A Fox Surrounded in Darkness (Twisted Wonderland x Encanto f!reader)

Chapter 16

"Well, his parents were famous magical healers," Trey continued to explain. "Everyone where we're from knew their names. His mom was especially talented, and she really wanted Riddle to live up to her legacy. So, from the moment Riddle woke up to when his head hit the pillow at the end of the night... Every aspect of his life was planned, down to the minute, by the education program she made for him."

"Sounds pretty lame," Grim commented. I cannot believe this, Riddle chooses to be la concha de tu madre. How disappointing.

"What he ate, what he wore, what soap he used, who his friends were⎼every last detail had been predetermined for him," Trey stated with his arms crossed. "And to please his parents, Riddle obediently completed every task they'd laid out for him. He mastered his signature spell by the age of ten. He's been the top student in all of his classes. I can't even imagine how hard he must have had it."

"Honestly it's not as bad as it seems," I say. Maybe if Mirabel was able to get through to Isabela, I might be able to get through to Riddle. I'm not singing a song for it though, so not my style.

"Riddle sees the enforcement of strict rules as a service to his dorm members," Trey sighs. "In his eyes, being bound by rigid guidelines⎼by fear⎼is a fast-track to personal growth. Because that's how it worked for him. And on the flip side, he sees the violation of those rules as an inexcusable offense."

"I guess that makes sense, since rules made him who he is," Ace says.

"Look, I totally get why you see Riddle as a tyrant, and why he disapproves of his methods. But for me..." Trey stops to try to unfurrow his brows. "I can't hold that against him, you know?"

"So that's why he's like that," Deuce sighs.

"That's still no excuse," I exclaim. "Rules or no rules, he should not act like that!"

"Y/n, you gotta understand," Trey starts.

"No, I understand completely," I interrupt. "I completely understand what he's been through, I saw it first hand. And if they were able to get through it and become a better person, so can Riddle. Riddle caught a case of stockholm syndrome and is a prisoner of his parents. You should be helping him get out of la madriguera del conejo en la que está metido!!"

"All right, now I get it," Ace states and all of us look at him. He is staring directly at Trey. "It's YOUR fault Riddle's like this."

"What?!" Deuce, Grim, and Trey exclaim. Maybe Ace isn't that stupid after all...

"Riddle didn't get to choose his parents," Ace explains. "But you know what his parents did to him, and you know it was wrong, right?"

"I mean, yeah..." Trey answers. He knew but did nothing for so long, like me and Mirabel. I hope we can get him to do something to help Riddle because I don't think only a house being destroyed is gonna be a problem here.

"Well, now Riddle's making the exact same mistake that his parents did," Ace points out. "You're going easy on him because he had it rough as a kid? Don't you see where that's leading? You're letting him make a pariah out of himself!"

"Ace, man, come on..." Deuce tries to get Ace to calm down, but Ace wasn't going to back down.

"So why don't you say something?" Ace kept pressing. "Are you just afraid you'll 'lose your head' too? That's pathetic! You guys are supposed to be childhood friends?! Then act like it."

"YOU THERE! BE QUIET! YOU ARE IN A LIBRARY!" Mr. Crowley shouted as he appeared.

"You're yellin' louder 'n any of us, though," Grim frowned.