Hi guys! As mentioned in the previous chapter, I will be posting two chapters this week - Monday and Wednesday - as an early gift for the holidays!
Enjoy!
Chapter 16:
It was late into the evening when Trey arrived at the library. He returned the borrowed cookbook at the front desk without any problems, but he didn't want to head back to the dorms just yet. Today's Unbirthday was a complete disaster. It took hours to get things settled down after that Mont Blanc tart incident, and by then three more first-year students were collared.
He wasn't able to find the time to convince Riddle to let Ace and Deuce back into the dorm but to be honest, he couldn't find himself to bring the topic up. Standing in the library, he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, wishing there was a book floating around here that could solve all of his problems.
"Finally. We were wondering if you were going to show up," Ace said.
Trey looked up, surprised to see Ace, Deuce, Grim, and Claire peeking out from the dimly lit study area. He expected to encounter the first years sooner or later but never thought to find them here.
"You guys." He hastily put his glasses back on. "How did you find me?"
"Claire remembered that the return date on that cookbook for the Mont Blanc tart was today," Deuce explained, "We figured you would come and return it, so we camped out here."
"We still don't agree with Riddle's tyrannical control," Ace declared and glared back, daring Trey to object.
"No, I don't expect you to," Trey sighed.
"Seriously, why are you letting him act like this?" Ace continued, not pulling any punches. "Were you always like this since you were kids?"
"Where did you hear that from?" Trey looked up sharply. "About me and Riddle?"
"Che'nya," Deuce said simply.
"Che'nya?" Trey's eyes widened in recognition, "Why would he…? No, I can't say I'm surprised." He fell silent again, not elaborating any further. However, his arms were crossed, and there was a look of irritation on his face.
"Aren't you older than Riddle?" Grim demanded, cutting into the conversation, "Why don't you get mad at him?"
There was a flicker of hesitation in Trey's eyes. "It's not that simple…" he said slowly.
"Then enlighten us," Claire said, no hint of sympathy in her voice. "Because if you haven't noticed yet, things are getting quite out of hand." She jabbed with her thumb at the collars locked around the idiot trio's necks.
Trey remained quiet, wondering how or rather where to start the story. He rubbed his eyes again and sighed.
"Everything Riddle is today," Trey began slowly, "is because of the strict rules he was raised under."
"What do you mean?" asked Deuce.
"They're not royalty, but the Rosehearts family is from a long lineage of famous mages and gifted healers. Everybody back at home knew them, particularly his mother. And as such, his mother had high expectations for Riddle since he was a child – that's also why all aspect of his life was controlled by her. Everything down to the smallest detail was all for the sake of his academic study."
"E-everything?" Grim repeated in disbelief.
"What time he woke up, what he ate, what classes he took, even the type of friends he can make. All were decided by his parents."
"So, you two became friends through his parents?" Claire asked, curiously.
Trey's gold eyes darkened, and he shook his head.
"No, we became friends by chance, but because of that…" He didn't finish his sentence and cleared his throat. "To maintain their expectations, Riddle never said a word of complaint. He managed to perfect his Unique Magic by the age of ten, and on top of that, he maintained his spot as number one in his grade since primary school. I can't imagine how difficult things must have been for him to meet the expectations at such a young age."
"That's… harsh," Claire admitted. She would have gone insane if she was in Riddle's position.
Ace, on the other hand, remained silent, his frown still on his face.
"Riddle went through all this and became the dorm head," Trey continued, "So he believes that following his mother's footsteps and enforcing these strict and harsh rules will better everyone in the long run. Anyone can become like him as long as they follow the rules, and breaking them is unacceptable because –"
"– because if he overlooks any rule-breaking, it will go against everything that he went through – everything he was taught," Ace finished.
Trey nodded, relieved that Ace was finally getting the picture. "I understand why you may think of him as a tyrant, and the way he is handling things is somewhat wrong too. But for me… I just can't bring myself to scold him."
Claire stared confused at Trey. There was something he was not telling them. Maybe it was her imagination, but it sounded like he was blaming himself personally for the pain that Riddle went through.
Grim and Deuce both looked depressed after hearing Riddle's childhood story.
"So, the Dorm Head had to go through all that…" Deuce mumbled.
Claire glanced at Ace, wondering how he was taking all of this. "Yeah, I think I get it now," he spoke up finally, looking at Trey. "The way Riddle is right now – it's all your fault."
"What?" Everybody turned to him in bewilderment.
"Riddle can't choose his parents," Ace said flatly, staring at Trey. "So, I get why he couldn't do anything. But you've seen the way his parents treated him" – his voice was filled with irritation now – "You said so yourself that you think that they were being unfair and wrong."
"That's…" Trey mumbled but didn't say anything more.
"If Riddle is making the same mistakes as his parents, tell him directly – what do you accomplish if you just keep feeling sorry for him and spoiling him like this?" Ace continued on, his voice getting louder and louder with each sentence, "He's going to be hated and shunned if this keeps up. Are you just going to sit by and just watch it happen?!"
Trey glowered but didn't say a word to defend himself. Claire and Grim watched back and forth like a tennis rally, feeling the tension mounting up in the room between upper- and underclassmen.
"Hey, Ace," Deuce whispered, trying to calm him down.
"Or what?!" Ace continued, almost shouting now, "Are you keeping quiet because what you're really scared of is getting collared? That's super lame!" He sneered before returning to his disgusted look. "You're not his childhood friend. In fact, you're not even his friend!"
"HEY! ALL OF YOU! THIS IS A LIBRARY! BE QUIET!"
Everybody jumped in surprise as the Night Raven College Headmaster – Dire Crowley – leaped out from behind the bookcase. He was a pale man who looked to be in his early thirties though it was hard to tell with the raven beak mask that obscured the top half of his face, revealing only a pair of glowing yellow eyes. With his black crow feathered greatcoat and top hat, he looked ready to perform a magic trick rather than leading a school of unruly mages.
"You're the one who's the loudest," Grim pointed out.
"Oh, my apologies," Crowley coughed in embarrassment and continued in an audible whisper, "The library is for quiet studying or reading. Please stop shouting."
"Sorry," Claire quickly said in a hasty mutter. "We didn't mean to make a scene."
"Good, now would you explain why all of you are wearing such grim faces?" Crowley asked, his glowing yellow eyes sweeping across each of his student's faces.
Everyone looked at each other uneasily, unsure how much drama they want to say to the headmaster. How much trouble will they be in if word got out that there were problems within the dorm?
"I see three of you are collared by Mr. Rosehearts' Unique magic," Crowley continued, "Is it safe to assume that is the reason for Mr. Trappola's outburst?"
"Yes, but…" Deuce quickly explained the situation so far starting with what happened at the tea party.
"I see," Crowley said as soon as Deuce finished and turned to Ace, "You don't want to apologize, but at the same time, you are unable to come up with another method to convince Mr. Rosehearts to let this go…"
"Yeah, that's about right," Ace stared defiantly at Crowley as though expecting the man to chastise him as well.
"Well, if you wish, you could always switch dorms if you're not happy with the situation," Crowley offered. "However, the Mirror of Darkness did judge your soul and place you in the dorm that most suits you, so if you would wish to take this route, there are a number of troublesome paperwork and rituals to complete."
"Transfer huh?" Ace fell silent and then shook his head. "Sorry, but if I did that, it would look like I'm running away."
"That's a relief," Claire said dryly, "Having you permanently in my dorm would have been a nightmare."
"Who said anything about joining your rundown shack?" Ace said, snorting with laughter. "You made me sleep on the couch, remember?"
"Do you know anyone else who would accept you after word got out you talked back and disrespected the Heartslabyul dorm head?" she pointed out. "No one would want someone like that."
"He was the one who started it," Ace retorted.
"Doesn't matter," Claire said, crossing her arms, "That's how it is going to look for everyone else."
"Okay, enough," Crowley said before the bickering continued. "If you don't want to transfer then how about this, Mr. Trappola? What do you think about challenging Mr. Rosehearts to a duel to take his place as dorm head?"
"WHAT?!" Everybody squawked. Even Trey looked stunned.
"Use your library voice," Crowley shushed, pressing his finger to his lips. "You're shouting again."
"That's because you said something crazy," Ace shot back in a hasty whisper.
"It is not crazy," the Headmaster insisted, "This was how Mr. Rosehearts became dorm head."
That's right. Claire remembered that Trey and Cater mentioned it briefly during lunch yesterday. And it was in the first week too.
Claire suddenly had a sudden image of an old western showdown where Ace and Riddle were wearing ten-gallon cowboy hats and squaring off in the middle of town as the sun was setting in the background.
"Actually, now that I think about it," Deuce said slowly, "How are dorm leaders typically selected at this school?"
"There are many methods – a recommendation from the previous dorm head, appointment by the headmaster, winning a match against the current dorm head…" Crowley said, ticking off the list with his fingers, "But the simplest, in this case, is a duel for the position."
"But isn't using magic strictly forbidden when settling out personal fights?" Ace pointed out.
"If the duel is approved and overseen by the headmaster, then it is perfectly fine," Crowley said with a wave of his hand.
"If I remember correctly," Trey said, speaking up for the first time, "It is prohibited to place a handicap on your opponent before the start of the match."
"Oh!" Claire's eyes widened with realization. "Then that means…"
"By accepting this duel, Ace technically can get Riddle to take the collar off without apologizing, but…" Trey didn't need to finish as he crossed his arms.
There was no doubt Riddle would use his Unique Magic once the duel commenced, and this time the collar would be permanent, even if Ace decided to grovel for forgiveness.
"All students have the right to challenge their dorm leaders for their position," Crowley stated simply, "Still, the decision to do so lies solely on you, Mr. Trappola. Do you wish to step up to the plate and challenge Mr. Rosehearts?"
Ace fell silent for the longest time before slowly nodding ever so slowly. "Okay, that's fine. I'm not going to let him act like this any longer."
"Count me in as well," Deuce said, standing up.
"And me!" Grim cried out.
"Oh, sorry Grim," Crowley said, holding his hand up, "These duels are for only people in the same dorm. Anyone outside of the dorms cannot issue a challenge."
"What? Then who will take my collar off?" Grim cried in despair. His fire ears drooped in despair.
"Yeah, that's not fair, Cro- Headmaster," Claire said. "And Grim's not from that dorm. Why is it okay for Riddle to punish him?"
"Well, Riddle is an official dorm head, so he does have the power to punish students from other dorms if they cross the line," Crowley said lightly. "Although, most don't since it usually means dealing with other dorm heads and unnecessary fights between dorms."
"So what, I have to ask him all civil-like to remove the collar after everything he did to us?" Claire said in disbelief and disgust.
"What? No way!" Grim said angrily, holding his arms up in a big 'X', "Why do we have to apologize? We didn't do anything wrong."
"And you won't need to," Ace insisted, "I'll make sure Riddle takes it off if I become dorm head."
"Big 'If'," Claire pointed out, "You're putting the horse before the cart. He's not an easy opponent."
"Putting the what before the what?" Grim repeated in confusion.
"We won't know unless we try," Ace said stubbornly, ignoring the strange analogy. "Besides, if we don't stand up against him, who knows how many more people will get collared."
Claire could see there was no budging on the issue once more and groaned in resignation. "Then, we'll need to think of some sort of strategy to make sure you two at least come out of this alive."
"Guys, are you serious?" Trey spoke up, and everybody turned to him. "Deuce, I never thought I would expect this from you."
"You can't reach for the crown if you don't take any risk," Deuce said, cracking his knuckles, "I'm not going to waste this opportunity to challenge him."
"Look at you with your bad-boy mode," Ace smirked.
"What?" Deuce said flustered. His ears were slightly pink. "It is perfectly… normal."
"Well, now that we got that sorted, I'll go ahead and start with the paperwork," Crowley interjected.
"Wait, exactly how does this duel work?" Claire raised her hand.
"More than one person can challenge the dorm head though the headmaster must approve it," Crowley explained, "However, only one person can be dorm head, so if you both, on the off chance and some miracle, win, it may be troublesome."
"We can sort that out later," Ace said, and Deuce nodded in agreement.
"Again, putting the horse before the cart. I'm going to be honest, but I don't really see how two people challenging him will make any difference," Claire said, looking at them with a skeptical expression.
"When it comes to Dorm Head Riddle, I don't think we'll win in terms of magical skills, but…" Deuce was smiling now and cracked his knuckles again, "I bet in physical combat, we have the advantage."
"He does look like a weakling," Grim grinned deviously.
Oh no, Claire thought as she saw the gleam in their eyes and the mischievous smirks.
"Oh sorry, I forgot to mention this earlier," Crowley said lightly, "but any physical attacks are prohibited in a duel. Only magic is allowed."
"What?! Are you serious?!" Deuce sputtered. The confidence he wore quickly deflated from his face.
"Don't worry," Crowley laughed whole-heartedly as if their lives weren't on the line, "As long as you follow the rules, there should be no problem. Let's have fun with this duel. I will get all the documents ready. Please let me know when you have a time you want the duel to start. I bid you all adieu."
With that, the Headmaster quickly vanished in a rather dramatic way, sweeping his cape and leaving the group with a new worry to deal with.
"I'm screwed," Grim sobbed. "I'll never be able to study magic again."
"I-It should be fine," Ace said though his voice suggested otherwise. "I'm not too sure about our magic, but we'll figure something out."
"That doesn't exactly inspire confidence," Grim retorted.
Trey looked with concern at the underclassmen's wavering optimism before he noticed that one of them was missing.
"Hey, guys!" Claire called out. The group turned to see her head poking out from one of the bookshelves. "Did Cro- I mean, did the Headmaster say we can choose when to have the match?"
"Yeah, he did. Why?" Deuce said slowly.
"What are you doing over there?" Grim asked.
"Reading," Claire rolled her eyes. "We are in a library, but never mind that. Set up the match at 3:30 tomorrow."
"Why?" Ace asked, but he immediately recognized that gleam in her eyes. It was the same one she wore when she came up with that plan back at Dwarf's Mine.
"I think there is a way we can win this," she said.
Author's Notes
Oh boy, what did Claire come up with this time? Btw, Claire and Ace bickering is just natural at this point, and I'm living for it XD
And I think this is the first and only time so far that Crowley is actually useful for once albeit he is still pretty useless XD
On a different note, this library scene is perhaps one of my top fav scenes from the Heartslabyul arc. Just the raw emotion, the realization, and everything just show the tipping point of everything that is about to happen. I wished the game kind of foreshadowed how Trey and Riddle were childhood friends that didn't exactly end on great terms when it was mentioned that Riddle's parents determine who could be his friends. I decided to do it here since it was too good of an opportunity to /
Thanks for reading! I'll see you guys on Wednesday for a brand new update!br /
-JD