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Volume 1 - Chapter 0: The Storyteller's Beginnings
"Welcome! Welcome to my world. My name is Cathedra. Leave my last name blank, if you will. In this book, I shall present you a question: What if the villains in our stories are not actually evil as they're shown to be, and the good people in fairy tales are not as good as they seem?
You don't believe me? Well, let me show you the truth. Let me show you the lies in the fairy tales that you all have come to know and believe. Just open the first page, and I'll tell you the true story . . ."
By: Cathedra _____
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A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 1: The Orphan Outcast
“And they all lived happily ever after!” Those seven little words have never ceased to haunt Cathedra for as long as she could remember. That one short phrase was the magic word to summon a terrible curse that would rob her of a chance at a normal life. It all started back in kindergarten. Magnus Clementine Elite Academy—it was a school where all the rich and privileged children gather. Sons and daughters of wealthy businessmen, influential families, politicians, corporate leaders, and the like, flock in the Academy to be nurtured and raised to be the leaders of the next generation. From kindergarten up until their graduation in college, they are stuck in the Academy, promised with the fame and fortune in the paths their parents already paved for them. It was to this school that Cathedra was sent to on her first day. She was accompanied by the orphanage Directress in her rickety old car that existed for a number of years greater than all the finge
A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 2a: The Fairy Tale as Told (Part 1)
"Once upon a time, there was a wealthy merchant who was not only blessed with riches and fortune but also with twelve children." Miss Yumi flipped to the beginning of the storybook showing six dashing men with muscly, chiseled features that reminded Cathedra of the ancient sculptures of Greek gods she often sees in books. Beside them were five beautiful ladies, clad in gorgeous dresses and excessive jewelry. In contrast to the five extravagant women in the picture, there was one beside them who was dressed in a plain and simple dressed, standing meekly beside her sisters. However, compared to the other five, with their flashy, attention-grabbing garments, sparkling jewelry, and make-up caked faces, the sixth girl was by far, in Cathedra's opinion, the most beautiful of them all. "But one day, their house broke into a fire. Everything they owned—their money, gold and silver, and everything inside the house—burned to ashes." The children gasped at the eerily re
A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 2b: The Fairy Tale as Told (Part 2)
Cathedra had high hopes today. She was looking forward to knowing how the fairy tale ends: will Beauty look past the Beast's ugly face and see through his kind heart? With a skip in her step, she walked all the way towards their classroom door, eager to see her classmates. Maybe they'll give her a chance today. Maybe they'll overlook the tiny mishap they have had yesterday, considering they all enjoyed the story together. Maybe Cathedra will even make a friends today! Cathedra squared her shoulders, twisted the knob of the classroom door, and ushered herself in. "Good morning, everyone!" She greeted cheerily. As she saw the cold, condescending looks on her classmates faces, the momentary outburst of courage she had earlier ebbed away. She looked around the classroom, the embarrassment flushing her cheeks as she desperately searched for a place to hide. Instead of finding one, what she saw instead made her blood run cold. Graffitied on the blackboa
A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 3: What No One Sees
"The guilt of not going back began eating away at Beauty's conscience. She used the mirror to see how the Beast was doing while she was away. " Miss Yumi said as she revealed the next page. The image from mirror took the entire class aback as much as it horrified Beauty. "Seeing the Beast half-dead beside the bed of roses, Beauty turned the ring over her hand three times without any hesitation. In an instant, she was teleported back to the castle and ran immediately to the Beast's side." Miss Yumi pretended to sob, acting out Beauty's lines from the storybook. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. Please don't die, I should have come back earlier. I should have said yes to you a long time ago, but I didn't because I was foolish. Please come back..." Miss Yumi's voice realistically broke that Cathedra was actually impressed with her acting. "Please don't leave me... I love you." The next page showed a close up shot of Beauty's tears falling over the Beast's body. "All
A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 4: The Day of Miracles
From that moment up to high school, Cathedra was pretty much alone. Word of that little scene she made in kindergarten seemed to follow her wherever she went. Even the orphanage staff, who were usually so kind to her, now avoided her like the plague. She went to school alone, ate lunch alone, went back home to the orphanage alone, and spent the rest of her time in her room alone. That pretty much summed up Cathedra's life. Until Diane came along. It was one summer's day when Cathedra was sitting underneath one of the trees in the courtyard, eating her lunch alone, as usual. She loved it here because the tree's angle hid her from sight. No one usually went here because it was near the teachers' lounge, so students could not go about their mischievous businesses without running the risk of being caught. If she ate lunch somewhere else, there was a high chance of running into bullies who had no other definition of fun but to pick on her.
A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 5: A Friend's Promise
"What is that?" Diane repeated the question more forcefully this time since Cathedra just stared at her dumbfounded. "Uhh. . ." Cathedra averted her eyes and extracted herself from the close proximity she had with Diane. "It's my homework." "Hmm, I never heard of homework that asks us to make our own novels, though." Cathedra blushed. There was no going around this. Diane read what she wrote and she's just asking the question in hopes that Cathedra would respond honestly. Cathedra couldn't bear to look at her friend in the eye from guilt weighing in her chest. She fiddled with her fingers while staring at the ground, bottling up the tears that were threating to fall." I-I'm sorry, Diane. I-I lied. The truth is that it's a novel I was writing." Diane's face lit up when Cathedra finally decided to tell her the truth. She stared at Cathedra, urging Cathedra with her eyes to explain further. Doubts filled Cathedra's mind. After all
A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 6: Laughter That Brings Despair
Cathedra followed the two delinquents and Diane all the way to an abandoned building in the middle of an unfamiliar neighborhood. The ramshackle old building was situated miles away from the orphanage and Cathedra was getting worried that she would get in trouble for not being back by dark because she delayed setting her course for home right this moment. Nevertheless, Diane's out-of-place petite figure in the midst of rough, unruly guys strengthened Cathedra to never waver in her resolve. The man with dragon tattoos and the dude with the man bun snuck out in the back, and ushered Diane in. All three of them disappeared from Cathedra's view due to the abundance of litter and refuse that has piled up all over the years. Cathedra waited for a few minutes before following after them, for fear of being discovered. The overgrown weeds barricaded the entrance, which worked in Cathedra's favor of concealing her. Crouching low enough to avoid being seen, she peeked a
A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 7: The Voiceless Storyteller
It's been a week since then. Only a week has passed, yet to Cathedra it was an eternal nightmare that replayed over and over. She could still see the scenes unfolding freshly in her mind, as if her life was a broken movie that was stuck at that moment, repeating that nightmare over and over. "Miss, for the hundredth time, what happened inside that abandoned building? Who locked you inside and murdered the two victims?" Every day, Cathedra would find herself inside a room that was bare and empty except for the lamp atop a single table situated in the middle of the room and two chairs where she and the kind police officer sat on at this moment. Day by day, he would question her politely but persistently about the crime that occured that day. Day by day, Cathedra would stare at him blankly, not uttering a single word. If her thoughts could speak, they would be screaming at the officer. How she was held by the two delinquents and forced to watch a
Latest chapter
- A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 7: The Voiceless Storyteller
- A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 6: Laughter That Brings Despair
- A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 5: A Friend's Promise
- A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 4: The Day of Miracles
- A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 3: What No One Sees
- A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 2b: The Fairy Tale as Told (Part 2)
- A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 2a: The Fairy Tale as Told (Part 1)
- A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 1: The Orphan Outcast
- A Second Life Inside My Novels Volume 1 - Chapter 0: The Storyteller's Beginnings
