The Fallen Empath-Book 2-A Rose-Red Tyrant TEASER

Chapter Two: A Misappropriated Tart

 I move out of the way and we walk into the living room.

"I'd recognize that collar anywhere. It's the same one that psycho stuck on me at orientation!" Grim crosses his paws. "What did you do to get shackled with that?"

"I ate a tart," Ace says bluntly.

"You...ate a...tart?" I question in disbelief.

"Yeah, that's it! That's all I did!" Ace starts to explain further. "I was a little hungry, see, so I went down to the dorm kitchen and found some tarts in the fridge. Three whole tarts! Big ones, too!"

~Ace Backflash P.O.V~

I tiredly walk into the dorm's kitchen where every piece of furniture is curved. "Man, I'm still tired from our little adventure. I missed dinner, too, and now I'm starving!"

I open the curvy fridge. "Got anything for me, fridge? ...Whoa, score! Tarts! Those look amazing! And plenty to go around, too! No one would notice if I snagged one teeeeensy little slice, right? Right. Of course not."

I take a slice and bite into it, my eyes widening almost immediately. "Mmph... SO good! I'm in pastry paradise right now!"

"Of course they're good. Trey made them. His tarts are always exceptional."

"Yeah, but I mean... These are CRAZY good! Like, he could sell these at—" I realized who was talking. "Wait, Housewarden?!"

Housewarden Riddle crosses his arms angrily. "That you would think to touch something of MINE... Well, I'm impressed with your audacity, at least. But the Queen of Hearts's rule eighty-nine is quite clear. 'Never eat a tart without the Queen's permission. The theft of tarts is a serious crime! Off With Your Head!"

A black and red heart-shaped collar appears around my neck. I can feel my magic being locked away as I yell.

~Yuna Current Time P.O.V~

"And...here I am." Ace pouts.

Grim and I sit there for a moment, taking in the...bizarre information.

"So... The point is you're both terrible?" Grim, who is now on the couch next to me, puts his paws on his hips.

Ace glares at Grim. "You don't think that it's insane for my magic to get sealed away for eating ONE slice of tart? For a mage, that's like having your arms and legs bound and shackled! And there were three whole tarts! THREE! It's not like he could eat 'em all himself!" Ace paces agitatedly. "C'mon, you KNOW this is messed up!"

I tilt my head. "It's definitely a bit...extreme."

Ace stops pacing and looks at me. "Riiight?!"

"Yeah, but..." Grim leans to the side. "I mean, if there were three of 'em, they were probably for a party."

"That's true." I put a finger to my chin.

"Maybe It was someone's birthday or somethin'? Lookit that! I'm, like, a master detective too!" Grim smiles.

I giggle and rub Grim's head.

"A birthday party, huh...?" Ace rubs the back of his head.

I look up to Ace. "That would explain it. Did you apologize?"

"Man... I thought you'd be more sympathetic! I'm a victim of the housewarden's tyranny here!" Ace pouts again.

I shake my head. "No, you're definitely right for being upset. Locking away your magic for eating a tart, party or not, is still a bit much."

Grim's ears stand tall as he glares at Ace. "But you stole food! That ain't cool!"

"Tomorrow, go and apologize, I'm sure he'll forgive you." I smile reassuringly.

Grim puts his paws on his hips. "You don't go messin' with another man's meal..." His eyes widen in realization. "Hey, wait a minute! I just realized I never got those cans of tuna the headmage promised me!"

Ace sighs. "All right, all right. Fine. I get that I should go apologize. But you're coming with me, Yuna. This was your idea, after all."

I nod my head. "Okay."

"Anyway, you got a place for me to crash tonight?" Ace crosses his arms.

Grim is the one to sigh this time. "You were serious about that? Outside of the bedroom me and Yuna use, this entire dump is buried under a foot of dust. So if you wanna crash, you better start cleanin'!"

Ace glares. "Dude, no way! I hate cleaning!" Ace smiles at me and puts his arm around my shoulder. "Just let me stay with you, Yuna. I'm real slim. I won't take up much space."

I rub the back of my head. "Sorry Ace, I would, but I don't think our bed can hold another person. I can clean up the sofa and a few pillows and blankets though."

Ace tchs. "You're about as flexible as a brick. Well, fine. The sofa it is. Night!"

~~~

We wake up to rapid knocking on the door.

"Duuude... Who is pounding on the door at this hour?!" We can hear Ace downstairs. "Bleah! Every hit kicks up a duststorm! I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Deuce has his arms crossed from the other side of the door. "I figured I'd find you here."

"Ugh. Deuce..." Ace glares.

"So, you ate the housewarden's tart. You really are an idiot, Ace." Deuce shrugs.

"Oh, shut up! Like you're one to talk! Anyway, uh... Is he still mad?"

"Not at all. Maybe a touch irritated if anything. A few of our dormmates overslept this morning. But only three of 'em got your treatment."

"You call that 'Not at all' mad?! Sounds like he's still on the rampage, to me."

"It still sounds like he's pretty mad," I say as I walk downstairs, Grim on my shoulder.

Deuce looks at me. "Oh, good morning, Yuna, Grim."

I smile. "Good morning Deuce."

Ace crosses his arms. "Let's just go."

~~~

Grim jumps off my shoulder and walks in front of us. "Move it! Outta the way!" He has a wide smile on his face. "Night Raven College student comin' through!" His face turns smug. "Oh? Did my collar catch your eye?" Grim turns to tease Ace. "It is way better than the one you're stuck with! You know, the one that makes it so you can't use magic. But hey, the school could always use another janitor! Bwahahaha!"

I sigh and shake my head. "Grim, I think he's suffered enough."

Ace growls. "Trust me Grim, when I get my magic back, your hide is first up on the chopping block!"

"Didn't the headmage JUST tell you yesterday, no more incidents?" Deuce crosses his arms. "Regardless, you're not going to be able to participate in class if you can't use magic." He moves a hand to his hip. "So why not just apologize to the housewarden? It's a small price to pay for having the collar removed."

Ace groans. "I hate this so! SO! Much!"

Grim hums in thought. "Ya know, we do still have some time to kill before class starts. And I am kinda curious about the other dorms."

I put a finger to my chin and tilt my head. "Yeah, me too."

"Guess we'll go along and scope out the place while you make with the groveling." Grim puts his paws on his hips and smiles.

"Since when did this become a field trip?!" Ace yells, making me jump.