UPDATE: Okay so normally I don't go back and make edits like this to my fics, but all of you need to appreciate this GRADE A WORK OF ART that the amazing Suquarr created like the ABSOLUTE GODDESS/GOD/DIVINE BEING that they are, FOR FREE I MIGHT ADD! Just for this, I'm likely going to take a break from the new fic I started and get to work on the next chapter. Suqarr said this piece was based off of that one Scooby-doo meme where they're all standing around the book. As the author of this book, I order everyone that has read this far to stare at this masterpiece for the next few hours like I will. Again, THANK YOU SUQARR!
Kalim panted heavily as he ran down the hallway. He was wearing a red hoodie with the hood up over his dorm uniform to avoid being recognised. He couldn't exactly tell Jamil he was going to the library to research dueling; if he did, he would get all nervous and probably say something to make him think he was off to do something very illegal, or to make out with Cassandra; which, to be fair, was a valid concern.
Catching his breath, the white haired boy came to a stop outside of the library's large doors. Looking for any lingering students, he found none, though he wasn't surprised. It was the weekend, afterall.
Walking into the vast area, Kalim looked around for any sign of red hair, and after a bit of walking, he found who he was looking for in a dim alcove between two tall bookshelves. Cassandra was sitting in the middle of a large, rectangle-shaped mahogany table, surrounded by stacks of books. Her comrades stood behind her, seeming to read the book she was holding from over her shoulder.
"... We could smuggle a weapon in, like a dagger or poison needle.", a voice Kalim knew to be Yue's murmured, and Cassandra shook her head.
"No, it says here no weapons are allowed, and no fist-fighting either. It's casting tools only. It's like a gunman's duel back home; backs facing one another, ten paces forward, and then you turn around and cast. Last one standing is declared the winner. Also, I'm trying to kick Riddle's ass, not send him home in a body bag.", the woman answered. Ace scoffed and plopped down in the seat beside her, pouting.
"Jeez, take all the fun out of dueling, why don't they?", the boy grumbled. Ash gave him a pointed look.
"Easy there, you little psychopath. I think I can see why these rules are in place if more people like you exist.", the blonde said. Ace glared at him in seat, arms crossed.
"Like you can talk, Mr. I-used-to-be-a- !", Ace's mouth was promptly covered by Ash's hand, who looked livid.
"Keep your voice down, you moron! You never know who could be listening.", the green-eyed man whisper-yelled. Cassandra looked up at the altercation, and smiled when she looked at Kalim, who was peeking at them from behind a shelf.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Kalim, nice to see you could make it!", Cassandra called out to him, not seeming to care that they were in a library. Ash smirked.
"See what I mean?", he said smugly. Ace grumbled but didn't respond. Kalim took his hood off and gave his girlfriend a sheepish smile.
"Hey, sorry I'm late. It took a while to get Jamil off my scent.", the red eyed boy said as he walked behind her and draped his arms around her shoulders, while resting his head beside hers. Trey and the captive Che'nya, who had been sitting at the head of the table, looked startled at the PDA.
"So~, what we got here?", the boy whispered in Cassandra's ear, his voice coming out an octave lower than usual. Cassandra smiled and gave him a side glance.
"'Dueling Rules and Regulations', by Charles Dagworth-Granger. I refuse to go into battle uneducated and underprepared. I'm trying to see if there's a loophole here I can use to get the drop on Riddle.", the redhead explained. Kalim nodded, slowly understanding, and Cassandra put the book down so that she could rub her temples.
"So far I've found nothing of use, and since this is the most cohesive and accurate book of rules in the library... ", she trailed off, and Kalim's eyes widened in understanding.
"... You've hit a dead end.", he finished, and Cassandra sighed again before closing the book and sitting it down.
"Tragically, yes. This is the third book I've looked at so far, but I still have nothing, and that worries me.", the tribrid admitted, downtrodden. Kalim frowned and gave her a soft look as he tucked a loose piece of blood red hair behind her ear.
"Why's that?", he asked softly. Cassandra relaxed further into him and sighed in contentment.
"Because I'm not used to Twisted Wonderland magic yet, and I'll likely end up using spells from my world to win the duel. Riddle might say I was cheating because of this and then it'll be one big nightmare of a controversy, so I was hoping to find some obscure rule to nip it in the bud before it becomes a problem, but it appears that's not in the cards.", she explained, and Kalim began to think.
"That does sound bad. Maybe if you were to find a casting tool that could double as an amplifier of sorts in place of a magic pen, since there are no rules about them due to their rarity, you could take him out through brute force.", the white haired boy said with a wide smile on his face, happy with his idea. Cassandra mirrored his expression as she realized what he was hinting at.
"Not that I would need an amplifier due to my high levels of magic power, but it would also work well as an intimidation tactic. Of course, we would have to change its appearance a bit so it won't be recognized, but it will allow me access to highly powerful spells as well. Kalim, you're a genius! I could kiss you!", Cassandra said excitedly as she stood up and hugged Kalim, who wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her an adoring look.
"I wouldn't mind if you did.", he whispered, and Cassandra gave him a soft look before she began to lean in. Only to be interrupted by a loud clearing of a throat. Everyone turned their heads in the direction of a very annoyed and confused looking Trey, as well as a just plain confused Che'nya, who seemed much less nervous than before. It seemed the stockholm syndrome had already set in.
"Okay, back it up. I usually don't like to stick my nose in other people's business, because unlike the rest of this school, I'm not a total gossip whore. But given the fact little miss terrifying over there has seen fit to unofficially induct me, and Che'nya apparently, into the cult of whatever-this-is, I think I'm validated in asking; what the fuck is going on?!", Trey said in a stressed out voice, and Yue began to look seriously offended.
"Oh, so we're the cult here?! Listen here, you son-of-a- !", the man began indignantly, only to be interrupted by Eiji placing a hand over his mouth. The furious botanist's screams were muffled and ignored as Cassandra raised a curious eyebrow.
"What do you mean by that?", she asked, and Trey gave her a pointed look before gesturing to her and Kalim, who were still in each other's arms.
"I saw you kiss Eiji, and Cater acts like a lovesick middle schooler when he's with you! Not to mention how he was clinging to you at the Unbirthday! But Kalim has been all over you since he got here, and both Cater and Eiji seem perfectly fine with it! Not that I'm saying any of you look easy, it's just confusing to me, but that's not the main issue here. That would be the fact you all seem to be keeping multiple secrets, and that I'm ninety percent sure you are all involved in organized crime, because you all keep making concerning remarks about it and gaslighting me like I'm not going to notice! I don't know what you all think I am, but I am far from stupid. So spill, what is going on?", Trey said, crossing his arms and giving Cassandra an expectant glare. The woman in question and the men with her looked rather bewildered. Turning to Ace and Deuce, the redheaded woman gave them a confused look.
"Didn't you tell him?", she asked. Both boys looked at each other and gave her equally confused looks.
"We thought we needed permission.", Deuce responded. Cassandra's eyes widened and she nodded as she realized her own forgetfulness.
"You do... and I never gave it.", she drawed slowly, before giving Trey a mortified and apologetic look.
"Trey I am so sorry, I genuinely thought someone had at least explained my relationship status to you. It's just, with Riddle and the tart and everything else... I should've known I was forgetting something, I always do when I have to plan something. So much for having an eidetic memory. Can you forgive me?", the woman rambled, and Trey's features softened as he smiled.
"It's fine, just please try not to forget something like this again. I don't like being left in the dark. Though I have to ask, how do you forget things if you have a photographic memory?", he said, and Cassandra smiled in relief.
"An eidetic memory is like an online filing system. You can store a lot of information and call on it whenever you please, but only if you consciously do so. You can also only store as much information as the storage capacity will allow, and things perceived as unneeded details can tend to slip through the cracks. I was expecting someone to explain things to you, so the memory of you not knowing things fell through the cracks of my mind. Of course, I remember it now, but that's only because I'm actively trying to.", the golden eyed woman explained patiently. Trey and the other members of Heartslabyul nodded along, curious about the concept. Che'nya looked on in interest. So the Queen of the Night Ravens was some sort of genius? Curiouser and curiouser...
Then, Cassandra rolled up her right sleeve and revealed a black mark that, shockingly, looked exactly like Trey's and Che'nya's. Both boys looked at her, gaping. Holding up her arm for all to see, Cassandra smiled.
"The other 'secrets' as you call them are all very long stories, but the crux of the relationship matter would be this. It's a soulmate mark, and whoever has this mark is linked to me in a romantic sense, as my lover. Cater has this mark, and Eiji and Kalim, as well as Yue, Shorter, Ace, Deuce, Ash, and as I most recently discovered, Che'nya.", the redhead explained, and Trey looked about at everyone she named in shock. How had he not picked up on this? Suddenly, all the adoring looks and odd conversations made sense, and the green haired third year was left utterly shocked. It was such an odd arrangement. One girl in a relationship with multiple men, and all of them were okay with it! He had never heard of anything like it, at least to this extent.
And suddenly, the fact that he had a matching mark on the back of his left hand hit him like a truck.
Trey blushed violently as he took off his left glove, holding up his hand as he revealed the mark on the back of it. Cassandra's eyes widened.
"Oh.", she said, and she realized that this day was steadily getting weirder and weirder.
Trey was one of her soulmates... and she never picked up on it.
Oh.
Oh.
"Oh indeed.", Che'nya said with a cheshire grin, leaning back in his seat with his hands behind his head.
So Cassandra was his soulmate? Che'nya felt pleased by this. The girl was beautiful, had a wicked sense of humor from what he had seen, and had zero fucks to give. She was perfect (even with the whole kidnapping thing, which actually made sense now), and she knew the others would love her too, including Trey.
Deciding to stir the pot a little, Che'nya kept grinning as he slyly spoke.
"So about those mob connections?"
—------------------------------------------------------
The rest of the afternoon was less of a battle planning session, and more of a flurry of whisper yells as Cassandra tried to explain everything to Trey and Che'nya. They were both shaken to their very cores as they realized things were much bigger than the soulbonds; their fates were intertwined with the Once and Future King herself.
It was a long conversation, explaining Excalibur, Hades, Cassandra's tribrid status, who and what everyone in the Court was and used to be, and Cassandra's relationship. By the end of it, everyone's concerns were put to rest as the conversation turned light once more. Everyone was just relaxing and chatting with one another. Cassandra sat on the floor, with Che'nya and Trey on either side of her. Both of them leaned over her as they admired the small sword she held in her palm.
"So that's it?", Che'nya asked in wonder, gingerly reaching out to touch it. He held it gently, admiring the beautiful weapon. Cassandra nodded.
"Yep, that's Excalibur.", she answered, and Trey looked at it in fascination.
"Hard to believe that something that small can kill gods.", he commented. Cassandra laughed dryly.
"You'll be made a believer soon enough.", she said, and Trey gave her a serious look.
"Please don't hurt him.", was all he said. Cassandra didn't need to ask who he was referring to.
"I won't do anything to him that he can't recover from swiftly. You have my word.", the redhead said, before giving him a small peck on the lips. Trey blushed violently but smiled and nodded all the same. The two looked at each other lovingly, before their trance was broken by Che'nya clearing his throat. Cassandra and Trey both looked at him, and saw he was very unamused. Knowing the source of his ire, Cassandra laughed before kissing him as well.
"Better, Smiles?", she asked, and Che'nya reluctantly nodded, a dark blush on his face. As she laughed a bit more, Che'nya smiled happily.
"The others really are going to love you.", he said without thinking, and Cassandra stopped laughing as both she and Trey looked at him in confusion.
"Others?", she asked, and Che'nya nodded.
"Yep. I know three others who have the same mark as me back at RSA, and they're all really excited to meet you.", he said, golden eyes glowing with mischief. Cassandra's eyes widened as she took in the fact she had three more soulmates, before she grinned.
"That's great! When can I- ?", the golden eyed girl started to say, only to be cut off by a now serious Che'nya.
"Later. They each want to meet you and get to know you on their own terms, without other people and their opinions influencing things. They'll find you when they're ready.", he said sternly, and Cassandra frowned before nodding.
"Understandable. Very well, I can wait then.", she answered diplomatically, before her expression turned sly and she slid closer to Che'nya.
"Are you sure you're not just saying that because you want me all to yourself?", she asked, and Che'nya gave her an equally catty grin before leaning in close.
"Maybe.", he said, but just as they were about to close the distance between them, they paused as they heard footsteps. Everyone's conversations halted, and no one moved.
"I thought no one came here on weekends?!", Grim asked frantically. Cater looked at him with a confused expression.
"They usually don't!", he replied. Che'nya frowned and began to look a bit nervous.
"RSA and NRC students aren't allowed on each other's campuses without permission from the other school, so I'm technically not supposed to be here." the beastman said sheepishly, before giving Cassandra a soft peck on the forehead.
"I've never been one for rules, but I don't want to be banned from seeing you because of a stupid technicality. I'll be back tomorrow to watch you fight.", he whispered in her ear, before standing and grinning a toothy grin
"See you later, kitty.", he said, and in a brief shower of golden dust and a lingering smile, he was gone. And just in time, too.
"Oh, you. Why are you all here?", the annoying voice of one Dire Crowley said as he looked at all the students in the alcove with disdain. More specifically, Cassandra. Said girl frowned at him.
"We're studying. You know, doing what you're supposed to do in a school library.", she drawled sarcastically back at him, causing his annoying traffic light eyes to narrow further.
"Studying what, dueling tactics? If you had just come to me like you should have in the first place, I would have graciously- ", the birdman started arrogantly, only to be cut off mid sentence by an annoyed Cassandra.
"No thanks, we're fine. You can leave.", she responded bluntly. Crowley sputtered.
"How ungrateful! And to think, I was planning on helping Mr. Trappola and Mr. Spade to make up for the other day!", he yelled, completely ignoring the setting he was in. Cassandra scowled at him.
"Why would they need help? I'm the one dueling Riddle tomorrow. And you think a half-assed effort to tell us things we already know is going to make up for what you did? We nearly died!", the tanned girl yelled at him, shocking the headmage.
"B-but I assumed one of them would duel Mr. Rosehearts for the dormhead title- ", he stuttered pathetically, and Cassandra scoffed.
"Well, you thought wrong. We want Riddle to take things down a notch, not get dethroned entirely. Don't just assume things based on gossip.", she hissed, and Crowley glared at her.
"Well, if you're going to be so rude, I might as well just leave- !", he said, before Cassandra cut him off again.
"Then leave. No one likes you.", she said brutally, and Crowley sputtered and huffed some more before stomping off in rage, not being able to come up with any sort of comment. Ace crossed his arms and whistled.
"Damn, that was brutal, even by my standards.", he commented, and Cassandra frowned.
"Yeah, I know. But he pisses me off.", she growled, before regaining her composure when she heard the library doors shut. Then, everyone's guard went up again at the sound of another set of footsteps. Only to have it dropped when they saw it was only a rather exhausted looking Jamil. Sighing in relief at the sight of his young master, the long haired boy ran up to him with a worried expression.
"Where have you been?!", he asked in a concerned voice, seeming to look Kalim over for imaginary injuries. Kalim laughed nervously.
"Sorry, I said I would help Cass plan for her duel. I thought you'd freak out if you knew.", the red eyed boy said. Jamil glared at him.
"I'd freak out more if you disappeared without a trace! If it wasn't for Yue texting me saying you were here, I would still be searching the fucking desert!", he hissed, holding up his phone and showing them a text conversation with a contact labeled 'Moon Bitch'. Everyone looked at Yue, who shrugged and crossed his arms.
"What? It wasn't like it was a secret or anything. Plus, it was either I told him or Kalim told him and ended up with a rung neck.", the Asian boy defended, showing everyone his own text conversation with 'Snake Bitch'. There were a lot of caps and weapon emojis. Cassandra snorted. She honestly didn't know what she expected.
With an exasperated sigh, Jamil walked up to Cassandra and put his hands on his hips.
"I heard about what happened. Good luck with the duel tomorrow, not that I think you'll need it. Riddle's good, but I get the feeling you're better.", he said with a sexy smirk, and Cassandra gave him a bright smile in turn.
"Thanks. I feel like that's a high praise coming from you.", she said knowingly. Jamil's smirk dropped and he felt his eyes widen. It was, but she shouldn't have picked up on that. Shaking his head, he put that thought out of his head as he smiled.
"Think of it what you will, Cassandra.", he said with mischief in his voice, before he began walking away without a word. Cassandra's grin widened and turned wicked at the overly formal boy's use of her first name.
"Oh, so I'm 'Cassandra' now?! When'd I get on a first name basis with you, huh Scales?!", she called out. Jamil laughed a bit under his breath as he kept walking away, a large smile on his face that got wider at the nickname. Scales, huh? He thinks he likes that, at least when it comes out of her mouth. He kept walking away, and Cassandra kept talking.
"Don't you walk away from me!", she yelled in a joking voice, but Jamil just kept walking until he was out the door as Cassandra dropped her cupped hands from her mouth and sighed in adoration.
"He reminds me of you, Yue. I can see why you're trying to get close to him.", she said as the boy in question came to stand beside her. Yue smirked at her. Someone had a new crush.
"Does he now?", he asked rhetorically, and Cassandra was about to ask what he meant by that when Kalim came up to her and took her into his arms.
I'll see you tomorrow, habiti. Oh, and before I forget!", he said, before he stood on his tiptoes to whisper in her ear.
"My Unique Magic is Oasis Maker. It allows me to summon large quantities of water for very little magic. I know you probably won't need it, but the incantation is this; Respite in the scalding sands, a never ending party! Dance! Sing! Oasis Maker!", he said quietly, as if it were a heavily guarded secret, when in reality most people in Scarabia probably knew it. Cassandra pulled away and smiled at him
"Think you can remember it?", Kalim asked excitedly, happy his love could now use his most special spell. Cassandra nodded.
"Most definitely.", she responded, and she gave her lover one last chaste kiss.
"I love you, habibi. Have a goodnight.", she whispered, and Kalim was about to respond in kind when he heard Jamil's voice.
"Hurry up, Kalim! I don't have all night if you want to eat dinner!", he called out from the corridor, and Kalim gave his girlfriend one last lovesick smile before he left.
"I love you, too.", he whispered back, and Cassandra smiled as she watched him leave, before she gave Griffin, who now stood beside her, a scathing glare as he watched her lovesick state, entertained.
"Shut up.", she ordered, trying to prevent Griffin from saying anything smug to her. Griffin snorted.
"I haven't said a word, Cass. I have not said a word."
Sorry this took a while, school is kicking my ass. I don't know when the next chapter will be out, sorry. Also, I know it's probably cringe to say this, but thanks for the reads. I feel like this fic is one step away from being true art. The only thing missing is fanart for it. Like, if someone were to draw the scene where everyone is looking at the book over Cassandra's shoulder like it's freaking scooby doo, with or without me paying them, I know I have achieved true authorhood. Unfortunately, ya girl's a broke bitch and can't afford a commission :'(. Next time, Riddle vs. Cassandra, Hades gives a warning, and more Che'nya!
So Long and Goodnight, Thackery Binx.