Dancer in Twisted Wonderland [ M!Nilou x TWST] ((DISCONTINUED?))

Chapter 10 《 Cat, Somehow, Confrontation》

We were back in the rose garden. "Rrrgh! I hate that little ginger megalomaniac! Does he think he's the Queen of Hearts?" Ace complained. "Banished by the housewarden of my own dorm... My dream of becoming an honor student is slipping further and further away..." Deuce sighed. "Stupid collar! It's so tight! Grrr..." Grim whined. "You're really racking up those collars. Quite the impressive collection." A floating head with cat ears appeared. "Bwah!" Ace Deuce and Grim cried. He almost gave me a heart attack. "Myah! A ghost head!" Grim screamed. "Oh dear, it seems I'm not all here." The rest of his body showed. "Whay? Er, so you don't have a body, then? Who are you?" Deuce asked. "The name's Artemiy Artemiyevich Pinker." He replied, "Am I a cat? Am I apurrrson? A mimsy borogove, perhaps? A mome rath with the knack for magic?" I don't think I understood anything he said.. "Uh, look, Ar...Arte... Run the name by me again?" Ace asked. "Heh heh. People usually just call me Chenya." He laughed, "Let's just say I'm not from the other side of the looking glass." Chenya is a lot easier than his actual name. "Yet another weirdo.. " Yuu sighed. "You think so? I'd say by the standard here, I'm not more mad than anyone else." Chenya added. "After the insanity that teapot tyrant put me through, I'm not in the mood for whatever this is. Just leave me alone." Ace sighed. "Riddle the teapot tyrant.. Heh heh. Well, I can't dismiss that perspective as wrong." He giggled, "He's always been quite strict."

Does Chenya know him? "Do you know something about him?" Deuce asked. "Perhaps there are things I know, and perhaps there are things I don't." He replied. "That's not an answer." Grim said. "Is there something you wish to know about Riddle?" Chenya asked. "Yeah, what created such a control freak?" Ace replied. "I believe his four-eyed friend has the answer." Chenya answered. "Four-eyed friend? You mean Trey?" Deuce questioned. "He's known Riddle since we were all little boys." Chenya replied, "If you want to know more about Riddle, I would begin my quest there." That is good to know about. "They're childhood friends? I didn't really get that impression." Deuce commented. "If you're so perceptive, then what are you asking me for? Buh-bye!" He disappeared. "Hey!" Deuce called. The boy with cat ears was already gone. "I tell ya, no one makes any sense around here." Grim said. "Well, we're not going to be able to do much in the way of schoolwork with these collars on." Deuce sighed. "So let's go see what Trey has to say, and then-" Ace got cut off. THUD! "Um, is this supposed to happen?" I asked.

The collar was split in half, and it was on the floor. "HUH?!" The others yelled. "Myah! How'd you do that?" Grim asked. "Can you take it off for us?" Ace requested. "Um, I don't really know how it happened.." I answered, picking up the now broken collar. "I should return it later." I thought. I guess I won't have to go back to my dorm with a collar. "It's probably going to be a while until the unbirthday party ends. Let's take a rest and meet again later at the library." Yuu suggested. "Okay, see you guys later, at the library." I walked away. "How did the collar even break?" I wondered. I decided to change back in the washroom. Since I think it would be awkward walking back to my room with Heartslabyul's dorm clothes. I stuffed the clothes in my inventory and went back. I didn't have much to do because performances only happened once a week. "I should head to the library." I thought after a bit. I left the dorm and into the library. I was definitely early.

After a bit of waiting, I saw them enter the library. I signaled for them to come over. Fortunately, Trey entered the library right after. "Hello, Trey." Deuce approached. "You five!" He crossed his arms. "We figured that if we waited at the library, you'd show up to return your tart cookbook eventually." Deuce continued. "We did?" I wondered. "Hm? Did Riddle free you from his unique magic, [NAME]?" Trey asked. "We still got a problem with the way Housewarden Riddle is handling all of this." Ace interrupted. "Yeah, I thought you might say that." Trey sighed. "Come clean with us. What's your take on Riddle?" Ace asked, "Is it true you've been pandering to him since the two of you were kids?" He looked mildly shocked. "What? Who told you that?" Trey questioned. "A guy who called himself Chenya." Deuce answered. "Chenya, huh... that explains." Trey sighed. "What I don't get it, aren't you older than Riddle? Why haven't ya told him off already?" Grim asks. "I do when I need to. I don't think the situation calls for it." Trey says. "Why not?" Ace asked. "These sort of strict rules... they're what created Riddle." Trey responded. "Huh?" Deuce chirped.

"His parents were famous magical healers. Everyone where we're from knew their names." Trey explained, "his mom was especially talented and 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." That was terrible... "Sounds pretty lame." Grim commented. "What he ate, what he wore, what soap he used, who his friends were-every last detail had been predetermined for him." Trey continued, "and to please his parents, Riddle obediently completed every task they'd laid out for him. He mastered his signature spell by age ten. He's been the top student in all his classes. I can't even imagine how hard it must have had it." This must've been harsh on him... "That sounds horrible..." Yuu said at a loss for words. "Riddle sees the enforcement of strict rules as a service to his dorm members." Trey added, "In his eyes, being bound by rigid guidelines, by fear, is a 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."

There was a brief moment of silence. "I guess it makes sense, since rules made him who he is." Ace said. "Look, I totally get why you see Riddle as a tyrant, and why you disapprove of his methods. But for me... I can't hold it against him, you know?" Trey added. Grim and Deuce both pitied and felt terrible for Riddle. "Alright, now I get it." Ace sighed, "It's YOUR fault Riddle's like this." This comment startled everyone. But. Ace wasn't wrong. "Riddle didn't get to choose his parents. But you know what his parents did to him, and you know it was wrong, right?" He asked. "I mean, yeah.." Trey bitterly admitted. "Well, now Riddles making the exact same mistake his parents did. You're going easy on him because he had it rough as a kid? Don't you see where that's leading?" He asked. "By you not helping him correct his mistakes only makes everything worse." I added. Trey had a guilty expression plastered across his face. "Ace, man, come on.." Deuce disagreed with Ace."So why don't you just say something? Are you just afraid you 'lose your head' too? That's pathetic!" Ace continued, "You guys are supposed to be childhood friends?! Then act like it."