Chapter Text
Bad things tended to happen to good people—you were living proof of this. After all, you were just out here living your life, going to school, being the best in your class.
And what do you get? A curse that flips your entire future and fate onto its back.
Okay, well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but seriously, it was not ideal.
Let's go back a bit—specifically to about five months ago. You're cramming for your finals, and enjoying your life. Shopping with friends, keeping your grades up, slowly building up your following on MagiCam, and becoming popular at school. It wasn't uncommon for you to have admirers, and you reveled in the attention it brought you.
Unfortunately, that was what led to your downfall.
You hadn't thought anything of him. Addam Fleur. He seemed rather plain and boring. You had a few classes with him, but never paid much attention to him, as he was average on every front. Average grades, average social life, average appearance. He had no social following on MagiCam or TwistTok and yet had still thought he could go out with you. You, who was starting to get makeup sponsorships?
So obviously, you said 'no'. And maybe laughed at the thought in front of him. Honestly, you hadn't meant to come off as so rude to him, but when he asked 'why', you couldn't lie to him, could you? So you were frank—he just was way below your league. You even gave him pointers on how to improve his appearance and demeanor so he could have better chances with other girls!
And what did you get in thanks to your generosity?
A curse.
You got cursed. And because of this, you woke up cursing Addam Fleur every morning. In your defense, how were you supposed to know that he was both a prince and a powerful wizard?! He hid his true self so well, you would have never seen it coming! And now, here you both were—he was going to Royal Sword Academy, and you were left floundering on how to break your curse.
The way he had told you it was simple: to break your curse, you needed to fall in love with somebody for their true self, and in return, they had to love you for yourself. Until then, you got a pretty sick-looking flower tattoo on your back that was slowly wilting and losing its petals, and the unfortunate happening that, once a month, you would turn into a horrendous and disgusting-looking beast every month on the full moon.
The worst part? If you didn't break this curse before the last petal of your rose fell, you'd be stuck as a beast. Permanently.
So, yeah, maybe you weren't completely in the right, but did it really warrant being cursed like this?! You think not.
But it was okay. Totally, completely, fine—because you had a plan. Sure, Prince Stick-Up-His-Ass had said you'd never be able to break the curse outside its parameters, and as wonderful at magic as you were, you didn't doubt that! But that didn't mean nobody could. Your plan was simple: sneak into Night Raven College, get sorted in Diasomnia, enlist the help of the all-powerful Malleus Draconia to break the curse, and then you'd be on your way! Easy-peasy!
At least, it should be. Your plan was fool-proof... So what could go wrong?
𓆩♡𓆪
"You're insane. Like, literally, absolutely, nuts."
You were certain your plan was fool-proof—your friends, on the other hand? Not so much.
More focused on oiling your cuticles than your friend Annabella's reproachful tone, you shrugged. "Not really. I thought this out pretty well if I do say so myself."
Annabella's younger sister, Gabriella, was also hanging out with you. You were at their house, hanging out before school started back up within the month. Gabriella was a bit more forgiving than Annabella's harsh stare, piping up to avoid any tension that might threaten to arise.
"Well, wait, wait. How do you plan on sneaking into NRC? It's, like, an all-boys school."
"I'm glad you asked!" You paused in your nail care routine, turning around in Annabella's desk chair to face both sisters as you blew gently on your nails. "It's super simple. A light glamour spell, and the wonderful power of contouring and binding."
Annabella was yet to be impressed as she raked a hand through cherry-red hair. "If you keep up a glamour spell constantly, you're going to overblot."
"I won't be, though." You spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I enchanted a couple of different pieces of jewelry by soaking it in a potion I created. So long as I'm wearing it, it'll mask both my scent and smooth out anything wrong with my appearance, all while allowing me to use magic as normal. Here, hold on." Reaffirming that your nails and cuticles were dry, you reached over into your purse and withdrew a necklace. It was simple, with a small stone pendant wrapped in silver wire. Both teens leaned forward in interest.
"Garnet?" Gabriella questioned, squinting her eyes lightly. You nodded.
"Yep," you popped the 'p', "It's the only stone that held up with the enchantment, which is a bummer because that doesn't give me many color-changing opportunities, but it works all the same. I made a couple of different pieces of jewelry to at least give me variety, though."
"Sevens," Annabella crossed her arms. "Is this why you were out sick for two weeks? How much energy did you expend?"
You waved her off flippantly. "Doesn't matter. What matters is that I actually accomplished this, and tested it out. It definitely works."
Now she was looking impressed, although Annabella at least tried to hide it. Gabriella was staring at the necklace wide-eyed with wonder, and you handed it over to her so she could have a closer look.
"Have I mentioned that you're a genius?" Gabriella asked in awe, causing you to laugh cheerily.
"Don't inflate that already huge ego of hers," Annabella chided her younger sister, before turning her attention back onto you. "So let me guess. Your uncle is making sure the black carriage picks you up and takes you to NRC. How do you plan on being sorted into Diasomnia, though?"
You gestured to the necklace as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Diasomnia was based on the Thorn Fairy's nobility and is home to students who excel in all types of magic. By coming up with this kind of enchantment, I pretty much just proved that I'd get sorted into there. Duh."
The more you explained your plan, the more Annabella seemed to soften up at the idea, starting to see the light. It's not like you needed her support, as you were already fairly confident in your plan working, but you wouldn't deny that the validation still felt nice.
"Okay, okay. So you have a way to masquerade as a guy and get sorted into Diasomnia. You're going to ask the Malleus Draconia, heir-apparent to Briar Valley, for his help? That's, like, terrifying! Seriously!"
Annabella nodded along with Gabriella, and you shrugged, taking the necklace back to carefully put into your purse. "I mean, yeah, it's kind of daunting," you admitted, "but you know what else is scary? Being cursed to be hideous for the rest of my life. Like, no thanks! I can suck it up and ask for Malleus' help if my only other option is to be a beast. Besides, maybe he's not so bad... Or something."
While you had told your friends of your curse, you had let to have anybody see you in what you referred to as your "beast mode". It was going to stay that way, too.
"I'm sure it's not that bad," Gabriella tried but faltered underneath your sharp glare. "Er... Anyways, this means you won't be coming to school with me? I was hoping we'd get sorted into Annabella's dorm, and then we could all have been together..."
You had been excited to enroll in NRC's sister school, where you had already been accepted, but you had to put your feelings above everything else. Breaking your curse was of the utmost importance. Everything else came second. Besides, it wasn't permanent. Once your curse was broken and you were a free spirit, you'd easily transfer back into school and spend your college days with your two best friends. You estimated this to take a week minimum but gave yourself a month maximum in case there were any bumps in the road or deviations in your plan.
What could go wrong at this point? You had accounted for pretty much everything — all you had to do now was go to Night Raven College and let everything run its course.
By this time next month, your curse would be lifted.
Somebody knocked at Annabella's bedroom door, and the door opened after Annabella gave her consent for the visitor to come in. Standing in the doorway was somebody else you knew well, considering that this was practically your second home.
"Oh, hi, Mr. Trein!"
He greeted you, stern face softening slightly, before turning to his daughters. "Dinner is being served downstairs. Will you be joining us?"
As good as it smelt, you didn't want to keep your parents waiting, so you politely declined. Mr. Trein bid you goodnight and congratulations on getting into school with Gabriella before exiting.
You took this as your cue to leave. With your nails done, you packed up your belongings, hugging both girls.
"Promise you'll keep in touch," Gabriella cupped your cheeks, resting her forehead on your own. "And if anybody gives you trouble, let us know. Or even Dad! We'll take them back in line."
"It's put them in line, idiot," Annabella chided her. "But do keep in touch. And... Good luck with breaking that curse. If anybody can pull this off, it's you."
Cheeky grin on your face, you stepped back after patting Gabriella's cheek fondly.
"No luck needed. I have pretty much everything accounted for, so what could even go wrong?"
𓆩♡𓆪
As expected, things were going exactly as planned. Your uncle, who was also a teacher at NRC, was in on the plan. He may have been a bit of a meat-head if you were honest, but he was also the only person to have seen you in your cursed form (not even your parents were privy to that knowledge). It was a vulnerability you had to share so that way he understood why you had to do this.
So, sneak into Night Raven College: check.
The black carriage picked you up as planned, and you found yourself exiting a coffin with other prospective first-year students. You kept your hood up, but nobody turned to gawk at you for masquerading as a boy. Even the beastmen and fae didn't notice a difference.
This meant your potion was, indeed, a success. You couldn't even help but admire yourself in the mirror a little bit. The garnet necklace was hidden beneath the ceremonial robes but worked amazingly in warping your own appearance just enough that you looked more masculine. You looked as if you were your own secret twin brother. The charm, paired with the power of contouring and makeup?
Not to brag, but you were feeling yourself.
Crossdress successfully: check.
Your plan was going amazing so far. You were already halfway there! Now, you just needed to get sorted into Diasomnia, and then seek out Malleus Draconia. Victory was so close, you could taste it!
. . . No, wait, that was just the leftover taste of the bubblegum you were chewing earlier.
Still.
Following the rest of the students into the hall, you tuned out the headmage's speech, restless. You weren't going to stay here for the rest of your academic days, so why bother paying attention? By the end of next week, you'd be hopefully rooming with Gabriella at New Umbra Academy.
Finally, finally, the headmage shut up, allowing the sorting ceremony to begin. Despite trying to remain detached from it all, you couldn't help but take notice of a couple of first-year students. The first was a guy that was built like a brick wall, with fluffy wolf ears atop his head—unsurprisingly, he got sorted into Savanaclaw. Was he seriously your age?? He looked way too mature!
Another was a boy with beautiful and delicate features, with soft lavender hair. Those soft features were marred by a scowl the instant the Dark Mirror announced he'd be in Pomefiore. You felt for him, truly. You'd be pissed if you got sorted in another dorm.
Besides, Pomefiore seemed way too stuffy for your tastes.
With your name called, you confidently stepped up, standing in front of the mirror. You stood tall and proud, waiting for the inevitable verdict so you could continue on with your plan.
"And the nature of this one's soul..."
It's a good thing I look great in green. It may be for a week, but I bet I will rock Diasomnia's uniform.
Get sorted into Diasomnia:
"You belong in Pomefiore."
Failed?
". . ."
You stood still, not moving even when somebody was kind enough to point you where the rest of the Pomefiore first years currently were. Instead, you stared right at the mirror.
All of those long nights of meticulous planning...
". . . Pardon me?"
Down the drain.