Twisted Wonderland Book 5: A Beauitful Tyrant

Chapter 65: A Fair Vignette

Briar soon opens her eyes and finds herself instantly in one of Vil's memories. She looks to find herself in a fancy room. Suddenly, Birar notices a young boy, and to her surprise, it must be Vil. Along with a grown man, Briar can suspect that he's Vil's father.

Vil happily says to his dad, "Dad! Dad! I passed the audition! I'm going to be in a musical school drama!"

"Congratulations, Vil!" Vil's Father happily says, proud of his son.

He then asks, "What are you playing this time?"

"Oh, the star... Well, the star's rival. It's another mean villain," Little Vil answers, doesn't sound very happy.

But Vil's Father says, "The director's got smarts, picking the cutest boy in the world as his villain."

"I was a villain bullying the hero in the last play I was in, too," Vil says, sounding a bit frustrated.

Then asks, "Why do I keep getting picked to play the bad guy? Do I really look that mean?"

"Oh, far from it," Vil's father says.

Then explains, "I think it's because you're an exceptionally beautiful, charming boy. Stories wouldn't have any dramatic flair without villains. They're an essential, special part of any production. Sometimes productions are more selective about their villain casting than their hero casting. You should be proud."

Young Vil nods his head, "Mm. I get it, Dad."

Then the memory disappears before Briar's eyes.

Then she hears the current Vil's voice, sounding frustrated, "But...villains never stay on stage for the whole play. Once their role is finished, all they do is watch from the shadows as the happy ending plays out. What I want is to stay on the stage longer than anyone else."

Suddenly, another memory appears. This time is of young Vil being surrounded by three kids.

One of the children calls out, "Hey, look! That's the guy who was bullying the hero on the TV show last night!"

"How can anyone be so mean? He must be pretty messed up," The second kid says.

Then the third kid says, "He looks like a wimp up close. Let's teach him not to treat the hero like that!"

Young Vil remains silent, but appears to be calm.

Suddenly, a young and yet familiar voice shouts, "HEY! You bullies better not even think of ganging up on him!"

Briar turns to see a young boy running towards them. To Briar's shock, the boy is very familiar, same skin color, same silver hair, and same wolf ears and tail.

Briar recognizes him instantly, "Jack...?"

Just then, the bullies begin to panic, "Aah! It's Jack! Run for it!"

All of them run away as Jack arrives on the scene.

Once they're gone, Jack turns to Vil and asks, "You're the new kid who just moved in, right? You okay?"

But Vil says, "I'm trained in boxing and fencing. I could've fended them off without your help."

"O-oh, really? Sorry for butting in, then," Jack apologizes.

Vil then says, "Heh... Don't be. Thank you. Those kids were trying to hold me accountable for a work of fiction. Silly boys, the lot of them."

"I don't watch much TV, so I'm not an expert on this stuff, but... It sounds to me like your acting was so convincing, they thought it was real," Jack replies.

"I suppose so," Vil says, "Then I'll win the lead role in my next audition and move them to tears."

And then, the memories disappear once more. Briar continues forward to find Vil. As she walks, Briar continues to hear his voice.