Twisted Wonderland: The Seven Treasures

Twisted Wonderland & The Apple of Beauty-Part 2

"You okay Vil?"
The Pomefiore Housewarden looked up from the book he was reading as Trey spoke, the green-haired young man standing in front of him.
"Yes," Vil repiled. "I'm alright."
"You look like you were up half the night."
"I can assure you, I was not." Vil said, closing the book.
Trey sat in front of Vil, adjusting his glasses as he looked at the book Vil was reading. "You're researching curses?" Trey asked.
"They're a fascinating subject," Vil repiled. "The only difference between a curse and a blessing is the intention behind it."
His fingers gently drummed the cover of the book. "And it seems my Signature Spell has caused some trouble in Pomefiore last night,"
Trey raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"You can't have missed it," Vil said. "Half of my dorm has not awoken this morning, all the trapped in their dreams. Rook has drawn the conclusion that it was most likely "Fairest One Of All". But without knowing how to end the curse has made it impossible to wake the students."
"Do the professors know?" Trey asked.
"Trein and Crewel already came to Pomefiore this morning to see if they could do anything," Vil said. "They're efforts did nothing."
Trey leaned back. "Wow. And here I was thinking Riddle's sleeping in this morning was weird."
Vil looked at Trey, narrowing his eyes. "Did you say Riddle slept in this morning?" He asked. "I don't think I've ever heard of Riddle being unpunctual before."
"He's just overworked, I think," Trey said. "He's been up late the last few nights, studying for exams."
"You know this because...?"
"He's my friend, so I was concerned," Trey said. "But I've also been having trouble sleeping lately. I keep having a nightmare about Riddle's Overblot and being too late to save him..."
"I see," Vil said. "That must have been extremely hard, seeing him Overblot in front of you."
Did Rook have nightmares of being too late? Would Vil have nightmares if he had to watch Epel or Rook Overblot?
Trey looked out the window, looking at the inner courtyard. "Honestly, it hurt more when Ace reminded me that as Riddle's friend I should have stopped his tyrant-like behaviour earlier."
He looked back at Vil. "Maybe then I could've helped Riddle earlier and avoided the Overblot all together."
Vil nodded. "Perhaps," he said. "But there's no need to wish for something to change now. It's in the past and things have changed for the better, haven't they?"
Trey grinned. "Yeah. I just don't want Riddle to push himself to that point again," he stood. "I know we don't have any classes for the rest of the weekend, so maybe I'll see you around campus?"
"Perhaps." Vil said, hearing footsteps as Trey left as he looked back at his book. That had been an odd exchange.
Running feet reached Vil and he looked up again to see Epel skid to a stop in front of his table. "Epel. Running indoors isn't proper." Vil started but Epel shook his head.
"This's important!" Epel said. "Crowley wants you out by the front gate now!"
Vil's mind jumped into overdrive. The front gate? What in the world was going on?
"Did he say why?"
Epel shook his head. "No. He got a letter and went as pale as snow before tellin' me to grab you and brin' you down to the front gate."
Vil made a note to remind Epel to correct his words later before standing. "Very well. Let's not keep the Headmage waiting then."
~~~~
Rook joined Vil and Epel, standing on Vil's right as they reached the front gate, just as a pair of white horses pulled a blue and white carriage up.
"Headmage. What is the meaning of a Royal Sword Academy carriage doing here?" Vil asked, recognizing the golden crest on the side of the carriage.
Crowley turned to look at Vil. "Why, we're hosting one of the RSA students for the weekend," he said. "Did I forget to mention this during the last Housewarden meeting?"
Vil tempered his irritation. "You did," he said, then looked back at the carriage. "But it doesn't matter. Which student are we hosting?"
The door opened and Vil took a half-step back as Neige stepped out of the carriage.
Suddenly it made sense as to why the Headmage had asked Vil to come and not one of the other Housewardens.
Vil felt a shiver run down his spine and carefully looked over his shoulder as Crowley welcomed Neige to NRC, spotting the figure hidden in the shadows.
"Vil! It's so good to see you again!" Neige said, drawing Vil's eyes back to the RSA student. "It feels like forever since the Vocal and Dance Competition, right?"
"Yes," Vil said, keeping his manners in check. "It's wonderful to see you as well, Neige."
This can't be good, Vil thought. How am I supposed to wake up Pomefiore if I have to keep an eye on Neige?
And why was that shadow watching us?