Heavy is the Head

Jasmine - 3

Chapter 21

It was the most glamorous entrance ever.

The doors to North Mount were flung open to reveal two men in dark suits and sunglasses. They stepped aside and there was an explosion of red, gold, black and white. Then, emerging out of the enormous red fur coat that threatened to swallow her whole, strutted the woman herself, instantly recognisable by her half black, half white hair - a fashion trend that had taken the world by storm.

Cruella de vil.

Underneath her coat, which she shrugged off and handed to one of the men beside her, she wore a simple, black dress which somehow managed to amplify her beauty more than a sophisticated dress might have done. In one pale hand was her iconic opera length cigarette holder and two dalmatians trotted on either side of her.

Then came her entourage. Aside from her two bodyguards, there was a couple in matching black and white winter spotted coats and a young man with silver spiky hair looking very out of place in a blue hoodie and jeans.

Iduna Oldenburg was immediately notified of what was happening and she put up a brave fight but it was evident that a battle against Cruella could not be won. She tried the distraction tactic for a while, "How could you have travelled all this way with the snow? You really shouldn't have!" ,"How do you plan to get back? ", "Well, are you sure? There's been a power outage, you know." However, all it took was one nosy student to wander past reception before word had spread across the school and she couldn't very well kick Cruella out after that.

Despite Adella coming in to let Ariel and her friends know ("AND SHE BROUGHT A GUY!"), the news of Cruella's arrival didn't really sink in until later that evening when Jasmine was getting her measurements taken in Cinderella's studio. Cinderella was in the middle of telling a story about her friends, Jaq and Gus when all of a sudden, Cruella was knocking on the door and stepping inside, filling the small space with the smell of sandalwood, vanilla, and light notes of cherry amaretto. Blinding Cinderella and Jasmine with her dazzling smile and glittering earrings.

"Am I right in thinking you're Cinderella Tremaine?" Cruella asked, in her posh British accent.

"Yes, that's me. Hello." Cinderella flushed, "Lovely to meet you. I'm a big fan."

"How delightful. I'm just making my presence known to all of the students. Hope you're ready for the workshop tomorrow!" Then, Cruella had nodded at Jasmine and said, "You're very pretty. Beautiful cheekbones." then left just as quickly as she had arrived.

After Cinderella had finished asking questions about cultural clothing in Agrabah (and after they had fangirled over Cruella de vil for half an hour), Jasmine was more than ready to call it a night and head straight to bed but there was one last thing that she needed to do.

She drafted the letter out in pencil first and then uncapped her gold fountain pen, sighing heavily.

Hi!

Happy Mother's Day!

I miss you. So, so much. That goes without saying I suppose, since I'm writing this in the first place, but I feel like it's necessary to put that at the start of these letters so you know that I'm not just moving on and forgetting all about you. I'll never forget you.

I made some new friends. Their names are Ariel, Aurora and Snow White. They're all really lovely, and I've been trying to open up a bit more. It's hard, but I think I'm doing alright. I'm also tutoring a girl a few years younger than me called Vanellope who is like a little sister to me. Also, I'm doing a collaboration with National Geographic which involves trying raise awareness about tigers being endangered. Yes, tigers are still my favourite animal.