A Fool's Guide to the In-Between [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

Chapter 30

... 𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝙔𝙀𝘼𝙍 𝙇𝘼𝙏𝙀𝙍 ...

The sun was shining and the morning was young. The sun had only just peeked over the horizon, and yet, even in the coldest wee hours of the morning, one young girl was awake. She sat in the crook of an oak tree, staring out at the world around her with an expression of multiple emotions adorning her face. Sorrow and joy, misery and bliss. 

The world was safe and had been for a year now. A year without nightmares of the Nowhere, a year without the fear of not knowing what might come the next day. A year that Y/N had spent at Night Raven College, making friends with the boys from Diasomnia, creating mischief with the beastmen in Savanaclaw, and having tea with her brother and his friends on days that she managed to escape. She met the boys of Pomefiore and Ignihyde, and of course, she remained close with the boys from Octavinelle and Heartslabyul. Even Ace and Deuce had become friends with her now, and Yuu had accepted his new place in the world of Twisted Wonderland, making a life for himself in the village on the island with Grim as his little assistant. Of course, they were always happy to bump into Y/N in the halls as they attended their classes, shouldering her or scaring her when they were able. Not that it was an easy task to scare a disappearing kitten.

Suddenly, her phone began to ring and she smiled when she saw her brother's picture appearing on the screen. She allowed it to ring for a moment more, before pressing the button to accept the call. She leaned back against the tree, pulled her stolen blanket tighter around her body, and lifted the phone to her mouth. 

"Y/N~" Che'nya cooed.

Y/N laughed at her brother and responded, "Meowning Che'nya~ How are you on this wonderful, wonderlandiful, splendid morning?"

"Pawsitively purr-fect o dear kitty twin of mine!"

Che'nya always called Y/N in the mornings now. Ever since the day a year ago when she had been corrupted by the Nowhere and nearly lost to everyone she held dear, Che'nya had made a habit of calling her. Not that Y/N complained. She liked being able to talk with her brother as if he was as much a part of Night Raven College as she was a part of Royal Swords Academy. 

"Are you ready for winter break," Che'nya asked. 

"Of course," Y/N purred. "I expect that Grandpaw already has the snicker of the doodles out for us."

"And the mouse in the clock?"

"And the train around the trees."

"Do you think Trey and Riddle will come over this year?"

Y/N hummed in thought. Maybe Trey would... he had last year. But she was almost certain that Riddle wouldn't. His mother was still the selfish and stuck-up woman that Y/N had known for the past eighteen years and showed no sign of cracking any time soon. She probably wouldn't let Riddle visit the Pinker residence for the holidays. 

"I doubt Riddle will," Y/N muttered, fiddling with a tassel on her afghan. 

"What about the diamond?"

Y/N smiled at the thought of her new-ish friend Cater the Diamond. "He already said that he would be visiting."

"Yay!"

Y/N giggled at her brother's excitement. He had met Cater a year ago after the whole Nowhere fiasco and the two had hit it off. Cater had spent nearly the entire summer at their home during their last break and the three had become incredibly close. 

"Well, I gotta go," Che'nya hummed after a moment. "Neige wants me to go with him and Rielle to the village. Apparently, they have a new boutique that he's excited about."