I thank KatherineOzawa of Wattpad for helping me.
"I am... I AM! Always absolutely CORRECT!"
"RIDDLE!" but it was too late….
The dripping in Niho's ears became a rainfall, filling her eardrums with nothing but the constant noise. She closed her eyes as tried to block out the noise, putting her hands over her ears as well, but it did nothing, the dripping becoming louder and louder by the passing seconds when…..it stopped. She opened her eyes, wondering where the noise went, when suddenly…..something, or someone, caught her eye.
Riddle's skin became an ashen grey like cinders. His eyes became a bloody red tint, his right eye lit a flame by red. A web of black markings trailed across the right side of his face. The gold crown he wore became a web of black, retaining its shape, black ink oozed from a choker that looked carved into his neck. His uniform changed drastically as well. His suit and the cape looked melded into one article, as splashes of red and black splattered onto the tattered ends of the cape, the white collar now looked like a backpiece of black iron wrapped behind his neck, the white collar torn. The suit was a dress meshed with red and black alike, sleeves shredded at his upper arms, revealing bare arms covered in black goo like opera gloves of sorts. Across his chest were black leather straps with gold heart buckles. His hips sprouted black and white flowers, drifting into a skirt of torn material and strands of playing cards. The boots had shifted into black armored boots, dripping with the same back stuff on his arms.
Niho's jaw dropped open. "His aura is completely black!"
What Riddle spoke next sent her freezing on the spot, his voice malicious and demented. "Hnhnhn… HAHAHAHAHA! Those foolish enough to disobey me, I have no need of them in my world. I am the law in my world. I am the rules! No other response than "Yes, Queen Riddle" is acceptable! It's off with the heads of any who disobey me! Ahahahahaha!"
Crowley put his hands to his head in despair, wailing, "Ah, look at this mess! A student has gone into overblot right in front of me!"
Grim turned to him, asking, "What the hell is overblot!? That guy's got a wicked air to him now!"
"Overblot is a state that wizards must avoid at all costs. He's being caught up in a storm of negative energy that has made him lose control of his emotions and magic." Crowley answered, confusing them.
"I don't really get it."
"Me, neither."
Cater clenched his hands at their stupidity. "Ah, crap! In plain terms: he's fallen into a dark berserker state!"
"His life is in danger if he keeps using magic like this." Trey grimaced.
"His life!?"
"You mean… he'll die?!" Niho quivered.
"Right now the safety of other students is the top priority." Crowley instructed. "I shall evacuate the other residents. Mr. Rosehearts must be brought back to his senses before he runs out of magic. Losing his life would be terrible, but worse than that…" he didn't finish. "Now I need you all to go get other dorm heads and teachers to assist…"
Niho whispered fiercely to the others to attack Riddle with all they had.
"AH! EAT THIS!" Ace blasted a Wind bolt Riddle's way, taking the others back with his brash move.
"Huh?!"
"COME FORTH, CAULDRON!"
"FFFGNAAA!"
A black cauldron and a stream of fire were thrown in, hitting Riddle with all they had in an explosion. The dust cleared to see that Riddle had taken some damage, clutching his arm and glaring at the first years.
"What are you fools doing?" he growled.
"W-w-whoa, what are you thinking?!" Cater looked at them as if they lost their minds.
Niho turned to look at him, Trey and Crowley. "The teachers will never make it in time if we wait!"
"He's only in danger like this!" Grim agreed.
Deuce raked his hands through his hair. "I won't be able to sleep well with him like this. And…"
"He still hasn't said, "I was wrong. I'm so sorry" yet!" Ace finished.
"We're taking action whether you want us to or not!" Niho glared at Trey in defiance.
Trey could only gape at her, his brain swarming with confusion. "...You all." he wanted to scold them for their irrationality of challenging Riddle, but he sighed, knowing there was no other choice in the making. "...Got it! I can overwrite his magic with my doodle, even if it's not long. Finish this quickly! Headmaster, please work on evacuating the residents."
But Crowley was not one for it. "Hold on just a second all of you! It's too dangerous!"
Cater stood with the headmaster on the debate. "That's right! What's gotten into you, Trey? You know you can't beat Riddle!"
"Only challenging guys you know you can beat, that's too lame!" Ace spat back.
"That isn't cool at all!" Grim griped.
"I can't think of anyone else that can bring him back to his senses quickly." Deuce rebelled.
Trey nodded stiffly. "Yeah, I can't lose him. I...still have so much to tell him."
Niho finished, "There's no going back now!"
Cater could only stare open mouthed at each of them, his eyes on Niho last before he shook his head. "...Ah, shit! Understood. I'm really not cut out for this kind of thing!"
Crowley sighed, "Ugh, fine... As soon as I finish evacuating the other students I'll be back! Hold on until then!" he ran off with the last of the other Heartlabyul students.
"This guy, that guy, you all have some nerve... I'll take all your heads off at one!" Riddle screeched, sending tremors through the ground. Behind him, a large figure wearing something akin to his own uniform hovered behind him. The figure looked reminiscent of the monster from the mines, except it's head was heart shaped and cracked, a few dribbles of ink spilling from the crack. It wore a crown on its head and in its hand, it wielded a rose tree for a sword.
"Riddle's body can't keep this up. We have to stop him before it's too late…" Trey fixed his glasses so that they were not askew. "Doodle Suit!" he commanded, as Niho ran for cover.
The collar snapped around his neck in a flash. "Shit, shit! You're in my way, Trey!"
"Alright! He's sealed Riddle's collar magic with this!" Grim cheered.
"He can't keep it up for long. We're still in a pinch here." Cater grabbed his own pen.
"While I'm sealing "Off With Your Head", hurry!" Trey ordered.
"Uughggiiiiiiiiii!" Wind, Fire, Earth and Water attacks were thrown in large scales toward Riddle. Cater even summoned a few clones to get more firepower on their side, but he found it quick to nearly drain him of his strength. Riddle broke off the collar in a flying rage as the mammoth figure behind him swung the tree in an arch, sending rose thorns their way. Niho screamed as a few nearly pierced her skin had she not ducked behind one of the archways for protection.
"This guy's magic is endless!" Ace shouted.
"Absolutely, definitely I am correct! If not, then what did I endure it all for…" Riddle wailed.
Trey felt a pang of guilt stab him in the chest. "Riddle…"
"Trey, focus!" Cater snapped him back to his senses, helped up by a few clones to his feet. "The moment you don't, we're done for!"
"Ah! Sorry!" He managed to pull himself together.
The attacks kept coming, Niho holding onto the railing for life when from her bag, something began to glow. She scrambled to snatch it out when she saw it was the Ghost Camera. She looked up in time to see Ace deal the final blow. Literally. He threw up his left arm into a swing, sending a hurling bolt of lightning at Riddle, striking him in the stomach and ending him to the ground. Riddle screeched in pain, the incarnation behind him falling behind as well. Riddle smashed into the ground, hitting his head on the dirt, knocking him out. His voice croaked, eyes glazed over and looking up into the sky. "Was… I wrong…? That can't be right… Mo...ther…" his head laid back in the dirt, signaling total knockout.
Niho managed to snap the photo, albeit a bit difficult, going into shock from the events that transpired, when she felt her vision go dark.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Her eyes opened to see that no one else was around her. Everything had disappeared. The gardens, her friends, even Riddle. She was all alone.
But….something had changed.
She was in a dining room. A long oakwood table with four matching chairs stood neatly on either side of one another. Three windows, their shutters open, were on the right side of the table, and a china cabinet stood by the wall next to them. And a gorgeous chandelier hung from the ceiling high up. Yet….Everything was in a shade of black and white…..
"Where am I?" she looked around, confused, until her eyes landed on a small child. He wore a typical schoolboy uniform: white collared shirt, brown shorts with suspenders and simple dress shoes. He sat in one of the chairs, swinging his legs over the edge, a small sad smile on his lips. But out of everything in the room, he was colored. His slated grey eyes looked downcast and the familiar wine red hair and heart ahoge stood prominent on the small boy. She gasped, "Riddle?"
From the kitchen doorway, a woman who looked to be in her late 20s/early 30s came in. She was dressed the same way as Riddle: white blouse, long brown skirt and her hair was pinned up into a high bun, the same polished red as her sons. It was his mother, and she held a cake in her hands. "Happy eighth birthday, Riddle! Your birthday cake this year is a low-sugar, high lecithin cake made with soy flour and nuts." she smiled and placed the cake, candles lit, in front of her son.
Child Riddle smiled shyly, "Thank you, mama." He fiddled with his fingers as he spoke up, "But, um, I... Just once, I really want to try a tart covered in bright red strawberries…"
Niho raised an eyebrow. "I'm in Riddle's past?"
"How could you say such a thing!" Mrs. Rosehearts looked appalled at her own blood's request. "That pastry is a mound of sugar that's more like poison. One slice will exceed your ideal daily intake of carbohydrates. Today we're having a tuna sautee with plenty of docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acid. Ah, but at age eight your ideal caloric intake is less than 600 calories per meal so don't eat more than 100 grams. Alright?"
Little Riddle looked away in defeat and begrudgingly nodded. "...Yes, mama."
Although Niho didn't understand a word Riddle's mother said, all she could feel towards the woman was anger. It was her own son's birthday, for cryin' out loud! He should have whatever he wants! And she had the gall to shoot down a simple request?!
Before she could speak her mind, the ghost of present Riddle appeared next to her, not in his insanity. He spoke as if he were narrating a story.
"For so long, a strawberry tart was what I wanted to eat. In the cake shops around town, they're displayed in the window, tarts that look like jewels."
The scene changed into another. This time, several books were lying around the table and Riddle, in the same spot, was dotting down notes in a notebook, his mother standing beside him, a book in her hands.
"Let's end your classical magic studies here for today." She shut the book in her hands. "You have until tomorrow to review the magical ethics that you learned today and get through page 50 of your language philosophy text. To that end, I'll give you an hour to study for your next potions lesson."
"Yes, mother." Little Riddle nodded.
"Your mother has an errand to run so I'll be back in an hour." with that, she took her things and disappeared from the room.
"Geez, how could she push him to do stuff like this?" Niho murmured.
"My every moment was crammed to the brim with every possible discipline." Riddle's ghost spoke. "Time spent learning extended until I could do it. But, for me this was "normal"."
The scene was altered a bit. Child Riddle looked so peppy when he began his work, but as the scene morphed, he looked almost ready to pass out. He held up his head with one hand as he furiously wrote with the other.
Then the sound of knocking on the window snapped him out of it. "...Someone is knocking at the window?" He perked up, sliding off his seat and moving to the window, he opened it to look outside. Niho followed behind carefully, seeing two smaller figures whom she immediately recognized as Trey and Che'nya in their child versions.
"Oh, he came!"
"Hey, hey. Come play with us!"
Riddle looked off put at the newcomers and backed away a bit scared. "Who are you?"
"I'm Che'nya! This is Trey. Let's play croquet." Little Che'nya grinned.
"Huh...I can't." Riddle looked away shyly. "Now is my self-study time. I have to keep studying."
"Huh? Self-study means that mew decide what mew study!" Che'nya rebuffed. "My grand-paw says playing is a kind of study, too." Niho giggled, liking his grandpa immediately.
"Will you come down for a bit?" Trey asked.
Riddle looked conflicted, between completing his studies or making new friends. He smiled and nodded timidly, "...J-Just for a bit."
Trey smiled and asked, "Can I ask your name?"
"R-Riddle… Riddle Rosehearts."
"Playing with Trey and Che'nya was so much fun. I learned new things, played new games. They taught me so much. From that day on, during my self-study time, without telling mother, I left my room."
Now it was outside in the front gardens. The trio of children were sitting in a circle, talking to one another. "Huh?! Riddle, you've never had a strawberry tart?" Che'nya gasped.
"Mother says it's like poison so I can't." Riddle puffed his cheeks and looked away.
"Well, you probably shouldn't eat too much... My family owns a cake shop. Let's go eat some." Trey patted his shoulder with reassurance.
"Huh... but…"
"One piece will be fine." Trey smiled, lifting Riddle's spirits.
"I could go for a whole one right about meow."
It showed the three in a small bakery in a village where they all crowded around a table, three tarts stood before them. Little Riddle took his time savoring the treat he so longed to have as Riddle's ghost smiled at the memory, watching with happiness. "Atop a pure white plate, a brilliantly red strawberry tart. For me, it shined brighter than any jewel. The first bite was wonderfully sweet, it was better than anything I'd ever had. I savored each bite and got lost in it." But then he frowned as the scene morphed back into the Rosehearts household. "Lost track of time….."
"How could you!" Mrs. Rosehearts scowled as her son cowered before her angry aura. "You skipped out on studying to go outside and eat a mound of sugar! Those two instigated it. I won't allow you to spend time with those bad children ever again!"
Riddle, in tears, kept pleading for mercy. "I'm sorry, mother! I won't do it again so forgive me...!"
"Silence! This is because you broke the rules. Ah, I should never have given you so much free time. I have to keep an even better watch over you…" she crossed her arms and kept muttering to herself on keeping a tighter leash on her son.
Niho hated her more than ever. "Trey and Che'nya aren't the ones who are bad, it's you!" she spat at her, not caring if the past ghostly figure couldn't hear her. "You may be a skilled healer, but a pathetic excuse of a mother! It's YOUR doing that Riddle became this way! If only you could see what a monster he became, but you're too blinded by your own arrogance to see how much he's hurting inside!"
The scene melted away, Niho seeing Child Riddle's tears flow as the last thing before darkness engulfed her surroundings. Only Riddle's ghost stayed with her. "If I broke the rules my time for fun was completely taken away. That's why the rules mother makes I have to follow. In this town mother is the most respected that makes her correct." His voice cracked as he felt sadness overwhelm him. "But...tell me, mama. Why? Why does my chest hurt like this? Just on my birthday would be fine, I want to eat a bunch of tarts. I want to play outside for hours. I want to make more and more friends. Tell me, mama, what rules should I follow to make this pain go away?" he turned away to hide his tears as Niho looked at him, feeling sympathy for the guy. She walked up to him and rested both her hands on his shoulders. He gasped, turning around to see her, as if she were the ghost instead of him.
"Your mother was wrong. She doesn't know how to be a good mother. I bet she only sees you as her trophy and nothing more." she shook her head, disgust still held towards his mom. Riddle could only look at her with shock and admiration as she kept speaking. "One broken rule doesn't end the world, and a little bit of strawberry tart wasn't gonna hurt you." she smiled as she recalled something she liked in her world when it came to strawberries. "I like putting strawberries in my lemonade or when I have chocolate sandwich cookies, even with peanut butter, they taste great!"
"You speak as if you have freedom that I never had..."
Niho smiled at Riddle and made him face her. "You can have freedom. But going by absurd rules isn't going to help you in the slightest. There's a line between being rational and irrational. You were leaning more towards the second one. And that's what made everyone turn against you and your tyranny. You need to let go of the uptightness and let loose now and then. Give the reins some slack. Who knows: it may just make a difference." but then she frowned. "You can't let your mother influence your life forever. One of these days, she's going to see that you're not a child, and that you'll have to make decisions for yourself when the time calls for it."
Riddle seemed a bit hesitant on the offer, but nodded nonetheless.
Niho smiled, "We'll do things one step at a time towards the change. And first things first: apologize to everyone you wronged."
The last thing she saw was Riddle sending her a small smile before she was pulled back into reality.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"Riddle!"
Niho's eyes fluttered open. She was lying down on her side on the grass, the Camera tucked close to her chest as a means to protect it. She sat up, rubbing the haze out of her eyes, to be met with something drastic in front of her: the entire gardens were ruined from the battle.
Grass and dirt were torn up in spots, the trees ripped from the grounds, partially barren of leaves and roses, their petals fell like blood droplets. Several paint cans were overturned, their contents spilled. And the archway of the maze was completely wrecked. Barely anything looked recognizable in the wreckage.
Niho looked over to see Riddle's prone form on the grass, Trey beside him. Riddle gasped sharply as he woke up.
"Hey, his eyes opened!" Ace and the others rush over when they see their leader awake.
"For real, we were agonizing over whether you'd wake up or not…" Cater sighed.
Riddle took in much needed air as he surveyed what his rage caused. "...What...did I...?"
"I'm so glad. He came back to his senses." Crowley sighed.
"There's no need to think about it now. Just rest." Trey helped him sit up properly.
"Ugh, of course he goes berserk after getting a little mad if you're coddling him all the time! The garden is a disaster and we were in big trouble!" Ace rolled his eyes.
"It was a crazy situation." Deuce breathed.
"Seriously. Bottling up all your stress isn't admirable." Grim added.
Niho approached Riddle and squatted down beside him, resting her hand on his shoulder as well. "...you okay?"
Riddle stared at her with tears welling in his eyes. "...I… really wanted to eat that mont blanc."
Ace perked up at the timid voice. "What?"
Riddle's voice became soft and tearful, blurting out everything that was on his mind. "The roses are fine being white, and the flamingos are fine being pink. I like putting honey in my tea more than sugar cubes and I like milk tea more than lemon tea. I want to chat with everyone while we eat…
"Riddle…?"
"I wanted to spend more time with Trey and everyone else…" he became too choked on his words that he couldn't help but start bawling.
Cater nearly dropped his phone in shock. "I can't believe... that Riddle is sobbing like a baby…"
"Stop that! You're not forgiven just because you're crying!" Ace snapped.
"You really refuse to read the mood…" Deuce glared at him half-heartedly.
Trey hugged Riddle, speaking, "I'm sorry, too. Even though I knew you were suffering I pretended not to notice." He moved away to face Riddle and looked him in the eyes with a resolve. "So I'm going to say it now. Riddle, your way of doing things is wrong. You have to properly apologize to everyone."
Riddle sniffed. Trey helped him to his feet as he stuttered out, "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...!"
No one said anything for a while. Then Ace stepped forward. "There is something I wanted to say to you if you apologized for everything that's happened…" his face contorted in anger. "WORDS CAN'T FIX THIS MESS! I'M NOT JUST GONNA FORGIVE YOU LIKE THAT!"
"Huh?! You're going to say that right now?!" Cater gaped.
"Ace, will you let it go already?!" Niho screamed at him.
The ginger glared at them both. "Why wouldn't I! We've been put through the wringer. And he still threw away the mont blanc we put all that time and effort into making. I'm not gonna let him off with a tear-filled apology."
"This guy holds a grudge worse than I do." Grim rolled his eyes.
Riddle looked at him tearfully. "Then... what should I…"
Ace's anger calmed down a bit and he said, "...My birthday isn't for a while."
Deuce became confused. "Huh? What are you getting…"
But Ace wasn't finished. "So I demand we have a Revenge Unbirthday Party. We didn't even get to take part in the last one. And this time, you have to make the tart. No getting help from Trey, either! Do it yourself! If you do that, then there's nothing I won't forgive."
"Even though you got help yourself…" Niho spat back, making Ace look at her.
"Shut up, peanut gallery." turning back to Riddle, "You got it?"
"...Yeah, I got it." Riddle nodded solemnly.
Crowley broke the tension with a, "Yes, yes, this is the beauty of compromise. Then the issue is settled."
"Well then, we should probably get started on cleaning up the garden. Our photogenic garden is in ruins... I'm so sad." Cater wailed sadly.
"I'll help you out." Trey offered but Cater shook his head.
"Trey, carry Riddle to the infirmary. ...He did overblot. He should be looked at by the nurse just to be safe."
"Mr. Diamond is right. I shall escort you there."
Trey hesitated but a pained moan from Riddle made him agree. "...Alright. Thank you very much." Hauling up his friend carefully, Trey and Riddle walked slowly to the infirmary, Crowley following right behind them.
Grim felt his stomach rumble. "Ugh, I'm starving from using all that magic... Hm? This is…" he started sniffing the air. He kept following his nose until he came across an eerily familiar black stone. "This is the same as the black magic crystal we found at Dwarfs' Mine!" he picked it up.
Deuce squatted down to see he was right. "You're right! Where did it come from?"
"Don't eat this one." Ace warned.
But Grim's stomach thought ahead of his brain. "I'll never forget that favor! Don't mind if I do!"
"Geez, Grim…" Niho rolled her eyes, watching him swallow it whole.
"He already ate it!" Ace gaped.
Cater joined them with morbid curiosity. "Uh, Grim that's the kind of palette you have?"
"Waaahh~! It starts out with a rich sweetness then finishes with the slightest hint of bitterness for an aromatic experience! This rock has its own unique flavor completely different from the last!" Grim swooned.
"Your stomach can really handle that?" Niho was weirded out a tad.
"He's a monster so his stomach is built differently than ours." Ace shrugged .
"I don't think that makes eating stuff off the ground alright…" Deuce murmured.
"The lawn has a really refreshing flavor too if you give it a try."
Deuce caught the creature trying to nibble at a few weeds in the grass, making him shout, "Stop! That's not for eating!" and ran to apprehend him.
Cater snickered, watching the scene with a small smile as he whispered to himself. "Oh… I can't… ...Thanks, everyone."
"Did you say something?" Ace turned back, but Cater faked ignorance.
"Nothing at all."
While Niho wanted to stay and talk with the others, she knew there was some unfinished business. "Guys, there's something I need to take care of. So I can't help out this time." she apologized, and took off without waiting for their answers.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
She ducked and wove her way through the never-ending halls, potentially asking a few ghosts for help with directions, until she found a door labeled in black lettering on the glass: Infirmary.
She nodded. "This is the place." she knocked a few times and then entered, peeking her head in first. On one of the cot beds laid Riddle, his crown off his head as he laid down, eyes closed. Trey sat close to him in a chair, until the sound of the door opening alerted him. He looked up to see Niho approaching. He put a finger to his lips, telling her to hush. She nodded and kneeled beside him, whispering.
"You two need to come with me." she whispered. Trey raised an eyebrow at her claim, but all she said was: "There's something we need to take care of."
"In a while." Trey assured. "He needs some rest." Niho nodded, deciding patience would be worthwhile.
About an hour or so later, Trey and Niho chit-chatting now and then, mentioning that he and Riddle are from the Rose Kingdom, Riddle woke up.
"Trey….how long was I out for?" he yawned.
"About an hour. Niho decided to visit. He said he needs us for something." Trey answered.
At the new girl's name, Riddle stumbled to sit up in a shock. "N-Niho!"
"Hey." she smiled warmly. "How are you?"
"I-I'm fine…." he mumbled. "But you wanted me for something?"
She nodded. "Now?" another nod.
"Riddle, are you strong enough?" Trey worried.
Riddle nodded and massaged his head. "I'll rest some more when we finish with his task." but at that, Riddle looked at her. "What is it that you need us for exactly?"
"You'll find out soon enough." was all she said.
After getting Riddle back on his feet, the three walk to the Mirror Chamber where the Dark Mirror resided.
"Dark Mirror!" Niho called. "Send us to the Rose Kingdom!"
The Mirror warped and light engulfed the three bodies.
When the portal spat them out, there they were in a village that seemed like out of a fairytale of sorts. And up ahead in the North was a magnificent Castle. But that wasn't Niho's destination. No….it was something much more important to her than that.
She turned to see Riddle and Trey's confused faces. "No time for questions. Just point me to the Rosehearts Residence immediately."
Riddle immediately knew what she was trying to plan and went to shake his head no, but Trey stopped him, despite the uneasy feeling in his gut. "T-This way…" he mumbled and led her down several cobblestone streets, past shops and people and other houses. Niho took it all in as fast as she could, but the reason she needed Trey is for a specific reason: to get back to Night Raven College since she had no magic when all this was over.
Out from the village and into the countryside, they walked on, grass surrounding them with other houses. And very soon, they made it to a quaint house, almost a gingerbread house of sorts. Two storied, wooden roofed, polished glass windows, brick chimney, the works.
"Is this the place?" she asked, feeling her anger towards the monster behind the door surfacing.
Both Trey and Riddle nodded silently. But Trey's was more grim and Riddle's was more scared. Satisfied with the answer, and without waiting for either of them, Niho charged up the doorbell and rang it. After several seconds, someone opened the door.
That someone whose wine red hair has several silvery grayish ones peeking out from her tight bun. Small wrinkles and lines littered parts of her face and her eyes held a somewhat scholarly look to them. She had on her standard white blouse and plain long skirt, this time, a deep black, the tips of her boots peeking out from the hem of the skirt. She looked over to see the two students standing beside one another and made to ask something. But Niho interrupted her.
Niho knew all too well who this was. "I'm sorry for intruding…" she began. "I'm a friend of your son, Riddle. And we need to talk, now."
Mrs. Rosehearts stared down at the girl and her rude interruption with a cold look in her eyes, but complied when she saw her son and Trey behind her, almost several feet away. "Very well. How may I help you?" she asked.
Niho's let her own eyes glare back at the mother, not an ounce of fear in her veins as she ripped at the old woman. "Your son became a tyrant at Night Raven College and went into overblot, and you are the cause! I saw what you did in the past from the ghost camera. And so, I've come to tell you what I think EXACTLY of you." Riddle's mother was about to interrupt, but Niho didn't let her speak as her voice raised, "Enforcing rules can't bring somebody happiness! And I'm not gonna let you hurt Riddle anymore, you hear me?!" she pointed an accusing finger at her with malice. "I'm warning you, you better not mess with him and his friends ever again!"
Riddle's mother became a bit taken back by the outburst when it melted into anger at the girl. "You dare march onto my property and tell me how my son's life should or shouldn't be run?!" She snarled. "How dare you!"
"Having children is a privilege, not a right. And your son is not your trophy!" Niho didn't hesitate to rip her to pieces like the monster she was. Even stepping inside the house and ripping down one of the woven tapestries from the wall like it was a sheet of blank paper. "It doesn't matter that you're Riddle's mother. If you threaten all of us, we will crush you just like any other enemy!"
At this point, Mrs Rosehearts felt fear course inside her veins. She moved her mouth open and closed like a fish out of water. She couldn't think of a comeback to tell the young lady off and put her in her place. Even Riddle and Trey were shell-shocked at Niho's sudden aggressive tone and behaviour change. But Riddle felt somewhere inside his heart, he felt….gratitude. No one ever had the gall to stand up to his mother like that. Not even himself when he was younger. Maybe he really was wrong about Niho. He shouldn't have judged her like that….
"It didn't have to be this way if you just noticed how much Riddle was hurting!" Niho felt the tears from before burning in her eyes, but like before, she forced them back. "Riddle needs to be accepted for who he is, not who his parents are!"
"Riddle, is this true?" his mother looked over Niho's shoulder to stare at her son, quite sternly. Riddle felt his legs tremble beneath him, knowing that no matter how much he wanted to speak up to his mother and say she was wrong, he couldn't find the balls to do so. So, he tugged on Trey's sleeve nervously and whispered something to him. Trey nodded and decided to speak for them both.
"It's true. And before you say anything about wanting to hear this from Riddle, you're hearing this from us both whether you wanted it or not. I know I'm forbidden from coming into contact with your son, but as of now, the rules don't abide to one's sanity at this time and place as of now." Trey scolded. "These past few days had been harsh on not just Niho and I, but Riddle as well. Making him aware of following every rule accountable just makes you seem like a lunatic. We're not enforcing irrational and ridiculous rules just because it's your mindset. And just because it's your way of life doesn't mean it should be Riddle's. From now on, he'll be doing things his own way. And even if you decide to disown him, we'll be there for him to put him back on his feet. And treat him like family, with warmth, compassion and acceptance. Something you obviously never did."
And with that declaration, the three left without another word.
"Riddle! Riddle, get back here and answer me! I will not condone this behaviour!" his mother kept shrieking. But Riddle, Niho and Trey ignored her banshee screams and kept walking along the dirt road back to the portal where they landed in the Rose Kingdom, her voice growing fainter and fainter the further they walked. No one said a word or anything on the way back to Night Raven. But it wasn't until they landed back in the chamber did Trey look at Niho in a long time.
"I'll, uh…." he pondered off nervously. Niho nodded to save him time.
"He needs his rest." she nodded, feeling a great weight off her shoulders. "I should go back and make sure Grim didn't set fire to anything else in the gardens…" she turned to leave the two to their own devices.
"No, wait…" Riddle held up a hand and struggled to stay up as he looked at Niho. She stopped and looked back in confusion. "Before you go…..I have something to say…." Riddle's form began to waver, but he stayed upright for her sake.
"N-Niho….I'm sorry for everything I said to you earlier….. From the moment you came here, I thought you were just a weak magicless being who couldn't do anything for himself. But after what you said to my mother just now...I was wrong about you." he laughed dryly. "I was too blinded by my own arrogance to see what someone like you held underneath….I know it won't be so easy to receive your forgiveness, but…."
"Hey." she interrupted politely. "For now, we'll deal with re-building the bridge later. You need rest after dragging you to your own house and lashing out at your pathetic mom. No offense or anything." she waved away and threw a goodbye over her shoulder, she ran off.
Riddle watched her leave with confusion and admiration in his eyes. "Trey…"
"Yea, me too, Riddle. Me too…" he nodded and took him back to the infirmary, her words echoing on between them like a mantra.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
-Several days later-
The trumpets sounded once more in a grand flare. "Our great leader! The Crimson Ruler! Announcing Dorm Head Riddle!" a student announced.
"Dorm Head Riddle, hip hip hooray!" the dorm cheered.
Riddle's cape swept behind him as he walked out into the now spotless gardens of Heartslabyul after the incident. "Hm. The roses are red, the tablecloths are white. A perfect Unbirthday Party. Inside the teapot, is there a sleeping… ah. Actually, it's fine without." he shook his head.
"You don't have to change everything right away. Instead of putting jam on the mouse's nose, try putting it on a scone. Change "it's worthless without" to "it would be nice to have", right?" Trey stepped up to his side and smiled.
"Yeah, you're right." Riddle nodded after thinking silently.
"Ah. Everything's back to normal…." Niho smiled, smoothing out her party outfit.
"Ugh. In the end, we had to handle getting the garden cleaned up and all the prep work." Ace moaned, massaging his tired hands.
"Calm down. Dorm Head being back after a full recovery is the most important." Deuce chided him.
"The garden is looking super photogenic so I'm super satisfied." Cater winked.
Grim started hopping up and down like a rabbit. "Yeah! I'm ready to eat all this food!"
Niho sighed. "This party will be better than last time...I hope."
"Okay! Let's get to…"
"Just a moment!" Riddle rose a hand over Cater.
Cater turned to look at him. "What?"
"Those white roses…" Riddle's eyes narrowed as he pointed over to a whole treeful of pure white roses straight in front of the group.
"We missed some!?" Ace choked.
"Uh oh... Ace, Deuce, you said you painted them all!" Cater gritted his teeth and spoke tensely.
"This is our fault?!" Deuce glared at him.
"R-Riddle, this…" Trey tried to calm him down before he began to lose his cool, but after a while, Riddle's stern face vanished.
"...Kidding. I'm not going to punish you for one or two roses."
"R-really?! Riddle's so lenient!" Cater sighed happily.
"It'll go faster if we work together."
"You still want them painted!?" Ace gawked.
"Don't worry. But really… yeah." Trey waved it away as he looked to his friend and smiled. "You've changed, Riddle."
Grim scowled. "Grrrgh! I can't wait another second! Let's get this painting stuff over with and party!" And paint them they did. Well, mostly Riddle, who kinda showed off his skills that put the others to shame. Once the white became red, all was set.
Riddle returned to his place at the table. "Then everyone, are you ready?"
"How did your apology tart come along?" Ace pushed the topic forth first.
"I-I baked it, don't worry. This. I made this strawberry tart." Riddle assured and pushed forth a red platter with tarts, one for each of them.
"Hmm… Hmm…" Trey picked one up and inspected it closely. "The shape needs a little work but you did well coating the strawberries in nappage to bring out their shine. This is great work for your first time." he critiqued his work.
"They look pretty adequate." Niho added.
"Ah, there it is, Trey's doubting attitude. Well, let's give it a try." Ace shrugged and picked one up. The others followed, but Cater stopped them before they could eat.
"Ah, I wanna take a pic of this ultra rare tart so hold off on cutting it!" he fumbled with his camera in one hand, holding his tart in the other and snaps a pic faster than lightning. "...Okay!"
"He never changes either... Let's dig in." They all bit into the sweet treats….
….is what should've been what they tasted. But they weren't tasting it. No, what they tasted was something….much different.
"...Hngh!?" Deuce's lips suddenly puckered at the weird taste.
"This tart is…"
"Salty!" the group began to frantically spit out the tainted treats like they tasted vomit mixed with cat piss.
"What!?" Riddle stood there in shock at their negative reactions.
"What the!? It's like eating the ocean!" Ace spit out the chewed up chunk into his hand and threw it away far off into the gardens, turning to glare at Riddle. "What the hell did you put in this!?"
Riddle held up his hands in surrender. "I followed the rules strictly when getting supplies and during the baking. There shouldn't be anything wron-..." his eyes lit up in realization. "Ah! Is it perhaps because I added oyster sauce?"
"You did WHAT?!" Niho looked at him like he lost half his brain.
Deuce pounded his chest, coughing to get the stuck wad of tart down his esophagus. "...Are you referring to Clover's joke about the walrus seal of approval?"
Riddle nodded. "Trey used to say that all good tarts have it even if it's not in the recipe as a secret ingredient…"
"Blegh, there's no way! If you think about it for a moment you'd realize!" Ace frantically wiped his tongue on the edge of the tablecloth since there were no nearby napkins at the moment.
"You fell for it too." Niho smirked at the first year and his idiocy.
"But this goes beyond a secret ingredient. How much did you add?" Cater looked ready to throw up.
"N-No one will divulge their trade secrets, you know? So I couldn't precisely figure out how much to add…" Riddle twiddled his fingers out of nervousness.
Trey could only gawk at his friend's naiveness for believing his joke when he started to snicker and then laugh. "...Pfft, ahaha! I never thought there would be someone who took that joke seriously... Ahahaha!"
It wasn't long before the others began to join in. First Riddle, then Deuce, Niho, Ace, Grim and Cater.
"...Aha, ahaha, so true. I'm so silly… ahahaha!"
"Haha, it's so bad it makes you laugh."
"Guess this one's for the books."
"Ahahaha! We just have to laugh it off. Haha."
"But, now I think it's good in its own way." Grim chewed off another chunk.
"I get you there. It's not as bad as you think." Cater agreed, earning a crazed stare from Deuce.
"Diamond, your palette is just as crazy as Grim's!"
"No no, I wouldn't say that." Cater brushed it off like a fly on his shoulder.
Trey approached him with a knowing smile. "This tart is good because it isn't sweet?"
"Eh?"
"Cater, you hate sweets." This earned stares from the others.
"But didn't you come try the mont blanc?" Niho remembered.
Cater could only stare helplessly at the others and his guilt. "Eh, eh... Trey, how did you know? I've never told anyone about my aversion to sweets."
"Whenever we eat cake you bring up my "Doodle Suit" and change the flavor. You never show it in your face but I just had this feeling you don't like sweets."
"Ah... I've been found out? So embarrassing... Trey, like the stuff with Riddle but your habit of "I noticed but didn't say anything" is not good." the third year sagged his shoulders in surrender, a sad frown on his lips.
"I'll cook up some quiche for the next Unbirthday Party." Trey saved him the embarrassment and patted him on the shoulder.
That seemed to lift his mood a fraction. "I appreciate that. ...Make it just as photogenic as cake, okay."
"Humm hmm hmm. Trey's sweets are always purr-fect." A familiar voice perked up and everyone turned to see Che'nya sitting by one of the tables nibbling one of the sugar cookies with a smile on his face.
"Che'nya! What're you doing here?!" Riddle asked in surprise. What was even more surprising was how none of the other students had noticed him and how he got in!
"Hm? I came to celebrate the Unbirthday Party. Congrats, Riddle." Che'nya sat and sent a smile towards his childhood buddy and then winked at Niho next. "Plus, I came to see the newbie! I heard everything that went down at your house, and how he stood up to your "mom"ster. Got guts, I'll give 'im that!"
Niho was surprised to learn that. "You know?"
"The Unbirthday Party is a Heartslabyul tradition. You don't have anything to do with it." Riddle scolded him.
"Hehehe, neither do these guys, right? Hmhmhm…" Che'nya waggled his finger at the Ramshackle duo.
Grim perked up immediately. "Ah, you! You're the guy from before with the cat puns! Oh yeah, what dorm are you from?"
"Che'nya isn't even a student here to begin with. He's from Night Raven College's long standing rival, Royal Sword Academy." Trey answered.
This raised red flags on Ace and Deuce.
"What!? He goes to a different school!?"
"Freaking Royal Sword Academy!?"
"So there's other schools of magic." Niho let the information sink into her head, just as Ace's little outburst caused a few students to look up at the name.
"Did they just say Royal Sword Academy?"
"One of those stuck-up assholes is here?!"
"What!? Where! We'll toss them out!" It wasn't long before more of them joined the angry mob.
"Oops. Well, I got my tart, so it's time for meow to go home. Hum hmm hmmm." Che'nya teased and faded little by little.
One student saw him vanish and shouted, "Ah, he got away!"
"After him!" They clambored from their seats at the tables and ran into the gardens and around the dorm to search for the neko like it was a wild goose chase. It wasn't long until the tea area was clear of the other dormers.
"Whoa! They got murderous..." Grim curled his tail inwards at their hostile and aggressive auras.
"Students from Night Raven College have a high probability to turn hostile towards Royal Sword Academy." Riddle explained, arms crossed over his chest.
"After losing for 100 years, you can't blame them." Trey shrugged helplessly.
"No more gloomy talk! We're celebrating! Let's enjoy our Unbirthday Party today!" Cater slugged his arms over the two with a smile on his lips.
"Nyaha! I'm gonna eat until I burst! Happy Unbirthday Party!" Grim cheered, but Niho stopped them.
"Wait!" she called out and cleared her throat after six sets of eyes were on her. "Since the other students aren't here, I should tell you guys something, but Cater needs to leave, too. He hasn't really earned my trust yet.'' She sent a small glare at the third year, who relented, hands up in surrender and walked off, far, far off so that he couldn't eavesdrop on their conversation.
When he was a good distance away, she began. "I haven't been very truthful from the start either. I've been hiding something from you two….er, three, but for now, two since we first met." she looked at Riddle and Trey with a bit of fear. But Ace and Deuce knew what she was going to tell them and moved to either side of her and placed their hands on her shoulders for reassurance, with silent and encouraging smiles, That seemed to have lifted her spirits and she continued, "I'm not who you think I am…..and the truth is…..I'm really a girl."
"Oh I see….wait, what?!" At that claim, Riddle felt himself go red all over. But not from anger. Rather, embarrassment. Before he could let anyone make fun of him he threw the cape over his head and crouched down into a ball. Knowing the new student was actually a girl made him want to crawl into the bushes and rethink how he treated her these past several days. THOROUGHLY.
Trey laughed awkwardly at his friend's silence, "Uh…..you might've broken Riddle there, Niho…" he placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort. "But….we understand why you would want this to be kept under wraps. It may be alot for us to process, but we'll be okay." he nodded reassuringly. "Don't worry. Our lips are sealed. We won't let the secret get out to anyone. Not even Cater, until the right time." With a tip from his hat, Trey led Riddle away to let him rethink his choices on the matter, the redhead not even bothering to chide the first year boys for dying of laughter at his flushed out face.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Over at Savanaclaw, in a messy bedroom, two figures were doing different things. The first, Ruggie, was leaning on his elbows against the stone balcony's railing, overlooking the party that was going on next door. He sighed longingly, "I'm jealous. Those Heartslabyul guys are having a party with a huge feast. Savanaclaw doesn't have any stomach bursting traditions."
"Hmph... What's so fun about a party where all you do is eat cake and cookies under the afternoon sun? Disgusting." the second, Leona, laid out on his bed, arms up and behind his head, feet crossed at the ankles and his eyes shut. But they opened soon after and he side-eyed the second year. "That aside, how is that coming…?"
Ruggie caught on fast and leaned upright with a smirk and mock-saluted. "Leave it to me. Things are coming along smoothly. Shishishi!"
Leona nodded and stared at his hand, speaking quietly, "While those guys waste their time away drinking tea, we have our change. That stuck up Malleus, too." his eyes darkened as he clenched his hand into a tight fist as a dark chuckle left his lips. "Be prepared…"
XXXXXXXXXXXX
NEXT TIME...
"What I hate most in this world is when people have already decided you'll never be number one. I know life isn't fair, but isn't it obvious that doing underhanded things is my real power?"
"I'll do whatever it takes to win. A world that I can't rule over… it will all TURN TO SAND!"