Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Marlow's life was pretty life-like.

Shocker.

In better terms, Marlow lives a boring life. Correction, Marlow lived a boring life. He worked a minimum wage job at the convenience store that was just enough to pay his bills and some food, he lived in a one-person apartment with no pets, and his parents called ever-so-often to bombard him with requests for money to fund their alcohol. He didn't have any siblings, nor any friends that he was close enough to rely on fully.

Marlow was alone. And he was lonely.

Those were two completely different things, by the way. You can be lonely without be alone, and you can be alone without being lonely.

Anyways.

There was one good part about Marlow's life, and that was his favorite novel of all time. A Love Story Told by a Cursed Princess. 

Okay, so the title was cliché and made the novel sound like any mediocre romance story, but it was a good novel. The main character, Fanny, a snarky and ambitious princess, had actual character development, and the two male leads, Black Hole and Tree, were great as well. The love triangle worked, and all the side characters had good personalities.

The names were wacky, especially since they were humans named after the objects, but hey, Marlow wasn't one to judge. His name literally meant lake or pool or something like that. He forgot.

The story brought Marlow out of his life and into the world the author expertly crafted.

He enjoyed rereading it, even if he memorized every single word and knew the dialogue by heart. It made him feel all warm and fuzzy, especially since he was oh-so incredibly single.

But he was trying. The novel made him optimistic. It wasn't very healthy for his mental health, but it was fine.

Everything was fine.

Until he died.

Marlow wished he could say he died in a tragic way. He wished he could say that someone was calling out his name in a frantic voice before he met his doom. He wished that he could even remember someone who would visit his grave, someone who knew him more than as a 'co-worker', or 'a bright guy', or even 'a stupid child'. He could go on, and on, honestly, but he really wasn't into having a long monologue about how he deserved another chance at life, blah blah blah blah.

Marlow was just crossing the street, going to get his coffee, scrolling on his phone with his earbuds in. He was reading an online version of a web comic one of his co-workers recommended, and the music blasting through his ears was too loud for him to pay attention to the Mustang zooming straight toward him. Before he knew it, he felt an overwhelming force that sent him flying back. There was a loud bang that made his ears ring, and he felt an intense pain as he hit the ground. His legs felt oddly heavy, and did his head, and his eyes fluttered shut as darkness overtook his vision.

Too bad about that coffee order.

Marlow's eyes fluttered open, and he groaned, clutching his head. His vision was spinning, and he had a headache similar to that of when he was younger and spun around in circles so much he got dizzy. He looked to his left.

White.

He looked to his right.

White.

He looked up.

White.

He looked down.

Gray- oh no wait, those were his pants.

A strange, blue hovering rectangle appeared in front of Marlow's face, and he looked up, his eyes widening as he read the words on the rectangle. 

Welcome to the afterlife, Marlow Purpura. 

"...hah?" Marlow stared at the rectangle for a long moment before he shot to his feet, shocking whirling through his head like a hurricane. "HUH?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN, AFTERLIFE?! IS THIS THE AFTERLIFE?! Ah, did I die! Oh no- did my earbuds get destroyed in the car crash? I hope not, my Spotify playlist is so embarrassing! I literally got the age 87 for my Spotify Wrapped!"

Chill. The words on the rectangle changed. Nobody cares about your Spotify Wrapped bro. You're too chopped for that.

"Hey." Marlow protested. "That's rude." He paused. "So, I died? How long have I been dead?"

Only about a minute or two. The rectangle responded. 

"Okay..." Marlow said slowly before he crossed his arms. "So! Rectangle guy! What's your name?"

I do not have a name. The rectangle responded. ...*sigh*. But I suppose you may call me X.

"X, huh?" Marlow grinned. "Well then, it's very nice to meet you, X! Now, what am I doing here? In the afterlife, I mean."

Well, you're dead. X said. Obviously you ended up in the afterlife. However, I was going to offer you a deal! What do you say? Wanna make a deal with me?

"A deal?" Marlow hummed. "Alright, sure. What deal?"

I'm experimenting on something with my pal right now. X explained. And I need a guinea pig. A test subject. Someone who's willing to be the experiment. And you, you don't want to stay dead, do you? So! If you allow me to test out this new thing on you, there's a chance that you'll be able to try again.

"Wait, wait, wait," Marlow held up a hand, his eyes widening in both excitement and nervousness. "What do you mean, try again? Are you saying that I'll get to live again? Like, be alive again?" He paused. "Actually- no thanks. My life wasn't that great anyway."

Uh- I'm not done! X protested. Alright, alright, what about this then? You test out this thing for me, and I'll give you another chance to live, BUT, I'll do it in a different universe. And you can choose which universe you want to live in.

"No- WAIT REALLY?!" Marlow's eyes lit up. "I ACCEPT! Take me to the universe of 'A Love Story Told by a Cursed Princess'!"

...Seriously? X said. You could choose any other universe! ANY OTHER UNIVERSE! And you pick THAT universe because you like the book and its characters- okay, wait, that's valid. Are you sure though?

"Positive!" Marlow grinned, his eyes glittering. If there was any universe he wanted to be in, it was going to be the universe with the most important people in his life in it. "I don't care about all the political drama or anything like that! If I even get to see Fanny, or Black Hole, or Tree, oh Tree! I'm not bi, but like, heh."

...I think you are bi, but alright! X responded. I'll get started with the experiment.

"Yay!" Marlow paused. "Wait, what is the experiment anyway?"

Oh. The effects of reincarnation on a human being.

"Wait... WHA-!"

Marlow shot out of bed, breathing heavily. He looked around frantically, hope swirling through his chest like a warm hurricane. He wasn't in his old one-room apartment, no, this was a fancy room.

There were red curtains draped over two large windows to Marlow's left, and the fabric under him was soft and bouncy, like a cloud. There was a small, golden bell sitting atop of a brown nightstand, and a round mirror hung from a wall near a desk covered in what seemed to be... er, was that cologne? The bed itself was a deep shade of purple, and had golden stitches of leaves intertwining through it. There were multiple pillows of a more blue shade that Marlow was leaning on.

This... this really was the world of 'A Love Story Told by a Cursed Princess', wasn't it? Marlow had made it!

He laughed, hopping off the bed and doing a celebratory boogie. Ohhh, he couldn't wait to see who he had been reincarnated into! Perhaps Black Hole, or Tree, or maybe even General Firey! 

Marlow strode over to the mirror with a bright smile and looked at his reflection in the mirror.

His smile fell as he recognized who he had become.

God damn it.

He was so dead.

Chapter Text

In the story of "A Love Story Told by a Cursed Princess", there were many, many different antagonists. Fanny wasn't a damsel in distress, but she was tossed into dangerous territory very often, and would have to work with either Black Hole or Tree, getting closer with the two men.

One of those antagonists was a minor antagonist who died in the first novel called Marker.

Marker was a cocky, bratty royal who treated people like pawns, and showed off his 'glory' to the other royals, who were incredibly sick of his behavior. He attempted to get Fanny to marry him multiple times, and Fanny always rejected him, despite the two being basically the same age in the story. Marker got angry at that, and he ended up revealing important information to the main antagonist, One. And Tree and Black Hole had Marker executed for this, although the information Marker gave One ended up giving One the upper hand for a large majority of the story.

Marlow had hated Marker. Marker was, quite literally, his least favorite character of the entire series.

And of course, Marlow had been reincarnated into Marker's body.

Marlow- no, Marker stared into the mirror, at the fluffy purple hair perched on his head that was the same shade of a Yoyleberry, at the round, startled, deep indigo eyes that replaced his previously tired brown ones. Marker was wearing a pair of incredibly soft silk pajamas, and they were a pale white, similar to the shade of color that Marker's face had turned into at the realization of who he had reincarnated into. On his feet was a pair of gray, velvet slippers, and they fit on his feet perfectly. 

Marker stared at his reflection for another moment before pulling at his new, fluffy purple hair out of panic. Oh, no, no, no, no! Out of all the characters to reincarnate into, it had to be Marker!

He groaned, slamming his head against the table. He knew that this... probably wasn't a dream, but he tried. It hurt, so he definitely wasn't dreaming.

"Don't be so dramatic," X sighed, and Marker jolted. X's voice came from his mind, like the strange being was speaking directly to Marker through some telekinesis voodoo. X's voice was strange, rather high-pitched, and Marker couldn't quite figure out X's gender from their voice. "It's not that bad. You're in the universe you wanted to be in, aren't you?"

"Yeah!" Marker lifted his head, running a hand down his face with a whine. "But this isn't who I wanted to be reincarnated into! I thought you were going to put me in like, Black Hole or Tree's body! Or even Firey or- or Pen or something! Anyone but Marker!"

"Well, womp womp." X said, sounding incredibly amused. "I've done my experiment. Just call my name if there are any weird symptoms, kay? Byeeeee~!"

"Wait- X!" Marker stood there for a moment, but there was no reply. He flopped down onto the chair in front of the desk. "AUGH!" He stared at his reflection in the mirror. "...I'm going to die, aren't I? Maybe I'm just doomed. No matter what universe." He paused. "Tch. Why am I ranting like a main character in a fantasy story?"

He ran a hand through his hair (the texture was at least smoother than Marker's old hair in his previous life) and furrowed his eyebrows. "...seems like I'll just have to make things work then!" He grinned. "I can do this. I just gotta... change the entire role of Marker and act like a completely different person and somehow get most of the characters on my side! Easy, right-?"

"Your Highness?" A muffled voice called from the door, and Marker nearly fell out of his seat. "Are you awake? May I enter?"

"Uh- uh-" Frick, how did people speak in this universe again? He stammered and rolled out a response. "Yes, er, you may come in."

The door clicked open, and Marker turned to look toward the door.

A man, blonde hair, tan-ish skin similar to the color of caramel, entered the room. His hair was short for a girl, but long for a boy, and his eyes, a warm hazel color, didn't meet Marker's face. The man seemed to be around Marker's age, and he was wearing a red suit the color of velvet blankets. This didn't seem to be a character that was mentioned in the novel, probably a minor character, but Marker looked through, well, Marker's memories, and recognized the man as 'Fries'. 

"Your Highness?" Fries tilted his head, jolting Marker out of his inner monologue, his expression bored and tired while semi-polite. Impressive. "Are you alright? You seem rather quiet today."

"Fine- fine." Marker answered, giving Fries an awkward smile. 

"...Hm." Fries nodded once, although his eyes narrowed. "I see. Are you fully dressed for the meeting?"

"...the what?" Marker stared at Fries for a long moment before his gaze flickered down to his, er, 'night gown', and then back to Fries.

"The...meeting." Fries repeated. "Surely you haven't forgotten? All princes and princesses from the neighboring kingdoms are meeting for the first time in a ballroom."

Marker frantically tried to recall an event similar to this in any of the novels. Right. The exposition was at this very meeting. This meeting was where the first four chapters took place, with a lot of banter between Fanny, Black Hole, and Tree, and in the fifth chapter, toward the end of the meeting, was where One made her first appearance.

"No, of course I haven't forgotten," Marker said, waving a hand. "Uh- I'll get dressed. You may, uh, you may exit?"

Fries stared at Marker for a moment like Marker was crazy before he nodded and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Marker slumped in relief after Fries left and stood up from the chair and turned toward his closet. Alright. Time to find a... somewhat suitable outfit for the 'meeting'.

This was likely the most important event for Marker in order for him to change his fate.

Marker adjusted the coat around his shoulders, staring at himself in the mirror. Was this outfit good enough? 

Marker sighed. If only he hadn't been from the modern world. Otherwise, he was sure that he would've been able to pick something that might've looked more better. Perhaps he should ask Fries.

Marker turned his gaze to the golden bell on the night stand and he picked it up, ringing it a few times before placing it down.

Fries swooped into the room. "You called, Your Highness?" He said.

"Oh, yeah." Marker turned to Fries. "I finished dressing. Although, I wonder what your opinion is on the outfit that I chose."

Fries scanned him up and down for a long moment. "...you look fabulous, Your Highness." He said, but he didn't sound or look very sincere. "I see no flaws in your outfit choice."

"...Fries." Marker crossed his arms. "Please, do be honest. I need your opinion on this."

Fries paused and sighed, heading to the closet before pulling out a different jacket, an navy one instead of the green one Marker took. "The color of the jacket mutes your eyes," He said, grabbing a white undershirt. "You seem to pick bright colors, but your hair is a rather bright shade of purple, and thus, the overwhelming amount of bright colors could make you seem informal and too colorful for royalty." He handed the clothes to Marker. "Try these."

"Ah-" Marker took the clothes with a grateful smile. "I see. Thank you! I'll note that for... future events."

Fries stared at Marker in surprise before nodding. "Of course." He bowed before exiting the room. "The carriage is waiting outside at the gate."

Marker watched Fries leave before putting on the new top, glancing at himself in the mirror. Huh. He really did look a lot better with these colors. He sighed. He would have to improve his fashion sense if he wanted to survive.

He took a swig of water, clearing his throat, before turning towards the door and swinging open the door. He stepped out of his room and looked around the castle, and then down a few hallways. They felt familiar, and Marker spontaneously turned toward the left, walking down the hallway. He guessed that he went the right way, since he stopped at the doors of the palace, where there were a few guards. They gave each other a strange look before opening swinging the door open.

Marker stepped out and paused. There were rows and rows of... uh- were those flowers dead? They were wilting, and the petals seemed incredibly dry, like nobody had taken care of the flowers in years.

Poor things.

Marker ran his hand along one of the flowers before heading over to the carriage, where Fries was waiting. "We... should water those later," He said as Fries swung open the carriage.

Fries looked at Marker with an unreadable expression, although Marker could tell there was some surprise in his gaze. "...Yes, Your Highness." Fries said.

Marker entered the carriage, waited until Fries closed the door, and sighed, leaning back in his seat. The cushions were incredibly soft, far softer than than any couch Marker was sure that he would've been able to afford in his past life. He stared at his hands, the reality of his situation finally hitting him after all that.

He was actually in the world of 'A Love Story Told by a Cursed Princess'.

Marker sat there for a long moment, his hands twitching on his legs before curling into tight fists. He hugged his knees to his chest, burying his face into his knees with a sigh.

He wanted to live.

He wanted to live so badly.

And he wanted to live a happy life.

Was that really so much to ask for?