Key of Souls: Twisted Wonderland

Chapter 21: Black Drops and Unique Magic

Dawn's POV

"Heh! Dorm Leader!", Ace shouted in both fear and shock when he realized the Dorm Leader, Riddle Rosehearts, was standing right behind him. He was looking down on at Ace with his cold, stern silver eyes and his arms crossed. After overhearing what Ace said about him earlier, I could easily tell he was very angry right now.

"Oh my, Riddle. You're looking super crazy cute today~", Cater said with a bright smile while trying to ease the situation. However, the Dorm Leader saw right through his charade and told him, "Hmph. Cater, if you talk too much, it's going to cost you your head."

"Hey now, gimme a break~!", Cater pleaded slightly. I had to admit, even I found him quite intimidating as I remembered the stern look he gave me at the entrance ceremony. The way he spoke and how he presented himself, gave off a strong aura of authority like a ruler of a country.

"Ffgna! This is the guy who put that weird collar on me during the entrance ceremony!", shouted Grim as he recognized the boy. I quickly covered his mouth so he couldn't talk like that toward Riddle. "Grim!", I chastised him. Suddenly, I felt the sharp gaze of someone looking at me, I looked up to see that it was Riddle who was staring at me like I was a parasite of this school.

"You're the freshmen that caused all that fuss of expulsion yesterday. Will you please refrain from calling someone's Unique Magic a "weird collar"?", Riddle asked as he crossed his arms. "For goodness sake, the headmaster is soft. If you forgive rule breakers, the whole system will collapse. All you have to do is cut the head off of those who don't follow the rules."

"The things coming out of his mouth don't suit his looks...", Ace whispered.

"The headmaster appears to have forgiven you, but make no mistake the next time it happens, I will not.", Riddle tells us.

I could only nod my head in agreement since I was still feeling nervous from his intense nature. By then, Ace gave a half-forced smile and looked at Riddle and asked, "...By the way, Dorm Leader, is there any way... you could say, remove this collar?"

"I was going to if you learned your lesson, but the way you were just talking shows that you haven't learned at all. Keep it on for a while longer.", Riddle answered him; Ace's smile dropped the instant he heard that. He then explained, "Don't worry, as first years, you'll only be learning fundamentals, not actually using magic. You won't be able to cause a scene like yesterday, isn't it great? Now, don't just sit around chatting away, finish lunch and head to your next class. Laws of the Queen of Hearts #271: "One should eat lunch and leave their seat within 15 minutes". If you break the rules... I'm sure you'll understand what happens next?"

"Haah, another weird rule...", Ace muttered.

"The answer is, "Yes, Dorm Leader!", Riddle commanded. Both Ace and Deuce sat up tense like soldiers and responded, "Yes, Dorm Leader!"

"Very good.", Riddle nodded his head with approval.

At this point, Trey walked over to Riddle's side. "Now, now. I will look after them for you.", he said reassuringly.

"...Hm. You're the Vice Dorm Leader, so I expect you to not act foolishly.", Riddle said to Trey. Then he focuses his attention on me and said, "And as for you..." My whole body tensed up the moment he started to address me. "Yes, Dorm Leader?", I said with nervousness. "Do not expect any form of special treatment despite being a female; even without magic, you will oblige by the rules of this academy as the other students, so make sure that you present yourself better than how you were at the entrance ceremony. Do you understand?", he asked me as he gave me a cold, hard glare.

As much as I hated being called out like that, I knew I needed to mind my manners, so I replied, "Yes, Dorm Leader."

"Good.", Riddle approved. "Following the Laws of the Queen of Hearts #339: "After a meal, one must always drink Lemon Tea with two sugars." I must go by sugar cubes from the school store, so I'll be on my way." Riddle looked upset right before he started to leave. "Letting the sugar cubes run out is a huge offence, I can't believe...", he muttered as he walked out of the cafeteria. But as soon as he was out of our sight...