A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! Yes I know it's Christmas and throughout the week, I've been tirelessly writing this chapter since it's my LONGEST side story chapter so far and along with hanging out with my friends this past week, let's just say I've barely got enough sleep, so I hope you guys enjoy this gift from me! Which brings me to my question for the wonderful holiday season: Who do you spend your holiday season with? Friends, Family, or Alone?
Now, on to the main thing for this A/N. Guess what! The previous work of Into the World of Twisted Wonderland is currently being translated to Portuguese thanks to a reader of the book! @SraDraconia is currently translating the book to Portuguese and I thank them for asking permission for it! If you have any friends that are interested in reading, check it out!
Also, this chapter may be in and out of the characters I usually write well. Do know that with my friend in town before she gets shipped off along with work and other things, I barely had time to go back, correct, or even write the scenario for this chapter, so let's just say that I am DRAINED from writing for a while, meaning that it'll be a while before the next side story will be posted (please let me rest 😿). Anyway, the details of this chapter is on and off for certain characters but I'll go fix it when I'm not suffering and when my brain is not fried. Tell me if there are any mistakes with this chapter because honestly, I'm tired of looking at it for now 😓
No matter if you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, or any other religious holiday, I hope that you guys enjoy it nonetheless! As I said before and I'll say it again: Merry Christmas and Happy holidays! 🎁🎅🏻❤️💚❤️💚!(12/25/23)
PS: This chapter alone has over 8500+ words! Wattpad says that this chapter is 45 pages. I'm going to pass out now 😵💫
PPS: going to reuse the picture from another side story so I can relax. Fix when I feel like it
PPPS: This chapter is right after Chapter 4 of book 4. Which brings me to another question of mine: do you guys want me to put which side stories happen in correlation to the book? Because I feel like that might be better to distinguish when they happen.
Ace
Once Ace exited the mirror, he looked around, trying to find the person waiting for him. He looked at his phone, hoping for a message, but nothing shows up, and he sighs. "I told him to be here at this time..." He mumbles as he looks around, seeing crowds of people around him, probably doing their last-minute holiday shopping. "Guess I can't do anything but wait," he says as he patiently leans on the wall with his bag, waiting on the person.
"Yo! There's my little troublemaker!" A voice calls out and his eyes turn to the person heading towards him, a man a little taller than him with the same hair color. "Been a while, huh, little bro?" He says as he stops in front of him, smirking all the while.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get it all out while you can," Ace says with a grin.
"You wanna know how funny it was hearing about all the stuff you've been through just your first semester? Man, even I wasn't that bad of a student," he says with a smirk. "Good thing I kept your chandelier situation hidden from mom and dad, huh?"
"All without a price," Ace says with a slight groan as they start walking.
"Don't worry, they don't know a thing," he says. "Anyway, aside from that, how was everything else? Cause any more trouble?"
"Yeah, right. I'm not the one causing trouble you know," Ace retorts. "You know the people I've been hanging around? They're the main two troublemakers on campus! They just bring me in to help bail them out."
"Yeah, I remember..." he says in thought. "The monster and the girl, right? To be honest, I couldn't believe what you said about those two. Who knew Night Raven College would enroll a monster and a girl for students? Even I would have been lucky to have a girl when I was enrolled."
"They're not students. They are a STUDENT," Ace emphasizes. "Since she doesn't have magic and can do written tests and he has magic and can't do written tests, they basically cancel each other out as one student. Sheesh, they caused me all sorts of trouble this year."
"Uh huh..." the man says in thought. "And they just let a girl enrolled there? I thought it might never happen."
"Well...she's an experiment," Ace explains. "They want to try and make the school co-ed, so they choose someone to take the spot. The monster was an added bonus," he lies, remembering what she told them to say in case questions started to arise about her sudden appearance.
"And they decided a non-magical person was good for that?" The man asks skeptically.
"Hey, I don't make the rules. Take it up with the headmage," Ace shrugs.
"Right, right. Anyway, about this girl," he curiously says. "What's she like?"
"You don't wanna know, how much of a pain she is," Ace exclaims. "For one thing, she's too trusting. It's no wonder she keeps getting in trouble. When I first met her, she believed every word I was saying, thinking we were going to be friends, and was shocked when I was tricking her. And don't get me started on how irresponsible she with that monster. She can't do anything without him, and she's terrible at watching him. One time, he took off in the hallway and because of her weak stamina, she couldn't even catch up to him, making us catch him instead. I swear, if we weren't there, I don't how she would have survived."
"Uh huh..."
"Oh and sure she's smart and everything, but man, someone need to tell her about some street smarts. She's so naïve, it's no wonder that everyone tricks her at every corner. If it wasn't for us, she would have been taken advantage of in the entire school."
"So..." the man starts. "What I'm hearing is that you like her, huh?" He smirks.
"W-What?!" Ace exclaims, a blush on his face. "Y-yeah right! She isn't my type! She's quiet, too friendly, too smart-"
"And cute, right?" The man says with a smirk.
"I-I mean, sure she's cute, but-"
"Yeah, I get what you're saying here, bro. She's cute and you stay around her because you like her. You just had to say it."
"I don't like her!" Ace retorts. "I mean, sure she's kinda cute, and she is the only girl in school, but she's just someone I hang around, that's it! It's only because we're classmates and freshmen that we hang out, that's it."
"Okay then. If I asked you to introduce me to her, then that'll be fine, right?"
Ace thinks about the statement. There was no way that Angel could handle being in the same room as him. She was already nervous meeting new people, but even meeting someone older than her would make her tremble in fear. She's still respectful to Leona of all people, and he's only 4 years older than them. Even if Ace introduces her to him, she wouldn't be able to do anything about it, only looking down in nervousness about the situation. Plus, Ace.... really didn't like the idea. Sure the others were fine, since they go to the same school and everything, but meeting his brother unsettled him a bit. "...I don't think that would be a good thing," he says. "She doesn't do well with new people, so it wouldn't be a good meeting."
"Well, worth a shot," the man shrugs. "Had to test it out, and it turned out to be true." Ace realizes what he meant and blushed at the statement. "You know, I never knew you might be interested in another girl after middle school. Seems like your tastes have changed."
Ace scoffs. "It's not that it's changed. I have no choice," he mumbles.
"Sure, it hasn't," the man smirks. "How bout you say that mom and dad when we get home?" He says as he puts his hand on his head and ruffles his hair. "They've been waiting for us to get home for a while."
"Yeah, yeah. I hope they got a big feast waiting for me. Cafeteria food can only hold a guy so much."
"Better get it fast before I get it though."
"Hey, I've gotten faster at taking food from the table! You won't beat me this time," Ace smirks.
"Let's see about that."
Deuce
"Mom, I'm home," Deuce says as he walks into the house, seeing the familiar decorations surrounding him. He relaxes, relishing the feeling that he is finally at home. He puts his bag down and starts to head towards a couch. He stops and hears footsteps and looks ahead, suddenly being embraced in a hug, making him stagger a bit.
"Oh, Deucey! I'm so happy you're here!" The woman exclaims as she holds him in a tight embrace. "Was everything okay when you came home from school? Nothing happened right? You're fine, right?"
"M-mom, I'm fine!" Deuce says as his mom let him go, giving him space to breathe. "I'm fine, so there's no need to worry. I got everything from school and nothing happened on the way here."
"That's good to hear," she says with a sigh of relief. She looks at him and give him a smile. "You've grown so much from the last time I saw you. Who knew that not seeing you for a few months would have changed you so much."
Deuce awkwardly chuckles. "It's only been a few months, mom. No need to get sentimental about it."
"I'm your mother, of course I can get sentimental when I want to," she huffs. "Anyway, you want to relax for a moment? I'm sure you're tired from heading over here from where the mirror took you."
"Yeah, that actually sounds good," Deuce says as he sits on the couch. "How's everything with grandma?"
"Oh, let me tell you about her," she says with a huff, telling him about the events that happened while he was away. He looked at his mother with a smile on her face, telling him about how the neighbor almost picked a fight with her for not recycling multiple times (the nerve of some people, she says), how she's getting along with everyone in her job, and even her friends. He listens intensively, happy at the fact that his mother was happy, with the fact that he was back and the fact that she was living a happy life. "...and yet, they had the nerve to do that! Can you believe them?" She asks.
"Yeah, mom," Deuce says with a smile.
"Anyway, enough about me, what about you?" She asks. "Are you making friends? Getting along with your upperclassmen? Getting good grades? Doing great things, right?"
"Y-yes, mom," Deuce says, looking away from her expectant eyes. "I'm actually getting along quite well with my upperclassmen in my dorm. They're really nice and help me out when I need help. Even my housewarden helps me out with my schoolwork."
"That's good to hear! I know you weren't always the best with school, but I know that when you put your mind to it, you'll do great!" She says. "And what about your friends? They're not giving you trouble, right? I've seen the pictures you sent, and they don't look like trouble, but I'm not sure...."
"They're not!" Deuce quickly says. "If anything, they help me the most!" He looks up at his phone and pulls up a picture of everyone smiling at the camera. "See? They're not bad at all. I've had good times with them and they help me with anything if I have trouble with it, aside from a few instances."
"That's great," she smiles. "I was just wondering if you were staying out of trouble, not that I didn't think you would get in trouble, mind you! It's just that..."
"Mom, it's fine," Deuce reassures her. "I'm not that kid anymore. I'm going to be an honor student to make you proud!" He declares.
"I know, I know. You tell me every time we talk on the phone," she chuckles. "Anyway, what about your friends? Want to tell me about them?"
Deuce sighs. "I'm not sure where to even start...Well, I can start with Jack. He's a beastman with wolf genes and he's usually serious. We're on the track team together, and we have a bit of a competitive streak with each other, always trying to beat the other. It's a good thing since we can push ourselves to our limits and he's actually a good student despite how intimidating he is. Oh, and there's Ace," he says, hesitating on his net words. "Ace...is a good guy, but sometimes he gets on my nerves. He always pulls tricks when I'm not looking and always trying to have an argument with me over every little thing. It's like he always tries to rile me up over the littlest thing and we argue about it until someone stops us, but it doesn't compare to the arguments he has with Grim. Him and Grim does not get along at all, but they always hang out together, and when they do, it always end up with a fight, getting in trouble with the teachers... They always drag me into the fight, so I'm always caught up in their antics," he sighs.
"Yes, I can see that," his mom chuckles. "And what about the long-haired cutie in you're pictures. Is she your girlfriend?" She smirks.
Deuce blushes at the comment. "N-no! She's just a friend!" He quickly says. "That's Angel, and she's one of the nicest girls I've ever met."
"I'm pretty sure that that's the only girl I've seen you with even when you were smaller," his mom says.
"W-well, a lot has changed."
"You told me that she was an exchange student, right?" His mom asks. "It must be scary being the only girl at an all-boys school. I hope nothing bad to her while she's there," she says in worry.
"Oh, you might be surprised at how strong she is," Deuce chuckles. "She's quite strong when she needs to be. I mean, so far, she earned the respect of three housewardens so far, and she's super smart. She helps me out with schoolwork when she has time on top of her cleaning duties. Oh, and she's a great cook. She helps out at the dorm, helping cook sweets for the unbirthday parties and we're really just grateful for everything she does for us."
"I see," she says in thought. "And you're friends with her, right?"
"Yeah, we've been through a lot," Deuce says with a smile. "The funny thing about her is that she's physically weak, but she has values that reminds me of you, mom. She does her best and fights for what she stands for. She protects her values and stand up for her friends, no matter what. She's different from the girls I've seen."
"And when should I expect to meet my daughter-in-law?" She teases.
Deuce blushes. "I-it's not like that mom!" He exclaims. "I just appreciate her as a friend. Sure, she's strong, but she's quite meek and physically weak. She always try to stay out of trouble and is quite shy around strangers. She's also too naïve for her own good and some students try to take advantage of her at certain times because of her trusting nature."
"And you protect her, right?" He mom asks coldly, making him shiver.
"Y-yeah! I do! No one's hurting her under my watch!" He quickly says, hoping to calm her anger.
"Good," she huffs. "I taught you better than that, and you better remember it. Because if I hear that you're bullying a poor girl or that you see her getting bullied by other people, then I would have some words for you mister."
"D-don't worry! E-everything is fine!" Deuce squeaks out. "Nothing ever bad happens!"
She chuckles. "I understand Deucey, there's no way you would let anything happen to her." She looks at the time. "Oh shoot, I forgot to start dinner. How about you relax for a bit until dinner's ready, okay?"
"Yeah...that actually sounds pretty good," Deuce says with a sigh of relief. "If you need help, I can help cook! I've been learning."
"Oh Deuce, it's fine. I want you to relax. It's no problem with me," she says as she gets up. "You just sit there and enjoy your break," she says with a smile as she heads into the kitchen.
Deuce laid back into the couch, relishing in the comfort it provided, thinking about the words he said. He didn't tell her about the events of school, mainly in the case that she became worried about him, but he did look back on them with a smile. Who knew that without meeting 3 people, he wouldn't have fun at school now. He thinks back on the events, seeing that every time something happened, they've become closer, or as Angel would say, become best friends forever. He chuckles at the thought, remembering how him, Ace, and Grim gagged at her sappiness while she just smiled at the thought. "Maybe next year will be a good year..." He mumbles, closing his eyes for a moment to rest.
Cater
Cater walks into his room, dropping his bag on the floor as he heads to his bed, laying on it. "Awww, winter break finally starts," he says with a sigh. "I already miss everyone."
A knock is heard on the door and the door opens up a bit. "Cater, settling in okay?" A woman says.
"Yeah, sis," he responds. "Just missing friends, you can say."
"Oh? Any fun friends you met?" She asks with a smirk.
He looks at her expression and sees that with the smirk on her face that she knew about the situation. "Yeah, I know what you're getting at. Yes, I got some froshes that's a little too much for wear," he sighs. "Everyday is an adventure with them. Always causing trouble, but always bringing in the likes with their antics."
"Yeah, I've seen your posts," she says as she looks at her phone. "You're getting better this year."
"You think so?" He says as he sits up on the bed. "You think I'm Magicam status, yet?" He asks excitedly.
"Give it a few more years," she teases. "Anyway, I see these people on your posts. These the freshmen you're talking bout?" She says as she shows him the pictures of the seven, each doing their own thing.
"Oh yeah! You see those two there?" He points to Ace and Deuce. "They're the freshmen at our dorm that started this year. Man, I tell you trouble, apparently on the first day, they charred one of the statue of the seven AND broke the billion thaumark chandelier in the cafeteria! Then they were able to find a magic stone to prevent them from being expelled. These two troublemakers are Ace and Deuce, and they brought in Angel and Grim into the mess. Though, I like to believe that they caused the thing first and brought the other two in it, but eh, it's in the past."
"I see that," she says. "A girl and monster enrolling into a school like that sounds dangerous."
"Pfft! Ha ha ha!" Cater laughs. "Honestly, the only danger about them how much trouble they cause. Anytime Grim gets in trouble, Angel gets in trouble as well. Hard not to notice since they are the biggest troublemakers on campus, but that doesn't mean that they can't rely on their favorite upperclassman!" He says with a wink.
"You know, I was wondering," she says. "I've never seen a girl like her on Magicam. More than likely, if she started an account, she'd be famous overnight."
"Yeah, she doesn't like attention," he says. "She likes to stay out of people's eyes. I've told her that she should start one, but she rejected it, saying it's content enough that she's on my pictures."
"I've noticed that the photos you take with her in it get more likes," she states.
"Wait, they do?!" Cater says as he gets his phone and check. He noticed that through the hundreds of pictures he took so far in the school, he saw that the numbers were a bit higher than others in certain photos, mainly because of her. Even a fleeting glance was enough for the numbers to rise up in likes, leaving him speechless. "I can't believe it..."
"I'm surprised you never noticed. You're usually on top of that."
"I don't live and breathe Magicam, sis," he says. "I have friends to hang out with."
"Speaking of, those freshmen are your friends, right?"
"Yeah, they are. I feel like Ace and Deucey act like a married couple with how much they argue, but they're good guys at least. They help out the best that they can, despite things broking, getting yelled out by Riddle and the headmage, and being bad students in between. But they real stars of the show is Angel and Grim. The first non-boy students in an all-boys school is major big news! Especially considering that one of them is a monster of all things."
"Is it her familiar?" She curiously asks. "I've been trying to figure out how a monster would be considered a student if it wasn't her familiar."
"Let's just say, yeah," Cater says. "She summoned him and now they are one student altogether. Makes sense when you think about it since the monster doesn't have opposable thumbs to write...much at least."
"So, tell me about the new girl on campus," she says. "Not corrupting her like you did to girls before, huh?"
"I rather not talk that time," Cater curtly says. "But...I like to call her teacup since she's as small and cute as a teacup. She's really nice as well and really smart for a freshmen, even helping some of our freshmen avoid Riddle's wrath of low grades. She's terrible at gardening though. She tried to help out one day with pruning the roses and apparently, she accidentally cut the roses instead of the thorns. Riddle was on her about it, but seeing her gardening streak, he really couldn't be mad at the fact that he expected it. Oh! Surprsingly, she stood up to Riddle and Leona, making her cooler in my book, and the best thing is that she's low-key photogenic." He shows her his phone, showing pictures of her. "She doesn't know, but I take some photos of her for fun, just to test my photo oping skills and, surprisingly, she doesn't know she's a natural talent. If she became a model, she could probably beat both Vil and Neige!"
"I can see it," she says as she looks at the photos. "Even if people saw her features, they can say that she's different from them. Somehow it feels...like she's foreign." She says with a curious tone.
"Well...she is from a foreign country," Cater says, hoping not to arouse any suspicion. "After all, you know what they say: foreigners have a special charm than locals!" He watches her reaction, seeing that she became a little relaxed with Cater's statement, agreeing with him. "Besides, she adapts really well to the school, and if this cohabitation works out, then Night Raven might become co-ed in the future. That'll be cool, even though I won't be able to be a part of it."
"I guess it would be cool to see that century tradition to be broken," she says in thought. "Who knows maybe, maybe you can say you were friends with the first girl to make the school more famous than now."
"OMG! You're right!" Cater excitedly exclaims. "Oh, this will go viral on Magicam for sure! I gotta get in on it before it officially blows up!" He types on his phone making the girl sigh.
"At least he's around good people," she mumbles as she leaves his room, leaving him alone.
Trey
"I'm home," Trey says as he enters the passtiesire, seeing some customers scattered about, some chatting amongst themselves, some eating, and some just sitting and enjoying the environment.
"Trey's here!" A child's voice shouts, seeing a small girl run to him, and gives him a hug, making him chuckle.
"Yes, I'm here. No need to shout it out," Trey chuckles.
"Well, it's about time," a boy says as he walks out of the back and around the corner, seeing that he was not to far away from age from the girl, but still about 5 years older than her. "Without our star pâtissier here, the winter holiday rush is going to be a problem."
"Ha ha, well, it's not like I'm going to make a huge difference, but I'm willing to help out anyway," Trey says as he heads to the back of the store, with the girl still on him.
"Oh, oh, oh! Trey! How was school this year?" the girl asked him. "Meet any more fun people? Have more friends? Anything exciting?"
"Whoa, one at a time," Trey says with a smile as he walks through the back, giving a greeting smile to his mom and dad, working on some recipes for the holidays. "To answer you're questions: it's been pretty good, yes, I actually met some freshmen that's been pretty fun, I do have more friends, and pretty much everyday is exciting."
"Such normal answers," the girl pouts.
"I'm a normal guy, after all," Trey chuckles.
"Then, what about the freshmen? What are they like?" She asks.
"Well, they're more troublesome than you think," Trey says as he heads to his room. "There's two of them in our dorm that always gets into fights with each other, and there's two that's not in our dorm, but they solve most of the problems around campus, you can say. They even helped Riddle out, which is quite rare."
"They helped Riddle? That red-headed baby?" She asks.
"I told you not to call him that, remember?" Trey scolds. "But yeah. They helped him and other people. They even helped people in my grade, despite being freshmen."
"What makes them so special?" A voice says, and they turn around, seeing that it was the boy. "If they're freshmen, why are they helping out the upperclassmen?"
"Well, they just like to help," Trey says, hesitating on the words to say. "They may be forced into helping, but they help nonetheless."
"What I'm hearing is that you trick them into helping, don't you?"
"If the situation requires it," Trey smirks. "But they help out when needed."
"So, who are they?" The girl asks. "What are they like?"
"Well, one of them is a monster and the other is a girl," Trey answers. "Apparently, they are both considered one student instead of two."
"That's a dumb rule," the boy scoffs. "Why that?"
"Well, they are trying to incorporate a co-ed school, so the girl was the exception, and she has a familiar, so together, they are considered one student," he says.
"What's the girl like? Is she pretty?" The girl asks, curious and excited by the news.
"I would say she is," Trey says with a smile. "She's about the same height as Riddle, if you can believe it."
"But she doesn't act like him, right?" The boy asks skeptically.
"Ha ha, luckily not," Trey awkwardly chuckles. "She's quite reserved and likes to stay out of the spotlight, like me, but seeing her circumstances, she kind of has no choice but to be in it. Everywhere she goes, everyone's staring at her. But you want to know the surprising thing about her: even Riddle soften up to her."
"WHAT?!" The two exclaims. "Riddle of all people?! That guy is as stubborn as an old man!" The boy exclaims.
"Yeah, I know, which was a surprise to me," Trey says. "They surprisingly get along well. They have the same birthdays and everything. They like reading books and even Riddle is fine with expanding his world, so it's not too much trouble."
"That girl must gift sent from the Seven is she was able to change Riddle's life," the boy says.
"I can't believe he changed his attitude..." The girl says.
"Ha ha, I can see why you guys think that, but, because of them, this year has become livelier, that's for sure."
"Well, anyway, we're glad you're back, Trey," the girl says. "We can try out new recipes!"
"And get the holiday rush started on," the boy says.
"Okay, okay, guys. Let me get situated first then I'll join you with the testing," Trey says and they nod, leaving him alone. Once they left, Trey released a sigh. "Whew...it's hard trying to keep up with a quick lie on the spot," he mumbles as he starts to unpack. "I wonder how everyone else is doing at least." He looks at his bed, a thought coming to him. "Speaking of, I wonder how Riddle is handling his mom. I hope nothing bad happens."
Riddle
"So, I have heard about the circumstances at the school," a woman says as she sits across Riddle at the table, carefully eating her food. "Despite how renowned the school is, they should have had stricter rules for situations like this." Riddle quietly ate his food, listening to his mother's words. "If anything, they should have seen as that as a mistake and found other students instead," she sighs. "I hope you're not involved with those outcasts at the school, Riddle. I taught you better than to associate with people who would cause you trouble."
"I know, mother," Riddle responds, hesitating on his next words. "Though, I do agree with your opinion, I do have to say that..." He hesitates. "They are...not as troublesome as you describe."
His mother stops eating and look at him. "It sounds like that you have been influenced by them despite my warnings for you to stay out of trouble," she says coldly.
Riddle flinches at the tone. "I tutor them," he says, hoping that it would calm his mother's anger. "As they are my underclassmen, it is my responsibility to make sure that they are fit to be at a school as renowned as Night Raven. They are not...bad students."
"You hesitated, Riddle," she says, noticing his hesitation. "Apparently, you do not think they are the good students that you believe they are."
"They are," Riddle quickly says. "Despite their eccentric personalities, they have helped everyone around campus. Because of them, the school has become more peaceful," he lies, hoping that his mother wouldn't catch on to the events of the school. "The dorms have become more united than last year because of them and more cooperative as such."
"Hmm..." His mother hums in thought and Riddle continued to eat, hoping that the hum was a good thing. "I suppose that I haven't heard anything negative about the school so far."
"And, if it makes things better, they have been excellent students," Riddle adds. "In fact, one of them achieved perfect scores in their final exams, just like I did last year."
"And which one is it?" She asks with a glare. "The monster or the girl?"
"The...girl..." Riddle says, looking down from his mother's glare.
"Hmph," she says with a scoff. "I'm sure she had other ways to get perfect scores in her exams. Any girl can get perfect scores at an all-boys school if she knows how to play her cards right." Riddle clenched his fists at the comment. He knows that she wasn't like that. He knew that she worked hard to get where she was, despite her own circumstances. He watched her as he tutored her, seeing that she was letting everything he taught her stick to her mind, even remembering the bright look on her face when she connected events together, realizing that one event caused the other. He even thinks back on how surprised he was when she memorized a voice changing potion recipe, even adding specific details to what to do to make it more effective, despite her own gardening skills. He even remembers her telling him that she sometimes studies late nights, getting in a bit of studying done despite being tired from cleaning duty and Grim's and everyone's antics. "...I hope you have nothing to do with her. And the fact that she brought a monster of all things as her familiar when they don't even allow familiars is just ludicrous. What kind of upbringing did she have to not have a blatant respect for the rules? Obviously, her parents raised her wrong."
"She's not like that," Riddle quietly says, getting his mother's attention. "She's not like anything you've been saying about her," he says louder. "Despite her upbringing, she's an exceptional student and I do have the honor of helping her grow. She tried her best to follow the rules of the dorm, even though she does not have too, and without her help, I'm sure the school would have succumbed to chaos by now. Even the headmage has acknowledged her talents, and let her stay, proving everyone wrong. She has earned her spot as the top freshmen through hard work and determination, getting respect from students and teachers alike, and I will not allow you to disrespect her further, mother," he says as he confidently looked at her.
His mother looks at him in shock at the declaration and Riddle quickly looked down in shame, realizing his words. The words she said struck a chord with him. She reminded him of how he talked down to her despite knowing her circumstances and her look of shame when she let his words settle in. How could he let his own mother talk down on a friend without knowing anything about her? But the main thing that surprised him was that he was standing up to his mother. Where did such courage come from? He never expected that he would go against his mother, at least not at the moment. He was still trying to figure out what to even say or how to act around her after everything that happened so far. He was reminded by what Angel said. No matter what happens, she would always be his friend, and everyone else followed. Even Trey and Chenya was on his side, knowing that confronting his mother wasn't easy, but maybe he could change her mind a little. He looked down, waiting the next words from his mother. He closes he eyes, hoping that she wasn't angry at him, but he knew that she was angry, nonetheless. "You've changed, Riddle," she says quietly, making him look at her in shock, seeing that she was looking at him. "I would have never expected you to speak your mind at me like that."
"I..." Riddle says, trying to find the words to say. He grits his teeth and sighs. "I have changed, mother. As much as I do respect you and the rules I follow, I realized that there was more to life than rules. I still follow the rules, but sometimes, if the situation depends, it is fine to ignore the rules, if it was to help a friend or do what's right. My time at Night Raven is to broaden my horizons, experience new things while also being an example as the housewarden of Heartslabyul, and I want those experiences to shape me, not just the rules I follow." His mother looks at him, processing his words. "I may have friends who are not to your standards, but because of them, I have more of a choice in the matter, to clearly distinguish right from wrong, and to experience things that I have missed out on. I do appreciate and respect you, mother, but for me, this is what I want to experience, following the rules while also being a person that could make you proud."
His mother closes her eyes in thought, processing his words. Riddle gulps, hoping that after what he said, she won't be furious and take it upon herself to trap him in the house for the holidays. "...Okay, Riddle," she says, shocking him. "I can see that your viewpoint has changed while you were at school, and that you still have your values. I admit, I understand that I have been...a tad hard on you, and I thought it was for the best for you; however, I made you miss out on some experiences that you should have had. I...will try to allow you to break a few rules while you're here."
"Are...are you sure?" Riddle asks in shock.
"Only a few. At most 3," she emphasizes.
Riddle looked at her and gives a small smile. "That is fine. Thank you, mother," he says as they continue to eat, the thought of having a bit of freedom still on his mind. It is not much, but it is a start.
Leona
Leona walks into the palace hall, seeing the servants standing on the stand, bowing at him in respects as he makes his way deeper into the palace. As he's about to turn a corner, something red runs towards him and he sighs, feeling something wrapped around his legs as he nonchalantly looks down, seeing bright brown eyes on him. "Unca Leona is back!" Cheka happily shouts, making him sigh. "Can we play? How was school?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm here, so get offa me," he says, trying to push him away.
Cheka looks around him, eyes glancing around, not seeing the person he was looking for. "Unca, where's the pretty lady?"
"She ain't comin," he says, getting out of his grip. "She has better plans."
"Hmph," Cheka pouts. "I wanted to see my mate!" He shouts.
"I'm pretty sure when you're older, pipsqueak," Leona says with a bored tone, making Cheka glare at him with a pout. "Hard to take ya seriously when you're not threatening."
"Ha ha ha! There he is," a voice booms, and Leona see that he was another set of familiar red hair. "Glad you see you made it home this time," Falena says with a smile.
Leona scoffs. "How could I miss it when I was basically blackmailed to come."
"Yes, yes, I know my wife is a bit much, but she just wanted us to enjoy the holidays together as a family. You know how she is," Falena says. "Cheka, how about you let your uncle get situated before playing with him? I'm sure he had a long trip here so give him time to rest."
Cheka looks at his dad then back to Leona. "Okay, dad! Bye Unca!" He says as he runs off, some of the servants following him for safety.
Leona sighs as he watches Cheka and the servants leave. "Kid's gettin' faster, huh?"
"After visiting you for the Spelldrive tournament, he's been itching to spend time with you for the holidays," Falena chuckles. "He kept saying that you agreed to teach him how to play spelldrive the next time you were here. It was even after he came home that he couldn't stop talking about the people he saw you with, saying that you made friends and have a 'pretty lady' as his mate. After that part, I was curious with the people you made friends with."
Leona groans. "Don't remind me. I sent ya a picture. Isn't that enough?"
"Oh yes, it certainly was," Falena smirks. "Do you know how excited my wife was when she got the picture? Saying 'Finally, someone that can deal with Leona's attitude!'" He laughs. "Even I couldn't believe it."
Leona sighs. "It's not like that. She's an annoying rabbit who keeps botherin' me with a rat she keeps beside her. It's enough I deal with her once in a while than everyday."
"I know, Leona. You don't like troublesome things, but you do have a soft spot for the people you care about after all," Falena states. "After all, you care about your nephew that he sees the good in you that others don't."
"I have no choice but to do that," Leona says. "He's the next king of the Sunset Savanna. I'm a disowned prince at this point. Why not try to appease the next king now for a carefree life later?" He smirks.
Falena looks at him and smiles. "I know you don't mean that, Leona. You might be gruff on the outside, but I know you're better than that. I feel like you became different person this year."
"It's your imagination," Leona says as he walks off. "I'm still the slacker of a prince as I was in the past."
"Yet, you have a different air about you," Falena states as he follows. "You seem a bit more determined than before. Maybe your friends helped you out with that. In fact, maybe a special person might have."
"It's just your imagination," Leona says. "You're makin' this a bigger deal than it has to be. No one changed me and I ain't changing anytime soon."
"Right, right," he laughs. "Anyway, you will join us for dinner, right? My wife is antsy to see you and I told Cheka that you needed to rest so be prepared when dinner comes. I'm telling you now so you won't be disappointed later."
"Even if you tell me later, I would have been disappointed," Leona states with a glare.
"Well, you know now," Falena smiles and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's good to have you back for the holiday, Leona." He turns around and walks off, leaving Leona behind.
Leona sighs and continue walking, heading towards his room. "I haven't changed," he mumbles as he walks, seeing servants greeting him. "It's just everyone's imaginations."
Jack
Jack steps out the mirror, looking around his surroundings, seeing the familiar sight of snow on slopes. He takes a deep breath and smiles, relishing in the cold air. Suddenly, his ears twitch and he looks to his left, seeing something aiming at him. He leaned back, dodging the attack and look at the attacker with a glare.
"Well, well, well! Look who it is! Mr. Big Shot himself!" A boy with white ears exclaims with a toothy grin. "And here I thought you were too good for us!"
"Heh," Jack chuckles. "Seems like your aim improved since I was gone," he states.
"Only because you think you're all that!" The boy retorts.
"Anyway, where the others? I thought they were all meetin' up here," Jack says as he looks around, trying to see anyone else.
"They sent me to get ya," the boy says as he walks towards him with hands behind his head. "You know how mom is, always forgetful but knows what to do."
"Yeah...no need to remind me," Jack sighs.
"Plus, she says she's too busy making waffles for your return. Figured that you might miss it since you're eating fancy-schmany food now."
"It's not fancy, just normal," Jack says with a smile, happy at the fact of waffles.
"So, bro, is it true?" He asks, getting Jack's attention. "Do people start picking fights with you everyday when you're at school?"
"Yeah. They always thinking that I'm itchin' for a fight since I'm big," Jack answers. "Jokes on them that they lose after throwing the first punch," he smirks.
"I knew it!" The boy exclaims. "My big bro never lose a fight!"
"It's not all fightin', ya know," Jack states. "Gotta put your nose to the books and stay in school after all."
"Oh! What about your idol? What was he like?"
Jack thinks for a moment. "I'll be honest, he's completely different than I thought he would be," he sighs. "Sure, he's tough and all, but turns out that he's a lazy oaf. But when he gets serious, it's a sight to see," he says with a smile. "When he's not holding back, he's a force to be reckoned with. Can't wait to fight him at his full strength."
"Wow...guy crush much?"
"S-shut up!" Jack says, clearing his throat. "Anyway, he's not the only person I look up to. There's this hyena named Ruggie. He's a year older than me and he basically takes care of the housewarden. He's slippery with his words and usually tricks me to do things, but he's a good guy overall. He's usually everywhere on campus, tryin' to get a quick buck, but he's good at many things. He knows how to get himself out of bad situations, at least."
"Yeesh, bro. It sounds to me like you don't make any friends," the boy says with a sigh. "You know, when you left for school, mom did say that she hoped that you made some friends compared to when you were younger."
"I don't need friends," Jack states. "Besides, there's only a few people who can be on the same roll as me."
"Oh? Like who?" The boy asks. "Who'd want to hang around with a stifler like you?"
"There's this guy named Deuce and we're on the track team together. He's a good guy, but he's a bit off. He's more of a 'do first, ask later' kinda guy, always pushing himself way beyond his limit and suffering afterwards, but it's because of that attitude that makes our rivalry worth it. We do our own thing when we train, and when we run against each other, we go all out. He's a good rival to have. Then there's this other person..." He stops, thinking if he should actually tell him about it. "Well...her name is Angel and she's pretty cool as well."
"Wait, 'she'?" The boy asks. "I thought that you didn't deal with any girls. Thinking they were weak and pathetic."
"Well, she is kinda weak," Jack states, "but she's strong at the same time. She told off my housewarden, something I couldn't do, and even called him a pathetic coward in front of my entire dorm, surprising everyone. She even was able to bring down an entire scam that occurred in the whole school, though she had help, she thought of an operation that brought it down. She's physically weak, but she has the heart of a warrior," he says with a proud smile.
"Whoa, Jack, never knew that you would speak of a girl like that," the boy says in awe. "And here, I thought you'd scare her off."
"She did tell me that she was scared of my height," Jack says, remembering the conversation. "She wasn't scared of me but just scared at the fact that I towered over her when close, which I kinda understand," he says as he scratches his head bashfully. "Any short girl would be intimidated by anyone way taller than her standing next to her. She's gotten used to it at least."
"I guess that's kinda cool," the boy says after Jack finishes. "She sounds coolers than the ones I've seen at school. Maybe I could meet her before you graduate."
"Heh, maybe," Jack says with a smile. "Who knows."
"Anyway, since we're almost home, wanna race? I've gotten faster since you were gone," the boy smirks.
Jack sighs. "I'm not gonna humor you. We both know that I'll win."
"Oh well, your loss, the boy says as he breaks into a run, leaving Jack behind.
"H-Hey!" He exclaims. "I didn't say that I wasn't gonna join you!" He says as he runs after his brother.
Ruggie
"Yo, Grammy, I'm here," Ruggie announces as he enters his home. "Man, those kids went all out to getting what I had. Good thing I swiped out everything Sam had before I left. Shyeeheehee."
"It's good to see you too, Ruggie," an old lady says, getting his attention. "Still scheming, I see?"
"Not scheming, hustling," Ruggie corrects. "Gotta earn my keep somewhere."
The lady chuckles. "Those kids didn't cause you much trouble this time, did they?"
"You know how they are, Grammy," Ruggie sighs. "A bunch of hyenas gotta stick together, so they divided the food pretty quickly, but you know I got enough saved for us."
"That's good to know," she says as she heads towards Ruggie and take the rest of the food from him. She looks at him, seeing that he was giving her a bright smile. "How was school this year? No trouble caused, right?"
"Nah, nothing too bad," Ruggie answers as he sits down. "Just serving Leona and doing jobs across campus, you know the usual stuff. Got this stifler of an underclassman who won't leave me alone sometimes. He follows me when I'm tryin' to do some jobs, and it gets on my nerves."
"He sounds like a good child, doesn't he?" She asks, making him sigh.
"Grammy, you know people like him ain't good. They're always troublesome," he says with a sigh. "But...I guess he isn't as bad as I thought. He does offer to do things for me, so I guess that's a plus."
"And Prince Leona isn't causing you trouble, right?"
"You don't need to remind me," Ruggie says. "He's always sleeping in, and I always have to get whatever he wants. Prince of Sunset Savanna can't do most of the basic tasks without me. I'm basically his mother," he shrugs. "Funny how being pampered would turn you into him."
She chuckles. "Ruggie, I know you don't mean that. That's the prince, you're talkin' about."
"Hey, it's not my fault he doesn't act like it," he sighs.
"Any other good things? Any new jobs to take on?"
"Hmm..." Ruggie hums in thought. "We have some students occupying an abandoned dorm on campus since they were rejected by the Dark Mirror and, man, if they don't cause one thing, it's always another. It's hard trying to avoid them since they bring trouble to them. They're also gullible as well, they always believe other people, making them easy to get scammed themselves. I swear, just the past few months, I've seen them nearly get scammed more times than I can count. And if that's not enough, it hard to even think they handle a scam when they were scammed themselves."
"Freshmen?"
"Yeah, both are. Hard to believe that people live like that, believing everything they hear," he sighs. "Though, I do have to say, when one of them gets angry, it makes my fur stand up on end," he says with a shiver. "It's no wonder why everyone respects her."
"Oh yeah, I heard they were tryin' to turn the school into a co-ed school. How's that working out?"
"Terrible, but it never hurts to trick her into makin' a quick buck, shyeeheehee," he snickers. "She has such a bad sense of money that she once paid me 500 thaumark for something that would have been done for 10. Plus, she rarely take deals from the school store, payin' in full for discounted items. Man, if she isn't the main target for a major scam, she'd be on the streets by now, but I guess teaching her tricks of the trade doesn't hurt."
"Well look at you, teaching without expecting anything in return," his grandma says.
"Who says I'm not expecting anything," he smirks. "She gives free food and money, I ain't complainin'."
She sighs. "Ruggie, as much as I know that how we were raised, you shouldn't trick your friends. They at least can deal with your personality."
"I know, I know," he says as he put his hands behind his head as he sinks into the chair. "They're good people at least. They at least have values not many people have, though it's annoyin' how they try to push it to others. Fresh breath of air from havin' people scheme everywhere. They're innocent nature is just too good to pass up. Shyeeheehee!"
She sighs. "Well, at least you're doin' good at the school. I'll make your favorite soup before you go off and do your own thing. Am I right?"
"You bet!" He smiles. "Gotta get that holiday cash when available!"
"Never change, Ruggie."
At the dorm, while the two were playing card games, Angel sneezed, getting Grim's attention. "Angel, don't tell me you're sick. Winter holiday is just getting' started, and I don't wanna take care of you during it!"
"Sorry, Grim," she says as she sneezes again. "I don't what it is but I feel like someone's talking about me."
"Might be your imagination," Grim says. "Why talk about you when I'm the main event? I bet everyone on campus is telling their families how Grim the Magnificent is going to be the next headmage with my magical prowess!" He smiles.
Angel laughs. "Hard to be magnificent when you lost." Grim looks at her in confusion as she lays her cards out, seeing that he has, indeed, lost.
"What?! No way, you cheated!" He exclaims in anger. "One more round!"
"Okay, Grim. One more round," she says as she gets the cards and shuffles them. I wonder who's talking about me? She thinks as she separates the cards. I hope the others got home safely and enjoying their families.