Down the Rabbit Hole... To A Brighter Place

Knave of Hearts

My Pov

Singing... the smell of paint mixed with rose, or the smell of roses with paint... red and white roses and... cards? Cards singing and painting... the roses? Painting the roses red? The Queen of Hearts? Is this her world? That girl... why is this scene so familiar?

...

...

...

I woke to the sound of knocking. I groggily opened my eyes and looked at the clock. It was just past three in the morning.

"Kokomi-nee, who's at the door?" Ran asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Myaaah... I don't know, but we need to see who it is." Grim said. I staggered out of bed and headed to the door.

"Who is it?" I called out.

"It's me, Ace. Just let me in, all right?" the person answered. Ace? What was he doing here so late? I opened the door as Ran, Grim and the others came down.

"Ace? It's the middle of the night!" Grim called back. That's when I saw the collar around his neck.

"Ace... what's-" I started, but Grim cut me off.

"B-bwah! That collar!" Grim exclaimed.

"It's that collar from Rosehearts's Unique Magic?" Ran asked.

"I'm never going back to Heartslabyul. From now on, I live here!" Ace exclaimed.

"HUH?!" we all exclaimed. We lead Ace to the longue and sat him down.

"What do you mean you're living here from now on?" Tora asked.

"Exactly what I said. I am NOT going back there. The Dorm Leader is crazy!" Ace said.

"What did you do?" Sayumi asked.

"I ate a tart." Ace answered simply.

"A... tart?" Fumino asked.

"And... what else?" Hikari asked.

"That's it!" Ace said. He then told us of how by the time he, Deuce and Arley returned to Heartslabyul, it was passed dinner. He had gone into the kitchen to look for something to eat and found three large strawberry tarts sitting in the refrigerator. He had taken a bite of one and was caught and collared by the Dorm Leader, Riddle Rosehearts.

"While that is harsh Ace, you're still in the wrong." Emiko said.

"How can you say that!?" Ace asked, shocked at Emiko's answer. He then looked at all of us. "Me having my magic sealed for taking ONE slice of a tart is too much! That's like having your hands chopped off! It was one slice from THREE giant tarts!"

"I guess it is a little bit extreme..." I said.

"If there were three tarts, they could've been for a party." Azuna said.

"That would explain the Dorm Leader's reaction." Ran said.

"I thought you girls would be more sympathetic. The Dorm Leader is a tyrant!" Ace said.

"Look, food grudges are the worst. You need to apologize to your Dorm Leader first thing tomorrow." Emiko said. We all nodded in agreement.

"Don't ever be messin' with another man's food..." Grim said.

"Fine, fine. I'll apologize, but at least one of you is coming with me since this was your idea, girls." Ace said.

"Okay. Ran and I will go with you." I said.

"Anyway, you got some place I can crash for the night?" Ace asked.

"You were serious about staying here?" Arisa asked.

"Outside of the rooms we all use, the rest of the dorm is covered in dust. So, if you wanna stay the night, you better get to cleanin'." Grim said.

"No way! I hate cleaning!" Ace said. That's when he smiled sweetly at me. "I could just stay with Kokomi. I'm slim and I won't take up that much space." My face flushed when I heard that.

"That's either a bad joke or your last words; I'd advise you to choose your response." Hikari said.

"Knave, you'll be crashing on the longue sofa." Yurina said.

"Stingy." Ace pouted. I giggled a little, but muffled it with my hand. Ace looked cute when he pouted like a little kid. "Fine, I'll sleep on the sofa. Night!" We all bid him goodnight. I went upstairs and got a clean, spare blanket. I went back downstairs as Ace settled in on the sofa.

"Here, so you don't catch cold down here." I said. I handed Ace the blanket.

"You're sisters are wound a little tie, aren't they?" Ace asked. I sighed.

"We've only had each other for the past year and even before then, we've only felt like we could trust one another." I said.

"What about your parents?" Ace asked. I froze. What was I suppose to say?

"It's... complicated..." I muttered.

"It's fine. Not trying to pry." Ace said, tossing the blanket and covering himself.

"Thanks. See you in the morning." I said. He waved his hand. I started to head back, but stopped. I looked back at Ace. He cracked one eye and looked at me.

"What? Gonna give me a goodnight kiss?" Ace teased, smirking at me. I blushed. I bent down quickly, give him a quick peck on the cheek and back away quickly. Ace shot up, face slightly flush. "Oi..."

"That was a 'thank you' for saving from the monster at the Dwarfs' Mine! Goodnight!" I exclaimed before running up to my room. I ran in and slammed the door shut, scaring Ran and Grim.

"What?!" Ran asked.

"Nothing! Nothing!" I stammered. I climbed into bed and tried to calm my racing heart.

"Are ya su-" Grim said, before I cut him off.

"YES! Now go back to bed!" I said. The whole time I laid there, I couldn't fall asleep. Why did I do that? Did I have a crush on Ace? Is this what a crush was? I thought he was cute and all, but... UGH! What do I do now? How am I going face Ace from now on.

Ace's Pov

What... just happened? I felt my face get hot and I touched my cheek. Why did she-? That was a 'thank you' from what happened at the mine? I fell back onto the sofa. Well, I guess sleep is something I'm losing tonight.

No one's Pov

Unbeknownst to the sisters or even the students of the college, a darkness had begun to grow in the Heartslabyul Dorm Leader, Riddle Rosehearts. They and their "abilities" as Beast Tamers would soon be put to the test as they would soon find themselves against a powerful enemy.

Really sorry if this chapter is short and sucks. Been hell at work. Also, I will try to bounce between this and my Pokémon story as I'm nearly finished with the Kanto part. These will be the two I'm focusing so everything else will be on hiatus or will not be updated anymore(older stories).