Author's Notes: Here's the next chapter. The explanation of the Great Seven is almost word for word from the game, since it does so well with the gist of things. Hope you enjoy the longer chapter.
Chapter 5: The Great Seven
Henley was quite comfortable under the covers. He had chosen the first room on the second floor right next to the stairs. It was a decently sized room and it while it was going to require quite a bit of cleaning and repairs, it provided the best view of the front of the building.
There was also a nice fireplace in the room with a large rectangular mirror above the mantle. It could become quite a nice room. Once he was done with the lounge and kitchen, he'd split his work between the bathroom and this room.
"Hee hee hee..." Henley grimaced in his sleep at the laughter that filled his subconscious. "Aren't the two of you supposed to be off cleaning the school today?" the familiar voice asked.
Grim groaned in his sleep. "Five more minutes, Ma..." he trailed off with a little snore. Henley was trying to wake up as another voice spoke up.
"Go ahead, sleep the day away." the voice sounded a little gleeful. "And you might not ever have to wake up again."
'That sounds like a threat, but...' Henley finally got his eyes to pry open.
"Just like us!" laughter filled the room as Henley finally shot up awake. Grim was also up and awake as they realized just who had been there.
"Myah?! The ghosts are back! Hey, Hen, up and at 'em!" Grim cried, as he and Henley scrambled from the bed. Well, Henley certainly hadn't been expecting a battle first thing in the morning. That was for sure. As it turned out though, the ghosts didn't mean them any harm.
"So, I hear you'll be living here from now on?" the tallest of the ghosts said with a grin. Henley and Grim nodded. "Hope you like pranks as much as we do!" he crowed before he and the other disappeared through the roof laughing.
"Things are definitely going to be interesting around here." Henley mused, looking up when Crowley opened the door and stepped into the room.
"Good morning, Henley. Did you sleep well?" Crowley asked. He had only allowed the ghosts to wake up the duo after ensuring they hadn't meant any harm to his ward. Which was still a weird thought, but he'd get used to it before too long, he's certain.
"Not at all!" Grim cried. "When I sprawled out on the bed, the mattress fell right through the frame!" The little beast was jumping up and down while waving a paw wildly at the man. "Exactly how ramshackle is this dorm?" Grim demanded hotly.
Crowley blinked at the cat before looking over at Henley who looked surprisingly well rested despite the state of the room that he had slept in. "I slept great." He said with a genuine smile, stretching and reveling in the multiple pops that sounded deafening in the quiet room. Grim and Crowley both winced at the horrid sound. Well, that was unsettling to the man.
That the child could sleep so well despite, well, everything. Either Henley was just too exhausted last night after everything that he had slept through the night. Or he was used to sleeping in destitute places and this one just seemed like luxury in comparison. He really hoped the boy had just been exhausted. Instead of saying all of that though, he merely smiled.
"I am delighted to hear that you've adjusted so well to your predicament." he told the boy. "Speaking of, I have brought your breakfast. In an act of pure generosity. Get dressed and meet me in the lounge and we'll discuss you assignment for today." Crowley said brightly, before snatching up Grim to give the boy some privacy to change.
Henley chuckled before getting up from the bed. After applying the potions to his bruised side and the scar above his eye, he got dressed in the P.E uniform that the man had brought him last night. The pajamas were a nice, simple black and white striped sleeping ensemble of sleeping shorts and a large, long-sleeved night shirt. The P.E uniform was different. Black athletic pants with a slate blue tang top with the Night Raven College symbol on the chest. There was also a gray, lightweight jacket that he slipped on due to the early chill of the morning.
Once that was done, he used the brush provided and put his hair up into a simple ponytail, allowing his bangs to fall down over it and his right eye. Nodding at being as presentable as he possibly could, he joined the other two in the lounge where Grim was already eating some bacon.
"First, these are the potions Divus would like you to take." Crowley said, handing over two vials, one a dark green and the other a pale green. "Vitamin supplement potion at every meal and an immunity boost every morning." Crowley explained. Henley nodded before downing both.
"Thank you." He said before getting started on the breakfast the man had provided.
"Right. As for your assignment today. Seeing as how the campus is quite vast, without magic it would be quite the Herculean task to clean it all. Instead, I'd like you to focus on the area spanning from the front gates to the library. It's not too terribly large, but it does cover a decent part of the area for you to get accustomed too." Crowley explained. Henley nodded, remembering that area briefly from the first chase last night.
"As for you, Grim, try not to cause anymore incidents like yesterday." Crowley warned. Grim pouted at the man. "I expect you to try your best to keep him under some semblance of control." He told Henley.
"I'll do my best." Henley promised. Crowley nodded.
"I'm still looking into a few things involving your enrollment and files. I'll let you know when I find anything." He added to the boy who nodded his thanks. As of the present moment, Crowley was still unsure how he had come to be Henley's legal guardian. He needed to look into some tomes involving the legal acquisition of children. He hoped that would give him something to get started on.
"Now, I will leave you too it. You are of course free to take lunch in the cafeteria, and you may study in the library once you've finished your work for the day if you'd like. I do ask that you try to be back in your dorm by nightfall."
"Yes sir." Henley said, finishing his meal.
"Wonderful! I eagerly await the fruits of your labor." Crowley said gleefully before he left the two of them to get to work.
"I don't want to clean! I'm here to study magic so I can be blasting off spells left and right!" Grim whined to the boy who just shook his head and patted the cat consolingly.
"We'll study in the library when we're done cleaning." Henley assured the cat who nodded glumly and followed the human out of the dorm and onto the campus.
Twisted Wonderland: Welcome to the Villains' World
Somehow, despite the vastness of the campus and the extremely long walk from their dorm to Main Street- Henley had noted the gardens, the mirror chamber, and a shop during their walk- they did arrive in good time. Main Street was the main path from the front gates to the school, which was up a steeper climb, which overlooked the rest of the campus.
The pathway had seven statues along it. Four on one side, three on the other. Henley looked at the statues, a feeling of familiarity scratching at his mind. Like he knew them but couldn't place where from. There was the woman with a crown and heart shaped rose. An octopus lady with a contract. A large lion with a scar over his left eye. Then across from those three was a tall, elegant woman holding an apple. Next to her was another woman, this one possessing horns and holding a staff. Next to her was a shrewd looking man in a large hat with a snake shaped cane. And the final one was a tall man with flaming hair and flames from his finger.
"What's the deal with these statues? All of their faces look pretty scary." Grim said, getting a raised brow from Henley. "Like this lady here. It looks like she's got some real anger management issues." Grim defended himself.
"You don't know the Queen of Hearts?" a voice asked, causing the duo to look over at a fair skinned, ginger haired boy with scarlet eyes and a red heart painted over his left eye. He was in what Henley assumed was the school uniform. Though his vest was red, he assumed that had something to do with his dorm as he had spotted a few other students with vests of different colors. The armband around his bicep was a red and black ribbon with a golden emblem, probably the symbol of whichever dorm he was a part of. A heart with a crown atop it and the four suits in the upper left corner of the heart, and a little banner with 'Heartslabyul' across it.
"Queen of Hearts? Is she some kind of big deal?" Grim asked the boy, grabbing Henley's attention from observing the other and paying more attention to the upcoming interaction and explanation.
The boy looked at them before shrugging. "She was a queen who lived in a maze-like garden of roses long, long ago. Like centuries 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." The boy explained. "She basically ruled over a kingdom of madness, but not one of her subjects dared to defy her. You wanna know why?" the boy asked with a large grin.
"Why?" Grim asked, listening intently to what the other was saying.
"Because the punishment for breaking a rule was immediate decapitation!" he told them with glee.
"That's seriously messed up!" Grim cried, shocked by the information. Henley wondered, briefly, if decapitation was common in Twisted Wonderland... He thinks he found one of the first things for him to look up in the library.
"Pretty cool, right?" The boy asked them. "I'm a big fan. I mean, who would bother to obey a queen that was kind all the time?" he asked.
"Yeah, true. A leader needs to be strong." Grim agreed before focusing on the ginger haired boy. "But putting that aside... Who're you?" Grim asked.
"Name's Ace. I'm a first-year student here as of... today! Pleased to meetcha!" He said, genuinely gleeful, much to Henley's distrust.
"I'm Grim! I'm a prodigy who's planning to be, like, the greatest mage who ever lived!" Grim introduced himself boastfully. "That there's my far less interesting henchman, Henley."
"Henley, huh? Names got an odd ring to it." Ace said.
Henley raised a brow at the duo. "No odder than 'Ace'. And I'm not any one's hench-anything." he added, sending the cat a warning glance. Grim eeped at that before shaking himself of the chills the look gave him.
"So, tell me, Ace. Is that lion with a scar a famous ruler too?" Grim asked the boy.
Ace looked at the statue that the other was referring too. He nodded. "That's the King of Beasts who ruled the savanna. But he wasn't born into the throne like your average ruler. He had to earn it through hard work and elaborate schemes. When he became the king, he decreed that hyenas would be pariahs no more and should live among his subjects as equals." Ace explained.
Henley blinked. "He was able to look past social status that easily. Hm. Impressive. That's not something every leader can do." Henley mused, getting a nod of agreement from both of the others. "What about this woman? The one with the contract." Henley asked.
"The one with octopus legs!" Grim added, like they needed the clarification.
"That's the Sea Witch who lived in an underwater grotto." Ace said, having to take a second to get used to the other actively asking questions. "She devoted her life to helping troubled merfolk." Ace explained.
'Merfolk? I'll need to add that to the list of things to look up.' Henley mused.
"If they were willing to pay the price, she'd help them change their appearance, find love, whatever they wanted. They say she was so good, there was no wish she couldn't grant." Ace paused before adding. "They also say the price could be a tad steep, though."
"If she was granting literal wishes, that makes sense. Sometimes people just need to decide if it's really worth it." Henley said. Grim laughed loudly.
"So. You're saying that once I'm a great mage, getting rich off folks will be a total cinch?!" He cried, rubbing his paws greedily together. Henley wasn't surprised in the least. "Oh, oh! What about this guy with the big hat?" Grim asked excitedly.
"Him? That's the Sorcerer of the Sands." Ace explained. "He was an advisor to a total dolt of a sultan. He was a smart guy. He was the really capable sort. He once exposed a swindler- some guy pretending to be a prince in order to trick the princess." Ace told them. "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!"
"Wow!" Grim said with a wide-eyed look sent to the statue. "I guess it's true that a mage needs to be an excellent judge of character, huh?" Grim asked. "What about this beauty over here?" Grim asked, pointing to the queen who held an apple in her hands.
"She's the Fairest Queen. 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." Ace continued the explanation. "When it looked like her position was threatened, they say she'd do whatever it took to keep it."
Henley blinked in amazement. "The level of dedication it would require keeping that kind of record is, wow." Henley whistled impressed.
"They also say she was a master of poisons." Ace added, amused by the impressed look on the other boy's face.
"Geeze. She's pretty, but that sounds kind of scary." Grim muttered.
"You think so? I gotta respect the hustle." Ace shrugged.
"I wonder if we'll be covering poisons in potionology or if I'm going to have to look that up myself." Henley mused to himself before looking at the tall man with flaming hair. "Ace, what can you tell us about this man?" he asked, taking Ace's attention off of Grim.
"The scary one with flaming hair?" Grim asked.
"I like his hair, and I don't think he's all that scary looking. Flaming hair, how cool would that be?" Henley asked with a grin sent the cat's way who scowled back.
"I have flaming ears and that's way cooler!" Grim pouted.
"This guy is the King of the Underworld!" Ace informed Henley, both ignoring Grim's pouting. "Single-handedly ruling a kingdom packed with rambunctious spirits- that takes competence." Ace said. "He may look scary, to some of us." He sent Henley a bemused look. "But he was a straight shooter who worked tirelessly at a tough job he never even asked for. And this guy was ordering Cerberus, the Hydra, and the Titans into battle for him!" Ace added, his voice awed despite himself.
"Wow. That's really cool. Must have been a reliable guy to any allies he had. And he didn't let it go to his head?" Ace shook his own. "That's something else." Henley's gaze fell on the last one. The woman with horns, just like all the other statues, gave him a sense that he was missing something important. He couldn't tell you why he felt that way, gazing at the seven statues before them. But learning about them, made them seem even more like he was missing them. What a strange feeling. He mused. "And this one? The woman with the horns?" He asked.
"That's the Thorn Fairy who lived upon a mythical mountain." Ace said, his voice slightly more solemn when he spoke of her. "She was noble and elegant, and a master of magic and curses- even by the standards of theses 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." he told them with an awed tone, a smile growing on his face.
"Ooh. A dragon!" Grim cried with sparkling eyes. "What all monsters yearn to be!" He cried.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Ace asked. And really, it was sudden, the animosity that seemed to appear out of nowhere coming from the taller boy. "Not like some piddling weasel." Ace said with a sneer on his face aimed at the duo.
'And to think, it was going so well.' Henley sighed in annoyance.
'Don't take crap from anyone Hen.' The memory was sudden and unexpected. But it filled Henley with a warmth at the memory and realization that he did have someone, at least.
'Don't take crap from anyone. Alright. I can do that.' Henley thought, turning his attention back to the other boy.
Ace was laughing. "I can't hold it back anymore! 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 who wasn't summoned at all." He chuckled. Henley's eyes were narrowed at the other who was busy wiping tears from his eyes. "It took everything I had not to burst into laughter right in the middle of the ceremony." Ace crowed. Henley's eyes sharpened.
'Aha! There we go.' he thought, stepping forward. He got right in front of the other boy, forcing him to look down at Henley. He was clearly uncomfortable with the closeness the boy had initiated, who had his head tilted curiously. "I guess you you don't have a great memory, do you?" Henley asked sweetly. "After all, that all took place at the end of the ceremony." Ace flushed and opened his mouth to retort. Henley beat him to it. "You know, if you're going to be an insulting bully, it's best to keep the facts straight. Otherwise, you're the one who looks like a fool." Henley smiled sweetly before ducking away from the boy.
Grim began to laugh hysterically at the ginger. "You were totally owned!" Grim shouted while laughing and pointing at the gaping ginger who growled, not liking having the other laughing at him.
'Serves you right.' Henley thought. He didn't appreciate having himself and Grim laughed at or bullied in such a way.
"Well, you weren't admitted and now you're a janitor." Ace shouted at Grim, before laughing. "How lame!" Ace cried. Henley shook his head.
"Not able to handle what you dish out. How mature of you." Henley snarked, not bothering to correct him on his assumptions. Ace went to retort to the smaller boy but was stopped by Grim's own cry of anger.
"What did you just call me?" Grim snarled.
"And you're both so clueless you don't even know who the Great Seven are. Not a one of them!" Ace replied hotly. "Maybe before you try getting into the academy again, you ought to take a second crack at kindergarten?" he started laughing again. Henley didn't rise to the bait, though it definitely seemed like Grim would if the way he was growling at the boy was anything to go by.
Henley grimaced. "This is not going to end well." he muttered.
"Anyway, just thought I'd tease you a bit."
"You considered that teasing? Oh my, I'd hate to see what you actually consider bullying." Henley said sarcastically.
Ace scowled before turning his back on the two of them. "It's been a blast! But unlike you, I actually have classes to get to, so I'll let you get back to picking up trash. Bye!" he shouted back to them.
"You ain't waking away from me! It's too late for that!" Grim hissed, building up flames. Henley's eyes widened.
"Ace duck!" Henley shouted, rushing towards Grim. He was too late to stop the cat though, who sent out a large blast of fire that would have hit Ace if he hadn't dropped to the ground in time.
"Whoa!" Ace yelped, scrambling back up and turning back to the cat who jumped out of Henley's reach and squared off against the other boy.
"No one make fun of Grim, Master of Fire! I'm gonna make that explodey-head of yours explode all over again!" Grim growled.
"Explodey-head?!" Ace cried, sounding a little more offended by that than being almost burned to a crisp.
"Why are these people all psychopaths?" Henley grumbled.
"You wanna go down with me, shorty?" Ace retorted too Grim. "You got some guts. You wanna talk hair, huh? I'm gonna shave you like a toy poodle!" Ace shouted, effectively attracting attention from the passing students who happily decided to egg on a fight between students.
Before Henley could stop either of them, spells started to get thrown around by the two. Grim was tossing fire out like candy on Halloween. Meanwhile Ace was using winds to divert the fire so he wouldn't get burned to a crisp.
Henley kept telling both of them to stop but neither listened to him. Typical. "Guys, take it down a notch before someone gets hurt!" Henley shouted stepping closer to them, but not getting caught in the middle.
"Take that!" Grim shouted gleefully, sending a hot wave of cerulean flames at Ace.
Said ginger laughed. "All it takes is a little gust to-" he began, diverting the flames. But due to how wide the flames were, they weren't diverted up and out of the way. But directly at Henley and the Queen of Hearts statue he had been standing in front of.
"Move!" Several voices shouted in alarm at the sight of the kid about to be burned to a crisp. Henley instinctively dove to the side, rolling to lessen the impact and coming to a stop in a crouch a few statues away.
Several sighs of relief were let out at that. "Oh no! The Queen of Hearts's statue looks like it's been flame-broiled!" Ace cried.
"That's your fault for trying to divert it!" Grim shouted before sneering. "You should've just let it burn you to a crisp!" Several people looked at Grim in disbelief, Henley and Ace included.
"Who in their right mind would do that?!" Ace screeched. Henley stood up, brimming with some anger and adrenaline at not only being completely ignored, but almost getting burnt to a crisp. It could have been him that had wound up flame-broiled!
He stomped over to the two who were still arguing. The circle of students rapidly backed away from the two who weren't aware of the danger they were in. Henley didn't even hesitate as he smacked Grim and Ace both in the back of their heads. The smacks resounding in the area, making the observing students wince. The two whimpered at the scary look in Henley's eyes, his hair having been matted by the heat and sweat that had built up from their fight.
"I told you two to stop!" He growled.
"What is going on here?" Crowley's voice asked, and several students backed away or began to leave the area.
"Oh no! The Head Mage!" Ace cried, a whole new fear racing through him as he turned to run.
"Not more lashings of love! We gotta get out of here!" Grim yowled, taking Ace's lead. Neither got far though as the head mage's whip appeared and both Ace and Grim went tumbling to the ground in more pain.
"Ow!" Ace yelped, rubbing his head which had experiences two painful things in the span of a minute.
"And I'm still sore from yesterday, too!" Grim whined tearfully.
Crowley stepped up to the two of them, his shoes clacking on the stone below him, whip pulled tight in his hands. "As if the likes of you could ever flee from me!" He scolded, taking in the scene before him. A crowd of students who were now rushing to get to classes, which he allowed. A ginger haired student from Heartslabyul on the ground sporting two lumps on his head from both his and Henley's own punishments. Grim wasn't looking any better as he continued to rub at his own head tearfully.
Henley was off to the side, huffing angrily as he glared at both of the downed boys. He spotted the pink on his face from what was no doubt a magical fight between the other two. And the charred statue. He had seen it happen from a distance and was relieved his ward had managed to escape the flames. It was concerning though. His reaction resembled something one was trained in. More to worry about, it seemed.
"Haaah..." he sighed in exasperation. "Did I not just warn you, 'no more incidents'?" He asked Grim. "And now you've charred one of my statues?! It's almost as though you want to be expelled!" he growled at the two downed boys.
"No!" The ginger denied quickly. "Forgive me!" He pleaded. Crowley sighed harshly before glancing at Henley.
"And you, Henley. You were specifically told to keep Grim under control!" he said, regretting it immediately when the boy lowered his head and bowed. Accepting the unfair accusation, as Crowley knows the boy tried.
"I'm sorry, sir." Henley told him sincerely, voice quiet and accepting.
Crowley sighed heavily into his hands. 'Dammit! I need to tread carefully here. Whether I know how it happened or not, he's still my ward.' he took several moments to calm his breathing and sooth his temper. "This will not do. You!" He glared at the ginger who had stood up at some point in the past few minutes. "State your name and grade." he ordered. He was pretty sure this kid was a freshman, but he needed to be certain.
"Ace Trappola... Freshman." The boy, Ace informed him with his head hung, reflecting Henley's own which still hadn't been raised. Crowley really hoped he hadn't broken whatever trust the boy had had in him before.
"Then listen well, Trappola. You too, Grim and Henley." he told the three before him. "As punishment for today's infractions, you are hereby ordered to wash a hundred windows!" Crowley settled on. Throwing Henley in there both to keep to his guns, as much as he regretted them, and to provide a buffer between the other two.
"That's what you get for making fun of me! This is all your fault!" Grim shouted at Ace who looked taken aback.
"I have to do it too?!" He asked in disbelief.
"Of course you do." Crowley said with a frown. "It takes two to tango. You will meet in the cafeteria after class and help with this punishment. Are we clear?" Crowley asked coolly.
"Yes sir." Ace gave in, head hung.
"Ugh, I just can't catch a break." Grim muttered. Henley just sighed in acceptance of his situation. Crowley sent them on their way, grimacing as he realized he was really going to need to work on his temper when it came to the boy.
And after a quick check of the cameras- yes, they had cameras- he realized that while Grim had cast the first spell, Trappola was the one who had initiated everything by bullying the other two. He wasn't sure why Henley didn't correct him about his status as a student or his amnesia, but he had held his own against the bullying. So, he wasn't going to have to worry about Henley too much in that regard, at least.
He sighed into his arms at his desk in his office. Who would have thought that being a guardian to a child- technically a year under the rest of his students- was going to be so difficult?
Author's Notes: And there was the next chapter. A little longer than the others, whoops. Hope you enjoyed it none the less.
