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Everything he endured was for this very moment. Every day, never disobeying his mother. Being the perfect son, the perfect student. His excellent scores and discipline got him accepted to Night Raven College, as he had always wanted, and at this moment, he was about to fulfil his dream…
He was hesitant. He started to question if it really was his dream, but the rules are never wrong, and he will soon enter the dormitory under the Queen of Hearts, like he always wanted-
“Pomefiore,”
Riddle was taken aback, “What?!”
“It takes a lot to endure what you have your entire life, your spirit of tenacity shows that your magic is compatible with the Fairest Queen.”
“There must be a mistake, I have always followed the rules! I should be part of the Queen of Heart’s court!” Riddle immediately lost his cool, his face heating up with every word he said, “There is no way I could be part of something else other than the Queen of Hearts! I’ve been strict with myself, I’ve done everything!”
“There is no mistake in the judgement of the Mirror,” the Mirror said, “next student.”
Riddle walked to the Pomefiore group in disbelief as the next student behind him got sorted to his dorm. It was not until a student got sorted into Heartslabyul that he got into his senses. It should be him, that should be where he was supposed to go. He wasn’t supposed to be with this group of students that are way too obsessed with their beauty and charm.
He could almost imagine his mother’s disappointed expression… as she tightly gripped on his hand… squeezing it until he felt his hand was about to break, before she questioned him how this could happen.
Perhaps he didn’t follow the rules she set, perhaps he snuck away, again. But all that he knew was, at this moment, he was a failure.
When the ceremony ended, he heard the voice of the Headmage as he instructed each dorm’s housewarden to lead the freshmen back to their respective dorms. If anyone could do anything, it would be the Headmage… right? So, he snuck away and ran to the Headmage’s office.
***
“Unfortunately, not even I can do anything,” the Headmage said, “I apologise my dear student, however even if you came from the Queendom of Roses, it’s not a guarantee that you’d be sorted into Heartslabyul.”
“I know it’s possible to transfer dorms!” Riddle insisted, “Please!”
The Headmage mulled, “Well it certainly is possible. But you have to complete a set of paperwork first, which I have to prepare… and also go through this process first… and then do another sorting ritual…,” he then looked at Riddle straight in the eye, “It will take some time, so I suggest you study under Pomefiore for the time being, however, if the result of the ritual doesn’t fit your expectations…”
The Headmage stood up, and walked over to Riddle, “I need to tell you, the dorm you’re sorted to is where you’ll excel the most. Are you really sure you want to change dorms?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Riddle nodded.
“Well then, off you go! I’ll talk to your housewarden about this, but for now, follow the rules of your dorm!” The Headmage led him out of his office and left Riddle alone in the dark hallways.
He felt alone… even more alone than the times when he had to study. There’s nothing in the rules about what he should do at this moment, and there’s nobody he could ask for answers.
He was suddenly approached by a student in Pomefiore dorm uniform, “Riddle Rosehearts?”
“That’s me,” Riddle nodded.
“Follow me, the housewarden asked me to get you,” the student immediately turned away and Riddle just followed along behind him. Before he knew it, they arrived in the Pomefiore dormitory.
The entire building looked regal, not only because of the purple walls and purple tiles, but also the castle-like structure. Unfortunately it wasn’t the castle he wanted to be in.
Everyone in the dorm were wearing purple robes, their hair styled in an elegant manner and their faces accentuated with make-up to make the most of their charms. There are two students that caught his eye, a young man with bob cut hair and a flamboyant hat. The way he talked was as flamboyant as he looked. The other student had a kind of evil charm to him, his smile had a way of drawing people in. His hair is blonde with braids clipped at the back.
Two students that stood out in the middle of a group of beautiful students, definitely a rarity.
When Riddle entered, everyone’s eyes were on him. His hair was a striking red, and there was barely anyone who could match the shade of red of his hair. He was also blessed with a beautiful face, despite not having much affinity towards make-up.
“You’ll find your belongings in your dorm room, as well as the dorm uniform,” the student who was leading him spoke, “the housewarden told me everything. You want to change dorms, but before the time comes, you have to follow our rules.”
“Yes senior,” Riddle replied.
“Oh yes, you’ll also find the rulebook in your dorm room,” the student said, “don’t forget to read it. You come from the Queendom of Roses right? You can enforce whatever rules from your hometown onto yourself, but we don’t follow that here.”
Riddle was left alone yet again. The room was decorated with simple furniture, like a standard bed and a wardrobe, a study desk and a chair, all with similar styles to the furniture in the common room. The walls were purple with an extravagant chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
‘What a wasteful dorm,’ Riddle thought, ‘never mind, I will only be here for a short while. Soon, I’ll be where I was meant to be.’
He didn’t bother decorating his room, only unpacking a few essentials before picking up the rulebook placed on the study desk and reading it carefully. Some rules show extremely wasteful behaviour and he frowned at the thought of following said rules. However, he shouldn’t stain his clean reputation just because he disagreed with the principles of Pomefiore.
Once he finished reading the rules, he set aside the book, reviewed some of the freshman subjects, before studying some parts of the sophomore curriculum. When it was time for him to sleep, he placed a bookmark before cleaning up and sleeping.
Deep down, he wished everything was just a bad dream, and that he would wake up in the Heartslabyul dorm.
***
The crystal chandelier greeted Riddle as he woke up. The light bouncing off it was very bright, so he shut his eyes again. At least now he was reminded of the fact that he was still in Pomefiore.
He looked at the purple and red armband and the dark purple crystal on his pen. The colour just felt wrong. It was the first time in his life that he dawdled in front of the mirror, before his discipline kicked in and he left, making sure he was at least ten minutes early for his first class of the day.
His first class was Alchemy Class with Professor Crewel. According to what he knew, all Pomefiore students are adept at Alchemy with a particular affinity towards poisons. It so happened that they were about to make a simple itch poison for their first class.
A thought passed by his head, what if he didn’t manage to make the itch poison? Would it be possible to use that as proof that he wasn’t suited for Pomefiore?
But he held himself from doing so, and made the itch poison perfectly. Crewel even brought him to the front of the class to praise him for making the best itch poison in the class. Crewel even gave him extra credits as he wanted to buy the poison from Riddle.
Befitting of the time he spent studying, Riddle completed his first day perfectly. Many teachers praised him, and sighed that Pomefiore was lucky to have excellent students two generations in a row.
It seemed that most teachers didn’t know that he asked to be transferred to Heartslabyul.
He ended the day on a high note, and it would be even better if only everyone thought of him as a Heartslabyul student. In fact, it was rare for him to be patient. Perhaps it was because he started to be influenced by Pomefiore and tried to always keep himself elegant.
While he was walking back to the dormitory, he heard footsteps behind him. He then heard a familiar voice greet him, “Bonjour, Roi des Roses!”
It was the flamboyant man he saw in the common room lounge… What was his name again?
“I believe it’s the first time we’ve spoken to each other, oui?” The man smiled, “My name is Rook, a sophomore. Your splendour has reached far and wide, that I, as someone who has boundless appreciation for beauty, can’t help but come to admire you in person.”
“…,” Riddle was speechless, “But you’ve been following me the entire day.”
Yes, Riddle had noticed that during breaks and sometimes when they had to move classes, he would always feel a gaze on him, and that was definitely from Rook. Despite feeling uncomfortable, he couldn’t go up to Rook and confront him. After all, he might be late for his next class.
“Ah, so you noticed,” Rook smiled even brighter, “Oh, Roi des Roses is as sharp as they say, beautiful like a blooming stalk of red rose…but the thorns can also prick your finger.”
Riddle believed that if he continued to listen to Rook he might blow up in anger, so he just walked back to his room while pretending to listen to Rook as he babbled about how beautiful he is. On the way, they bumped into the beautiful man from last time, the one who was with Rook in the lounge.
“Ah, bonjour Beautiful Vil!” Rook greeted, “What a delight to be graced with your beauty this fine afternoon!”
Riddle saw Vil’s face drop as Rook approached him. He then took the time to slip away.
‘Things like this wouldn’t happen in Heartslabyul,’ he thought, ‘I wonder when I can finally transfer away.’
On the other hand, Rook finally finished praising Vil and spoke, “By the way, I met Roi des Roses on the way back, too bad I accidentally let him slip. Otherwise, you could meet each other. Oui! The gathering of two beauties!”
Vil rolled his eyes, “You ‘accidentally’ let him slip? It’s obvious that you let him go on purpose. Finished having fun with him?”
A small smile rests on Rook’s face as his eyes darkened, “Non! Of course not! Roi des Roses is far too interesting! I’ve also heard he didn’t want to be here with the flowers, yet he continued to bloom like one.”
Vil stared at Rook for a while, before Rook’s face went back to a friendly one as they walked into their rooms.
***
Despite promising him that it would be ‘soon’, it had been months and he had never heard from the Headmage ever again.
He held a tea party, alone, once more. Not daring to go to Heartslabyul because it wasn’t his dormitory yet, while not wanting to hold it in Pomefiore as he believed it wasn’t his place. Suddenly he saw two people from his past approaching him.
“Riddle, is that you?” The tall one with glasses spoke up first.
“Trey? Trey Clover?” Riddle wasn’t surprised that Trey was in Night Raven College. He was instead surprised by the fact that Trey was out and about during the time Heartslabyul should be doing a tea party with another someone from his past, “and Che’nya.”
Che’nya’s uniform looked as if he was from the Royal Sword Academy. If he was from NRC, then he would be wearing inappropriate uniform, and if he was from RSA, then he was playing truant.
“Oh it’s Riddle~,” Che’nya grinned, “Welp, before anything happens, I have to go~! Bye bye Trey~.”
And Che’nya disappeared, leaving his grin which poofed a couple seconds after him.
Riddle could feel a vein in his head about to pop. He felt a bit bad for leaving them hanging after that one time he was caught by his mother, however such blatant disregard for the rules-
“Woah, calm down, your face is as red as an apple right now,” Trey spoke as he conjured a chair and sat down in front of Riddle, “Long time no see, how have you been?”
Riddle took a sip of his tea in order to calm his mood, “Good, but the fact that you’re not in your dormitory participating in the tea party as indicated by the rules of the Queen of Hearts, rule 025 ruined it.”
Trey was baffled for a moment, before he laughed out loud, “Hahaha! So that’s what you’re worried about. No worries, we already held it.”
“From what time? Afternoon classes only ended forty-five minutes ago. Does this mean you only spent thirty-five minutes in total from preparations, to actually holding the tea party and cleaning up to even have time to walk over here with Che’nya?” Riddle put his tea cup down, the sound of porcelain colliding making Trey believe that Riddle was really in a bad mood.
“Now, now Riddle, I understand you really value the rules of the Queen of Hearts, but most students are already tired, so we just held a simple one. In fact, we have also followed other rules,” he showed the schedule on his phone to Riddle, “we’ll be playing Croquet later, at 5.15.”
Riddle could feel his anger rising, “5.15?”
“It’s the time the housewarden and vice-housewarden have decided on. I mean it’s in our schedule every day,” Trey showed other schedules with times being 5 to 15 minutes off from the original rule.
“When the rules of the Queen of Hearts say 5 pm, then it should be 5 pm, not 4.59, not 5.01!” Riddle snapped, “If I was the housewarden of Heartslabyul, I-!”
Then he realised that he was currently in Pomefiore.
Trey watched as Riddle, who was fuming, immediately stopped. Riddle was looking down, his hair blocking his face.
“Riddle?” Trey wanted to approach Riddle. He remembered the time when Riddle was just a little kid, when he hung out with him and Che’nya. He remembered how bad it got when Riddle’s mom found out about him sneaking out to play and punishing him.
It must have been disappointing not to get the result he had wanted for so long, even after everything.
“Please leave,” Riddle said, “You are not invited to this tea party, and you’ve overstayed your welcome.”
“Riddle-,” Trey was still not convinced. Riddle’s voice was slightly cracking and for the first time in years, Trey felt that Riddle could break with a slight push, just like when he was a child.
“Leave.”
When Trey left, Riddle finally couldn’t hold it anymore and tears plopped down onto his hands. When did everything go wrong?
Unbeknownst to him, Rook was observing him from afar. He has started watching Riddle from the moment Trey and Che’nya met him, however Riddle was far too emotional to notice Rook.
“Ah, Roi des Roses,” Rook sighed, “It seems that like a flower, it’s easy for the roots to rot and the flower to turn from a beautiful sight to something you’d discard.”
After a while, he then spoke, “Then I shall not let his roots rot, perhaps it’s time for a change of profession from a hunter to a gardener?”
***
The next couple of months, Riddle found himself gaining two tails. One of them is Rook, who kept showering him with praises, and even when his face turned red in anger, showered him with even more praises.
The most ridiculous one being, “The hue of your face reminds me of fresh pommes.”
Riddle felt he might start developing heart problems if Rook didn’t stop following him.
The other one being Trey, who always came over to apologise, and even tried to ‘protect’ him from Rook. It happened very often to the point that Trey’s nickname evolved from Monsieur Clover to Chevalier des Roses.
Sometimes it might even increase to three with a floating head randomly following them.
Riddle was used to the Pomefiore life at this moment, and almost lost hope of a chance to change his dorm. But even then, his Signature Spell still showed how much he wished for Heartslabyul.
Similar to the Queen of Heart’s favourite phrase, it was ‘Off with your head!’ and anyone weaker than him would lose the ability to use their magic, until he decided to take it off.
So whenever the two seniors came to annoy him, and their magic started to get itchy, he would use his Signature Spell and undo it when he got back to his room, a wonderful place of peace and solitude.
Not only Rook, but he also conversed a lot with Vil. He learned of Vil’s wishes to be Pomefiore’s housewarden the next school year, and he expressed his support. Vil also mentioned that he might recommend Riddle for the position of housewarden after he graduated.
‘But at that time, I wouldn’t be in Pomefiore,’ Riddle thought before shaking his head, ‘Never mind, let’s cross the bridge when the time comes.’
Unbeknownst to Riddle, he had been integrating into Pomefiore with each day. While the Headmage was… well, confused why Riddle never got back to him. Until he found the letter he was supposed to send to Riddle in his drawer.
***
“So all the preparations are complete, you can now commence your dorm transfer,” the Headmage said, “your grades are excellent in all fields, you haven’t broken a single rule and you had expressed your desire to move to Heartslabyul. I have finished all the paperwork for you and you can sign here, here and here.”
Riddle signed the papers where he was required to.
“I also require one of your parents’ signatures and your mother is more than happy to give me hers. In fact she even questioned me why you’re not in Heartslabyul in the first place,” the Headmage complained as he sorted the documents, “now sign here in this contract. It shows that whatever result the mirror gives you will be final.”
Riddle then started to hesitate, but remembering what the Headmage said about his mother, he immediately signed.
“Well, I’ve scheduled your ritual this weekend, don’t forget to pack your belongings and prepare your ceremonial robes,” the Headmage smiled as he led Riddle out of his office.
It really seemed that the Headmage just wanted to shoo the students out of his office, if he could.
When Riddle got back to his room and started to pack. He realised how much more personalised his room was compared to when he first arrived. At first, he thought he was about to leave for Heartslabyul in a couple of weeks. However, it was almost a year before he finally had the chance to change his dorm.
The originally bare room was now decorated with flowers, specifically roses which he changed the colour of based on the rules of the Queen of Hearts. His beloved tea sets, along with some other sets gifted to him by Rook and Trey, were displayed on a glass cupboard.
On his nightstand were a couple of make-up products recommended by Vil. On his desk were stationery - some of which was gifted by Trey and some of which he bought himself - neatly organised, along with piles of books he received, some of which having nothing to do with his subjects at all.
His room looked alive.
He questioned himself once more, if he truly wanted to leave everything behind and move to Heartslabyul. It was his dream was it not? Everything he endured while being under the care of his mother, it was for Heartslabyul.
And it didn’t take long for half of his room to be stuffed into boxes and suitcases, ready to be moved when he himself moved.
***
It was time for the ceremony. Trey and Rook spared some time to witness the ritual along with the housewardens of both Heartslabyul and Pomefiore. Vil did leave a message with Rook, and he expressed support with what Riddle’s decision would be.
Although, Vil did mention it would be a disappointment if Pomefiore lost an excellent student.
Riddle’s heart was beating hard. Will he really get Heartslabyul? Did he really want to move to Heartslabyul?
“You are conflicted?” the Magic Mirror spoke to Riddle, “Despite everything you still endured being in a dorm you didn’t want. Such a strong tenacity is only befitting of the Fairest Queen.”
“However… you desire Heartslabyul. Your discipline is indeed befitting of the Queen of Heart’s strict values. You even uphold her rules better than any students in her court,” the Magic Mirror’s voice was slow, as if trying to open Riddle’s heart.
“Riddle Rosehearts, where do you truly want to belong?”
It was at this moment Riddle finally realised that being in Heartslabyul wasn’t something he really wanted. It was something he expected because of what he had gone through. It was something his mother wanted, not really something he truly wished to be. In reality it wouldn’t really matter what dorm he was in, because he’s excellent.
He could succeed no matter what dorm he ended up being in.
“I believe you’ve known your answer, and I’ve made mine,” the Magic Mirror spoke, “I stand by my original answer, and this child is a child of the Fairest Queen.”
The housewarden of Heartslabyul was visibly disappointed, because Riddle really was an excellent student. No house would reject a talent. On the other hand, the housewarden of Pomefiore was glad that Riddle stayed in their dorm.
Riddle was afraid Trey might be disappointed, but to his surprise, both Trey and Rook were extremely supportive of him, and neither of them showed disappointment.
The ceremony concluded and although Riddle had a feeling he might receive a letter from his mother, questioning him about the results, he felt lighter. The three walked back together while the housewardens were held back to finish up some paperwork.
On the way to Riddle’s room, he thought of something and asked Rook, “If I ended up in Heartslabyul, will you be disappointed?”
To this Rook answered, “Oh non! What fuels my interest in you isn’t the fact that you’re in my dorm, but you, Roi des Roses! Oh and your interactions with Beautiful Vil and Chevalier des Roses, or your reactions towards what I said. Oui! A pleasant topic indeed.”
Hearing this, Trey also spoke, “Yeah. Not going to lie, I’m a bit sad that we can’t be in the same dorm, but I believe that your excellence doesn’t rest on the dorm you’re in, but in you. And as long as you continue to be Riddle, I’d always be your friend.”
Riddle’s heart bubbled with happiness as he slowly felt that purple wasn’t such a bad colour. Maybe the shade of Che’nya’s fur was still a bit annoying, but even if Che’nya appeared in front of him right now, it wouldn’t ruin his mood.
Che’nya actually appeared later on while they were unpacking Riddle’s things. If not for the fact the group was already used to his antics, some teacups might no longer be usable.
***
This morning, Riddle woke up satisfied. He dawdled for a bit in front of the mirror, but he still left his room on time so that he would be early to his first class by ten minutes.
This time, the roses in his room were red, black and purple, with a pot of clovers and a ball of yarn next to it.