Twisted Wonderland

Taking Responsibility

A few days later, you and the SDC boys meet in the lounge to Ramshackle. You try to pay attention but your mind is still on Grim, worried if he's okay.

Jamil leans back into the couch. "I thought the NRC Tribe had been disbanded. The culture fair is over, after all."

Rook chuckles. "Non. Vil chose to simply put it on indefinite hiatus."

Jamil rolls his eyes. "Okay, if that's what you want to call it. Regardless, this was sudden."

"Yeah!" Kalim grins. "I didn't expect to get an NRC Tribe message calling us out to Ramshackle after class. Is something going on, Vil?"

Vil stands. "Thank you all for coming. Grim couldn't make it, of course... but there's nothing to be done about that at the moment."

You look to the floor, hugging your arms. Everyone looks to you. The bandages still wrapped around your arm. Deuce places a supportive hand to your back.

"There are some important matters I wanted to discuss with you all." Vil takes a deep breath. "First, I'll touch on what happened the day of SDC. Allow me to apologize for betraying your trust."

Ace tilts his head. "Huh?"

Vil folds his arms, not daring to look at you. "I realized we would lose, and my solution was to curse my rival. It was the ugliest possible thing I could've done. I am truly sorry."

"Goodness." Epel rubs the back of his neck. "I'm not used to Vil apologizing like that."

Jamil shrugs. "Well, at least your curse didn't succeed, right?"

"Yeah!" Kalim nods. "You didn't harm a single hair on Neige's head."

"That's only because you, Y/N, and the rest of the group stopped me." Vil looks to the floor sadly. "Yet I still hurt you when I overblotted. That incident could've ended my life. Or any of yours."

Vil pauses before he continues. "You exhausted your magical reserves fighting me, then had to immediately perform. No matter how determined you were, I highly doubt you were able to give one hundred percent."

"That's not true!" Epel shakes his head. "I thought it was our best performance ever!"

Deuce nods. "I agree. Vil, we crushed it out there!"

Ace tilts his head. "Well, crushed it is kinda subjective."

"Are you really going to debate this?" Deuce asks.

Ace rolls his eyes. "Okay, yes, we fought for our lives and won, then lucked out big time when Malleus fixed the stage for us. Then we busted our tails and got through the whole performance, start to finish. It was incredible, and I agree we did the best we'd ever done. That said..."

"You mean just because we were happy with it, doesn't mean the audience was." Jamil finishes the thought.

"Ace and Jamil have the right of it." Vil states. "I've been reviewing our show recording with a more critical eye. And it's apparent we weren't performing at even half our usual level. Positioning was sloppy, kicks weren't reaching their full height, even your fingers were all over the place. Which makes sense, given the battle you'd just fought. It was the best you could have done, yes. But you weren't AT your best. It was critical for you to be at your best when you performed, and I failed to make that happen. Our loss at SDC is entirely on me."

Vil scoffs. "Some leader I turned out to be.

The room goes quiet. You can feel your heart aching for him.

"Vil, I understand your point." Jamil says. "But as we saw during our SDC rehearsal, Neige's group was already popular. Our performance wasn't going to change that. If we'd been at our best, that doesn't mean we would've performed perfectly. And even if we had, we still could've lost. You can't always beat someone that popular with hard work or a solid performance."

"Jamil's right." Kalim nods. "You don't have to worry, Vil. It's not your fault!"

Vil sighs. "I suppose. Though bear in mind, Neige's group has struggled and worked hard as well. I dismissed their performance in the heat of the moment when I first saw it, but... Endearing yourselves to the masses and impressing them with skill are equally valid approaches. We simply emphasized different things. None of you have an inkling how much work Neige's group put in, do you?"

"What do you mean by that?" Epel asks.

"The first time I co-starred in a movie with Neige, he would always leave and say he had chores to do, while I stuck around for rehearsal. It made me SO angry. I judged him for coasting on his natural talent. But later, I learned something. Those kids Neige performed with at SDC? He's lived with them for years. They've all been supporting each other without any help since long before he and I met."

Deuce's eyes widen. "Whoa. You mean like since his child actor days?"

"Yes." Vil nods. "I don't know the particulars beyond that, mind you. He would do his chores, attend rehersal, then go home and do more chores. He'd practice in what spare time he could find. And yet he'd always greet me with a cheerful, singsongy 'good morning'. I can't imagine how hard he's had it. After all, my life's been quite different."

Epel holds his arm. "Golly..."

"Neige has never divulged his personal history to the press." Vil looks to Rook. "But I'm guessing you knew the truth, Rook?"

"Oui. Much of Roi des Neige's charm comes from his endearing smile. But it's also the smile of someone who's overcome untold hardships." Rook explains. "That's why so many people are drawn to it. I also hear he donates most of his pay to charity."

"You certainly have the inside scoop." Vil sadly smirks. "I'm fairly certain that fact hasn't been made public either."

"It's well-known among his most dedicated fans." Rook answers.

"I see." Vil waves a hand. "Well, I have it on good authority that he donated his SDC prize money too. To aid underprivileged children with their futures."

Kalim runs a hand through his hair. "I had no idea they'd been through all that together..."

Vil sighs. "There, you see? If you had known of Neige's background before SDC... Would you have fought to win? Could you have voted for yourselves in good conscience? Would you have been able to judge Neige's group on merit alone, without sympathy getting in the way?"

Jamil hums. "I won't speak for the otherhs, but Kalim definitely couldn't have done that."

Kalim throws him an indignant look. "Hey, that's not true... I mean... Oof, this is hard."

Ace scoffs. "I still woulda voted for myself in a heartbeat. SDC isn't a competition for saddest backstory. It's about who performs best on stage."

"And there you've struck the heart of the matter." Vil says.

Ace quirks an eye. "I have?"

"You. Me. Neige." Vil waves a hand at everyone. "Everyone on that stage has their own story. Which is why results are what matters in show business."

Epel tilts his head. "Oh..."

"NRC Tribe's performance lost to Royal Sword Academy's." Vil shrugs. "That's all there is to it. And my actions had a direct, negative impact on us. It was a blunder of epic proportions. So I'd like to offer you all a token of apology."

"But Vil," You say. "You've already apologized enough."

Vil softly smiles. "Thank you, Y/N, but let me say this. Do you recall what was written on the SDC recruitment poster?"

"Uh, lemme think..." Ace scratches his neck. "Something about your shot at the big time."

"It also mentioned a fifty thousand thaumark prize to be split among the winners." Deuce adds.

Vil nods. "Precisely. That was to entice people to audition. Since I was responsible for our team losing out on the prize money, I'll be paying out the fifty thousand myself."

The room goes silent.

"WHAT?"