Author's Note: This idea just popped into my head, and I want to flesh it out sooner rather than later. To me, Katarina seems like someone who would read fan fiction. Furthermore, I want to get used to writing more one-shots for a separate project in a different fandom. Though, despite lurking for about a year now this will be my first time writing for this fandom! Hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own 'My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!' That honour solely belongs to the amazing Satoru Yamaguchi.
—
A Katarina Original?!
It had started out relatively small.
Katarina had always been gifted with a creative imagination. Her thoughts would dance and leap over each other while crafting images while she read. The words of a story seemed to jump right off the page. Back in her past life, Katarina loved searching the internet for alternate ideas and worlds from her favourite manga. She and Acchan would privately discuss their latest findings during lunch through giggles and blushes.
She'd even dipped her own fingers into writing fan fiction before her accident. Unfortunately, despite Sorcier's myriad of romance novels keeping her manga cravings in check, there were a distinct lack of fan fiction in their world. Katarina attributed it to not being as public as in her past life.
Naturally, Katarina couldn't chain down her memories from drifting back towards her favourite series and anime. So, to soothe her literary desires the brunette would scribble down snippets every now and again. Katarina owned a separate yet sizeable journal for such snippets, ideas, and thoughts of old stories that didn't exist in Sorcier. She did this privately of course! Katarina didn't dare even imagine the mortification of her secret journal being exposed.
She wouldn't dare share her stories with the world!
—
It had grown relatively slowly.
Katarina's stance began to shift when she found one of her underclassmen - Saryll Maud - sniffling in the Academy hallways. Katarina knew Saryll, - more than others since everyone knew Lady Katarina Claes - from their interactions in the library. The blonde often came to the rows of pages to find inspiration for her latest painting while Katarina browsed for how to waste the hours. The two ladies usually exchanged idle pleasantries while conducting their respective searches.
Presently, Saryll's vibrant green eyes were rimmed with red splotches and her long hair a tangled mess. She'd evidently been crying.
"Saryll! What's wrong? Are you okay?" Katarina babbled, racing over to her underclassmen. Her hands were folded in a unmannerly yet endearing fashion as her face morphed in concern. Saryll sniffled once more, wiping away her tears with a handkerchief before responding in an attempt to maintain some dignity.
"Lady *hic* Katarina! It's n-nothing! Please d-don't *hic* bother yourself with-" Saryll tried to waive, turning her head to the side.
"This doesn't look like nothing! You're crying, Saryll. Please tell me what's wrong? Are you sick? Did you lose something?" Katarina cut off, that persistent nagging whenever someone needed help arising within her chest. Saryll looked unsure. She seemed jittery and strained to maintain a proper posture. Her round face nervously peeked behind them before breaking into a muffled sob.
"Lady Katar *hic* ina… There's just been so much I have to do lately! My grades are *hic* falling and I have a competition next… next * hic* week and my father's letters *hic* still want more and more and everything's just going poorly! I just can't do it all… Oh, and *hic* now you've seen me like this!" Saryll rapidly dumped in one breath. She gasped when she was done and collapsed against the pristine wall.
"Saryll…" Katarina softly murmured, resting a hand on the blonde's shoulder as she crouched next to her. "Don't worry… I won't tell anyone… It'll be alright, okay?" She comforted, allowing Saryll to freely sob.
"How is it going to be alright, Lady Katarina?!" The younger of the two bemoaned, resting her frenzied head against her knees.
"Well… It sounds like you need a break from everything, right?" Katarina asked, a kind and radiant light in her eyes. Saryll seemed to sink even lower at her words, slightly scoffing.
"I can't take a break! I have so much I need to do. I just can't!" Saryll protested but Katarina shushed her. A fiery spark had ignited in the latter's face. She had an idea, and nothing would be able to keep her from pursuing it.
"Well, you need one! Come on!" Katarina passionately shouted, standing while grabbing Saryll's arm. Afterwards, the excitable brunette dragged the other woman towards her room. She swiftly opened her door and called to a cleaning Anne. Though, Saryll tried to hide her face from the maid. "Anne! I need tea and cakes! Lots of them!" Katarina requested as she pulled Saryll towards a table. Wordlessly, Anne obeyed with a nod, exiting the room.
"Lady Katarina, I-" Saryll brought up, a light blush on her cheeks but was interrupted by Katarina scurrying through her drawers.
"Sorry! Just give me a minute!" The brunette called before victoriously pulling a slip of paper from her secret journal. Discreetly, she shoved the book behind her other materials before turning back towards Saryll.
"What *hic* is this?" The blonde questioned, gently picking the paper up from where Katarina had slammed it on the table. In truth, the paper was a short fan fiction about one of Katarina's favourite manga from her past life. Of course, Saryll wouldn't recognize that.
"Oh, it's um… something I wrote to pass the time. It's nothing special! But, when I'm stressed out, reading these sort of things help me out a lot. Maybe it will help you too? Just give it a try maybe… you know?" Katarina lightly encouraged, nervously tapping her pointer fingers together. Saryll looked from the brunette to the paper before nodding, her eyes travelling across the letters as Anne brought their food in.
They sat there with Saryll politely sipping tea and Katarina swallowing cake after cookie after cake. It was peaceful, the girls airily conversing to pass the time. Soon, Saryll's tears had all dried up and replaced by an awed expression. Her eyes had stars in them as she cut through the paragraphs. She appeared out of breath at some points.
"You're a talented writer, Lady Katarina!" Saryll praised, relunctantly handing the paper back. However, Katarina only awkwardly smiled and pushed it away.
"You can keep it, I can just rewrite it. I hope I could help, Saryll." The brunette generously went. Inwardly, she pondered why Saryll seemed so awed. Katarina was a decent writer at best. "She's just being nice! But, I think she did like it!" Katarina thought.
"You mean it? Oh, thank you!" Saryll vigorously nodded, another blush coating her cheeks. Meanwhile, a knock on Katarina's door startled both of them.
"Mary!" The brunette cheered upon seeing her friend at the door.
"Lady Katarina!" Mary replied, taking her hand in hers. "Lady Maud, I see you are here as well…" She added with a thin, cold smile. Proceeding, Saryll's blush vanished and she hastily exited the room to Katarina's confusion.
—
The idea came like all ideas, relatively quickly.
It was only a week later when Katarina opened her doors for writing commissions. There had been the fear of rebukes and criticism of course. However, after seeing how Saryll seemed to perk up in the hallways, the noble lady had pondered how many more people her writing could help. And, if she could help out someone else in Saryll's position, Katarina figured it was worth a few snarky remarks.
Though, Sophia and Geordo both assured her that no one would be rude when she planned it all out with them. Oddly, both seemed to wield a strange gleam in their eyes while speaking of such a scenario.
"Shouldn't you charge money for this, Katarina? Surely people would take… advantage of being able to commission you so freely? You'll become very busy and should at least make some profit from this at least." Geordo prodded, concern etched into his perfect features. He'd already convinced her to put a limit on how many commissions she'd be willing to do per week to focus on her own needs.
"I'm sure it will be fine, Prince Geordo. I don't care about the money, that's not why I'm doing this." Katarina waved off with a small laugh. In turn, Geordo relented with a slight dusting of pink on his face.
"You never told me you could write!" Sophia squeaked as she finished another one of Katarina's 'The Emerald Princess' stories. Admittedly, it was her largest collection of fan fiction.
"Thanks, Sophia." Katarina bashfully replied, scratching the back of her head. Her friends were all such flatterers! "Oh, that reminds me! Prince Geordo, I can't really charge people for some of this stuff anyways since it involves other people's work." The brunette reminded to which he sagely nodded.
"But, you're still going to offer this 'fan fiction' you called it." He pointedly noted.
"Yup!" Katarina cheerfully bopped her head.
"I'll admit, I don't quite understand why you two seem so enamoured with this 'fan fiction.' Can't you simply find or write the same personalities in a character but change the name?" Geordo asked with a critical tone.
"It's different." Sophia huffed.
"It's easier. Plus you already know everyone so you don't have to waste time re-establishing characters again and again." Katarina reinforced.
She wrote all kinds of things, from cheerful outings to deep affairs. Her words spread like wildfire. Katarina became acquainted with young ladies and gentlemen alike who were interested in reading her stories. Soon, she found herself the president of the academy's new fan fiction club! A waiting list had already been established that exceeded the limits she'd drawn out. The school newspaper even cut her a deal to feature her shorter stories in their weekly editions! It filled her with joy to see how much joy she was giving readers.
Katarina further discovered that the work wasn't as taxing as her friends had feared. She wasn't just writing more often. She was having more fun while doing it! Before, the brunette had always written for herself. But, now Katarina was writing for others as well as herself. It served as a nice motivation to put more hours in. Plus, her friends were surprisingly eager to beta-read her drafts and offer suggestions for improvements. Though, Katarina was constantly stunned at the mountains of accompanying praise she received.
Her friends were so nice!
—
The practise grew like many things Katarina got up to, relatively hugely.
She'd continued writing well into entering the workforce. Katarina often sent letters out to former classmates with commissions while receiving requests in turn. However, despite her success in the Academy she'd never even thought about going professional with her work. But, that changed when Raphael waltzed to her side while she talking with Maria.
"Nicol sent me some of your work. You're a talented writer, Miss Katarina!" Raphael praised as she blushed.
"Thanks, Raphael. But, it's just a hobby." The noble lady chuckled.
"Really? Have you ever thought of publishing your own novel?" The redhead suggested while tidying up his robes.
"Eh? Publish?" Katarina repeated, squirming on the spot. "No, I've never really thought about taking it that far. But-" She elaborated before Maria interrupted her.
"Lady Katarina! If you published a novel I'd definitely read it! Your stories are always so intriguing. You'd definitely be successful!" Maria gushed, clasping her hands together with an angelic smile. Behind her, other coworkers and friends Katarina had written for offered similar remarks.
"Aww, thanks guys!" Katarina profusely blushed, distracting herself with one of Maria's cookies. Though, the thought didn't leave her head even when she returned home and readied herself for bed. The brunette sent Anne for a midnight snack and laid down in her volumes covers, intently staring at the ceiling. Katarina sighed, moving towards her desk and grabbing a paper and quill to work on a commission. However, her mind wouldn't focus on the request.
"Lady Katarina." Anne motioned, silently entering her room with a tray of sweets.
"Thank you, Anne. You should get some sleep." Katarina grinned, popping a small cupcake into her mouth. Anne blankly turned from her to the desk and raised an eyebrow, causing the brunette to softly laugh. "Don't worry! I'll get some sleep once I'm done here." She assured. Though, the maid didn't seem convinced. In Anne's defence, there had been many a time where Katarina had to be dragged to bed after working for too long.
"I'll be up in two hours. Please don't worry too hard, Lady Katarina." Anne monotoned before exiting the room.
Alone, Katarina placed down her quill with a sigh. She leaned her head atop her elbows and allowed her thoughts to drift.
"Could I publish a novel? In my past life, I never thought I could market my writing ability. It's not even that good!" The brunette wondered. "What would I even write about? I can't just expand one of my commissions… that would feel wrong and might be illegal. I might have to ask Geordo or father later. I can't just copy one of the popular stories from my past life. That's still plagiarism… hmm…?" Katarina grumbled, leaning back and pressing her hands against her skull in order to think. The cool night air brushed against her skin and her eyes focused on the candlelight.
"I need something original…" Katarina whispered, dragging herself to bed. "I need something that no one else has done before…" She continued, tucking herself back in before Anne arrived. "Something…" Katarina drawled before her eyes suddenly widened. "Eureka!" She happily yelled before slamming herself against the mattress, tightly pressing palms against her lips. After all, Katarina didn't want to risk waking her mother up.
—
*Two Years Later*
Overall, Katarina would call herself a relatively good writer.
"Hi everyone!" Katarina screamed to the abnormally ginormous crowd hovering near the book shop. "Thanks for coming to the release of my debut novel 'My Next Life as the Wicked Witch: Avoiding Devastation!' here!" She yelled to the crowd's celebrations. "I don't know why there are so many people here… I thought only major authors got this kind of reception…" Katarina mentally noted as she watched the store open.
"Lady Claes, I just want to express my gratitude to you for choosing our store to be the first to sell your novel." The elderly owner of the quaint book store she'd approached said. He balanced one of his wobbling legs with a wooden cane.
"Oh no! Thank you, Mr. Clyde!" Katarina insisted, grabbing both of his hands and shaking them vigourously. The elder grinned as he hobbled away to attend to his buzzing customers.
The brunette hummed to herself as she floated through the crowd, friends and strangers alike. She'd been surprised when Anne had presented her the list of stores she could reach out too. So many had offered their shelves to her! In the end though, Katarina had contacted Mr. Clyde's business, the one she and Sophia had spent so many childhood memories browsing in.
"Lady Katarina!" The white-haired girl giddily jumped to her side, leading Katarina to their friends.
"Congratulations, sister!" Keith stated, wrestling her into a hug.
"Thanks, Keith! Where are father and mother?" Katarina questioned, though she was answered in the form of her family and Anne appearing at her side. "You came!" The brunette cheered while embracing her parents.
"Of course we came! We couldn't just miss our daughter's debut showcase." The elder Lady Claes retorted, a smirk on her lips. She held a copy of Katarina's novel in her hands. "Katarina, where did you get this idea from? A peasant girl reincarnating into a witch destined to die in an old book she read? That's quite the concept you've created." Her mother politely pried.
"Oh, you know…" Katarina droned, slyly pointing to her temple. "The ideas just come to me!" She laughed with the others. "I'm really surprised so many people came!" Katarina expressed as they found somewhere to sit down. "Maybe it's because of our engagement, Geordo! The fiancée of the third prince would probably turn a bunch of heads…" The brunette discussed aloud. It might've explained why the 'Fan Fiction Society of Sorcier' which Sophia had now taken over to running was expanding by leaps and bounds.
Katarina missed the sly grin Geordo grew and the myriad of glares thrown his way.
"Well, Katarina…" The blond prince slowly replied, slinking an arm around her shoulders. "Even though we are engaged. You're just an amazing, talented, beautiful person at heart. And people know that." He added, taking visible joy at her blatant reddening. The happiness radiating off of Geordo served as a sort of shield for the daggers their friends sent him.
Though, Katarina was oblivious to such an act.
Her friends and fans were just so sweet!
—
Author's Note: Okay, that should do it! I've wanted to write a fanfic for this fandom for a while but held off due to struggling with writing large casts at once. But, I think I can manage it if I write short snippets of only a few characters put together like this. Anyways, some of you from my other fanfic 'All Kinds of People and Things' will recognize the Saryll name. She's an OC from it. My intention was for them to basically be the same character but in different universes. So, fun little easter egg there.
Furthermore, I hoped you enjoyed the story and please tell me your thoughts!