Kat followed Deuce across the Hall of Mirrors, with Grim walking next to her and Ace making up the rear.
"It's this one!" Deuce informed them, pointing to one of the alcoves set in the wall.
As the name of the building suggested, there was a mirror in it.
It was a pretty big one, about the size of a door, with an antique silver frame. The frame was fashioned in the shape of a crooked arch of playing cards, embellished with roses. Two silver spears with heart-shaped heads were crossed on the wall behind it.
At the top of the arch was what could only be the dorm's emblem.
It was a heart, with a crown and a stand-up collar, a lot like the Queen of Hearts' from the statue, at the top. There was a heraldic scrolling ribbon at the bottom with the dorm's name on it.
In front of the mirror was an oversized book lying open on the ground, made of the same silver metal as the mirror's frame.
Weird, colorful mushrooms sprouted from the edges of the stairs, from strips of what looked like red carpet. On closer inspection, it actually turned out to be red moss.
"Cool!" She remarked, hanging behind Deuce as he hopped up the short flight of stairs.
"So, how does it--"
Deuce walked through the mirror.
It rippled and shimmered as he passed through, and she jumped, eyes widening.
"...Oh," she said after a second. "Okay..."
She glanced at Grim, who looked nervously from her to the mirror.
"You... You really wanna go through there?" He squeaked.
Kat shrugged.
"Yeah, why not?"
Turning, she took a deep breath, steeling herself as she stepped up onto the silver book.
Then she took another step.
Once again, she felt herself passing through a wall of water.
She suddenly couldn't breathe, then something sucked her forward like a whirlpool. It was only a few seconds, but it was still an unpleasant sensation.
Blinking in the sudden sunlight, she looked around.
"W--Wow..."
Deuce was already standing there, grinning eagerly.
"Well? What do you think? Incredible, right?"
"No KIDDING!" Kat agreed, stepping forward with her mouth open.
"This is amazing..."
It was like they'd stepped into a whole other world.
Back on Main Street, the air was chilly with early autumn, and the leaves were starting to turn.
Here, it was a bright, sunny country afternoon. Wispy white clouds drifted through a brilliant blue sky.
They were standing on a pale brick path leading up to what could only be the dorm building.
It looked like a mini castle-- one of the blocky, squarish ones, not the delicate types with the spires.
Built of red stone, it had patterns of ivory marble outlining diamond-shaped windows. It didn't really have a door so much as a large, heart-shaped archway leading into what looked like a foyer area.
The path widened out into a kind of courtyard in front of the building, complete with a fountain, and lined by...
She frowned.
Well, that was familiar...
Heart-shaped topiary rosebushes lined the path, as well as smaller bushes in marble pots. They were all blooming with red roses.
Even the air was filled with the scent of roses. Unless it was magic, there had to be a whole garden of them somewhere around here.
Huh. Talk about a coincidence.
She had a dream about roses, and ended up here the very next day?
Shaking her head, she smiled eagerly at Deuce.
"This is AMAZING! It's gorgeous... How does it-- OOF!"
Ace collided with her from behind, making her stagger forward.
"HEY!" He snapped.
"Why are you guys just standing in the middle of the road?! One side, people!"
Kat turned back.
The mirror was gone.
"Cool," she muttered, moving to the side to give Ace room.
The air rippled.
Grim jumped through from nowhere, shaking himself like a wet dog and looking around.
"Whooooa...!!"
His eyes widened, and he scampered forward, mouth falling open.
"Wow-- this is super cool! Talk about a world a' difference from OUR dorm..."
"You got that right," she agreed, taking a few more steps up the path and turning around.
There were two small, decorative hedge mazes on either side of the path in front of the dorm building.
Behind them was a much bigger one, with walls tall enough for someone to get completely lost in.
"But-- I mean, it's probably not fair to compare the two, since this..."
She gestured around.
"Is obviously some magic shit, and we've just got a janky-ass lawn..."
Looking around, she tried to absorb as much as she could.
"Seriously, though, this is beautiful... Where does the mirror go? How do you get back out? Is--"
There was a voice, coming from somewhere in the big hedge maze behind them.
And it was singing.
Kat blinked.
She looked back at the others.
"Who's that?" She asked.
Ace shrugged. "No idea," he replied. "I don't--"
It was probably an impulsive idea, but she was already following through with it before it had even fully solidified in her head.
She ducked into the hedge maze, following the sound of the voice.
Why was she doing this? Her thoughts asked.
No clue, she answered.
Well-- no, that wasn't true.
It was because this was what had happened in her dream last night.
She'd never really had a prophetic dream before... And dammit, she was gonna follow through on it.
"HEY!" She heard Ace yell behind her, but she'd already turned a corner, head tilted as she tried to listen.
Whoever it was, it sounded like they were singing some kind of generic pop song.... Like current Justin Bieber, or something.
After a few twists and turns, she could hear it really clearly now.
It was right on the other side of this wall, it sounded like.
Abruptly, it stopped singing, switching to talking instead.
"C'mon, c'mon!" It scolded lightheartedly, apparently to itself.
"Get it together, me-- if you don't hurry, you're not gonna finish painting all these roses in time!"
Footsteps ran up behind her-- she turned, seeing Ace, Deuce and Grim turning a corner.
"HEY!" Ace snapped again, hands on his hips and scowling.
"Why the hell'd you run off like that for?"
"Sorry," she apologized.
"I- I was just... Um... Sorry, it's- um... ADHD, you know... Impulse control, it's a little..."
She rocked a hand in the universal gesture for 'meh', grimacing.
Grim ran up to her feet, ears perking.
"Hey-- there's somebody over there," he said, nodding towards the wall.
"Yeah, I know," she replied. "That's why I was... Oh-- there's an opening over there."
Sure enough, there was an archway in the hedge, leading into a clearing.
"Well, I'm gonna go see... No point doing all this if I wimp out at the last second, right?"
Shrugging, she walked over, sticking her head through the archway.
Behind the hedge was...
Well, unsurprisingly, it was more hedge maze.
But rows and rows of heart-shaped topiaries were standing scattered around in the grass, covered in red roses.
Well, a lot of them were red.
A few were only partially red. The rest were white...
And by 'the rest', she meant quite a lot of them... More than half, it looked like.
Guess this was where all the scent was coming from..
There were puddles of red on the ground, dripping from the petals or sloshed from the tin buckets sitting on the lawn.
Somebody was standing on a wooden ladder next to a particularly tall rosebush.
"Whoops--"
The ladder wobbled slightly, and they almost dropped something in their hand-- another magical pen, with the same red magestone as Ace and Deuce's.
Regaining their balance, they laughed.
"Uh-oh, that was close... They gotta be red, or it's off with my head!"
"Whoof..."
Kat closed her eyes, putting a hand to her temple. A sense of deja vu so strong it made her physically dizzy washed over her, and she grabbed the hedge to steady herself.
She felt Deuce come up behind her.
"A-Are you okay, Prefect?" He asked worriedly.
Blinking hard, she looked around, nodding.
"I'm fine... I just-- had a weird feeling..."
"Huh? Ah-- hey, I thought I heard somebody over there!"
The person on the ladder hopped down, jogging up to them with a smile.
"You guys need somethin'?"
Ace came over, craning his neck to see through the arch.
"Uh... What are you doing over there?" He asked, giving the puddles of paint and dribbling flowers a concerned look.
"Huh?"
The person looked over their shoulder, then back at Ace.
"Whaddya mean? Obviously-- as you can see- I'm painting these roses red!"
He-- that was probably a good guess at this school- laughed cheerfully, putting his hands on his hips.
He was a couple inches taller than Kat, with fair skin and wavy red-- or rather, orange-- hair, lighter than Ace's and about chin length.
He was the first person she'd seen so far to not have bangs...
His hair was pulled back into a kind of half-ponytail at the top, with two strands hanging down, framing his face.
He had a slender, energetic build, and a cheerful face with catlike eyes.
He was wearing the school uniform-- no big surprise there. He wasn't wearing a vest, though, but he did still have the ribbon armband and badge.
There was a small red diamond drawn on his cheek, under his right eye.
"Huh?!" Deuce asked, drawing back in surprise.
"P-Painting them? Why?"
"Hmm..."
With a knowing chuckle, the stranger folded his arms, shaking his head fondly.
"Man, that's the naive, fresh-faced newbies for ya... So cute and innocent!"
Then he tilted his head, blinking.
"...Eh? Hey, wait a sec-- I know you! You guys are the first-years who broke that billion-madol chandelier and almost got expelled, right?"
Ace and Deuce flinched.
"Ugh... We are never gonna get out from under that stupid chandelier thing, are we?" Ace muttered dejectedly.
"And you, too!" The taller redhead exclaimed, pointing.
"You're the kid who went and stole the dorm head's tart on the very same night, right? Man, you guys are the talk of the campus... The infamous newcomers! Lucky me!"
Suddenly, he moved forward.
Kat ducked out of the way on instinct, staggering forward and turning around to watch whatever the hell he was doing.
The stranger had his arm around Ace and Deuce's shoulders, pulling them closer.
A smartphone with a white-and-red case appeared, practically out of nowhere.
"Heyheyheyhey, it's okay if we take a couple pics together, right? Ready? One, two-- YAAAY!"
The phone clicked, flashing several times in rapid succession.
Just as quickly, he let go of the hapless pair, checking the phone. He nodded in satisfaction.
"Nice!" He exclaimed, glancing up at them.
"Ah-- it's okay if I post these to Magicam, right? Gimme your names and handles so I can tag you, 'kay?"
Kat stared. God, this guy talked fast...
Apparently, Deuce and Ace were equally as out of their depth as she was. They blinked hard, looking a little dazed.
"Uh..."
Deuce shook his head.
"I--I'm Deuce Spade."
Ace crossed his arms, the scowl reappearing.
"Ace," he said shortly.
Grim hopped up to the newcomer's leg.
"I'm Grim!" He announced. "And that's my henchwoman, Kat."
He pointed at Kat, still watching the scene unfold from a few feet away.
"Uwaah--"
The stranger's eyes widened as he looked down at Grim.
"So cute! Sorry I didn't see you there earlier, lil' guy-- I woulda gotten you in the pic, too!"
"Cute?!" Grim protested, but he didn't seem to hear him.
He typed furiously on his phone for a second.
Then it chimed, and he beamed, sticking it back in his pocket with a flourish.
"Alright! First batch uploaded!"
He looked around, apparently spotting Kat for the first time. "Oops-- sorry, did I spook ya? My bad, my bad!"
Laughing, he waved a hand.
"I'm one of Deuce-chan and Ace-chan's senpais here at Heartslabyul-- Cater Diamond, third-year! Just 'Cater' is fine, though. Or Cay-kun-- especially for a cutie like you!"
He winked at her.
"Nice to meet'cha!"
"Uh.... Y-Yeah," she agreed, nodding.
Well, this guy was... A lot...
"Ooh-- hey, now I remember!" Cater said, eyes widening as he slammed a fist down on his palm. "You're the prefect of that infamous Ramshackle Dorm, right?"
"Apparently," she replied, shrugging.
"Man..."
Cater shook his head.
"I've seen it once or twice-- but I can't believe anybody actually LIVES there! I mean, it's all gloomy and super run-down... There's not a Magicam filter in existence that could salvage that place!"
He laughed again.
Grim padded over to Kat, tugging at her pants leg to indicate that she should pick him up.
Bending over, she scooped him into her arms, and he glared at Cater.
"Hey, what's the deal with this guy?" He muttered. "All he's done this whole time is run his mouth with that dumb smile on his face..."
"No clue," she replied, shrugging.
Cater was occupied with chatting to-- or more accurately at-- Ace and Deuce.
Suddenly, he stopped, blanching in shock.
"Ack-- what the heck am I doing?! I don't have time for this!"
Smacking himself on the side of the head, he turned.
"The party's tomorrow! If I don't get these done, it's gonna be off with my head!"
Kat stepped aside as he hurried back towards the ladder. Hopping up a couple of the rungs, he looked over at them.
"Oh, hey-- you kids wanna help paint some roses? It's lotsa' fun, I promise!"
"Uhh, yeah..."
Ace rubbed the back of his head, frowning.
"You still haven't explained why exactly you're doing such a weird thing in the first place..."
Cater twirled his magical pen in his fingers, grinning.
" 'Cause everyone knows red roses are so much more photogenic! Or... Something."
He tapped the pen against his chin, brow furrowing in thought.
"Ugh... And after this, I still gotta start getting everything ready for the big croquet tournament.... An' that means coloring all the flamingos, too."
He sighed dramatically, twiddling one of the strands of hair between his fingers.
"Alas-- the life of a party person is always busy!"
Grim clambered up onto Kat's shoulder. "You're colorin' flamingos now, too? Sheesh..."
He shook his head, ears drooping.
"This place is fulla' some weird customs... Isn't anything the right color around here?"
Deuce elbowed Ace in the side.
"See- now it's starting to make sense," he said, giving him a stern look.
"That tart you ate must have been for the housewarden's birthday party, right? I mean, anybody would get upset over that..."
"Hm?"
Cater looked over his shoulder, blinking. "Nope-- sorry, that's not it."
"I-it's NOT?!" Ace demanded irritably.
"Well, then-- whose birthday IS it?!"
Cater snorted with laughter, putting a fist to his mouth.
"Ahem-- s-sorry, but tomorrow isn't ANYONE'S birthday. In fact, that's kinda the whole point! See, tomorrow, Heartslabyul's gonna be hosting its traditional UNBIRTHDAY party!"
Kat frowned, tilting her head.
UNbirthday... Party?
Cater continued, propping his elbow against the top rung of the ladder.
"When nobody has a birthday-- AND if the dorm head's in the mood-- it's a super special tea party we get to host," he explained.
Ace made a face.
"Why the heck would you do that?"
"Again with the questions, my cute little kouhai?" Cater chided.
He waggled a finger teasingly.
"Not everything's gotta have a reason, you know! Anyway, listen-- these roses REALLY gotta be red, like, ASAP..."
He looked over at Deuce.
"Deuce-chan, Grim-chan, do ya think you could help me out with some magic?"
He looked around at Kat, then over at Ace. "Oh, but Ace-chan and Prefect-chan can't use magic... Here!"
Hopping off the ladder, he strolled over to the buckets. He grabbed a handle in each hand, then turned, slopping a little bit of paint onto the grass.
"You can use paint instead!"
Kat and Ace exchanged a look.
What is this guy's damage? The looks seemed to say to each other...
Though Ace's probably contained the word 'fucking' on at least one side of the word 'guy'.
Deuce shifted uncomfortably.
"Senpai, do you mean... C-Color-changing magic?" He asked worriedly.
Still in Kat's arms, Grim scoffed.
"No thanks-- why would I wanna do somethin' like that?"
Putting down the paint buckets, Cater laughed again, moving over to Deuce and slinging an arm around his shoulders.
"Okay, don't worry, relaaax~! When the goin' gets tough, the tough do... Something! Well? Whaddaya say?"
He squeezed Deuce's shoulders in a friendly hug, beaming from ear to ear.
"C'mon, before we ALL end up on the chopping block-- let's hustle! 'Kay?"
Somehow, Kat felt like they weren't gonna get out of this without painting some flowers...
She cleared her throat, putting Grim down and sticking her hands in her pockets.
"I mean, I don't have a problem with helping... As long as we're not late for class or anything."
"That's the spirit!" Cater cheered, pumping a fist in the air.
"Well? How 'bout you guys?"
Deuce rubbed the back of his neck.
"I-I mean... If you really need the help, senpai, then I'll do my best..."
Ace groaned loudly, throwing his head back.
"Ugh, fiiiiine...."
They all looked at Grim.
"I still don't wanna," he said flatly, crossing his arms.
Kat looked around, then smirked.
"Why? What's the matter-- don't think you can do it?"
"MYAH?!"
Grim's eyes widened.
"Wh-What?! I didn't say that!"
"Oh-- okay!" She nodded, leaning over.
"Hey-- d'ya think I could see? Can you show me, I mean? I haven't really seen much magic yet.."
She batted her eyelids a couple times for good measure, giving him an innocent look.
"Huh? W-Well-- Uh..."
Grim stood up on his back legs, rubbing the back of his head.
"I-- I guess... I mean, since ya asked so nicely... Alright!"
He jumped up, grinning.
"You just sit back an' watch! I'll make the bestest, brightest, REDDEST roses you've ever seen!"
"Wow-- thanks, Grim-sama!" She chirped, clasping her hands together as she straightened up.
Catching Ace and Deuce's eye, she winked.
"Alright!" Cater whooped, letting go of Deuce's shoulders and slapping him on the back. "Let's get to paintin' these roses! Not pink! Not green! Not aquamarine-- it's rose-red or nothing!"
Ace grumbled, slouching over and picking up one of the buckets of paint.
"I'm sure we can just bang these out in no time flat, right?"
Kat shrugged, taking off her uniform jacket and zipping her hoodie all the way up.
She folded the jacket and put it on an out-of-the-way patch of grass, then picked up the other bucket of paint and a brush.
"I'm not much of a painter-- but I'll give it my best shot!" Deuce said, stretching his arms.
Grim snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, puh-LEASE... With ME on the case, this'll be a piece of cake!"
He pointed at her as she walked past, carrying the bucket.
"Hey-- YOU! No slackin' off, okay?! And make sure to keep your eyes peeled... You're the one who wanted to see my awesome magical prowess, after all!"
Kat rolled her eyes, smiling.
"Ten-four, Master Magician," she said, dipping the tip of the brush in the paint and tapping the excess off.
It didn't take long for her to fall into the blank, comfy mindstate that came around with repetitive busywork like this.
Humming, she brushed and dabbed at the petals, coating them with thin layers of paint.
They didn't look GREAT, but they were okay from a distance...
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cater approaching.
Coming to a stop, he put his hands on his hips, giving an appreciative whistle.
"Heyyy... You're really getting into the swing of things, Kitty-Kat!"
She laughed, looking over and smiling. "Thanks, Cater!"
"You've got a real artist's touch!" He continued cheerfully. "A lot better than whatever Ace-chan is doing..."
He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Ace.
Sure enough, the roses he was painting basically just looked like big gobs of paint and less like flowers. Seeing them looking at him, he flipped them off.
Kat snorted quietly, shaking her head.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this!" She heard Deuce say eagerly, and she looked over her shoulder.
Standing by one of the rosebushes, he pointed his pen at a white bloom, and the magestone flashed.
Color crept into the petals like it was blushing, turning it a watery red that was more like a very, very deep pink.
Grinning, he looked up with wide, sparkling eyes.
"Oh, WOW-- nice one, Deuce!" Kat smiled, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.
He'd done almost all the roses on the bush, and while they weren't all RED-red, they were definitely somewhere in the ballpark.
"Heheheh!"
Grim jumped up and down eagerly, waving to get her attention. "Hey, Kat-- look at ME! I can get all of 'em at once!"
Squeezing his eyes shut, he concentrated. His pendant flashed, and he threw a ball of sparkles at the bush Deuce was still standing in front of. The boy yelped, ducking out of the way.
The bush flashed with light. When it faded away, the roses had certainly changed color...
But not to red.
She blinked.
"Uh-oh... Oops."
Some flowers were blue, while others were a light spring green, standing out sharply against the darker foliage.
The rest were at least in the right color group...
But they were a bright flamingo pink, a lot lighter than the almost-red color Deuce had managed.
"HEY!" Deuce protested, whirling on Grim.
"Myagh?!" The gray creature yelped, shrinking back.
"S-Sorry, I--"
Cater strolled over, twirling his pen between his fingers again.
"No, no-- you gotta do it more like... THIS!"
He flicked the pen like he was hitting a tennis ball, tossing another burst of sparkles. With a pop, the blossoms flashed bright red.
"Hey-- NICE one!" Ace enthused, looking over. "Guess being a third-year has to count for SOMETHING, huh?"
"Thanks!" Cater laughed, tucking his pen behind his ear.
"Keep up this pace, and we'll be done before we know it!"
Kat shook her head, laughing quietly as she turned back to her work.
A few more minutes passed-- possibly, she wasn't really sure.
Even though she was going a lot more delicately than Ace, she'd already done about two and a half bushes...
And somewhat more importantly, they LOOKED a lot better than his, too.
"FNYAGH!"
Jumping, Grim tossed another burst of sparkles-- luckily only at one flower this time.
This time, it actually DID turn red... A lighter color than the ones Cater had been doing, and a little patchy, but still definitely red.
"YES!"
He cheered, jumping up and down again. "Kat, Kat-- did you SEE?! I got it red in one shot!"
"Yeah-- so did I!" Deuce added, pumping his fist.
Sure enough, he also had a slightly faded-looking red rose in front of him.
He looked around at her, flushed with pride.
"Wow-- you guys, that's AMAZING!" She beamed. "Great job, you two!"
Cater loped over to them, clapping excitedly.
"Lookin' good, lookin' good! Especially for a couple of newbies! Just smooth it out a little bit more and you'll be golden!"
He leaned his elbow on Deuce's shoulder.
"See, the trick is to picture a real red rose in your head while you're casting, 'kay?"
"Really, senpai?" Deuce asked, looking around.
"Yep!"
Stepping back, Cater slapped him on the back again, pointing towards the roses.
"Go ahead-- give it a shot, tiger!"
"Okay!" He nodded, cracking his knuckles. "Alright, here goes... Red rose, red rose..."
Ace gave a frustrated yell, dropping the paint bucket and tossing the brush to the ground.
"Maaaaaan-- this fuckin' SUCKS! I wanna use magiiiiiiic....!!"
"Hey, dunkass-- watch where you're tantrum-ing," Kat piped up, pointing.
"You got some paint on your shoe."
"What?!"
He looked down, sputtering angrily.
"Wh-- aw, come ON...! You gotta be fuckin' KIDDING me!"
Sure enough, some paint had slopped out of the bucket, onto his red sneaker.
"Hey-- at least they're still red," she shrugged.
Ignoring his continued complaints, she turned back to the task at hand, tapping more excess paint off the brush and adding another layer to the rose she was working on.
_______________________________________
~MATERIAL GWORLLLL~ CATER IS HERE!!! He is... A lot.
And a lot of fun to write!
Drinking game: Take a shot for every time I use the verb 'laughed' for him.
(Actually don't. Or at least drink responsibly. ...Or don't. I'm not a cop.)
Kat is quickly becoming the Team Mom. Deuce and Grim are so happy to show her their macaroni art.
(A single mom who works two jobs~♪)
This is quickly becoming the 'bully Ace' chapter. And I don't have any plans on changing that yet.
I really wanna write more Riddle tho. I really like writing prim-and-proper type characters and trying to still communicate their personality through all that (looks at my Crowley).
He's also very funny, even though there's not much of that in Chapter 1. I wanna bully him (affectionately). My skrunkly. Angy babby.