CinderMia The Retelling of Fantasy's Tale

…I think I'll leave the disclaimer this time. Anyone should know that Camelot is the great one…right?

Chapter 5: The Secret Behind The Scenes

Opening her eyes, Mia was startled to find herself in her room, the old, small attic. She sighed heavily, realizing all that happened. Rising from her bed, Mia looked around her and found her close friend, Fizz, in an upright position beside her, looking worriedly at her. "Mia? Are you okay? You were crying out occasionally in your sleep…"

Wiping a sweat from her forehead, Mia smiled and patted the djinni. "Yeah, I'm all right, Fizz. Don't worry. I just had a nightmarish dream…"

Fizz cocked her head in question. "What kind of dream is there that is so nightmarish to you? You kept crying out softly, turning your head here and there, sometimes you even cried! What happened?"

Mia smiled seriously. "The same one that I've told you before, Fizz."

Fizz shook her head. "…Wow. There must be something wrong here. I think that's been the third time you've experienced the same dream…"

Mia smiled fondly at her djinni. "Correction. This is the fourth time."

"Oh yeah, whatever. The point is, that's got to be something behind this dream. After all, this dream has been repeated for so many times, it's unusual! There has got to be a secret meaning!"

"Shush! Don't talk too loud, or my stepmother and stepsisters will come up." Mia talked in a whispering tone.

The djinni stuck its tongue out is a playful manner. "Oops. Sorry, Mia."

"Never mind, it's all right. Now then, back to the topic…Are you sure about this?"

Fizz nodded fervently. "There must be a hidden meaning. Did I ever tell you, Mia, that we djinn believe in dreams? Certain dreams that are repeated a few times usually bring secret meanings."

"Yes, you did tell me that once. But if I'm not mistaken, you did say that only Jupiter adepts or whatever it's called can only experience such things, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. And by no means are you a Jupiter adept. I know it. And yet, you've been experiencing this weird dream. It's very unusual. …Wait a minute, maybe there's something very important that you need to know! It must be something very important, until a non-Jupiter adept like you can experience it!"

"Hmm? I'm afraid I don't understand, Fizz."

Fizz shook her head. "No, it's all right. I just have a hunch. Maybe you could tell me this dream again, Mia."

"All right. Are you sure you don't want to wait until tomorrow? It's in the middle of the night now, and I know your sleep is important to you…" Mia chuckled.

"No, I don't mind this time. I'm eager to get to the bottom of the matter."

"All right then. Well, I'm not very good at relating, but it's something like this. Somehow, I found myself lost and alone in a forest…" And Mia continued relating her strange dream from the beginning till the end.

Minutes later…

"So that's the end of the dream."

The Mercury djinni stuck a thoughtful pose as she sat on the bed, her cute blue tail (which had a ribbon tied on it to differentiate her gender) swishing as she was deep in thought. "Hmm…"

"Well? Any leads?" Mia asked hopefully. She was indeed eager to know why was she experiencing this dream so many times; such an unusual thing had never occurred to her before.

"I'm not too sure…it's too jumbled up in my mind…wait a minute, I think I've got it!" Fizz's voice increased slightly at her excitement. Mia, too, for once did not notice this fact as she was too occupied on the more important matter.

"Really? Then, could you please enlighten me on the whole thing, Fizz?"

Fizz just nodded her head in response. "I'm not too sure what I'm saying is correct, but like I say, it's just a hunch. So I can't really confirm what I say…is that all right with you, Mia?"

"Sure, I don't mind. Anything can be possible."

"Well, here goes. If what I'm thinking is correct, then this strange dream…is a test."

Mia cocked her head puzzled. "Test?" She echoed Fizz's last word.

"Yeah. I know it sounds silly, but that's the only thing I can think of. It's a kind of trial to test your physical and mental capabilities. I don't know who caused this dream or test, but let's just take it for granted that he or she is neither bad nor good. Look it this way; first you were lost in the middle of a forest all alone, then after that, you were drawn into a deep black abyss-like place. Then, a dim light appears in the middle of the dark, and you tried to grasp it, but failed. Doesn't it appear to you that those two situations seemed like a test, a trial to see whether you could sustain your fears and pains?"

Mia frowned in attempt to follow and absorb her friend's words. "Yes…it does seem so. But if I failed to grasp that light, doesn't it mean that I failed the test?"

"Yeah, I think so. That light was probably testing your physical abilities, to see if you were strong enough to catch it."

Mia's head bent down in regret. "Which means I wasn't strong enough…"

Fizz jumped on to Mia's shoulder and patted her shoulder using her tail, as she had no hands. "Well now, let's not think it that way. Let's get on with the sequences."

"Alright. Let's continue. After that, I suddenly felt like everything of me was disappearing into nothingness."

"Hmm…yes. Then, the weird floor gave way, and of all places, you fell down into a sea."

"It was then that I realised that I was drowning, and that I was filled with doubts. A moment later, I realised the truth and got my proper bearings. After that, I tried to swim towards the surface of the dark sea."

Fizz kept nodding her head. "Well, it would seem to me that even though you failed the test, you still showed whoever that made you go through this test that you were strong and determined inside by pushing away the countless doubts, so he or she decided to give you a second chance in your physical test. And that was to survive in the dangerous sea and escape to the surface."

"Wow. That's a great deduction, Fizz. Your reasoning does seem to fit after all." Mia smiled affectionately at the small blue djinni.

Fizz just beamed back. "Well, to get on with the story, you were going to make it to the top, but unfortunately someone, an unknown enemy shall we say, stopped you from doing so."

Mia bit her lip, feeling aghast once more. "And yet, even after the second chance, I still failed…"

"No, you passed."

"What?" Mia blinked in confusion as she gazed at Fizz.

"You see, you were already making to the top, and I'm sure you would have, since you were so close. The first test was over. I think the reason why your enemy pushed you back into the sea was because he or she wanted did not want to you to exit the dream yet; and that is to start the second test…the mental test."

"Mental…test. And what…is the test?"

"Well, I'm not too sure about that, but I can hazard a guess or two. The unknown enemy's power and frightening voice was probably part of the mental test. He or she was testing you, to see whether you would be intimidated. But you weren't. Also, the climax, the most crucial part of the test was when you were about to be killed. You could not do anything; yet, you summoned all of your energy left in your body and launched it against your enemy as a final attempt in escaping. That, above all, showed your inner determination and fiery will."

Mia smiled. "So from what you say Fizz, I passed the second test."

"Yup, that's right." Fizz smiled back and patted her head using her tail. "And I've got prove to back up my suggestions too."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Oh Mia, don't be so dense. My prove is of course the angel!"

"The…angel?" Mia stopped to think for a while about the person she had encountered in her dream.

"Yes! If that male angel came to you, it meant that you had passed both tests, and that he wanted to help you out from your nightmarish dream! Don't you see what I mean Mia?"

"Yes…why yes, I suppose that is so Fizz." Mia brightened up. "So that's the whole meaning to my dream?"

"I should think so. Does it make any sense or logic to you yourself, Mia?"

Mia chuckled lightly. "I think so." Then she frowned. "There are two things I don't understand though…"

Fizz looked at her quizzically. "What is that?"

"What is the purpose…for this dream? Why must it be me who feels it and not anyone else?"

Fizz sighed. "I'm afraid that I cannot help you with that one Mia…I myself don't know the reason for the test. It can be anything. Who knows that dream has connections with your life now and your future?"

"Well now, that does seem a little far-fetched, don't you think so?"

"Perhaps…but you just never know. Well anyway, what's the second thing that you don't understand? Seek for your answer from your advisor over here, and maybe you'll find it!" Fizz stood up proudly in an action, her chest puffing out broadly.

Mia laughed at her friend's antics. "Dear Fizz…you can make a good entertainer."

"Well of course! I'm excellent in cheering people up! Now then, what's your question Mia?"

Mia stopped laughing and frowned. "Who…who is that angel, that person who helped to cure me? And why did he ask…for such a thing?" A light tint of pink rose in her cheeks. The angel…he really was quite…cute and handsome, I guess…-sigh- if only I knew something, anything about him, even his name…oh well, just my luck…I guess.

The cute djinni chuckled heartily, remembering the last part of her dream. "Well well, I don't know anything about this…angel you speak of Mia, but since I believe that your dream is not an unreal one, then one can easily make a guess. Perhaps this person is real, a person that exists in this big world of Angara, and that this person probably admires you, or secretly likes you but doesn't know it yet."

Mia's eyes widened. "Truly?"

Fizz chuckled again. "No, I'm just guessing. Any guess is as good as another Mia. Who knows? Maybe what I just said was really true, and that next time you'll be together with that guy, whoever he is!"

The young woman blushed. "Fizz! I don't think you should…jump to conclusions too fast! There are so many men and women in the whole entire world, why me anyway?"

Shrugging her shoulders (if she had shoulders), Fizz beamed at her. "Hey Mia, didn't I tell you that I'm very good at predicting and fortune-telling even though I don't have any links or connections with the Jupiter clan?"

Mia rolled her eyes in amusement. "Well well, and you call predicting that a huge rock will fall and hit Prox when such a thing never happened good predictions?"

The aqua djinni flushed and lowered her head sulking. "Man…that was the only time my predictions were wrong! I really did think that this huge rock would have fallen on top of Prox though…you really don't need to remind me that you know, Mia."

Her partner giggled. "Sorry, I just can't help teasing you sometimes Fizz."

Fizz in question pretended to be angry and instructed her with another pretend stern look. "Hmph! Teasing a cute little djinni like me, you've got quite some guts to do that Mia! Man-"

"Shush!" Mia quickly put her hand near Fizz' mouth, silencing her at once.

Fizz whispered back. "What's wrong Mia?"

Mia frowned. "I'm not really sure, but I thought I heard light footsteps coming up the attic…perhaps our voices woke up my family members. You better remain still like a toy doll just in case."

"Alright."

No sooner than Fizz had jumped off Mia's shoulder and landed on her bed, keeping a blank look on her eyes and keeping dead still in pretence, a bright light from a torch shone towards Mia.

"What's all this noise in the middle of the dead of the night, huh?"

Adjusting herself to the light, Mia found her stepmother, Merlina and her two stepsisters, Menardi and Karst at the footstep of the attic, all three wearing their red nightgowns, looking at her angrily with clear distaste and annoyance.

"Stepmother! Sister Menardi and Karst! What…" Mia tried to speak pleasantly to them, though she couldn't help feeling a bitter taste in her mouth as she uttered out their names. Not like it was hard to speak to her family members, but sometimes Mia had to restrain herself from speaking to them as angrily as when they always spoke to her. All the punishments, hard work and bad treatment that they gave to Mia did not make her feel at home in her 'home' at all. It was similarly more to a prison, where she had to do all the dirty work like a thin, badly-treated slave.

"You don't need to ask what are we doing up here, stupid child. What else other than you disturbing our blissful sleep? We could hear your voice so indeed clearly from below!" Merlina cut her sentence short and snapped back at her.

Menardi, her eldest daughter stepped forward with a hatred look at her stepsister. "Hmph, and I do not see anyone here other than yourself. Talking with yourself, hmm Mia? Too worried about your father perhaps? Or is it about your miserable life right now?" She spoke with a malicious mocking tone.

Seeing an opportunity to humiliate Mia further, Karst continued chiding her in a sarcastic manner before Mia could protest. "Well well, I must say that talking to oneself is not such a bad idea, sister. But of course, I only mean such ridiculous things for ridiculous people! Thank Mars I wasn't born with you and your silly attitude, Mia!"

Mia fumed silently, not daring to make any protests out of respect. She clutched her blanket tightly and lifted her eyes to the side of the bed where Fizz was still there, looking the picture of a cute doll. But if only one had looked closer, they would find its small two feet were clutching the blanket tightly and its eyes no longer dead and blank, but only to be replaced by a burning hatred and glare. I just hope Fizz won't be too angry with them and leap from her role of a toy doll…she nearly gave herself away last time when she was looking out from my window and almost managed to frighten an innocent passer-by who was looking at her…

The aqua-haired young woman's stepmother saw her gaze shifting to an unknown blue animal to her, and strolled haughtily over to Mia. Snatching up Fizz roughly with her right hand, she snorted loudly. "Hmph! You must have been talking to this stupid-looking toy of yours! Such a stupid and arrogant child with such bad tastes! How old are you? I am so indeed ashamed to declare to my friends that you are my stepchild!"

Menardi walked forward to her mother and took Fizz from her and examined it closely. Seconds later, she too snorted like her mother and laughed mockingly at Mia who was now staring back defiantly at her. "Hah! Such a stupid doll! Why, do you think you are still a small child, waiting for your father and mother to come and look after you? Hmph, how childish! Why, I bet this ugly thing is worth nothing!"

Karst too came forward and without any words she took poor Fizz from Menardi and flung it towards a dirty corner of the attic, and dust quickly rose. That part of the attic was the only place where Mia did not clean, as they were many dangerous night animals and mice (which she was not very fond of), and so Karst had observed that, and had purposely thrown the djinni there.

Mia could not stand it anymore, and she shouted. "Stop that! How can you do that to-" She quickly stopped her sentence midway as she luckily remembered not to give Fizz's real identity away. The young woman had never felt so angry before in her whole life. Fizz, my friend- no, my best friend, was just thrown away like that as if she was nothing worse than rubbish? Even if Karst didn't know that Fizz is just as alive as you and me, she has no right to do that to my belongings if she thinks that it is mine! How…how dare they! How can they do this…? Oh Fizz…I'm so sorry…for involving you in my family matters…

But no matter how angry Mia felt, she knew that standing up to them would be of no use at all. Keeping silent, she bit her lip bitterly and stared back defiantly at Merlina and her stepsisters, something which she still rarely did. Only when Mia's friends and not Mia herself did get hurt would that trigger Mia's anger.

Mia rose from her bed and quickly hurried to Fizz who was practically lying in a layer of dust in an unconscious state, and picked her up gently. Her hand was stretched out, and she started brushing away the dust, completely ignoring the other three women in the attic.

Merlina snorted once again and rolled her eyes as she mocked Mia further, taunting her patience even more than ever. "Well now, good little girl Mia is sooo kind, even to her own darling, little toy-pet! How unbelievable! Can you believe this, my dear Menardi and Karst?"

Karst glared at her stepsister. "Why yes, mother, indeed." Her malicious voice seemed to be fully dipped in pure venom as it lashed out frighteningly. "My stepsister treats her own non-alive toys even more than how she treats her own family members whom she should be grateful and full of appreciation for! Can you just believe that, sister Menardi?"

Menardi didn't reply her younger sister; instead she just walked over to Mia. "Hmph! Ignoring us, people who are older than you, just like that! Such rudeness! Stupid bitch!" Before Mia could react further, the blonde had already pulled the unconscious djinni away from her, causing Fizz to fall to the floor once more, and slapped her right at her cheek with a resounding slap.

Mia's skin burned from Menardi's touch, but still she did not say anything, but only stood still, looked at her and glared back at her stepsister with an unfamiliar hatred look. Such a look was never seen burning in Mia's eyes ever before, and yet here it appeared at that moment, with a power that seemed to burn in her very eyes and pull people in. Staring right into those deep anger-flashing blue eyes, Menardi suddenly felt scared and intimidated for the first time in her life, causing her to back away slightly from Mia.

Stepping towards Menardi, Karst pulled her arm towards her. "Come on, sister. We don't have time to waste on this stupid girl. We shouldn't waste our beauty sleep just for this-" Noticing that her sister was not paying attention as she held a blank look in her face, Karst impatiently waved a hand at her face. "Menardi? Are you listening to me?"

Menardi suddenly felt dizzy, then she gained her full consciousness and pulled herself together. "Ah…yes…yes, I am. I just…spaced out for a moment."

Karst shook her head, and then started for the attic rickety staircase. "Let's go, sister Menardi, Mother. I think that's enough for our dear little poor Mia for the moment. My beauty sleep is definitely much more worthwhile then her anyway. Piece of shit she is!"

Both Merlina and Menardi followed suit, but not before Menardi took another half-puzzled look at Mia who was still staring at them with an angry expression on her beautiful face.

As soon as they had disappeared from her view, Mia's anger vanished and with all her defiance gone, her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the floor. Sobs soon started making way towards her, and she gently brushed the dust off the Mercury djinni Fizz and hugged her tightly.

Oh Fizz…I'm so sorry...I…I shouldn't have pulled you into this…it's all my fault for causing you to feel pain when you have nothing to do with my family problems. My life…always the feeling scared and uncertainty…always waking up feeling sad and miserable…oh, how I wish, how I wish, to lead a happier life than this…surely this one and only wish is not too much? Just one…wish…yet…no one can help me at this time…

Raising her head, the blue-haired young woman's teary eyes looked out from a small window in her small room and stared wistfully at the rising sky as dawn started breaking for a new day.

How I wish I can be like a bird…to be able to fly and soar through the skies freely…happily…

Suddenly, one of her treasured memories replayed itself in her mind, a memory of her deceased mother telling her something when she was still alive, and when Mia was just a small child…

Flashback

"My dear Mia, have you ever wished to be like a bird? One who flies in the beautiful blue sky?"

Mia looked surprised at her mother. Saya was gazing at the blue sky above her wistfully.

"Well Mother, I have never thought of such a thing, but perhaps…to be like a bird would be nice. After all, if I were to be a bird, I could fly all over the pretty skies freely as much as I like! Isn't that right, Mother?" Mia beamed at her beautiful mother.

Saya lifted her gaze from the sky to her young daughter. Her eyes were not properly focused as she seemed to be recalling her past memories. "You know, Mia, once too…I wished to be like a bird. My thoughts were like yours; to be able to fly and soar through the sky freely, happiness surrounding me…"

Riveting her eyes and focusing them on Mia, she smiled and patted her head. "But later on, I found out that the sky…also is sometimes like a prison to those birds."

Little Mia looked puzzled at her mother. "But why do you say that, Mother?"

"Every animal, like all humans, needs a home to go to…a place to stay and live. But if a bird…is soaring endlessly through the skies looking for a suitable home, it is just perhaps, nothing different than being imprisoned. They do not have a place to rest their tired wings…They who seem to fly happily through the skies endlessly are actually none other than those lost and imprisoned, searching for the place where they can live happily and freely, desperately searching for their haven."

End flashback

Mother…How I wish too that you were here, with me…to guide me as you have always done in the past…

Mia's tears rolled down her cheeks, and one by one they fell to the floor silently as she sat on the cold, hard floor, continued gazing at the orange sky dawning with a painful desire in her aqua eyes.

"Is there anything wrong dear?"

"Huh?"

A golden-haired male dressed in royalty training clothes looked up and saw a grown-up woman smiling worriedly at him. Realising who she was, the young man quickly dropped to his knees.

"Pardon me, Mother. I did not expect to wake you up at this time in the early morning."

Dora smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry, dear. You didn't wake me up incidentally. I saw you training here in the training grounds, so I thought I would pay my son a visit and accompany him for a while." She turned a pretend stern look at him. "You should not wake up so early, Isaac. For a prince, you sure sometimes do not act like one in some sense. Though, of course, it's not for the bad."

Isaac rose from his knees, sheathed his sword, the famous Sol Blade in the whole of Angara, into the slot which was attached to his smart brown belt and smiled at his mother. "My apologies Mother. But I do realise that there is a necessity for me to train myself."

"True, yes. And speaking of another subject, was there anything wrong just now? A few moments before I came, you had placed a hand on your chest with a worried expression on your face, as if something was bothering you…did anything happen, Isaac?"

Isaac's young face turned serious, making him look much older than he actually was. His left hand reached for his chest, and he spoke thoughtfully, choosing his words carefully. "I am not too sure, Mother. Moments ago when I was training, I suddenly felt pain here-" He gestured to his heart. "As if there was someone, someone out there, that was in dear pain at that moment and needed comfort and help…it pulled at my heart too, somehow…"

Dora paused to look at her son. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Now Isaac, that is something peculiar…by no means you have experienced that before, am I right? Feeling others' pain is no ordinary thing that an normal human can feel."

"Yes, that is true, Mother. Yet…I somehow feel as if I am needed…" The young prince's eyes went into a faraway-off look before shrugging his shoulders in a common way. He gazed at the dawning sky with a thoughtful and concerned expression.

"Somehow, whoever that person is, that pain he or she is going through right now, it hurts me too…I wonder why…"

Author's Note: Whoopee! FINALLY, my fifth chapter is done! I know that I have been taking a long time to update this chapter, but unfortunately I must confess that I did not have much time in updating during weekdays since I'm usually quite busy then. A thousand apologies if readers think that I took such a long time to update…I hope this chapter is good enough for the long wait.

Speaking of this chapter, I hope readers are also satisfied with the explanation for Mia's dream. I thought that there must be a reason why that dream happened to her, so that's where the explanation by Fizz comes in. And I've also decided to include in this chapter the appearance of Menardi, Karst, and their mother, Merlina. That part where they confronted Mia was sort of an example to show roughly how Mia was treated the whole time. I realise that I'm making them seem really bad, like the worst villains when everyone, even the worst murderers, have some tiny bit of good in them, but I just couldn't resist it. After all, this IS a fairytale right? So I hope their character fits in well enough, since I don't really know them very well.

Stay in tuned for my next chapter! What I plan for the next chapter would probably be quite easy to guess though…but if not, then all the more better! I hope I can update more frequently, but since my exam is in nearly in two weeks time, I doubt that though. I'll still try my best!

Lastly, to reviewers: Thank you so much for reviewing!

Haru-daioh: 'Hmm…'like a mouse that was going to die' huh? As what you might have read from my sister's review, I got it from the Dragon Ball comic that was translated into my own country's language, so I translated it into English and used it. I hope that was used properly though. XD

Kodoku: Yeah, no matter what people say about Valeshipping, I'll still continue supporting Mudshipping! Hehe…I hope this chapter where Isaac feels the pain that Mia's feeling is a good bit of Mudshipping. :D

Daidairo: Well, I suppose in your case, long review requires long responses. I like that though. And yes, just to confirm your suspicions, the fourth chapter was written in italics to show that everything that happened was just a dream. Nice dream huh?

enigma4ever2020: Aiya, no need to say anything lar. I already said what I wanted to say anyway in the mail, so I can just say here 'Please keep reading and reviewing!' whatever.

GoldenSunGeek: Well I don't know about playing Golden Sun…to tell you the truth, I feel kinda lazy to play them. Not like I'm saying that I don't like Golden Sun, but that it requires lots of time and planning, and my time is already quite occupied with my school stuff and other games. I'll think about it though. And I'm sort of glad that you felt that my fourth chapter was kinda creepy, since it was partly supposed to tell readers how much Mia was going through.

One Who Rides On The Wind: Well well, I think I caught the hint. Windshipping versus Lighthouseshipping eh? I'm still not sure on that one. As for your idea about everyone having a Djinni companion, it is definitely a good one, but for now, I think probably Isaac, Garet, Jenna and Mia will be the ones having a Djinn companion. But perhaps I'll give Alex and the rest one too. Thanks for the idea!

Tiger Dauthi: OH my god, one of my favourite authors just reviewed! SQUEEE! –jumps around in joy- No, seriously, I'm really happy that you reviewed! You're one of my most favourite Golden Sun authors other than Midnight C, Triad Orion and those kind of people, so your two reviews really did make my day, especially when you said that the prologue was great, and that I did a great job –sobs in happiness- Okay, maybe that was a little exaggerated, but I really did mean ninety percent of it, I guess…thanks a lot for reviewing! P/s: I hope you'll continue reviewing though… :D