"We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams."

- Jeremy Irons

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Y/N's POV:

Bruh.

This might be the worst part of this world. The travelling. Do we seriously have to black out and wake up, on the floor?

Like, bestie, magical world, you're called magical world for a reason so use that magic of yours and let me go on a bed!

I didn't want to be here, so at least give me a comfort of waking up in one. Even a couch for god's sake!

Wooden floors are not, my best friend. And don't even mention concrete. And what's with this place? It feels so dreary and just no. I mean, eh, it's okay but, I don't know. Seems kind of familiar though, which is really great.

I think.

I struggle to move, as my over worked body wriggles around in its place, my eye lids fluttering open and closed as I try waking up.

The sun shines through the window, as I spot the views of hills, the blue skies and other houses that are pretty far away because I swear, they look as small as Jinsin.

I still need to ask his name. I'll try doing that in this chapter.

The house is generally quiet to be honest, I'd expect it to have some noise considering it seems pretty big.

I finally get up on to my feet, as I walk around the room. It's dusty in here, but hey, it has a bed.

I immediately run to the structure, assuming it's soft. But honestly, it's not much better than the wooden floor boards. Ouch.

Whoever designed that bed must've been in a stone jail cell for so long that it seemed comfy to them.

Great, once again I'm separated from Taehyung and Jinsin. I am so overjoyed right now, yeah totally.

Why can't we generate in the same place? Ah, I guess it's to make our lives way harder isn't it.

Thump thump thump.

Is someone coming up here? Hide Y/N, it might be another Bluebeard kind of guy!

I immediately rush under the bed, shutting my eyes tight, in case you know, it's another murderer.

Better safe than sorry.

The footsteps get louder, as if it was a radio and I turned up the volume after every beat. The pace of the steps were consistent too, as if each was calculated, or moving to a metronome.

And that's where I hear the door creak open, as I see fancy heels belonging to a fancy woman.

Is she my mother or something?

Wait hold on...

Attic... Pretty view... Big house... Maid outfit and jail cell style bed...

I'm in Cinderella, aren't I?

And my suspicions get confirmed as a name gets called out.

"Cinderella! Where are you, you ungrateful child!" A woman, I assume to be the stepmother yells out loud.

Her voice is as loud as a speaker, the sound echoing through, could be heard from miles away if you ask me.
It's like she's a theatre singer... Except the singer who has no ability to actually sing. Reminds me of Bluebeard to be honest.

Nevermind. The singer who wouldn't even past the auditions would make more sense.

I think fast, trying to make up an excuse on to why I was under the bed.

And that's where I find a dirty cloth under the bed.

"Oh, sorry! I was grabbing a cleaning cloth from under the bed but it was so deep down I had to reach it this way." I lie, coming out from under the bed.

As I crawl back out, she looks at me with fierce eyes, as if they were sharp daggers piercing through my body and soul, tearing me apart with only her gaze.

I could never imagine being Cinderella and living with this for so many years. Poor Cindy.

"Why didn't you answer, you child?" She asks, her hands clasped together.

I go ahead and answer, though this time, I take a very different approach.

"Why'd I answer you?" I ask, seeing how she'd answer.

I am not acting like Cinderella normally does, but hey, this story is already messed up because I'm in it.

It's not like the other story went exactly as planned.

"Because I am your mother!" She yells, hesitant about whether she should physically hurt me or not.

Mother? As if, sweetheart.

Judging her face though, it looks like she really really wants to do so. But she can't, that ruins the image of perfect rich step mother, taking her role as my guardian after my father died.

"Well Cinderella, you shall not go to he ball because of this!" She informs, with a disgusted look on her.

Oh please, as if you'd let me go in the first place.

I roll my eyes at her, my hands on my hips and laugh.

"K bestie. Thank you so much, love you." I blow a kiss as she grimaces.

"Ungrateful child..." She mutters.

She stomps away into her so-called perfect world with her 'perfect' daughters, leaving me in the dusty attic all alone.

And thats when I realise, I'm meant to cook for these disgraceful women.

I trudge down the steep wooden stairs, making it to the ground floor, looking for the kitchen.

I head left, looking at the intricate details of this estate. Every curve and cut was made with exquisite precision, so beautiful and delicate.

I find the place I'm looking for, the place that holds all the good food.

"Maybe I should make extra, these witches won't share with me anyways." I say to myself, preparing a decent lunch for me and them.

Within no time, I whip out the best I could, removing the white and yellow striped apron and hanging it on the nearby hook on the wall.

I exit the room, looking for where they're waiting, placing the plates there.

But, oh, did I prepare a little surprise in their napkins, something I found on the kitchen floors...

And like a click of a finger, that's where I heard three screams of terror...

And that's all to thank the little cockroach I found.

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A few hours pass, as I clean here and there, avoiding the bathroom at all costs, who knows what toxic, lethal waste is in there? To make it worse, it would be created by them, and I do not want to clean such things.

Give me a death threat, then I will. It's last resort if they actually attempt killing me, but those two stepsisters are too much of a princess to try.

What's their names again? I remember... Nevermind I don't remember.

Grizella? Like those grizzly bears? Sounds almost right... And Ant- I don't remember the rest.

Okay, Grizzly bear and Ant it is, we have a theme here.

What mother, names their kids names similar names to a grizzly bear and ant... How did Cinderella's father marry this woman... Poor man.

"Cinderella! We're leaving for the ball, so don't forget to clean our rooms!" A voice, who I originally thought was a rat dying in a sewer, screamed out to me.

"K, grizzly bear!" I yell back, not caring about what her real name.

"IT'S DRIZELLA!" She responds, not that I wanted a response in the first place.

"K."

And that was the last I heard from her, as she left to see the prince...

Who I didn't realise, was the guy I was looking for...

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I stroll through the house, looking around all the rooms. Portraits hang all around the walls, most of them of the stepsisters.

But in another hall, there was a relatively small frame, hanging in the corner.

It showed a picture of Cinderella, or well, me and I assume to be Cinderella's real birth parents. The family looked so happy, their aura in the photo glowing.

Little Cinderella sat on a stool on the front, her parents standing behind her. It reminded me so much of my family, my parents... My brother...

I miss them so much, I think in my mind, as the sun fully gets replaced by the moon, as if the sun's work shift just ended.

I make it outside sitting on the bench, to see the view of the town and the garden. It's magical, just like how the rest of these stories are. The stars look like silver glitter, a trail of magical bread crumbs to lead you the way.

I realised I should read the note we always get when we switch chapter's, and it says "Attend and Ask". I guess I'll figure that out eventually, guessing I'm meant to attend the ball.

"Mother, father, how are you right now? Can you see me travelling through these worlds mindlessly, confused to a far extent?" I ask, not even sure if they can hear me.

My head hangs low, like a flower that's wilting, but still trying to survive.

In the past 3 stories, it was pretty draining. How many more am I meant to go through? Not just me, but them too.

I need someone's guidance, I'm lost...

And I don't know what to do, besides follow these tiny pieces of paper.

I scrunch it up and throw it away, hunching my back into a ball, as my eyes... I'm not crying I swear, it's just leaking, like how cars have gas leaks.

"I need your help, I miss you guys... But I lost you during the times I'd need you most... Jinsin, he's so familiar... It's as if I knew him for so long but at the same time, it's like I don't know him either... Why, why do I feel safe with him? Why do I long for him, when I barely know him..." I vent out to the skies, hoping they hear me.

And as if they listened to my vents, it's like the stars twinkled brighter, for just a moment, it's like they wanted to let me know, that everything is okay, and that was the only reassurance I needed to stop my tears.

I wipe my eyes dry, and to my surprise I see an old woman in blue clothing.

The Fairy Godmother...

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Her smile is welcoming, the one of a mother coming home to her child, when they hug them tight, kissing them on the forehead. That's what energy I feel from her, it's so warm and comforting.

"Dear child, why were you crying?" She asks full of concern, taking a seat next to me, patting my shoulder.

I look to her and say "I miss my parents..."

I rub my arm, looking the other way, the moon shining on to my skin, making it shimmer.

"Tell me child, what happened to them?" She asks, turning my head back to face her.

Her eyes twinkle, not because of the sky, but because... Because she's magical, literally, and it's so beautiful.

"I think it's was... It really wasn't any one person's fault but... I left without permission and they... They died in a car crash," I explain.

"I'm so sorry to hear that dear, but tell me, would you like to go to the ball? I can make you stand out, you'll shine there." Her voice brightening, lifting my spirits up a little.

Maybe that's where Jinsin is... I need to go... The paper said so...

"Could I... Could I really go?" I ask, her hand tightening its grip around mine.

"Of course darling! Well then, we must hurry, we're already late!" She beams, as she jumps energetically. I guess that's the perks even if you're old, your energy is still high because you're a fairy.

"I'll be your fairy godmother child, now, let's start with a pretty dress, shall we?" She twirls around her magical wand, as glitter forms around me, swirling round and round until my attire changes, from rags to riches.

I don't wear dresses often but, it's magnificent. It's so finely created, the dress glinting it's blue glow, the skirt part flowing so gracefully.

"Now, pumpkins... Hm, oh! Found one!" She say, as she casually starts turning it into a carriage, as I see golden rails forming.

It's blue like my dress, the golden details standing out in contrast to its base colour.

Well, that was fast.

"Now dear Cinderella, do you have horses?" She asks, anticipating an answer.

"No...?" I respond, and as if it was on cue, the mice arrive.

Their clothing was so tiny, it looks like something those kid Barbie dolls would wear. It's so cute.

But that changes when they start morphing into the animals that would take me to the castle.

"Okay, all done!" She confirms, as she ushers me inside the carriage.

"Now remember, this can't last forever. When the clock strikes 12 o'clock, the magic fades away and it all returns to what it was. That's the price, so I apologise if the time isn't enough. Leave a bit earlier if you must, the time is limited, I know it's tough. Now go." She says, as the once mice, start galloping away into the night, taking me to my next destination...

To where I hope they are...

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Jimin's POV:

The ball has begun, as I try looking for Y/N. If she's Cinderella, she'll come a bit later. But if she's someone else, she should already be here. I scan around the ballroom, looking at everyone.

But so far, I can't see her.

I guess I'll have to wait for the woman in the glass slippers.

Classical music fills the ballroom, everyone dancing to the instruments with a drink in hand, women dressed head to toe with riches, but none of them are her.

"Found someone?" A man asks, handing me something to drink, though I don't drink it.

"Not the one I'm looking for..." I mumble quietly.

We both go ahead and look around the room, seeing all the smiles, and the winks from different girls here and there.

"They all love you... Why don't you love them back?"

Because it's not Y/N.

"Because, you can't just fall in love just like that. One dance can't make
me marry them. I need time, I need to feel... Magic," I tell him.

"You're a prince, love can't always be the priority," He says, as a girl with brown glossy hair comes over to me.

"Well, it's a priority for me." And that's when I decide to lose myself in the crowd for a while, as I wait for her to arrive. I'll know it's her when the whole room stares at the entrance.

"Hello, prince," The girl greets, as she curtsies.

"Hello, uhm, may I know your name?" I ask, trying to act like a natural nice 'perfect' prince.

She raises herself up and levels her eyes at mine, her height not too much shorter than me, only by an inch or so.

"I'm Tzuyu, nice to meet you, prince."
She smiles, looking pretty genuine unlike some of those other girls here, like the two sisters in overly detailed dresses.

"Jimin, Park Jimin," I introduce myself, as I slightly bow to her.

"Well Mr. Park, it's quite a ball you've thrown here," She credits, though I barely did anything at all.

"Thank the staff for the food and decorating, to be honest, I don't think I helped one bit," We both chuckle at that.

I look at her, and she's one of the girls who are... Different, in a good way. Not a pick me or anything, she's genuine. She seems real, unlike some stuck up plastic ones.

In her eyes, you can see the beautiful twinkle, a rare look that you don't see everyday. It's pretty, it reminds me of the look I used to see in Y/N when we were kids, when we looked at the stars at it reflected off our eyes.

"Prince, something tells me... You've got... A different aura you could say. Out of all the princes and people I've seen, you're so strikingly... I don't know the word but, special?" She tells me, almost squinting her eyes at me, like she's trying to interpret a math equation.

"Well princess, everyone's different," I respond, you know, just trying to cover up the fact I live in a different dimension, no big deal.

"No... I mean yes, but not like that. It's as if... To put it simply, you almost seem other worldly," She spits out, her attempt of trying to make it sound normal.

"I see, well princess, I guess I am special then," I wink, as I hand her a glass.

"You're quite a person, aren't you Jimin?" She says, as I smile.

"I could say the same to you," I return her words, as I lean in a but closer, giving her all my attention as I await for Y/N.

"You surprise me. You seemed way more laid back over there," She says, as she glances to where I originally stood.

"Why can I say? You did say I was special, and so are you," I admitted, as she took a sip from her glass.

"Are you flirting with me now?" She asks, a little surprised.

"Stating the obvious there? Just kidding, but really, you are special, please know that," I tell her, her joking expression becoming a little more serious.

"I don't know about that, prince," She says, her bubbly voice sounding less cheerful.

"You are," I assure her, as she returns to her normal self.

"Thanks, but I'm not meant to be here prince... This isn't my story, this is yours," She says, as she bids me goodbye as she exits the palace, disappearing into thin air.

And that's when someone else enters the palace instead.

Someone radiating the energy of the moon, bringing that brightness inside...

Y/N... She really is Cinderella...

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Word Count:

➪ 3015 Words ☕︎

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, I didn't want to make it long like my first chapters, which were over 5k words. I wanted it to be a simple story and style for this. What do you think about Tzuyu? Is she a good person, or a bad one? And what does she mean when she said she's not meant to be there?

Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! Love you <3

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