Chapter 4
"Phew..." Deuce said as soon as we made it to the hallway. "We managed to avoid expulsion. That was a close one!"
"Yeah, no kidding!" said Ace.
"La la la la la!" Grim said, skipping along cheerfully. "I'm a student at Night Raven College! La la la! I'm gonna be the top mage on campus in no time." He stopped to smirk at Ace and Deuce. "Enjoy eating my dust, boys!"
Ace smirked. "Big words for a sentient pile of lint who's literally only half a student. Still... Good for you."
"I guess we're schoolmates now," Deuce said. "Grim, Ona — welcome to Night Raven."
I offered him a small smile. "Thanks. I just hope this all goes well..." I was still a bit intimidated at the prospect of being a student in a magical academy.
"The way you squared off against that monster even when you didn't have a bit of magic showed a whole lot of guts. With steel nerves like that, you'll be fine. Even in this school."
"Really?"
Deuce smiled at me. "Sure. You have nothing to worry about."
"Say, what's the deal with you sometimes talking like a punk, anyway?"
A panicked look crossed Deuce's face. "Huh?! D-do I? I think I talk pretty normal."
I lifted my eyebrows. "Uh huh..." Very suspicious...
"Whatever," said Ace. "Let's just get back to the dorm. After nearly getting expelled, the last thing we need is a curfew violation." We resumed walking.
"We're from Heartslabyul House, by the way," said Deuce. "What dorm are you guys in?"
"The dorm we're in has been abandoned for years..." Grim said. "We've taken to callin' it 'Ramshackle House.' The ol' dump is literally full of ghosts. Yeesh."
"Hey, count your blessings," said Ace. He jerked his thumb at Deuce. "I'd rather deal with ghosts than have to see this guy's smug, self-important scowl every day."
"Better than your lazy, dopey grin," said Deuce.
"Keep bawling, crybaby. I haven't forgotten how you almost wept when he said you were expelled. Catch ya later, Ona." Ace waved at me before abruptly leaving with Deuce.
"Oh, um-" I mumbled.
"Man, those two are made for each other," said Grim. "Maybe they're the type who bond through squabbling?"
I shrugged. "Could be."
"Anyway, Ona, let's get back to the dorm!"
I gave him a tired smile. "Yeah, I need the rest!"
"Tomorrow when we wake, it won't be as janitors. Finally, finally... My glorious education as a proper Night Raven College student is about to begin!" He jumped into the air with his fist raised high.
I could not help but feel excited as well. "Tomorrow is certainly going to be an adventure."
***
I had the strangest dream. I was in a strange world with people shaped like cards who were painting white roses red while a girl looked on in confusion. The cards told the girl that the queen wanted the roses red or it was off with their heads. Very peculiar. Then I awoke to the most obnoxious sound.
"Myaaah... Hey, Ona..." Grim groaned. "I know it's the middle of the night, but I think we've got a visitor. Maybe it's those pesky ghosts again? They just don't know when to quit."
"I don't think ghosts can knock, Grim," I muttered. "They can go through walls."
"Oh, right."
I sighed and got out of bed. I had no idea who could be there at this time at night, and I was too tired to think about it. I trudged to the front door. "Hellooo? Who is it?" Who knew what kind of strange people roamed this campus? I couldn't just open the door for anyone!
"It's me, Ace!" said a voice behind the door. "Just let me in, all right?"
"Ace?" Grim said from behind me. "It's the middle of the night!" I opened the door, and in stepped in an angry looking Ace... with an ugly collar around his neck. "B-bwah! That collar!"
"I can't go back to Heartslabyul House. I'm joining your dorm. For good."
Grim recoiled in shock. "Myah?! Come again?!"
I stared at Ace. "No way am I going to be responsible for another one of you. What happened?"
Grim pointed at the thing around Ace's neck. "I'd recognize that collar anywhere. It's the same one that psycho stuck on me at orientation! What'd you do to get shackled with that?"
Ace crossed his arms. "I ate a tart."
"You... ate a tart?" I said flatly. There had to be more than that, right?
"Yeah, that's it! That's all I did! I was a little hungry, see, so I went down to the dorm kitchen and found some tarts in the fridge. Three whole tarts! Big ones, too!" Ace explained how he had eaten a tart because he was so hungry. Then Riddle, his housewarden, caught him and punished him with the collar for breaking the rules. "And... here I am."
Grim and I stared at him blankly. "So... The point is you're both terrible?" said Grim.
"You don't think that it's insane for my magic to get sealed away for eating ONE slice of tart?! For a mage, that's like having your arms and legs bound and shackled! And there were three whole tarts! THREE! It's not like he could eat 'em all himself! C'mon, you KNOW this is messed up!"
"It does seem a tad extreme," I said. To be honest, I was too tired to do much analysis on the situation.
"Riiight?!"
"Yeah, but..." Grim said. "I mean, if there were three of 'em, they were probably for a party. Maybe it was someone's birthday or somethin'?" He smirked. "Lookit that! I'm, like, a master detective too!"
Ace appeared thoughtful. "A birthday party, huh...?"
"That would explain it," I said.
Ace groaned. "Man... I thought you'd be more sympathetic! I'm a victim of the housewarden's tyranny here!"
"He may have been a little extreme..." What could I say to make him go to bed?
"But you stole food!" said Grim. "That ain't cool!"
"If you apologize, I'm sure he'll forgive you," I said. No one could be that unreasonable, right?
"You don't go messin' with another man's meal..." Grim's eyes widened. "Hey, wait a minute! I just realized I never got those cans of tuna the headmage promised me!"
"All right, all right," Ace grumbled. "Fine. I get that I should apologize. But you're coming with me, Ona. This was your idea, after all."
"Oh, I got this," I said. I was an expert at getting people to like me - especially on a superficial level.
Ace smiled. "Thanks. Anyway, you got a place for me to crash tonight?"
"You were serious about that?" Grim said. "Outside of the bedroom me and Ona use, this entire dump is buried under a foot of dust." He smirked. "So if you wanna crash, you better start cleanin'!"
Ace's eyes widened. "Dude, no way! I hate cleaning!" He turned to me. "Just let me stay with you, Ona."
I stared at him. Was he serious right now? "You do remember I'm a girl, right?"
"I know. That means you're pretty small. I'm real slim too. I won't take up much space." He grinned at me.
My eyes narrowed and I motioned to the couch. "Allow me to introduce you to the lounge sofa."
Ace's face fell. "Tch. You're about as flexible as a brick. Well, fine. The sofa it is. Night!"
I waved at him as I headed back to my room. "Night."
***
I awoke once again to the sound of someone knocking on the door. I decided to let Ace get it this time. He might as well make himself useful. I waited until the knocking stopped to get up and get ready for the day. Upon entering the lounge, Grim and I found Deuce talking to Ace. Apparently he came in to check on him. Their housewarden was still mad.
Grim held his head high as we walked along Main Street. "Move it!" he said. "Outta the way! Night Raven College student comin' through!" He smirked at Ace. "Oh? Did my collar catch your eye? It is way better than the one you're stuck with! You know, the one that makes it so you can't use magic? But hey, the school could always use another janitor! Bwahahaha!"
"I think he's suffered enough, Grim," I said.
Ace glared at him. "Grrrrr! Trust me Grim, when I get my magic back, your hide is first up on the chopping block!"
"Didn't the headmage JUST tell you yesterday, no more incidents?" said Deuce. "Regardless, you're not going to be able to participate in class if you can't use magic. So why not just apologize to the housewarden? It's a small price to pay for having the collar removed."
Ace clenched his fists. "Aaaaargh! I hate this so! SO! Much!"
Grim tapped his chin. "Hmm... Ya know, we do still have some time to kill before class starts. And I am kinda curious about the other dorms. Guess I'll go along and scope out the place while you make with the groveling." He crossed his arms and smirked.
Ace groaned. "Since when did this become a field trip?!" Yet, he did lead us through the mirror to his dorm. We were met with a beautiful sight. Rose bushes littered the yard, and the building appeared more like a palace than a dorm.
"Dang, this place is swank! This is nothing like our dumpster of a dorm."
"Comparisons will only make you more miserable," I said.
We walked into what appeared to be a maze garden and noticed a tall boy with orange hair. "Ah, someone's here."
"They all gotta be red, or it's 'off with my head,'" the boy muttered to myself, and noticed he was changing the colors of the roses from white to red with magic.
"Talk about déjà vu," I mumbled.
"Huh...?" the boy said, looking at me. "You guys need something?"
"What are you doing there?" Ace asked.
"Are you blind? I'm painting these roses red, duh."
"What? Why?!" Deuce exclaimed.
"Ah ha ha. So naïve, you put the 'n' in newb. Hold the phone, I know you! You're the ones who broke a billion-thaumark chandelier and nearly got expelled for it, yeah?"
Ace winced. "That chandelier is gonna haunt us till the day we graduate, isn't it?"
"And you! You're the one who ate the housewarden's tart that same night! You guys are THE hot topic around campus! I've gotta get in on this fleeting fame." The boy grinned as he pulled out his phone. "I'm just gonna grab a selfie real quick..." He quickly put himself between us and snapped a picture. "It's cool if I post this on Magicam, right? Gimme your names so I can tag you."
Deuce straightened up. "I'm Deuce Spade."
"Ace," said Ace.
"I'm Grim, and that's my henchman, Ona," said Grim.
The other boy grinned while typing on his phone. "Uploaded! Sweet. Oh, I'm Cater Diamond, by the way. I'm a junior here at Heartslabyul. But Cater is fine. Or Cay-Cay if you're cray-cray! Soooo nice to meetcha."
"It's a pleasure," I said. Here was another interesting student. At least he seemed friendly enough.
"Ah, you're the prefect of that so-called Ramshackle House dorm, right? Like, I can't believe you actually live there! It's all gloomy and looks like hot garbage on Magicam. No filter could salvage THAT dump."
"Y'know, you've done nothin' but diss us here, pal!" Grim grumbled.
"Gah, what am I doing? I don't have time to chat! The party's this weekend. If we're not ready, it's 'off with my head!' Hey, you kids wanna help me paint some roses?"
"Yeah, uh... Why are you doing that exactly?" said Ace.
"Because red roses are so much more photogenic! Or...something...? And after that, I've gotta start getting things ready for the big croquet tournament. And that means coloring all the flamingos." Cater sighed.
"You're colorin' flamingos now?" said Grim. "Isn't anything the right color around here?!"
"Now it's coming into focus, Ace," said Deuce. "That tart you ate must have been for the housewarden's birthday. That explains his reaction!"
"Hm? Oh, no, it's not Riddle's birthday," said Cater.
"It's not?" said Ace. "Then whose birthday is it?"
"It isn't anyone's birthday. Tomorrow is our dorm's traditional unbirthday party. It's a special tea party we throw when no one has a birthday—if the housewarden feels like it."
We all stared at him blankly. That was... odd. "And why would you do that?" said Ace.
"Again with the questions! Listen, I need these roses to be red. Like, yesterday. Can't you guys help out with magic or something? Oh, but Ace is on magical house arrest and Ona is a total normie, so you two better stick to paint."
I shrugged. "It will certainly be an experience." The others grumbled but agreed to help out.
We were... not great at painting roses. Why did we even have to do this? Cater said it was one of the dorm's many rules. Grim called the rules ridiculous, which I had to agree with. Were all the dorms like this?
"They say the Queen of Hearts made up these rules herself," Cater said. "She was one of the Great Seven, you know. And Riddle is all about tradition. Probably more than previous housewardens, T-B-H. I'll admit that he's, well... a bit extra."
"Yeah, no kidding," Ace grumbled. "I sure don't have time for this nonsense. Is Riddle here? I gotta talk to him."
"Yeah, probably. But are you sure that's wise? Did you even bring an apology tart to replace the one you ate?"
Ace blinked. "Uh, no...? I came here first thing in the morning!"
"Ah ah ah... That could be a problem. Have you forgotten rule 53? Stolen items must be replaced.' If you're not in compliance, I can't let you in."
Ace gaped at him. "Are you serious?!"
"All dorm residents must obey the rules. If I let you slide, it would be off with my head next! I hate to say it, Ace, but I'm gonna need you to leave before Riddle spots you. Thanx." Cater advanced on Ace with a wicked grin. Deuce and Grim were left with no choice but to fight him with magic. They lost that battle, and we were escorted to the edge of the property by Cater. "Do make sure you bring that tart next time, m'kay? Buh-bye now!"
"Was that guy for real?!" Ace exclaimed.
"We hit him over and over, but he just kept coming," said Deuce. "Maybe he was using some kind of illusion magic?"
"So lemme get this straight: we walked in there, totally tartless, but this dude still made us do that whole song and dance before throwing us out? He just wanted to make us paint his stupid roses!"
Grim crossed his arms. "We sure look like a bunch of chumps."
"I guess we'll just have to get an apology tart and come back," Deuce said. Maybe after class, we can-" His eyes widened. "Oh no!"
"What's wrong?" I said.
"We already missed the first bell! We're gonna be late for class!"
"Myah! I don't wanna get a blemish on the first day of my glorious Night Raven education!" Grim cried. "Shake a leg, chumps! To the classroom, pronto!"
The four of us hurried to school. It turned out we were in the same class, and we had Potionology first. It was not as exciting as it sounded. It mostly consisted of memorizing a bunch of potion ingredients. Then we had History of Magic, which included more memorization. And then there was PE, where the teacher made us do a bunch of pointless exercise. This was going to be tough.
Deuce looked at his schedule while we walked down the hall in between classes. "Let's see, our next class is..."
"This so-called magic academy feels a lot like a lame, ordinary school," Ace said. "It's not exactly what I expected, but at least this collar won't be much of a problem after all. You with me on that, Grim? ...Hm?"
"Huh?" I said. "Where'd Grim go?"
Deuce gasped. "Oh! Look out the window! I just saw a ball of fur running across the yard!"
I stared out the window and saw the scene exactly as he described it. I groaned. "The Headmage is going to be furious..."
"Boy, that guy is not a fast learner."
"Not a good look to lose your only student on your first day as prefect," Ace said with a smirk. "Want help catching him?"
I looked at him in relief. "Yes, thank you!"
Ace's smirk widened. "I do love the chocolate croissants at the co-op."
"I'd do it for an iced latte at the cafeteria," Deuce said with the same look.
My heart sunk. Really, this was how it was going to be? I thought we were friends. I should have known better. I knew how to get along with people but not how to make friends. Still, I could not help feeling a bit of resentment. "Grrrr..."
"Grim's getting away..." Ace said. "Do we have a deal, or what?"
"Done and done!" It was not like I had a choice. There was no way I was catching Grim on my own.
"Pleasure doing business. Now, Deuce, shall we clean up the mess made by the worst prefect to ever set foot on campus?"
"I can already taste that latte, Ace," said Deuce.
Sighing, I wandered off to find their rewards. Luckily, the headmage saw fit to give me a weekly allowance to sustain Grim and me. It would do for now. I was silently when the boys returned a grumbling Grim to me. I was too exhausted and did not know what to say. We were late for our next class, of course. Then we had lunch. All of us brightened up when we entered the cafeteria.
"Wooo!" Grim exclaimed. "Lunchtime at last!" He looked around at the food excitedly. "Whoa! They got some good-lookin' grub!"
"Ooh, a buffet," I said. "That's fancy." At least I would eat well here.
"Look how fluffy those omelets are! Ooh, grilled chicken! And a bacon-and-egg tart!"
"Shhh! Dude, inside voices!" Ace said. "Where was this energy earlier today?"
"Ona, grab me the grilled chicken! There's only one left!"
"Okay," I said, moving towards the buffet table.
"And an omelet too. And that jelly-filled bread. Just fill your whole tray with 'em! Ow!"
"Hey! Watch where you're goin'!" said an aggressive looking guy. "M-my carbonara! You broke the yolk!"
And, just like that, Grim got into a fight in the middle of the cafeteria. His friends backed him up, which was totally unfair, so Ace and Deuce stepped in to fight. Somehow, the bullies managed to get hurt enough to back off. Hopefully that was the last we would see of them.
"I guess this is my life now," I said with a sigh.
"Can we just get some lunch already?" said Ace. "I missed breakfast, and I'm about to collapse."
"Me too," I said. I picked up a tray and stashed enough food on it for Grim and me both. Then I followed my friends to an empty table. Grim sat next to me while Ace sat across from me and Deuce next to him.
Deuce sighed. "I can't believe this. Textbook bullies at an academy that's supposed to be famous for producing exceptional mages..."
"Aw, get over it already," Grim said. "It's time to chow like the wind!" He grabbed some of the food with his paws and stuffed it in his mouth. "This omelet is as fluffy as a cloud, and practically burstin' with cheese!" He tossed in more food. "So, I saw your guys' dorm, but what are the other ones like?"
"I'm sure you're familiar with the statues of the Great Seven?" Cater said as he sat down right next to me, plopping his tray on the table. "Night Raven College has a dorm themed after each one."
"Bwah!" Ace exclaimed. "You're that guy from this morning!"
Grim pointed at him accusingly. "You tricked us into paintin' those dumb roses!"
"'Tricked' is such an ugly word," Cater said. "Do you think I wanted to spend MY morning painting roses? It's dorm policy! I was just following orders."
"And grinning like a fiend all the while," Deuce said, glaring at him.
"Now, now, Deucey. Outside of the dorm, I don't care what rules you follow. Here, I'm just a friendly mentor figure!"
"Please. Do NOT call me Deucey."
"Ah ha ha. That's how Cater shows he cares," said a boy with green eyes and glasses as he sat next to Ace.
"And who are you?" said Ace.
"Ah, I should introduce myself. The name's Trey. Trey Clover. I'm a junior at Heartslabyul, like Cater here." He smiled at me. "And you must be Ona, the new prefect from that dump of a- ah, I mean, the 'rustic dorm.' I heard the whole story from Cater. Thanks for looking out for our boys yesterday."
"I don't recall inviting you to sit with us..."
"Hey now, we're all from the same dorm, right?" Cater said. "Let's try to get along." He suddenly shoved his phone in my face. "Here, gimme your digits."
Caught completely off guard, I went rigid and said, "Wait, what...?!"
"What is up with you, Ona? You look so tense! It's okay, baby! Relax! Relaaaaax!"
I stared at him, mouth partially open. "Uh..." What was with this guy?
"I bet you're the type that's awkward IRL but can text up a storm, huh? Just give me your info already!"
"Cater," Trey said, giving him a look. "You're freaking out the freshmen. Maybe take it down a notch?"
Cater leaned back, and I could finally breath. "Ha! Sorry! I can get a little extra sometimes. What were we talking about... The dorms, yeah? Ah, what fun to mentor new students! Go ahead, A-M-A."
"Before you get into the other dorms, I wouldn't mind learning a bit more about ours," Ace said. "Like, what's the deal with all this 'Queen of Hearts rule number whatever' junk?"
"I'm sure you're familiar with the legendary Queen of Hearts already?" said Trey. "She had to rule over a kingdom of weirdos, and did it by emphasizing order and making strict rules."
"Our dorm, Heartslabyul, is an homage to her," said Cater. "By tradition, we wear armbands with the red and black of the Queen's dress. And we live by the rules she created."
"Pfft. Can you make me any more bored?" said Grim.
"Now, the degree to which we adhere to the rules depends on the sitting housewarden. Past wardens have been much more lax."
"Riddle though?" said Trey. "He doesn't mess around. Basically, you could say that we're honoring that tradition to the utmost extent possible."
Ace grimaced. "Bleah. Just my luck..."
"So what are the other dorms like, then?" Grim asked.
"As Cater mentioned earlier, the dorms of this school are themed after the Great Seven," Trey said. "We have our dorm, Heartslabyul, modeled after the strictness of the Queen of Hearts. To run down the rest of them for you, we have... Savanaclaw, based on the persistent spirit of the King of Beasts. Octavinelle, based on the benevolent heart of the Sea Witch. Scarabia, based on the mindful personality of the Sorcerer of the Sands. Pomefiore, based on the tenacity of the Fairest Queen. Ignihyde, based on the diligence of the king of the underworld. And finally... Diasomnia, based on the noble spirit of the Thorn Fairy."
"That's a lot to take in," I said.
"All those names are way too long!" Grim said. "How's anyone supposed to remember 'em?"
"Ah ha ha!" Cater laughed. "Well, you get the idea. Want to or not, you'll learn them soon enough."
"At orientation, the Dark Mirror picks a dorm for you based on the essence of your being," Trey explained. "As a result, each dorm ends up with a distinct sort of... flavor, we'll call it."
"That is sooo true. I totes see it."
Cater and Trey proceeded to talk about how they viewed each dorm and even pointed out students from each dorm in the cafeteria. I found it interesting even if I knew I would not remember it all. When there was a pause in the conversation, I took the opportunity to ask a question that had recently been on my mind.
"Hey, is there a pool at this school?" I asked. My former high school had a pool, and the school was not that big. I could not imagine this fancy academy not having one.
"Oh, sure," said Cater. "Octavinelle has a pool. All dorms have at least one facility frequented by the whole school."
I smiled. "Great! How do I get there?"
"Unfortunately, it's not wise to wander into another dorm without a member of that dorm or permission from the housewarden," Trey said. "The housewardens basically control who can enter their dorm."
"So, if I get the Octavinelle housewarden's permission, I'm good. Where is he?"
"Over there in the middle." Trey nodded at a table behind me to the right.
"Alright then." I stood up.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Cater said. "If you talk to him, you might get what you want, but it'll come at a price."
I frowned. "Is everyone at this school like that?"
"Yeah, but he's a different breed."
"Fine. What if I befriended an Octavinelle student?"
"That could work," Trey agreed. "In time, I'm sure you'll succeed."
"Then I better start now." I was normally not so impulsive, but although it had only been two days since I last went swimming, it felt like weeks! I turned my head to look over the table Trey had pointed out. At the same time, one of the boys at the table turned his head and immediately caught my attention. He had beautiful teal hair with a dark streak on his right side. And his eyes... His eyes locked onto mine, and I found myself unable to look away. They were different colors. I could not tell the color of his left eye from so far away, but his right eye was a brilliant gold that almost glowed.
"Eh, what's going on?" said Grim.
"Love at first sight?" Ace said in a joking tone.
The boy grinned at me. I started to turn so I could move towards him, but Cater grabbed my arm and pulled me back down. "Oh no. Not him. Bad idea."
I finally tore my gaze away from the boy and looked at Cater. "Why?"
Cater shook his head. "Just trust me. You don't want to get mixed up with that guy. He'll only create problems for you."
From what I knew about the guys at this school, I should have just believed him without question. It was better to be safe than sorry, right? And yet... Something inside me rebelled against his advice. "Thanks, but I am perfectly capable of making up my own judgments about people. This Riddle guy, for example, sounds like bad news."
"No kidding!" said Ace. "He collared me for eating one slice of tart! All his rule obsession is outta control!"
"My 'rule obsession' is 'outta control,' is it?" said a frowning red-headed boy standing behind Ace.
"You bet it is. Riddle's just a petty tyrant who leans into the whole 'rules' schtick as a pretext to keep everyone under his puny thumb!
Deuce looked up at the newcomers with wide eyes. "Ace! Behind you!"
Ace turned around and nearly fell out of his chair in fright. "Bwah?! Housewarden!"
"Oh no," I whispered. More trouble.