• 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐄 •
The Crimson Tyrant
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
While the two Ramshackle residents snored peacefully, a glow suddenly swirled inside the mirror that placed atop of the fireplace in Supervisor [m.name]'s room. And little did they know, a dream rippled on the Supervisor's sleeping mind.
Seeing a black and white scenario; a girl with her puffed dress as she wandered around a rose maze and stumbled upon card looking soldiers.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
"Hurry up and paint the roses red. If we don't hurry, the flowers will wilt!" The card soldiers chorused together as they painted the white roses on a heart bush, red. Holding paintbrushes that tinted red.
"Hurry, hurry! There are still some that aren't painted!" The Ace of clubs exclaimed, and frantically painted the roses red alongside with his fellow card soldiers.
"Painting... the roses??" [m.name] thought.
"Why are you painting the white roses red?" The blonde girl with the puffed dress finally asked.
"Huh?" The card soldiers abruptly stopped before turning to the little girl's direction. "Why you ask? Well, to tell you the truth, we made a mistake and accidentally planted the white roses." Two of Clubs answered.
"The Queen loves red, so if she sees white, then it'll be off with our heads!" Ace of Clubs exclaimed. Praying that the paint wouldn't spill on the floor, or his blood will be used as paint for the roses.
The words that left the soldier was unsettling, even to the Supervisor himself and watched them in speechless. The girl walked towards another soldier, her curiosity perks up.
"Is that so??"
"Yes, it is. That's exactly why we're painting them red."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
And so, everything in [m.name]'s dreams came to close and it mostly disappeared like smoke. His heterochromia eyes opened and saw the familiar ceiling of his now owned room. The teen's eyes blinked a couple of times, before he let out the breath that he was holding.
"Wait a minute, what was that?" He mumbled.
He slowly sat up to the edge side of the bed, not wanting to disturb Grim, his partner's sleep and began to think about he had dreamed earlier. Which was vividly peculiar. Card soldiers, little girl, white roses, roses.. blood... blood.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
[m.name] suddenly snapped out of his daze by flinching at the loud knock from downstairs, making him fully awake in this time.
And on cue, Grim stirred awake beside him and grumbled. "Hey, [m.name]... Someone's at the door..."
And another loud knock followed. Now it was your turn to grumble since it was late at night and you both were in your room, resting. Then [m.name] picked up his phone from the bedside and checked the time, it was pass midnight.
"What? Is it the ghost again? They sure don't know when to give up, yanno..." Grim tiredly yawned and jumped on [m.name]'s arms which he allowed him, locking his arms just around the creature's small frame.
"I don't think it's them, Grim... Yawn~" [m.name] yawned as he placed his phone back at the bedside and made his way to where the knocks were located at. Which was at the foyer of the Ramshackle Dorm. Hearing the knocks louder and louder every step he took.
He then halted his tracks when he stood far enough from the door, for precaution. "Who is it? At this hour...?" [m.name] unsurely mumbled until the knocks stopped and a voice, that sounded familiar, piqued in.
"It's me, Ace... Can you let me in for a bit?"
[m.name]'s tired face morphed into shock, his exhausted now decreased a bit. "Ace? What are you doing here? It's really late, you know...?" He softly spoke and opened the door as the sleepy Grim in his arms finally stirred awake. As on cue, the certain terracotta haired student angrily walked in with a scowl on Ace's face.
"Geh! What's with the collar?!?!" Grim suddenly pointed at the familiar red and black patterned collar on Ace's neck, [m.name]'s eyes widen at the sight of his friend. Friend... How nice.
"Geez! I'm never returning to Heartslabyul. I'm gonna be a member of this dorm from here on!"
"What?!?"
[m.name] tiredly sighed, his exhaustion wouldn't even let him think straight. "Wait a minute... I am so confused. But first, let's all settle down, yeah? Now, let me take that." The [hair color] teen walked up to Ace and took the leather schoolbag the terracotta student had brought with him. Just lending his hand that's all.
[m.name] and Grim began to walk inside further, leading the terracotta male inside who was still in his spot. Staring at their walking backs in confusion. Until suddenly a bright red color erupted his cheeks, covering it with his hand. It was all because of [m.name], and he don't even know why. But...
At how the Supervisor opened the door with a sleepy face or at how cute he was in with his pajamas, and especially his messy bed-hair. He knew it was wrong to think about the fact of how cute it was but he couldn't help it.
"...[m.name] slightly acts so differently when he's sleepy. That's... Wait a minute, NO! Get a grip, Ac-..."
"Ace?? Are you coming?"
"A-ah... Yeah."
"That collar was the same kind as the one that red-haired upperclassman put on me during the ceremony... Why're you wearin' that?" Grim asked as the three sat on the sofa inside the Lounge Area, time to interrogate the terracotta haired male.
"I... I ate a tart." Ace solemnly answered, looking down on his lap and felt two sets of eyes kept drilling his head. The [hair color] teen was now confused, both written on his and Grim's faces.
"Huh? A... tart? Just that??" [m.name] blinked in disbelief along with Grim and proceeded to stare at Ace, a single brow raised.
Ace nodded. "Exactly! Only that! I got hungry, so I went to the dorm's kitchen and the tart was just sittin' right there inside the fridge. And like, three whole ones! That's why..."
Then he began to explain it in the very beginning.
━━━━━━━━━━━
"It's only the first day and I'm so tired~ I missed dinner so i'm hungry. Wonder if there's anythin' in the fridge..." Ace mumbled, and made a small beeline towards the fridge as he saw three whole tarts. He grinned.
"There's a lot, so i'm not sure if I can finish it all.." He said and picked one tart, a fork in hand. "Thanks for the food~ Whoa, what the heck?! It's so good!"
"Of course, it would be delicious... After all, anything that Trey makes is bound to be exquisite." A new voice piped in, filled with stern.
"Nah, man, this is something else! It's better than the ones at the shops." He huffed and ate more, turning around just to see the Heartslabyul Dorm Leader, Riddle, staring with furrowed brows. "Wha- Prefect?!"
"How quite bold of you, touching something that belongs to myself.... 'Queen of Hearts Rule #89: " You shall not eat tarts prepared for the Queen ahead of her.' Larceny of the Queen's tarts is a capital crime!" Riddle exclaimed and he pointed out his magic pen, chanting his next words.
"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"
"AHHH!!!"
━━━━━━━━━━━
"And that's what happened..." Ace finishes with a grumpy look, totally displeased by how it tragically had ended. He then stared seriously at them Ramshackle duo, who were loss for words and looked at Ace in silence.
Grim was the one to speak up, "You're both in the wrong, y'know..." And crossed his hairy arms together and looks at Ace, narrowed cat-like eyes stared at Ace's.
"But ain't it overreacting to seal my magic just because I ate his tart...?! It's practically the same as tying my hands and my feet!" Ace exclaimed, flailing his arms and legs at the air around. "Plus, there were all three whole ones! He can't possibly finish all of those! There's the limit on how heartless he can be!"
"Mhm... Sure. Binding your magic may have been a little much but..." [m.name] trailed off his words, as he stared at the terracotta student. "...It's wrong to eat something that isn't yours. If you know what I mean?"
"Eh?! What's with the lukewarm reaction?!"
[m.name] ignored him and thought again, "But... If there were three whole tarts, they might have been prepared for like, some party." A hand rested on his chin, and Grim turned to him with the same prediction.
"Like for someone's birthday? Man, we're both such great detectives, huh..!" [m.name] chuckled at the enthusiasm and nodded, patting Grim's head. While they laughed, Ace watched them in embarrassment without them knowing, as his eyes casted at the shorter male before him. A weird feeling flipping around his stomach
"If that's the case, then it's no wonder he's mad..." [m.name] let out a hum, turning to Ace once again. "Did you apologize for it though?" He asked softly.
"I came here thinking that you'd agree with me about the Prefect being a tyrant, [m.name]." Ace mumbled and looked at his lap with an unreadable expression displayed on Ace's face. Almost like he was sulking, or maybe he is.
[m.name] sighed slightly feeling guilty, "I do get that he's being a little tyrant, but..." He trailed off yet again.
"...You're also at fault for eatin' his food." Grim finishes sternly.
Ace stared at the Ramshackle residents with a downcast look and looked away from their gazes now beginning to agree at the Supervisor's statements. With his noticeable pout, he stared back at the shorter Supervisor who spoke up again.
"I'm sure he'll forgive you if you apologize... So apologize to him tomorrow, okay?" [m.name] suggested with a smile. At this point Ace struggled to stop the warmth that was now rising on his light complexioned cheeks.
"Now you sound like a parent..."
"Oh hush, Ace..."
Grim noticed Ace's flushed state and he narrowed his eyes at him, getting a tad bit overprotective over his apprentice. "Grudges over food are the worst, yanno..." He interrupted.
"I get it. I just have to apologize right? You suggested it, so you better come with me, Prefect." Ace mumbled, looking at the Supervisor and Prefect of Ramshackle Dorm. [m.name] huffed and tiredly nodded nonetheless.
"So... in the meantime, where can I sleep?" Ace asked and darted his eyes around the Dorm, seeing nothing but lots of dusts and cobwebs. Surprisingly nothing was broken.
"You're serious about stayin' the night? The other rooms aside from ours are still full of dust." Grim furrowed his brows and pointed at Ace tiredly. "....If you're gonna sleep here, you better clean it yourself."
"Ugh, I don't wanna clean..." Ace grumbled and turned to the Supervisor with a cheeky grin. "[m.name]~~ Let me stay in your room... I'm a pretty handy guy so I won't take up much room! Pretty please~?" He pleaded as Grim watched in disbelief and hoped that [m.name] would caught up on this.
"How shameless..!" Grim muttered silently to himself and turned to [m.name] who had a bead of sweat dripping. [m.name] let out a cough.
"Now, now, Ace. You're all welcome to stay in the lounge's couch... But don't worry though, you can take the pillows so your neck wouldn't hurt when you sleep." [m.name] said, a soft smile stretching his lips. All of a sudden, Grim's head quickly turned to him with a look of disbelief.
"What?! The pillows?! But we're using them!!"
"Oh, hush. It's the middle of the night and you're loud. But you're using me as a pillow like earlier are you not?? You can always cuddle with my arm, y'know..." [m.name] raised a brow, confused at why his apprentice was acting like this kind of behavior.
"Ughh, fine! I'm going to sleep..." And at that Grim walked away to upstairs in their room, leaving [m.name], and Ace by themselves. An awkward tension began to appear as they stared at the stairs where Grim left.
[m.name] sighed, "Ahh... That cat. He's so stubborn as always, not understanding what 'hospitality' meant." He muttered to himself in a whisper but Ace can clearly hear him. The Supervisor then turned back to the Heartslabyul student.
"Sorry about him, Ace. He can be like that sometimes. But I guess make yourself at home..? I'll go get the pillows." He stated with a smile and start climbing back upstairs now leaving Ace by himself. Almost, feeling a tad bit guilty for the sudden intrusion. Keyword; almost.
When [m.name] came back, he was carrying two pillows and a blanket and placed them on the couch beside the sitting Ace who was staring intently at him when he came back.
"There you go, I guess. See you tomorrow Ace..." He softly said and walked away, climbing up the stairs yet again feeling Ace's eyes watching him. Until Ace finally spoke.
"You're really weird..."
[m.name] suddenly halted his tracks, turning his head back at the terracotta haired male who was still staring at him so intensely. Raising a brow, he turned himself to Ace while he was standing on the steps.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked, confused.
"It's just... At first, you so were cold and stern but later on you're all soft and caring. It's confusing..." Ace stated, and pointed a finger accusingly at the confused Supervisor.
"It's like your asking why I'm suddenly being nice to you..." [m.name] bluntly stated, scratching his cheek. "I mean, you aren't entirely wrong. In a family, it's always the older sibling to be the caring one to take care of his sibling and their patience needs to be stable. Especially I happened to be taking care of 6 year-old twins...!" He laughed.
"What I meant is, I have patience to wait and see what the person's true colors are. If they're alright then it's alright but if they're not, then I dislike them. And, you're not that bad of a person yourself Ace..." [m.name] finishes, and smiled again but this time it was full of fondness which Ace just stared at him wide-eyed.
They looked at each other in silence for a moment which Ace notices and looked away. "I.. I see..." He said quietly as a mouse and heard a soft chuckle from the latter.
"Then I'll go upstairs now. Goodnight Ace."
"Yeah, Night."
The whole dorm was already silent once again as [name]'s footsteps disappeared upstairs, entering the bedroom for him to sleep. Ace was now alone downstairs and began to rethink what had happened since he got here. Suddenly a dark blush appeared on his cheeks as the flipping feeling on his stomach once again appeared. He hated it but it felt so right at the same time.
He was confused, really confused.
"What the hell...? It's not that I..." He mumbled to himself and the picture of a smiling and laughing [name] appeared his mind. His body quivered as he covered his mouth with his hand. Hence his mind began to remember again at the classic moments with the Supervisor.
Then again...
Ace scoffed, "It's not that I like him in a way! Impossible! Right??" He shook his head and laid on the couch, getting comfortable for sleep and used the pillows that the latter had gotten him along with the blanket.
Shutting his eyes and fell asleep.