Chapter 19: Punishment Escalation
At the Heartslabyul Dorm lounge, after the Unbirthday party, things escalated. To put it simply, Riddles' enforcement of the Rules of the dorm along with the punishments is starting to get out of and.
Riddle sternly says to a student, "The Queen of Hearts's rule 249: 'Flamingo caretakers are to don pink attire.' It was supposed to be your turn to feed the flamingos today. Why aren't you wearing pink?"
"I'm sorry, Housewarden. My pink clothes were in the laundry... Please, sir, not the collar!" The student says in fear, and begs.
But Riddle says, "This is your second rule violation. I cannot forgive a repeated offense."
And cast the spell, "Off With Your Head!"
And in a matter of seconds the student lets out a scream, "Gaaaaaaah!" as the collar appears around his neck.
Then Riddle punishes the student, "Write me a 5,000-word apology and weed the garden for one week, and I'll remove it."
The student begins sobbing, "... But…"
"Do you think I enjoy having to do this?!" Riddle questions sternly and says, "You're the one who broke the rules! As much as I would like to, I cannot ignore these infractions. It's for your own sake. Understood? Trey? Cater? Remove him from the premises.
"...Yes, Housewarden," Trey and Cater answer, though they're also reluctant about it.
And so they take the student away.
However, unknown to anyone, more drips of the black ooze fall to the floor, and fuse together and start to become a puddle.
Meanwhile, the others are at the school infirmary. Even though they plan to find Trey, Tanzanite and Jasper think it will be a good idea for Briar to get to the infirmary. Suddenly, Briar feels a sharp pain in her head and clenches her head.
"What's wrong, Briar?" Sereia asks, worried.
"I'm not sure. My head started hurting all of the sudden," Briar says, feeling the pain.
"This isn't the first time that has happened, correct?" Divus Crewel questions.
"That's correct, sir. My head has been hurting a lot recently, and I'm not sure why. It felt like my head was about to split open," Briar explains.
"Hmm, it's a bit difficult to understand your headaches, young pup. It seems that your health is normal," Crewel says.
Then says, "I suggest that you keep yourself hydrated and not over-stress yourself. However, I suggest you return here if your sudden headaches become severe."
"Um okay, sir," Briar says.
After that, the group then leaves the infirmary and are walking down the hall to the library.
"It's quite odd that the teacher didn't find anything wrong with you," Deuce replies.
"I know, but I still don't understand why I'm getting these headaches," Briar replies.
"Maybe it's because you've not eaten or drank anything yet?" Grim suggests.
"I don't think so. I've been eating and drinking fine," Briar says.
"How about that we focus on finding Trey and try not to think about your weird headaches," Ace says.
"Alright," Briar replies.
And so, the group head off to the library to find Tray.
In the library, Trey is sitting at the desk and is thinking about the incident at the Unbirthday Party, and what's been happening at the dorm.
Suddenly, Deuce's voice appears, "Hello, Trey."
Trey looks up to see the group, "You guys!"
"We figured that if we waited at the library, you'd show up to return your tart cookbook eventually," Deuce says.
"We still got a problem with the way Housewarden Riddle is handling all of this," Ace says.
"Yeah, I thought you might say that," Trey replies.
"Come clean with us. What's your take on Riddle?" Ace replies, "Is it true you've been pandering to him since the two of you were kids?"
This catches Trey by surprise, "What?! Who told you that?"
"A guy who called himself Che'nya," Deuce answers.
"He told us that you and Riddle were childhood friends. Well, in a way," Sereia says.
"Che'nya... Huh. That explains it," Trey replies, not too surprised.
"I have to suspect that you know Che'nya as well," Briar says.
"Yes. I actually do," Trey says.
Then Grim asks, "What I don't get is, aren't you older than Riddle? Why haven't ya told him off already?"
"I do when I need to. I don't think the situation calls for it," Trey answers.
"Why not?" Ace asks.
"These sorts of strict rules... They're what created Riddle," Trey answers.
"Huh?" Deuce, Tanzanite, and Jasper become confused.
"What do you mean that the 'strict rules' created Riddle?" Briar asks.
Trinket is just as confused and tilts her head to the side.
And then Trey explains, His parents were famous magical healers. Everyone where we're from knew their names. His mom was especially talented, and she really wanted Riddle to live up to her legacy. So, from the moment Riddle woke up to when his head hit the pillow at the end of the night… Every aspect of his life was planned, down to the minute, by the education program she made for him."
This catches everyone by surprise.
"Sounds pretty lame," Grim says, shocked.
Trey adds, "What he ate, what he wore, what soap he used, who his friends were - every last detail had been predetermined for him. And to please his parents, Riddle obediently completed every task they'd laid out for him. He mastered his signature spell by age ten. He's been the top student in all of his classes. I can't even imagine how hard he must have had it."
"So it's his parents' fault he's like that?" Jasper asks.
"That sounds horrible…" Tanzanite says.
"It's like everything in his life has been planned by his parents, but without any of his own choices," Briar says.
Trey nods his head and continues, "Riddle sees the enforcement of strict rules as a service to his dorm members. In his eyes, being bound by rigid guidelines - by fear - is a fast-track to personal growth. Because that's how it worked for him. And on the flip side, he sees the violation of those rules as an inexcusable offense."
"I guess that makes sense, since rules made him who he is," Ace replies.
"Look, I totally get why you see Riddle as a tyrant, and why you disapprove of his methods. But for me... I can't hold that against him, you know?" Trey replies.
"Myah…" Grim says, surprised.
Everyone is just as shocked and surprised.
"So that's why he's like that," Deuce says.
"... All right, now I get it," Ace says.
Then angrily says to Trey, "It's YOUR fault Riddle's like this."
"What?!" Everyone, but Briar and Trinket exclaim in shock.
Then Ace explains, "Riddle didn't get to choose his parents. But you know what his parents did to him, and you know it was wrong, right?"
"I mean, yeah…" Trey replies, reluctantly.
"Well, now Riddle's making the exact same mistake that his parents did. You're going easy on him because he had it rough as a kid? Don't you see where that's leading? You're letting him make a pariah out of himself!" Ace angrily says.
Trey however, isn't able to find the words.
Deuce says to Ace, "Ace, man, come on…"
"That's rather harsh," Tanzanite says.
Then Ace continues to say to Riddle, "So why don't you say something? Are you just afraid you'll 'lose your head' too? That's pathetic! You guys are supposed to be childhood friends?! Then act like it.
Suddenly, they hear a familiar stern voice, "You there! Be quiet! You are in a library!"
Everyone yelps in fright and turns their heads to see Crowley standing behind them.
Grim panics, "You're yellin' louder 'n any of us, though!"
"You scared us!" Briar adds.
"Oh!" Crowley replies, and calms himself, "Yes, my apologies. But let us strive to maintain the library as a quiet place for reading."
"We're sorry, Headmage," Briar says.
Then Jasper asks, "But, what are you doing here, Headmage?
"Well, at least you know better now," Crowley says.
Then says, "As for why I'm here. I'm researching methods to send you back home. Precisely as I promised I would. Oh, but I AM gracious! And the library is, of course, an ideal place for serious research. It's not as if I came here just to secure the newest book in that popular series of novels. No, certainly not."
He then asks, "Incidentally, what are you all discussing with such grim faces?"
The group then turns to each other.
And so Deuce says, "Well, since you asked…"