𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞 (𝘏𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴)

🥀The Rose-Red Tyrant🥀

The young Riddle walked up to the window to see two other children waiting for him to come play with them. "Who are you?"  The boy asked.

"I'm Che'nya, and that's Trey. Let's all play croquet! Oh, but it's LOTS of fun!" The boy cheered.

Riddle lowered his head and hugged his arm. "I can't. I'm supposed to be doing independent study, and I have a lot of homework to do."

""Independent study" means you pick what to do, right? My grandpa says play is a form of study!"

"Just play with us for a little bit!"

Riddle checked the clock that hung on his wall and saw that he had some time to spare. "...O-okay... Just a little, though!"

"Hey, what's your name?" The young Trey asked.

"R-Riddle. Riddle Rosehearts."

"I had the best time playing with Trey and Che'nya. We did so many things I'd never done before. They taught me lots of things I didn't know. After that, I snuck out of my room every day To play with them during independent study time."

"Whaaat? You've never even tried a strawberry tart? They're out of this world." Che'nya asked in surprise.

"Yeah. My mom says sugar is basically poison."

"I mean, you probably shouldn't eat too much of it, but calling it "poison" is kinda...yikes. You know, my family runs a cake shop. Let's go get a tart right now!" Trey suggested as he grabbed Riddle's arm.

"Really? But...I shouldn't." The boy hesitated to leave.

"Just one slice. It'll be fine." Trey reassured him.

"One slice for YOU, maybe. I want a whole one!"

"A bright-red strawberry tart on a white plate. To me, it shined more brightly than any gem could. That first bite was so sweet. It tasted like nothing I'd ever eaten before. With each bite, I became more entranced...and completely lost track of the time."

The scene once again faded into the living room. Riddle's mother looked angry whilethe young Riddle held a nervous look.

"I cannot believe this! Not only are you cutting independent study time, but I find you eating a mountain of sugar?! Those two hoodlums must have incited this behavior. You must never play with them again" She yelled.

"I'm sorry, Mother! I promise, it will never happen again. I still want to play with them, I'll even study more so ple-" His mother cut him off with another yell which made the boy tear up a bit.

"Be quiet! You've broken the rules, and I'll not hear another word from you. Clearly, you're not able to handle the freedom of independent study. I need to keep a closer eye on you."

"Because I broke the rules, my favorite part of my day was taken away from me. I vowed to never break my mother's rules again. After all, she was the most accomplished mother in the city, and therefore, the most correct. But Mom... Why? Why does my heart hurt so much? I want to eat a tart! It's my birthday, so can't I have some just this once? I want to play outside all day long! I want to make lots and lots of friends! Tell me, Mom, please... What rule do I need to follow  to make this pain go away?"