Chapter Text
Cinderella was preparing to go to the ball, and the event was held at the Royal Palace. She crossed the room, heading towards the vanity dresser where a shadowy figure appeared in the mirror. Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the sight of the cursed sorcerer with unruly light pink hair, and black marks scattered across his face. Cinderella sighed, her hand rubbing the side of her temple.
“What do you want Sukuna?” She asked, pulling the stool from underneath the vanity dresser, grabbing the brush and began to comb out the tangles from her blonde hair. Sukuna smiled behind the mirror, a mischievous expression on his face as if he was plotting something unpleasant.
Like always.
Cinderella did not even bother asking what he was brewing this time—every plan of his led to many misfortunes.
“Nothing.” He said, gesturing to her, tilting his head to the side. Cinderella let out another exasperated sigh, not entirely convinced of his reasoning for showing up. She then threw him a disgusted look, setting the brush back down on the dresser. She got up from the stool and crossed the room again to look for something suitable to wear. Everyone knows how the original story of Cinderella started— her fairy godmother was supposed to show up and prepare a beautiful sky-blue gown for her to attend the ball.
So, where was her fairy godmother?
Cinderella groaned, wanting to pull the ends of her hair and scream. “I don’t have anything to wear to the ball.”
Sukuna raised an eyebrow, glancing up to see a frantic Cinderella pacing around the room in frustration. His lips quirked up in amusement, and a mischievous smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Then, he gestured to the rags Cinderella still had on.
“Just wear those instead,” he said, eyeing her up and down. Cinderella narrowed her eyes, both fists clenched by her side. If only Sukuna was out of the mirror, she would throw things at him in spite. She did not know what kind of things, at the same time, it was best to ignore him. But whenever she did try to ignore him, he would always find other ways of irritating her. Therefore, ignoring Sukuna was already becoming a difficult task. She knew she was not up to par with him in terms of strength and power.
Cinderella wanted to cry, her face buried into the palms of her hands. Then, she glanced up from them.
“If you did not eat my fairy godmother,” she began to say through seething teeth, as she lashed out at the mirror where Sukuna stood, who was clearly not paying attention to her. “I would at least have something nice to wear.”
Ah, yes. Her fairy godmother happened to fall into the bottomless pit of whatever lay in Sukuna’s stomach. Cinderella did not know how she ended up there or how Sukuna found her, whichever came first did not change the course of the situation. But, she somehow found out about it unintentionally when she stumbled upon Sukuna hunched over. His hands rummaged through what looked like human flesh or what remained of the human. Her eyes widened when she saw the familiar indigo-blue robe tossed to the side, stained with dried-up patches of blood.
Yup. Cinderella just witnessed Sukuna consume her fairy godmother that day. Great, she thought bitterly. No gown and a ball for me tomorrow. This also meant there was no chance to meet Prince Charming either.
Sukuna shrugged, then licked his lips. “I must say she was quite appetizing.”
Cinderella sighed, as it was hopeless to find something beautiful and extravagant to wear to captivate the eyes of Prince Charming. Instead, she was stuck with a cursed spirit— from what Sukuna told her before, he was known as the king of cursed spirits. The king, whose diet is made entirely of human remains and animals. Cinderella was glad Sukuna did not consume her, as he took quite an interest in her.
So, it made more sense to be with the king, instead of the prince right? Her eyes widened, mouth agape for having such thoughts and fantasies.
Then, something came to mind. If Sukuna could eat humans, could she get him to eat her arrogant, single-minded and ungrateful stepmother? Cinderella wanted to scoff at such an idea. Of course, Sukuna would be more willing to do it, in exchange for a price. Her stepmother constantly tormented her, leaving her with nothing, but crumbs to eat and rags to wear. The decent and comfortable life she and her father had prospered gradually fell apart when he remarried, and somehow her life began spiralling out of control when Sukuna somehow appeared. Cinderella placed a finger on her chin, pacing back and forth across the room as a devious smile began to appear on her lips. Sukuna looked up, frowning and confused as to what this woman had in mind this time.
Though, the dark expression lingering on Cinderella’s face was enough to intrigue him. From being terrified of him during their first encounter, well, she did have a few reasons to be fearful. One, he ate her fellow mice companion. At first, he thought he was doing her a favour by getting rid of those little pests. Instead, she cried for days and stayed in bed.
“What are you thinking of princess?” Sukuna asked, crossing his arms over his broad chest. He leaned into the vanity mirror, awaiting to hear what Cinderella had in mind. She walked back to the vanity dresser and then sat on the stool, where Sukuna waited patiently. Usually, he was very agitated and impatient when it came to situations like this. To Cinderella’s surprise, he was willing to listen.
“Would it be possible to consume my stepmother?” She suggested, lowering her eyes at the brush set aside on top of the dresser. Sukuna raised an eyebrow, a tad bewildered and shocked at what Cinderella was proposing right in front of him.
Cinderella bit her bottom lip, nervously. Now she started to feel regretful for offering such an idea.
Sure, her repugnant and evil stepmother, followed by her two stepsisters made her life a living hell and made her want to end her life on multiple occasions. But still, her stepmother did not need to be consumed by Sukuna. Therefore, it would be better to teach her a lesson or two. However, knowing Sukuna, the lessons taught would result in death and murder.
Basically, a one-way trip.
He brought a hand to his mouth to cover an incoming yawn, then scratched the back of his head. Now, it was his turn to think of a response. Since he already had his full meal for the first time, he did not feel the need to feast. As it was already troublesome to scavenge for something decent and appealing to consume.
“You see princess,” Sukuna drawled, leaning into the mirror. “I’d love to have her as my next meal, but I am very full.”
His tongue darted at the corner of his mouth deliriously. Cinderella's ears perked up when she heard the next meal. Abruptly, she got up from the stool, placing both hands flat on the vanity dresser.
“What if I lure her to you the next time you are hungry?” She exclaimed, her voice cheery and eyes glimmered with excitement. Sukuna raised an eyebrow, an amused expression appeared on his face.
“Oh? Is the princess feeding me?” He threw his head back and laughed manically.
The expression on his face contorted into something dreadful. Which, that sinister look on Sukuna’s face would terrify her before. But now, since she was so used to him invading and barging into her personal space as he pleased. Cinderella did not want to admit she was enjoying his company, even if he was aggravating once in a while.
“Of course," she replied, a smile plastered on her face. "I would provide you with food.”
Cinderella extended a hand toward the mirror to establish an agreement with Sukuna. For some odd reason, she felt giddy and thrill of helping a cursed spirit alter the path of her destiny. Behind the mirror, Sukuna glanced at the slender hand waiting for his to form the pact. His hand reached the entrance of the mirror, where the tips of his fingers made contact with reality. Sukuna grabbed Cinderella’s hand, shaking it firmly. Her skin felt so delicate and soft. Although he could not see the expression on her face distinctly, he wondered what her pale skin would look like splattered with fresh red blood.