Author's note: For each event, I'll be publishing them after certain Chapters based on the teammates for the respective events, as well as including each new Fairy that appears.
Willow was nearly out of breath as she ran down the stoned path. She looked over her shoulder to see if any monsters were chasing after them, but fortunately, they were in the clear. For now. But still, they have this one chance. Willow stopped running now that she had reached the coliseum. Hunched over as she tried to catch her breath. Rainier stepped up and gently rubbed her back while she gathered her strength.
"Are you sure you're strong enough to keep going? I'll gladly go in your place." Rainier tells her. Eyeing the coliseum with caution. It was the final run and he didn't want to risk her getting caught. Willow reached up and held his arm. Shaking her head. "No...no, I'm fine. I can do it." She tells him with a breathless smile.
Her eyes looked up to the large structure. Standing up straight as she gathered her courage. She almost couldn't believe they had managed to make it here unscathed. They were very few survivors and unknown numbers of monsters left. Two sets of footprints came up behind her and a hand placed itself on her shoulder. "Willy-chan, you're the only one who can bag that monster. We're counting on you." Cater said.
"Willow-san. Our lives are in your hands." Jade tells her.
"A sound mind dwells in a sound body. Remain calm and focus, and you can accomplish anything." Rainier reassured her.
Willow could feel her heart banging inside her rib cage. She was honestly surprised that she hasn't fainted much sooner, but she can't quit now. Her friends were all depending on her. She must see this mission through. She took in a deep breath and stood her ground. "My heart's pounding out of my chest...but... I can do this!"
~Exactly One Day ago~
Many students were all sitting in class, chatting and laughing amongst themselves as they waited for their teacher to step in. Amongst these students were the trio of friends. Ace, Willow and Deuce were sitting near the front, playing a game of cards with the fairies sitting on the sidelines, judging. Rosebell was in the middle calling out Grim for cheating when Professor Crewel walked into the classroom. Once they saw him, most of the students quickly put their things away and quieted down. The two fairies quickly dove into Willow's school bag before they were seen.
"Be good and sit down, puppies." Crewel announced as he stepped behind his desk. "For tomorrow's traditional Night Raven College event... You must be divided into groups for "Happy Beans Day". To make the division fair, it will be by lottery. Come to me in order of your numbers." While the students got up from their seats and began to line up at Crewel's desk. Some of the students looked pretty amped up for the annual tradition of Night Raven College. Some were already talking about who'll team up with who. But all Willow could do was blink in confusion. Happy...Beans...Day? What was that? Also, this school holds traditional events?
With all the magic in this world, does it mean there's an event where a special type of beans are brought in and bring happiness to the school? ...Or are the beans themselves happy and everyone celebrates it? Willow was trying to come up with a reasonable answer, but she couldn't decide which one sounded right. She wasn't the only one who was confused, Grim, who was resting on her shoulder, was just as much about this new event. "Happy Beans Day? What is that?" Grim asked.
"A traditional school event?" Willow guessed with uncertainty, feeling very stupid about this. She was a student here too, so she should've been more knowledgeable about the school's practices.
"Will, you don't know Happy Beans Day?" Ace asked her. Willow, now feeling embarrassed, became slightly red and shook her head. "I'm sorry...I don't." She said.
"What an ignorant, little puppy. I suppose I, Crewel-sama, must teach you. As educating puppies is my job." Crewel tells her as he begins with his explanation and a small presentation of one of the school's traditional events. ""Happy Beans Day" is a traditional Twisted Wonderland event that occurs in February. A long time ago, there was a place in this land called "Happiness Valley". There's a reason the place was named "happiness". The naturally rich, fertile soil... And there was a magic harp with a beautiful voice." During his explanation, Crewel showed her an image of the harp. It was a golden harp with the image of a beautiful woman with small angel wings and three leaves with the handle being a vine.
"The magic harp's song brought happiness to all the people, animals.. and plants that lived in the valley. However, a jealous giant monster came to the valley and stole the harp away. But the instant it was taken, the plants and people began to wither away. Then, a farmer just happened to get his hands on some magic beans. Those beans were the magic "Happy Bean"!" Crewel then presented a small box and opened it up. Inside rested three small green coloured beans. "The beanstalk that grew from the Happy Bean grew up into the sky and to the giant's home overnight. The farmer climbed up the beanstalk to recover the glorious harp. When the farmer returned he cut down the beanstalk to get rid of the giant chasing him. And with that, Happiness Valley returned to its natural richness with the magic harp's song–so the story goes. Taking back that which has been taken. Taking it back in full, in fact."
"I get it, that's pretty educational." Grim said with a nod.
"And since the farmer got rid of the giant with beans, that kind of exorcism has become a tradition." Deuce said.
"Good boy. That's right." Crewel praised.
"I suppose every world has its own unique traditions." Willow mused, smiling. She giggled lightly, happy to learn a new fact about her school and this world's folklore. Then she became confused again. While the story itself was certainly interesting, how does it involve this school's event? To answer her question, Crewel continued. "But – here at Night Raven College "Happy Beans Day" is a little different. The "Happy Beans Day" we hold here... Is a competition where all of the students are split regardless of dorm or year into two teams of farmers and giants to retrieve the harp... It's the Farmer-Monster Faceoff Sports Day!!"
The whole class looked at their alchemy teacher in shock. Wait, what?! Wait, this was a battle?! "Eeh? The hell." Ace said in bewilderment.
"The giants were always running around to avoid being hit and exorcised by the beans, and meanwhile, the farmers would attack. Putting those both together created quite a confusing rebellion battle." Crewel tells them.
Willow was already beginning to get very concerned about this event and it hasn't even started yet. "What little self-control..." She said in a worried tone. When the day comes, she hoped that nobody will get hurt too badly.
"It was quite a turbulent brawl, and it was brought up that an event could serve as part of your physical training, so... The Night Raven College version of "Happy Beans Day" was created." Crewel tells them. He then claps his hands together. "Crewel-sama's special lecture ends here! Next, Trappola. Spade. Lockhart. The lottery." The trio went over to Crewel's desk and they reached pulled out a tag from the box and read out which team they'll be in.
"Al~right... there. Ah, I'm on the Monster team." Ace said with a light shrug.
"Hm, I'm on the farmer team." Deuce said.
"Eh... are you serious?" Ace asked.
"Oh, we're on the farmer team too." Grim said with a big smile.
"This might be fun. I'm so glad we're on the same team, Deuce." Willow says to her teal-eyed friend. The young teen blinked in surprise before his face turned red. "Uh...yeah, this is going to be great." Deuce said, laughing nervously. "Let's do our best tomorrow." What are the odds? Deuce tried to keep himself under control, but he was so happy he was placed in the same team as Willow. This was the best! Now, all he needed to do was not blow it.
Meanwhile, Ace shot the 2 of Spade a dirty glare. It was so unfair. Why does that guy have to be on the same team as Willow? He was her best friend first...kinda, but still! Ace let out an inner sigh. He knew that there was no way for them to switch places and he was sure that the teachers will blow a gasket if they did behind their backs. Hmph. No matter, this will still be a battle they won't forget. Ace squeezed himself between the two and gave a mocking grin. "Heh, guess tomorrow we'll be against each other then." He said.
"I don't intend to lose this battle." Deuce said with a matching smile. Getting amped up for tomorrow battlefront.
"We definitely won't lose!" Grim jeered.
"But let's remember to have fun as well. Okay?" Willow said with a nervous smile. She wanted to participate in her school's event, but she wanted to have fun with her friends. Hopefully, they won't get swept by the heat of the battle and no one will be hurt. ....Hopefully. The two Fairies had heard everything that was going to happen tomorrow and they were worried about their dear Willow being caught in the crossfire of wild, out of control magicians. They had to make sure she gets out of this unscathed.
"Your physical trainer Vargas-sensei will explain all of the rules tomorrow. Now, puppies, house!" Crewel announced. At his command, the class was dismissed for the day and they were all so ready for Sport's Day tomorrow. For some of these students, it wasn't just a simple game of launching beans. It was War, damn it! And the teams were determined to win.
*Later on in the day*
Most of the teachers have gathered in Crowley's office to give Vargas their sheets listing their students' names and which team they will be in. Vargas looked through each of the listings and was getting more excited by the minute when he saw the contestants. With every name read, he was so curious how they will fare in the Battle tomorrow.
"Vargas-sensei. The groups for tomorrow's Beans Day. These would be my class's sheets." Trein tells the P.E./Flight Teacher as he hands in his sheet.
"Thank you, Trein-sensei." Vargas says as he reads through the sheet. His smile widened as he let out a small laugh. "Hmm! That'll make for some very interesting match-ups."
"Let's have us a look." Crowley says as he walks over to Vargas's side and reads it for himself. He let out an intrigued hum as he placed a finger to his chin. "....Hoh. So they'll be on opposite teams, hm!"
"The Farmers' Team has always had the advantage to date, I've felt, but... Who knows what'll happen this time!" Vargas happily declared as he and Crowley spread a wide smile.
"Why, either team has a fair chance at victory. I'm looking forward to expecting the unexpected!" Crowley said, bursting with joy.
While they were practically acting like children, Trein was standing by, watching them in annoyance. His eye twitched as he looked at his two colleagues. Ugh, every year when Happy Bean's Day comes around these two idiots always come out looking unprofessional. This was supposed to be a straightforward, honest tradition for the school, not some unruly, loud, obnoxious battle between students. Of course, he blamed one person for all this. Trein let out a sigh. "For traditions rooted in historical fact to end up as nothing but a foolish sports event...and you call this establishment distinguished. Even our instructors treat this as some sort of jamboree. It's absolutely deplorable." He said in a very stern tone.
His words stabbed right through the Headmaster's and P.E. teacher's heads and they abruptly ended their little childish excitement. "A-Ahem! We're not actually getting all that carried away, are we now, Vargas-sensei?" Crowley asked, clearing his throat and trying to maintain some sort of dignity.
Vargas stood up straight and tried to act more professionally. "O-Of course not. I'm just saying they'll attain some real muscle mass through an all-out competition..."
"So not only is your fashion old-school, Trein-sensei, so is your mind." An arrogant, unprincipled voice said. Trein held his tongue as he struggled to bite back a groan that threatened to escape him. He took in a deep breath before he turned to face the man responsible for this whole mess. "Excuse me?" He asked.
"One has to take drastic action and update old customs to a style befitting the new age. That's the sort of mindset you need going forward, don't you think?" Crewel asked the elder teacher with a cocky smirk.
Trein narrowed his eyes at the younger man and crossed his arms. "Hmph. Some updates we have on our hands. To think we've transformed our school's Happy Beans Day into this utterly savage function. I recall your time in Night Raven College exceptionally well, Crewel-sensei." Trein tells him. If he remembers correctly, Crewel was an even WORSE troublemaker than 50% of the students they have now. And that's putting it mildly.
"Ah, now that you mention it— I believe it was some fifteen years ago when we decided on making it our school's unique competition." Crowley added in.
"The conduct during matches has improved, at least, now that magic is prohibited." Crewel said, brushing past the Liberal Arts Teacher.
"Well said, Crewel-sensei! You've got your priorities backwards if you want to get injured while building muscle mass!" Vargas said with a wide smile. "That 'no magic' rule's especially vital with a school full of naughty scamps. Hah hah hah!"
Trein fought back another groan and just sighs in slight frustration. "That isn't even the slightest bit funny."
"Right. I didn't come here just to talk about folk tales that are collecting dust on a shelf somewhere." Crewel says as he handed the slightly narcissistic P.E. teacher his listing of the teams. "Vargas-sensei. Here are the groups for Class 1-A."
"Thank you." Vargas took a look at the sheet. Like with Trein's list, the man got a wide smile as he nodded in approval. "...Hmm, I see!"
"Hmm, this is... well. This year's event is certainly shaping up to be more memorable than the last." Crowley mused. He was very interested in how this year's game will turn out now he saw the team listing.
"Hah hah hah! This is what Night Raven College's known for! I'm looking forward to tomorrow!" Vargas said with a hearty laugh. He couldn't wait until he greenlit the games for tomorrow. He was just aching to see how well these students will push themselves to the very limit to achieving victory.
Throughout the entire day, the whole school was talking about Happy Beans Day and were amped to take part in it. Even the teachers were excited to see this through. It was certainly a growing Civil War between students as most were already plotting out strategies on how to take out the opposing teams and come out on top. Then again, most weren't as enthusiastic as the rest and felt like the whole thing was a complete waste of time and energy, and were planning on ditching or napping during the games. But some has to participate as it also gives them extra credit on their overall grade. Either way, everyone has their own motivation to participate in Happy Beans Day. It was either that...or going to attend Vargas's special lessons.
For Rainier, his motivation wasn't to secure victory but to make sure Willow stayed safe during the games and had a great time. She had never experienced something like this before so all he wanted was to make it a good memory for her. Even though no one was allowed to use magic, he didn't want to take any risks as some of his schoolmates do get carried away in the thralls of battle. Rainier gave an awkward smile as he walked through the halls of his dorm. 'I can certainly name a few people who certainly fit in that category...two of which I'm sharing my living quarters with.' He chuckled to himself before returning to his plans. Mumbling to himself as he walks through a pair of doors and entered the lounge.
His train of thought had come to an abrupt stop when he suddenly heard the loud wails of someone wallowing in the depths of despair and misery. He looked over and saw Sebek kneeling on the ground, gripping his head and was audible sobbing. A sweatdrop formed on Rainier's head as he walked to Silver's side, who was standing next to him. "Should I be concerned for him, Silver?" He asked. "No...It's alright." Silver replied as the two boys stared at the mint green young man.
"Uuu, urgh.... uwooohhh!!!!! Why?! Why does fate deem it fit to give me such cruel challenges?!!!!" Sebek loudly cried/shouted to the ceiling. As if he was trying to curse the rulers of destiny. Rainier blinked in surprise. He was crying. He was crying for real. For some reason, that fact always amazed him. He didn't know why. Rainier glanced up at his Dorm Leader and noticed he was pretty passive at this as well, so maybe this wasn't anything too severe. ...To them anyway.
"Keep your voice down, Sebek. People are sleeping." Silver lightly scolded him as he crossed his arms.
"This sorrow that threatens to tear me apart... You could never understand, Silver!!!" Sebek shouted at him.
"Sebek, please. Let's try and calm down, shall we?" Rainier kindly asks as he took a step to place a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. Sebek just gave him a teary-eyed glare, shaking in place as Lilia walked into the lounge. Confused at what was happening. "What's got those two so frazzled?" The dark red-eyed Fae asked.
"I wish I knew. Sebek dropped to the floor crying when I mentioned being on the Farmer's Team." Malleus told him. Which made Rainier look up at him in surprise, then sighing in relief.
"Oh, is that all. Thank goodness, I was worried something serious might've happened." Rainier said in a relieved smile.
"This is serious, Rainier!!!" Sebek's thunderous voice shouted, glaring down at the white-haired young man. Rainier immediately flinched back and held up his arms to defend himself. "That the lottery would have me hunt our Young Master, the greatest and most noble of us all! Mere school event or no, this is an unpardonable insult! Let us protest against this at once!" Sebek shouted.
"I..I-I'm so terribly sorry! I didn't mean any offence by it, I promise." Rainier nervously told him. Hoping to quell down his rising anger.
"Pay him no mind. He's just throwing a tantrum about being on the opposite side." Silver said, rather bluntly. This made Sebek's attention swerve over to the aurora silver-eyed young man. Rainier saw Sebek stomped his way towards their upperclassman and quickly placed himself in between them to prevent another fight. "You churl! Don't push your luck just because you're on the same team as the Young Master!!" Sebek shouted at him. He would've lunged at him if Rainier hadn't placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Now, now, Sebek. Let's not do anything rash." Rainier said.
"Hmm. In other words, Malleus, Rainier and Silver are on the Farmer's Team, while Sebek and I are on the Monster's Team. Does our potential team-up displease you, Sebek?" Lilia then asked his younger junior with a cheeky smile. Sebek immediately froze as he looked at his Vice-Dorm Leader with a humble and contrite expression. Sebek back down and said, "No, I—I would never think to imply such...! The honour of accompanying you, Lilia-sama, a warrior renowned for being a one-man army, is more than I deserve. B-But... then, the Young Master will..." He was beginning to trail off and was unable to look at his Dorm Leaders in the face.
"What's the matter? It's not like you to hesitate. Speak your mind." Malleus calmly urged him.
"Fourth-year students are often absent, busy with their extra-curricular activities off-campus... That is to say, as a third-year, this is the last time our Young Master will be participating in Beans Day. This was our last chance to join forces..." Sebek explained. He looked like he was on the verge of crying again. Rainier could only give his friend a sympathetic stare. He could understand why he would feel that way. Sebek's is very loyal and admired their Dorm Leader, and wanted to be at his side for as much time as he had left.
"And you're fine with inconveniencing Malleus-sama with your personal feelings, despite claiming to be his loyal follower?" Silver questioned him.
Sebek wanted to yell at him but the words had proceeded through his head and he froze. He turned to Malleus and hung his head in shame. "Kh... My sincerest apologies." He said.
"There's no need. I'm not particularly bothered." Malleus told him.
"Kufufu. Never again in your life will you have the chance to point your blade at your king. Think of it as training and have some fun." Lilia said with a chuckle.
Sebek stood up straight like a soldier and gave the Vice-Dorm Leader a firm nod. "Yes, sir! Only, I've sworn never to brandish my blade towards the Young Master for as long as I live!" He said.
"I'm sure this'll be a decent exercise for Silver and Rainier as fellow members of the Kingsguard, as well. Be sure to remember that." Lilia tells the other two young men.
"Certainly. I'll protect the Young Master without fail." Silver said. Standing like a soldier as well and gave a bow at the waist.
"I give you my word that the Young Master will see the games to the end." Rainier says with a kind smile as he bows as well.
"...Kufufu. They're deadly serious about this game of tag. It's absolutely hilarious." Lilia says under his breath, laughing at his younger schoolmates. Rainier must've heard him as he looks up at him with an unamused expression and a raised brow. Lilia clears his throat. "Ahem! By the way, I'll be stopping at nothing to strike down and capture you, Malleus! I'll show you the true strength of the one they called the elusive Demon General of the Valley of Thorns." He says with a smile.
Malleus sends back a smirk and crossed his arms. "Fufu... Then I suppose I'll have to play my hand right at the very start to not be captured. All five of us will be taking part for the last time. Let's enjoy ourselves." He tells them.
"Of course!" They all said in unison. With that said, everyone went their separate ways and headed to their bedrooms to get plenty of rest before the big game tomorrow. As he laid on his bed, Rainier had only one regret. He had forgotten to tell a certain someone that they were on the same team as Willow. He would've been very happy if he knew. After a few moments, Rainier just shrugs. 'Oh well, he'll find out sooner or later.' Rainier pulls his sheets over him and falls fast asleep.
Very soon, the war between Farmers and Monsters will begin. Who will win? By day's end tomorrow, we will find out.