Twisted Wonderland

Hope for Forgiveness

"It wasn't by choice, okay?" Ace shoots back. "Vil used his signature spell on us."

"Did he really?" Jamil quirks an eye.

"Yeah. He cursed the grub in the fridge!" Grim exclaims. "Is that scary or what?"

Kalim's eyes grow large. "He put a curse on food?"

"Now I'm gonna be wonderin' if everything I eat between now and the SDC is cursed." Grim shivers. "It's got me all paranoid."

Kalim sighs. "I'm pretty careful about poisons, but I'll have to be extra careful if there are curses involved."

"Anything using magic will leave at least some trace behind, but..." Jamil hums to himself.

"Maybe I could identify it if I brush up on my sensory abilities?" Kalim suggests.

Jamil rolls his eyes. "You're not exactly sensitive to start with, you know. Mastering that seems a bit out of your reach."

"Hey, don't say that. You never know until you try!" Kalim puts a hand to his hip.

Ace waves a hand. "Uh, are we not gonna address the part where Kalim said something about poison?"

"Oh, it's just that I've had my food poisoned before." Kalim says nonchalantly.

"WHAT?" Everyone looks shocked.

"Yeah, that's why I got brought on as his poison tester during the holidays." Grim folds his arms.

"I've had some awful experiences with it." Kalim explains. "Before long, I started being suspicious of pretty much everything I was about to eat. But it's exhausting weighing whether or not you can trust whoever cooks your food, let alone whoever sits at your table. It really got in the way of enjoying a nice meal, you know?"

Deuce nods. "I can see why."

"If I know a dish isn't poisoned in advance, then I can more fully savor it." Kalim continues. "And if I figure out it's bad as soon as I take a bite, then I can avert a much worse situation... for myself and the other party both."

"The other party?" Epel questions.

"Suppose the food-poisoner sees the error of their ways and realizes they've done something wrong. If I'm already gone, then that wouldn't do them any good, would it? I wouldn't want to deny someone the opportunity to redeem themselves after recognizing the error of their ways." Kalim shakes his head. "That would just be awful."

Jamil looks to the floor. You can't help but feel bad for him.

Kalim grins. "The Land of Scalding Sands has more legends than just those of the Sorcerer of the Sands. There is also a tale of a street thief who became king."

Grim perks up. "Woah. That really happened?"

"Could you tell us about it?" You ask.

Kalim smiles to you. "Of course! One day, the thief met a princess and fell in love. He had a change of heart, and he came to regret his life of dishonesty and larceny. After that, he went on to rescue the sultan and princess from the villain who plotted to take over the land! Then he married the princess and became the next sultan, and everybody lived happily ever after! I just love that story to bits! Everybody trusted that the street thief was changing his ways, and they all gave him a second chance."

Deuce brings a hand to his chin in thought. "So, the moral of the story is that there's no undoing past wrongs, but what matters is what you do after that?"

"Guess reality's not as simple as bad guy gets their just desserts; the end." Ace shrugs.

"Exactly! So I consider it very important for me to survive. Though in the end, studying just allows me to enjoy fine meals." Kalim laughs.

Epel cringes. "You're laughing, but what you just described sounds really dark..."

"I wouldn't say that. If he can laugh about it, then it's not exactly morbid, is it?" Jamil shrugs.

"He's much different than the other Housewardens." You laugh.

Grim rolls his eyes. "Yeah, seriously. He's TOO nice. Makes my hair stand on end."

"Awww, really?" Kalim rubs the back of his neck. "Do I sound that strange to you?"

Epel shakes his head. "It's not that. You're just, er, a bit different from the other people on campus... I think."

Kalim hums. "Actually, I transferred to this school two months late. I wonder if that's got something to do with it."

"You can transfer here?" Epel asks.

"Is it really that surprising?" Kalim looks to you. "Y/N got a special transfer too, right?"

You rub your arm. "I was technically at the orientation though."

"I thought Night Raven College only admitted folks whose souls were chosen by the Dark Mirror." Ace adds.

"You're correct." Kalim nods. "But about a month after Jamil left home... I suddenly got a letter of acceptance from the school. I forget if it was an oversight in selection or some special exception or what, but the black carriage came for me right after that."

Deuce tilts his head. "So they belatedly recognized the nature of your soul?"

Jamil scoffs. "I'm still skeptical that the Dark Mirror actually selects students based on that. Knowing the headmage, he probably arranged for a backdoor admission so he could get some generous Asim family donations. And just like that, my nice, free campus life went up in smoke."

Kalim grins. "Well, I love every day I spend at this school. And I got to make friends with you all over again, Jamil!"

Jamil sighs. "I keep telling you, we are NOT friends."