Twisted-Wonderland: Our Precious Treasure (Part 2)

(139) WA: One's Wish

The world was still dark when Ace was abruptly awakened by the sound of something knocking on his window. The ginger-haired boy woke up with a long, tired, grunt. He sat on the side of his bed and stretched his arms, hissing a bit when he could still feel the soreness from previous travels. The knocking never stopped, thus Ace got up and walked toward the windows. Pulling back the curtain, even through the foggy glass, he could see someone standing on the street below with very familiar blue hair and a magical wheel.

"Deuce?" Ace squinted his eyes. The guy still throwing pebbles toward his window. Yep, that's definitely Deuce. Anybody would stop throwing when the window owner had noticed them. Ace opened the windows, ducking a few seconds as a pure reflex when another pebble was thrown. "Hey, watch it!"

"Oh, you're awake." Deuce, waving his hand as if he didn't nearly hit Ace in the eye. "Hey, there."

Ace rolled his eyes before leaning against the window frame. "What are you doing here?"

"Well..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Are you free currently?"

Ace gave him a deadpan stare. "I just woke up."

"Oh, great." Deuce nodded. "Do you want to go somewhere? I know a good place to spend this morning."

"Aren't you busy before Wassailia?" Ace asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Probably. That's why we can go now. At least we can spend a small moment before the celebration."

Ace wanted to retort but seeing that small, stupid, smile on Deuce's face made him sigh. "Fine. Let me grab my jacket."

The ginger changed out his pajamas to a comfortable sweater, trousers, and a scarf. Walking out of his room and climbing down the stairs, he found his mother was cooking breakfast with grandma. From the smell, it seemed to be grandma's famous porridge and berry compote for breakfast.

"Ace?" His mother looked at him, wiping her hands with a napkin. "Well, you're wide awake."

Ace nodded. "A friend asked me to go with them."

"Right now?"

"They're an idiot."

"Is it the blue-haired cutie that brings you home?" There was a teasing smile on his mother's face as Ace's cheeks turned red.

"Mom!"

"Just kidding, just kidding." She waved her hand. "Just make sure they return you unscratched and before breakfast."

"Okay." After he wore his boots, he walked out the door and toward Deuce who was waiting.

"Here." Deuce threw a helmet at him, the same turtle shell-pattern helmet he wore during the rescue mission. Ace wore it wordlessly as he climbed behind Deuce who started his magical wheel. "Hold on tight, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah." Ace slid his arms around Deuce's torso, feeling less awkward than during the rescue mission aftermath. Riding a magical wheel with Deuce, minus the panic, was nice. Ace likes it.

They rode in silence through the early morning street of Rose Kingdom. Not many people were awake around these hours and even the shops weren't opened yet for the morning rush preparation. Deuce took them out of the residential area, down to the lower road where the trees were thicker and the houses became less, and then back up a hill, finally stopping smoothly on a small hill with railing on the edge

"We're here," Deuce said as Ace climbed down the magical wheel, "This is a good place to watch the sunrise."

Ace put the helmet in the backseat and he walked toward the railing, whistling at the view. The Rose Kingdom, despite its name, was a small kingdom. It's more like a city with a big castle instead of your common major building. From above, you can't really differentiate the three districts, leaving them with a beautiful city surrounded by the early morning mist.