Twisted Wonderland: The Seven Treasures

Twisted Wonderland & The Queen's Card-Part 5

  "...me? Excuse me?"
  A soft vice broke through the darkness in Riddle's mind, prompting him to open his eyes slowly.
  A young boy stood next to Riddle, looking a bit puzzled. "I don't mean to be rude," he said. "But you're asleep at my desk."
  "Oh," Riddle said, sitting up. "Sorry. I didn't realize I had fallen asleep."
  "It's alright," the boy said, sitting next to Riddle and opening a textbook in front of him. "I used to fall asleep here too. But then Mother would get mad at me so I learned not to fall asleep."
  "Are the lessons boring?" Riddle asked.
  The boy shook his head. "Not really. It's just memorizing all of the rules that's hard," he said. "There are so many of them and if I mess one up, Mother makes me start from the beginning."
  Something about the boy was beginning to nag at Riddle, but he couldn't put his finger on it. It was like a distant memory, covered by fog.
  "Mister?" The boy suddenly asked, snapping Riddle out of his thoughts. "I was wondering something," he pointed at Riddle. "Is that a magepen? Like the one you get at Night Raven College?"
  "Hm? Oh, this?" Riddle asked, pulling his magepen out of his breast pocket. "Yeah. It's a magepen."
  "Wow," the boy said, lowering his finger. "I wanna get into Night Raven College someday. Then I can show everyone how strong I am!"
  The memory was beginning to clear and Riddle was almost certain he knew who the boy was but before he could ask...
  "Riddle?" A stern voice asked, making the young boy and Riddle turn.
  Riddle felt his mouth go dry and swallowed. "Mother?" He asked softly as the figure turned towards the young boy.
  "Yes Mother?' He asked. "Was there something you wanted me to do now?"
  "I want you to write down all of the Queen's Laws twice before dinner," the figure said. "No mistakes. Understood?"
  "Yes Mother." The young boy said, sounding disappointed.
  The figure left the room and Riddle turned back to the young boy as he looked out of the iron barred window.
  "You...you're Riddle?" Riddle asked the boy.
  "Yeah, but," the boy turned to look at Riddle. "You turned when Mother said my name. So are you Riddle?"
  Riddle nodded, surprised that he was facing his younger self. "I am." He said.
  "So you're my future self?" Young Riddle asked, his eyes shining. "You've gotta tell me about Night Raven College then! Is it everything I, we, imagined it was? How's life in the dorm? I bet we were put into something awesome! We're probably the strongest on campus too!"
  "Riddle," Riddle started gently. "I don't...We..."
  The light in Young Riddle's eyes faded and he looked down. "Oh. I guess I shouldn't know about that kind of stuff. Would make me look weird if I knew which dorm I was gonna be placed in before I even got into Night Raven College."
  "I'm sorry," Riddle said, though he wasn't sure why he was apologizing to his younger self. "You're gonna do great at Night Raven College, Riddle. You'll be the headwarden of a dorm and Trey's gonna be there beside you."
  "Trey?" Young Riddle 's eyes widened. "I haven't seen him since the incident with the tart..."
  "Yeah, Trey. And you're gonna meet lot's of other really good friends. Cater, Ace Deuce, even students outside of your dorm," Riddle said. "And they're gonna help you out of some tough spots."
  Young Riddle looked up at Riddle, his eyes filled with wonder and awe. But before he could ask another question, a door appeared behind the two, making them turn.
  "I think that's for me," Riddle said, standing. "Take care of yourself kid. I believe in you."
  He walked over to the door and laid a hand on the knob.
  "Sir?" Young Riddle asked, making him turn around. His younger self was standing up now, looking down at his feet.
  "Yeah?"
  Young Riddle looked up. "Will I ever see you again?" He asked, tears forming in his eyes.
  "Of course you will," Riddle replied. "Every time you look in the mirror, you'll see me."
  His younger self sniffled then ran forward, hugging Riddle tightly. "I don't want you to go," he pleaded. "You're going back to where the monsters are."
  "I know," Riddle said, rubbing his younger self's head. "But you're gonna face your own monsters too. And you're gonna have to be brave when you face them. But you're not gonna be alone. You'll have friends to stand beside you."
  "What if Mother takes them away as well?"
  Riddle knelt in front of himself and whipped the tears away. "She'll never take anything away from you again," he said gently. "And if she tries, you're gonna stand up and say "not this time Mother". And if she tries again, you're gonna keep standing up for yourself. One day, she'll realize we're not a child anymore and that we make our choices now."
  Young Riddle sniffled again, rubbing his eyes. "Okay," he said. "I'll try. I'm gonna grow up and be great like you!"
  "Good boy." Riddle said, ruffling his hair before standing.
  Taking a deep breath, Riddle turned the knob and swung the door open, becoming enveloped in a white light.
~~~~~
  The smell of smoke ranged across the field, patches of grass still smouldering.
  "Hahahaha!" Overblot Riddle laughed, firing off a round of blasts towards Ace and Deuce.
  "Split Card!" Cater exclaimed, clones appearing in front of the blasts, protecting the two freshmen.
  "How much longer can you keep going?" Trey asked, coughing into his sleeve.
  "Not much longer," Cater said, breathing heavily. "I'm runnin' out of juice here."
  "How about you two?" Trey asked, looking at Ace and Deuce.
  Ace shook his head. "Any more and we'll end up overbloting." He said.
  "Okay," Trey said. "I can manage one more spell."
  "You're not gonna try using Doodle Suit on this world, are you?" Deuce asked. "You're strong, but not that strong. It'll tear you apart!"
  "I'm not going to sit back while Riddle's in danger," Trey said. "So I'm willing to sacrifice everything I can."
  "That's not necessarily Trey," Riddle said, walking over and placing a hand on Trey's shoulder. "You've all done what you could and now I'm taking this on. You get some rest."
  "Housewarden!" Ace and Deuce cried.
  "Riddle. You're alright?" Trey asked.
  Riddle nodded. "Yes Trey. I'm alright. Just had to catch my breath."
  He turned to look at his Overblot form. "And now I will end this."
  Leaving the four of them behind, Riddle began running towards the hovering figure, withdrawing his magepen.
  "Why won't you die?" Overblot Riddle yelled, raining down fire at Riddle.
  Maintaining a steady pace, Riddle continued running forward, the blasts hitting the ground around him before Riddle sent a pair of his own blasts forward.
  Overblot Riddle grimaced and blocked the blasts but in the smoke, he lost sight of Riddle.
  "It's time to give you your sentence. The verdict comes afterwards," Riddle said calmly, suddenly behind Overblot Riddle. "Are you ready? Off With Your Head!"
  "Off With Your Head!" Overblot Riddle cried, turning just in time to match Riddle.
  The spell's hit each other with a blast that tore a crater into the ground between the two of them.
  Overblot Riddle glowered at Riddle as the spell canceled out. "How is this possible?" He asked. "I am the Queen's Card! How can you best me?"
  "You're not just the Queen's Card," Riddle said. "After all, the form you've most commonly taken is mine."
  "What?"
  "Every time you're not tricking someone into thinking you're someone else, you take the form of my Overblot," Riddle said, extending his hand out to the side. "So it stands to reason that you're me as well. So," he moved his hand to reach out to Overblot Riddle. "Come home."
  The Queen's Card looked at the extended hand then began to laugh, darkness gathering around. "Home? I chose this form because you were strong like this!" He cried. "I couldn't care less about you as a person! You don't deserve to give me your sympathy, Riddle Rosehearts! You're weak! Pathetic! And you certainly don't deserve to have your precious "friends" to watch out for you!"
  Flora magic washed over the area, causing rose vines to grow up and wrap around Riddle's arms, the thorns cutting into the fabric, trapping him in place.
  "Riddle!" Trey cried, trying to stand but falling back down, his muscles refusing to obey.
  "Say goodbye to everything you hold dear," Overblot Riddle told Riddle. "I'll make sure nothing remains of them in anyone's memories! You will be alone and friendless, just like me!"
  He turned his back to Riddle and raised his arms, magic gathering in his palms.
  Riddle strained against the vines. No. He wouldn't let it end like this. Everyone would go back to Night Raven College and he was going to make sure it happened.
  The vines stretched out then snapped, sending Riddle forward, grabbing The Queen's Card in a hug.
  "You're not alone," Riddle said softly. "You may have felt that way, but you don't have to be alone anymore."
  The magic was still gathering, but Overblot Riddle was beginning to tremble. "I know it hurts," Riddle continued. "You spent a long time in the dark, wanting a chance to make friends. But it's worse to destroy a chance than to take it."
  "You don't know what it feels like. To be alone for years." The Queen's Card said, but Riddle nodded.
  "I do," he said. "I lost Trey and Che'nya and I spent every day after that alone, trying to be perfect. But that's over now. I have my friends now. I have Trey, Cater, Ace, Deuce and more at Night Raven."
  The magic faded away as The Queen's Card began crying, dropping to the ground, Riddle releasing him then standing in front of him.
  "I...I thought if I could control what people saw, everyone would want to be my friend," Overblot Riddle said, calming down slightly after a moment. "But they still...they didn't..."
  "No one wants to be controlled," Riddle said. "So I'm not going to force you to do anything. But," he extended his hand to The Queen's Card. "If you're willing, I'll be your friend."
  "You'll just hand me over to Crowley," The Card sniffed. "I'll be locked away again."
  "You will be locked away. But I won't let it be forever," Riddle assured him. "I'll do everything I can to make sure you're never put in the darkness alone again."
  The Queen's card nodded, taking Riddle's outstretched hand. "Okay," he said, standing up. "I'll trust you, Riddle."
  "Thank you," Riddle said. "Now, let's all go home."
  The Queen's Card nodded and the illusory world shattered.