Twisted Wonderland Book 1: The Rose-Red Tyrant

Chapter 14: Delicious Varieties

"Me?" Ace says, confused.

Then answers, "Probably cherry pie. Or hamburgers."

"Canned tuna's at the top of my list. Then maybe cheese omelets, roast meat, pudding..." Grim says.

Then Deuce says, "If I had to pick, I guess I'd say... omelet rice?"

"I like a nice lamb chop with diablo sauce," Cater answers.

"Well my favorite food is glazed lemon bread," Briar says.

Then turns to Trinket, "And I remember that you love raspberries."

Trinket nods her head in reply.

"My favorite is apple pies," Tanzanite says.

"Well my favorite is Crispy Pork Cutlet," Jasper says.

"Um, I don't really have a favorite food, but I do like blueberries," Sereia replies.

"All right, you've got it..." Trey says.

He then brings out his pen and casts a spell on the tarts as he says, "Let's 'Paint the Roses'!"

And with that, the spell's been cast.

Confused, Trey asks, "Huh? What does that mean?"

Then Trey says, "Take another bite of your tart and see."

Curious, Ace then takes another bite of his tart.

Soon, Ace becomes surprised, "Huh? How- Now it tastes like cherry pie!"

Everyone becomes surprised and takes a bite of their tarts and amazed to learn that the tarts taste like their favorite foods.

Grim says, "It's just like canned tuna! *munch* *munch* Now it tastes like a cheese omelet! And grilled meat! *munch* *munch* And pudding!" as he munches on his tart.

Jasper and Tanzanite eat their tarts.

"Wow. The tart tastes like pork now," Jasper says, amazed.

"Neat trick, eh? That's gotta be a hit when Trey's having tea with the ladies," Cater says with a smile.

"It's very impressive," Deuce replies, and asks, "Is changing flavors your signature spell, Trey?"

But Trey says, "Technically, it's 'overwriting characteristics.' I can change taste, color, smell, whatever. It only lasts for a little while. But it is kinda like covering up the real thing hence, 'painting.'

"That's amazing," Briar says.

"Really amazing," Sereia happily says.

If I had magic like that, I could be eatin' canned tuna every meal of every day! That's way better than Riddle's stupid collar magic!" Grim says.

"You're still mad at him about that?" Briar asks.

Grim grosses his arms and answers, "Yes."

"Oh, that's in a whole other league. His signature spell is a weapon. Mine's just childish prestidigitation," Trey says.

Then Trey notices the time and says, "Speaking of Riddle - it's too late to give him these now. Let's call it a day and do it tomorrow. Don't forget that tomorrow's the unbirthday party. You don't want to be late."

Then Ace turns to Briar, "Hey Briar, can I crash with you again? It doesn't sound like I'll be allowed back in my own dorm tonight."

Before Briar can answer Cater questions, "Again, seriously?"

"It isn't right to keep mooching off of Briar, Ace," Deuce says with a frown.

Then Grim says, "Yeah, it ain't! If you wanna stay tonight, you gotta pay for the privilege! Ten cans of tuna!"

"Why tuna?" Jasper questions.

"Consider payment," Grim says.

"What?! Guess I'm sleeping outside, then," Ace replies, annoyed.

But Briar says, "It's alright Ace, you can stay with us until you can get back to the dorm."

"Really? Thanks," Ace says, feeling satisfied.

"However, if you're going to stay with us, you should help us out around the dorm. It's only fair," Briar says.

Ace sighs and says, "Fair enough.

Then Trey turns to Deuce, "Why don't you go and stay at Briar's dorm too, Deuce, so you can keep an eye on him? As vice housewarden, I can issue you a sleepover pass."

"That's our Trey, always spoiling the newbs," Cater says with a grin, "What fun for you. Ooh, maybe I'll come too! What do you say, Briar?"

But Trey says, "No pass for you."

"Aww. Sad trumpet..." Cater replies, "Womp womp wooomp."

Then Trey turns to Briar, "Sorry to dump them all on you, Briar. At least it's just for tonight.

It's no problem. Besides, the boys and the rest of us, in a way, have already become friends, so I don't mind," Briar says.

Then Ace says, "Tomorrow's the unbirthday party. Finally, I'm gonna get rid of this stupid collar! Just you wait, Riddle!"

Then Briar says to herself in thought, "I just hope we can get through this without any more problems. But... but why can't I get those odd uneasy feelings out of my head."

But her mind is cut off when she hears Tanzanite's voice, "Briar, are you feeling alright?"

Briar looks down to see Tanzanite, Jasper, Sereia, Grim, and Trinket looking at her with confused and concerned looks.

"Oh, sorry about that guys, I got a little distracted," Briar says.

Then says, "Let's head back to the dorm and be ready for tomorrow."

Everyone nods their heads in reply and heads back to the dorm.

Later that night, in the Heartslabyul Dorm lounge. Trey and Cater walk in wearing their dorm uniform.

Just then, one of the Hearthslabyul students rushes over to them, "Trey! Cater! You're finally back! We've been looking everywhere for you!"

"What happened?" Trey asks

"Ten dorm members were caught violating rule 256... 'No drinking honey-sweetened lemonade after 8 p.m.' Housewarden Riddle collared them all!" The student answers in a panic.

Cater and Trey are a loss for words.

Then the student begins stressing out, "I can't take it anymore! I can't live like this! Everything we do violates some insane rule! I want to transfer to another dorm..." And begins sobbing.

Trey comforts the student, "It'll be okay. We'll go talk to the housewarden. You go back to your room."

The student nods his head and hands back to his room.

Cater sighs and says, "... Guess I'd better go make some tea or something, as a show of deference to the Queen."

"Thanks, Cater," Trey says.

Before heading off, Trey says, "Oh, but make sure it's herbal tea, not black. You know what rule 153 says about drinking tea at night."

"...Yeaaah, sure. Of course," Cater says.

Somewhere in an unknown area, the same black ooze from before drips to the floor of a red color area. Then the little drops of ooze form to become a larger blobbing ooze.

Suddenly, Briar quickly wakes up and quickly sits up as she gasps in shock. Briar heavily breathes and in a cold sweat. Briar clenches the pajama shirt close to her chest and feels her heart racing. Briar then lies back down to bed, but can't sleep because of the sudden shock and anxiety she is feeling. Suddenly, she feels a small headache and makes her feel uneasy. And this feeling is somewhat familiar to her.