The sound of a rooster shattered the morning silence in the vicinity of the château, which is located just behind the heart of Erchantia .
The sun had yet to show its lights, but Archen was already awake. Again.
And for the umpteenth time, Archen already resigned himself. Hoping that what had happened to him was just a dream, already faded away.
After waking up for the 30th day in a row with the same view each time : the ceiling with wooden beams and walls infected with mold. Alongside the narrow bed draped in blue with a musty Kapok pillow that hadn't been changed for who knows how long. It's all the same.
So, now, want it or not, he already resigned to his fate. He just need to.
After returning with the woman named Cinderella and losing his way home cause he doesn't even know where he is.
Out of pity, Cinderella brought him back, and since that day, he had been staying here, in the servants' quarters within the estate inhabited by the Tremaine family.
The servant quarters were tucked away behind the grand estate, almost hidden from view cause of the sprawling gardens and towering trees.
Its exterior was weathered and worn, the paint chipped and faded from years of neglect. The roof sagged in places, and the shutters hung askew on their hinges.
Here, he found refuge while contemplating his fate.
'Mae, Ren, Ash....Icha..how are you doing? You must be freaking out naa when I'm just gone like that... I hope they don't tire themselves out searching for me... oh God...
'Mae...guys.... I miss you... isk'
"Hey Archen, hurry up, we need to make the fire for cooking," someone called, interrupting his reverie. Archen turned to look.
"Ah... yeah, okay, I'm coming," Archen quickly got up, following in the footsteps of the man before him.
The man, who introduced himself as Phu Vinh, was one of the servants still residing in the estate.
Why did Archen specify "still residing"?
It's because many servants had been laid off due to financial shortages, as a result of the extravagance and arrogance of the homeowners, who squandered both family fortunes and left the once beautiful château in despair.
Yes, the Tremaine family. Cinderella's step family.
And because of them, he was increasingly convinced that he had been drawn into this world.
A world that he had only known to exist in fairy tale storybooks whom he just read to Icha, and now he had become a part of it without knowing his way out.
He is in Cinderella's world.
"Hey universe, if you want to transmit me to another world, at least put me in a video game or some action movie, so I know the quest or whatever for me to solve... But a fairy tale... what am I supposed to do..." he muttered.
That figure, Cinderella, whom he only knew after reading the fairy tale book to Icha on his birthday night, was now with him, carrying water in a wooden bucket to pour into the large pot that Phu Vinh had lit earlier. Archen helped by adding some firewood to ensure the dwindling fire didn't go out and the water could be boiled perfectly.
How was Archen so sure that this Cinderella was the same as the one in the book?
Well, because of the two faithful mice accompanying the beautiful girl wherever she went, named Gus and Jaq, just as he knew from the book, and her cruel step family, with names exactly as in the book, Lady Tremaine and her two daughters, Anastasia and Drizella.
And lastly, this situation, where Phu Vinh hesitated to allow Cinderella to do heavy work because the beautiful girl was actually his master before she was turned into a servant by her step family.
And now, Archen has also joined the work. Quietly, without Lady Tremaine's knowledge.
Much for Archen's luck, she rarely visited the servant quarters or even to the back of the house.
Even though there was a beautiful lake behind this château once owned by Cinderella's father, and now was neglected due to a lack of manpower to maintain it. She never set foot there.
And that's how Archen managed to stay there for so long without being detected.
At least here, he could find shelter and get a bite to eat along with some clothes. And since he's coming here on barefooted, Cinderella also gave him a pair of worn leather shoes, a relic from her late father's belongings.
Archen was deeply touched. Because Cinderella seemed to cherish the shoes so much, the shoes looked like they had been taken with so much care, yet she willingly gave them to Archen, a human whose origins were unknown, whether he was evil or not, found in the forest even.
When she was asked why giving it to him she answered with glassy eyes " Dad will like it more if the shoes can be useful to others"
Archen was moved. Her kindness to him was unparalleled, even though he had only been here for a while.
And because of Cinderella's kindness, his urge to kick or beat Drizella, who was always berating Cinderella, or restraining himself from choking Anastasia, who always followed her sister's lead in mocking Cinderella, was constantly suppressed.
He was quite furious reading about their behavior in the book, now confronted with it firsthand, the desire to burn down the château was always kept at bay.
He wants to let them suffer, let them know hardship, and let them know that the world does not revolve only around them.
But he held back. Because he had begun to consider Cinderella as his own sister, he tried to restrain himself because this house was Cinderella's treasure. Her beloved.
And because here is where he found a shelter.
"Archen, do you know..." Cinderella spoke.
Archen glanced briefly at Cinderella, then returned his gaze to the fire he was tending. "What, Ella?"
"Today...eh... Erm... tonight there's a ball at the palace," Cinderella continued.
Archen quickly looked at Cinderella. 'Oh, It's that time already?'
"Oh, really, then, are you going?" Archen asked, though he knew the answer.
"I want to, mom said I can go if the chores are finished,"
Look at this girl's kindness, calling that woman as 'mom' despite her being like a demon.
'Oh, she's lying to you, she just wants to raise your hope, she doesn't actually want to let you go,' Archen screamed in his mind.
"Oh, shall I take you there?" Archen just asking that for a show, cause he knew Cinderella would go alone and there would be a fairy godmother to help. He didn't want to spoil it.
"No need, mom said I can go with them."
Once again, Archen wanted to scream, 'It's all lies...' but he kept it to himself.
"So Archen... Look here, look... isn't it beautiful?" Cinderella stood up and took something out.
A ball dress. A frilly, sleeveless, pink-and-white dress with pink ribbons and a sash with a jade beaded necklace.
"Oh, this is very beautiful, Ella," praised Archen.
Though his heart felt like it was being stabbed because he knew. That dress would be destroyed and torn by Drizella because Cinderella had sewn it with a sash that had actually been thrown away by Drizella. Yes, she's as rotten as her heart, that evil Cinderella's step sister.
Why didn't Archen stop or tell Cinderella about it?
Archen wanted to, but he didn't want to be a story spoiler. To him, he was just a stranger who just suddenly found himself there.
So, he just wanted the story to proceed naturally. And he also just wanted to be an observer. Enjoying the story.
"I modified a little from mommy's dress, Gus and Jaq also helped earlier." 'Mommy' was the term used for Cinderella's biological mother, who had already passed since she was a child.
Once again, Archen felt sad and torn. Unable to bear to hear more, he started to excuse himself.
"Oh, it's really beautiful, Ella, I hope your dream comes true," He gently stroked Cinderella's head.
Then he quickly got up. "I want to go out and search for some firewood."
"Oh, yeah... Okay..." Cinderella also started to put away her dress.
"By the way, thanks, Archen, for your compliments." Cinderella smiled beautifully.
Archen returned the smile and left.
And because he didn't want to witness how Drizella would destroy the dress, fearing he couldn't control himself from killing Drizella, he deliberately delayed until evening approached when he arrived at the estate area.
He saw the carriage carrying the Tremaine family passing by, leaving Cinderella crying uncontrollably in her room while trying to fix her torn dress. While trying to be helped by Gus and Jaq.
Archen clenched his fists to control his anger.
"Ella..." he called out.
Hearing his voice, Cinderella quickly hid her dress, wiped away her tears, then hastily got up to face Archen.
"Oh, Archen, back already? you took so long,"
"Yeah, it took a while to find firewood; I had to go a bit far into the woods," Archen lied.
"Ella hasn't left yet?" He just asked, even though he knew the story.
Cinderella flinched slightly. "Oh no, I couldn't, my chores aren't finished yet."
Another lie, Archen knew that, but he will let it go. Because he knew, today will be one of the last day Cinderella would live like this.
He knew, in a little while, Cinderella's life would change 180 degrees, and he couldn't wait to see it for himself.
"Archen wants to eat? Let me prepare it for you," she invited.
"It's okay, Ella, I can get it myself."
"Oh, okay, I want to go to the garden for a bit, I've got something left behind," Cinderella left with a face trying to hold back tears.
Archen just nodded. He knew Cinderella went to the garden not because something was left behind. She just wanted to find a place to be alone, to express her pent-up feelings. So, Archen just let her be.
'Just a little more, Ella, after this, everything will be alright'
But because he is curious, he still followed Cinderella slowly a few minutes later because he knew, that's where the Fairy Godmother would come.
True to his suspicion, when he arrived, the fairies were in the middle of transforming Gus and Jaq into horses and Bruno the dog and Major the horse as their handlers.
'Uwahhh.... magic ui...looks so real,' Archen covered his gaping mouth in awe.
Then he saw how the fairies also changed the torn dress into a beautiful, sparkling, and dazzling sky blue ball gown, crafted from the finest materials and shimmering with ethereal beauty under the light of the moon and stars. Its bodice is adorned with delicate lace and intricate beadwork, sparkling like dewdrops on a rose petal.
The skirt was adorned with shimmering accents, a subtle embroidery that caught the light and twinkled with every movement.
And lastly, completing the ensemble were delicate accessories: a sparkling tiara adorning Cinderella's hair and a pair of glass slippers that glimmered like crystal.
"Damn, so gorgeous..." he whispered as he watched Cinderella twirling to admire her dress under the moonlight.
Archen saw Cinderella boarding the carriage that had been transformed from a pumpkin after thanking the fairies who had warned her to return before the clock struck 12 or all the magic would disappear.
Before the carriage moved, Archen felt eyes on him. He turned and realized that the fairies had noticed his presence.
"Hey, you... come here," the fairies called out.
"Hah.. eh.. me?" Archen pointed to himself.
"Yeah, you, come here, quickly,"
Archen complied. 'What is this... this wasn't in the script...eh..book'
"Err... why?"
"You, too, will go..." the fairies suddenly said, changing Archen's clothes into attendant attire.
The Fairy's gaze sat on Archen's borrowed shoes. " Hmm.."
"Your shoes are okay, so, here we go," Archen felt his body slowly floating and was placed between Bruno and Major. As soon as he sat down, Bruno pulled the reins and the carriage moved.
Archen, still dumbfounded, was taken along.
'Ehhh... what's this, why am I going too, this wasn't in the script, I can't go there...Ehhh..... whyyy??' Archen could only squirm silently because he was afraid to jump from the fast-moving carriage.
The fairies just watched from afar.
"You too, need to find one too, your own Princess, or a Prince.... "
And she smiled.
Tbc..