Once the cafeteria managed to die down a bit, Y/N felt a little more at ease with the Diasomnia members. They seemed very cool and collected, a stark contrast to her other friends, Ace and Grim especially. Even though they were all in different years, Y/N couldn't shake the feeling that these four seemed to know each other on a different level than the other students around the school.
"So how are you enjoying your education so far, Lady Y/N," Malleus asked.
Y/N dabbed at her lips with her napkin. "So far it's really interesting. I'm a bit sore from athletics though."
Lilia chuckled. "Vargas loves putting students through rigorous daily activity. I suggest that you practice increasing your stamina outside of classes as well as in athletics. Vargas will be sure to push you to the limits."
Y/N nodded. "Trein mentioned something interesting today in history class though."
"Do you mean when he brought up the subject of the family possessing magic even before the discovery of the crystals," Sebek asked.
Y/N nodded. "Doesn't that seem odd? That the family would have found it before the rest of the world." She didn't miss the shared look between Malleus and Lilia.
"Well, magic isn't simply tied to the crystals, Lady Y/N," Malleus explained. "There are a few souls in our world that can harness and fully control their magic without the use of the crystals. I will admit that these people are few and far in between, but they do exist."
"How was alchemy," Silver asked, mostly asking Sebek. "Did Crewel focus on medicines and poisons again?"
Sebek nodded. "We have to memorise all of them." He sighed and his head dropped into his gloved hand. "I will admit that my mind does not wish to comply with his orders."
"I have no doubt that you will be able to easily complete the task, Sebek," Lilia said. "Are you nervous about memorisation, Y/N?"
Y/N bit her lip and shook her head. "It seems to stick in my head okay. I don't think it'll be too hard." She turned to Sebek. "You can study with me if you want, Sebek. I'm sure with the two of us working at it, we'll be able to do it just fine."
Sebek gave the girl a rare smile. "Thank you, Lady Y/N. I just might take you up on that offer."
The group fell into a quiet silence after that, and Y/N found her attention wandering back to her other friends, wondering how they were getting on. It seemed that they had finally managed to find a table, and Grim had already stuffed his face with the food that Yuu had gotten for him.
"Grim is such a handful," Y/N muttered to herself.
Silver placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I pity you for having to care for the little raccoon. It seems that he loves nothing more than to stir up trouble when the chance arises."
Y/N hummed in agreement.
"The egg around the omurice is light, fluffy, and the centre is filled with gooey cheese," Grim yelled, making Y/N chuckle. Even from all the way across the cafeteria, it seemed that it was easy to hear Grim's boisterous voice.
"So we saw your guys' dorm this morning," Grim said, his mouth full of food, "But what are the other dorms like?"
As Grim had been talking, Cater, and a boy that Y/N didn't recognize had gone over.
"You know about the Great Seven statues displayed on Main Street, right," Cater asked, startling the group. "There are seven of them so there are seven dorms."
"Eight including yours, beastie," Lilia said. Y/N realised that she hadn't been the only one listening in on the conversation.
"You're the guy from this morning," Ace yelled.
"You tricked us into painting those roses for you," Grim shouted, getting up from his seat on the bench.
"Saying I tricked you is so mean. I wasn't doing it because I wanted to. It's just how things are done in our dorm. And besides, Y/N seemed to find it easy enough. Where is the little darling, anyway?" He scanned the room.
"Over with the Diasomnia students," Deuce said, waving his hand in the general direction of the table. "And you were grinning all the while."
After waving at Y/N, Cater turned back to the boys. "Now, now, Deuce-chan. Those rules are only for inside the dorm so now I'm just your kind upperclassman."
"Drop the 'chan'," Deuce ordered.
The new boy chuckled. "That's just how Cater shows affection."
Ace turned to Cater and asked, "Who's the guy next to you?"
The green-haired boy chuckled. "Oh, my bad. I'm Trey. Trey Clover. I'm a third-year in Heartslabyul, like Cater." He turned to Yuu, who was trying to get Grim to focus on his food rather than glaring at Cater, who was blissfully ignoring the cat. "And you're the freshman put in charge of that ramsh-" he coughed, covering up his mistake. "Unused dorm, right?"
Yuu nodded. "How did you know?"
"I heard from Cater. Sorry about all the trouble these guys from our dorm have caused you."
"I'm sitting right here," Ace mumbled, poking his food.
"It's okay," Yuu said with a smile. "Y/N's been able to help, so it makes the workload a little easier."
"Well," Cater said, slinging an arm around the black-haired student's shoulders. "We should put that aside and make up." He turned to Ace and Deuce. "We're in the same dorm after all. Let's all exchange numbers!" He waved his phone in the air, displaying the card-like decorations on the case. The red diamonds matched the diamond underneath his eye.
"I don't have a phone," Yuu said.
Cater jumped like he had been shocked. "You don't have a phone?! That's crazy! You're like an endangered species. I know a place to get the newest models for cheap. How about we go out and choose one?"
Trey chuckled as he slid into the seat next to Cater, getting tired of standing. "Cater. Look at this freshman, hold back a bit."
"Sorry, sorry! We were talking about the dorms, right? Sounds good, a fresh convo! We'll tell you anything you wanna know."
"First I want you to tell us about our own dorm," Ace said. "What is up with those crazy 'Laws of the Queen of Hearts'?"
"You know all about the legend of the Queen of Hearts, right," Trey asked. "She created a wonderland of madness built on strict adherence to her rules."
"Out of respect for the Queen of Hearts, those of us in Heartslabyul traditionally wear red and black armbands, just like her dress, and uphold the laws that she made."
"Sounds like a stiff place," Grim huffed, picking up some chicken and biting into it.
"How strict we follow the rules depends on the dorm leader. Last year's was pretty chill about it all."
Trey sighed. "Riddle is the most serious among the serious of all dorm leaders. So he follows the rules to the max."
"What a pain," Ace groaned, tugging at the collar.
"What are the other dorms like," Grim asked, looking around at the many other students in the cafeteria. It seemed like students with similar armbands sat at tables nearest each other, save people like Y/N who were eating away from their dorms and branching out into the community of the school.
Back over at the Diasomnia table where Y/N was sitting, she was once again lost in thought, her thoughts drifting between the dream that she had woken up with the night before and the dorm that she had witnessed before the start of school that morning. Both seemed a little familiar to her, though in ways that she couldn't quite identify.
"Silver," she asked, staring down at her food, which she had subconsciously arranged to look like a heart, "What do you know about a place called Wonderland?"
"Wonderland," Silver asked, sounding confused. "I've never heard of a place called Wonderland."
"Wonderland is a place of legend, Lady Y/N," Malleus said. "The legend is that it was a world built completely on chaos, with no sense or logic. It is rumoured that the Queen of Hearts lived in the maze which was actually in Wonderland, but there's no evidence that can prove that the maze was actually in Wonderland."
"Why do you ask, Beastie," Lilia inquired.
Y/N shrugged, not wanting to worry her new friends. "The name just popped into my head, and I thought I should ask about it. I doubt that Ace or Deuce would be able to tell me."
"Perhaps you might want to ask Riddle Rosehearts," Malleus said. "He is the dorm leader of Heartslabyul, which was founded in honour of the Queen of Hearts. He would probably be more knowledgeable about the legend, and could most likely answer your questions better than any of us Diasomnia members could."
Y/N nodded and started to look around the cafeteria. "Is he here right now?"
Lilia pointed over to a boy who was sitting at a table, his back as rigid as a board, looking somewhat lonely. No one was sitting with him, and Y/N wondered if that was because of his rampage that morning. She had seen a few Heartslabyul members walking around with the familiar black and red collars that Ace was wearing.
"I'm gonna go and ask," she said, getting up from her table. "I will see you later." She turned to Sebek. "Would you like to meet me in the library after classes?"
"Yes. I shall see you then, Lady Y/N."
Y/N waved to the boys and walked away, disposing of her lunch in the garbage before approaching Riddle. He was a short boy from what she could tell, with the brightest and reddest hair that Y/N had ever seen.
"Um... Riddle," she said softly, tapping the boy on the shoulder. "Riddle Rosehearts?"
Riddle turned around, staring at Y/N. "Yes. Who are you?"
"Y/N. Y/N Artem. I'm from Ramshackle Dorm."
Riddle nodded. "I remember you from the entrance ceremony. You made quite an appearance." He raised his cup to his lips and took a sip, the corner of his mouth flinching the slightest bit. "Now, why did you come over here? It seemed like you were enjoying your conversation with the Diasomnia students."
Y/N took a seat on the opposite side of the table. "Well, they thought that I should ask you about the legend of the Queen of Hearts." She paused and bit her lip. "The word Wonderland popped into my head today, and since they didn't know anything, they suggested that I ask you about it. Does it have some sort of connection to the Queen of Hearts?"
Riddle nodded and set down his teacup. "Yes. Wonderland was said to be the place where the Queen of Heart's maze was located, but no one has ever actually been able to find it. There have only been a few people who claim to have ever gone there, but all of those cases were centuries ago when the Queen of Hearts was still alive."
"Do you know if anyone ever recorded their experiences while in Wonderland?"
Riddle nodded. "There is a journal in the library written by an old queen who went to Wonderland a few thousand years ago. That might be able to provide you with more information if that is what you seek."
"Thank you, Riddle. I will be sure to check that out."
Riddle gave a small smile to the girl. "You are welcome, Y/N." Suddenly, something caught his eye and he got to his feet, Y/N following behind as Riddle approached the table where her friends were sitting.