Author's (quick) note:
AHH HI…
In the previous chapter, I did mention : 'This chapter is going to start divulging from the main storyline of the game, but don't worry about it too much as certain details remain the same.'...
Well… 'certain details' remain the same, but with MAJOR modifications… You'll see what I mean later ha…ha… [don't kill me pls]
That aside, I've written quite a fair bit of original scenes that aren't canon in the game in this chapter, which I hope will start to set things in motion as a basis for future chapters :p
Anyways, the morning brought trouble too quickly for Yulia…
[Disclaimer: Disney Twisted Wonderland does not belong to me. All rights belong to Aniplex and Walt Disney Japan. I only own my original character(s): Yulia, Yulian, and their parents throughout this story]
Chapter 3: Today's Jinxed (1) (8900+ words)
Previously…
"I think this bag is meant for those who came into Twisted Wonderland by accident, like you, Yuu. Hope there's something useful in there. Remember to sleep as soon as possible as well! That's what Selig wanted me to pass on before he turned in for the night."
"Wow, thanks for preparing, Inizio, and for bringing this to me, Chaim! Do help me to bid good night to Selig if he's still awake. Good night!" With her black eyes twinkling slightly, Yulia smiled with gratitude after she accepted the small drawstring bag from Chaim and waved as she headed for the stairs to the second floor.
"Hope you have sweet dreams, Miss Yuu/Yuu!"
Now…
After bathing and changing into a loose white tee with grey stripes and grey sweatpants among the pile of clothes that Chaim had put into a closet allocated for her, Yulia sat on the bed beside Grim's, opening the black bag.
Taking and laying everything from the bag out on her bed; an envelope addressed to 'To whoever comes to stay in this dorm AND is new to TW', a zip pouch with a stack of notes of strange currency, a few unopened, unexpired shower soap bars, and facial wash tubes, a few toothbrushes, a box of a dozen blue ballpoint pens, a few B5-sized 60-sheet notebooks, an A6-sized kraft notebook titled, 'Surviving in NRC 101', Yulia was simply, speechlessly amazed and confused.
I was kinda worried about rushing to the school store so early in the morning just to grab a soap bar, toothbrush, and facial wash, but dang, this really saved up my time. Well, now to read the contents of the card from the envelope…
— — —
Dear newcomer(s) to TW, to NCR, to Ramshackle Dorm,
Firstly, this bag is to be refilled according to the list written on the back of this card before you leave this place in order to provide the same aid to those who have come to NCR like you.
Secondly, read the book, 'Surviving in NRC 101', because this college is insane. If possible, please update the contents in it where necessary.
Lastly and most importantly, regarding the notes in the zip pouch, they're called Madol, the currency in TW. You can use it to buy any other essential items from Mr. S's Mystery Shop or outside of school during your first month here. But do remember to return back what you owe as soon as possible… The ghosts named Inizio, Chaim, and Selig will assist you in book-keeping matters and to aid you in becoming independent quickly, they will confiscate this zip pouch immediately after your first month here. You'll still have a source of Madol after that because I'm pretty sure Headmage Crowley is going to either dump you with a random job or give you a monthly allowance (which the latter is unlikely if you are not enrolling in NRC due to lack of magic)
Best regards,
A Graduate who Came From Another World
(PS. Remember to edit this card accordingly, thanks)
(PSS. There's a member among the staff who will refill the soap bars, toothbrushes, and facial wash once monthly, so there's no need for you to do so, just settle the stationery items. And, it's absolutely NOT the headmage… Seriously if you did, then I'm utterly speechless…)
— — —
"'Ramshackle dorm' is pretty accurate and easy to remember, so I'll continue using this name for this place … oh, no wonder… Chaim mentioned that I won't use the zip pouch, because of the amount of Madol that I have in my grey pouch. I thought I heard him wrong. Anyways, I need to sort out the items in this grey pouch…"
Opening her grey pouch, Yulia recalled her conversation with the ghost trio as they sorted out the bedroom while Grim was away burning the cobwebs in the other rooms a few hours earlier…
"Hmm, if I recall correctly, you came from another world, right? Then, how did you manage to bring that grey sling pouch of yours?"
"Wait Inizio, upon a closer look, this bag looks really familiar… Oh! It has the same design as the bags given to NCR students as graduation gifts… at least around 30 years ago? But, the staff has switched to giving a different graduation gift since then."
"You're right, Chaim!" Both Inizio and Selig gave a gasp of surprise. Seeing their response, Yulia decided to bring her locket and her mother's pair of earrings out for them to have a look at. She then placed them on the side table beside the bed.
"Hold on, can I ask the three of you to inspect this locket and this pair of earrings first?"
The ghosts floated nearer and seemingly touched the items, then a perplexing expression was shown across their faces…
"B-Both the locket and the 'jewels' adorned on the earrings are made of magestone!"
"Uh-huh, are they truly hard to find?"
"Yes, Miss Yuu. There used to be a lot of it at the Dwarfs' Mine, but now most of it has been mined so it's hard to find a magestone, yet even enough to make a locket of this size…I am speechless that such precious material was used on this large accessory…Wait, what did you mean by 'truly'?"
"Sorry, Inizio, I'll get back to both of your questions later. How about this gem on the top of this pen?"
Yulia quickly brought a black pen out, hiding her slight surprise at seeing that the gem had become grey, instead of its usual sapphire-blue, it had become a vanilla-ice gem.
"It's alright Miss Yuu. That gem is also a magestone. But how did you have it in your possession? That kind of pen is usually given to students in this college and it is typically known as–"
"A magic pen or a magical pen."
The trio of ghosts suddenly 'fell' to the ground before floating back above Yulia, facing her with widened eyes.
"Yuu, are you sure that you're from a different world? Else, how did you get these items? And even know about a tradition of NCR?"
"...I'm very certain. Urm… those items were passed down to me by my father, and I asked about them because I wanted to cross-refer to the information that he told me. So, back to Inizio's question about this grey sling pouch of mine, I believe it's because it was originally from this world, just like the magical pen, the locket, and the earrings."
"That explains it. Then, why are you not planning to return to your world? Aren't your parents worried about you?" Selig's eyebrows were furrowed in concern as he floated down beside Yulia.
"Oh..urm that's related to my tearful moment a few hours ago… My dad passed away 3 years ago and my mum…ah, passed away hours before I got snatched up by the black carriage. BUT! I don't think they would be worried that much… Because you see, 8 years ago, my only older brother's mysterious disappearance after both of us saw the carriage was really shocking for them. More importantly, their last wish is that I would find him, which is my only goal now."
"What's his name? We may have heard of him." Chaim asked as he abruptly gave Yulia a 'warm' pat on her head, receiving a genuine smile from Yulia in return…
"Yulian, Yulian Law Yìng Yáng. Or, perhaps 'Yuu'? It was our common childhood nickname that our friends called us by."
"Hmm… I haven't. You are the only 'Yuu' that I've come across."
"Me too. Quite some time ago, there was a boy who stayed here just for a week, but he had a different name… I doubt it's him." …said thoughtfully by Selig, joining Chaim in patting the raven-haired girl.
"Same here. But, don't worry, Miss Yuu! Other ghosts around the school may have, we can help you to ask!" Inizio confidently added, 'warmly' patting Yulia on her left shoulder.
"Wow… thanks, I really do appreciate it. Hopefully, at least one of them knows him, else there are student records that I can check in the library after work tomorrow. Speaking of work, may I ask if these money notes can be used here?"
"Yep, they are Madol, so it should be fine. If you manage your expense well, they can be used for about… 3 years… 3 YEARS?!.… (mumbling) Hmm, seems like the Madol in the zip pouch won't be touched…"
"Thanks ah, Chaim! I think I'll save them for the time being…"
While recalling that particular conversation, Yulia took out and placed them on her bed, away from the black cloth bag and its contents laid out; her brother's copper-blue metal bat, the magic pen with the vanilla-ice-coloured magestone, her father's spoilt phone that did not match any of other models back in her world, her Android phone, her capacitive stylus, her cream-white power bank with built-in cables, her earbuds, her wallet, some black hair-ties, a full unopened packet of pads and an A6-sized notebook with a grey leather cover.
Yulia tried to turn her phone on, but it didn't. Hais… probably due to the lack of battery, but…sigh, I was hoping to see the phone's gallery to find a picture of Yulian, or our family pictures before he came here…
Now onto the rest of the items… Although the locket itself is made of magestone, I think I'll still bring the pen with me. I also need to place 3000 Madol in the wallet before bringing it, along with everything else, except for my phone, power bank, and earbuds, which I'll leave on the side table.
Then, I guess I'll put the hair ties, the packet of pads, toothbrushes, shower soap bars, and facial wash in the bathroom now… Hmm, wait, it would be better to place the pads under the clothes in my closet.
Since I only just need the NCR survival guide, I'll ask Chaim to place the black bag where it was found tomorrow. As for Dad's phone, I don't see any charging ports on it to do so 'normally', so if the ghosts don't know how to charge it, then no choice lor, got to ask someone else… (this phrase has broken Grammar as Yulia went Singlish mode*)
Headmaster's not the person I'd approach to ask unless I'm willing to trust him fully. There's something… off about him? Like… he's too calm in managing my situation as if he had done before, but aiyo, I could be reading into it too much…Anyways, I also buay tahan (can't tolerate*) him.
Then how about that Riddle guy…Nope, nope, no way, it's a given that I don't wanna face him, especially if Grim's gonna be with me everywhere I go. And that glasses boy, Azul as well. Both of them seem to look down on people without magic, but I do wonder why… eh, what am I thinking about, it's because this school is ONLY for those who can use magic!
As for Leona… urm, I rather ask him last, but I also need to confirm if he knows that I'm a girl…wait, even if he did, I doubt I can like, convince him to act blur about it… Okay lah, he's out of the list of people to ask then.
Maybe Cater? But then, I don't know where to find him…Yawn…Sigh, no more thinking, Yulia, you'll need sleep, though it's just a day of doing odd jobs and then spending time in the library after that, yep… finally a peaceful day after my 17th birthday…
I think, no I die die must (absolutely*) try to find Yulian before my next birthday comes…I-I don't wanna be celebrating it alone…
ZZZZzzzzz…..
A girl with long ebony hair, who seemed to be school-aged, was playing with a copper-blue bat (which was rather too big for her small palms to hold), her onyx-coloured eyes twinkling in delight as she pushed it in and dragged out of the grey pouch on the floor.
(This memory…was 2 days after Yulian disappeared.)
Her father was waiting patiently beside her, deep in thought. He then gently pat Yulia's head, albeit too chilly for her which prompted her to grab his hand and rub her petite hand against it to make his hand warm. Seeing that he had her attention, her father cleared his throat as he started, smiling.
(...! It's Dad! Yeah… he already had a colder body temperature since I was born, but why? I can't seem to remember…)
"I was from a faraway place called Twisted Wonderland."
"Twisted Wonderland?"
"Yes, it's a place where magic exists."
"Magic!... Oh really?"
"Which I suspect your brother and you have gotten from me."
(...No, no, it can't be… Was Dad ill because of… us? Or was his illness due to something else…?)
"So I got magic?"
"Yes."
"Does brother have magic?"
"I sure hope Yulian does as well… Because, he really needs it in that place…"
"Will we see Korkor again, Dad?"
(...)
"Yes. Hmm, it won't be easy for Mum and me but I believe that you'll be able to, Yulia. Because he also has–"
"CRAZY HUMAN, WAKE UP! QUICK! EH? HE'S REALLY A GIRL?!"
(Huh? Grim? And what did he just say?)
"YUU, THE DORM WON'T LAST LONG IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP NOW?!"
(Even Selig?)
(What's…)
(...happening?)
"Huuuuuuuuuuuuuh? Wait, where am I? Oh, right, Twisted Wonderland… urm, what's the matter, Grim and Selig?" There was an overly concerned expression on the ghost's face while the cat just seemed…alarmed?
"You were crying, Yuu." WHAT? Yulia immediately touched her face. He's right… but I can't seem to remember what I was dreaming… She was startled by the stomping of the grey cat's hind legs with his eyes shut in blatant fury. "And your ha–"
"Hey! You should've said she was making the whole mansion suddenly shake! My mattress fell right through the frame because of that! Wait- Crazy girl, you! You used magic?! Aren't you magicless?!" Grim stopped stomping, his pupils dilating, as he opened his aquamarine eyes in an instant. Yulia went slightly pale for a moment, thinking, Welp, there goes my secret… but I'll make use of his simple-mindedness to keep it. And apparently, did I cause an earthquake? HOW?!
"I didn't get to say if I had it or not at the entrance ceremony. But, more importantly, Grim, I'll give you 5 cans of tuna today if you promise not to tell anyone about it, deal?"
"Myah?! Really? Hrmph, fine, you got a deal!" The ash-grey cat shook Yulia's extended palm. She then turned to talk to Selig, "Could you tell me exactly what happened after I showered and brushed my teeth?" I need details, but freshening myself comes first.
"Of course. To give you privacy, we'll meet you downstairs then!"
"Why must we go down? Can't we just wait for this crazy and scary girl here? It's 4 AM! I'm gonna stay to slee–Mmmmph!" The ghost clamped his hand over the furry cat's mouth before hugging it tightly and starting to float out of the room hurriedly. W-wait, I thought I kept hearing Grim wrong, but how did he know that I'm a' she'?
"Thanks, Selig!"
After sleepily brushing her teeth and showering using soap (Finally! Yulia thought.), Yulia was washing her face when she noticed something… something odd in her reflection in the mirror. This can't be happening… Is this some Twisted Wonderland or magic logic? Gosh, THIS is how Grim found out about my gender?! Selig did want to tell me but Grim just had to cut him off there, argh!
Yulia squatted down, groaning softly as her long raven hair covered her slightly flushed face.
There are no scissors for me to cut it… how am I gonna hide it? Okay, nevermind, I'll tie it up before using a jacket hood to cover it. Hopefully, it's not against the janitor's uniform code…
"Miss Yuu, you can use an illusion spell to protect your gender secret."
"Damn! You're right, thanks, Inizio! Urm… how do I cast it?" Yulia enthusiastically asked, getting her magic pen out of her grey pouch.
"Perhaps, embedding it into your locket would be better than casting it directly on yourself. The effect would be more durable, requiring little repeated casting. Well, let's do it quickly before Selig recounts what happened earlier."
Nodding her head, Yulia unclasped her locket necklace, putting it on the dining table.
"The spell goes like this;
—As the clouds reflected on the water's surface
—Allow my reflection to take place!
—May this illusion last
—Such that there be no re-cast!
You should always be keeping how you want to look in mind when you cast this. Do you understand, Miss Yuu?"
"Yep, I got it! Okay, here goes… As the clouds reflected on the water's surface, allow my reflection to take place! May this illusion last, such that there be no re-cast!" As she pointed her pen at the locket, the same thin silvery aura covered Yulia for a moment, before it faded into the coffin-shaped locket with her black hair, including the few locks of hazel-brown hair, being short again. She then wore the locket necklace.
Chaim floated over, bringing a little mirror to them, "Good job, Yuu! It worked. You can check for yourself."
"Thank you, Chaim. So, Inizio, can I assume that whenever I wear my locket, this illusion will take place, so no one should be able to see my long hair, right?"
"Yes, but just to be safe, make sure that they do not touch your locket or the 'invisible' parts of your hair, Miss Yuu."
"Alright, I'll be careful. Now, back to our original topic… Selig, what happened such that you and Grim had to forcefully wake me up?"
Selig went silent for a moment, recollecting his thoughts, before recounting to everyone at the dining table…
—Rumble —Thud —THUD —Rumble —THUD —CRACK
"Mmmm? Did something just fell through me?" Selig opened his eyes in the attic. Upon seeing the mess of broken glass shards on the floor and several missing hanging light bulbs from the ceiling, he quickly sprung into action, looking around frantically.
—RUMBLE —RUMBLE —THUD, THUD, THUD —RUMBLE
"...! Inizio! Chaim! Wake up! The dorm mansion's shaking!"
"WHAT! An earthquake is happening now?! BUT HOW?! Selig, you should check on Grim and Yuu, bring them to the basement quickly! That place is the only safe place during earthquakes! Chaim and I will sweep away the broken glass shards on the floors and drape heavy curtains on the windows at the first and second levels!"
"Got it, Inizio!"
…
"Grim! Yuu! Grim? Why are you hiding in that corner?"
All that Selig could see were the clothes that fell out of the opened closet, the side table sliding to and fro, the ceiling light swinging about wildly, and lastly, an ash-grey cat shrinking himself at the corner diagonally furthest from Yulia's bed. It was obvious to tell by the raised thick fur on his curled-up back and tensed shoulders, that fear had become a tangible, living force that crept over Grim, immobilizing him; Grim glanced up at Selig, letting out a soft whimper, before howling out.
"WHY'S THIS PLACE SHAKIN'? MY BEDFRAME BROKE MAKING MY MATTRESS FALL THROUGH, AND THEN I WOKE UP! THAT CRAZY HUMAN THERE IS GLOWING, AND WHY'S HIS HAIR SUDDENLY LONG?! LIKE A GIRL'S? BUT PLEASE MAKE THIS SHAKIN' STOP! OR GET ME OUTTA HERE!"
Selig glanced quickly at Yuu fearing that the broken glass shards may have cut her as her bed is closest to the only window in the bedroom. Yet, upon looking at the silver aura, with a twinge of aquamarine blue at the edges, it seemed to have protected the long-haired girl from any physical harm. At once, he realised the way to stop this abrupt earthquake… She had to be woken up from whatever dream is making tears flow out from her closed eyelids.
—Rumble —RUMBLE —RUMBLEEEEE
"Grim, help me wake Yuu up! She's causing this earthquake! And yes, he is a 'she'!"
Grim still paralysed on his spot, cried out, "What?! How can a magicless human do this?"
Pieces of wood suddenly fell from the ceiling, startling the cat to jump out of his spot, and tried to make his way to the ghost.
"Quick! Ready? 1, 2, 3!" Selig wasted no time in grabbing Grim and floated over to Yulia.
"CRAZY HUMAN, WAKE UP! QUICK! EH? HE'S REALLY A GIRL?!"
"YUU, THE DORM WON'T LAST LONG IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP NOW?!"
Once the girl had opened her onyx-coloured eyes, time seemed to have frozen for a moment. The shaking disappeared, the hanging light bulb stopped mid-swing, the doors of the closet were about to slam… everything was put on pause.
"Huuuuuuuuuuuuuh? Wait, where am I? Oh, right, Twisted Wonderland… urm, what's the matter, Grim and Selig?"
They could only see the calm, tear-stricken face of a girl, who drowsily sat up, oblivious to the pieces of glass shards on her bed.
…
"Then, there was a flash of silvery light across the mansion, reverting the damages done by the deadly vibrations…" Chaim calmly added after Selig's recount.
"Ah!...I-I'm really sorry for causing this! I have no c-clue about why it happened… I'm sorry… But, am I correct to assume that only our dorm is affected?" Gasping in shock, Yulia covered her mouth with her palm, still processing what she had heard. However, she had immediately hugged Grim, who was slightly trembling as he sat on her lap, whispering, "I'm sorry, Grim… I'm relieved that you're uninjured," receiving a soft '...Hrmph!' in return.
"Miss Yuu, it's alright. Grim and you yourself were unhurt, and even then, you did restore the damages you had made. And yes, only our dorm is affected, the silvery light lasted for a mere moment, thankfully… Else we would have lost 2 dorm mates within a day, because of that unpredictable headmaster…" Gently patting Yulia's hair, Inizio tried to give her a reassuring smile.
"Yeah, crazy girl! That man would have come over with the weird cord to fire us right on our first day!" Selig gave Grim a hard, cold smack on the head while asking, "More importantly, Yuu, do you recall what were you dreaming?"
"I… don't. I think it was a memory. I'm not sure if it was a happy or sad one, but it definitely wasn't a nightmare." But, it felt… important enough to remember something… about Dad? What was it?
"As for why this strange, rare incident had occurred, could it be because you're heavily exposed to large amounts of magic suddenly enveloping you for the first time?" Chaim suggested.
"That is very possible! Well then, Miss Yuu, this incident of such a large scale will not occur again, that's great!"
"Do you rea–" Yulia skeptically began.
"Good morning, Yuu. Did you sleep well?"
"GAAAAAHHHHHHH!" "EEEEEEHHHHHHH?!" "BWUUUUUUUUHHH?" "MYAAAAAAAH!"
The ghosts somehow got hold of Grim, accidentally lifting him a great height off Yulia's lap as they floated upwards in a great rush, screaming. These ghosts sure don't get frightened easily, huh…, Yulia thought as her left eyebrow twitched at their ironic behaviour. She turned to the headmage, disguising her 'slight' annoyance at him for causing an unnecessary fuss with a polite smile, "Uh… I–We slept great, Headmage!"
"N-Not at all! I got woken up by this crazy la–Mmmmph!" The ghost trio slammed their palms over Grim's mouth, shushing him.
"I am delighted to hear that you've adjusted so well, despite being sent to another world! Now, moving on, let us discuss your work assignment for today." Whether he deemed the ghosts' actions as unusual or not, Crowley ignored Grim's silent protests and continued.
"Your job today is to clean the campus. That said, the campus is vast, and without magic, it'd be quite the Herculean task to clean it all. Therefore, today I'll have you focus on the area spanning from the front gates to the library. Now, Yuu-kun... I do expect that you'll keep a close eye on Grim, lest he causes another incident like yesterday."
"Understood. May I ask by what time we need to reach there?" I better ask the ghosts for the cleaning spells and hopefully, there's enough time for us to have a quick shopping at the school store…
"Hmm, seeing that it's only coming to 5, it would be best if the both of you reach the front gates by 6.45. You will find 2 buckets filled with water and with a cloth draped over the brim each meant for the statues, a broom to sweep the leaves, and a trash bag to collect any litter on the way to the library. Do not fail me. You may take your lunch in the cafeteria. I eagerly await the fruits of your labor." The golden eyes gleamed dimly at Yulia for a moment, albeit too long, before with a wave of his cane, the headmaster disappeared as instantaneously as he came.
"Hrmph. I ain't cleanin' nothin'! I'm here to study magic so I can be blastin' off spells left and right! Like BAM! POW! FWOOM!" Grim finally slipped away from the ghosts' 'embrace' and folded his arms across his chest, staring fiercely at Yulia.
Sighing, Yulia replied, "After we clean, we can study in the library. Remember that I'm a 'boy' once we step out of here, okay?"
"Hrmph. Honor your promise about the 5 cans of tuna first, then we'll see about that, crazy girl!"
"GET ME MORE CANS OF TUNAAAA! "
Yulia struggled as she tried to hold onto Grim to stop him from running around in an attempt to find tuna cans… which caused her to fall onto her stomach in order to grab that darned, short cat. Annoyed, she snapped at Grim, "NO! We agreed on 5! Besides, you'll get fat! Do you REALLY want that for yourself? C'mon, let's go! Sorry, Mr. Sam, I do sincerely apologise for his misbehaviour!" I do sometimes wonder why I even want this trouble-maker cat to be with me… and for the record, he's like the heaviest cat I've ever come across despite the 'mini' impression he gave me at first.
Over the counter amidst the stack of various objects, a man with a black-and-purple locs flipped over the right side of his head, and an undercut wearing a maroon blazer. Beneath it, a bright purple vest having skeletal motifs as buttons was adorned, matching the necklace made of long, tooth-like bones at his neck. A hat that was sewn together of maroon and black colored parts with a small skull affixed to an article of red clothing wrapped around the hat sat stop of his hair. He cheerfully dismissed Grim with a wave, focusing on the items that this new young raven-haired janitor had ordered.
"No worries, little imp! Both of you did wait quite a while for me to gather your items! Together with these 5 cans of tuna and a box of granola bars, here are your items; a set of kitchen knives and stainless-steel cutlery utensils, a 500ml dishwasher detergent, a packet of paper towels, an A5-sized yearly ledger notebook, a box of a dozen blue ballpoint pens with 'low-viscosity', water-resistant, fade-resistant, check washing-resistant ink, 2 0.5mm mechanical pencil sets with HB and 2B pencil leads, a 2H, H, HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B wooden pencil set, 5 pieces of fine art gum eraser, a set of 24 woodless coloured pencils, and lastly a ring B5-sized sketchbook with 120 sheets of 100 gsm paper… My, my, I can tell that you are an artist in the making…The total is 13688 Madol."
Damn, this store really has everything huh… and good thing Chaim taught me how Madol works in this world and advised me to bring 15000 Madol instead… so in SGD, it would be around 135 dollars… Hmm that's slightly expensive, I should try to bargain to lower the price by at least 1520 Madol.
"Well Mr. Sam… given that it's my first purchase here, would you kindly give a small discount, say, 1800 Madol?"
"That's too much, I'm afraid. How about 1400 Madol instead?" Mister Sam promptly replied in a collected manner, seemingly amused.
"1688."
With a light chuckle, the magenta-eyed businessman nodded his head, "You do drive a hard bargain, but I'll relent this time, thrifty imp! 12000 Madol in total, it is." Yulia gingerly forked out the required amount of Madol, passing the stack of notes onto the extended palm, blissfully thanking him, "Thank you for your generosity!"
"Wait a moment, thrifty imp, are you sure you can carry this? It seems too much for a short stature like you to carry…" Urm, if I'm short, then how about that Riddle guy?
"Yep, boleh (can*)- urk, I can, I can! I just need to put them into this pouch." Averting her eyes to her grey pouch which has been made enlarged with the use of magic, Yulia began pushing the 5 plastic bags inside it one by one, before waving to the lithe businessman.
"Very well. Then until next time, thrifty imp with the little mischievous cat. Do come again!"
After rushing back and sorting the items accordingly, Yulia munched on a granola bar with Grim on her left shoulder, who was clearly enjoying his can of tuna, while walking on the cobblestone-paved path in large steps towards the front gates. She had changed into her janitor's uniform while putting her locket in its side pocket. Upon reaching Main Street, what stood out the most to her was the statues lined along the sides of the road, 4 on the right and 3 on the left. The details on each one are intricate enough for me to think that they resemble those Disney classical villains quite closely… wait– no, they ARE! Hmm… this college does have a strange taste in decoration…
"Wow, so this is Main Street, huh? This is incredible! I didn't get to see it much yesterday. What's the deal with these seven statues? All their faces look pretty scary. Like, this lady here looks like she's got some reeeal anger management issues." Grim hopped down and walked to the statue of a rather plump woman with a petite crown on her head, dressed in royalty as she stood atop a patch of roses and thorns. Meanwhile, he didn't seem to mind the head rubs that Yulia was giving him. I know she's a major character in a classic… but I can't recall which one she's in, less to even know who she is exactly, it's as if a cloud is blocking that part of my mind…
—Tap —Tap
Footsteps? Someone is approaching us. Hearing the rhythmic click of shoes, Yulia whipped her head around…
"You don't– Ywouch!" …to have her 'unseen' braided hairtail accidentally slapped across a face of a boy with fluffy, ginger hair that flipped up at the ends. A gasp escaped from her lips, as Yulia quickly clutched her hairtail and slid it into her jacket, feeling a twinge sense of relief that she made the right choice to wear the jacket over her janitor's uniform.
The boy, however, was staring at her, seemingly astounded by what had exactly occurred to him, while he rubbed his nose and eyes. He noticed that the janitor had no free hand to slap him, even if it was intentional, due to holding a granola bar in one hand while slowly rubbing the furry head of the troublemaker that caused the commotion during the entrance ceremony yesterday. In addition, it felt like a thin rope, but it was apparent that there was none on the janitor. Closing his eyes, the ginger head tried to remember what happened.
"Are you alright? You seemed to have been hit by this leaf," Yulia asked, while she held up a rather huge green maple leaf that she took to the boy's face, who had a red, heart-shaped marking over his left eye, thinking, I know you absolutely did not, but please fall for it, please fall for it! I don't want to get into trouble! Thank goodness that Selig was following us from a distance, and passed me this leaf while hiding in the ground.
Finally, a moment passed before the boy nodded his head slightly, blinking his bright scarlet eyes a few times, while slowly giving an energetic smile.
"Yeah, I'm fine, that leaf reeeeally caught me by surprise, huh. But anyways, you don't know the Queen of Hearts?"
"Queen of Hearts? Is she some kinda big deal?" Grim piped up.
"She was a queen who lived in a mazelike garden of roses long, long ago. She was a strict woman who prized order above all. She wouldn't tolerate a rose being off-color, or her playing-card soldiers being out of step. She basically ruled over a kingdom of madness, but not one of her subjects dared to defy her. You wanna know why? Because the punishment for breaking a rule was immediate decapitation!" The boy proudly declared.
Yep, that sure sounds like her, but I still don't recall where I saw her before…, Yulia thought, putting her granola bar wrapper into her grey pouch.
"Wah! That is seriously messed up!" The cat raised his voice in alarm, twitching his ears slightly.
"But, it's pretty cool, right? I'm a big fan. I mean, who would bother to obey a queen that was kind all the time?" True… to a certain extent, but subjects can still be loyal to a queen who can be both strict AND kind. Ever heard of moderation, ginger head?
"Yeah, true. A leader needs to be strong. But puttin' that aside... Who're you, now?" Grim suddenly pointed at the male teenager.
"Name's Ace. I'm a first-year student here, as of... today! Pleased to meetcha!"
"I'm Grim! I'm a prodigy who's plannin' to be, like, the greatest mage who ever lived. That there's my crazy and scary la–human." I heard that close slip-up, Grim.
"I'm not that crazy and scary, I even bought 5 cans of tuna for you… I go by 'Yuu', by the way." This Ace guy is being too friendly with us, and we need to start cleaning soon… Actually, when does his class start? I doubt this school is lenient on those who are late, especially on the first day of school.
"Yuu? Huh. Name's got an odd ring to it." Ace tilted his head slightly to his left, seemingly to recall something.
"So tell me, Ace. Is that lion with a scar in the eye a famous ruler too?" Grim had already stood in front of another statue, pointing at the lion gazing upwards with a strong sense of pride as it stood upon a stone that supposedly represented a cliff.
"Of course! That's the King of Beasts who ruled the savanna. But he wasn't born into the throne - he had to earn it through hard work and elaborate schemes. When he became king, he decreed that the hyenas would be pariahs no more, and should live among his subjects as equals."
Hell nah, something tells me that went very wrong, I mean, there's a reason why 'survival of the fittest exists to describe how the order in the jungle is established… For some reason, I'm getting irritated as I continue looking at this lion… What did he do exactly?
"Sounds like a great guy! Not everyone's able to look past social status like that. Who's the lady with the octopus legs?" 'A great guy'? Bullshit…woah, Yulia, calm down, it's just a statue…HEISH EVEN SO! That lion basically killed his older sibling just for the throne… by pushing him off… some cliff? My mind's a little fuzzy…
"The Sea Witch who lived in an underwater grotto. She basically devoted her life to helping troubled merfolk. If they were willing to pay the price, she'd help them change their appearance, find love, whatever! They say she was so good, there was no wish she couldn't grant. They also say the price was a tad steep, though. But she was granting wishes! Of course, it was!"
Hmm, I do wonder if there's anyone like her here, it would be way easier to have my wish to find my brother granted, but still… it's too much of a risk to take, wasn't there a mermaid princess who had to trade her talent… just to become human? Wait, why did she want to be human again? And what did she trade in exchange for exactly?
"Myaha! So you're sayin' that once I'm a great mage, gettin' rich off folks will be a total cinch?! Oh, oh! Do the dude with the big hat next!"
"That's the Sorcerer of the Sands. He was an advisor to a total dolt of a sultan. He was a smart guy. Really capable sort. He exposed this swindler once - some guy pretending to be a prince in order to trick the princess! After that, he got this magic lamp and became the greatest sorcerer in the world. Then, they say... he used that power to become sultan himself!"
To sum up, he wanted to be the most powerful and really made full use of the opportunity, got it. Although… I do vaguely recall that the princess outsmarted him and got the sultan position back for her father… but did she forgive and accept that swin– no, street rat in the end? Argh… I'm getting a slight headache from trying to remember my knowledge from my world…
"Wow! Guess it's true that a mage needs to be an excellent judge of character, huh? And what about this beauty over here?" Well, at least Grim took away a good learning point.
"She's a queen who was said to be the fairest in all the land. In fact, she used her magic mirror to check how she ranked on a daily basis! When it looked like her position was threatened, they say she'd do whatever it took to keep it. Can you even imagine the level of dedication it would require to keep a record like that? Also, they say she was a master of making poisons!"
Urm, if she can brew poisons, can't the queen use them to eliminate her rivals if they ever surpass her beauty? You're tellin' us that she's dedicated to… killing people? You kinda lost me there, Ace guy…
"Geez. She's pretty, but that sounds kinda scary. Not as much this my crazy and scary human here though." Excuse me! Fine, I'll confiscate your remaining 4 cans of tuna the moment it's lunchtime for us.
"Well, I think otherwise about this queen. I gotta respect the hustle!"
"F-for sure... Sounds like she fought hard for what she believed in, and never gave up! And the one there, with the flaming head? Now THAT guy looks scary!"
"That's the King of the underworld! Single-handedly ruling a kingdom packed with rambunctious spirits - that takes competence! He may look scary, but he was a straight shooter who worked tirelessly at a tough job he never even asked for. I mean, this is the guy who was ordering Cerberus, the Hydra, and the Titans into battle for him."
"Hmm. That IS something. To think he could have that much power and not let it go to his head! And that last one there, with the horns?"
Finally, the trio reached the last statue, which showed a fairy-like lady with long horns. Okay, the last statue to go… Somehow, I feel this Ace boy is… being way too nice to us. Like, I'm thankful that he went became a 'tourist guide' for us, but he really doesn't sound sincere in laying out all those information because it's common knowledge in this world… which is downright useless for me and Grim to know, given that we're not sorted into any dorm…
So what's his deal with us?
"That's the Thorn Fairy who lived on a mythical mountain. She was noble and elegant, and a master of magic and curses - even by the standards of these seven! She commanded storms, covered the kingdom with thorns... She could use magic on a massive scale! She could even turn herself into a giant dragon."
Yulia couldn't help but feel a sense of hatred from the fairy's eyes. As if… she was betrayed… Was it because of her missing wings?
"Ooh. a dragon! What all monsters yearn to be!"
"Pretty cool, huh? Not like some piddling weasel." HEY, Grim's isn't insignificant! And you wasted our precious working time… just so you could mock us?!
"Myah?!" Before Grim could leap at Ace, Yulia quickly unclenched her fists to grab Grim and quickly walked away from the ginger boy who was having a fit of laughter. Great, seeing that Grim has lost interest, let's start work now…
"Pfft... Ah ha ha! I can't hold it back anymore! Ah ha ha ha ha! Come on, you're the ones who turned orientation into such a fiasco, right? The one summoned by the Dark Mirror who can't even use magic, and the monster no one summoned at all. It took everything I had not to burst into laughter right in the middle of the ceremony! Wait, I haven't finished talking to you. Where do you think you're going, Yuu?" On second thought, there's no one around us, so… I guess I should quickly beat the shit out of him first. But then, I need Grim to stay put…Oh! Yep, that'll work!
Noticing that the duo were no longer near him, Ace was stunned to see that the janitor 'boy' had reached the area where the cleaning supplies were placed, putting Grim down and passing the cat a cloth, whispering away. It was clear that he was being disregarded. Rushing over to the 'boy' in janitor uniform to give a piece of his mind, Ace was slightly frustrated that that 'boy' did not react as per what he expected him to.
"Grim, I'll give you another 5 cans of tuna if you ignore whatever is going to sprout out of Ace's mouth and manage to finish wiping those statues clean by lunchtime, okay? Throw the broom at me once I have 'kindly' give him a few 'light' hits, hmm?", Yulia whispered to Grim as she handed him a wet cloth after dipping it in a bucket of water, while she showed Grim a familiar blue object in her grey pouch, making sure it stayed out of Ace's sight.
The aquamarine eyes of the cat sparkled as a smirk showed on his face, nodding and quickly snatching the cloth from the girl, "ALRIGHT! Make sure he suffers more than I did, crazy la–human!" The cat hurried away, starting to wipe the statue representing the Queen of Hearts.
"Hey, that was pretty rude of you guys to walk away when I'm still talking! Tch, as expected of–"
"As expected of what? A 'magicless' 'boy' and a carefree cat who are working as mere janitors? While you, a student, should be hurrying off to class right now? Oh, I get it, you were kind enough to waste your precious time on this pair of blur-like sotongs (stupid, clumsy, or confused people*), thanks for the free 'information tour'! Now, let me repay your 'kind help'!"
"Wait, wait– where did you get that blue bat from?! Calm down fir–"
—Bonk
"Ouch! You! Hey! Come back here, you lame-o janitor!" Ace rubbed the bump on his head, as he got up, looking around for the short janitor 'boy', who had somehow disappeared, "Wait, where did he go?!"
"Wow, you sure want to be hit again, huh? Don't mind if I give you more, ah!"
"...!" Glancing up in the direction of the voice, all Ace could see was blue, copper-blue. He instinctively dodged, barely getting his face hit directly, as his left shoulder received the 'heavy' blow…
—Bonk —Bonk —Thud!
Followed by a hit to his right leg, Ace lost his balance and fell, landing on his face. Yulia then landed on the pavement safely after having jumped off the nearest statue to Ace, thanks to Seligwho had lifted her up there.
"Oh, please… I didn't hit that hard. Anyways, do you need help gettin' to the infirmary? No? Alright! Grim! It's done, throw the broom to me now, hurry!" Yulia turned around in time to catch the broom from the ash-grey cat who had already finished wiping the 3 statues on one side. She then began walking away to start sweeping the pavement, turning her back against Ace.
"Y-You, you!" After getting up, Ace glared piercingly as he reached for the janitor's shoulder. Yet, before he could reach it, however, Ace felt something unseen that reassembled like a thin rope, and out of curiosity, he pulled it, albeit too harshly…
Feeling a sudden sharp pain in her scalp, Yulia jerked abruptly and lost her balance, letting go of the broom as she fell backward. Shit! My hairtail flew out of the jacket just now! Yikes…
"Wait, what? I just grabbed something in the air, and then he falls?! Oh shit! Don't let your head hit the ground, dumbass!" Startled, Ace quickly shifted himself to catch the janitor 'boy', while noticing something shiny with a long chain falling out of the janitor's uniform. He managed to catch the janitor but tripped over the fallen broom as he tried to steady himself.
—Thud —Plop
The 2 stubborn heads landed on the ground. Upon realising that she felt no impact of her fall, Yulia quickly sat up to check on the boy who had unintentionally cushioned her fall, unaware that her illusion spell wasn't in effect.
"Oi, oi. Ace! Are you okay? Do you feel pain!"
"I'll live… but seriously, that was too harsh! I just wanted to tease you guys a bi– wait…," Ace groaned slightly in pain as he got up, noticing the braided hairtail of the janitor beside him. He blinked once, then again, processing what he was seeing in front of him. Meanwhile, realisation dawned upon Yulia when she tried to search for her locket in the pocket.
"SHUCKS!/HUH?!"
With slight disbelief, Ace pointed at Yulia, stating, "Yuu, you're a gi–"
"YES!" The black haired girl hurriedly put on her jacket hood to cover her ponytail, just as a grey cat came over.
"Crazy la–human! Where are yo– Huuuh! Why can I see your full hair?! Where's that locket of yours?" Grim then frantically looked around for the coffin-shaped locket, "Oh, it's near the Queen of Heart's statue, I'm gonna go ge–"
"Wait, Grim, it's glowing blue! Look out!" Selig suddenly appeared, grabbing Grim in time.
—BOOM! —Sizzle
"Oh, crap!" "MNYAH?! You're KIDDING!" "WHAT THE HECK?!" "What?"
Aquamarine flames sprouted from the locket and enveloped the statue's surface in no time, leaving the group of four in its presence completely stunned. Yet, the locket remained intact…
Ace hurriedly grabbed the locket, looking between it and the raven-haired girl in a janitor's uniform for a moment as he came to sit beside her. Sighing, he returned the locket to Yulia, averting his eyes away as he received a soft, mumbled 'Thanks' from her. Before Yulia could put on the locket necklace…
"Arghhhh, this suuuucks! If the teachers find out about this, I'll be in—" As Ace and Yulia got up in a hurry, Selig floated over, letting Grim down.
"Hold it RIGHT there!" They looked back at the sound of a noticeably familiar voice, with Ace muttering under his breath, "Damn it! It's the headmage!"
—Clomp, chomp, chomp. Sounds of the heavy footsteps of the all-too-familiar Oxford shoes seemed to echo in Yulia's mind, approaching nearer to them with each second.
"Haaah… Did I not just warn you, 'no more incidents'? And now you've charred one of my statues?! It's almost as though you WANT to be expelled!
Colour slightly draining from his face, Ace cried out, "No! Forgive me!"
"And you, Yuu. You were specifically told to keep Grim under control!"
"It wasn't Gri–" Yulia started.
"This will not do. And you! State your name and grade." Crowley cut Yulia off, sharply turning to Ace and pointing his cane at him.
"Ace Trappola... Freshman."
"Then listen well, Trappola. You too, Grim and Yuu. As punishment for today's infractions, you are hereby ordered to wash a hundred windows!"
"Myah?! But–?!/Whaaat? I have to do it too?!"
"WAIT! HEADMAGE! IT WAS CAUSED BY NONE OF US!", Yulia yelled, startling everyone. Hopefully, with this version of my account, the Headmaster will give us a lighter punishment…
"What do you mean, Yuu-kun?"
"Grim was busy cleaning the statues. Then, I tripped over a pebble while sweeping, prompting Ace to grab me by the arm. And my locket fell out of my pocket, landing near that statue before burning it up! You can ask Selig here." Yulia rumbled quickly, holding out her locket towards Headmage Crowley, delivering lie after lie with great conviction. Though this course of action earned her a strange look from the ginger-haired boy, together with receiving a widened stare from Grim.
The headmage whipped his head to the ghost, asking in a doubtful voice, "What? Is this true, Selig, sir?"
"Yes, absolutely, Headmage." Selig nodded firmly. As the headmage turned back to face the culprits, Selig gave a thumbs-up at Yulia, while shaking his head, giving her a silent warning.
"Well then, allow me to inspe– Ow! It seems to have a protection shock spell embedded in it… Hmm, I'll give you the benefit of doubt then. But, I shall only reduce the punishment to washing fifty windows, instead! You will go to the cafeteria after class. Are we clear?"
"Yes sir." With a stern nod, the headmage gave the locket a last quick glance before he disappeared.
…
Nothing seemed to cut through the silence that came almost too peaceful right after their encounter, until…
"Urm, are you feeling alright? I do apologise for causing this mess… and you should head to your class now." After wearing the locket necklace, Yulia picked up her broom, nudging Grim to get back to cleaning the statues.
"Yes, I am! But more importantly, why–nevermind. See y'all idiots later." Turning away from them, Ace began to walk away in swift steps, softly mumbling to himself, 'Or not. That girl's bad news.'
"I'm already exhausted from a full day of cleanin'. I can't believe we still gotta wash fifty windows! And it's because of you, crazy human!" Grim grumbled with his little paws folded across the patch of white fur on his chest. You're already exhausted merely from cleaning the statues and being on the lookout while I secretly cast cleaning spells to speed up our progress. I should be saying that!
Meanwhile, Selig had returned to Ramshackle Dorm right after the morning's incident, stating, 'I shall go back to the dorm first. It seems you can handle the students at NCR pretty well, though you need to exercise self-control. As for this morning's incident, I won't tell Inizio and Chaim the details. You are responsible to tell them yourself, okay Yuu?'
"Well, once we've finished this, I'm getting you 10, instead of 5, cans of tuna as my apology for causing this, alright?"
"Hrmmmph! What's buggin' me now is, Ace ain't even here yet! To make us wait, after what he did... Grrr!"
…
"Maybe he's running late because he wanted to consult his teacher…? Hmm, that's quite unlikely, given that he's a–"
"Given that I'm a what?"
"...!"
"EEEEEEEeeeekkkKK!" The sudden sight of ginger hair startled Grim, causing him to leap off Yulia's left shoulder to land on a table nearby. What kinda creature screams like that?! Anyways… I was certain that he would escape his punishment. After all, the blame and responsibility should have fallen on me alone…
"Okay Yuu-san and Grim, just because I was slightly late, you were thinkin' that I had bailed on you guys, right?"
"Of course, we did! You're like super late! Crazy human, exactly how late was he?"
"Roughly half an hour or so, I think. And for the record, I was about to say something nice about you, but I guess that's for another time. Or never, who knows? I doubt we'll see or talk to each other again anyways."
"You're saying as if– whatever, it's not like I care about your opinion anyways. Let's just get this shithead punishment over and done with, Yuu-san. And what's that furball's name again?"
…
"We're missing Grim."
"You're right, the furball's gone! Argh, I should have just returned to my dorm straightaway!" Then, why didn't you? I didn't expect much from a self-centred person like you, so… why did you come? But… it seems he came here… out of curiosity?
"Ah ha ha ha! I'll let you two handle the rest! See ya, suckers!"
Ace and Yulia turned to see a cat happily waving at them at the entrance of the cafeteria before breaking into a run on all fours. They looked at each other for a moment, before breaking into a run at the same time.
"Gosh… that cat must be itchin' for another taste of my brother's bat. C'mon, Ace, why don't we call a truce? I don't care how many hits I need to deliver, or how loud his screams would be, Grim's washing at least 15 windows!"
"Since we're on the same page, I'm accepting that truce! And, I have questions as well! Like where did you hide that bat? I didn't see it earlier, but you're somehow holding it now!"
"Aiyo, we'll get back to that later! Less talkin', more runnin'!
So… Yulia managed to let a cat and a ginger head found out that she's a girl, huh? I hope I managed to keep Ace in character so far. And, I plan to replace 'Mickey scenes' with Yulia's memories. Somehow, the word count just keeps increasing… it's like double of Chapter 1's imao.
Thank you for reading, and do consider leaving a review :) Stay safe and see you on the next chapter release! ~Ribia74
Chapter 4's one-liner plot: With the help of Ace, Yulia starts the chase… Yet someone new appears out of the blue (literally)