The Fallen Empath - Welcome to the Villain's World

Chapter Nine: Meeting a Freshman

 "Wow, so this is Main Street, huh? This is incredible!" Grim looks around in Awe.

The street is definitely nice. Four statues stand on the left side of the stone road while three stand on the right. Trees hide most of the school grounds, except for the library that stands at the end of the road and the school that floats high above the ground.

The seven sculptures look exactly like Disney villains, but why in the world would they have statues of villains?

"I didn't get to see much of it yesterday. What's the deal with the seven statues? All their faces look pretty scary. Like, this lady here looks like she's got some real anger management issues." Grim stairs at the figure resembling the Queen of Hearts.

How did he get anger issues from such a happy-looking carving? I mean, he's not wrong. The Queen of Hearts was known to be short-tempered to say the least.

"You don't know the Queen of Hearts?" A voice comes from behind us.

We turn to see a boy with spikey, cantaloupe-colored hair and a red heart over the outside corner of his left eye.

"Queen of Hearts? Is she some kinda big deal?" Grim tilts his head.

"She was a queen who lived in a maze-like garden of roses long, long ago. She was a strict woman who prized order above all. She wouldn't tolerate a roze being off-color, or her playing-card soldiers being out of step. She basically ruled over a kingdom of madness, but not one of her subjects dared to defy her. You wanna know why? Because the punishment for breaking a rule was immediate decapitation!" The boy smiles.

"Wha! That is seriously messed up!" Grim flinched back.

"Pretty cool, right? I'm a big fan." The boy laughs slightly.

Why would anyone be a fan of such a tyrant?

"I mean, who would bother to obey a queen that was kind all the time?" The boy shakes his head.

I'd much rather follow a kind ruler than live in fear of one who will cut my head off just for making a small mistake.

"Yeah, true. A leader needs to be strong." Grim agrees with the boy.

They do need to be strong, but not cruel.

"But putin' that aside... Who're you, now?" Grim crosses his arms.

"Name's Ace. I'm a first-year student here, as of...today! Pleased to meetcha!" Ace smiles.

"I'm Grim! I'm a prodigy who's planin' to be, like, the greatest mage who ever lived." Grim smiles confidently. "That there's my far less interesting hench-human."

"I'm Yuna Solace, It's nice to meet you too." I give a small smile.

"'Yuna'? Huh. Name's got an odd ring to it." Ace crosses his arms.

"You think so?" I tilt my head.

"So tell me, Ace. Is that lion with a scar in the eye a famous ruler too?" Grim points his paw over to the statue that looks like Scar.

"Of course! That's the King of Beasts who ruled the savanna. He wasn't born into the throne—he had to earn it through hard work and elaborate schemes."

I'm not sure if you can call letting your brother fall off a cliff an 'elaborate scheme'.

"When he became king, he decreed that the hyenas would be piranhas no more, and should live among his subjects as equals." Ace explains.

Grim smiles. "Sounds like a great guy! Not everyone's able to look past social status like that."

He would have been great, if he didn't give up right after he came to power. The Pride Lands fell into decay because he didn't want to fix the problems.

"Who's the lady with the octopus legs?" Grim refers to the statue in the middle.

"The Sea Witch who lived in an underworld grotto. She basically devoted her life to helping troubled merfolk. If they were willing to pay the price, she'd help them change their appearance, find love, whatever! They say she was so good, there was no wish she couldn't grant. They also say the price was a tad steep, though. But she was granting wishes! Of course, it was!" Ace says excitedly.

Sometimes the price wasn't worth the prize though, and didn't Ursula do anything to make sure her clients couldn't fulfill their side of the contract so they would be forever in her debt?

"Myaha! So you're stayin' that once I'm a great mage, gettin' rich off folks will be a total sinch?! Oh, oh! Do the dude with the big hat next!" Grim runs over to the other side of the pathway.

"That's the Sorcerer of the Sands. He was an advisor to a total dolt of a sultan. He was a smart guy. Really capable sort. He exposed this swindler once—some guy pretending to be a prince in order to trick the princess! After that, he got this magic lamp and became the greatest sorcerer in the world. Then, they say...he used that power to become the sultan himself!"

Jafar tried to steal the throne by brainwashing the sultan and marrying Jazmine. He didn't save the princess out of the good of his heart but because of his own greed. Jazmine didn't need saving to begin with, Aladdin truly loved her and she loved him too, despite of his status.

"Wow! Guess it's true that a mage needs to be an excellent judge of character, huh?"

Grim moves his attention over to the Evil Queen from Snow White. "And what about this beauty over here?"

"She's a queen who was said to be the fairest in all the land. In fact, she used her magic mirror to check how she ranked on a daily basis! When it looked like her position was threatened, they say she'd do whatever it took to keep it. Can you even imagine the level of dedication it would require to keep a record like that? Also, they say she was a master of making potions!"

I'd say it's more envy than dedication. She sent a hunter and, when that didn't work, poisoned a thirteen-year-old because a mirror told her she was more beautiful.

"Geez. She's pretty, but that sounds kinda scary." Grim shivers slightly.

"You think so? I gotta respect the hustle!" Ace nods.

"F-for sure... Sounds like she fought hard for what she believed in, and never gave up!" Grim exclaims.

It's definitely good to fight for what you believe in, but sometimes there is no point. Like when what you believe in is a matter of opinion.

"And the one there, with the flaming head? Now THAT guy looks scary!" Grim runs to the end of the line of statues.

"That's the King of the Underworld! Single-handedly ruling a kingdom packed with rambunctious spirits—that takes competence! He may look scary, but he was a straight shooter who worked tirelessly at a tough job he never even asked for. I mean, this is a guy who was ordering Cerberus, the Hydra, and the Titans into battle for him."

I mean the Greek Hades was one of the more well-behaved gods, but the Disney one...he sent his minions to kill a baby so he could get revenge.

"Hmm. That IS something. T'think he could have that much power and not let it go to his head!" Grim crosses his paws.

I mean...it kinda did.

"And that one there, with the horns?" Grim runs to the other side of the line up to Maleficent.

"That's the Thorn Fairy who lived on a mystical mountain. She was noble and elegant, and a master of magic and curses—even by the standards of these seven! She commanded storms, covered the kingdom with thorns... She could use magic on a massive scale! She could even turn herself into a giant dragon."

And she cursed a girl to die on her sixteenth birthday just because she wasn't invited to her christening.

"Ooh, a dragon! What all monsters yearn to be!" Grim says with awe in his eyes.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Ace smiles with a hand behind his head.

So I guess I was right, they are all Disney villains. But they make them sound like heroes.

"Not like some piddling weasel." Ace's smile turns into a condescending grin.

This is not going to end well.