Twisted-Wonderland: Our Precious Treasure (Part 2)

(124) TTotSS: No Matter How Your Heart is Grieving!

"I'm really sorry to interrupt your night routine, Kalim," Jade said in the most apologetic tone he could measure, "I should've waited until tomorrow. How selfish I am."

Kalim turned toward him, grinning. "Don't worry about it! I can stay late for a bit longer."

Jade let out a sigh of relief. "Ah~ Thank you very much. I'm so curious about the tapestry and carpets deep inside the room."

"Oh! I have tons of those in here." Kalim grinned again and opened the door to the treasure vault. Flicking the light switch, the room was once again lit up, jewels and gold sparkling and luring them in.

"I think I've seen a carpet that would look great for your dorm," Kalim said as he led Jade to the pile where most beautifully woven rugs were rolled up, "if only I can find it... Hold up."

Jade stayed outside of the area while Kalim dove in, pushing and scanning through the rug collection. "Where is it?" he mumbled, looking like he was a kid who was missing his favorite toy, "maybe Jamil would know..."

Jade's eyes widened slightly. This is his keyword. "Ah... Jamil is such a capable aide, isn't he?"

"Yeah! He's really amazing!" Kalim laughed. "He teaches me magic and how to study way better than my tutors. He's a great dancer too, but he's too shy to do it in front of a lot of people."

"You speak about him in such high regards," Jade said, "makes me wonder why he never mentions anything to you."

Kalim paused. He turned to Jade, a confused look on his face. "Huh?"

Jade took this opportunity to step forward. "It is a long vacation and yet the students in the dorm are being made to train severely every day." He frowned in a concerted manner. "It is something I simply cannot think you will do."

Kalim's lips pressed into a thin line, brow furrowed in frustration. "That's It's because..." he mumbled, tone going up and down as if trying to taste what was the most correct answer, "we need more training...I think?"

Jade tilted his head to the side. "You don't sound so sure."

"Yeah... I just..." he said, letting out a defeated sigh. He sat down on one of the rolled carpets, pulling his knees close to his chest. Jade sat beside him, eyes never left the confused prefect. "I'm not so sure myself. I think I've been spacing out. Jamil said that it's because I'm just getting tired because of my duties and all that... I've had a bad habit of falling asleep when I'm facing something difficult. My tutors and Jamil lecture me a lot when that happens..."

"And what difficult things do you mean, to be exact?"

"Things like the Magishift Tournament, the exams, and Scarabia being in the low ranking in tests. There's so much to think about that I just drifted off." He let out a weak chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm so hopeless, huh..."

"What about this training camp? Isn't this your idea?"

"Yeah, it was...I think..."

Another indecisive response. Jade didn't doubt that Kalim didn't know the true source of the problem, but this is going nowhere. Kalim left him with no other choice. It may be risky, but it worth trying.

"Ow!" Jade hissed, a hand reached covered his eyes.

Kalim turned to him, a bit startled. "What happened?

"I am sorry, it seems like something got in my eye," Jade said. He slowly turned to Kalim with still-covered eyes.

"Wait. I can blow the dust away." Kalim reached for Jade's face, one hand holding his chin. "Which eye?"