I thank KatherineOzawa of Wattpad for helping me.

"Buckle up, jerks!" From there, Deuce began going feral and animalistic on the two. Although he was outnumbered two to one, his strength made up for it. In just thirty seconds, he had not only given the first guy a dislocated arm and black eye, but the second one a bloody nose and broke a tooth.

The two delinquents picked themselves up from the ground. "This guy's outta his mind!"

"Bwah! L-let's get outta here!" They started running down Main Street, begging for mercy as Deuce kicked up the dirt.

"Next time you eat an egg, you better apologize a hundred times, you buncha chumps!" Deuce spat out as they kept running.

"D-deep breaths!"

"Whoooooa…"

Deuce panted roughly until he froze, realizing what he did. "Huff, huff... Urk!"

"What's wrong?" Grim shouted, still in shock.

"You acted like an animal back there!" Niho followed.

He hung his head in shame, grinding the heels of his palms into his eyes in frustration. "I did it again, didn't I…? ARGH! I was dead-set on becoming an honor student this time, too!"

The two shared a confused look.

Deuce told them everything. "When I was in middle school, I was pretty wild. I cut school all the time and got in fights. I called my teachers names, hung out with bullies, bleached my hair… I blasted around tight curves on my Magic Wheel… I'd show off my magic to kids who couldn't use it yet… I was a total punk."

"So you were only a little more annoying than you are now?"

Niho shook her head. "That's hard for me to picture."

Deuce pushed the tears in his eyes away as he kept going on. "But one night, I saw my mom talking on the phone to my grandma. She was trying to hide from me, but I saw her, and I could tell she was in tears. She was saying how she must have been a horrible mom, and that maybe she never should have tried to raise me by herself. That had nothin' to do with it! She hadn't done anything wrong. It was all me. When the carriage came to take me to Night Raven College, she was so happy for me. I decided then and there that this time, I wouldn't do anything to make her cry. This time, I'd become an honor student- someone she could be proud of. And I already messed it all up!" he beat himself up.

Grim and Niho look at one another. "I mean, did ya, though? Is putting up with jerks what honor students do?"

Deuce looked up at them with confusion.

"Even I, Grim the Magnanimous, was ready to pound those losers into tuna paste! You just got to 'em first." Grim supported.

"Yeah, Grim's right!" Niho nodded.

"You guys…"

Niho put her hands on Deuce's shoulders and gave him a reassuring smile. "Even honor students get angry sometimes."

Deuce seemed to be relieved at her words. "Heh heh… I guess you're right! I just hope those chicks can rest in peace." he sighed.

However, one thing, said with a snicker, crashed down on him. "I hate to say this but there won't be any chicks. Those eggs weren't the type that hatch." Niho broke it to him.

And Deuce began an existential crisis. "Wha- WHAAAAAT?! Are you kidding me?!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Back in the kitchen, the three made it back in one piece with their things in hand.

"Ah, you're finally back! Took ya long enough."

"Let's get this tart-y started!" Trey ushered them forward. "The last part is to put the chestnut cream we made on the tart."

Grim bounced up and down with giddiness. "And then we can chow down, right?! Consider me PUMPED!"

"Same here. Time to go and bang out this tart!" Ace cracked his knuckles.

"Good to see your eyes're on the prize. Let's keep that momentum going!"

"You've got it!"

"Yeah!"

After adding the cream, eggs and the other ingredients to the chestnuts, the tarts started coming together nicely.

"Myahaha! What 'bout that!"

Trey nodded, watching them at work. "You guys are good. Keep up that pace."

"This is easier than I thought!" Niho giggled.

"Heh heh, anything's easy-peasy for the future great mage, Grim!"

Ace snorted, "You get carried away too easily!"

Grim carefully placed the maroons glacés on top as Trey stepped in with a sifter of powdered sugar.

"Okay. Now we just sprinkle on a little powdered sugar, and…" The sugar fell like light snow atop the tarts and they were finally finished.

Grim and Ace shared a high-five. "Finished!"

"Fin…ished…" Deuce looked away glumly.

Ace looked at him weirdly. "Did something happen to him while you were shopping?"

Niho tried not to snicker as she choked out, "He's still in shock."

"For sixteen years, I was so sure…" Deuce felt like hitting his head against the wall.

Ace fell against the countertop, his arms hanging limp. "Yeah, whatever. I'm pretty beat. Making tarts sure takes it outta you."

"Hey fam! You look wreaked. Are the tarts done? Ooh, those look sooo cute! Lemme snap a quick pic for Magicam!" Cater popped in and started snapping away with his phone.

Ace jumped up in surprise. "What, NOW you decide to show up?"

"I just came to see how hard my little newbs were working." Cater tried not to laugh, but failed clearly.

"It's tough work if you're not used to it. But there's no better cure for the ails of fatigue than something sweet from the oven! Help yourself to some of this tart." Trey offered with a smile.

And everyone took one each.

Ace looked at Cater and asked, "Pretty funny how you managed to show right when it was ready to eat, Cater."

"Heh heh. Someone's gotta be the official taster!" the carrot-headed male winked.

Grim stuck his face close to the tart and took a huge whiff. "Mmmm… That smells so good… Glossy chestnuts on top, fluffy cream below… I can't wait another second, I'm going in!"

And all six of them took a bite, the sweetness dancing on their tongues.

Ace began to nibble more. "Oh, dang…"

"Yuuum! Liked and subscriiibed!" Cater nodded.

"Better than I thought!" Niho nodded with satisfaction.

Deuce nodded with her. "This is like something from a fancy bakery."

"Rich in flavor, yet not too sweet… It's like chestnuts are dancing across my tongue!" Grim smiled, ignoring the whipped cream smeared on his nose.

"Is that…a good thing?" Trey raised an eyebrow.

Cater's eyes lit up and he waved at Trey frantically. "Oh, Trey! You gotta do the thing."

"The thing? Oh… That."

Ace's eyebrow rose up. "Uh, wanna fill me in here?"

But all Trey asked them was, "What's everyone's favorite food?"

"Me? Probably cherry pie. Or hamburgers." Ace went first.

Grim just started listing stuff. "Canned tuna's at the top of my list. Than maybe cheese omelets, roast meat, pudding…"

Deuce followed. "If I had to pick, I guess I'd say…omelet rice?"

And Niho, "I'll try pizza, please."

Cater finished. "I like a nice lamb chop with diablo sauce."

"All right, you've got it… Let's "Paint the Roses"!" Trey snapped his pen up and down like a whip. A few green sparkles lit up the tarts.

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"Take another bite of your tart and see."

They do so. "Huh? How- Now it tastes like cherry pie!"

Grim kept taking bites to taste different things. "It's just like canned tuna! Now it tastes like a cheese omelet! And grilled meat! And pudding!"

Cater laughed at their surprise. "Neat trick, eh? That's gotta be a hit when Trey's having tea with the ladies."

Niho had to admit: this was pretty crafty. But didn't know what to say at Cater's remark.

"It's very impressive. Is changing flavors your signature spell, Trey?" Deuce asked.

"Technically, it's "overwriting characteristics." I can change taste, color, smell, whatever. It only lasts for a little while. But it is kinda like covering up the real thing hence, "painting."" Trey explained.

"If I had magic like that, I could be eatin' canned tuna every meal of every day! That's way better than Riddle's stupid collar magic!" Grim rolled his eyes.

Trey shook his head as an uncertain look crossed his face. "Oh, that's in a whole other league. His signature spell is a weapon. Mine's just childish prestidigitation." he snuck a look at the clock and cleared his throat. "Speaking of Riddle-it's too late to give him these now. Let's call it a day and do it tomorrow. Don't forget that tomorrow's the unbirthday party. You don't want to be late."

"Niho, can I crash with you again? It doesn't sound like I'll be allowed back in my own dorm tonight." Ace whined dramatically.

Cater feigned hurt. "Again, seriously?"

Deuce elbowed Ace off her. "It isn't right to keep mooching off of Niho, Ace."

Grim joined, "Yeah, it ain't If you wanna stay tonight, you gotta pay for the privilege! Ten cans of tuna!"

Niho shut him up by covering his mouth with her hand and opposed, "Don't give them to him!"

"What?! Guess I'm sleeping outside, then."

"Why don't you go and stay at Niho's dorm too, Deuce, so you can keep an eye on him? As vice housewarden, I can issue you a sleepover pass." Trey smiled slightly.

"I can live with that. Someone's gotta keep him in check." Niho accepted.

"That's our Trey, always spoiling the newbs. What fun for you. Ooh, maybe I'll come too! What do you say, Niho?" Cater smiled at her, a glint in his eyes that immediately made Trey stand between them.

"No pass for you." he denied, pushing him away from her.

Niho glared over her shoulder and told him, "No way. Freshmen only."

Cater's mood dampened. "Aww. Sad trumpet… Womp womp wooomp."

Trey turned back to face her as Cater went off to go sulk in the corner. "Sorry to dump them all on you, Niho. At least it's just for tonight."

She waved it away and replied with, "It's no problem." taking the tarts with her.

Everyone gathered their things, and went their separate ways."Tomorrow's the unbirthday party. Finally, I'm gonna get rid of this stupid collar! Just you wait, RIddle!" Ace growled.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Trey and Cater walked into the lounge to see it was almost dark outside the glassy dome. The small wall lamps were lit up with soft light in the room. A fireplace stood off to the left side of the room, the embers dying. Red furniture lined with red faux leather dotted around the common area. A couch on one side, a chair on the other, and a cluster around a marble table by the bay windows. On the coffee table was an arrangement of red roses and a few card coasters scattered around the table. Underneath was a red rug, adorned with rose outlines on the four corners. The walls were adorned by decorative playing cards, giant clocks and picture frames angled quite oddly. And hanging from the ceiling were glassy light fixtures with heart-shaped petals shaped together like flowers.

One student ran in, huffing out of breath, "Trey! Cater! You're finally back! We've been looking everywhere for you!"

Trey saw the troubled look on his underclassman's face and asked, "What happened?"

The student shook as he explained, "Ten dorm members were caught violation rule 256: "No drinking honey-sweetened lemonade after 8 p.m." Housewarden Riddle collared them all!"

Cater sucked in a breath of air between his teeth and shared a look with Trey, one thought crossing their minds: things were getting worse.

"I can't take it anymore! I can't live like this! Everything we do violates some insane rule! I want to transfer to another dorm…" the student choked back tears that nearly fell. Trey walked up to him and placed a warm hand on his shoulder with reassurance.

"It'll be okay. We'll go talk to the housewarden. You go back to your room." the student nodded silently and turned and fled.

"...Guess I'd better go make some tea or something, as a show of deference to the Queen." Cater sighed and made his way to the kitchen.

"Thanks, Cater. Oh, but make sure it's herbal tea, not black. You know what rule153 says about drinking tea at night." Trey sighed and Cater saluted back with some tiredness.

"...Yeaaah, sure. Of course." they shared an uncertain look before they parted.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Niho gasped, hearing the dripping sounds again….but this time, they sounded closer, louder, to her than before….

"Niho?"

She gasped as she looked at Deuce, who stared at her with worry from the doorway, "You okay?"

"Uh….yea, I thought I….heard something…." She partially lied.

"Well, okay. We're just about to play some games. Come downstairs when you're done." He smiled softly and closed the bedroom door behind him.

"No way! You cheated!"

"Ace, I doubt he could cheat at a simple game like this."

"She's right. How exactly can you prove I'm cheating?"

"I'll find out one way or another!"

The three were playing the M&M challenge, and everytime it was Deuce's turn, he kept getting a double match of the same color, while their eyes were closed. While Ace had his cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk's. But at Deuce's recent turn, he couldn't take it anymore, spit out the candy in his mouth and started yelling at Deuce, accusing him of cheating in the game.

"Ugh, screw it. Let's do something else!" He threw up his hands in surrender.

A smirk was on his lips as he produced a pack of cards from behind his back. "Let's play old maid instead! I'll make you both eat dirt!"

Deuce and Niho just shared a look and decided to play along, knowing Ace would keep pestering them til they cracked.

They removed the queens and folded the deck, Ace insisted on running the gig.

And they jumped into the game.

First was Ace. He got a pair of sixed: the 6 of Diamonds and 6 of Hearts. He placed them down as a match. After, he held out his fold, face down, to Deuce. He plucked a card and added it to his stack.

"Feeling nervous?" Niho asked Deuce.

"Not in the slightest." he answered honestly.

After the first few times, everyone went at least four times. And Ace, may or may not have decided to tease the others to make them nervous.

"Anyone nervous?" he smirked.

"If we were nervous, it'd show in our eyes." Deuce replied blandly.

"Are you doing this to get a rise out of us?" Niho asked.

"Wha-no! What makes you think that?!" Ace scoffed.

"Well, just saying you're not cuz I'm out." Niho shrugged and threw the last of her cards in the center of the pile.

Leaving Deuce to face Ace alone, she ate a handful of chips as she watched them duke it out. Spoiler: Deuce ended up winning, leaving Ace a sore loser and pouter for the next fifteen minutes or so.

Just as it was close to lights out for others, more like Niho since she was the only one awake, she slipped out the journal she had bought today and a pen tucked in the pages. She uncapped the pen and began to write using the moon as her only source of light.

"September 28th….First Year." she began to write. "As of now, I'm trapped in a world where...things may not be what they are...I'm at a school known as Night Raven College, a place where mages alike can hone their magic, which is what's normal here...I can't remember anything from my previous life despite knowing I'm from Earth. And at certain times, I'm getting flashbacks to things that I've done before. So in order to not forget them and help me connect the dots, I've bought this journal to help me record my experiences so I may find clues as to what may have happened before I woke up here and why I did...I just hope things don't end up as bad as before when I came here...

"However, I'm not alone. I've made two friends on my first days here: Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade. Ace is a bit of an ass, part of the time, while Deuce is the more reasonable of the two. But sometimes they tend to clash with one another and I'm the one who ends up having to rip them apart before a fight breaks out.

"Other than that, there's only two memories I've gained so far...the first was when I visited the botanical gardens today as well as a time when I've made cookies before...I'm not sure what they mean, but maybe I'll regain more and see what they mean eventually..."

After that, she capped the pen shut, and tucked her journal in her bag, before slipping under the covers and laid down, pulling the blankets to her chin, letting sleep engulf her brain.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Niho felt her world become black and white as the gardens came to life before her. "Another dream…?" she murmured.

The Queen of Hearts stood over the three cards and Alice, who were on the ground before her. "For painting my roses red, someone will lose his head!" she roared.

The Three of Clubs sprang up first. "Y-your Majesty, if anyone's to blame, it's him!"

"Have mercy, Your Grace. It was the Ace!" the Two of Clubs protected himself.

"So it was YOU." she pointed her heart fan at the Ace, who shook his head, splattering paint droplets on the ground.

"Gah, no, it was the Two!" He fought back.

"Then he will pay."

"It was the Three, I say!"

"Enough of this! Off with ALL their heads!" She screamed, gaining cheers from her guards and she, and Alice helplessly, watched them getting dragged off to their deaths.

A Two of Diamonds spoke up, "A fitting end. Color, you can't mend."

The Three of Spades nodded and followed, "Everyone knows the roses should be red."

The world faded to black and Niho stood there, going over what she had witnessed. "But they're just roses!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Ocean blue eyes fluttered open to the feeling of something shaking her shoulder gently. She looks up to see Deuce hovering over her with a bit of persistence in his eyes.

"Niho, wake up. The unbirthday party is today. If we're late, well, you know…" he whispered and helped her up.

She sat up to smooth out her bird nested hair. "Another strange dream?" then came a knock on the door.

"Hmm? It sounds like you have a visitor." Deuce went to go answer it and came back five seconds later with Cater behind him, looking chipper and peppy as always.

"Good mooorning! Did you all enjoy your sleepover? Did you bond over pillow fights and cards games?" he chirped.

Ace yawned, ruffling his hair up into an even bigger mess than before. "Oh, good morning, Cater. We did play some cards, yeah. But only Old Maid, 'cause that was the only one Grim knew how to play."

Grim pouted from his spot. "And I still got the old maid everytime, dang it!"

Deuce gave him a bland look "Let's just say Grim doesn't have a very good poker face."

Cater snickered at their antics. "Well, you should get one of the tarts we made yesterday and go apologize to Riddle. And you should probably hurry, because after the trouble yesterday, we're a little short-handed."

"What does that mean?"

"Don't worry. I've totes got it under control." the junior covered. "Anyway, off the party we go!"

After a quick rush through of getting ready in their uniforms and breakfast, they made it back to Heartslabyul by a split second.

Ace kept speed-walking down the pathway with determination set on his face. "All right, so I'll hand over the tart and say I'm sorry, then-"

Cater, now in his gym gear, waved to them as they approached the gates. "Hey, it's about time I got back! Good to see me!"

"And me! Looking good as always, me!" Uniform Cater smiled.

Wait….WHAT?!

"Th-there's two Caters?!" Deuce backed up, shielding himself behind Ace.

"Are you guys identical twins?!"

"Since when?!" Niho added.

Gym Cater answered, "Nope. Don't have any siblings. What I DO have is my signature spell, Split Card. It lets me make magic duplicates of myself."

Deuce slapped his forehead and dragged his hand down his face. "This must be how Cater kept coming after we beat him over and over again yesterday…"

Adding more fuel to the fire, two more copies appeared, this time in his alchemy gear and the Ceremony robes respectively. The third waved and the fourth sent a wink to Niho.

"Welcome home, daaarlings."

"Good to see you, Niho!"

"You're late! I was worried sick!" Gym Cater sighed.

"I think I'm gonna pass out…." Niho held a hand to her forehead, feeling a migraine coming along.

"Bwah! There's more of them?"

Gym Cater steps up. "J-S-Y-K, I'm actually the real Cater. Making these duplicates is suuuper exhausting, so I can't maintain them for long. Anyway, if we're late, heads will roll. And since we're several people short, we'll need your help. But when this is over, I promise I'll take you straight to Riddle."

Grim and Ace didn't hesitate to glare at the third year. "What, MORE roses?"

"And here we go again!"

But he merely laughed. "Get the lead out, peeps! We need to get started!" He led them inside the castle. "Okay, mes! Split up and get to painting this yard red!"

"Kay-kay!"

"You got it!"

"Sure thing!"

"As for you freshman, you'll be sticking with me and my Roses." Cater threw over his shoulder as he went to keep his copies in check.

"I'm so over doing this the hard way…" Ace growled, lugging up the paint can.

"Whining won't get it done. Buckle down already." Deuce pushed him.

"I'm gonna update my Magicam first… JK! Time to hustle!"

Unlike the fiasco from yesterday, things went more smoothly than ever. Before long, the roses became a pristine and deep red.

Deuce puffed out of breath, "Well, this is going better than before."

"Looking good! Ooh, it's almost time! Okay, all you sexy body doubles, that's a wrap!" Cater checked his watch.

The four copies saluted, "Aye-aye, Cay-Cay!" before they vanished.

The group hurried over to the tea gardens.

Red, Black and White streamers decorated above the area, tied securely to the tree branches, along with strands of lamplights painted yellow and blue, shaped and sized differently. Several tables lined with white tablecloths dotted the grassy area, and gold and red chairs rimmed the circle for each guest to take a seat. Several decorations became the centerpieces of each table: ranging from a stack of hats to a gold candelabra, stacks of tea cups filled with small plants or a small vase with roses. Along the tables, an array of sweets filled the surfaces among fine porcelain cups and a teapot. But one stood out the most: A high heart-shaped backed chair sat in the center of a semi-circular table, the most extravagant for the Queen.

The sounds of trumpets blared, signaling the arrival of said Queen.

One student shouted in a loud voice, "All hair our leader, the red sovereign himself… Housewarden Riddle!"

The others followed with, "We salute you, Housewarden Riddle!"

And out walked Riddle, donning his Dorm's uniform. He wore a white and red coat dress lined with gold trimming and buttons with white pants underneath. The collar of the coat was heart-shaped and inverted with red and black, and a small tie pinned with a god crown at his neck. A gold and Black sash crossed his chest and pinned at his waist with a ribbon pin emblazoned with a Gold "H". The sleeves of the coat were rolled up once, revealing red fabric underneath and black leather gloves. And the Heartslabyul Logo was printed onto the bottom left side of his shirt. The inside was rich red with the card symbols printed. His shoes were thigh-high black boots, tipped with gold at the soles and heel, with Heart insignias painted black and red attached at the rims. Draped across one shoulder was a deep black cape, red on the inside, and decorated with a white collar and rose pin. And to finish, a small gold crown sat on the left side at a slight angle.

"Hm. The garden roses are red, the tablecloths are white… This seems a proper unbirthday party indeed. Is there a dormouse asleep in the teapot, as there should be?" he asked Trey.

Trey, in a different getup appeared beside him. He wore a white undershirt under a black vest, unbuttoned, with the same pattern as Riddle' coat. White pants with a black and yellow sash around his waist and pinned the same way, and black and white high tops. The jacket he wore was black on one sleeve, and checkered on the other, lined with red inside, and gold trimming. The same dorm logo is printed on the bottom left of the jacket and a card with the "3 of Clubs" was pinned close to the button holes. On the collar of the jacket was the same rose decoration. He wore fingerless gloves and a white fedora with the same striped sash and pinned with a green clover pin.

"Of course. And should it become necessary, we've also prepared the jam to spread on his nose."

Riddle smiled. "Very good."

Grim gawked at the sight of their clothes. "Myah! Those are some fancy duds!"

"These are Heartslabyul dorm clothes. Aren't they fierce? At the forefront of fashion, and they look great on Magicam." With that, Cater swished his pen and he wore the same party outfit as Trey. Except with a few differences: the vest he wore was red, as were his sneakers, and the card pin was the "4 of Diamonds". "One of the Queen's rules mandates formal dress on party days. As a show of kindness from a beloved mentor, I'll help coordinate your outfits."

He muttered a small spell and the uniforms they had were gone, now in place of the white, red, gold and black getups. Deuce was dressed similarly to Trey, but had a "2 of Spades" card pin and Ace, like Cater, with an "Ace of Hearts" pin. Niho's, well...hers was similar, except her pants were shorts with black tights, her vest was red, but the card symbols were black for them to pop out against the red, her shoes were a mix of both black and red with the white high tops, and her card pin was something akin to the King of Hearts. And Grim's bow was now Black and Red, checkerboard on the tails and lined with gold.

"Whoa!"

"Lookin' sharp!"

"Myah! So cool!"

"You all look fantastic!"

Cater nudged Ace, "Now, let's tear this party up! And don't forget to give Riddle the tart." and dragged them away to an open table just as the clinking of a glass was heard.

Riddle took his place at the semi-circled table and raised his glass. "Before we begin the croquet tournament, let us make a toast. Does everyone have their teacup? On this most significantly unauspicious of days, I bid all in attendance… a very merry unbirthday!"

"To a very merry unbirthday!"

After several minutes of waiting, Cater looked over at Ace and pushed him up. "Ace, this is your chance!"

Ace sighed, "Right…" He got up, with a small thumbs up from Niho, and approached Riddle with a firm stance. "Uh, housewarden, sir…"

Riddle looked over to the source of the voice. "Ah, it's you. The tart thief."

Ace nodded and looked away, albeit nervously. "Yeah, so, I wanted to apologize for eating that tart. We made you a new tart to replace it."

This caught the second year's attention. "Hmm? And what kind of tart is it?"

This seemed to make Ace comfortable and he smiled, "I'm so glad you asked! It's a chestnut tart, and I swear, we weren't stingy with the chestnuts." He presented the tart in all its glory. He had this in the bag!

…..or so he thought…..cause at that moment, Riddle grew frigid and backed up, an indiscernible look crossing his eyes. "A CHESTNUT tart?!" Then, his eyes set on Ace in a glare, making him back up in surprise.

"What?!"

"What?!" Niho got up from her place and ran to Ace's side.

"The Queen of Hearts's rule 562: "One must never bring a chestnut tart to an unbirthday tea party." This is an utterly flagrant rule violation! Do you understand what you've done?! You've ruined an otherwise perfect unbirthday!" Riddle shouted.

Deuce nearly dropped his cup at the number. "Rule 562…?!"

"How many of these rules are there?!" Niho shook her head in disbelief.

"There are 810 rules in all, and housewarden, I can of course recite each and every one of them" Riddle answered, quite haughty.

Niho whipped her head around and sent Trey an accusing glare. "Trey, you were trying to get Ace into more trouble?!"

Cater saw the anger growing in her eyes and frantically whispered to his fellow third year, "Wow, T-I-L… This could be bad. Trey, were you aware of this?"

But the vice leader whispered back, "I was only able to memorize the first 350 or so. Well, we really botched this one. Big-time."

Riddle continued with as he stood from his place: "As housewarden of a dorm established to honor the Queen of Hearts's rigor, I cannot ignore this.'' He raised his gold red and black-hearted staff and pointed it first at the tart. "Destroy the offending tart immediately!" then swung it towards the freshmen. "Then throw these rule breakers out of the dorm!"

Ace held up a hand to pause before anyone could move. "Whoa, hold up! Is that one of your rules too?!"

"Yeah! If you want the tart gone, let me eat it!" Grim scowled.

"Housewarden, allow me to apologize. I was the one who suggested making a chestnut tart." Trey stepped up to atone, along with Cater, the latter nodding frantically.

"I was part of that too. We had no idea there was a rule about it!" But Riddle wasn't swayed and stood his ground.

"The making of the tart is not the issue. The issue is bringing it HERE. Today. THAT is the transgression!"

Now Niho couldn't control her tongue. "What is wrong with you?! Do you have any idea how hard we all worked on this?! I have the right mind to take this chestnut tart and shove it down your ungrateful throat! And how can you live by such foolish rules?"

Riddle snapped his eyes at her in malice. "What did you just call me? "Foolish"?!"

Cater turned around and did a cutting motion with his hands, telling her to stop. "Everyone, stop! Don't dig this hole any deeper!" he turned back to his liege, a nervous smile playing his lips. "And Riddle, please try to remember that these are new students who've only been here a few days."

Ace shoved him aside, angered more than before. "Nah, bro. I've got a shovel and I am DIGGING. Throwing away a tart to obey some insane rule is about as foolish as it gets."

"And I don't care how deep the hole is! This needs to be told." Niho sneered at Cater, directing her gaze at Riddle as she stood beside Ace.

Deuce was the last to follow them, a cold look in his eyes. "I agree with Ace and Niho. Of course, I understand that rules do need to be followed, but... This is going much too far."

Riddle crossed his arms as he stared down the trio. "Are you attempting to debate me? Bold move. But I'll bite. By breaking even the smallest rule, you are throwing wide the gate to anarchy."

"Everyone, I know you're afraid of getting your magic sealed away, but you know this is insane, right?" Ace blew up, pointing a finger at the others for emphasis.

"N-no, we, uh…"

Riddle's gaze fell onto them next. "Well? Isn't it?"

It's as if all the joy got sucked out of their faces and fear replaced it. "Far from it, Housewarden Riddle, sir!"

"We trust your judgement, sir!"

Grim's mouth dropped open, "You little…"

Ace clicked his tongue. "You spineless, fair-weather cowards…"

Riddle slowly walked out from behind the table as he talked. "In the year since I became housewarden, not a single student from Heartslabyul House has dropped out or been held back a year. We are the only house that can boast such a feat. Furthermore, of everyone in this dorm, I have the best academic standing. Hence, I am the most correct! If you would simply obey me without question, we wouldn't need to contend so."

"Listen, we-!" Deuce was tongue-tied.

Riddle was several feet away from the rebel group. "It's not off with their heads because *I* want to do that. I do it because rules must never be broken."

"H-He's normally not like this…." Trey whispered, but Niho didn't believe this crap.

"You say that, but I don't believe you." Niho snarled at Trey.

"If you will not obey me, then I will have all your heads!" Riddle swung his staff towards them, the tip pointing at the three in a threatening manner.

Cater forced himself to smile, despite the lingering dread in his gut. "Okay, let's all say, "Yes, Housewarden Riddle"."

But all three stood their ground.

"... I can't."

"Me neither."

"I don't bow to self-important tyrants!"

Riddle's aura became increasingly mad. "What did you just call me?"

"He called you a tyrant for wantin' to destroy good food just 'cause you're throwin' a tantrum!" Grim blunted out, catching both Niho and Deuce off.

"Grim, you moron!"

"Guys, I don't think we need to escalate this-"

"Off! With! Your! Heads!"

"Bwaaaaaaah!" the locks snapped in place around their necks.

"No! Not the collar again!"

"Gah! I can't get it off!" Deuce tried wrenching the contraption off his neck, but it was stuck there like a vice.

Niho looks down, scared that she may have gotten one, but then sighed, remembering she had no magic at all. "Looks like that magic won't work on me because I have no magic to seal."

Riddle glared at the third years, eyes wide as golf balls and pupils small as pinheads. "Trey! Cater! Eject them from the premises!"

The two looked away and muttered, "...Yes sir, Housewarden."

"Y-you're supposed to be our "mentors"!"

"Sorry, but we can't disobey our housewarden!" Cater gave an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, man." Trey relinquished.

"Oh, that's how it's gonna be? Then bring it on!" Ace ran at them with all he had.

"..…" before Ace could land a hit at him, Trey caught him by the wrist and twisted it under arm and held it at an unnatural angle, likely where it could snap. Ace hissed in pain as he was forced to his knees, and led out of the grounds. Niho and Deuce didn't bother fighting Cater and followed him out silently.

"We'll T-T-Y-L, folks."

"We'll try to calm Riddle down, so maybe he'll let you back in the dorm after you apologize."

"I will NEVER apologize! Not to that numbskull!" Ace exploded. But before Trey could walk off, a hand snatched him by the collar of his jacket and he was held by his ear, painfully, and brought to his knees. He looks up to see Niho, looming over him with a dark look across her face.

"Trey, I hope you can forgive yourself with what you've done. Or in this case, doing nothing, you coward." she spat out at him before shoving him away from her. Trey nearly fell back to the ground, but regained his footing and breathed a bit heavily. He held a hand over his heart, before turning to look back at Niho, her not losing her cold gaze at him. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he scurried away in fear, not looking over his shoulder.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Riddle readjusted his crown, which nearly slid off his head from the debacle seconds ago, as he saw the two return, Trey albeit shaken up. "Hmph. Now, let's get this party back on track. After all, we still have the croquet tournament. And now we're fifteen minutes behind schedule! This is outrageous!"

"Yes sir, Housewarden Riddle."

Cater tapped his shoulder. "Are you really okay with this, Trey?"

A look of fear and reluctance was set in Trey's eyes. "What do you expect me to do about it?" was the only thing he said, Niho's cold words and dark glare etched into his mind, her words echoing on in his mind…

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The dripping sounds came back to her….even louder than last time, making Niho stand on edge…. 'If we don't figure something out soon, I fear Riddle might end up with a terrible fate.'