Twisted Wonderland

Sinister Steeping

You open your eyes, coughing from how musty the room is. Looking around, you see you're back in the dark room from your previous dream. You hear someone cackling and quickly dart behind the column. Peering around, you see the Fairest Queen, or what she became.

She dips an apple into the cauldron. "Dip an apple in this brew. Let the Sleeping Death steep through."

She pulls the apple out. It's covered in a gross, slimy liquid that drips back into the cauldron. It forms a grinning skull face on the apple.

"Now, turn red to tempt Snow White. Make her hunger for a bite."

The liquid soaks into the apple and it turns to a beautiful scarlet red. The witch holds out the apple to a nearby crow.

"Have a bite!" She laughs as the crow backs away. She looks to the book. "But wait, there may be an antidote. Nothing must be overlooked."

She scans the words on the page. "True love's first kiss?" She scoffs. "No fear of that. The dwarves will think she's dead! She'll be buried alive!"

You stifle a gasp. That's horrible...

The witch cackles as she places the apple into a basket and hobbles to a boat in the canal. She continues to cackle with glee.

"Buried alive."

Your vision fills with ripples and you feel yourself being pulled away. Everything fades to black and the last thing you hear is the cackling of the beautiful woman who turned herself hideous.

You open your eyes when you hear a knock on the door. Sitting up, you're greeted by Epel who smiles at you by the door.

"Good morning, Y/N. Grim."

Grim arches his back as he stretches. "Hey, Epel! Today's the big day!" Grim excitedly runs around in a circle. "It's the Song & Dance Championship! You'd better take home the gold, okay? My tuna bonanza is ridin' on it!"

"Absolutely! I'm ready to win this thing." Epel blushes as he runs the back of his neck, shyly smiling to you. "But... it's kinda sad to think that this will be the last day of our training camp. Thank you for accommodating us this long."

You smile at him in return. "Of course. It's been nice having other students here. It actually felt like a real dorm for a little while."

After getting ready for the day, you walk down to the lounge and meet the others. Kalim waves cheerfully and runs over to you when he sees you.

"Morning, Y/N! Did you sleep well? I didn't. I was too excited. Jamil even yelled at me to go to sleep!"

Jamil rolls his eyes. "Seriously. You're not a child on a field trip."

"Bonjour! Good morning to you all!" Rook smiles as he approaches. "I hope the day finds you well. Vil has some words for everyone before the show."

Looking to the stairs, you see Vil stepping down the stairs regally. "I see everyone's here. The time will be 3 p.m. The place will be the Purple Stage set up in the coliseum. Then and there, the Song & Dance Championship will finally kick off."

Vil waves a hand. "The competition will be streamed live worldwide. This is our moment to reap the beauteous seeds we've sown and take the entire world by storm! I trust all of you are ready?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Rehearsals start at noon. I expect each of you to be ready to take the stage before then."

"Oooh..." Grim bounces on his feet. "It's killin' me that all we can do is watch."

"Correct," Vil nods. "you and the manager will be of no use simply lurking around and twiddling your thumbs. Your fidgeting will only distract us. Go see the sights at the festival instead."