Rotten Core Descending

Audrey was confused. All seven of them is in their dorm room, plus Fairy Godmother. Everyone is staring intently at her as if waiting for something.

"What?" She blurted out, snarky as ever but still confused. She then saw everyone's shoulder dropped a bit, like they are relieved with something. THE SLEEPING PILLS, she thought. Her heartbeat escalated in anxiety, thinking that maybe they discovered about her pills.

She tried her best to remember what happened, deeply furrowing her eyebrows and reaching for her head..then she felt a hand on her shoulder, Fairy Godmother's. "Are okay sweetie? I'm so sorry but we went ahead and gave you the injection." She told her.

"Injection?" Audrey can't make sense of what's happening. She finally remembered how her surrounding started to spin just after taking a single pill that night in the bathroom, but it was just a single sleeping pill...why would she need an injection? She can't possibly be overdosed since she normally pop at least three every night. But still she's horrified, it's a secret only her mom and Lonnie knows, she'll never want to tell anyone about it.

"You were manifesting Sloth, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. We were just talking about how stressor concoctions can help mitigate sloth and relaxants for the others." Evie chimed in while giving her a hug.

Mal held Audrey's face and pulled it closer to hers. She is a bit uncomfortable but feeling Mal's breath on her face strangely gave her a sense of security. It was warm and relaxing. Then she felt the skin around her eyes being gently stretched. "The crimson glow in your eyes is totally gone." She heard Mal say.

"Ok, wait. I don't have any idea w-. Oh...I see." She was about to protest when the idea finally hit her. It was not about the pills, thank God...she can almost hear her thoughts as her facial expressions started to relax and exude relief, even making her lips curve up a bit.

This was not good though. Everyone started to stare at her in confusion, it's not the reaction they expect from Audrey. Who the hell would be relieved after hearing such horrible and puzzling news? Definitely not Audrey, that's what they thought.

"Are you guys sure she's okay?" Carlos mumbled under his breath, confused with how Audrey is acting. "I'm not really sure, but smiling is not a bad thing right? Well, except in this situation maybe?" Jay is equally puzzled.

"The Sloth stuff guys. It's mitigated but not completely gone. Simple as that." Chad spoke with bravado as if he just solved the world's greatest mystery, but he can't hide the shaky undertone in his voice, he is clearly worried. "Can sloth make you happy?" He directed the question to Fairy Godmother.

"Not really happy my dear, but relaxed and such."

"See. It's normal." He sounded satisfied with the answer. However, he can't help but notice Ben still staring intently with furrowed brows at Audrey. "Something wrong?" he immediately ask.

"N-No, I'm just glad things are fine now...for now." It was barely above a whisper and nobody heard that last part he said. He was actually thinking about Chantre, he knows that he/she is just somewhere around the room, waiting for Audrey to be isolated and maybe reveal itself to her.

"Okay sweethearts. We really need to take a rest now." Fairy Godmother glanced at the clock. "Oh, it's already 2am, you really need to sleep. You still have classes tomorrow. Boys get back to your room, Ben come with me back to the castle, and girls sleep tight, okay?" She gently shoved the boys out of the room and bid goodnights to the girls. "Just call me if something happens again okay?"

She gently closed the door behind her as she quietly bring the boys to their room while canceling any noise they make with her magic. They can't risk to wake up other students in the dorm. In fact, they were actually a bit noisy back in the girl's room with everything happening..kids writhing in pain, Ben arriving not as quietly, Audrey blurting out...but Fairy Godmother already took measure before that, she already covered the room with a sound barrier magic, making it appear as quiet as possible from the outside that time.

Audrey, on the other hand, is still confused. Mal and Evie seems like they have already fallen asleep. They were probably tired and all..and it's fucking 2am.

She decided to get up and go to the bathroom for her pills. There, she realized something. She can clearly remember her pills scattering on the floor before passing out. She remembered how fucked up she thought she was once the other girls saw her. And it's Fairy Godmother that opened the bathroom door to retrieve her a while ago, but nobody mentioned anything about pills and stuff.

She looked around the bathroom, in the corners, in the drawers, under the sink, but still can't find it. She looked at her puzzled reflection in the mirror...and was almost fatally shocked at the view. She freaked out as her reflection started to slyly smile at her, while stumbling down the floor and putting as much space as possible with her back on the wall. She reached for the door while shouting for help...but she didn't know that the bathroom was also covered with a sound barrier, similar to what Fairy Godmother used before.

"Wow, this sound barrier is really something. I almost wanted to thank Fairy Godmother for showing it to me." A sweet voice was heard throughout the bathroom. Audrey immediately turned around at the mention of Fairy Godmother's name. There, she saw a beautiful lady in a fancy robe and holding a wand. She glanced at the mirror and saw her usual and normal reflection. This made her relax a bit, seeing the wand and all. She's probably an acquaintance of Fairy Godmother, which means she's good, that's what she thought.

"A-Are you the one who hid my pills?" Audrey asked.

The lady didn't answer, but she extended her hand with Audrey's bottle of meds. Audrey cautiously reached for it and clutched it between her fingers. "So Fairy Godmother taught you this magic?" She asked.

The lady chuckled. "Not really. I just saw her use it a while ago in your room while you guys are being noisy. Can't risk to wake up other students. Well, I just figured out how to do it on my own." This made Audrey uncomfortable, and more so when the lady transformed into a dashing lad in fancy garments, a little boy, and finally an exact copy of Audrey (Just like how it did with Ben).

"W-Who are you? What do you want?!" She can't help but shake a bit. She knew that this is trouble, she knew this person is powerful...even got a wand of her own.

"You should ask Ben. He'll know." Audrey's clone answered as it disappeared once again, without a trace. Audrey didn't understand but she decided that she'll just ask Ben the following morning. She went out the bathroom...

There she was shocked once again....she saw Dude sleeping in the floor..right where they left it this night after Carlos operated on it and before their marks burned. She inhaled rather loud and deep, as she stumbled on the floor once again, making a loud thud and waking Mal and Evie once again.

"Hey Audrey, why are you not sleeping? I'm starting to think that you're waking us up on purpose. I thought we're already cool with each other." Mal's voice was raspy. She was struggling to open her eyes as Evie fumbled with the lamp's switch beside Mal's bed. It seems like she slept in Mal's bed again.

As their vision adjusted, which is quicker than normal, they saw Audrey on the floor staring at the mutt. This jolted them too, making them fully awake. They can't believe they totally forgot about Dude on the floor. It was easily visible from anywhere around the room, but nobody noticed it all this time, even Fairy Godmother, it's as if Dude was concealed or their memories were twitched.

"Is Dude hurt?" Evie quickly approached the sleeping mutt, worried if they have somehow stepped over it with all the conundrum that night. But, the dog seems fine.

Mal patted her face in an attempt to wake herself up more. "Wait. This is really weird." Mal shot a look on Audrey to which Audrey simply shook her head. She wanted to tell them about what just happened on the bathroom but she wanted to ask Ben first about it, just like what she is told, so she kept her mouth shut.

"Oh no..." Mal froze in her place with a sudden realization.

"What's the matter, M?" Evie approached her and held her shoulders.

"I think someone is messing up our memories. I-I mean it should be almost impossible, it's like a taboo even in the dark magic..plus it's supposed to be real advanced and stuff. Cursing someone or even killing someone with magic is something, but twitching memories is something else. It won't really give you a good revenge if the victim is clueless plus it's cruelty is on a different level. If you completely alter one's memories, everything about him can change, personality, belief, mannerism and all, even true love can't do anything once your memory is completely erased, you'll have to experience all your experiences once again, and the only effective solution is time rewinding magic, which is also a taboo and super advanced. With it you can just let things happen and prevent the memory altering magic before it happens once you arrive at the specific time frame then-....." Mal is spacing out while continuing to mumble all the words. She was only cut off when she felt Evie's lips on hers. Evie pulled her closer and gave her a deep wet kiss. They both jolted upon realizing what's happening. They both stepped back and wiped hesitantly wiped their lips.

Audrey was equally shocked at seeing this. "U-Uhmm ok.." She didn't expect these two to be in that kind of relationship, but the awkward ambiance afterwards lets her realize that it's probably the first time it happened between the two.

Evie's face was burning red. She didn't know why she did what she just did, then they felt their marks again, this time the lust symbol was burning. But, it's not that painful. It kinda explains what just happened as Evie's eyes started to faintly shine in crimson glow.

"E, your eyes!" Mal blurted as Evie tightly blinked which somehow made the glow go away.

"Oh my God, I wonder what could've happened if you didn't receive those relaxants shots." Audrey remarked in disbelief as Evie and Mal's cheeks turned bright red.

"It'll surely be trouble....anyway, how come you know that much Mal? with all those magics and taboos and stuff?" Audrey is getting suspiscious at Mal. Their heads are all a bit messed up and they don't really have that good of a relationship to begin with. It haven't been even a week since they made up and decided to get along with each other, there's practically nothing that keeps Audrey to be suspicious.

"Hey, you're being rude Audrey! Do you somehow think that Mal is behind this in some way?" Things escalated quickly and Evie was getting furious but she is trying to maitain her composure. Things are chaotic and they can't afford to fight with each other.

"I-I'm just asking. I mean she knows a lot." Audrey explained in her defense.

"Of course I know a lot! It's practically written on MY SPELL BOOK..." Mal was a bit offended but her words made her heart skip a beat. "My spell book..." She repeated as her eyes begin to shine in a crimson glow, without the other two noticing. There was no pain or burning in any of their marks, just her eyes glowing as she somehow managed to remember a part of her memory that seemed to be hidden away.

"What?" Audrey and Evie asked in chorus, still confused, as Mal hurriedly jumped back to her bed, reaching far behind the head board, under the pillows and under the sheets, before turning back to them with eyes still glowing in crimson. "My fucking spell book! Remember?! Oh God, how can I possibly forget about it?!" Mal exclaimed.

She almost flipped her bed upside down. She proceeded to go over her closet and bag as Audrey and Evie finally remembered too. "Right! Your creepy book! The one you used for Jane's and other's hair makeover!" Audrey's words elicited the two's glare. "Sorry, I meant it felt creepy that time." She added, attempting to be but not really being apologetic.

"M.. your eyes..!" Evie finally noticed the glow. It's not green as usual, it was a different glow, not the ones when Mal uses her magic. Mal stopped and went to the mirror with the two behind her. She blinked tightly like what Evie did earlier, but the glow won't go away. She was not acting weird nor is their marks giving them pain or discomfort.

Mal was starting to panic as she felt Evie's arms around her. She started to calm down and the glow faded. "That was weird." Mal commented in disbelief.

"This is clearly too much for one night. I think we should just really sleep for the remaining time, which is not much time. Let's look for it tommorow." Evie is right, a lot has happened and they badly need to rest.

Audrey was so tired already, she thinks a single pill can be enough for her to sleep this night. She went to her bed, but she was so tired that she absentmindedly started to pop a sleeping pill, completely forgetting to hide it from the two. And just when she was about to take it, she felt a hand restrain her arm, it was Evie.

"Sleeping pills?!" Audrey was so sure that Evie was disgusted with her, Audrey is at least. She really hated needing to take those for her to sleep. She wanted to be perfect and needing sleeping pills won't bring perfection in any way, she thought. She thinks it's weird and she doesn't want anyone finding out and think that she's a freak.

However, she just can't help it, she still find it difficult to just sleep after someone told her about her mom's story, Sleeping Beauty. Sometimes, she'll sneak out her room at night when she really can't sleep. She'll then watch the stars outside, which she thought as nothing but perfect and beautiful. It was also one of the reasons that she's exceptionally good in astronomy. She knew almost everything there is to know about it. She loved the night sky and everything in it. She even learned navigation using stars on her own when she was 10. But, of course, noone knows about it.

"That works as a relaxant, you can't take it with sloth, which is the deadly sin manifesting in you!" Evie added which jolted Audrey. She was surprised not to hear any hint of disgust from Evie's voice.

"She's right, Audrey. If you want, you can sleep with us in my bed to help you sleep." Mal added. "And don't worry about Evie. If she does something weird like earlier because of this stupid marks, I'll take care of it." Mal chuckled as Evie glared at her playfully. This was not what Audrey expected, not this kindness, understanding or empathy from the two girls. She was so sure she'll be met with disgust if anyone finds out about her, but it's not the case right now.

They were all tired. They climbed up Mal's bed and slept. Audrey was in the middle, with Mal and Evie's arms draped over her stomach. They started to fall asleep as she heard Evie's voice. "Don't worry Audrey, we also used to have problems sleeping before. We know it's hard but you can go past this, I know."

There were no question asked as to why Audrey's like that, they simply welcomed her and offered comfort. It was strange for Audrey especially coming from these two, but she felt glad about it and really appreciated the gesture

--

Ben, on the other hand, can't still sleep in his castle room. Well, who can when there's constant laughing echoing the room.

"Why can't you just shut up Chantre?" Ben is fully awake, unable to sleep with the noise.

"W-Well..It was just surprising.." Chantre is trying his best to suppress his laughter while talking. "I was so sure Audrey's eyes will have a golden glow, but it's not." He started laughing again. "A-And those injections, it made Evie manifest a deadly sin earlier."

This jolted Ben. "Evie? What do you mean?"

"Well, the relaxants did mitigate the deadly sins' effects...b-but it won't lessen the effects, maybe a bit...but only because it will be spread over a longer period of time with less intensity, unlike your one night of wrath with such intensity of rage...i-it's so funny how you think you're solving the problem." Chantre bursts in laughter once again.

"Things will surely be interesting, you can't even clearly tell when Evie's deadly sin manifest because the pain from your marks were also mitigated. I-It was suppose to be a beacon but now it's almost useless..A-And it's a fucking crimson glow again, I was so sure her eyes will glow in blue....A-And Mal." Chantre almost ran out of breath from being so hysterical. Ben's brows furrowed in confusion, he is getting bits of information but he can't really understand what Chantre meant.

"S-She still haven't manifested a deadly sin but her eyes glowed...and it's a fucking crimson glow again..Alphas everywhere...I-I thought maybe you're special, being King and son of the Beast and all...that's why your crimson glow that night didn't surprise me at all...but these people really got me...And a True Alpha at that..she even broke the memory spell I made with the her book..T-This is so interesting." Chantre let out a last chuckle and finally calmed down.

"W-What memory? What are you talking about?" Ben has never been this dumbfounded before, he can't make sense of Chatre's words. He intently waited for an answer.

"Damn, I said too much. Well, it won't hurt...I'll let you sleep now." Chantre disappeared once again, leaving Ben fully awake with those words this time. Ben tried to sleep but he is worried, it seems those injections are proving to be a big mistake.