You trudge through the snow back to Ramshackle. Grim sighs with relief. "We finally made it back to our own dorm."
You laugh. "Yeah. We've been out for a while, huh?"
The ghosts materialize next to the dorm gates. "Hey, you two!"
Grim chuckles. "These ghosts are a sight for sore eyes."
"You've been gone for so long, I started to wonder if you were GONE gone, you know? We worried ourselves half to death! Get it?" The ghost laughs.
"But hey, glad to see you're okay."
"We took care of tending to the fire fairies in the cafeteria fireplace while you were out."
Grim's eyes widen. "Oh crud, I totally forgot about that!"
"Thank you for doing that." You say.
The ghosts smile to you. "Hey, nobody wants to spend the holidays frozen over."
"By the way, there's a bunch of food waiting for you here, courtesy of the headmage."
The ghost vanish back into the dorm. Grim rubs his paws together. "Mya-hah! Didja hear that? We're getting our feast! C'mon, Y/N, let's go check it out!"
Grim runs into the dorm. You're about to follow when a boy appears in front of you. He's upside down and his hair falls across his face. "Ah. You're back."
You jump back with a start. "My god, you scared me."
The boy laughs and floats back to the ground. "With a reaction like that, I could make a habit out of spooking you." He dramatically bows. "I'm Lilia Vanrouge, vice housewarden of Diasomnia."
"That's right." You smile. "I remember seeing you before."
Lilia hands you a card from his jacket. "I came to deliver a holiday greeting card from a certain somebody."
You break the gold seal on the envelope and pull out the card. It's a dull green with a silhouette of a castle and the picture is surrounded by brambles. Happy holidays is written in a beautiful font. M.D. is signed on the envelope.
"He's a bit peeved that once again nobody invited him to any festivities this year... So if you happen to hold any with your friends, it'd be nice if you extended him an invitation too. Anyway, that's all I came for." Lilia bows again. "I bid you all a pleasant holiday."
He vanishes in a puff of smoke.
"But wait!" You sigh, seeing he's gone.
You look back to the card. Who's M.D.? Do I know anyone with those initials?
"Hey, Y/N!" Grim calls from the door. "You better step on it, or I'm gonna eat the whole feast without you!"
You laugh and shake your head. "Don't you dare, Grim!"
Later that evening, Grim lies sprawled out on the floor, snoring.
"Myah..." He talks in his sleep. "I've got dibs on that turkey..."
You silently laugh and approach the bed. Before you could crawl in, the mirror on the wall shines brightly.
"What the... again?"
Stepping to the mirror, you accidentally step on Grim's tail.
"Gyah! Watch the tail..." He immediately falls back asleep.
Stepping over Grim, you stand in front of the mirror. The same shadow stands on the other side. There's that big-eared shadow again.
"Is someone there? Who are you?"
You can hear the voice more clearly now. "My name is Y/N."
The shadow laughs. "It's got a strange and beautiful ring to it!"
"Thank you, but, who are you?"
"I'm Mickey. Mickey Mouse. Am I dreaming again? I've had this same dream three times already. There are always living cards and a dancing music box, too."
"I've had dreams of living cards as well." You say.
Mickey hums to himself. "Your voice gets clearer and clearer every time. Is it possible that you're not a dream? Where are you?"
"This is Twisted Wonderland."
The morning comes and it's the first day of class since the break. You woke up early and sit on the bed, thinking about what happened last night.
Grim sits up and yawns. "That was the best sleep I've had in ages. Hey, Y/N. You stepped on my tail while I was sleepin' last night, didn't you? Watch where you're walkin' from now on, would ya?"
"Oh, sorry Grim." You look to the mirror. "I wonder where does the other side of that mirror lead to."
Grim shoots you a puzzled look. "What're you gawkin' at? You are SO weird sometimes."
Getting ready for the day, you step outside into the snow. You make your way down Main Street and see Ace and Deuce waiting for you.
Ace waves. "Heya, Y/N. Happy New Year!"
You smile brightly. "Hey, guys!"
"I see you guys all the time, but it feels like it's been years, for some reason." Deuce says.
Grim folds his arms smugly. "Clearly you missed me over break."
"Oi." Jack says from behind you. "Don't stand around blocking traffic."
Ace looks the wolf over. "Whoa, Jack! Did you get a tan?"
Jack flicks an ear. "Did I? I spent most of my holidays skiing, so it might be from that."
"Huh, it snows a lot where you're from?" Ace asks.
Grim runs around excitedly, getting under your feet. "What's skiing? I wanna try it!"
"Grim, stop trotting around underfoot!" You trip and back into a boy. You turn around, recognizing his lavender hair. "Oh, I'm so sorry Epel! I didn't mean to bump into you like that."
Epel sniffs. Not daring to look to you.
You take a concerned step forward. "Are you okay?"
Epel rubs his eyes with his sleeve. "Dagnabbit..."
"What?" You tilt your head.
Epel pushes past you and runs away. Quickly disappearing from view.
"Aaand he's gone." Ace folds his arms.
"He's in my class. If I remember right, he's from Pomefiore Dorm." Jack informs you. "His name's Epel Felmier."
You look to where he ran off to. "Huh..."
In the Pomefiore ballroom, a tall figure stares through the window.
"So, he got away." Vil whirls around. "Rook! Are you there, Rook?"
A figure steps from the shadows. "You called, Roi du Poison?"
"Capture him and bring him here. Now."
Rook nods. "Oui. As you wish, my liege."
Vil turns back to the window. "I'll never let you escape. I'll stop at nothing to be the fairest of them all."