In Bloom (Twisted Wonderland x OC)

35: True Colors

"How long have you all been hiding there?!" Jamil exclaimed.

"Since the beginning," Jade answered, "After you and Cassie left the lounge, Azul has broadcasted your entire conversation on his MagiCam. Over five thousand people have tuned in."

A group of residents walked towards us and begged for an explanation from Jamil for his actions.

Scarabia's Vice-Dorm Leader tried to come up with an excuse, but he could not put together one solid sentence.

"You cannot talk your way out of this," Azul said, "You hypnotizing Cassie is undeniable proof of your involvement in the chaos in Scarabia. You are the one responsible for brainwashing Kalim."

While the residents resorted to throwing accusations at Jamil, there was one person who refused to believe it all.

"Jamil...please tell me this is some kind of prank," Kalim nervously laughed, "You'd never try to manipulate me or try to throw me out, right? You wouldn't betray me."

Jamil laughed hysterically, "For as long as I can remember...your idiotic, carefree, friendly attitude, I've hated it! You flit about without a care in the world about everything you put me through. I won't sugar coat it. I've wished every single day for you to just disappear!"

"Cassie..."Grim wrapped his paws around my leg, but my gaze remained fixed straight ahead.

"Call to her all you want, she's under my control now," Jamil's magical potential began to grow, "I never intended for things to go this far, but I can't turn back now."

He directed his unique magic towards the residents, turning them into his mindless servants. In a matter of seconds, he had the entire Scarabia dormitory under his influence.

I noticed the blue sky darkened to a shade of crimson at Jamil's exceeding magical use.

"Jamil, if you keep going, you will exceed your blot limit," Jade warned, "This must be stopped!"

"Don't order me around!" Jamil shouted, "I will never listen to anyone again! I will be free!"

Swirls of ebony ink decorated Jamil's arms and face. His lengthy locks of hair became snakes. His clothes, fit for a sultan, became darkened and tattered. An monstrous shadow that embodied a snake hovered from behind Jamil.

"Jamil, stop!" Kalim pleaded, "You can be Housewarden and I'll go home! Just let everyone go!"

"As long as you are alive, I am bound to you," Jamil's clenched fists radiated with magic, "This ends now!"

I suggested, "Master Jamil, if you end Kalim's life, the Viper name will get tainted. Why not send them far away from here?"

"Cassie! You need to snap out of it!" Grim urged.

Jamil pondered on my recommendation before he chuckled, "Cassie, you truly are a diamond in the rough," he turned his attention to the group, "Con artists and incompetent kings, I have no use for any of you! To ends of the earth with you and never return!"

-------------------

With Jamil's magic, Azul, Jade, Floyd, Grim, and Kalim were sent to the outskirts of Scarabia's territory. With no broom or magic carpet available, it would take hours to return to their dormitory on foot. The harsh cold would not make the returning journey any easier.

"This is all my fault," Kalim croaked, "I drove him into a corner without realizing it. He's always helping me and is reliable. He was always a good guy."

Floyd countered, "If Sea Snake was such a good guy, he wouldn't launch us to a place like this. to begin with."

"If someone betrayed me like that," Jade said with a warm grin, "I would use every word in my vocabular to mentally and emotionally break them, tie them up, and drown them in the sea."

"Sea Snake basically stabbed you in the back and then tried to frame you," Floyd reminded him, "He just sucks."

"Jamil probably built a grudge over the years," Azul considered, "You have caused trouble for him ever since you were children. However, you did nothing wrong. You were born into a higher status than others and were loved by everyone around you. You may not have been aware of the greed you showed."

Grim added, "Since Jamil was a servant, he probably had no say in anything either."

As a child, Jamil always had to obey the Asim family's orders, particularly Kalim's. He was the servant, and Kalim was his master. One of his earliest memories was seeing his parents bow before Kalim's parents.

He was not supposed to outshine anyone else. He was not supposed to show what he was truly capable of. He was not supposed to score higher than Kalim on an exam.

He was the servant and Kalim was his master. He was meant to spend his life living according to the expectations of others.

Jamil was supposed to keep his head down and obey.

Kalim nodded in understanding, "Jamil truly is the bad guy... I'm going to punch him and call him a traitor!"

"One punch is not enough! I say we make him march to the oasis and back ten times!" Grim proposed.

"Then we need to get back quickly," Kalim said with determination, "We shouldn't forget that Jamil has a grip on Cassie."

Azul chuckled, "Believe me, Cassie is the last person you need to worry about."

"How could you say that?! We don't know what things Jamil could be doing to her!"

With a mischevious smile, Grim said, "You should be more worried about the things Cassie is going to do to Jamil."

"You see, Cassie is not the type of person to go into a situation completely unprepared. She quickly learns  and understands how people work, which makes her extremely dangerous," Azul assured Kalim, "Everything that we have done has all been part of her plan...including her acting to be hypnotized." 

"The crystal Cassie wears also has a protection spell, so any magic you throw at her will be useless," Grim folded his arms over his chest and a crooked grin appeared on his face, "I've said it before and I'll say it again, my mistress is not someone to take lightly."

"Right about now, Cassandra should be in the final act of her performance," Jade added, "We should start heading back."

"How are we going to get there? Power walking?" Floyd sarcastically commented.

"If there was a river, we could swim back, but all bodies of water have dried up."

"Will swimming be faster than flying?" Kalim wondered.

"If Jade and Floyd are in their true forms, they can swim faster than a broom can fly," Azul said "However, it's impossible for us to retrieve a dried up river."

"I can do that."

"What?!" the Octavinelle group gasped in shock.

"My unique magic lets me summon lots of water," Kalim explained, "It's kind of useless since we have plumbing here, but it can quickly fill up a dried river."

While Kalim never considered his unique magic to be anything spectacular, Azul was in awe, "That is exceptional magic for places that don't have reliable water sources! That's....that's...that's profitable!"

"Forgive Azul's minor tangent," Jade told Kalim, "Will you do us the honors?"

With his unique magic spell, a previously dried up river filled up to the brim with Kalim's water. Jade and Floyd jumped in and turned into their forms as eels. With Kalim and Grim holding onto Floyd and Azul hanging onto Jade, the group speedily coasted through the river and headed back to the dormitory.