Key of Souls: Twisted Wonderland

Chapter 31: A Bird in the Gilded Cage

Trey's POV

It was late in the afternoon as I went to the library to return the recipe book I borrowed for making the tart; I also needed the time to recollect my thoughts over the events that happened during the Unbirthday Party. My heart felt heavy with guilt from seeing so many students getting beheaded by Riddle, how Ace and Deuce were punished by bringing a Mont Blanc, and how Riddle degraded Dawn for being in Night Raven College. I sat down at a nearby table and let out a sigh, I felt like there is nothing for me to do even if I tried.

As I was lost in thought, I felt something tugging on my sleeve; I looked down and noticed it was the plush doll that belonged to Dawn. "Kyu.", he squeaked as he climbed up on my shoulder.

"Perry? What are you doing here?", I asked the plush doll, instead of an answer, he began to tug on my ear and pointed in a certain direction. "Ow, ow. Okay, I'm going.", I told him as he continued to pull on my ear.

Following where Perry was pointing, I was led to a certain area of the library. To my surprise, there were Ace, Deuce, Grim, and Dawn sitting at one of the tables; Perry then jumped off my shoulder and went back to Dawn.

"Clover.", Deuce began to talk.

"Oh, it's you guys...", I said as I took a seat right in front of the group; the moment I saw Dawn, I felt my heart ache after learning what Riddle said to her. "We figured you'd come to the library to return the cookbook for the Mont Blanc and camped out here.", Deuce said. Dawn looked at me and let out a sigh and said, "Trey... we need to talk to you about something or about someone."

"We really can't agree with the way the Dorm Head is doing things.", Ace said. I figured that they were going to talk to me about Riddle sooner or later. "...I bet.", I replied. In all honesty, I don't have much to say about this.

"What do you think of him? Since you were kids, have you always been so subservient to him?", Ace asked me. I was surprised that they know about that so I asked, "Who did you hear that from?"

"From a guy named Che'nya.", Deuce answered.

"Che'nya... Ah, that guy.", I said, I never thought that these freshmen would meet someone like Che'nya, then again, he did like to pop up unexpectedly now and then to chat with me and Riddle.

"We just met with him and he told us how you, he, and Riddle were childhood friends. We don't mean to intrude on your personal life, but we needed to know more about Riddle and you might be able to tell us.", Dawn explained.

"Aren't you also older than Riddle? Just get angry with him.", Grim added. "Kyu!", Perry squeaked in agreement. I could see how irritated they were about me being lenient towards Riddle to let him act like this. So I said, "I'd do it if I felt it necessary. But... I can't bring myself to scold him."

"Why!?", asked Ace.

"Everything that Riddle is was "made" by following the rules.", I explained to the group. The boys and Dawn were shocked by what I just told them as they listened closely. "Huh?", Deuce went. I pushed up my glasses, took a moment to collect my thought, and began to tell them Riddle's story.

"In his homeland, there isn't a single person who hasn't heard of his parents, as Healers they're famous. His mother is especially exceptional and she wanted Riddle to be exceptional as well. So from dawn till dusk, his every move was decided for him, down to the smallest thing, as part of his study program.", I told them.

Grim was shocked from hearing all of this and asked, "Down... to the smallest thing?"

"Kyu!?", Perry squeaked in shock as well.

"From what he ate, what he wore, what he consumed, to his friends, everything was decided for him. Nevertheless, Riddle never said a word and strived to meet those expectations and perfected his Unique Magic at age 10. On top of that, he has maintained his spot at the top since elementary school. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult that must have been.", I said as I finished my story. Just telling them the reason was enough to make me remember how Riddle used to smile before when we were still together, but now... his mother has taken that smile away from him.

As I looked up, I saw how everyone who looked upset at the beginning, was now silent after hearing more about Riddle; especially Ace. Dawn then broke the silence by asking, "Then the reason he's like this is his parents' fault?" I could see in her eyes that she's understanding a bit more about Riddle now.

"Riddle thinks being bound by strict rules is for one's own benefit. He was bound by harsh rules and still became a leader, so he believes it works for anyone. Anyone can become like him. And that means breaking the rules is utterly unacceptable. I mean...", I tried to explain more to the group, but then...

"If he gives rule violation any sort of positive reaction, it means going against the way he was made... Right?", Ace said, finishing my sentence. I nodded my head; I felt nothing but guilt and sadness about what happened to my best friend.

"...I understand why you think he's a tyrant. And that his way of doing things is incorrect. But for me... I just can't bring myself to scold him.", I said.

"Ffnga...", Grim went, his ears drooped down a bit as he started to shed a few tears. I saw they everyone is starting to understand more about why Riddle is who he is now. Deuce had his head hung low and softly said, "The Dorm Head has a past like that...".

"Kyu...", Perry squeaked sadly. Ace was still silent after listening to me and had a very serious look on his face; I figured he was processing every I said up to now. Then he glanced up at me and said, "........After hearing all this, I finally understand. The way Dorm Head Riddle is now is your fault."

"Eh?", Me, Deuce and Grim exclaimed. Dawn however was silent as Ace continued what he was saying. "Riddle had no say who his parents were. But, you've at least thought that they were wrong for a while right?", he asked me.

"That's...", I began to speak, but Ace interrupted me.

"If you think that the Dorm Head is making the same mistakes his parents did, say so. Put him on the right track.", Ace said, while Dawn gently nodded her head in agreement. "What have you accomplished by feeling sorry for poor Riddle and indulging him? You're just going to watch while he becomes hated and isolated from everyone?" I just remained silent; as harsh as Ace's words were, everything he has been saying is the truth. Even if I couldn't be there for Riddle like before, I should have said something to help him in any way.

"H-hey... Ace!", Deuce began to chastise him.

"Trey, what he said is true and you know it. If you knew that Riddle is making a mistake, then you need to be the solution instead of the problem!", Dawn added on, giving me a firm look.

"Y-you too, Dawn!?", Deuce asked her.

"Or what? Are you keeping quiet 'cause you're afraid of losing your head?", Ace said and smirked at me. "So lame!! You're not childhood friends. You can't even call yourself his friend!"

"HEY! YOU ALL! BE QUIET IN THE LIBRARY!!!" We all nearly jumped from our seats and covered our ears from the sudden booming voice. To our surprise, it was none other than Headmaster Crowley who just appeared out of nowhere. Grim drooped his ears and gave the headmaster a deadpan look and said, "You're the loudest here."

"Oops, apologies.", Headmaster Crowley said, he coughed in embarrassment at his outburst and continued to quietly scold us. "My goodness, the library is for quiet study or reading." Dawn went up to the headmaster and gave an apologetic bow. "I'm so sorry, sir.", she said.

The headmaster nodded his head in approval. "I'm glad you understand. By the way, what are you all doing here with such grim faces?", he asked us. We all looked at each other for a moment before concluding and looking at him. "About that...", Deuce began to talk. Like that, we told the headmaster everything that happen to us today; I didn't know what to do, but Ace and Dawn were right, it's time I tried to find a solution to this.