all reviews, comments and Private Messages. Please let me know what you like and what you disliked.
Kind Regards,
EJ Daniels
All characters within this story, unless otherwise stated are the sole property of Oyuki Konno the original writer of the Maria-sama ga Miteru light novel series.