A fairytale of a beautiful maiden, the beloved Frost Flower Princess was supposed to be staying in the comfort of her castle masquerading as a cage to protect her from the dangers outside, imprisoned by her own brothers.
That is, until a mysterious...
* "It's not my fault (mea culpa) If in God's plan (mea culpa)"
** Noble Bell College - Courtyard
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The firelotuses began to spread with terrifying speed, blooming in blazing clusters across the courtyard and devouring any path not yet touched by flame or vine.
"Wah!" Vanitas yelped, jumping back as a vine narrowly missed his foot. "Okay, that's new. The flora's getting handsy now."
"Eeep! The firelotuses are multiplying at ludicrous speed!" Idia shrieked, panic rising in his voice as his tablet hovered erratically behind him. Malleus and Y/n stood side by side, both narrowing their eyes at the encroaching flowers.
"Is everyone all right?" Malleus asked, his arm slipping protectively around Y/n's waist as she covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief.
"NO, NOT IN THE LEAST!" Ruggie's voice rang out in pure exasperation.
Everyone turned sharply. From a distance, they could see Ruggie and Jamil—now partially separated from the group—backed into a corner by an overwhelming number of firelotuses.
"Zut alors, Ruggie and Jamil have become quite separated from us!" Rook called out, concern lacing his voice.
"They're surrounded..." Y/n murmured, her voice chillingly cold as she stared down the wave of flowers closing in. Her magic crackled faintly in response.
"That's what happens when you foolishly decide to split off!" Vanitas snapped, his tone scathing. "Honestly, what part of stay together is so hard to understand?"
"We didn't choose to be separated!" Ruggie shot back, visibly irritated.
"We could go to their rescue, but it would take an inordinate amount of time to clear that many blooms..." Sebek admitted begrudgingly.
"...Fine, so be it," Jamil muttered. "Forget about us and keep going!" he suddenly demanded.
"What?!" Silver gasped.
"...Yeah, that's gotta be the play," Ruggie added solemnly.
"You can't expect us to leave you here!" Deuce shouted, horrified. "It'd be totally shameful if we just ditched our teammates!"
"This is no time to get hung up on worthless stuff like honor or team spirit!" Ruggie barked. "Or have you forgotten what Malleus said? Our only goal is for someone to ring the bell. If you guys stop to help us, we all lose, guaranteed. So you gotta pick the play that has a chance of winning, even if it's slim!"
