Key of Souls: Twisted Wonderland

Chapter 36: Memories of the Heart

3rd POV

Dawn slowly opened her eyes and was astonished by what she is now seeing; she was no longer in the Rose Maze of the Heartslabyul Dorm and was in the dining room of someone's home. "Huh!? Where am I?", she asked herself, wondering how she got here in the first place. As she got closer to the table, she saw an adorable little boy taking sitting on one of the chairs. Her eyes widen as she got a good look at his face.

"R-Riddle!?", she said softly, recognizing that this was Riddle when he was just a child. Just then, a woman walked up to him and placed a small cake right in front of him. "Happy eighth birthday, Riddle.", she said to him. "Your birthday cake this year is a low-sugar, high-lecithin cake made with soy flour and nuts." Dawn wanted to gag at the thought of having a cake like that on her birthday, then she noticed that the woman had features similar to Riddle's and softly gasped.

"Could this woman be Riddle's mother?", she asked, it doesn't seem like she could be seen or heard by them.

"Thank you, Mama. But, umm, I...", Young Riddle began to say. He looked very hesitant as he tried to find the right words, but had a hopeful look in his eyes and a small smile. "Just once, I really want to try a tart covered in bright red strawberries..." His mother let out a gasp and looked like he had lost his senses. "How could you say such a thing! That pastry is a mound of sugar that's more like poison. One slice will exceed your ideal daily intake of carbohydrates.", she said as she brought the cake closer to him. Dawn was aghast by what she just heard from this woman spouting out nonsense over a pastry; she thought that if she was seen, she would give this woman a piece of her mind.

"Today, we're having a tuna sauté with plenty of docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acid.", she said but stepped back as she turned away from her son and began to think. "Aah, but at age eight, your ideal caloric intake is less than 600 calories per meal, so don't eat more than 100 grams." She asked, turning back to Riddle. "Alright?"

Riddle's smile dropped and he hung his head. He nodded his head and softly said, "...Yes, Mama." Dawn was appalled by how controlling his mother was; she couldn't believe that she would control his diet like that as a child. "Is this what Riddle had to go through each day!?", she asked.

"For so long, a strawberry tart was what I wanted to eat.", a voice said beside her. She turned around to see that it was Riddle; he was back to normal, but he doesn't seem aware that Dawn was right beside him. "In the cake shops around town, they're on display in the window, tarts that looked like jewels." The scene soon changed to Riddle sitting at the table with several textbooks and papers with him; his mother was hovering over him as he did his lessons.

"Let's end your classical magic studies here for today. You have until tomorrow to review the magical ethics that you learned today and get through page 50 of your language philosophy text. To that end, I'll give you an hour to study for your next potions lesson.", his mother said.

"Yes, Mother.", young Riddle said, with a serious look. His mother smiled brightly and patted his head. "Your mother has an errand to run, so I'll be back in an hour.", she told him as she left the dining room. As soon as she let, Riddle was trying his hardest not to cry as he read another textbook; seeing this made Dawn's heart tighten at what he went through.

"My every moment was crammed to the brim with every possible discipline. Time spent learning extended until I could do it. But for me, this was "normal". ", Riddle said as he looked on. Dawn was saddened that this was Riddle's way of living under the expectations of his mother, how she wanted her son to be the perfect child. "This is just not right...", she muttered softly.

Suddenly, a tap on the window broke Riddle's concentration as he looked up from his textbook. "...Someone is knocking at the window?", Young Riddle stood up from his seat and went to the window. Dawn got a closer look and saw that the people standing outside were young Trey and Che'nya.