Well, things didn't end well in the previous chapter. On the bright side, Grim can't start any fires now. XD Let's see if anything changes or if the group can come up with something to deal with this problem.
Also, I have some important news on my update schedule for next week, so be sure to read the notes at the end.
Enjoy!

Chapter 15:

"Screw that red midget tyrant!" Ace roared. He had been rampaging about for the past 10 minutes in the Rose Maze and hasn't stopped for a break. He even called Riddle a couple of particular names that made Claire yell, "ACE!" and clapped her hands over Grim's ears.

"Who does he think he is, enforcing all those rules?!" he said, "The Queen of Hearts?!"

Claire immediately shuddered, remembering the woman.

While all of their heads were physically intact, it was clear that the situation had definitely taken a turn for the worse. She looked down miserably at her clothes, wondering where had it all gone wrong. The dress that Cater had made for her turned back to her uniform, and the glamourous excitement she had worn was gone and replaced with exhaustion. Her brown hair was undone and laid limply against her neck, and her black dress shoes were caked in mud. Everything felt like a dream that quickly turned into a horrible nightmare. She, Deuce, and Grim sat on the stone bench and watched as Ace kicked at another rose bush.

"I got collared and kicked out of my dorm…" Deuce mumbled next to her, looking more broken than the chicken egg incident. "I'll never be an honors student…"

"Urgh this collar," Grim groaned and scratched his neck. "It's so heavy…"

"What's with y'all looking so stylish in your mew collars?!" a jubilant voice asked.

The group looked at each other, wondering which one of them had spoken.

"Talking head!" Grim suddenly shrieked, pointing to the sky. The four jumped back in horror to see a purple-haired head with matching cat ears, grinning widely at their expression.

"Oh sorry. Paw-don me. I furrrrrgot to bring the rest of me." Immediately, the body of the lanky teenager was attached to the neck. His yellow eyes seemed to glow as he watched them with amusement.

"So, you do have a body." Deuce looked relieved though still visibly confused. "Who are you?"

"Me?" the guy purred and gave a wide grin that was too big for his face. "I'm Alchemi Alchemevich Pinka. I am an enigma with the magic of a human and a cat."

"Alchsw… what?" Ace tried to repeat, tongue-tied.

"Uh, come again?" Claire asked, wondering how to spell that.

"Just call me Che'nya. I am on a quite different level than the guys in this dorm." He held his hands up like little paws and grinned widely. His purple cat ears flickered with amusement.

Claire stared, wondering if this guy was right in the head. "Which dorm are you from, Che'nya?" she asked, curiously.

"Now that is an interesting question. Can you guess which dorm I'm furrm?" He gave a sly grin as if he had something hidden up his sleeve.

Tired but curious, Claire glanced at Che'nya clothes, hoping it provided some clue.

Instead of the Night Raven College's uniform, Che'nya had on an XL white collared shirt that was loosely buttoned to reveal his purple-striped shirt underneath and matching boots. His jeans were held up by a long purple belt and had the wackiest printed images like a cartoon strip. Claire noticed that his ear studs resembled arrows, pointing in different directions with words like 'Up', 'Down', 'This Way', and 'Yonder'.

With all of this information before her, Claire still had no clue who Che'nya was.

"You have cat ears," Grim said, pointing to the Che'nya's head, "So you're from that Banana, or whatever, dorm!"

"Do you mean Savanaclaw?" Deuce mumbled.

"Bzzzt, that's incorrect," Che'nya said, making an 'X' with his index fingers though he appeared amused at the reasoning. "Purrhaps mew would like to try again?"

"Look, I'm not in the mood of guessing or cat puns thanks to a certain tyrant," Ace interrupted, frowning with irritation, "Would you just leave us alone?"

"Tyrant? You mean Riddle?" Che'nya didn't look upset and became interested in their plight, "Well, mew're not incorrect. He always was a stickler for the rules since he was a kitten."

"Do you know something about it?" Deuce immediately asked, looking up.

"Hmmm, mew could say I do but mew could say I also don't," Che'nya drawled out as he rested his hands behind his head.

"Well, which is it?" Grim said, rolling his eyes.

"Are mew really that curious? About kitten Riddle?" Che'nya asked.

"Of course!" Ace snapped, "I want to know how in the world did that tyrant kitten – I mean, kid turn out the way he is."

"In that case," Che'nya said in another long drawl-out voice, "Mew should seek out your glasses fur-end." He pointed his thumb back to the Heartslabyul dorm.

"Our glasses friend? You mean Trey – Trey Clover?" Claire spoke up.

"Yup, he k-mew Riddle since they were kittens," Che'nya grinned. "If mew wants to know the truth, then he's the one to talk to."

"Wait, hold on. They are childhood friends?" Claire's eyes widened with disbelief. She wasn't the only one surprised by this new piece of information.

"It sure didn't seem that way," Deuce hesitated.

"If that's what mew think then it must be so." Che'nya shrugged his shoulders languidly. "If there is nothing else, then I guess I'll leave meow." His body disappeared, leaving his head floating up and up like a balloon.

"Hey wait! We still have questions. How do you know all this?" Deuce said, but Che'nya continued to hum as his head, too, slowly disappeared from existence.

"Well, that was weird," Grim stated flatly.

"So, Trey and Riddle are childhood friends? Why did Trey never mention that?" Claire said, perplexed with this new information.

"More importantly, why didn't he stop Riddle?!" Ace said.

"We can ask him if we can find him," Deuce said, "We need to get these collars off if we want to continue with classes, and…" He glanced at Ace, who immediately scowled.

"I will not apologize," he snapped, hands on his hips, "So don't even say it."

"Well, we can ask him tomorrow. Let's go back to Ramshackle so I can get your rooms ready," Claire said with a yawn and got up to her feet. As the adrenaline wore off, she needed a hot shower and sleep.

"What are you talking about?" Ace said. He and Deuce turned to her in surprise. "We're going to find him right now."

"Now?" Claire stared in disbelief. She glanced at the sun that was setting on the horizon. "The party is still going, and the cleanup won't be finished till late at night. We can't wait by the gate; we'll be run out."

"No way," Ace said stubbornly, "I'm not letting that tyrant get away with this any longer!"

"Guys, one night is not going to kill you. Let's take some time to cool down and figure out the best plan."

"Claire, if we don't get this collar off, I won't be able to do the schoolwork," Grim pointed out.

"You're actually worried about schoolwork?" Claire stared in incredulity as everybody stared back. "Urgh, fine," she groaned and racked her brain for a solution. She fell silent for a few minutes while everybody waited for her to come up with a plan.

"Come on, let's get this over with. If we're going to talk to him about something this sensitive then we need to make sure he's alone," she finally said and headed to the mirror.

"And you know where that is?" Grim asked as they followed her. "Shouldn't we let Trey know?"

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure we will find him there," Claire said simply.

Author's Notes

Meet Che'nya! I must say walking around with a floating head must be a very interesting conversation ice breaker.

Also, due to the holidays, I will be updating my story next week on Monday and Wednesday. Yes, that's right! I will be updating twice instead of once next week as an early Christmas gift to everyone!

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you soon!

-JD