Into the World of Twisted Wonderland Pt 2

👑 The Beautiful Tyrant: Chapter 28 👑

At the dorm, everyone sighed in content, happy to finally relax after eating dinner. "Whew...I finished my dinner, but I feel like I've still got room for more," Ace groans as he walks up the stairs.

"I know what you mean," Kalim says with a sigh. "It wasn't bad, but it just didn't have the spicy punch or richness I'm used to."

"The dishes used vegetables, white meat chicken, and fruit. I thought the portions were reasonably sized," Jamil adds.

"They described it as a 'toning' menu, not a 'slimming-down' menu," Deuce says.

"All those veggies are barely a meal to me..." Grim complains. "Angel and I aren't even competing, so how about lettin' us have some more meat? Ooh, or somethin' fried!"

"I liked it," Angel says with a smile, happy at the food. "It was delicious and healthy."

"Yeah, but that's because you don't eat much, anyway," Ace says. "Grim eats your portion of the food before you can even take a bite."

"Speaking of...Angel, I feel like you should eat more," Kalim says. "You're all skin and bones. Never hurts to eat more than you should!"

"If anything, you really don't need to be on this diet anyway," Deuce adds. "From what we've seen, you only take a few bites of food and call it it."

"Different people have different metabolisms, so I guess Angel's metabolism isn't that high," Jamil states. "Maybe the diet isn't good for her, but the meal is still nutritious enough for her to get the daily nutrients."

"Can we please stop talking about it?" Angel says, embarrassment starting to creep up on her.

"Oh Madame Souris! Do not take offense of what they are discussing," Rook exclaims with a smile. "The gentlemen are only concerned about your health. After all, there is beauty in health."

"Yeah, but I don't want to hear it..." She mumbles.

Suddenly a ring is heard throughout the dorm, confusing the group. "Hm? Who's showin' up this late?" Grim asks as they head downstairs, with Angel heading towards the front door. She opens the door a bit, looking to see who is was only to widen it when a ghost came in the foyer, stopping in front of the group.

"Special delivery!" The ghosts says. "Is Epel Felmier of Pomefiore present?" He asks.

"Y-yes. I'm Epel," he says as he steps up.

The ghost hovers over him with a clipboard. "If you could sign here?" He says as he hands him the clipboard. "We've got ten large boxes for you. Mind if we drop them off in the foyer?"

"Sure, that's-" Epel stops, processing the words. "Wait, did you say TEN?!" He exclaims as he hands him back the board.

"Yes. It's from..." The ghosts reads the box. "Oh, this also says 'Felmier.' I take that's your family? They're all heavy so be careful carrying them," the ghosts instructs as he heads out, getting the boxes. In a few minutes of going back and forth, the ghost finishes putting the last box down, and leaves, closing the door behind him. The group could only look at the boxes, seeing it take over the foyer.

"The Ramshackle Dorm foyer's stacked floor to ceiling with boxes now," Deuce says as looks at the boxes.

Epel look at the boxes carefully, seeing there was a symbol of an apple on them. "Ahhh!" He exclaims. "These have to be from Meemaw-" He clears his throat. "Ah, that is, from my grandmother. I've told her so many times over the phone that she doesn't have to send this stuff." He sighs.

"What is it?" Kalim curiously asks. "A delivery of silks from your home?"

"Oh, it's nothing so fancy," Epel answers. "Um, my hometown produces a lot of apple-based goods. So I suspect these are all, ah...apple juice."

"Dude! Forget the Mostro Lounge- we could run our own drink stand with this much product!" Ace exclaims as he and the others go through the boxes, seeing about 30 bottles of juice in a box.

"Oh, there's a letter in one of the boxes," Epel says as he picks up the letter. "Let's see...'We had some unsold stock near it's sell-by date. You can share it with your friends at school.'" He reads. "Fer cryin' out loud! Don't push yer stinkin' overstock on me, Meemaw!" He says with a sigh, only to realize what he said. "A-ahem. I mean, I can't believe they have so much they didn't sell."

"If they're sending you this much stuff, you must come from a real rich family," Deuce says.

"Huh?!" Epel exclaims in shock.

"Oooh, I think I get it. Are you so dedicated to your apple juice brand that it's all you want to drink?" Ace teases.

"N-not at all, honest!" Epel quickly says. "Everyone's welcome to have some. It's 100% apple juice, no preservatives. It's loaded with vitamins, and Vil..." He hesitates. "Probably won't yell at you for drinking it. Tastes real good, too!"

"Yep. You're a total apple juice freak," Ace says and Angel had to nudge him to stop.

"Ah, aha ha..." Epel nervously chuckles.

"Merci, Monsieur Pommette," Rook says as he looks at a bottle. "I happily accept. Tell your family merci beaucoup on my behalf."

"We can't leave the foyer blocked off with all these boxes," Jamil says as he looks at the boxes. "Let's get them to the lounge, at least." Everyone agrees and start carrying the boxes, most surprised at the weight, but take them to the lounge nonetheless. Once the last box was placed, the foyer was at least clean, but now the lounge was full of boxes, though placed in a small corner where it wouldn't get in anyone's way.

"I appreciate all of you helping with those boxes," Epel says to the seven. "Thanks, uh...very much. Why don't we open one and quench our thirst?" He proposes. "The citric acid and polyphenol in apples works wonders for fatigue. It should be the perfect drink after a hard day of dancing and singing rehearsal...I think." Everyone only agrees and take a bottle, seeing the smooth glass bottle filled with amber liquid inside of it. Angel gets glasses for everyone and Deuce slowly opened it, the cork popping out with ease as a smell start to permeate the room.

"Ooh. There's a nice, tangy apple smell already, and all I did was pop the cork," Deuce says as he smells the air. He pours the liquid in cups, everyone taking one that they see fit.

"What a piquant aroma," Rook says. "I shall partake as well." He takes a cup and starts to drink it, carefully tipping it towards his mouth to drink. His eyes widened at the first sip. "Why..." He says. "C'est bon!" He happily exclaims. "This is exquisite, Epel!"

"Let me try a sip," Kalim says as he drinks his cup. "Ooh, that IS good! It's like I'm drinking an apple in liquid form!"

"It's 100% apple juice, so that's literally what you're doing," Jamil says as he drinks. "Mm...It is quite good, though."

"This's the stuff right here," Grim happily says as he chugs his bottle. "I could guzzle it by the liter!"

"Hey, Grim! Don't put your mouth on the bottle!" Deuce scolds.

"I can't blame him for wanting to chug it from the source, though. It goes down great," Ace says as he takes another sip.

"It's not too sweet and not too tart. It goes down like a pleasant breeze blowing through an orchard- refreshing to the extreme!" Rook exclaims. "I'd go so far as to call this beverage a masterpiece that was clearly made with love."

"Isn't it?" Epel happily agrees. "It's made from a blend of several different types of apples. It's the pride of our hometown! And it's soothing for the throat when you add in a little honey. It could be great to drink after vocal practice! Ooh, and the apples themselves are delicious, even before they're turned into juice!"

"Hah hah hah!" Rook chuckles. "How nice to hear you speak with such enthusiasm. It's clear that you carry a great deal of fondness for your hometown, Monsieur Pommette."

"Unfortunately, though...I don't know if it's because we make it in a backwater part of the Shaftlands or what, but it's just not very well-known," he says sadly.

"Wow, it's so good, though. Such a shame for it to go unnoticed," Kalim says.

"We get fewer and fewer tourists every year, too. The direction things are going, well..."

Footsteps are heard and the group turn to see Vil coming down the stairs, looking at them. "How long are you all going to congregate in the lounge?"