As the two Ace hunters stepped out of the mirror, the first thing Elle noticed was a large cauldron in the pathway.
"Uh...well, that's new."
Riddle pinched the bridge of his nose, frustration building. The floor didn't seem to be damaged, thank goodness, but there was now a very large and unwieldy cauldron blocking more than half of the pathway to the Heartslabyul dorm, causing a bottleneck. All they could really do was stand awkwardly next to the mirror as a torrent of students made their way into the dorm.
He didn't have time for this. Any time Riddle tried to so much as take a step forward, he would immediately get unceremoniously shoved back to where he started. It didn't help that the students responsible didn't even spare him a glance. He was about to just explode at the fools, commanding them all to get out of the way, when Elle gently grabbed his wrist.
He immediately looked over at her with wide eyes and a dusting of pink on his cheeks. Why??? Had she decided to do this??? Riddle wasn't used to being touched at all, so to have someone suddenly establish contact like this...the boy was touch starved. Elle smiled apologetically.
"Sorry for grabbing you without permission, but please make sure we don't get separated, okay?"
Riddle nodded blankly, still processing the contact and the quiet and gentle tone she was suddenly using. It was very different from the professional tone she had been speaking to him with before. She suddenly felt more...warm. And safe. He kept his eyes trained on the hand on his wrist as they moved. He barely even noticed that the two of them were making their way through the throngs of people until they were nearly outside.
Once the crowd had significantly thinned, Elle let go of his wrist, and Riddle had to hold himself back from reaching out again. He shook his head, mentally scolding himself. Stop that. That kind of childish behavior is unbecoming of him. He had absolutely no time for this, He had a first year to catch and reprimand, and most likely collar. And so he once again squashed down the new feelings that were trying to grow.
"Alright, this should be far enough. Are you alright...uh, Riddle?"
"Me? Ah...y-yes. How did you do that?"
"I'm used to crowd weaving. Marie is pretty popular."
"Marie? Who is that?"
It was strange to her, having to introduce someone to her sister instead of the other way around. Having someone know her while never having even heard of Marie was an extremely foreign concept to her.
"Oh, um, she's my sister. She's a genius who's talented at anything she tries. Gymnastics, ballet, speech and debate, soccer, golf, painting...you name it, she's probably got a medal or a trophy to show you."
Riddle blinked. The girl's smile was fond, but there was a flicker of sadness in her eyes. ...Marie, huh.
"She sounds rather impressive."
"Oh, she is. I have to study twice as hard to even hold a candle to her."
"Is that what the stack of papers in your hands is?"
"This?" She looked down at her notes, holding them out for him to see. "Oh, no, not really. You see, Grim, the monster that showed up yesterday, really wants to learn magic, and so the headmage let him stay here as part of the janitorial team and let him have access to the library. He doesn't really have the attention span for reading though, so I'm studying magic myself and putting together a lesson plan for him."
Riddle gently took the stack of paper from her hands, flipping through the pages. "This is incredibly detailed...! And you're doing this for the monster that caused chaos at the entrance ceremony?" He said, impressed, yet skeptical. On one hand, that beast shouldn't be allowed anywhere near campus for the stunt he pulled; the headmage was far too lenient. But on the other....
"Well, I can only do what I can, so I may as well do it to the best of my ability. As long as I can help at least one person, then it's worth it."
The boy looked up from her notes, gazing over at her with an unreadable stare. For the most part, he could agree with that statement, but... didn't she have any goals for herself? Sure, from what little he has seen of her she's pragmatic, driven, and resourceful, but was she using any of that for herself? It wasn't his matter to poke into, however he still couldn't help but be mildly concerned. Instead of voicing this, however, he simply handed her back the stack of paper with an acknowledging hum as they made their way into the main building.
"Looks like we're almost there."
"Yup. Honestly, he'd better be in the cafeteria. This job should have only taken a bit under an hour."
Riddle noted that her speech and mannerisms had become markedly more relaxed compared to when she first approached him. She had started stating her opinions rather than sticking strictly to facts, and he noticed she had something of an accent, though it's extremely subtle. Perhaps she was simply shy when meeting new people, and hid behind an air of professionalism. Or maybe she was evaluating him, and found him to be a comfortable person to be be around. A small part of him hoped it was the second one, though he would never admit it, not even to himself.
About halfway to the cafeteria, a large CRASH could be heard from the exact location they were headed towards. Elle immediately sprinted ahead, ignoring the surprised cry from the boy behind her. As soon as she slid into the doorway and saw the destroyed chandelier with a passed out grim, a panicked Yu, an angry Ace, and a boy with blue hair that she hadn't seen before standing there like a deer in headlights, she felt another headache coming on.
She took a deep breath, massaging her temples. With a defeated calmness, she turned towards Riddle, who was still making his way down the hall.
"Well, I found him. He's in the cafeteria. Thank you for your help, and sorry for the trouble. It's probably my responsibility from here, sweetheart."
Riddle froze mid-step, his face turning completely red.
"S-S-Sw....W-WHAT?!"
Elle's eyes widened, immediately backpedaling.
"Oh, shoot! I'm so sorry Riddle! I have a habit of using nicknames that most people might find over-affectionate, but they're just kinda ingrained in my vocabulary... I swear I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I just... your last name is similar so I guess my brain just..."
While Elle was stumbling over her words, Riddle was busy rebooting. He had little to no experience speaking with girls his age. Public speaking, he had absolutely no issues with, but conversation? You couldn't exactly write a script for that.
Obviously she didn't mean it in a romantic context...but how else was he supposed to respond to being called "sweetheart"?! His mind was running a mile a minute and his face felt hot. She wasn't mocking him, was she? Certainly not. Her apology was genuine, and he had noticed her occasionally pause before using his name, like she was correcting herself. Still, wouldn't that be a sign of trust or affection anyway? No, that wasn't necessarily true. It could be a simple case of word association...but still, for her to land on that term as the default, and to have to correct herself more than once...
....he needed to clear his head. He nodded, not really paying any attention to whatever the girl was saying anymore, and turned around.
"I...will head back to the dorm then. I will speak to Ace when he returns."
And with that, he retreated.
Elle watched him go, chewing on her bottom lip. What a careless slip up. Usually she only spoke like that to Marie...maybe it was because Marie wasn't with her anymore, her filter was looser since she had to do more of the talking. She would have to apologize to him again later. She's absolutely sure she made him uncomfortable.
Her attention was quickly redirected towards the cafeteria when she heard Yu's voice.
"Elle! You're here! We uh, we found Ace, but then grim tried to ditch, and so we had to chase him down, and..."
He looked absolutely exhausted, and was evidently extremely stressed. Elle patted him on the head, ruffling his puffy brown hair in an attempt to reassure him. He immediately flushed, ducking his head down so his bangs obscured his eyes from view.
Ace made a gagging noise, scrunching his nose at the affectionate display. The blue haired boy just stared at the blonde with wide eyes and a faint dusting of pink on his cheeks. Elle looked over at them curiously, tilting her head.
The blue haired boy quickly looked away from her, suddenly finding extreme interest in his shoes, while Ace simply crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at her.
"...What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Are you seriously that dense?"
"...? Why are you insulting me now?"
"Y'know what? Never mind."
"Alright...? Uh, question. What the hell happened in here?"
Ace's eyebrow twitched, and he glared over at the cat weasel and the blue haired boy, who Elle noticed had a spade mark over his right eye. Huh. They match. He also had turquoise eyes, which wasn't the most unusual color she'd seen, but still wasn't very common.
"Well, the furball thought he was slick and tried to ditch, and so the three of us had to chase him around campus, which was totally annoying, by the way. THEN, he got up on the chandelier, and JUICE here-"
"It's Deuce!"
"-Thought it would be a FANTASTIC idea to THROW ME AT HIM."
Elle's eyes widened in concern as she immediately looked him over for any visible scratches or bruises. Sure enough, he looked like he had just been tossed a good few feet in the air. He was pretty scuffed up. She hurriedly walked over to him, further inspecting his arm.
"Oh, this looks...not fun. You should probably go to the nurse and get some ice or something."
"Pshhh, what? I'm fine. It doesn't even hurt. It was just super dumb and annoying." He said, pointedly looking away from her. Yu deadpanned at him.
"You were complaining just a second ago..."
"Oi. Shut. Anyway, we have bigger problems to deal with, like the fact that the chandelier is now on the floor, trashed."
"I couldn't have said it better myself."
The four teens froze at the voice of the headmage. How long had he been there? Elle really didn't want to know. She seriously hoped he didn't hear her earlier. Usually mother got mad if she spoke too crudely. Or too loudly. She didn't want to pile more on when he was already mad. That would be dangerous.
She inched slightly behind Ace, who glanced over at her, but didn't say anything. He didn't move away either. Whether this was because he was allowing Elle to use him as a shield or because he was frozen to the spot in terror had yet to be seen.
The glowing yellow eyes of Dire Crowley bored into them with a burning rage.
"YOU. THREE. AGAIN. What have you done this time?!" He bellowed. Two of said three flinched, as well as Deuce and Elle. Grim was still dizzy and unresponsive on the floor. Elle really hated being scolded. It completely silenced her already quiet voice, and locked her feet in place, like a doll.
"Burning a statue wasn't enough for you? Now you've destroyed a chandelier?! Enough. All of you are expelled."
The two students' eyes widened in horror, while Elle simply glared at the Crow. She, Grim, and Yu were employees. They could be fired, yes. They could not be expelled. They were never enrolled.
She held her tongue, though. She'd point this fact out only if he tried to use it against her or Yu. If he knew the error was there, he would fix it. She needed to keep that loophole open so that she could escape if need be. For now, she would simply choose to assume he did not mean them. It was his fault for using such inaccurate terminology. If he wanted to threaten them, he should have been more specific.
"Whaaaaaaaaat?!"
"Headmage, please! Give me a second chance! I can't get expelled from this school! I need to be here!"
Deuce had stepped forward, desperately pleading with the headmage. Elle felt a wave of sympathy wash over her. She didn't know him well, but he seemed like a good kid. Given, he did toss Ace apparently, but he seemed to have only the best of intentions. Crowley, however, was unmoved.
"Then blame yourself for your own foolish behavior."
"I'll pay for the damages! However much it costs!"
The headmage crossed his arms, his unblinking yellow lights staring directly at the pleading first year.
"That chandelier is no mere light fixture. It is a magical chandelier. Its candles are powered by a magical energy source, enchanted so that they will burn for eternity. It was created for us by a legendary artificer. Possibly their finest creation. It has been here since the school was established, and I imagined it would be here forevermore. Considering its historical value, I would estimate its worth to be no less than a billion thaumarks. And you intend to repay that sum?"
"A... A billion marks?!"
So thaumarks were the currency? Somehow that wasn't what she expected. Come to think of it, she had heard it earlier when discussing payment with Crowley. It still sounded strange. She glanced over at Yu, who was looking at the smashed chandelier with a wince.
Yikes, that was a big number, unknown currency or not. What kind of name was Madol anyway? What, was it short for Magic Dollars or something? A magical currency for a magical place, he supposed.
"B-But I'm sure with your magical talent, sir, you could snap your fingers and fix it right up!"
"Even magic has its limits. Furthermore, its magestone—the figurative heart of any magical artifact—is cracked. A magestone cannot easily be replaced. I fear the candles of this majestic chandelier will never burn again."
Ace and Deuce looked beyond distraught.
"This is bad..."
"What am I going to do?! How am I going to tell my mother...?"
Elle's heart went out to the two. She gently gripped Ace's sleeve, trying to offer any amount of support. Sure, the guy was a jerk and a bit of an idiot. Sure, he had done nothing but insult her. She still didn't believe he deserved to be given as serious and irreversible a punishment as expulsion. He wouldn't learn anything from it, a punishment that harsh was merely for the satisfaction of the other party. It was thinly veiled revenge and nothing more.
Despite being the one responsible for the destruction of the chandelier, Deuce deserved this treatment even less. Unlike Ace, this was his first offense. The boy also seemed to already show genuine remorse. She wasn't sure what his family situation was, but the idea of breaking the news to his mother obviously upset him.
He wasn't being given the chance to learn or grow from his mistake. He was simply being punished because an adult was upset. Reasonably so, yes, but the way he acted upon his emotions was where Elle found issue with the crow man.
Still, she remained silent, halfway hidden behind Ace, who had glanced down at her hand once she grabbed his sleeve, but quickly looked back up at the headmage, pretending he never noticed it in the first place.
"Ah...! But there may be one way. One tiny sliver of a chance to repair this chandelier."
The two first years immediately perked up.
"There is?!"
Elle blinked in surprise. Wasn't he just on a power trip? Had he calmed down? Was it a trick? Did he want something out of them?
"The magestone that powered this chandelier was mined from the Dwarfs' Mine."
Oh, like Snow White? Elle was starting to get concerned with the amount of Disney references she was starting to notice. Maybe it was a coincidence. Maybe she was looking too far into it.
"If you can acquire a magestone with the same properties, it may be possible to repair it."
Deuce stepped forward.
"Then I'll go find a magestone! With your permission, sir!"
"I should caution you that I cannot promise there yet remain magestones to find. The mines were closed quite some time ago. It is quite likely that all of the magestones have already been mined."
"I will do anything to avoid expulsion, sir!" Deuce exclaimed, undeterred. The headmage simply relaxed his shoulders slightly, his arms now at his sides.
"Hmmm... Very well, then. I will suspend your expulsion for a single night. But if you fail to return with a magestone by morning, then all of you are expelled."
"I understand, sir. Thank you very much for this opportunity!"
Ace sighed and ruffled his hair with his free hand, and Elle noticed he was only wearing one glove. ...why?
"Fine, then. Let's hurry down there, find a magestone, and get this whole thing done with."
"You should be able to reach the Dwarfs' Mine instantly by using one of the gates in the Mirror Chamber."
"Yes sir!"
And with that, Deuce ran off. Yu was quick to scoop up Grim and follow, while Elle was pulled along once Ace started running. She quickly let go of his sleeve once she realized she was interrupting his rhythm, but to her surprise, he didn't comment on it at all. She figured he would have a snide remark or something of the sort ready.
Shrugging it off, she sped up to catch up with the spade marked boy, who was surprisingly fast, actually. He should join the track team or something.
"Deuce cutie, I know you're in a rush to not get kicked out, but you need to slow down sweets...! The rest of the group can't keep up!"
Deuce immediately stumbled, tripping over his feet and colliding not so gently with the floor. Elle gasped and moved to help him up with no hesitation. Deuce bashfully accepted her assistance, immediately stepping away once he was securely on his feet.
"Uh, thanks. And, um, s-sorry. For...rushing."
"No need to apologize, I get where you're coming from completely. It's understandable to be stressed. ...Oh! I never did introduce myself, did I? Ellinor Oswald, but I go by Elle usually."
"D-Deuce Spade."
The boy looked at the girl in front of him. She had long blonde hair that was ever so slightly wavy, deep blue eyes, and she was wearing a navy blue turtleneck with gray pants and black shoes. She looked completely out of place. Didn't change the fact that she was pretty. And nice. And that he had just face planted right in front of her. And got chewed out by the headmage in their first meeting. Fantastic. Talk about the worst first impression known to man.
"It's nice to meet you, Deuce. I do wish it had been under better circumstances... Oh, that's right, how did you even get roped into all of this?"
"Well, I....kind of dropped a cauldron on Ace to stop him from running."
Elle blinked.
"Well, that would certainly explain the cauldron in the hallway."
"Wait—It's still there?!"
"Was when I last checked."
"Oh man..."
Elle patted his shoulder comfortingly, to which Deuce immediately flushed and looked away. She hoped he was a little less stressed now, though evidently he was still pretty upset about the situation, judging by how jumpy and tense he was. She had hoped talking to him would take his mind off of the looming expulsion threat, at least enough to think things through a bit more. Was there anything else she could do to help him...? Just then, a thought occurred to her.
"Hey, because I seriously doubt anyone has said this yet, I'm very grateful for your help. Even if the chandelier ended up the way it did, it was really nice of you to be willing to lend a hand. I'm glad you decided to help, Deuce. Thank you."
Two hit KO. Deuce gripped his chest, still looking pointedly away from the girl next to him. His face felt like it was on fire. Had any girl other than his mom been this nice to him before? He swallowed thickly before stammering out a response.
"A-Ah? I-uh...t-that, I-It was no big deal, really..."
He scratched his cheek, silently wishing for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. What was with that lame response?! Seriously, was he trying to ruin his chances of ever speaking to her again? He's never been good with talking to girls...
Elle simply smiled patiently at him. Her initial impression was reaffirmed; he really did seem like a nice boy. She mentally filed him away into the same box of 'people to protect' as Yu and Grim. Ace wasn't quite there yet, but somehow, he was close.
"I'm thankful anyway, big deal or not. You didn't have to go out of your way like that...oh, is that the door to the Mirror Chamber?"
"Wha-? Oh! Looks like we're already here. Come on, there's no time to lose!" Deuce, grateful for the change in topic, called back to the rest of the group that was trailing a good few paces behind. He quickly opened the door, dashing in.
Elle gave Ace and Yu a small wave before silently slipping through the door behind Deuce. Ace turned to the magicless boy next to him, pointing a thumb at where she disappeared.
"Seriously, what's up with her? She's like a ghost or something."
"Trust me, she's much nicer than a ghost. Much less death threats. And pranks. She is very quiet though. I think...maybe coming here is one of the better things to happen to her."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm just...speculating. She hasn't actually told me anything about the world she's from, other than the fact that she has an older sister, and there's a huge corporation called Disney that makes movies. That's how she knew the statues on Main Street."
Ace stopped in his tracks, staring at him with wide eyes. What? The hell?
"You can't just casually drop that second part! Actually, you can't casually drop that first part either! What?!"
"Both of us are from another world. We didn't tell you?"
"Well, you may have mentioned it! Excuse me for thinking you both were just crazy!"
"You're excused."
Ace opened his mouth to retort, but before he could, Deuce poked his head back out the door.
"Are you three coming or not?"
Yu immediately shot an apologetic smile at the blue haired boy, and rushed over to join him at the door. Ace sighed, slumping his shoulders, and grumpily headed over to the room as well.
"Maaan... how did I end up in this mess? I swear, I have the worst luck."
Ace frustratedly ran a hand through his hair. Hearing his comment, Elle crossed her arms, scoffing lightly.
"Hey, don't try to make a grab at my crown. I have held the title of worst luck known to man for about as long as I can remember."
"We don't have time to complain or argue. Let's go."
"Yeah, Deuce is right. I do agree with Elle, though."
"Traitor!"
"I was never on your side to begin with, Ace."
While Ace and Yu began to bicker again, Elle slipped away towards one of the gates, nodding at Deuce. He nodded back at her, turning to the mirror.
"Dark Mirror! Take us to the Dwarfs' Mine!"
~~~
Extra long chapter this week! This is because I am going to be super busy next week and probably won't have time to do any last minute proofreading before posting, so no chapter next week. (I'm also giving myself a bit of a buffer since we're almost caught up to what I've already written oops)
I really hope I am doing Deuce justice, he's surprisingly difficult to write! I do enjoy writing him, though. As always, please let me know how you think I can improve ^^;
That's all from me for now, I will see y'all again in two weeks!
~Astroleap