Chapter Text
There were no two ways about it, she was in a castle. One moment, she had been swapping over her shoes by her locker, the next she was staring up at a gaudy gold chandelier on a stone tile floor.
Melin Seskire had a reason for being at school later than most, with her honour student status under scrutiny, along with her fellow honour roll inductee Yoshizawa of the first year, she had been putting in more time exercising post class.
Besides, doing so after regular hours kept her away from the scornful eyes of the gym teacher, Olympic medalist Suguru Kamoshida. Melin rarely used the word hate, but she hated Kamoshida. The man had been nothing but cruel and lecherous over her from the moment she started at Shujin Academy just over 2 years ago.
But the world of creepy gym coaches and shoe lockers now felt lightyears away as the 4'10” blonde girl took in her surroundings one more time.
Yep, absolutely and undoubtedly a castle.
If she weren't so confused she would probably find this rather funny. A lucid daydream, or some elaborate prank by her underclassman. Especially with the rumours floating of some sort of crazed criminal entering the year below her as a transfer student, it wasn't entirely unlikely. Right?
Shoes now tied, Melin stood and patted down her uniform. Wherever she was she at least had the essentials to get back home: her student travel pass, her house key, her phone…
Huh.
Her phone seemed to be on, a large red icon taking over the screen, and no amount of tapping, prodding, swiping or dragging would remove it.
“Okay, annoying, but not the end of the world.” Melin muttered aloud to herself in her rather melodious speaking voice, a product of years of practiced effort.
Nearby, Melin could hear something. She was not sure yet of what, but on taking in the vast room: two curved staircases, a pair of huge doors to presumably the outside world, a set of offshooting corridors, and a painting that seemed blurry and hard to take in for her sat overlooking the room, Melin felt the reality of it all finally settle in.
She would have begun questioning things more had her train of anxious thoughts not been rudely interrupted by a comically proportioned, silver armoured knight stomping into the hall.
“Intruder! Are you with the others?!” It demanded in a so utterly over the top voice that Melin couldn't help but laugh. This, of course, only infuriated the being before her, who thundered over with heavy clanks from metal armour.
“You DARE laugh at a soldier of King Kamoshida!” It bellowed
Melin's laughter ended swiftly and her smile immediately curled into a frown.
“Okay, not funny anymore. You don't use that creep as a joke.” she adjusted her blonde mess of hair a little, her anger barely registering externally as more than light annoyance. Melin hated being angry.
The knight raised a rather real sword and pointed it at the 3rd year, who merely stared, slightly flabbergasted by the entire experience.
“By order of King Kamoshida, all trespassers are to be executed!” The knight grumbled, before a steel backhand crashed into Melin's unsuspecting cheek, sending her flying, her entire torso colliding with the nearest staircase.
The shock of the action winded the poor girl, leaving her hurt, scared, and struggling for breath, as her attacker approached again.
“Say you anything in your defence, pathetic wench?!”
She was speechless.
Her world was crashing at such an intense speed and the pain was a stark wake up call.
This was all VERY real…
Emerald green eyes trembled, and the inevitability of sharpened steel meeting her face awoke something in Seskire. A guttural memory of her childhood, a sting that had left a permanent scar across the bridge of her little button nose.
Her eyes stung, her throat burned, her breaths were painful and forced. Things looked bleak…
This truly is unfair, is it not?
Words rang in Melin's head, a voice she didn't recognise, deep, yet feminine and alluring, echoing around her as her face began to ache and she felt something heavy sat on it.
The knight took a step back, somewhat nervous all of a sudden.
You seek to use joy as your shield yes? A smile to ward off all evil…hmm, very well, allow me to offer you salvation.
The words hurt, little blades of icy sharp pain in her mind, but the worst part is she knew they were right.
You wish to survive this to keep bringing smiles to a world that has all but ablated yours into nothing.
“I do…and I am tired of not admitting that…” Melin grumbled, glaring up with eyes now a piercing yellow beneath the black and white butterfly mask that sat on her face.
Tear off the mask and call my name, Melin Seskire, bring forth a force of overwhelming joy, and send these bringers of gloom running. You know my name.
Melin grabbed the edges of the butterfly and pulled, groaning and yelping in pain as rivers of blood began to pool around the lower half of her face.
“I’ve made up my mind.” She said through gritted teeth “COME TO ME, EUPHROSYNE!” She tore away the mask, screaming in agony as her entire body was surrounded in a brilliant blue light.
A figure formed behind her, feminine and wrapped in traditional Egyptian garb, crowned with a headpiece depicting a snake out of green jewels.
The figure chuckled coquettishly, before floating down to stand beside Melin.
“Take them down. HAMA!” She pointed, the word just coming to her mind, accompanied by a blaze of white light bursting around the knight that had previously threatened her very life.
There was a brief heartbeat of a second where the light solidified as symbols on the enemy’s skin before, in a blast of energy, the thing was gone.
Melin wobbled, she felt faint, the mask returning to her face as she felt her clothes change too, the heavy feeling of a cape, the comfy feeling of shorts…that could all be appreciated later, she supposed, right now, the ground looked very comfortable.
A muffled voice broke her woozy, dizzy state.
“You have returned to the real world. Welcome back.”
And then…nothing.