1 Amazing Autumnal Apple Sundaes

   𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐀𝐖𝐎𝐊𝐄, she found herself in a very soft bed with light pink and bright gold sheets. Not only that, but light also poured into the room through a large stained glass window. Colors of greens and blues and pinks and golds danced on the circular, dark wooded floor.

   𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.

   The place 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 familiar. Something nudged the back of her mind saying she's seen it before. However, placing where seemed to be quite a problem. After all, the furthest she remembered back to was the car hitting her straight on when she tried to save a cat. Three broken ribs and a punctured lung later, everyone knew there was no saving her.

   𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙙.

   So how in Kami's name did she end up here?

   "Hana! Hana, are you awake yet?" The high pitched fussing of a girl, who sounded to be about her age or younger, broke the serenity (and confusion) that washed over Hana just moments ago. The morning tranquility vanished as the girl with orange hair burst through the door. "Oh, thank goodness you're awake! It's after ten in the morning! You're late for class! I covered for you with Professor Stein, saying you didn't feel well this morning, but it won't hold for long! Everyone knows I'm a terrible liar!"

   "Class?" Hana inquired with her head tilted off to one side and her eyes blinking in cat-like curiosity.

   "Yes, Hana, we do have class today! Or, did you forget that everyone was getting ready for the Grand Magicians' Tournament?"

   "Wait," Hana's train of thought ran off its tracks and her mind went blank. "What did you just say?" The brunette asked as she stumbled out of the bed. This couldn't be happening! This wasn't --

   "The Grand Magicians' Tournament? You know the one thing that starts tonight with a grand ball where the students of the Conference of Seven all get together to form teams and compete?"

   Oh no.

   "So you mean to tell me that I am at Heaven's Thread Academy of Magicians? The Magic School?"

   "Uh, yeah. Hana, are you really not feeling okay? You haven't stopped talking about this Tournament for weeks... now you're acting like you are just finding out about it."

   "I'm feeling a little out of it today," Hana answered rubbing the back of her neck.

   "Oh, well then, I know what will cheer you up!" A devious smile spread across the orange-haired girl's face. Her skin so creamy contrasted with her sunset hair... and made her look a tiny bit like an orange cream twist you'd find at the beach. A pang of pain pierced Hana's stomach and a great growl emitted for everyone to hear.

   "What would that be?" Hana asked while blush tinted her cheeks from embarrassment.

   "ICE CREAM WAFFLE SUNDAES!"

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   𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐒. All the while, the recently not-dead girl thanking whatever God that was responsible for having some built-in memories of this Hana's life. They slowly came back to her, more and more in number, as she grew a bit more adjusted to this new world.

   Hitori was Hana's roommate and best friend if her -- new? Or, are they old? Maybe both? -- newly reformed memories were to be believed.

   But Hana contained memories of her own about this place. Mainly this distinct one: 𝘐𝘛 𝘞𝘈𝘚 𝘈 𝙑𝙄𝘿𝙀𝙊 𝙂𝘼𝙈𝙀! And her favorite one at that, the Otome game called 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦. So the main question here was that she definitely died, and expected to be reincarnated, but why did she wake up in a video game? Why was she reincarnated here?

   "Here," the reverie broke at the sound of Hitori's chipper voice.

   The next thing Hana registered was the smell of freshly made waffles. Vanilla extract and cinnamon sticks laced the air while two heaping scoops of coffee ice cream began to melt on the plate. "Eat up!"

   The smile Hitori gave lit up the room. More than that, it infected Hana herself. Perhaps her new friend was sunshine and spring and pure happiness personified. Hana, in the brief two hours of knowing her, never saw Hitori even drop the smile for a second.

   (It also kind of freaked her out, but Hana digressed.)

   "This is so good, Hitori!" The newly reincarnated classmate exclaimed as her eyes popped open.

   The cinnamon, vanilla, and coffee flavors danced across her tongue, and the warmth of the freshly cooked waffle kindled something in her insides. It warmed her from the inside out. It reminded her of home almost. She remembered someone she knew made her something like this whenever she felt sad.

   "You know what would go really well with this?" Hana found herself asking.

   "Nope," her fellow classmate replied with a shake of her head.

   "Apples."

   "Apples?"

   "Yep! If you make the apple pie filling, then place it on top of the waffles, and then place the coffee ice cream on top, you've got yourself a great fall treat!"

   "OH, MY PRIESTESS! YOU ARE SO TRUE!" Hitori shrieked as she burst from her seat. With the speed of a ray of sunlight, she flashed in front of Hana. "I know, let's make that for our booth tonight!"

   "I thought we were having a fancy gala tonight?"

   "Masquerade ball, technically, but the Northern Gardens leading to the Grandmaster's Ballroom will be dotted with festival games and food booths for a more relaxed get-together." It looked as if Hitori needed to pause a moment to take a breath. She was red in the face and ended wheezing out the last part of the statement. "Please, Hana? Pretty please? I'll make you your favorite cake!"

   "Really?" Hana asked as she quirked an eyebrow. If she was being honest with herself, she didn't remember the MC of the game helping out Hitori at the party. She didn't even remember that Hitori had a personality beyond being the name for the Tutorial Guide. Did dying and reawakening in this world change the game?

   Or was it that since she existed in the game the character now seemed more life like?

   Or--

   𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, the tiny voice of reason in the back of Hana's mind advised. So, with a deep breath, Hana grinned at Hitori. "Count me in!"

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   𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐊 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄. The mask itself was slightly itchy due to the intricate lace that separated the gears from her face. However, Hana flattened out the dress of her steampunk-inspired costume and opted to ignore the irritating mask.

   "COME ONE, COME ALL, TO TRY OUR AMAZING AUTUMNAL APPLE SUNDAES!" Hitori squealed as she waved her arms and somersaulted in front of the booth. With a wave of her hand and a well-placed whisper, fireworks shot to the sky. The sparkles fell into the shape of the sundaes as onlookers "Oooh"-and-"Aahh"-ed at the display. "BEST IN ALL OF ANGOLAN!" She continued as another array of fireworks lit up the sky by her hand.

   Hana grinned at her friend and waited for her cue.

   Luckily, the two agreed that her cue would not include magic. This was mainly due to one simple fact. When Hana played the game, it conveniently left out that Hitori's specialty was Light Magic. So, while good for blessings and some support spells, it was wonderful for showmanship as well. Hana was unable to top her even if she tried.

   Instead, Hana Aoi was on free sample duty. She'd pick random people in the crowd watching Hitori's show and give them a taste of their product.

   With a nod from the hyper orange-haired teen, Hana sliced up a waffle and placed a portion of it onto a tiny plate. She dolloped apple pie filling and coffee ice cream onto the waffle then painted a smile on her porcelain face. Her lavender eyes surveyed the tiny crowd that formed.

   (Hana, in the span of about ten hours, got used to a variety of differences in this world. She decided that her eye color held first place for best difference -- and her ability to actually cook something was second.)

   Finally, they landed on a man in a suit with a rather comically large top hat and a simple black mask. His eyes stood out in a crowd for their fire opal hues.

   If anyone asked, Hana involuntarily sucked in a breath when their eyes met. "Y-you, sir!" The teenager mentally cursed herself out for her stutter. "You look like you need a sweet treat," Hana continued. Her voice wavered but she steeled her eyes. The Magician-in-training handled worse in her first life than a pretty gaze and she sure as hell wouldn't succumb to it now!

   "Come, have a taste!" She urged as she held out the plate.

   Suddenly, the world disappeared from her focus.

   𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬.

   The man prowled toward her.