TW: abuse, suicide, neglect, violence, blood, depression, etc...
Dreamland...
Another strange dream...?
Alice was behind a podium, upset with the way the Queen ran things. The Queen sat on a throne that was placed high above Alice.
<Alice> And as for you, Your Majesty... "Your Majesty," indeed! Why, you're not a queen. You're just a fat, pompous, bad-tempered old ty... tyrant...
<Queen of Hearts> Mnhmmhmmhmmhmm... What were you saying, my dear?
<Cheshire Cat> Well, she simply said that you're a fat, pompous, bad-tempered old tyrant! Hahahaha!
<Queen of Hearts> OOOOOOOOOFF with her head!
<Cards> Ooooooooh!
The cards surround Alice and she makes a run for it.
<King of Hearts> You heard what Her Majesty said! Off with her head!
∙∙·▫▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫ₒₒ▫ᵒᴼᵒ▫▫·∙∙
Your pov...
Italics- thoughts
Augh, everything was a mess and no one stopped the queen. They were all so afraid of her.
"Hey, Y/n," Grim exclaimed as I opened my eyes. "Ah, good, you're already up."
"Today's the big duel," Ace speaks up from the chair that was across the room. "Let's DO this thing."
"How could you be this energetic this early," I question as I sat up.
"I'm just ready to beat Riddle and get this stupid collar off of me," Ace responded. I looked over at him and he was sporting a frown on his face.
"I couldn't imagine," I smirked. Ace glared at me and I laughed. I got up out of bed and walked over to him. I pulled him up by his arm as he looked at me confused.
"I need you out of the room so I can get in uniform, you weirdo," I stated as I pushed him out of the room. He understood and rushed downstairs to the lounge. "Grim, do you wanna go with him?"
"How do you think the fight will go," Grim asks his question on top of mine. Fine then, stay here and ask questions because people are totally not nervous.
"I'm not sure, Grim," I answer truthfully as I grab my uniform and change outfits. "But I do have a feeling that something bad is going to happen."
"Let's just hope that bad feeling was something bad that you ate," Grim snickered.
"Yeah, let's hope that is the case," I kinda smiled at Grim as I finished getting ready. Grim jumped up on my shoulder and we left the bedroom to go downstairs.
"There you two are," Deuce calls from the bottom of the stairs.
"Sorry, just woke up and had to get ready," I yawned, still kinda asleep.
"It's alright," Deuce smiles. I hit the bottom of the stairs and Deuce held out his arm for me. I took his arm and we went to get Ace so we could go to Heartslabyul.
⦕Small time skip...⦖
"Did you hear? They say someone's challenged Housewarden Rosehearts to a duel!" I heard a conversation going as we entered the Heartslabyul dorm.
"Riddle Rosehearts? Seriously?! Whoever it is has gotta be outta his mind. Riddle will have his head off in five seconds flat."
"Still, it's the first challenge since Rosehearts took power. I'm pumped!" Do people only have time to gossip? I really hope that this fight doesn't go badly.
"You're saying Ace and Deuce are challenging Riddle for the housewarden's seat?!" I heard Cater exclaim. "Please tell me you're kidding."
"I tried to stop 'em," Trey sighed. Ace had mumbled something under his breath as we came closer to the rose maze. I guess he had heard Trey.
"Off all the stupid ideas..." We are able to see Cater rubbing the back of his neck when we turn the corner. "I just hope this doesn't make everything worse."
"You and me both," Trey admits. I quietly wish Ace and Deuce good luck as me and Grim go over by Mr. Crowley. The students of the dorm were behind Mr. Crowley. Some were sitting on the grass while others were standing or kneeling.
"We are about to commence two challenges for the housewarden position at Heartslabyul," Mr. Crowley declares. "The first challenger is Ace Trappola. The second challenger is Deuce Spade. The current housewarden they have to challenge is Riddle Rosehearts. Now, in accordance with the duel rules, please remove the magic-sealing collars as they would provide an unfair disadvantage."
"FINALLY, the dumb collar is off," Ace exhaled when his and Deuce's collars disappeared. Deuce was relieved to have the collar off.
"Enjoy your moment of freedom," Riddle smirked. "The collar will be back on soon enough. I could hardly believe it when I heard you two intended to duel me. Is this a joke?"
"Do I look like I'm joking," Ace scoffed.
"I'd never propose a duel as a joke," Deuce clarifies.
"Have it your way," Riddle huffed as he crossed his arms. "Let's get this over with."
"Uh, Riddle," Cater spoke up from beside Trey. "What do you want to do about today's afternoon tea?"
"A foolish question," Riddle reprimanded. "You know that the rules stipulate I take my tea every day at 4 p.m. sharp."
"It's just that it's already past 3:30..." Cater forces a smile while he looks at his phone.
"And you fear that I will be late," Riddle questions. "All the more reason to end this promptly. It appears I have a little time to waste. Rather than facing my opponents in succession, I will take both at once."
"You can do it, Housewarden!" The students cheered, all having forced smiles and fake enthusiasm. "Knock 'em dead, sir!" Trey shakes his head in frustration.
"Cowards," Deuce commented to the crowd.
"I got a bad feelin' about this," Grim says from the grass beside me.
"Hey, at least we got a plan," Ace frowns at Grim. I choose not to say anything, fearing something isn't going to go as planned.
"Headmage, please give us the signal," Riddle says.
"When the mirror I've thrown shatters upon the ground, that is your signal to begin," Mr. Crowley instructs as he shows the mirror in his hand. "Ready... Go!" The mirror is thrown to the ground and it shatters.
Off With Your Heads!
Collars instantly appear on Ace and Deuce's neck. They both take a stumbling step back in shock. My eyes widened in shock. The mirror just broke... How did he do that?
"Not again," Ace complained, his breath uneven. "I didn't even have time to finish my spell!"
"He shut us down like it was nothing..." Deuce added.
"This so isn't looking too good," I quietly comment.
"Visualization is key to spell casting," Mr. Crowley explains. "The better you are at accurately visualizing your magic's effects, the stronger and more precise it will be. It would appear Mr. Rosehearts had finely honed his magic."
"They didn't stand a chance," Grim whined.
"You didn't even last five seconds," Riddle smiled, feeling accomplished with his work. "That was all you had, and you still thought to challenge me? You must be utterly humiliated. I guess my mother was right. A man who cannot follow rules is a man who cannot achieve anything."
"Tch... We agree that rules should be followed," Deuce speaks up. "But forcing others to follow nonsensical rules like the ones you've enacted is tyranny!"
"Then you agree that breaking rules is wrong," Riddle points out. "And in this dorm, I AM the rules. Therefore, those who cannot abide by my decisions deserve not the heads they use to complain!"
"That's not how rules work," I argue. "You can't use the rules for your benefit only. Rules need to benefit everyone! And losing heads is extreme!"
"If there were no penalties, no one would follow the rules," Riddle argues back. "I have to wonder what sort of pitiful education left you unable to comprehend such a simple concept. Clearly, you were born to parents with no great magical capability. And as a result... You lack even the basic education necessary to attend a school such as this. It's quite sad."
"Well I'm sorry that I wasn't good enough," I yelled, tears forming in my eyes. "I wasn't good enough for my family nor Abuela Alma. I can't help that my family wanted me dead and actively tried to kill me. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to kill myself after the beatings I took from my parents because my siblings decided to blame me from something. Everything I know I had to teach myself since I wasn't ever allowed to go outside. And with Abuela Alma, she thought I was a disgrace to the family bloodline. I wasn't ever useful enough."
"You little..." Deuce hands form fists.
"How dare you insult Y/n," Ace shouted as he punched Riddle.
"Wh-what...?" Riddle stumbled back from the impact.
"Riddle," Cater and Trey both exclaim in unison.
"Mr. Rosehearts," Mr. Crowley showed his concern. I scoffed through my tears at him.
"Whoa! He just punched the housewarden...!" The students were in shock and awe.
"Bam! Right cross to the face," Grim cheered. Deuce was looking back and forth between me, Ace, and Riddle. "A-Ace?!"
"That's all I can take," Ace snapped. "Forget Riddle. Forget the duel. I'm done."
"That hurt," Riddle cried in pain. "You... p-punched me?!"
"Kids aren't trophies for their parents to flaunt," Ace stated. "And the accomplishments of a child aren't determined by the worth of their parents. It's not your parents' fault you became a tyrant ⎼or anyone else's. You also don't get to assume what kind of life or parents other people have. You've been here a year and haven't even made a friend who will tell you you're outta line and that's on you."
"What are you even talking about," Riddle asked, confused over what was happening.
"Yeah, maybe you had some rigid upbringing from a relentless helicopter-mom," Ace continued. "Is that all you are? An extension of her? Can't you think for yourself? Do you expect other people to be like their parents, too? Or is that just aimed at Y/n? You call yourself the 'red sovereign'? You're just a baby who's good at magic."
"Baby...?" Riddle repeated, getting angry. "Did you just call me a 'baby'?! You don't know anything about me! You don't know anything about anything! And someone as useless and uneducated as Y/n shouldn't even be attending this school."
"Nope, sure don't," Ace agreed. "And I don't need to. What I know is that Y/n does belong in this school, even if she was brought here by accident. And your attitude tells me all I need to know⎼ that you're a nothing but a spoiled brat!"
"Shut up, shut up, shut UP," Riddle shouted. "My mother was right! And that means I'm right too!"
"Riddle, calm down," Trey interrupted. "The duel is already over."
"Mr. Clover is correct," Mr. Crowley agreed with Trey. "The challenger has been disqualified due to physical violence. If you do not cease your conflict now, I'll have you written up for breaking school rules!"
"Ace is right, though," a student from the crowd exclaimed. "I've had enough of Riddle!" The student threw an egg at Riddle.
"An egg," Trey was surprised as Riddle went to remove the egg bits from his uniform.
"Who did that," Riddle asked the crowd. "Who threw that egg?!" No one in the crowd spoke up. Riddle starts laughing. "You say YOU'RE fed up?! I'M the one who's fed up with all of YOU! No matter how strict I am, no matter how many heads I remove, you keep breaking the rules! All any of you care about is doing what YOU want to do! If the guilty party won't come forward, then I'll pass judgment on all of you! Clearly, none of you value your heads!"
Off With Your Heads!
A collar appeared around everyone's neck except the headmaster.
"Why does this hurt so much," I ask as I hit the ground from the force of the collar. I felt the ground tremble and guessed that the students were leaving the area.
"How do you like that, hm?" Riddle laughed. "Now no one can do a thing to me! Do you see now? My strict adherence to the rules was clearly the correct path!"
"Cease this improper behavior now, Mr. Rosehearts," Mr. Crowley demanded. "I expect better from you! Look, you're even hurting the magicless student."
"Trey, if he keeps using his spell... This could get ugly, fast," Cater voices his concern.
"Riddle, stop this," Trey urges.
"Wow, way to totally prove me wrong here, pal," Ace frowns. "I call you a baby, and you immediately throw a temper tantrum!"
"Retract your comment immediately, or I shall skewer you where you stand," Riddle demands.
"No way," Ace refuses. "I ain't retraction' squat."
"Dude, this is bad," Cater says. "You've G-2-G, now!" The ground shakes, and debris and rose bushes rose from the ground.
"The rose bushes! They're floating," Grim exclaimed in fear.
"This is some serious magic," Deuce comments.
"Mighty roses, tear this brute to pieces," Riddle commands. The rose bushes move towards Ace.
"Cease and desist and once," Mr. Crowley demands. I look up from the ground to where Ace is. Oh, no... I don't know what to do. I can't do anything, this collar is too heavy. Ace barely escapes the rose bushes that were threatening to flatten him. Come on, Y/n, you have to do something. Wait... Would the collar stay on if I shifted? I gotta concentrate. Riddle sent more rose bushes after Ace. There was a bright light and the rose bushes and collars disappeared.
"What just⎼" Riddle was shocked.
"Huh? I'm still alive," Ace gratefully exhaled. "What's with all these playing cards?"
"All the rose bushes turned into cards," Deuce questioned.
"Riddle, stop this right now," Trey spoke angrily, behind him was a shocked Cater.
"Wait, is that Trey's 'Paint the Roses'," Cater mumbles. "But... how?!"
"All the magic-sealin' collars are gone," Grim said in surprise.
"What did I tell you," Trey questioned. "My magic can overwrite characteristics for a short time. So I used it to make 'Riddle's magic' into 'my magic'." Wow, I guess I missed some stuff.
"You can do that," Cater asked in awe. "That's like some kinda loophole!"
"N-no..." Riddle cried out. "Off with their heads! I SAID, off with their heads!" Trey's magic kept rewriting Riddle's magic.
"Riddle, stop," Trey demanded. "Can't you see how you look right now?"
"He... He was really gonna do it!" Why are students still here? I thought all of them ran away.
"He is completely out of control."
"He's like some kinda monster!"
"What? Was my magic overwritten by yours," Riddle went off on Trey. "Does that mean your signature spell is stronger than mine?!"
"Of course it doesn't," Trey shakes his head. "Riddle, take a deep breath and listen to us."
"Are YOU going to tell me that I'm wrong too," Riddle snapped. "After all I've done to protect the rule of law?! Do you know how much I've suffered for this?! I... I refuse to believe this!"
"Cease immediately, Mr. Rosehearts," Mr. Crowley demands. "Any further attempt to use magic will leave your magestone completely tainted with blot!"
"But... I'm right," Riddle's face turns completely red with anger. "I'M the one who's right! There is NO POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE!"
"Riddle, stop," Trey yelled. Jeez, I didn't even know that this dude could get mad. The ground starts to shake more as a black liquid surrounds Riddle.
"Where did that black stuff come from," I ask out loud as I get up and move towards Deuce. Ace takes a few steps back from Riddle. Soon the black liquid disappears and Riddle has a new appearance. He is wearing a black and red torn-up dress with tight black pants and black knee-high high-heel boots.
"You are fools to defy me," Riddle laughs. "You are not welcome in my world. In my world, I am the law. I am order made manifest! The only response I will accept from you is "Yes, Housewarden Riddle". All who defy me will lose their heads!"
"Dear me, what have I done," Mr. Crowley shakes his head and looks at his hands in agony. "I've allowed a student to overblot in my presence."
"Overblot," Grim repeats in question. "What does that mean?!"
"Overblot is a dangerous condition that mages must avoid at all costs," Mr. Crowley explains. "At the moment, he is overcome by negative energy, and has lost control of his magic and emotions."
"Okay, sure..." Grim thinks about it for a few seconds. "But what does that mean?"
"Please explain," Deuce pleads.
"I think an explanation would be useful once Riddle is back to normal," I shout. I see Riddle commanding a few rose bushes to crush Ace and I run over to Ace to burn the bushes down.
"To put it in layman's terms, he's in evil berserker mode," Cater says, like we aren't in the middle of a battlefield.
"If he keeps releasing magical energy, we could be looking at a loss of life here⎼ his included," Trey adds.
"All the more reason to quit talking," I sigh as I burn more bushes down. A figure appears behind Riddle and it reminds me of the monster that was in the dwarf's mines. The new monster was wearing a red and black dress and on its glass head was a crown.
"The well-being of my students is my top priority," Mr. Crowley states. "Therefore, I must evacuate them immediately. As for Mr. Rosehearts, we must restore his consciousness before his magical energy runs dry. For as bad as losing him would be, there are scenarios that are far worse... Listen well: I need all of you to seek help from the other housewardens and members of the faculty."
"Take that," Ace shouts as he casts a spell to hit Riddle and I send some ice towards Riddle. I heard Cater, Trey, and Mr. Crowley make noises of surprise.
"I summon thee, cauldron," Deuce joins us in attacking Riddle. Grim runs over from his place near Mr. Crowley to send some of his flames towards Riddle as well.
"What do you fools think you're doing," Riddle shrieks as he prepares for a counterattack.
"Uh, hello?! 911? We've got an idiot emergency," Cater says out of surprise.
"You DID hear that part about how reeeal bad things are happenin' with him, right," Grim questioned.
"That's why we need to stop him now," Deuce adds. "I don't want that on my conscience!"
"And I'm not given' up till I hear him say 'I was wrong and I'm sorry'," Ace admits.
"All right, let's do this," Trey sighs as he walks over to where Ace and I are. "I can overwrite his magic for a little longer. In the meantime, do what you can! Headmage, please evacuate the other students!"
"Wait," Mr. Crowley tries to stop us. "This is dangerous!"
"Are you S-R-S, Trey," Cater asks. "You can't beat Riddle!"
"So what, you're not even gonna fight unless you KNOW you can win," Ace taunts.
"Yeah, he's right," Grim agrees with Ace. "That's weak."
"This is the only way we can think of to snap him out of this," Deuce adds.
"Yeah..." Trey crosses his arms. "I don't want to lose him. There are too many things I've left unsaid."
"As long as I don't have to sing, I'm good," I smile. "Besides, I'd like to see what my Gift is capable of."
"Ugh, I do NOT like or subscribe to this, but fine," Cater bitterly sighs. What language does this guy speak? I really don't understand.
"I'll be back as soon as I've gotten the students to safety," Mr. Crowley says. "Stand firm until then!"
"Such defiance, form every last one of you," Riddle shrieks. "I shall take all of your heads!"
"Riddle's body can't take much more of this," Trey observes Riddle. "We need to stop him before it's too late!"
"All right, let's send everything we have at him," I command and we all start to attack at once. Riddle sends a counter attack and I get an idea.
"How much magic does he have," Ace questions.
"I'm not sure, but keep attacking," Trey says. "I can write off his signature spell for so long."
"Y/n, what are you doing," Cater asks, as he caught me stop attacking and was just staring at Riddle.
"I have an idea," I say and run over to where Deuce is. He stops sending cauldrons at Riddle and looks at me. "Deuce, remember when you launched Ace at the chandelier?"
"I don't need to be reminded of that," Ace whines from in front of us.
"What about it," Deuce asks.
"I want you to launch me at the monster head behind Riddle," I explain. "Don't worry about me being hurt. I'll be in my fox form."
"Okay, I can do that," Deuce agrees. "I'm ready when you are." I turn into my fox form and nod my head at Deuce. He points his magestone pen at me and concentrates on using his magic to lift me in the air. He takes a deep breath and launches me at the glass head. As I was flying through the air, I curled myself into a ball and set myself aflame. This is gonna hurt. I heard shouts of my name from the other people as I hit the glass head. The head shattered and the monster started to disappear. I clumsily landed on the ground exhausted, both physically and mentally. I felt the ground shake some as it indicated that people were running this way. I also felt Riddle's body hit the ground, then everything went black.
I open my eyes and I'm in a room. The room had a table in the middle of it and 2 chairs on either side of the table. I change into my human form and look around. What happened and where am I? What even is this place? Soon the room began to change and a middle aged woman with red hair appeared in the room, holding a cake with a candle on it.
"Happy eight birthday, Riddle," the woman said. So that's Riddle's mother? She's very pretty. "This year's birthday cake is a low-sugar recipe made with nuts and lecithin-rich soy flour to improve your cerebral function."
"Thank you." A kid version of Riddle appeared at the table. I took a few steps closer to the table. "But, Mom... Just once, I'd like to try one of those tarts covered with bright-red strawberries..."
"Absolutely not," Riddle's mother shut down. "Those tarts are monstrously unhealthy. I might as well feed you poison. Even just a single slice would exceed your recommended daily intake of sugar. Now, dinner tonight will be a tuna saute rich in DHA and omega-3 fatty acids. Now that you're eight, your caloric intake should be 600 kilocalories per meal, so don't eat more than 100 grams of it. Understood?"
"Yes, Mom," Riddle deflates in his chair. Poor Riddle, this is so much different from my life. I guess not all attention from parents is a good thing. But seriously, comparing sweets to poison is outrageous. Poison can be put into sweets.Everything goes black again and then I am in front of Riddle. He is no longer in his overblot outfit and is instead in his normal dorm outfit.
"I'd always wanted to try one of those tarts with the bright-red strawberries," Riddle tears up. "The local cake shop had them in the window. They shined at me like forbidden jewels." Everything goes black once again and I'm getting aggravated. I return back to the room.
"That's enough classical magic study for today," Riddle's mother states, as she puts away her materials. "Your homework is to read the first fifty pages of the philosophy of language book referenced in today's magical philosophy texts. You may now have one hour of independent study before your potionology lesson."
"Thank you, Mother," younger Riddle says and his mother leaves the room, closing the door behind her. Riddle appears beside me, giving me a bit of fright.
"I was studying every possible subject, scheduled down to the minute," he continues as he looks at his younger self studying. "When I didn't understand something, the lesson was extended until I did. That was my 'normal'."
"...Is someone knocking on the window," younger Riddle questions. I turn to look at the window as the younger Riddle gets up from his chair to go look out the window. From the corner of my eye, Riddle doesn't move, he only observes his younger self moving towards the window.
"Whoa, he heard us!" I hear a younger Trey's voice from outside the window once younger Riddle had opened the window.
"Hey, come play with us!" I hear another voice from outside the window. Could that voice be the 'Chenya' person Ace mentioned to Trey back in the library?
"Who are you," the younger Riddle questioned.
"I'm Chenya, and that's Trey," the second voice answered. Guess I was right. "Let's all play croquet! Oh, but it's LOTS of fun!"
"I can't," young Riddle declined the invitation. "I'm supposed to be doing independent study, and I have a lot of homework to do."
"'Independent study' means you pick what to do, right," young Chenya questions. "My grandpa says play is a form of study!"
"Just play with us for a little bit," young Trey tries to persuade young Riddle.
"...O-okay..." young Riddle agrees. "Just a little, though!"
"Hey, what's your name," young Trey asks.
"R-Riddle," young Riddle stutters then clears his throat. "Riddle Rosehearts." Young Riddle climbed out the window to play with his new friends.
"I had the best time playing with Trey and Chenya," Riddle speaks again and I turn to look at him. "We did so many things I'd never done before. They taught me lots of things I didn't know. After that, I snuck out of my room everyday, to play with them during independent study time." The scenery changes and now we are outside of a building. The side of the building had some windows, trees, rose bushes, and picnic tables with benches.
"Whaaat," young Chenya exclaim dramatically as he came into view. "You've never even tried a strawberry tart? They're out of this world."
"Yeah," young Riddle confirmed. "My mom says sugar is basically poison."
"I mean, you probably shouldn't eat too much of it," Trey says thoughtfully. "But calling it 'poison' is kinda... yikes. You know, my family runs a cake shop. Let's go get a tart right now!"
"Really," young Riddle gets excited, then his mood dampens a bit. "But... I shouldn't."
"Just one slice," young Trey smiles at young Riddle. "It'll be fine."
"One slice for YOU, maybe," young Chenya points at young Riddle. Young Chenya points to himself. "I want a whole one!"
"A bright-red strawberry tart on a white plate," Riddle describes. "To me, it shined more brightly than any gem could. That first bite was so sweet. It tasted like nothing I'd ever eaten before. With each bite, I became more entranced... and completely lost track of the time."
"I cannot believe this," Riddle's mother fumes as we appear back in the room. "Not only are you cutting independent study time, but I find you eating a mountain of sugar?! Those two hoodlums must have incited this behavior. You must never play with them again!"
"I'm sorry, Mother," young Riddle cried. "I promise, it will never happen again."
"Be quiet," Riddle's mother snapped. "You've broken the rules, and I will not hear another word from you. Clearly, you're not able to handle the freedom of independent study. I need to keep a closer eye on you."
"Because I broke the rules, my favorite part of my day was taken away from me," Riddle sighed. "I vowed to never break my mother's rules again. After all, she was the most accomplished mother in the city, and therefore, the most correct. But Mom... Why? Why does my heart hurt so much? I want to eat a tart! It's my birthday, so can't I have some just this once? I want to play outside all day long! I want to make lots and lots of friends! Tell me, Mom, please... What rule do I need to follow to make this pain go away?"
"There are no rules," I say softly. "There are no rules to make the pain go away."
"Then how do I make the pain stop," Riddle turned to face me with tears in his eyes.
"I don't know," I whisper. "But, I think it's something you need to figure out yourself."
"Thank you," Riddle whispers to me as he disappears.
"You're welcome," I whisper back and once again I am enveloped in darkness.
✩░▒▓▆▅▃▂▁▁▂▃▅▆▓▒░✩
3rd Pov...
Where am I, Riddle thought. The last thing I remember was talking to Y/n while looking at my memories. Am I perhaps going to look at her memories?
The darkness lifted and the scenery was one of a hospital. Riddle looked around and saw three children sitting in front of a room. He decided to walk over to where the children were seated. In the room behind the children was a woman who seemed to be asleep but was in visible pain.
"I hate her for causing mommy to be like this," the little girl said as she turned around to look at the sleeping woman. "It's not fair that mommy had to go through that much pain."
"There was nothing that could have been done," the oldest of the three children sighed. "You and Kei also caused mother pain when you were born as well."
"Yeah, but mother likes us," the little boy, Kei, argued. "Besides, I heard them talking and they don't even want the baby."
"Just because the baby isn't wanted doesn't mean we don't take it home," the oldest explained.
"Why is that," the little girl asked.
"What I heard from father is that it's looked down upon if you have a baby but don't keep it," the eldest explained. "Father explained to me that we are important people to the community and we always have to act with the intent of keeping our good image."
"That's so cool that we are that important," the little boy exclaimed in excitement. Riddle vision goes dark and he soon finds himself in a small nursery. Is this little Y/n, Riddle asks in his mind. He is unsure why and how he is able to see into her past.
"Just throw her into the nursery," a woman's voice commanded. "The child won't stop crying and I'm trying to get ready for an interview about giving birth to the little brat."
"Yes, ma'am," another woman's voice responds. The door to the nursery opened and a woman wearing clothes that resembled rags came in carrying a crying baby. The woman puts down the baby in the small crib and turns to leave the room. Riddle watches everything in shock.
"So even as a baby, she wasn't taken care of," Riddle whispered. "And I said such horrible things to her. I've hurt her because I was hurting... I've got to make this right..."
✩░▒▓▆▅▃▂▁▁▂▃▅▆▓▒░✩
Your Pov...
"Riiiiiddle," I heard Trey's voice call out. I felt the ground underneath me and groaned.
"Y/n," I heard Deuce's voice over my head. "C'mon wake up, please." I slowly open my eyes to see Deuce looking down at me with tears in his eyes. I try to sit up and Deuce scrambles to help me.
"What happened," I ask, my voice came out as a small whisper as I look around the area. The garden was completely ruined. Rose bushes were uprooted and there were small fires and cauldrons littering the area.
"Gah," Riddle immediately sits up in shock. Trey looks relieved as he places a hand on Riddle's back.
"He's back," Ace points out as if the rest of us can't see Riddle.
"Well, it's about time..." Cater sighs. "We were just about losin' our heads here⎼ figure of speech, sorry⎼ 'cause we thought you might never wake up!"
"What in the world happened...?" Riddle asked, his head still fogged up. I move to stand up to walk over to the group and Deuce helps me over there.
"Ah, Mr. Rosehearts appears to have regained consciousness," Mr. Crowley smiles. "Excellent."
"Don't worry, Riddle," Trey responds to Riddle. "Just try to rest."
"Yo, that's just the sort of coddling that led to him going nuts in the first place," Ace points out. Deuce and I reach the group and Deuce helps me sit on the grass, so I could rest more. "Now the garden is torn up from the floor up, not to mention that we could've died! Y/n looks like she's been to the afterlife and back!"
"Thanks Ace for pointing that out," I chuckle.
"Ace is right," Deuce adds. "It was looking bad for a while there. Y/n did take most of the damage though."
"For cryin' out loud," Grim crosses his paws. "When you humans let that stress build up, the results sure ain't pretty."
"The truth is I..." Riddle went to speak and paused. He looked over at me and I nodded my head. "I really wanted to eat the chestnut tart."
"Huh," Ace voiced his confusion as the expression on his face turned to a neutral resting face.
"And I don't care if the roses are white, or the flamingos are pink," Riddle continues, looking down at his lap. "And I prefer honey to sugar cubes in my tea, and I like milk tea better than lemon tea anyhow. And after a meal, I want to be the one sitting around talking with everyone..."
"Riddle...?" Trey questioned, not sure what Riddle was going on about.
"And I didn't mean to say all that mean stuff about Y/n," Riddle started to sniffle. "And I really wanted to play with you and Chenya more, Trey."
"Riddle Rosehearts, in tears..." Cater took a few steps back. "Hashtag #WOW."
"You think a few crocodile tears is all it'll take for me to forgive you," Ace frowns. Deuce and I look at Ace in shock.
"Give the guy a break, Ace," Deuce sighs.
"I'm sorry, Riddle," Trey apologizes. "I knew you were suffering, and all I did was pretend not to notice. So I'm gonna say what I should have said earlier. Your way of doing things was wrong, and you owe everyone an apology."
"I'm sorry..." Riddle gets out in between sobs. "I'm really sorry."
"I know I've been saying I wanted an apology from Riddle, but now that I got one, y'know what," Ace states. "ONE STUPID 'I'M SORRY' DOESN'T EVEN COME CLOSE TO MAKING UP FOR WHAT HE DID!!"
"DUDE," Cater criticized. "Way to be a capital-J Jerk!"
"And proud of it," Ace glares at Cater. "Have you forgotten how he made a total fool outta me?! Not to mention he did the same to Deuce and Y/n. Have you forgotten how he just threw away that chestnut tart we worked so hard on?! That ain't something you can make go away with a few tears and a flimsy 'I'm sorry'!"
"Wow, I ain't never met anyone who was better at holdin' grudges than I am," Grim comments.
"Now's not the time, Grim," I sigh.
"Then... Then what do you want me to do," Riddle looks up at Ace, with tears in his eyes.
"You know... I don't got a birthday coming up anytime soon," Ace said, dropping hints.
"Huh," Deuce shoots Ace a confused look. "What are you talking about?"
"So I demand a do-over for the unbirthday party," Ace clarifies after looking at Deuce. "Except this time, we ain't gotta do squat. This time, YOU'RE the one who brings the tart! And no getting Trey to make it for you! Do that, and then things are square between us."
"Why can't they be circle," I ask Ace and he looks at me. "Or perhaps triangle?" They all look at me and I burst out laughing.
"Oi, quiet from the peanut gallery," Ace demands. I try to stop laughing because I realize that I'm bleeding in some places. "What do you say, Riddle? We clear?"
"Yes..." Riddle agrees to Ace's terms. "We're clear."
"Ah, yes," Mr. Crowley speaks up. I forgot that he was here. "Compromise is a beautiful thing. I believe that concludes this matter."
"You didn't do anything to help," I brought up.
"That doesn't matter, my dear," Mr. Crowley smiles. "But I do believe that you need to visit the nurse again."
"I can take her to the nurse," Deuce volunteers.
"I could go myself," I decline. "It's fine Deuce really."
"Nope, I'm taking you," Deuce insists. I sigh and he picks me up bridal style. I squeak in surprise and cling to Deuce's neck. He takes one last glance at Ace before carrying me away from the garden.
On the walk over to the infirmary, there wasn't any words between me and Deuce. I know he wanted to talk about something but didn't know how to bring it up.
"Ah, seems like you're back for another visit," Shibishu greets as he opened the door for Deuce to enter. "What happened this time?"
"She needs to get treated for injures gotten from Riddle's overblot," Deuce responds as he places me on one of the beds.
"An overblot you say," Shibishu thinks for a moments. "Can you let Riddle know to visit me to make sure that he's okay."
"Yeah, I can do that," Deuce agrees. Shibishu gets to work patching me up while Deuce distracts me. We talk about different things like our favorite things to do; where we have traveled or where we want to go; favorite foods, colors; just really anything to keep my attention away from Shibishu patching me up.
"Alright, I got you completely patched up," Shibishu says as he begins to put away the extra bandages and ointments. "Take it easy and don't move too much. I'm getting you a pass for P.E. so you don't have to worry about opening any stitches."
"I look like a mommy," I exclaim as I stand up and twirl around. I hear Shibishu chuckle and Deuce laugh.
"Let's get you back to Ramshackle," Deuce says. I agree and say goodbye to Shibishu. On the way back to Ramshackle, Deuce and I laugh and joke around. I like having him near me, he's like a safe space where I don't have to worry about anything. This is nice. Let's hope nothing else happens while I'm at this school...
A/n-
We are at the end of the Red Rose Tyrant. The next few chapters will be fillers since I don't like the time pacing in the game, anyways, thanks for reading!