Hi everyone! Another chapter is ready to go. We're getting close to the conclusion of this arc. I'm still figuring some things out first before I announce information about the next arc and other updates.

Enjoy!

Chapter 20:

By the time she regained consciousness, Claire woke up back in the black and white world. Lying on the ground, she sat up and looked around, expecting an army of cards and rose bushes, but this time, she was in someone's house. Other than obviously being rather wealthy and well-furnished, nothing weird was out of place here.

Is this another dream?

Claire shakily got up to her feet and realized that she was standing at the end of a long dining hall table with a white table cloth. Lined on the left and right were high-end chairs. The room would have looked rather magnificent if this strange dream had color to brighten the place. In the center of the dining table sat a rather small boy all by himself.

"Excuse me," she called out. Her voice echoed across the room, but the boy didn't respond and merely stared at the empty plate with such intensity as if the food was to magically appear. "Excuse me," she called out again and walked towards him, "Can you – Riddle?!"

She gasped when she saw his face. There was no doubt that the young boy in a pinstripe suit was indeed a younger and smaller version of Riddle. But this raised more questions than answers.

What is going on? What is this place? Is this… his memory?

Before she had time to grasp what was going on, the main doors suddenly opened. A thin woman in her early to mid-thirties walked briskly in with a scullery maid carrying a large dome tray, and Riddle looked up from his plate with hopeful eyes. The woman was wearing a long sleeve dress with a high collar blouse underneath. Her hair was up in a bun, and she wore a no-nonsense look on her face. Her appearance reminded Claire of a governess, but it wasn't until the woman stood in front of Riddle that she saw the family resemblance.

"Happy 8th birthday, Riddle! For this year, I had your cake made to be sugar-free with soy flour and nuts with lots of lecithin since they are good for the brain." She sounded so proud like she was the one who made it as the maid set down the cake on the table. Or at least what was supposed to be a cake if had been mutated by radiation.

Claire almost gagged at the plate of brain-shaped dough with pebble-sized nuts. This woman was joking, right? That thing didn't even look like a cake for crying out loud!

"Thank you, Mother," Riddle said dutifully. He bit his bottom lips before he managed to gather the courage to speak again. "Um, Mother… I was wondering… just this once… could I have a tart filled with strawberries?"

"Riddle, dear!" She looked repulsed as if he asked for a tattoo and a nose piercing. "How can you request such a thing! Don't you know that those desserts are like poison to the body? All that disgusting sugar!" She gave an audible sniff that made Claire want to grab her hair and pull it. "Not to mention that one slice will exceed your calorie consumption quota – now," she changed the topic, ending the conversation, "our meal today will be sautéed tuna which has plenty of docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid – oh, but at your age, the ideal calorie intake is… 600kcal per meal, so don't eat more than 100 grams!"

600kcal? Doco-what?! Claire had no idea how Riddle kept a straight face as his mother listed the calories and unpronounceable ingredients.

The maid placed in front of Riddle another plate with food this time but looked just as pitiful as the birthday cake.

Even if this was a memory, the sight made Claire almost go into a hangry rage. Before she could give the woman a piece of her mind, even if this was merely a memory, the scene was replaced by another one. This time, Claire was standing in the corner of some study room with posh high-end plush chairs and a dark wooden table. Thankfully, the disgusting cake was nowhere to be found.

"That concludes your classical magic studies," Riddle's mother said as the boy closed his books. "Review magical ethics that you learned today and read the next 50 pages of the language philosophy book."

"Yes, Mother," he nodded obediently.

"Now then, Mother has a couple of errands to run," she said getting up and adjusting the skirt of her dress. "I will be back in an hour. Use that time to self-study."

"Yes, Mother."

The door closed, and it was just Claire and Riddle alone in the room. The boy already dutifully opened his textbook and proceeded to read, never once taking a break. It seemed like he intended to spend the whole hour to self-study as his mother ordered.

The room was quiet except for the ticking sound from the clock on the wall and the occasional turning of the pages. Feeling bored, Claire was wondering where this memory was going when she heard a faint tap on the window.

The two of them looked up, startled by the sound as the tapping persisted. Curious, tiny Riddle hopped out of his chair and went over to open the window, only to yelp in shock and fall on his butt. Claire almost did the same before she recognized the floating head.

"Hey, hey! Come play with us!" the disembodied Che'nya purred. Standing next to the head was a kid with glasses who also looked rather familiar.

"W-who are you?" Riddle sputtered as he got back up.

"Me? I'm Che'nya!" The face gave a big cat-like grin before motioning to his companion. "This here is Trey."

"Nice to meet you," young Trey said before turning to his friend, "Che'nya, you're showing only your head again."

"Oh, so that's why he screamed." The rest of his body slowly appeared, and tiny Che'nya continued to hop around, amused at the shock he had caused.

Trey? And Che'nya? Claire watched in confusion as watched this exchange. Not just Trey but Che'nya as well?

"Come play with us!" tiny Che'nya said, raising his arms high into the air, "Let's play croquet!"

"Cr-Croquet?" Riddle hesitated and bit his bottom lips, "I must decline. I have self-study right now."

"Boo, that's boring," Che'nya complained. He continued to wear his giant grin turned, but instead of merely frowning, he stood on his head to show that his upside-down smile was now a right-side-up frown. "Self-study means that you can study whatever you want, right? Besides, my grandpaw always said playing is a type of self-study mew."

"Will you come and join?" Trey asked, kindly. "I'm sure you could use the break."

Riddle hesitated, clearly contemplating if he could dare to defy his mother. However, the temptation was too strong, and he relented. "Just for a little bit, okay?"

"May I ask for your name?" Trey asked as Riddle swung one leg out the window. He held out his hand for Riddle to take.

"I'm Riddle," he said, "Riddle Rosehearts."

The scene melted away, and a flurry of memories rushed past Claire though she only managed to catch glimpses. They each showed Riddle sneaking out through the window to play with tiny Che'nya and young Trey. The trio ran around, explored different places in town, and played silly but fun games.

Claire couldn't help but smile as the memories flashed by her. These moments must have been precious to Riddle. Each memory showed them laughing and having a wonderful time. The next one showed the trio hiding in the garden bushes.

"What?" Che'nya exclaimed in shock as he sat on the dirt ground. "You never had a strawberry tart before?!"

"Y-yes," Riddle said, trying to not sound embarrassed. Out of the three, he was the only one who was standing, probably afraid to get dirt on his clothes. "Mother said it's like poison, so I am not allowed to eat any."

Che'nya gave a dubious frown and turned to Trey as if he could explain the words from Riddle's mouth.

"Well, only if you eat too much of it," Trey pointed out. "Once in a while wouldn't hurt." He paused for a moment before his eyes lit up with a brand-new thought. "My family owns a cake shop. Why don't we go eat some?"

"What? But–"

"Yay!" Che'nya exclaimed, cutting Riddle off. He hopped to his feet and pranced around. "I want a strawberry tart! Tart, tart, tart!"

"Don't worry," Trey added, seeing Riddle's reluctant face, "One slice won't hurt you."

"I want to eat a whole one right meow!" Che'nya declared, already pulling the two down the road.

The memory distorted and then turned into what could only be Trey's family cake shop. The three boys were sitting around a wooden table in the kitchen. At the center was the fabled strawberry tart that Riddle had craved on his 8th birthday.

The thick crust held a layer of pure white cream filling and on top were beautiful shiny strawberries that were spread out like flower petals. Even though the memory was in black and white, Claire's mouth watered at the sight. This beautiful tart was a far outcry compared to that pitiful birthday cake she had seen earlier. A small slice was cut and placed in front of Riddle's hungry mouth.

"Go on," Trey encouraged.

Little Riddle picked up his fork and held it tightly in his fist. The clock hanging from the wall continued to tick with each passing second as Trey and Che'nya watched with eagerness. With careful maneuver, Riddle deftly lifted a forkful of the crust, cream, and strawberry – the perfect ratio. He chewed on it slowly as his friends waited on bated breath.

"It's… good," Riddle said in star-struck wonder as if he never thought it was possible. He quickly shoved another piece and then another - all proper manners gone.

"Told nya," Che'nya grinned as he took a bite of his own piece. "Trey's desserts are always the best."

"You made this?" Riddle's mouth was wide open in shock. A bit of cream clung nose.

"I helped mix the ingredients, but my parents did the baking," young Trey said humbly as he wiped the edges of Riddle's mouth and nose. "Be careful. You got crumbs."

"Nya, nya," Che'nya laughed, revealing his sharp teeth.

"Don't laugh, Che'nya. You have cream on your face," Trey added, wiping Che'nya's face now. This time, Riddle giggled, and soon the three of them busted out laughing as they continued to finish their tart.

The laughter and voices faded as the memory finished, but the ticking from the clock grew louder and louder until it thundered in Claire's head. Covering her ears, she wondered what this impending sound of doom was.

By the time the sound dissipated and she was able to focus again, she was standing back in the study room. This time, Riddle's mother was there, and the atmosphere had turned to the worse.

"I can't believe you!" Riddle's mother wailed, angry tears streaming down her face. Her hand clutched tightly to a tear-stained handkerchief. "You not only skipped out on studying but then proceeded to eat a mound of sugar!"

"I-I'm sorry…" Tears streamed down child Riddle's eyes as he tried to blubber out his apology. "I just… I just wanted to try it…"

"No. No, it is those two. Those two are a bad influence on you!" Riddle's mother declared as she wiped her eyes, leaving streaks of mascara. "They were the ones who instigated it. I will not allow you to spend any more time with them!"

"No, Mother," little Riddle exclaimed. He clutched onto the hem of her skirt. "Please no! I promise I won't go out! I'll study! Just please don't…"

"Silence!" she screamed and slammed her hand against the table. Little Riddle and Claire flinched from her sharp tone. "This is because you broke the rules that you must be punished." She took several shaky breaths and shook her head despondently, "I should've never let you have so much free time. I will need to keep a better eye on you. From now on, your mother will be here every step of the way."

And just like that, the memory vanished like smoke; this time, no more followed. The entire world had turned to snow-white, and Claire was alone.

Or so she thought.

Looking around at the white space she was in, Claire noticed a curious object in the far distance. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was a giant floating black heart.

It wasn't pretty though. Deformed, swollen, and bruised like an overripen strawberry, it dripped black ink, forming a pool of darkness below, staining the white area. It was a disgusting sight to behold, but she felt something inside – someone lost and scared.

Looking around and seeing nothing else in sight, Claire walked towards the bleeding heart. It stood a few feet taller than her and loomed over rather menacingly. She waited, unsure what to do, but nothing happened.

Hesitantly, she reached out with her arms and touched the cold chaotic surface. Almost immediately, the heart unfurled like petals, blown away in the wind, revealing a sobbing Dorm Head Riddle, huddle with his arms wrapped around his legs. For once, he didn't look like an angry tyrant but the lost child from the memory.

If I broke the rules, I couldn't have fun. That's why I did everything that she told me. I had to follow her.

Claire could hear Dorm Head Riddle's voice in her head again. It was filled with nothing but pain and sadness.

Everybody respected her the most; that's why she was always right. So why…? Why does it hurt so much inside? Even if it was just my birthday, I wanted to eat tarts. I wanted to play outside. I… I wanted friends… Where is it, Mother?... Where's the rule to stop this pain? Where's the rule that will make me happy? How do I become happy again?

His sobs filled the empty room once more. Claire stood there, staring down at the dorm head – no, not dorm head. Just Riddle.

"Stand up," she ordered.

"Huh?" Riddle looked up with tears still in his eyes. "What? You…"

"All this time you want to say what you really want, right? Come on. Let's do that." Claire was a bit surprised at the confident and commanding tone she gave, but something inside of her knew what needed to be done.

"B-but…" There was hesitation in Riddle's eyes now.

"Look, I don't get the fixation on rules, but, the pain inside" – Claire knelt down and pointed to Riddle's heart – "that I think I understand. Even a caged bird wants to be heard." Her words must've been soothing because he stopped crying and seemed to relax a bit. "However, I don't think I'm the right person you should share this with," Claire continued, "So, let's get out of here first." She held out her hand for him to take.

Riddle hesitated for a second before he placed his hands into hers.

"W-where are we?" he asked as she pulled him up. He looked around for the first time at the blank world.

"Uh, I'm not sure," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "I was actually hoping that you would…"

"Riddle!" A voice from above was calling out. A pulse of light was shining above them, even brighter than the white room they were in.

"T-trey?" Riddle looked up above and gulped in hesitation. The light was getting brighter and brighter, blinding them. Riddle tried to hold on to Claire's hand, but it was as if the light was melting her away.

"Sounds like he is worried about you," she smiled as the light engulfed them, "Don't keep them waiting. Remember, some answers in life aren't found in a rule book."

Author's Notes

And so we get to see the first overblot memory! But for Claire to experience this first-hand... something fishy is going on.

You don't know how bad I wanted to yell at Riddle's mom when I first played through this game. Though this may be because I love baked sweets and desserts in general and the idea of someone denying me a taste of NY cheesecake is enough for me to start a revolution XD I have no idea if we will ever see her in the game, but I'm assuming it won't be pleasant.

Thanks for reading. See you in the next chapter!

-JD