Chapter 15
Roxana looked at the now mixed tarot cards of different decks, she mixed the ones from this world with the ones she had on her. I tried to get back the memories about this world, I remember only a little now, besides the overblot and some things here and there I don’t remember much it already long gone not even Occlumency can save them. She sighed. Tarot cards are the only accurate divination I can do.
Roxana closed her eyes and let her magic do it work, she opened her eyes to see nine cards drawn, she flipped one after the other.
Huh normally it’s only six… Roxana raised her eyebrow at the oddity.
The Red Queen, the Ruins, The Guillotine, the Soldiers, The Messenger, The Monster, The Guillotine, the Soldiers, The Death and Life.
Roxana frowned at the last card. Indecisive, a fifty-fifty chance they can either live or die, normally only the Death card is drawn, or the Life card is drawn if it set in stone, it’s the first time the card of Death and Life.
With the way she was holding it, the upper-half of the card had a grim reaper, the lower-half of the card had a woman dressed in white representing life.
At the end it will depend on how it done, it best if they don’t die, now let’s see. Roxana turned her gaze to the other cards.
The Red Queen.
Hmm, that would be Riddle.
The Ruins.
Something will be ruined, well it depend, it can either mean literal ruins or something will be ruined but with how Ace is I bet it’s the later and well, the fact that I didn’t tell them about the tart rule, it my fault too. But there wasn’t any kind of guilt in her eyes.
The Guillotine.
His Unique Magic is “Off With Your Head” it’s not hard to figure this one.
The Soldiers.
Heartslabyul is founded after the Queen of Hearts, the students are the soldiers.
The Messenger.
The Messenger normally it’s someone who tell you something important or direct you to the path to find something important.
The Monster.
The overblot.
The Guillotine and Soldiers again.
Repeat…
The Death and Life.
Roxana frowned at this. There’s something about Overblot but I forgot what it was !
*KNOCK**KNOCK*
“Roxana, wake up. The unbirthday party is today. If we're late, well, you know...” Deuce said behind the closed doors of Roxana’s room.
“I am coming” Roxana gave a last look at The Death and Life card before she walked out of her room.
Both of them gave good morning to each other before they turned their eyes to the stairs where they heard a knocking.
“Hmm? It sounds like you have a visitor.” Deuce said.
The door of downstairs magically opened and let Cater in who started to takes pictures left and right.
Cater stopped once he saw Roxana and Deuce coming down the stairs. “Good mooorning! Did you all enjoy your sleepover? Did you bond over pillow fights and card games?”
Ace came down the stairs too and walked up to Cater. “Oh, good morning, Cater. We did play some cards, yeah. Roxana and Grim were asleep so they didn’t play with us”
“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.” Cater said as he took a final picture of the inside of the dorm. “Wow this place is amazing, and posted”
“What does that mean?” Ace asked.
“Don't worry. I've totes got it under control. Anyway, off to the party we go!” Cater said.
He doesn’t have it under control. Roxana thought.
“Do I have to wear something for the Unbirthday Party ?” Roxana asked.
“Well…We wear our dorm uniform to be honest” Cater said. “If you were a boy I would have given you my other uniform, but I recommend at least something red”
“I see” Roxana made a thinking face. “I will join you after a while”
“Alright don’t be late !” Cater said before he walked out with Grim, Ace, and Deuce.
“Something red…hmm”
Red, black, white…I have the dress.
*Heartslabyul Dorm – Tea Garden*
“All hail our leader, the red sovereign himself... Housewarden Riddle! We salute you, Housewarden Riddle!”
“Hm. The garden roses are red; the tablecloths are white... This seems a proper unbirthday indeed. Is there a dormouse asleep in the teapot, as there should be?” Riddle asked.
Trey nodded. “Of course. And should it become necessary, we've also prepared the jam to spread on his nose.”
Riddle nodded approvingly. “Very good.”
Grim walked around while looking around. “Myah! Those are some fancy duds!”
Cater smiled. “These are Heartslabyul dorm clothes. Aren't they fierce? At the forefront of fashion, and they look great on Magicam.” Cater said his outfit was different this time he was wearing the dorm uniform. “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 said.
Deuce and Ace outfit also changed.
“Whoa!” Deuce jumped in surprise.
“Looking sharp!” Ace smirked to himself.
Grim smiled. “Myah! So cool!”
“I hope am not late”
The boys turned to look at Roxana, she was wearing a white, red, and black dress, with red shoes, her hair was in hair signature bun hairstyle and red earring.
And like always, she looked intimidatingly beautiful.
“Am taking a picture !” Cater said. “This needs to be posted !”
Roxana posed for the camera with a smile.
“#School’sBeauty #UnbirthdayParty and posted !” Cater smiled. “Now, let's tear this party up! And don't forget to give Riddle the tart.”
“Before we begin the croquet tournament, let us make a toast. Does everyone have their teacup? On this most significantly inauspicious of days, I bid all in attendance... a very merry unbirthday!” Riddle said while rising his cup in a curtesy manner.
“To a very merry unbirthday!” Everyone said.
Cater nudged Ace. “Ace, this is your chance!”
“Right...” Ace awkwardly walked up to Riddle. “Uh, housewarden, sir...”
Riddle frowned at him the moment his grey eyes landed on Ace. “Ah, it's you. The tart thief.”
Ace bit down a rude comment. “Yeah, so, I wanted to apologize for eating that tart. We made you a new tart to replace it.”
Riddle gave him a neutral look. “Hmm? And what kind of tart is it?”
“I'm so glad you asked! It's a chestnut tart, and I swear, we weren't stingy with the chestnuts.” Ace happily said.
Roxana put a hand on her mouth to hide her smile while Riddle looked angry.
I love the chaos, and I love the fact that I didn’t tell them about that rule while making that tart.
“A CHESTNUT TART?!” Riddle screamed.
Ace jumped in fright. “What?!”
“The Queen of Hearts' 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 screamed.
Deuce blinked. “Rule 562...?!”
“There are 810 rules in all, and housewarden, I can of course recite each and every one of them.” Riddle said.
Cater whispered to Trey. “Wow, T-I-L... This could be bad. Trey, were you aware of this?”
Trey had sweat running down his temple. “I was only able to memorize the first 350 or so. Well, we really botched this one. Big-time.”
“As housewarden of a dorm established to honor the Queen of Hearts' rigor, I cannot ignore this. Destroy the offending tart immediately! Then throw these rulebreakers out of the dorm!” Riddle screamed.
Roxana summoned the tart to her hands before it can collide with the floor and fixed it with magic, apparently people were too preoccupied with Riddle’s temper tantrum they didn’t realize that the tart disappeared.
“Whoa, hold up! Is that one of your rules too?!” Ace stepped away from Riddle more.
“Yeah! If you want the tart gone, let me eat it!” Grim searched for the tart. “Eh…where is it ?”
Trey stood in front of Riddle and bowed. “Housewarden, allow me to apologize. I was the one who suggested making a chestnut tart.”
Cater did the same. “I was a part of that too. We had no idea there was a rule about it!”
Riddle sneered. “The making of the tart is not the issue. The issue is bringing it HERE. Today. THAT is the transgression!”
He reminds me of Umbridge with these stupid rules… Roxana though.
“How foolish” Roxana said out loud on purpose.
“What did you just call me? "Foolish"?!” Riddle glared at her.
“Everyone, stop! Don't dig this hole any deeper!” Cater said in panic before he turned to look at Riddle. “And Riddle, please try to remember that these are new students who've only been here a few days!”
Ace glared. “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.”
Deuce stood beside Ace. “I agree with Ace. Of course, I understand that rules do need to be followed, but...This is going much too far.”
“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.” Riddle said.
“Everyone, I know you're afraid of getting your magic sealed away, but you know this is insane, right?” Ace asked.
You are asking coward who aren’t going to go against a tyrant, waste of time. Roxana though.
“N-no, we, uh...” Everyone looked awkward and out of place.
Riddle glared at them. “Well? Isn't it?”
One of them spoke nervously. “Far from it, Housewarden Riddle, sir!”
“We trust in your judgment, sir!”
Grim growled at them. “You little...”
“You spineless, fair-weather cowards...” Ace screamed at them.
Riddle glared at Ace. “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.”
Deuce stood up. “Listen, we-!”
Riddle cut him off. “It's not off with their heads because I want to do that. I do it because rules must never be broken.”
Trey looked down away from Riddle. “......”
“If you will not obey me, then I will have all of your heads!” Riddle threatened.
“Okay, let's all say, "Yes, Housewarden Riddle." Cater told them.
“... I can't.” Deuce said.
“When you’re named heir of the Queen of Hearts then there may be a chance that I will call you that” Roxana said.
“I don't bow to self-important tyrants!” Ace screamed.
Riddle froze before he glared at Ace. “What did you just call me?”
Grim jumped in front of Ace. “He called you a tyrant for wanting to destroy good food just 'cause you're throwing a tantrum!”
Deuce looked a bit nervous. “Guys, I don't think we need to escalate this—”
“Off! With! Your! Heads!” Riddle screamed.
Roxana casted a Protego on Grim and Riddle’s collar bounced off the shield hit the floor and disappeared.
“Bwaaaaaaah!” Deuce screamed as the collar shut around his neck. “Gah! I can't get it off!”
The witch quickly summoned Grim by his ribbon before Riddle tries to get him again.
“MYAH ?” Grim looked confused but calmed when he got into Roxana’s arms.
“Trey! Cater! Eject them from the premises!” Riddle screamed.
“... Yes sir, Housewarden.” Cater and Trey reluctantly agreed.
Roxana on the other hand apparated away with Grim in her arms leaving the other two in the hands of Riddle.
“The Guillotine, The Soldiers…done, now I wait” Roxana said to herself. “Grim here I saved the tart for you”
Grim eyes shined when he saw the tart floating his way. “My lovely tart !!”
He ate it with gusto, the two collared boys finally appeared.
“How come when we’re in trouble you disappear ?” Ace said annoyed.
“Well to be honest” Deuce started looking a bit guilty. “We kind of dragged her into something that isn’t her business”
“At least someone is holding the braincell” Roxana said. “I can only help you if you pay me the right price~”
“You’re trying to scam me out of my money !!” Ace screamed.
“No money, no service” Roxana smiled.
“Before I forget ! There was this weird guy—” Deuce said.
He then proceeded to tell her the conversation they had with a Chen’ya guy.
“I see” Roxana
The Messenger. Roxana nodded to herself. This part is done.
*Night Raven College – Library*
They four of them waiting in the library till they saw Trey enter absent minded.
“Hello, Trey.” Deuce said from behind him.
Trey turned around in surprise. “You four!”
“We figured that if we waited at the library, you'd show up to return your tart cookbook eventually.” Deuce said.
“We still got a problem with the way Housewarden Riddle is handling all of this.” Ace said in a serious tone.
Trey looked down in shame. “Yeah, I thought you might say that.”
“Come clean with us. What's your take on Riddle? Is it true you've been pandering to him since the two of you were kids?” Ace said to him.
Trey looked at him in surprise. “What?! Who told you that?”
Deuce stood besides Ace. “A guy who called himself Chenya.”
Trey relaxed a bit, but his shoulder were still tense. “Chenya... Huh. That explains it.”
“What I don't get is, aren't you older than Riddle? Why haven't ya told him off already?” Grim asked.
“I do when I need to. I don't think the situation calls for it.” Trey truthfully said.
“Please do explain and stop beating around the bushes” Roxana said. “You are wasting my time”
Trey winced at the harsh way she spoke to him. “These sorts of strict rules... They're what created Riddle.”
Deuce blinked. “Huh?”
Trey sighed. “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.”
“Sounds pretty lame.” Grim said.
“Sounds like emotional abuse in the hands of a narcissistic parent” Roxana said.
Trey gave her a look that told her that she was right on the money. “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.”
“And so he turned like this because of the way he grew, because that’s the only thing he knows” Roxana concluded.
Trey nodded. “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 said, his voice void of emotions.
Trey sighed. “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?”
Grim ears flattened on his head. “Myah...”
“So that's why he's like that.” Deuce looked down in thought.
“...... All right, now I get it. It's YOUR fault Riddle's like this.” Ace pointed and accusing finger at Tret.
Deuce, Grim, and Trey looked at him in sock. “What?!”
“Riddle didn't get to choose his parents. But you know what his parents did to him, and you know it was wrong, right?” Ace said.
“I mean, yeah...” Trey looked down in shame.
“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 said.
Trey stayed silent. “......”
“It’s not that simple” Roxana said.
Everyone looked at her.
“What do you mean ?” Deuce asked.
“Like Trey said, Riddle’s parents have fame, everyone knows their name, and Riddle’s mother controlled everything in his life, a very known tactic of a narcissistic parent who want their kids to be a ‘mini-me’ a perfect replica of them, but I feel like her abuse didn’t stop at Riddle” Roxana gave Trey a look. “Riddle’s mother has everything, fame, and money, she has a reputation, everyone knows her so if she wanted to destroy someone she just has to open her mouth and spread lies, what your parents job Trey ?”
“They are bakers” Trey said.
Roxana nodded. “Easy targets, if Trey opened his mouth at that time and told Riddle that what his mother is doing is wrong, there’s a very big chance that Riddle would have told her what Trey told him, which will end up in Trey and Riddle never meeting again in the good case scenario, or Trey’s parents completely lose their business and reputation as a petty revenge from Riddle’s mother in the horrible case scenario”
“This is worse than I thought !” Deuce screamed only to slap a hand on his mouth.
“You there! Be quiet! You are in a library!” Crowley screamed.
“You're yelling' louder 'n any of us, though!” Grim deadpanned.
Crowley got taken aback by that comment. “Oh! *Ahem* Yes, my apologies. But let us strive to maintain the library as a quiet place for reading.”
“Pardon us for that” Roxana said.
“Well, at least you know better now. Incidentally, what are you all discussing with such grim faces?” Crowley asked.
“Well, since you asked...” Deuce