Lucky Rabbit {Twisted Wonderland} [Various X OC]

A Heart Faced Jerk

"Oh no! Now the Queen of Hearts's statue looks like it's been flame-broiled!"

"That's your fault for tryin' to divert it! You shoulda just let it burn you to a crisp!"

"Who in their right mind would ever do that?!"

"What is going on here? Cease this at once!"

A booming voice interrupted their squabbling. Elle immediately slipped out of sight before her mind could even catch up with her body. She couldn't just stay out in the open with an angry adult around. Her chest ached. She felt like she was abandoning Yu. She wanted to help him. She wanted to protect him. But she was scared. At the end of the day, she was a coward who only fended for herself. She fought back tears as she stood rooted in place, trembling slightly. Hopefully Yu would be alright.

"Oh no! The headmage!"

"Not more lashings of love! We gotta get outta here!"

Elle cringed as she heard the sound of a whip. She hated that he so quickly resorted to violence. Ace and Grim's shouts of pain didn't do anything to ease the sick feeling in her chest, either. She so badly wanted to protect. She just didn't have the strength.

"As if the likes of you could ever flee from me! Haaah... Did I not just warn you "no more incidents"? And now you've charred one of my statues?! It's almost as though you WANT to be expelled!"

Elle's eyebrows furrowed. They were employees, they could be fired, not expelled. Ace could be, but he specifically brought up their conversation from earlier, so he had to be referring to Grim. Does...does the headmage have any clue what he's doing? That only scared Elle further. She didn't have enough leverage to go against this man's decisions, so the fact that he could be so carelessly harsh...

"No! Forgive me!"

"And you, Yu. You were specifically told to keep Grim under control!"

"I tried to stop him, but..." Yu trailed off. Elle clutched her arms in front of her chest. She should be helping him. He shouldn't be in trouble. He did his best. It wasn't fair.

"This will not do. And you! State your name and grade."

"Ace Trappola... Freshman."

Elle took note of his name, storing it away for later use. She had no clue what the later use was, but she was sure it would come in handy at some point. Ace Trappola...

"Then listen well, Trappola. You too, Grim and Yu. As punishment for today's infractions, you are hereby ordered to wash a hundred windows!"

Again, they were employees, not students. Was he allowed to do that? She didn't know. Maybe employees could get detention. It just sounded strange to her.

"Myah?! That's what you get for makin' fun of me! This is all your fault!"

"Whaaat? I have to do it too?!"

"Of course you do. You will meet up n the cafeteria after class. Are we clear?"

"...Yes sir."

"Ugh, I just can't catch a break!"

The headmage eventually left, but Elle remained frozen in place. She couldn't move. She couldn't make a sound. She felt like crying. Crying would only get her in trouble for being dramatic, though, so she bit her lip and pushed it down.

"You need to apologize to Elle for nearly roasting her, Grim."

"Myah... I guess so... but... where'd she even go?"

Yu blinked. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen or heard from Elle for a while now. He looked around the area, not seeing any trace of the girl. He called out to the student that was grumpily marching away.