[Discontinued*] The Darling Princess [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

🥀 Chapter 22

"That's the same collar that the red-haired upperclassmen put on me during the entrance ceremony," Grim said, staring at the black and red collar around Ace's neck.

It seemed extremely uncomfortable, and Y/N bit her lip as she sat on the couch. Surely, there must be a better way to go about removing someone's magic, like cuffs around the wrist or something. A collar couldn't be comfortable in any way, especially one like the one that Ace was wearing.

"Why do you have something like that on," Grim asked, curious as to how the Heartslaybul resident had managed to attain a collar.

"I ate a tart," Ace said simply, sitting down on the couch next to Y/N and pouting terribly. Y/N suddenly had an image of a three-year-old ace pouting in a similar fashion simply because he couldn't have a sweet.

"A tart," Yuu asked. He was sitting on an armchair across from a run-down coffee table. He had shuffled around for a good deal, trying to find a spot that didn't have springs poking him, and eventually, Y/N had taken pity on the boy and had cast a quick repair spell that allowed him to sit comfortably.

"Yup, just that," Ace said miserably, crossing his arms over his chest. "I was hungry when I got back to the dorm, so I checked the fridge and there were tarts chilling inside. Three whole tarts! So..."

Flashback:

A tired Ace wandered into the Heartslaybul kitchen, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion. The events of the day had left him feeling knackered, and hungry.

"Huuhh," he groaned, rubbing his stomach, "I'm exhausted on day one. And I missed out on dinner. So hungry..."

The Heartlslaybul kitchen was a curiously decorated room, with shelves that all leaned this way and that, holding large teapots with three spouts, some seemingly normal teapots, enough teacups to give tea to an entire Rose Kingdom army, and a bountiful amount of pots and pans that hung from a small rack over a table in the middle of the kitchen. The counters were, thankfully, somewhat normal, holding everything that one would need to cook something with. The wallpaper was a chequered diamond pattern of two shades of red, and behind that, was a group of banners decorated with roses.
    Ace crossed the room in a few strides and pulled open the fridge, wondering if there was any food that he could have.

"In the fridge, we have..." His eyes narrowed in on three luscious tarts, decorated with perfect shimmering strawberries and sugar. "Ah, tarts! These look good!" He lifted one of the tarts from the fridge and set it down on the table. He quickly located a knife and started to cut a piece of one of the tarts, placing the rest of it back in the fridge.

"There's so much, nobody's gonna notice one piece missing." He leaned back against the table and speared the tart with a fork, lifting it to his lips. "Thanks for the meal!"

As the tart touched his lips, Ace's eyes widened in shock. The tart was absolute perfection. The crust was crumbly and nearly melted as soon as it touched Ace's tongue. The filling of the tart was sweet with a hint of tang which made his taste buds sing with joy at finally consuming something, and the strawberries on top were cold and added a beautiful contrast in texture to the rest of the smooth tart.

"Wow! This is amazing!"
    "Of course it's delicious. Trey does not make tarts that are anything less than the best," a voice said from behind Ace.

The newcomer was a shorter boy, much shorter than Ace, with bright red hair decorated with a small golden crown that had been placed slightly off to the side. He was dressed in a suit that one might have thought belonged to a prince, crafted from pristine white fabric and lavishly decorated. A chequered black and white sash ran across his torso, and across his hips was a yellow and black sash, held in place by a white pin with a red ruffle around the rim, and a golden heart in the centre. A cloak was draped over his left shoulder, red on the inside, black on the outside, which matched perfectly with the red and black heart that acted as the neckline for the jacket. His sleeves were folded up to reveal a red fabric underneath, and black gloves that covered the boy's hands, similar to the black thigh-high black heeled boots that he was wearing.