Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Vesper should have seen it coming.

After all, nothing ever goes right for a demigod, especially one who has been involved in numerous bizarre, world-ending scenarios.

Today was a peaceful day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, people were out and about doing whatever they usually do with their lives. There was nothing to be alarmed of these days, and for Vesper, that was a good thing. What with the ominous prophecies, bloodthirsty monsters, annoying gods or beings, life-threatening adventures, and all the weirdness that comes from what was supposed to be "just a myth".

Normal was a word that was definitely hard to come by.

Vesper thinks back to her friends, and how far they've come. Percy and Annabeth were finally going through college in New Rome. Frank and Hazel, last she heard, were going strong and supporting Reyna in leading Camp Jupiter. Piper and her girlfriend were assisting Jason in his plans of reshaping Camp Half-Blood, with Nico and Will lending a hand as well. 

Business was the same as usual with her older sister figure, Ate Quinn. She opened a few classes in Camp Half-Blood focusing on self-defense against mortals as well as home economics and actual, mortal camping lessons.

They just had a lunch meet several minutes ago before parting ways. She had fun trading stories with her, especially about Ate Quinn's two best friends who were dating each other; Kuya AJ and Kuya Zee. The former had began his successful opening of a new fashion style suited for Demigods and the latter had started on the self-defense weapons that was effective on both mortals and monsters such as batons, pepper sprays, and tazers. 

And of course, there's Leo...

Vesper felt herself smile as she remembers her intelligent ball of phoenix fire.

Leo was also helping Jason figure out his plans for a better Camp Half-Blood, mostly on the technical part. Not to mention that he and siblings at the Hephaestus cabin teamed up with the Iris, Hecate, and Hermes cabins to create technological devices that could be used by demigods without turning into homing beacons for monsters. It was a success. Though she still snickered at the memory of him wanting to call the phone that they made the "Valdez phone". Everyone was quick to veto the suggestion and decided to dedicate it to Iris instead, hence calling it "Iris Phone" (Not the iPhone though, they were peculiar about that).

Iris was so delighted by the decision that she happily aided with the phone's continued production. She even made sure to bless the demigods involved with the phone's creation; Leo included.

"I'm still trying to get used to it, you know? The recognition, and all..." 

"You deserve it, Leo, let's be real. I mean, I doubt we could've gotten the Iris phone if it wasn't for your creative thinking and collaboration with the other cabins."

"Aw, c'mon, Starlight! You're making me blush! But seriously, I think the Valdez phone is still a good name—"

Vesper shakes her head in amusement at the memory. Never change, Leo, never change.

She's happy that all the people that she cares about are all living the lives the way they want to live, happy, healthy, and no complications. Vesper figured that she and her friends (who have also been through the same roller-coaster of death, misfortune, and Greek tragedies) deserve a break. A really, really, long break. It might be thinking too soon, but Vesper will take any measure of peace over none at all.

Her thinking should have been the first sign that things were about to go down hill.

The second sign was the black cat.

Vesper can't help it; cats are one of her favorite animals. That's not to say she doesn't like dogs, but if given the choice, she'd say she preferred felines more than canines. It still stings her heart though whenever cats (or other cute little animals) would run away from her due to the nature of her demigod heritage. That, or they seem to turn tail and flee upon making direct eye contact with her if she wasn't wearing her shades...

Now, why did Vesper decide to chase after the cat? Firstly, she mentioned she likes cats. Secondly, she wanted to feed the little guy. Lastly, it was a slow day, and Camp Half-Blood had no monster hunting missions at the moment.

But why a black cat of all cats? 

Vesper does love cats, but she loves animals who are misunderstood even more. Black cats were one of them. She knows about the superstitions around these black cats, and given her experience as a demigod child of a Chthonic deity, she can understand the feeling of being ostracized because of something out of her control. Lately, things have changed, so she and her fellow Chthonic kids no longer felt much discrimination like before. It's a start, for sure.

"Woah, woah, little guy! Slow down!" Vesper makes a 'pspsps' noise at the cat, lowering her voice a bit to not startle it even more.

But the cat simply meowed and moved further away. Vesper gave chase, and thankfully her patience rewarded her, as the cat slowed down and took shelter in a cardboard box near an open alley street. Not wanting to startle the cat, Vesper made sure she had her sunglasses on before approaching slowly. As she moved, she sunk her hand into her shadow, taking out a can of tuna that she remembered taking with her. A useful trick really, making her shadow or any dark surface an inventory space.

The cat didn't seem aggressive, but it did watch her cautiously. A good sign. Vesper continued to move slowly, before presenting her hand close to the feline. It blinked, sniffing her hand a bit, before proceeding to lick her fingers. Mission success!

Vesper giggles a bit, slowly opening the tuna can and pushing it towards the cat, which seemed quite eager to check out the new food. As she watches the cat eats its meal contently, there was a sound of something landing softly on a metal surface behind her. Tensing, Vesper's fingers twitched and reached beneath her jacket as she whirled to face the noise behind her, ready for an attack—

Only to see a crow (No, was that a raven?) perched on top of a dumpster. It peered at her curiously.

Vesper relaxed at the false alarm, sighing in exasperation, before turning to kneel back at the cat.

That raven should've been the last sign that something was about to happen.

No sooner did Vesper relax was when she heard it: the sound of hooves and wheels moving against the pavement. She stood up quickly, summoning her blades for real this time. From the darkness of her inner jacket, a pair of Stygian iron Espada y daga blades, which she lovingly named "Jekyll" and "Hyde", manifested forth in her hands.

Armed and ready, Vesper focused on the patter of hooves on the concrete. It sounded like a chariot was being driven along the alleyway. The sound seemed to come from every direction, but Vesper realized that it was getting closer. There was only one entrance to the wide alley that she was in, because further down was a dead end that could be seen from where she stood. Vesper doubted the sound was going to approach from there, so she turned to the entrance, ready to intercept the possible threat.

From her pendant, she could feel Dantes, her shadow griffin, shifting warily. It seems he sensed the threat too, and wanted to be released to protect her. 

Stay calm, Dantes. Vesper soothes quietly. I can handle this.

Famous last words.

The thing about threats, especially mythological or magical in nature? They tend to defy what is normally accepted as "logic" in the mortal world.

Unbeknownst to Vesper, the shadows around the alleyway's dead end seemed to darken. Then, a dark shape bursts forth from that darkness, like a weakened dam that immediately gives way to release a torrent of rushing water. Goosebumps crawled up Vesper's skin at the sudden emergence of the sound of clattering hooves and wheels behind her, but her reaction was too slow...

…Or rather, the perpetrator was too fast.

Two black horses, pitch black like the night sky devoid of stars, dragging with them what seemed to be a carriage of the same make—were the last things Vesper saw before her vision went dark.

The darkness seemed to stretch out beyond her reach.

Even with her night vision, Vesper still couldn't see a thing, only perpetual darkness. Her feet, although feeling as though she was standing on solid ground, still gave no indication to where she was. Vesper didn't feel unease, for how could she? The darkness, the night...all of it were old friends at this point, family even, and she never feared it at all. 

"Ah, my dear esteemed benefactor," A disembodied voice suddenly fills the darkness, "My proud, beautiful flower of evil...You are truly the fairest one of all."

What in the Hades? Who was that?

"Oh, magic mirror, thy wisdom I entreat, reveal unto me the visage I seek..."

Before Vesper could even answer, something emerges from the darkness. A sleek, polished mirror with silver engravings adorning the frame appears before her. But instead of her reflection, the mirror instead shows the visage of bright green flames, which illuminated the darkness surrounding them in an eerie glow. The flames flickered, as if it were imprisoned behind the mirror's surface.

That same voice continued talking, "You, whose image the Dark Mirror did beckon forth..."

"...If your heart bids it, take the hand of the one reflected in the mirror."

Now, Vesper was rightly wary. 

First of all, she was abducted by who knows what.

Secondly, she had no idea where she was. 

But even so, what could she possibly do now? There was no threat that she could sense, nothing hostile nor brimming with malicious intent, and there was no monster she could point her blades at. Even Dantes was silent; when he would usually be squirming in her pendant right about now. If even he couldn't sense anything wrong, what does that say about the situation she was in now?

As much as Vesper wasn't afraid of the dark, that didn't mean she was going to stand by and do nothing.

That ominous voice said to take the hand...Do I have to touch the mirror? 

Hesitating, Vesper reaches out, Please don't make me regret this...

But before she could even touch the mirror's surface, the darkness that surrounded her for so long suddenly lit up in a familiar, ghastly green flash. Wincing at the sudden brightness of color, Vesper retracted her hand.

Green smoke, which seemed dull in comparison to the flames in the mirror, began to fume, curling around her and the mirror not unlike how rampant winds gather at the eye of a storm. Before she could gather her bearings at just how chaotic her surroundings seem to get, Vesper heard it—The unmistakable voice of the Oracle speaking, a rough tone like sandpaper scratched together. But something felt off...

She couldn't hear the underlying voice of Rachel at all.

"Take heed, child of the night,"

"Thy will walk the land without the Olympians' might,"

"Strife and change; thy will sow,"

"To free those from hidden sorrow,"

"But hold fast the hands that are given,"

"Such bonds must not be forsaken,"

"In a world where much is twisted,"

"Do not close that which has been opened."

Vesper paled.

No. No. Way. 

Was...Was she given another prophecy?!

The Oracle went silent, but the wisps of the green smoke encircled her closely, brighter than before. The smoke moved, almost like a slithering snake, towards the dark mirror before her. 

Then, that other voice from before spoke up again.

"To me. To them. To yourself. The hour grows long, and time is scarce." There seemed to be a sense of urgency in its tone, maybe even a hint of dread. "Keep steady your grip, no matter what may come..." 

The flames within the mirror grew brighter, as if beckoning the demigod to come closer.

"'Hold fast the hands that were given,' huh?" Vesper mutters, looking resolutely at the mirror. If the Fates wanted her to throw in the towel at this moment, well...

Jokes on them.

She reaches out, beyond the looking glass...

…And for the second time, plunges into eternal night.

Chapter Text

The first thing Vesper realizes when she wakes up is that she was lying upright inside a box.

A very cramped box, that is.

"What's this? A Houdini cage?" She mutters, looking around as much as she could given the space she was in.

Vesper moves her arms up and towards the side, trying to gauge how much space the box left her. She felt a little disoriented at the moment; Her head pulsed like crazy, as if she got clocked by a baseball bat from behind. There was a nagging feeling at the back of her mind, as if it was telling her that she was forgetting something important that just happened. 

Ugh. Don't tell me Mrs. Nosy Matchmaker attempted to mess with my memories again. Vesper ignored the discomfort and focused on her surroundings. So far, the box was too narrow and cramped to pull out her blades. Not only that, but the box seemed to match her in height and width with some space for breathing room so it wasn't that cramp at least.

…Wait, is she in a coffin?

Is it some kind of coffin bed like the former beds of the Hades Cabin until Nico had a request for their redesign?

Coming from her front, the lid of the coffin (Wow, Vesper thought, I guess I have very own coffin now! Ate Quinn will be proud of my future funeral plans.) jostled a bit. 

A scrapping sound, almost like nails (or were those claws?) against wood, scratched at the front of her coffin as she heard a squeaky yet scraggly voice:

"I better hurry up and find that uniform before someone spots me."

What in the...?

"Ugh, this lid weighs a ton!" The supposed "lid" of her coffin shifted again. It seems whoever was trying to open her coffin wanted nothing more than to desperately get what's inside. Hopefully what it wanted wasn't after her. That is if whatever's outside knows she's in here?

"Aha! Try this on for size!"

Uh oh.

Deciding that she didn't want to be in the crossfire of whatever the stranger outside her coffin was about to do, Vesper concentrated on the darkness surrounding her. She flattens both of her palms into the coffin lid and shoved. Heeding her command, the shadows instantly curled around her hands and surrounds the surface of the door before it busted open with a loud bang.

"FMYAAA?!"

As Vesper's surroundings were illuminated at last, she stopped short of leaving her coffin with a start.

The room she was in was spacious; airy, almost like some sort of auditorium. Dark curtains framed elegant windows, and the walls and arches were decorated with beads that twinkled like stars amidst the shadows of the room. Hanging overhead were fancy looking chandeliers, and light green torches (or were those lamps?) lit the room with a soft glow. It was beautiful; the kind of sight Vesper might only see in movies about magic.

But that wasn't the only thing that caught her attention.

Dozens, if not even more, black, intricately engraved coffins floated around the place. At the very center of the whole hall was a black mirror with an intricate silver frame. Strange, Vesper wondered, I swore I saw this mirror before...

"W-What?! You ain't supposed to be awake yet!" That squeaky voice from before shrieked, startling Vesper from her observations.

Wait, where was that voice coming from—Oh, Vesper blinked, her line of sight moving low to the level of her feet. There, standing on its (uh, hind?) legs, was a cat. A very odd looking cat. It had greyish fur, and a puff of it was white where its chest was. It also had blue eyes and a thin, black tail that resembled a pitchfork at the ends. Its ears seems to be lined with flaming fur that had the same hue as its eyes, poking out from the inside.

Aw, how cute! Vesper's fingers twitched. She had to stop herself from reaching over to pat it, so she settled on being friendly instead. "Well, aren't you an adorable little ball of fire?"

Unfortunately the cat didn't share her enthusiasm.

"A-Adorable?! I'm no such thing!" The cat seethed, its fur bristling in outrage. "I am Grim! A sorcerer extraordinaire! And you will address me as such!"

"..."

Nevermind. How... charming.

"Tch! Whatever," Grim smirked, moving closer, "You! Human! Just give me your uniform and be quick about it!"

First he derails my compliment, and now he demands I give my—Wait, uniform? Vesper looks down at the clothes she was wearing, and her breath hitched in surprise.

Instead of her usual street wear of black fitted jeans, Camp Half-Blood shirt, black-purple hiking shoes and her jacket—She wore a beautiful, silky black robe with a purple inner and a belt that had some sort of coat-of-arms at the center of a gold belt buckle, with some kind of golden embroidery design at the cuffs and the robe itself. Only now did she feel the weight of a hood covering her head. Beneath her robe, Vesper noticed that she seemed to be wearing a black shirt that had the same golden embroidery on the collarbone area, with the sleeves having a ring for the middle fingers of her hands to pass through. Her lower half seemed to be in some sort of formal dress pants and dress shoes. 

Was she cosplaying a sorcerer? Or a wizard of some kind?

Hold on, where's my jacket?! Where did it—

"Hey! What's the hold up! Just give me your uniform already!" Grim growls impatiently, small bursts of blue flames spouted from his mouth. "'Cause if you don't, you're gonna regret it!"

"In case you haven't noticed, fur-ball," Vesper's eye twitched as she ignores the cat, looking back at her coffin to see any signs of her jacket. No dice. The coffin was empty. "I doubt you could wear it anyway!"

"Wha—How DARE you!" Hollered Grim, squaring himself up to set Vesper on fire. "That's it! I hope you ready yourself to face my wrath, huma—"

Vesper turns, glaring intensely at Grim, her visage darkening. 

"EEK!"

As soon as she made direct eye contact with the flaming feline, Grim felt his fur stand on end, his ears instantly going flat on his head. Suddenly, it seemed as though the room had gotten colder. Was it just his imagination, or did the lights flicker for a second? No matter how hard Grim tried to relax, or to move even a little bit, it was no use. He was utterly petrified. Him, the great sorcerer Grim, scared of a mere human's glare...

Ack...Is this person even human?!

Grim's reaction struck a chord on Vesper, who noticed the cat immediately losing all its bravado. It's whole body began to quiver, like a withered leaf on the wind. Seeing the instant but uncomfortably familiar change of the cat's reactions stamped the rising anger out of her. 

Wait, my shades!

Now that she realized it, Vesper couldn't feel the typical weight of her sunglasses on her face. It was gone, along with her jacket!

As soon as Vesper looked away, that awful feeling that kept Grim still as a statue disappeared. He shakes his head from his frozen stupor, before his hackles raised once more. 

"Hah! You think such a mere trick would scare me?!" He rounded to stand in front of Vesper, waving his paws. "Oi! Look a me when I'm talking to you!"

This is starting to get annoying.

In a blur too quick for Grim to follow, Vesper reaches down and grabs the feline by the scruff of his neck. As expected, the cat squawked in surprise but couldn't move at all. She quickly tosses Grim back into the coffin behind him before slamming the lid shut as the cat squealed in shock. Vesper feels for the darkness within the box and wills it to bind door close from the inside. She could hear Grim making a ruckus, but she couldn't be bothered. The demigod had far more pressing matters to attend to.

She dusts her hands off before walking to what she assumes to be the entrance of the place she was in. 

Hopefully the outside would give her answers to where she was.

Vesper reached the shadows for a place she could hopefully find what she seeks, and as she did so, the shadows reach back to her...

…And she vanished.

Just where in the Hades is she?!

Vesper doubted she was dreaming; she pinched herself enough to know. It wasn't some kind of elaborate magical or Mist prank either; first of all, the Hecate cabin were chill people (plus they would never do that to her) and the Hermes kids knew better than to earn her ire. She can't even think of any gods or beings that she may have offended in the past few months, aside from the ones in the previous wars, but as far as she was aware, they were either gone for good or immobilized in some shape or form.

Not knowing where she was, Vesper simply shadow-traveled from the get-go to "somewhere safe". She ended up in what seemed to be some kind of... medieval castle? The whole place seemed to scream "Fantasy" in bold, calligraphic, cursive letters. It must be some kind of school, she theorizes, if the classrooms I saw were anything to go by. She also noticed (or more like felt) the abundance of magic in the air. It felt like she was walking inside the Hecate Cabin itself...

As Vesper entered some sort of courtyard with a stone well in the center and an apple tree nearby, it all came rushing back.

Everything hit her. The black cat, the alleyway. That raven. Black horses, the carriage...The voice and the mirror...

…The Oracle.

Vesper swore loudly, scaring herself at the same time upon hearing the echo. She quieted down, but she was still absolutely fuming.

Just when you think you could catch a break, this happens! Jokes on you, Vesper, you're a demigod! The whole universe loves to make our lives a walking, cosmic joke! If not getting the short end of the celestial bronze stick, you would suffer horribly or you'd die an agonizing death! No in-betweens!

Scuffing her shoe against the pavement in irritation, Vesper paces the courtyard, mood now thoroughly plummeting to Tartarus. She paused when she felt Dantes pacing just like her but from within her pendant, which she realized was still on her person. Vesper reaches beneath her shirt and pulls her pendant out, which was hooked on her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace. Good. Still intact.

But where did her sunglasses and jacket go? 

Calm down, Vesper breathed slowly, closing her eyes as she grasped her pendant like a lifeline. Just like what the Oracle said in the prophecy, you might as well be in a whole other world. Focus on learning just what in the Hades the Oracle meant by that in the first place.

Vesper recalls the words of the prophecy; "Thy will walk the land without the Olympian's might..." Does that mean she's in a place where the gods cannot reach her? Or do the gods not exist at all? Well, both are equally alarming scenarios...

The clouds above her parted, revealing the soft, silver light of the moon which brought some measure of light to the whole courtyard. The apple tree, which stood beside the path she pacing, casted a shadow right in front of her. 

An idea crossed Vesper's mind. 

Tucking her necklace back underneath her shirt, Vesper kneels before the shadow of the apple tree. Taking a deep breath, she places her palms on the pavement where the shadow lied and concentrated. As she closed her eyes, the darkness responded and her hands sunk into the shadow itself. 

Show me, she commanded, Is the world I'm in the one that I know?

The air seemed to ripple with a unseen force, just as the shadows of the buildings seemed to hum with a strange vitality. Vesper paid it no mind, focusing on how the shadows of this "world" felt. The darkness of Earth had a sort of "techy" or modern feel, almost "synthetic". If she concentrated hard enough sometimes, she could feel the movement of the people, animals, or objects that reflected where she was. It was better to do it at the night time, otherwise she would be bone-dead exhausted...

And that's where Vesper felt the difference—and paled in realization.

The shadows of this "world" she was in was primal, more natural, mystical... In other words, she wasn't in planet Earth. She was in a totally different plane of existence. A literal whole new world.

Before she could scry the shadows for more information, her concentration was interrupted when her instincts blared: warning her of a sudden presence nearby. A very strong one at that, judging from the aura they held.

Snapping her eyes open, Vesper quickly retracts her hands from the shadow and stands up. Battle-ready, her hands instinctively pulling for the darkness underneath her robe's sleeves to summon her blades if needed be. She turns on her heel swiftly, ready to confront the threat—

Bright green eyes blinked, staring back at her with veiled surprise and interest.

He merely wanted to go on his usual evening walks, away from the watchful eyes of his guards.

Once again, Malleus realized that it was that time of the Entrance Ceremony in Night Raven College. And once again, invitations to that ceremony failed to reach him. Annoyed and irritated yet sadly accustomed to the lack of invites to many of the school's events, he decided to spend time doing his usual routine of wandering the grounds and to calm down a bit.

It was only when Malleus was walking in one of the halls towards the courtyard was when he heard it: a loud, angered shout. Perhaps a human wouldn't have heard it at this distance, but in Malleus' ears, the sound was as clear as day. He wondered what was that all about, especially at this time of the night, where much of the students were in their dorms and the rest were at the Mirror Chamber for the Entrance Ceremony...

There was a strange hum in the air. 

Malleus paused, sensing a string of odd magic that had suddenly spiked out of nowhere. Strange. 

The magic was weak, almost undetectable, like a silent phantom. But it wasn't naturally weak. It seemed the caster was attempting to keep their presence hidden while using their power. Still, the casting was commendable; only skilled Mages could inherently sense the change and movement of such magic.

Was this the work of an intruder?

Impossible. The school is not lacking in security, so what is this? Following the string, Malleus was led to the courtyard of the school, which was where he saw them. A figure, dressed in what seemed to be the ceremonial robes of Night Raven College, kneeling on the walkway of the path beside the apple tree. A student? Perhaps a new arrival, given their robes?

But what caught his eye was what the person was doing.

The person's hands were on the ground, palms flat, directly on the shadow of the apple tree. While the shadows of the tree remained still, Malleus could practically see how magic swirled on the shadows, seemingly bending to this caster's will. He could see it move about, scrying the environment, like a curious snake trying to get a feel of the world it was in. It was almost as if the person was casting a searching spell, using the shadows as their eyes.

Malleus silently moved closer, concealing himself as he did, in order to gain a better view of what this caster was doing...

The air suddenly stilled, and the string of odd magic that led Malleus to this person abruptly snapped.

The student(?) quickly stands, their body dropping to a stance that reminded Malleus of the times whenever Silver or Sebek would spar; the kind of stance that shows alertness or anticipation of an attack. Their hands began to reach within the sleeves of their robes, as if to take something from within it. The student then whirls to face his direction.

Ah, the Fae realized, They must have sensed my presence.

Interesting, considering the fact that he was concealing himself with a spell.

As he continued to observed this student, he blinked in surprise. A female student? 

There had never been a female student in NRC before, not in all its 100 year long history.  

Now that he was closer to this mysterious student, the first thing Malleus noticed about her was her eyes. They were striking; dark as the night sky devoid of stars, and yet, a thorny silver ring encircled the pupils, not unlike a glowing eclipse. Those eyes regarded him warily; just like how Lilia's eyes were back when he was younger, whenever he was assessing something as a threat. In this case, the student seemed to regard him as a threat.

Fascinating. Did she not know who he is?

Unbeknownst to Malleus, Vesper too was thinking deep about this person(?) that showed up.

Although Vesper had her usual calm façade, in the inside, she was a scrambled egg of emotions. She was prepared to summon her blades once more, but the moment she made eye contact with the apparent "presence" that appeared, Vesper stilled. A young man (she guessed) with glowing, green eyes that had vertical pupils, stared back at her. He was quite tall, and even more so when Vesper saw the two horns that sat atop his head, and his ears were pointed (an elf of sorts?). He was dressed in some kind of uniform; a formal style that looked like it belonged to one of those fancy British private schools.

He looks like he could pass for an Aphrodite kid! Or one of Hecate's with that power! But nevermind that! She's been around enough youthful-looking immortals to know that while this young man may look young, his aura practically screamed "Don't mess with me, I'm powerful". That fact should have made Vesper even more cautious of this dark haired Legolas (or Thandruil?), but she realized that this person didn't have a shred of malicious intent...

Instead, he was looking at her with veiled fascination, but she can also tell that he was guarded.

Makes sense, she supposed, if he was watching from me from the start, it's understandable that he may have thought that I was an intruder of sorts... But then again, in a way, I am an intruder?

The awkward silence was killing her, though.

"Good evening," Vesper winced. With her nerves getting the best of her, she spoked to him in Ancient Greek in reflex. Did that language even exist here?

Malleus could feel his eyebrow raising in surprise as he silently gawked at this (possible) first female student of NRC. That was a language he has studied before; a language that was quite popular during the Age of Gods. A language that was now considered a "dead" language in this day and age. How could this human possibly...? Malleus spreads out his senses a bit, his magic cloaking both of them, until he sensed it.

The shadows seem to curl around her, almost like a languid cat sleeping against its owner. But there was a sharpness in the darkness too, as if it was also alert despite being "asleep"--ready to aid their master at any moment she wished. This wasn't simply shadow magic. He had seen something almost similar to the Fae of the Night Court. Almost. Because this didn't feel like Fae magic. It felt far more... Ancient, to be even called mere shadow magic. 

This "magic" that she holds seemed like less of some sort of "magic" and more of... 

Malleus blinked. He realized he hasn't given the girl an answer. Where were his manners?

"Good evening to you too, Child of the Night."

Vesper's eyes widened slightly. He understood me? Perhaps the Ancient Greek language does exist here, somewhere, but to what extent?

"Ah, s-sorry. I spoke that way out of habit," she cleared her throat, "I, uh, got a bit lost. So I tried to find my way back using the shadows..."

Vesper left out the part of coming through the school via shadow-travel.

"Anyways, um, sorry for causing a scene here," Vesper scratches the back of her ear. "I'm--"

Hold on, she thought, if this guy is some kind of elf... or Fae...

"Fae are all about trickery, especially on words. Even the kindest of fairies are not to be underestimated. Names hold power, no matter what creature they are." 

Ate Quinn was very particular about the names of the gods, their titles and their epithets. Vesper noticed many times that the older girl would never call a god by their name, only by what they were known for. Then again, Vesper did the exact same thing with Gaea's name. Almost always calling her "Dirt Woman" among other things. She remembered her older sister figure quoting something from Lord of the Rings: "History becomes legend, and legend becomes myth...and myth becomes rumor. This actually holds true to many forms of mythology, not just to the Greeks..."

"...the Fae are no exception."

"...Gabby." Vesper finished, "You can call me Gabby."

Malleus raised an eyebrow, "Is that not your name?"

She shrugged, "It's one of my names..."

Now the Fae Prince was intrigued and amused. It was nice to know that someone still takes caution when giving a name to a Fae. It was quite a surprise to Malleus on how carefree, or maybe even careless, mortals were in this day and age; to casually give out their names just like that...

"So, what should I call you?"

"'Gabby', an unusual name, to be sure. I am..." The young man paused. Vesper sensed hesitation and apprehension, and... a sting of loneliness. "No, never mind. I'd rather you remain unaware."

Damn Vesper for having a soft spot for people who experienced being lonely, or to be isolated. She knows what that was like. She's faced it, Quinn faced it, Nico faced it. Not even Hazel was an exemption in Camp Jupiter before it improved.

"How about this," Vesper offered, giving a small smile, "How 'bout I give you a name: A unique name, from me to you."

Now Malleus was truly taken aback. No one has ever given him a name of his own. There were a few who were brazen enough to give him a name; but he doubted it was meant to be as "sincere" as this one before him. A part of him... can't help but be warmed by such an action.

"Very well, Child of the Night. I accept." He tilts his head curiously, "Although, I am quite interested in the name you plan to bestow upon me."

He then smiled with a hint of warning. "But thread carefully on what you do choose to call me."

Talk about not feeling the pressure!

Alright Vesper, it's just a name. Think long and hard about it--Not too long though! And definitely not something insulting! Vesper wasn't eager to test the Fae's patience nor boundaries in regards to a name or title. For all the bookworm that she is, nothing comes to mind. She thought of Maleficent, due to how similar they looked, but she quickly dismissed the idea when it came. No way is she calling him that.

Vesper thought back to the different myths and folklore Ate Quinn loved to talk about to her. Her cousin was an excellent story teller; so much so that she was always called to tell stories during the campfires at Camp. One of her favorite stories was about a legendary Celtic goddess of Irish mythology; a complex and multifaceted deity called "The Morrigan".

Morrigan... Mori...That's it!

"Mori," She calls him, "Short for Morrigan."

Something in the night air shifted. It did not seem obvious to mortal eyes, but to someone like Vesper, and the being that is now her new acquaintance (or maybe even friend?), there was a sense of power. 

The newly dubbed "Mori" had his lips parted in surprise, and his eyes were wide. He was quiet for a bit before he composed himself. 

"It is a powerful name," "Mori" chuckled, pleased, "And you may call me by that name."

Vesper smiled, equally delighted. "Glad you liked it."

Mori smiled back at her, "Thank you, Gabby-"

"THERE YOU ARE!"

Although Mori's face was impassive, she felt a sliver of irritation and annoyance that bubbled up for second within him before being washed away. Vesper turns to the party crasher who interrupted their friendly conversation, and wow. 

Party Crasher was wearing some kind of bird inspired mask (a crow, Vesper realized) and was dressed rather dapper, with black feather motifs that seem to decorate his suit. Just like Mori, he had pointed ears, but unlike Mori, Vesper had a feeling he was a lot older given his state of dress. He had wavy black hair, and she could only see two glowing eyes behind that mask. Still, he wore a visible expression of annoyance. Impressive, considering half his face was obscured...

But Vesper's expression turned incredulous when she noticed what Party Crasher was holding. 

Wrapped tightly around some kind of black rope was none other than the flaming fur-ball Grim, whose mouth was also covered by the rope. He was squirming with rage, moving around rather indignantly, and Vesper would've felt sorry for the cat if it wasn't for the fact that he tried to rob her.

"Of all the students I have dealt with, you, by far, are the most brazen of them all!" Party Crasher berates, motioning at Vesper, "Not only did you impatiently leave your gate, but you had the audacity to lock your unruly familiar inside it! Can you imagine the utter chaos it had caused?! And then you wander around so care... freely..."

The raven man's anger disappeared into thin air. He seemingly gulped, slowed his speech to nothingness when he noticed Mori, standing right next to her. "D-Dorm Head Malleus!"

Oh, so his name is Malleus?

If Mori was just annoyed before, Vesper felt his anger spike like a hammered iron rod. In the far distance, she heard the rumbling of thunder, though he still kept his poker face.

"Headmaster Crowley." Malleus greets, curt. But now, that anger he had was accompanied by worry and apprehension again. 

Is he afraid that I know his name now? Vesper couldn't help but wonder, she shot Malleus with what she hoped was a reassuring and accepting smile. He noticed and paused, the apprehensive feeling simmered down.

I don't even know if he was-- Wait, is he considered important in this world? That headmaster seemed to act like he is. Maybe that was why he didn't want to tell me his name...

But that did not change a fact in Vesper's mind: In her eyes, his loneliness seemed to mirror the kind of isolation that she and her fellow Chthonic demigods have had the displeasure of going through. Not if I can help it.

Vesper straightened her posture and clears her throat, catching the attention of the two in front of her. 

"Excuse me, headmaster," she began, voice even, "I can explain-"

Party Crasher interrupts her, "Please do. Starting with this familiar of yours! It is against school policy to bring in familiars who are quite misbehaved, not to mention very destructive! Oh dear, the amount of damage this one caused-"

Now she understands why Mori was so quick to get mad at this- This-!

Having quite enough, Vesper reaches for her pendant.

"Dantes! Come!" She yells in Ancient Greek, surprising both Mori and Crowley with her command.

Behind her, Vesper's shadow rippled, before taking the familiar shape of her shadow griffin. Dantes' form spreads its wings, and despite being an animated shadow, his piercing screech was loud for all to hear. Her companion proceeded to manifest from her shadow, jumping out of it eagerly; like a dolphin leaping out of water. There, in all his dark glory, Dantes flaps his dark, feathered wings, his tail swishing. He positioned himself behind Vesper, his glowing red eyes glowered at the Headmaster.

"Dantes," Vesper begins, reaching a hand up to scratch Dantes' chin with her finger, feeling a bit smug at Crowley, whose jaw dropped, "-is my familiar. And as you can clearly see, he is far more well-mannered and listens to me."

"I-I see..." Crowley coughs at his fist, suddenly very nervous, "So... does that mean..."

"Yes, yes it does mean that that cat isn't my familiar." she finished for him. "Not to mention the reason why I left my "gate" quite "impatiently" as you put it."

"What?! You- You woke up without the gate opening?!" Crowley asks, flabbergasted, "Then how-"

Dantes lets out a warning screech, causing the headmaster to stop himself.

"Let me finish, geez Louise," Vesper rolls her eyes, "As I was saying, I woke up inside that "gate" because this guy-" she points at Grim, "-was trying to pry the coffin open. Then he proceeded to threaten me to give up my uniform." She motions down to the ceremonial robes she was wearing. "And if you haven't realized it, I locked him up because what he was asking me to do was quite rude and inappropriate, considering he wanted me, a young lady, to remove my clothes and give it to him!" And also because he annoyed the heck out of me.

Silence. Now it looked like Mori was trying to set Grim on fire with his glare alone. The flaming feline let out a scared, muffled whimper.

"'Young lady?'" Crowley began, before he paled, "A young lady was chosen by the Dark Mirror?! Oh-Oh my! Oh dear! This has never happened before in Night Raven College's one hundred year history!"

Watching the "headmaster" practically lose it, Vesper leans close to Mori and whispers, "Uh, what does he mean by that and why is he freaking out?"

"Ah, Night Raven College is an all-boys school," Mori explains, seemingly watching how the headmaster was reacting with veiled amusement. "That's not to say it is exclusive only to the male population. The school simply never had a female student before."

Until now went unsaid. 

Vesper frowns, "Great. I'm not breaking any rules just by being here, am I?" 

"No, you are not. If you received an invitation, then the Mirror chose you to attend this school."

Malleus watches the Child of the Night wince, "About that... I wasn't invited at all."

What?

"Pardon?"

Even the headmaster paused his bemoaning to stare at her incredulously, having heard her. He opened his mouth to speak, but a hiss from Dantes made him close it.

"I didn't receive an invitation. Nothing." Vesper huffed, frustrated. Beside her, Dantes chirps, moving to rub his head against her arm as a way of comfort. She reciprocates by patting him gently. "I was just going on my usual walks, you know, enjoying my time alone? When out of nowhere, two black horses carrying what seemed to be a carriage appeared and abducted me! Then I wake up inside a coffin, with a cat trying to rob me of all things! I never meant to end up here!"

But it seemed the Fates had other plans, she thought bitterly. The Oracle's prophecy was still clear in her mind.

"Oh, so... you never expected to be here at all?" Crowley asked, still reeling from the information given.

Vesper stared at him blankly, "If I did, I wouldn't be this frazzled now, would I?" 

"I-I suppose not..."

"Regardless," Mori speaks up, "The fact that the Mirror still brought you here showed that you are worthy of attending this school. This is an undeniable fact. Am I correct, headmaster?" He levels his gaze at Crowley.

"Ahem, right you are, Dorm Head Malleus."

Mori nods, pleased. "Then that settles it. I believe that I have held you back long enough, Gabby. Go now, attend the ceremony. I believe it is an occasion that you wouldn't want to miss."

"But won't you join us?" The Demigod asks, waving her hand as Dantes melted back into her shadow. She feels the shadow griffin ruffles his feathers before quieting down to rest in her pendant.

The Fae's face darkened, "I wasn't invited."

Vesper sees the headmaster wince from the corner of her eye, and she frowned. 

"Well," She turns to Malleus, an inviting look appeared on her face. "I'm inviting you. Won't you come?"

Malleus felt surprise once more. Truly, tonight is filled with unexpected surprises. 

"Unfortunately, while your invitation is welcomed, I feel I am not. Additionally, I am not dressed for the part." He motioned to his uniform. 

This doesn't stop Vesper.

"Then in my next invitation, will you accept? With proper dress code, of course." She added cheekily. 

Mori chuckled, "I shall. But do not take long. A pleasant evening to you, Gabby, headmaster."

Then he vanished in tiny glimmers of green light.

"Well, now that that has passed," Headmaster Crowley breathes, as if he was holding his breath the entire time. Once more, Grim began fussing in his grip. "Let us attend to your orientation."

Chapter Text

Vesper barely had time to breathe before the Headmaster waltzes through the doors of the Mirror Chamber.

Immediately, all attention was focused on them.

Particularly on her.

Goosebumps ran across Vesper's arms at all the eyes focused on her. She felt herself tense in cold sweat. The first time she was in such a center of attention was when her mother claimed her. Even then, she had her friends nearby, and most were focused on dealing with the aftermath of a grueling battle. 

Still, surrounded by so many strangers like this made Vesper all the more determined to steel herself. Recalling what sort of school she was in, Vesper remembered those times where Ate Quinn and her aunt, Evangeline, would teach her how to act in front strict or high society. Acting such a way was a pain, but she has no other choice now.

Taking a soft but deep breath, she follows after Headmaster Crowley to the Mirror that she saw before. From her periphery, she takes note of how all the students around her were dressed in the same robes she was wearing. The air was filled with a variety of emotions; but Vesper can't tell if it was the good kind. Disgruntlement, annoyance, suspicion...At least it wasn't aimed at her? Not to mention the subtle hint of anger, but it seemed connected with impatience.

Oh wait, Party Crasher is talking to me.

"-the only one who has yet to be assigned a dorm. Now, please step up to the Dark Mirror, and be quick about it."

Here goes. Vesper steps in front of the Dark Mirror. As she did so, those familiar green flames manifested behind the mirror, before reflecting the face of-

Wait, isn't this the Magic Mirror? The one from Snow White?! As in "Mirror, Mirror, on the wall"?!

But she had to snap back to attention when it began to talk.

"State your name," It says, voice a deep monotone. Different from the Oracle back at Camp...

Still wary, Vesper spoke up. "Vesper Kenway."

"'Vesper Kenway'..." The Dark Mirror loudly utters, before going silent for a moment. Vesper held her breath.

After the brief moment of silence, the Mirror speaks: "The nature of your soul... is split. You belong to two worlds, yet you cannot belong to either. Your soul cannot be bound by any Dorm. Therefore, you belong... to no Dorm."

Now the silence was deafening.

Crowley's face was ashen with shock. "What? But-But how can this be?"

'...Belong to two worlds, yet you cannot belong to either.' That sums up a demigod's life, for sure. Vesper thinks. But if I'm not "sorted" to anywhere in "this" place... then what now?

Deep in her thoughts, Vesper was unaware of the ensuing chaos behind her.

"Not only did the Dark Mirror choose a young lady to attend Night Raven College, but it cannot sort her to any Dorm either!" The Headmaster laments loudly. "What an absurd series of events!"

Around the Mirror Chamber, the other students began to whisper. 

"Did... Did the Headmage just say 'young lady'?"

"I thought they were a really feminine looking dude!"

"But I though NRC was an all-boys school..."

"Uh, have you read the rulebook? There wasn't a rule of 'girls can't attend NRC'."

As the students' whispers began to grow into a loud chatter, a certain flaming feline wiggles out of his restraints. 

"If she can't be sorted anywhere, let me have a try!" Grim jumps determinedly, dodging Crowley's attempt to catch him again. "I'll definitely be sorted, and I can prove it!"

"Everyone, get down!"

"Woah!" Vesper ducks when Grim lets out a huge wave of blue fire. Wide-eyed, she watches the curtains and the beautiful decorations of the hall get set ablaze. She could see scorch marks drift across the walls and columns from the fire's searing heat. Man, if Annabeth saw this, she wouldn't hesitate to draw out her Drakon-bone sword...Those poor decorations and designs!

Nearby, an unfortunate soul was caught in the crossfire, too slow to duck from the flames. His butt caught on fire, and he was jumping up and about in a panic, frantically trying to pat the flames out. He... seemed to be the only one who got affected by the fire. Talk about bad luck. Vesper makes a beeline for the student, dodging and weaving through the other students who were running around like headless chickens in order to avoid Grim's fire. 

She briefly hears the Headmaster calling for... someone? And there were others that seemed to be talking over the loud cacophony of chaos, but Vesper focuses on getting to Mr. bottoms-on-fire.

"Could someone help me put this out?!" He pleads, still trying to get rid of the flames. 

"Hey, hey! Stop moving!" Vesper grabs the boy's waving arms, halting his movements. "Sorry 'bout this, just, uh, move over here..."

Kalim felt his whole world spin, his feet temporarily leaving the ground, before being placed down gently. W-Wow! He thought, this student is really strong! He didn't notice Vesper using the shadow of the wall to engulf the fire to snuff it out from behind him.

"Are you okay?" Said student asked, seemingly glancing at him up and down. "The fire didn't burn through your clothes, did it?"

Fire? Oh, right! Kalim turns, inspecting his robes. Thankfully, the fire didn't touch him at all. It did get burnt a bit, but hey, at least he wasn't hurt! And he can have it fixed with magic later anyway...

"I'm all good! Thanks for the help!" He beams, as if he didn't catch fire at all.

"Glad to hear it." replied Vesper. "Anyway, why didn't you just stop, drop, and roll?"

"What's that?"

"..."

"Nevermind," Vesper looks away, frowning as worry sets in her features. "This fire is making a mess out of everything. Does this place have automated sprinklers? How about an emergency hose? Wait, does anyone know water magic here?"

"'Water Magic'?" Kalim gasps in realization and clapped his hands together, "That's right! Don't worry, I've got just the thing!"

The red-eyed boy she just helped took something from within his robe. Is that a pen? It looked like a typical black pen, but on top of it was some sort of deep red gemstone with fancy designs. Vesper watches as the boy flourishes it like a wand with a happy grin, yelling; "Respite in the scalding sands, a never ending party. Dance! Sing! Oasis Maker!"

As soon as he says those words, the air hums with magic before turning misty. Then, Vesper felt a drop of water land on her face, before feeling a sudden shower of water begin to descend on her. Rain? She blinked, Inside the building? Wait, is this his magic in the works?

She wasn't seeing things. It was rain. The gentle shower filled the whole room, putting out the wayward fires. Unconsciously, she pulls the red-eyed boy once more to the side, using the shadows of the wall to shield them from the rain. Vesper watched the rain shower in awe. Impressive. I doubt Percy and Jason have this level of control of their powers. Maybe if there was some sort of water source, but unless Percy could take water out of the air itself, it would be a bit difficult but definitely not impossible...

Vesper cuts her thoughts short when she feels a wave of discomfort, anger, annoyance, and irritation ripple through the room like waves. Nearly all the student body were unhappy that they were given an impromptu shower.

"Kalim!" Someone calls from the crowd of soaking wet students, "A little warning would've been appreciated! My make-up isn't waterproof!"

Beside her, the red-eyed boy (now named Kalim in Vesper's head) winces, "Oops! Sorry 'bout that Vil!" With another wave of his pen, the shower dissipated from the room, leaving only the smell of smoke. 

At least the fires are put out. But where's the little gremlin that started this whole mess?

The familiar yowls and yells of Grim answered her question. It looked like he went on a merry chase with two hooded individuals after him. The cat was once again in Crowley's hold, fur soaked and restrained, this time with some sort of weird collar on his neck. The collar's design was gaudy, like a huge padlock make out of bronze in the shape of a crooked heart. It's middle was a split color of red and black. Grim seemed to be trying to summon his flames, but it nothing came out. It was clear that something was restraining his power. It has to be that weird looking collar...

"I would've had you be made as supper, but seeing as I am truly magnanimous, I shall have you expelled from campus instead!" Headmaster Crowley jostles Grim in his hold, ignoring the cat's protests. 

"Ngh! Just you wait! I'm gonna go down in the annals of magic history!" The flaming feline's yells get drowned out as Crowley waves his hand, sending it away from sight. Huffing, the headmage straightens himself. "Ahem! With that out of the way, I declare this orientation to be over! Dorm Heads, please escort your students back to the Dorms."

"Ms. Kenway!" Vesper jolts at the sudden name call. "Over here, please."

"Oh right! You're the new female student!" Kalim enthusiastically grabs one of Vesper's hands, startling her. His grin was brightly infectious as he shook her hand, eyes beaming. "Welcome to NRC! Thanks again for putting out the fire!"

Vesper couldn't help it; she was soft for those kinds of smiles. The way the boy was smiling reminded her a bit of Leo. She returned his smile with a genuine one too, gently shaking Kalim's hand back. "Don't mention it."

"If you ever need anything, just come over to Scarabia!" With a hearty salute, Kalim retreats to the crowd of students in one side, eagerly greeting them with the same unbridled smile as he leads them to the entrance. 

As she stands beside the headmaster, Vesper observes the other students. If Crowley called out to the others as "Dorm Heads", then they must be the ones leading the different groups of students. Too bad she couldn't see them clearly due to their hoods being up, and she doesn't want to tempt the Fates by using her shadows to peek under their hoods. Her demigod luck might act up, or worse, they might actually sense her.

Her eyes widened however upon realizing how a good number of students had either animal ears or horns sticking out of their hoods that were equally as covered- Well, only for the smaller ears. Some of them even have tails. She definitely spotted someone having a wolf tail, and one has a spotted one. Is there a race in this world with animal attributes? Considering its a whole new world, there's definitely some other species other than Mortals and Fae here.

"Ah. Just as I have expected." Vesper overhears a smooth, deep-but-a-pitch high voice say, "I figured I'd come down and see for myself whether Malleus had made an appearance. But once again, he was evidently not informed that his presence was required at an official ceremony."

Malleus? As in Mori?

She turns to see a rather short student, even shorter than her, seemingly staring with veiled accusation at the headmaster beside her. Crowley, for almost the umpteenth time in the night, looked nervous, clearing his throat a bit. Meanwhile, Vesper felt a bit indignant on Mori's behalf. If he had the same importance as the other Dorm Heads, why neglect his invitation? At such an important event as well? Unless... He's used to being ignored and uninvited.

Her mood soured at the realization... and went down even further upon hearing of the comments from some of the newly integrated students. All of their comments were practically the saying same thing: how they were glad that Mori wasn't present.

She kept her hood low, trying to keep herself a bit concealed for now. There were some students who lingered a bit to whisper to each other as they looked at her, while some stared briefly before following their Dorm Heads. Once again, Vesper huffed at how she couldn't make out their features without making direct eye-contact, and she couldn't have that.

As the last student left the Mirror Chamber, Crowley then turned to her.

"Now, being my gracious self, I decided not to cause a scene due to the Mirror's judgement-" 

"Technically, you did."

"I- Huh?"

"You did cause a scene." Vesper deadpanned, folding her arms. "In front of the entire school, by the way. You might as well just broadcast my presence in broad daylight."

"That mishap aside," Crowley waves his hand. "I am still concerned, Ms. Kenway, about where you could stay, seeing as the Mirror brought you here yet could not sort you anywhere-"

A bright, green flash from the Dark Mirror interrupts him, surprising both Vesper and the headmaster. The face within the Dark Mirror appears once more.

"Once the path is tread, it cannot be moved backwards." It says, "Just as a train leaves it's station, it's only way is forwards. It can only return once its journey to its destination is complete."

The Dark Mirror looked like it was staring directly at her as it punctuated it's last sentence.

Crowley was silent, before looking at Vesper. Her face was impassive, but deep down she was practically cursing a small list of people.

She was cursing the original Oracle of Delphi to Tartarus and back. She cursed all former holders of Prophecy (not her mom though), cursed those with some form of seer or foresight gifts be it gods, titans, or monsters. She cursed Apollo, and for added measure, she cursed her so-called half sisters; The Fates. If her lola were to hear her thoughts, she would be washing Vesper's tongue with soap and water. But of course except Rachel, she has no fault in this.

"It would seem," Vesper lets out a long, exhausted sigh. "I would be staying here for a while. But headmaster- Or is it headmage? Anyway, there's something you need to know about me first. Lots of things. Do we have any other staff in this school?"

As she looked at the headmaster-- as in really looked at him for real-- she could tell that he was definitely an older being now. Guess Party Crasher can be serious when he wants to...

"It seems you have a better understanding as to why you are here," Crowley hums, contemplative, before nodding to himself. "Very well! I shall summon the most trusted of the Staff! Let us take this matter to my office!"

Upon entering the headmaster's office, the first thing that catches Vesper's attention was not how magically aesthetic yet ordinary the room was. What caught her attention were the portraits. 

The floating portraits of the Disney Villains.

Her jaw almost drops to the floor as her brain mentally listed off all the villains that she sees; Ursula from the Little Mermaid, the Red Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, Hades from Hercules, the Evil Queen from Snow White, Scar from the Lion King, Jafar from Aladdin, and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. All these characters, although but fiction in her world, are seemingly (almost definitely) revered as people who do exist...

If she doesn't believe that she's in a totally different reality, well, she does now.

Focus. Focus on what you're planning to show the headmage.

Right. Shaking her head, she follows Crowley's instructions. From her shadow inventory, Vesper pulls out her Iris-Phone and a map of the world (Earth of course), along with a map of the United States. In order to aid with any possible location questions, she also takes out her Iris-Tablet. Thanks to the blessings of Hermes and Iris, the Cabins had a field day making different types of gadgets for demigod use only. She was surprised that the internet connection was still stable in her phone and tablet. The blessing of Hermes was still retained even in this reality...And yet, I still can't contact my friends or family...

She gingerly sat on the chair the headmaster provided for her, watching the crow man "ooh"-ing and "aah"-ing the maps she laid out. When asked about some locations, Vesper used the Iris-Tablet to show him more. The text in the tablet was Ancient Greek though, so Vesper had to translate it for him. The demigod was practically sweat-dropping with how the so called "magnanimous" headmaster was acting over the maps, more so with the languages. Like an excited kid looking through his presents in Christmas...

The door to the office creaks open, and Vesper straightens her posture at the sound. She could feel her eyes practically widen like saucers when she takes in the so called staff who entered. She hoped her jaw wasn't dropping to the floor this time.

I s it just me, or am I looking at people who are cosplaying Disney Villains?!

The first who entered was a tall, handsome man in his (probably) late 20's or early 30's, with sharp grey eyes and black-white hair neatly combed and styled. His style of dress was quite fashionable, something Kuya AJ or other children of Aphrodite could pull off: a thick, black-and-white furry coat, and a sleek tuxedo underneath. She bets Piper would look good in a suit too, then again, her best friend could rock anything she tried on without any effort. Still, the man's over all aesthetic and clothing style reminded her of a certain Cruella de Vil...

Followed after the Cruella-looking man was an older gentleman, with greying hair and eyes, dressed in long, maroon robes with a white jabot and a black suit peeking underneath. He seemed to have an aura of seniority, reminding Vesper of Chiron, except with a bit more strictness. She stares at the puffy cat in his arms, who stared back at her with inquisitive eyes. The older man's demeanor is picture perfect to that of Lady Tremaine's unforgiving visage to Cinderella. Vesper hoped that wasn't the case for this older gentleman.

Even more eyebrow raising were the other two who entered; the last one closing the door behind him.

The second to the last who entered was a man with a burly physique, dressed in clothes that looked like what a typical gym teacher would wear. He was very broad-shouldered, and had dark brown hair styled in a pompadour and small blue eyes. He also has a thin beard framing his face. He had a sporty grin, and looked like a...hearty fellow. Vesper tried to not let distaste color her features as she was reminded of a certain annoying meathead hunter in Beauty and the Beast. She still couldn't forgive that guy for soiling Belle's books, not to mention passively insulting the girl's intelligence. Maybe this guy would be different at least...?

The last was quite the opposite to Gaston's long lost brother. He had a darker complexion, with white makings (or were those tattoos?) framing under his eyes, neck, and arms. His eyes were a vivid magenta color, and he had an undercut with black-and-purple locks flipped over the right side of his head. His suit was very eye catching (very jazzy in Vesper opinion) and the whole mix of colors almost made the man look like he could pass for a son of Dr. Facilier. The man looked like the youngest of the Staff, and he had a friendly smile on his face. If he's a member of the Staff, then surely he wouldn't be making students make shady deals with colorful puppets that have ominous stitches... right? 

But she sensed something from the Facilier look-alike. Something familiar. She focused on his shadow, and to her surprise, it moved a bit animatedly, like it was alive. Of course. "Friends in the Other Side" and all... Then again, I've never seen someone with an animated shadow. Mom was the only I saw who could do that trick.

All the staff were looking at her with varying levels of interest and curiosity, while the headmaster remained oblivious to their appearance. The sir Cruella look-alike cleared his throat, arching a fine eyebrow at their headmage, "You called for us, headmaster?"

Crowley straightens from examining the world map (it looked like he was studying the continent of Europe there, Vesper noted), turning with a flourish to his staff, looking a bit embarrassed but trying to hide it. "Thank you all for coming on such a short notice! Now, I'm sure you all know this young lady before us-" He gestures to Vesper, "-because we have a bit of a problem in our hands!"

He turns to Vesper, waving his hand over to the other staff, "Ms. Kenway, these staff members are Divus Crewel, Mozus Trein, Ashton Vargas, and Sam! But you might find Sam mostly in his Mystery Shop here in campus." Sam waves his hand at that with a grin. In the corner of her eye, Vesper could see his shadow tilting its head curiously.

She mentally listed the names in her head. Hopefully she wouldn't forget them. Though she doubted that considering their names were a practically (or somewhat) similar to their counterparts in her world. Vesper bows her head slightly, respectfully, "Good evening, sirs. Uh, sorry for the trouble?"

"Good evenin', Lil lady! It's no trouble at all!" Sam replies.

"Although we're all missing a good night's sleep, I think solving whatever trouble is going on will help us sleep better!" Vargas assured with his whole chest as his grins good-naturedly.

"Good evening, Ms. Kenway," Trein smooths his cat's fur a bit, Vesper tried not to follow his hand. "Tonight was indeed somewhat of a history-in-the-making, considering all the events that had happened." He frowns, "Still, I'm rather disappointed that your experience here as the first young lady to enter Night Raven College was tarnished by such a ruckus in this year's ceremony." 

"...You can say that again." Vesper mumbles.

"And its more rambunctious than last year!" Vargas laughed, "There's not a single year in NRC where the ceremony passed without a hitch. I must say that this one blazed through every single mishap!"

Wow. "So it's basically tradition that every ceremony has something weird that will happen?" asked Vesper.

"Unfortunately," Crowley deflates, shaking his head mournfully, "I do not dare to recall what happened in the earliest ceremonies!"

How old even is this guy...

"That event aside- Ah, yes, good evening to you too, pup-" Crewel frowns at Crowley, "You summoned us here about a serious problem, yes? Does it have something to do with the Ms. Kenway's sorting?"

"I was about to get to that!" Crowley exclaims, huffing. "It's a "Yes" and a "No" to that question, but I believe Ms. Kenway can explain it better than me!"

He turns to look at her expectantly, a "go on" expression on his face as he motions to the teachers, who all looked at her with confusion and concern.

So much for being magnanimous...

"So," Vesper begins, taking a deep breath before releasing it. This is gonna be a long night.

"I'm not from this world at all."

"...You are saying that your world does not have any magic?" Trein frowns, putting his hand against his chin. His cat, Lucius, was lounging on the table where Vesper had the maps spread. The other staff where all crowding around the table, examining the "proof" that she laid out.

"It does have magic." Vesper explains, "Just like in this world, only certain people can use it. However, while magic is a common knowledge in Twisted Wonderland, from where I came from, many believe it doesn't exist. That, or its just a work of fiction or a bunch of parlor tricks used to entertain others."

"You say that the age of gods have long since passed here, but in my world, the age of gods are as present as ever. They never disappeared at all; they just simply integrated themselves with modern society, where they dwell among mortals who mostly remain unaware of their existence."

The staff all had varying expressions of shock at the revelation.

"What a sobering thought." Crewel remarks, "To think that a godly being was living beside you, and you remained none the wiser."

"Did they cast a spell, Lil' Lady? To disguise themselves and their influence?" Sam asks.

Vesper nodded. "It's not a spell, per se. More of a magical fog that exists with them; blocking all things mystical from mortal eyes by making it "make sense" in their perspective. We call it "the Mist". Hold on, lemme try something..."

She pulls out a celestial bronze dagger from the shadow underneath the table. The weapon's color contrasted starkly against the dark office's ambience. As she presented it to the staff, she asks them, "What do you see?"

Sam hummed, staring at the blade. "A dagger, one made out of bronze of some kind."

"The bronze does not seem normal. May I, pup?" Vesper hands the dagger to Crewel, who holds it for Trein to examine. 

"Magic, or some kind of enchantment, is laced in the alloy," The older gentleman remarks, "The energy...Hmm, is quite ancient. Where did you get this?" 

"You're right on the money with what that blade is," The demigod frowns, contemplative. "If the Mist was working right now, you would see a pen, or some kind of baton instead. It all depends on how you view it, actually."

Vargas weighs the dagger in his hand. It looked like he was holding a giant needle due to his physique. "So, that Mist thing isn't working here?" 

"Magic has existed and thus intertwined with the land and the people since time immemorial. Perhaps that must be why the "Mist" does not work here. Perhaps it is all around us..." Crowley hypothesizes. Vesper felt inclined to agree with that statement.

"There are some mortals who can see through the "Mist". We call them Clear Sighted." She continues, "Sometimes, there are mortals that catch the eye of some gods, and... Well..." Vesper makes an awkward rolling gesture with her hands, "...have children with them called demigods..."

"Out of wedlock?" Trein looks rather sour. "We have books and copies of ancient records that do speak of such beings and their actions, but most of the records are either have changed over time or lost for good. It is rather difficult these days to ascertain their authenticity."

The demigod winces at his stern tone, "Uh, the gods are well known for their promiscuity? That's kind of a fact for us..."

"Why am I not surprised?" Crewel intones, also not looking happy about such. "And speaking of demigods, Ms. Kenway, am I correct when I say you are one of them?"

"Correct." Time to rip off the band-aid. Vesper, for the first time tonight, pulls down her hood, showing her features.

She looks at everyone gathered at the table before saying: "My mother is Ǹ̵̛͓̹̪̜͍̥͚̑͂͗̓̈́͑̐̍͝͝y̴̢̼̬̣̜̺̠͕͐̿̈́̓̿̎͐̂̽͘͠͠x̵̢̩̰͙̜̙̯͈̬̩̳̝̫̝͗͊̈̒.̶̨̢̫͉̺͑̆͒͗̉̚ͅ"

The whole room shuddered, the darkness seemingly swallowing the walls itself, plunging the office in utter darkness. The temperature seemed to have dropped to zero. Everyone, sans Vesper, stood up straight, looking around frantically and cautiously, their magic mediums at the ready. Vargas looked like he wanted to punch something. Lucius was now wide awake and hissing, his fur standing on end and ears flat on his head. It was like they were looking for a threat that wasn't even there.

That ripple of magic that Vesper sensed before, when she gave Mori his nickname, was back. But this time, instead of a hum in the air, it felt like a tsunami had washed over them. Beads of cold sweat rolled down each of the staff's necks and foreheads. Vesper can practically taste their fear, nervousness, and shock...

As the darkness slowly faded and everything returned to normal, Vesper locked eyes with headmaster Crowley, who, despite being similarly frazzled by the whole event, had a look of cautious understanding.

Trein was the first to catch his breath, "You- You know their true names...?"

They watched the un-phased demigod shrug her shoulders, "We say their names all the time, and quite casually too. Their true names are common knowledge where I'm from."

She looks at all the staff who began to compose themselves before continuing, "As I was saying, my mother is the Night-bringer, the Lady of the Night and Shadows. She's a primordial, so she stands out a bit from the other gods. Everything within the domain of the night is within her control."

The older gentleman looked like he was about to faint. In fact, it seemed like all the staff had varying states of wanting to pass out as well.

"Still, Ms. Kenway, I urge you to be more cautious of using their names in this land." Crowley sternly warns, "The Age of Gods may have passed here, but names-- especially true names-- still have power."

"Understood, Headmaster," Vesper nodded. "I'll stick to using nicknames or their epitaphs instead." 

"Well I'll be..." Sam wheezed, "...your world is really something, Lil' Lady."

"If you say their names so casually..." Vargas begins.

"Then that must mean the gods are quite close to their children?" Crewel finishes.

A myriad of different expressions danced across Vesper's face, before she settled on looking like she swallowed a lemon, "Unfortunately... No. The gods aren't as close with their children as you might think. Sometimes, well... Some of them forget we even exist."

She feels disbelief rifle through the staff, before the the various feelings of anger, disappointment, and disapproval followed. Vesper understands why they feel such a way. Most mortals, with a heart that is, have the same reactions at how demigods live their lives and how their parents treat them.

"If this matter is sensitive, Ms. Kenway, we understand if you do not wish to speak of it." Trein says, Lucius seemingly agreeing with him with a meow. The other staff nodded their heads grimly in agreement.

"Oh, uh, that's kind of you, Mr. Trein." Vesper blinks at that, feeling a bit warm at the concern, "But it's okay. My fellow demigods and I usually joke and talk about it."

Crewel frowns, "Still, that does not make it 'okay'." 

"I get where you all are coming from, really, I do. But honestly, for us demigods, we've gotten used to it. I know its something we shouldn't have to get used to, but so long as we can live our lives the best we can and the way that we want to, those kinds of things don't really matter in the end."

Vesper will not, of course, tell them that she and her friends had to fight whole wars, monsters, and other beings to get to where they are now.

The staff still looked uncomfortable with her words, but accepted it regardless.

"If the Lil' lady says so, then so be it."

"...Very well."

"I do have choice words, but alright."

"Regardless, do not hesitate to ask for any assistance, pup."

Loud sniffing could be heard from the end of the table. They all stared at Crowley incredulously as he wipes his tears underneath his mask with a handkerchief. 

"How it warms my heart that everyone here is so understanding," The headmaster blows his nose, "All thanks to me, of course, for picking you all as my most trusted members!" 

Crewel rolls his eyes, "Anyways. Pup, would you like to explain why you possess such a dagger in the first place?"

Oh boy. 

"You're gonna have to sit down for this..." Vesper began, already knowing that tonight was going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

Vesper made sure she wasn't missing anything when she explains the nature of the different mythological monsters, along with how they view demigods as snacks or a way to get back at their godly parents. Not to mention about how demigods could kill them with specific enchanted weaponry.

She also informs them of everything else a demigod must know and know not to do in order to survive, along with the nature of Camp Half-Blood and other magical/mythological locations and beings...

…She may or may not have implied that she and her friends had to fight in wars (or even prevent said wars) that could end with her world's destruction if they lost. Hey, she tried not to say it outright, but it was kind of difficult when most of her friends were involved in such major events.

By the end of it all, the staff looked exhausted.

Sam was scratching his head a bit, "I know you said not to make a huge deal about this, Lil' lady, but knowing what we know now makes it..."

"Impossible." Trein sighs, seemingly looking like he aged over the time of their conversation. Lucius seemed to be concerned for his master as he paces around the table to reach him.

"Now that we know all of these... mind-blowing information," Vargas rubbed his chin contemplatively, "What should we do now?"

"'What should we do now'?" Crewel repeated, his expression turned serious, "It's obvious what we must do now! Everything the pup has told us must be kept in strict confidence!"

"I agree, nothing must leave this room." Trein nodded, and all the staff followed with serious expressions. 

"Since Ms. Kenway does not belong to this world, we need to arrange all the necessary legalities to make sure that fact is hidden," Crowley began, "Not to mention finding a place for her to stay..."

"You haven't thought about that before?" 

"I-It slipped my mind!"

"It is a good thing the Lil' Lady hasn't been sorted though! Think about it, imagine the trouble that might happen because she's all by her lonesome with the Little Imps!" 

Immediately everybody blanched.

"In a school of teenage boys," Crewel gritted out, pinching his nose bridge, "Undisciplined, unruly, and utterly chaotic rabid dogs!"

Very strong choice of words. Vesper sweat-dropped. They can't be that bad...Unless...?

"While I do have some faith in a few of the boys," Trein says, "I must agree that we unfortunately have too many who are... rowdy."

"'A few of the boys' you say?" Vargas arched an eyebrow, "Who are they?"

Trein thinks for a bit, "...Rosehearts is one, along with his vice dorm head, Clover. Although it pains me to admit, even Kingscholar has some discipline in some areas. There is also Vanrouge and Draconia, along with young Silver. Al-Asim may be open to respect as well as Viper, so is Bucchi and some of the Savanaclaw Dorm. Schoenheit can be considered too, and perhaps even Hunt..."

"So in the end, you can only count up to both of your hands and a few more." Crewel grunted. "Putting that aside, I will be in charge of her school wardrobe." He turns to Vesper, who blinks at how he did not wait for any of the staff to reply, seemingly confident that no one will deny his claim. "Ms. Kenway, do you prefer a skirt or dress pants?"

"Dress pants, sir."

"Noted," The fashionable man murmurs, "A few more uniforms for the other seasons and activities as well, I may need to take some measurements..."

"Wait, hold on, don't I have to pay for those though?" Reaching into her shadow inventory, Vesper feels for where she kept the drachma, before pulling out a small pouch of it. "I know this might not be the currency here, but you could convert it?" 

She held out a drachma coin for the rest to see. Sam was quick to appear by her side, "Well now, may I see the coin for a bit, Lil' Lady?"

As she handed the girl-scout cookie sized coin, Sam examines it with a keen eye. "My, my! This coin's made out of pure, solid gold! Not something you would see everyday, that is if you're a royal."

"Looks like we must open an account for her too."

Crewel shook his head. "There's no need for payment, pup."

"Still though! It would be good to open an account for her in this world! Lil' lady, if you want, I can convert this into Thaumarks, our world's currency!" Although Sam was a bit boggled. He wondered how much money would this be for just this one coin?

"Sure thing...?" Vesper scratched her ear, "I've got the rest over here..." She takes out the pouch where the rest where kept. The demigod decided to keep some of it on the side just in case, not putting everything in the pouch. Sam's let's out an "oof!" as she handed the pouch over to him. Vesper also left the opening of the account to Sam, seeing as she had no idea which bank to trust. She'll pay him back later...

"Now, on to her living quarters," Trein frowns disapprovingly, "Headmaster Crowley, where do you plan to let her stay?"

"In Ramshackle, of course!" 

"That run-down place?" Vargas questioned with a frown.

"Absolutely not!" Both Crewel and Trein snapped, glaring at the headmaster who flinched. "There is no doubt that rumors of a female student will reach the outside world. People will become curious. Sooner or later, they will find out about her living conditions. If that happens, what do you think will happen to Night Raven College's reputation when they learn of how we let a young lady stay at such a dismal and unclean space?!" 

"W-We can clean it up!" The headmaster tried to defend himself, "It can be refurbished to be livable!"

"In just one night?" Crewel tutted before pulling out a measuring tape from somewhere inside his black and white coat. "And how about the magic used?"

Trein shook his head, "Have a bedroom be cleaned and a bathroom in good use for now. It is getting quite late, and we all still have classes to attend to first thing in the morning."

"I'll get some take-out for the Lil' Lady to have for dinner tonight!" Sam volunteers, the pouch gone from his hand. He must have used magic to take it away.

"Take her to Ramshackle, headmaster, I will need to get Ms. Kenway's measurements before I help Sam gather the needed groceries." Crewel made his way towards Vesper who nodded when he asked for her permission to measure her sizes. Thankfully, he made use of magic instead of his actual hands.

"I, on the other hand, will prepare the necessary materials and books needed for her curriculum and for more knowledge of our world." Trein declares, after watching the two for a while before readying himself to leave with Lucius in his arms. His eyes softened a bit at Vesper, "Have a good evening, Ms. Kenway."

"You too, Mr. Trein."

"You have permission to pet Lucius."

"Huh? Oh, okay. Thank you, Mr. Trein." Heck yeah! Finally! After all, petting a cat was what got her in so much trouble in the first place. Thankfully, Crewel was quick in what he needed to get before letting her go. They watched her relish petting Lucius with amusement, while the cat simply lets her pet him. This was a first for Vesper, who only became more giddy. She's found a cat that doesn't flee at the first sight of her!

"Haha! I hope you enjoy your time here, Ms. Kenway! You're in good hands!" Vargas grins heartily, giving her a salute, "Go and have a good rest now! A good sleep will help your muscles be fit and ready for the next day!"

Well, at least he isn't so bad. Vesper smiles, "Good night, Sir Vargas."

"Come away now, Ms. Kenway, to Ramshackle Dorm!"

Along the way, Crowley began to explain the rules. He will give a day for Vesper to prepare and immerse herself with the atmosphere and locations, before she will begin her classes the following day. While she does that tomorrow, the staff will take care of making the Ramshackle a suitable place for her to live in.

"Here we are!"

Vesper takes in the whole place before her. Behind the iron spear bar gates was a paved walkway and a staircase, leading to an old building nearby. In some parts, withered trees bordered the lawn, and the grass was practically dry. There were stones (upon looking closely, she realized they were tombstones) littered here and there. Overall, the whole aesthetic seemed to scream "haunted mansion" in bold letters...

She likes it.

"Wow," She comments, looking around as Crowley leads her closer to the building. "This place sure does have plenty of character."

"Quite a charming little place." The headmaster agrees, "Now, this place used to be a Dorm, but after being abandoned for quite some time, it began to age into the charmer she is now!"

Charmer indeed. The demigod takes in the rusty look of the building, from the boarded up windows to the rotten wood in some parts, to even the fading paint of the whole house itself. She's really digging the haunted houses aesthetic. As Vesper looks closely, she's surprised that none of the glass windows were shattered at all, they had grime and other stains, but they weren't cracked or broken. 

She follows Crowley to the front entrance, who opened the door quite easily despite how ancient it looked. Vesper honestly thought that it would've fallen apart when he did so. Surprisingly, the door and its locks still worked. As they entered Ramshackle, she takes in the smell of mold and dust, along with the cobwebs in the corners, and the bits of furniture seeming haphazardly tossed here and there.  

They entered what seemed to be the dorm's lounge before Crowley turns to her. 

"Now, stay here and make yourself comfortable while I look for the master bedroom. Hopefully that place will be easier to tidy up than the other rooms. Tata!" With that, the crow man disappears to the upstairs.

"Welp, I can't exactly stand around doing nothing," Vesper huffs, putting her hands on her hips as she observes the messy, dusty lounge before her. "This place definitely could use a bit of a make-over."

Outside Ramshackle, a distant rumble of thunder could be heard. It wasn't long until rain began to pour, and leaks within the house began to drip. Vesper sighed. She loves what the house is going for; that kind of abandoned feel, but since it was gonna be the place she'll be staying in for who knows how long, Vesper can't have that. I wonder if I can ask Crowley if I could design the dorm a bit...

As she contemplated to look for buckets, a nearby crash of wooden furniture alerted her. Eyes narrowing, Vesper moved to where the sound came from. It seemed to have come from the corner of the lounge.

"MRAW!" Her eyes met bright blue ones.

"You again?" Vesper feels a headache begin to form. "Weren't you tossed out of the school?"

"Puh-lease! I've got a couple of tricks up my sleeve!" Grim growls, squaring himself before her. "I ain't givin' up on goin' here just 'cause I got kicked out one measly ol' time! And if you think otherwise, you don't know Grim!"

"Who?" She deadpanned. The feline gasped in outrage. "First of all: just where did you come from? And secondly, what are you?"

"Grr, I told you already! I'm the sorcery extraordinaire: Grim!"

"You didn't answer my first question."

"Gah! Who cares!" The cat stamps its feet (or it is paws?), "Listen up, human! I was born to do this! I'm a magical prodigy who's got the makin's to become one of the greatest mages who ever lived! So I've been waitin' and waitin' for that black carriage to come for me. And yet... Hmph! That Dark Mirror's got no eye for talent!"

Waiting to be chosen, huh. She went silent. Her mind's eye flashed to the different faces of the demigods she has known to have not been claimed back then. Especially before... before that Second Titanochamy.

"-That's why I took the initiative and came here myself! I'll show 'em! I'll show those humans that it'll be a great loss if I wasn't in this school! Hahaha!"

"Props to you, I guess, for taking that initiative to come into the school." Even if you did cause major arson charges and headaches here and there. Not to mention trying to rob me...

A drop of water lands on Grim's head, cutting his guffaws as the fire in his ears sputtered a bit. "Bwah! There are holes practically everywhere! Can't you do something about this?"

"Can't you?" Vesper shot back, "Aren't you fond of calling yourself "sorcerer extraordinaire"?"

"As if I would stoop low to use my magic like that!" That was a lie. Looks like he can only spew out fireballs.

"So much for being Mr. "sorcerer extraordinaire" then." Huffing, Vesper turns to walk further into the house.

"H-Hey! Where 'ya going!"

"To find a bucket. Or two. Seeing as someone doesn't wanna lift a finger to help."

"Y-You! Come back here!"

The feline follows after Vesper into the hallway.

As Vesper explored the first floor, she comes across what seemed to be the kitchen, dining area, and first floor bathroom. There was a walk-in storage closet too, and another spacious, airy room that looked like it was wide enough to be a training area. Aside from needing a good thorough spring cleaning, none of those rooms had a bucket, or a container she could use to catch the rain water. 

It didn't help that she had a noisy cat following her.

"Just so you know, I was accompanied by the headmaster. So if you wanna push your luck, feel free to test my patience." Vesper warns Grim, who was practically making her ears bleed at this point by his constant whining. 

The cat perked up, "The headmaster? Here?! Hrmph, if I could just show him what I'm made of, then he'll let me in for sure!"

"If you're way of "showing him what you're made of" is torching the house down, I wouldn't recommend it."

"Don't look down at me, human! I have better control of my magic than-"

A sensation of something cold washed over Vesper, stopping her in her tracks. She frowned, looking to the wall at her right. An energy that she had felt many times before just briefly passed her by. Did I just sense...?

"BOO!"

Grim shrieked. Vesper whirls to the owner of the voice, hands reaching for her blades.

A white, chubby ghost was half-way phased through the wall, as if it was lying in wait there the entire time. The demigod blinked hard. Was it just her, or does the ghost's visage look a bit like Casper? It had a black top hat with a blue ribbon around it, and a dark blue grey cape was wrapped around it's shoulders. It had a droopy expression, and looked rather cartoonish for a ghost. 

Two more chilling presences brushed passed her, and Vesper sees two ghosts phase through the opposite wall. They looked just like the first ghost, with the same hats to boot, the other was quite lanky while the ghost next to it was smaller. They all had the same droopy smiles.

"Wow, it's been a while since we made new friends!" Ghost #1 says, "We haven't had visitors in ages!"

Ghost #2 nods, "Yup, yup!"

"You wouldn't mind becoming friends with us, yeah?" Ghost #3 asks.

No hostile intent. Vesper relaxes from her stance, watching the ghosts curiously. They do seem to exhibit loneliness and resignation, though.

"G-Ghosts!" Grim shivers, practically darting away from them. "Y-You don't scare me! I'll burn you to a crisp!"

He spews a fireball at the closest ghost, only for the flames to disappear, swallowed by a tendril of shadow that reached out of nowhere to block the attack.

"Hah?! What gives?!" 

"Settle down. You're gonna burn the house down with your fire- Well, misfire, I guess." Vesper turns to the trio of ghosts before her, beaming a friendly smile. "Hi there! Sorry if we're intruding? I'm going to be living here for now, so I hope you don't mind a new dorm member."

"Eh? New dorm member?" Ghost #3 questioned curiously, "Oh! Young missy, are you a new student here?"

"Yup, and this fella who tried to burn you-" She motions to Grim, "-is also a neighbor too. Sorry if he tried to sear your eyebrows."

"'Sear our eyebrows'? Hehe, you're funny, little miss!" Ghost #1 giggled.

"It's no problem, miss! We simply didn't have this much fun since last time!" Ghost #2 simmered, "Most people just up and run away when they see us, but you actually stuck around to talk! And your little raccoon friend tried to fight us! All in good fun, I say!"

Grim jumped up at that, agitated, "I ain't no raccoon, you floating marshmallow!"

"He's a cat." Vesper added with a snort.

"Ack! I ain't no cat either!" Grim glares at her, "Whose side are you on?!"

"Sorry Grim, but I'm gonna have to agree with the ghosts on this one." Besides, the ghosts were rather adorable. Plus she spent enough time with Ate Quinn and Nico to be chill enough around death, ghosts, and other spirits...

"Then what are you, a small bear?" Ghost #3's eyes had a twinkle of mischief. 

"Or a giant rodent?" Ghost #1 followed, also snickering good-naturedly. 

Vesper had to purse her lips to keep herself from laughing as she watched Grim practically swell like a balloon. His ears were spewing smoke at the ghost's comments. 

"That's it!" He hollered, "I'll show you the wrath of Grim the Master Mage!"

"Ooh~ scary!" The ghosts wailed teasingly, flying up and about. 

One of the ghosts drifted right next to her as Grim was distracted. "Little Missy, could you do us a favor and humor us a bit? We wanna play around with the little neighbor, but he seems to be taking us a tad too seriously."

Vesper smiles, mischief dancing in her eyes, "Sure thing, what do you need me to do?"

"That was a neat trick you did with the shadow back there. Just keep doing that! We'll do the rest!" The ghost zooms back into the fray, and Vesper followed suit. 

She watches the ghost flit through the furniture, the floors, ceiling, and walls as Grim shoots fire at them. Vesper uses the shadows to move objects, grabbing furniture to the side or using the darkness to smother the flames from touching the house's surface. Seeing at what Ramshackle was made out of, she had a feeling that a single spark from Grim's flames will burn the house down. 

"Ugh, stop movin'!" Grim spits out another ball of flame at a ghost hiding in the fireplace. The ghost simply phases through the fixture, and flame ignites the wood, lighting up the room a little bit.

"You're never hitting anything with your eyes closed, Grim!" Vesper chides, using a shadow tendril to smother a fire ball from hitting a portrait.

"Don't boss me around!" Another ball of fire missed the ghost at the couch. She moves it to the side to avoid getting caught on fire. This is a very bizarre training experience, Vesper thinks, then again, I've seen and been through worse.

More fireballs were thrown around before Grim decided to throw in the the towel.

"Myah! Human!" He calls out, "Tell me where the ghosts are!"

Vesper fake gasped, putting her hand over her chest in mock shock, "You're saying the great sorcerer extraordinaire Grim needs help?!"

She inwardly snickered at the embarrassment Grim felt as he groans, seemingly regretting what he asked. "Argh! Yes! Let's show these marshmallows what we're made of!"

Vesper looks at one of the ghosts who then gave her a thumbs up. She returns it with a grin.

"Alright! You better listen up!" Vesper yells, "A ghost is about to appear on your left!"

Grim twists and shoots out a fireball to the left, hitting a ghost square in the chest.

"Owie!" A ghost cried, sinking down the floor.

"That's more like it!" Grin beamed, "Keep telling me where they pop up, human!"

After making sure the ghosts aren't actually hurt, Vesper continued to direct Grim's aim. His accuracy seemed to get better at least, and he was beginning to follow her commands with no problem at all. Over time, Vesper felt like she was having fun. From the way some of the ghosts were peeking, it seemed they were having a blast (ehem, pun intended) as well.

"What a fun night this was," Ghost #3 popped up again. "Thanks for the fun, miss. We'll leave you be for now!"

"Let's play a bit more next time!" Ghost #1 and #2 cheered before disappearing with the other ghosts.

Vesper gives them a little wave, while Grim was panting as he stumbles next to her, looking a bit exhausted. "Where-Where'd they go now?" He asks, looking warily around the place.

The sound of someone clapping quite enthusiastically caught their attention.

"Ah, such incredible teamwork! A wonderful mastery of command!" praised Crowley, who jumped from the stairwell and landed on the floor beside them. "I must admit, my intuition as an educator sensed something about your potential, Ms. Kenway! The potential of a master beast tamer, animal trainer, and troublemaker punisher!"

"...Was that supposed to be a compliment or something?" Vesper questioned, incredulous, "Also, were you watching us from the start?"

"Indeed I was! Actually, when I sensed that you weren't alone, I came over to check if any trouble had befallen on you- For I am gracious! Of course, I would never dare let any harm fall upon the first female student of Night Raven College. One who we've taken under our wing!"

Crowley waved his arms like a bird, flourishing his feathered coat that hung like a cape from his shoulders. Miraculously, the coat didn't fall from all the wild movements the Headmaster was doing. Vesper wondered if it was pinned to his shoulders, or stapled? She couldn't see if it was any of the sort due to how frivolously Crowley was moving. 

"Also!" He points a clawed finger at Grim, who jolted at the movement. "While I must admit that I would've thrown this creature out the moment I laid eyes on him, considering he chased you out of the Mirror Chamber-"

Vesper raised her hand slightly, "I kind of locked him up, actually."

"-I was intrigued by your interactions and subsequent team-up! So I decided to observe! And I must say, it was the best course of action!" Crowley hums, mumbling to himself in agreement. 

"'Team-up'? I was doin' much of the work! The human just watched!" Grim grumbled, "And I deserve a reward for all that ghost-cleaning up that I did!"

"'Cleaning up'? More like setting the house on fire." She rolled her eyes, "While you were busy trying to commit arson, I was trying to make sure your flames didn't actually burn the house down!"

"Now, now, both of your statements have merit." The Headmaster had a twinkle in his eye, "And I just happen to have a grand idea! Since you have proven yourself to me and Ms. Kenway-" He motions to Vesper, "-I, in all my infinite generosity, will allow you to become a student in this school!"

Both Vesper and Grim blinked in shock. "What?"

"F-For real?!" The feline couldn't believe it, straightening in excitement, "Really?!"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Crowley wags his finger, "There are some things I must clarify! I will allow you to be a student, but you will be under Ms. Kenway's charge!"

"What?!" Grim shrieked, eyes bulging out of his skull.

"'Beast tamer', 'Animal Trainer', 'Troublemaker Punisher'." Vesper mumbles, listing each name with her fingers as Grim let out his fit. "I should've seen this coming." She sighed, the headache was returning with full force now. Was this another part of the Fates' making her life miserable?

"N-No way!" The feline huffed, "I ain't getting chained to some human!"

"Oh really? Or would you prefer to be a janitor then? Or to be kicked out of this school, never to return?" The Headmaster stared at Grim seriously, his glowing yellow eyes piercing. Vesper was reminded of how Ate Quinn would often give the same stare when she was serious, except her sunset gold eyes looked like they were looking deep into the soul. Then again, considering who her dad is, she can really peer into one's soul.

"Erk," Grim withered under the stare, tail lashing, before letting out a yowl. "Ugh, fine! Henchmen!" He turned to Vesper, "You better not embarrass me!"

"'Henchmen'?" Her eye twitched, her mouth twisting into a grimace, "Two can play at the ugly nickname game, "Lord Fur-ball"!" She shot back, and Grim squawked.

Crowley wiped an invisible tear and sniffed briefly. "It's good to see you two get along so well! All thanks to me, of course!" He cleared he throat and composed himself. "Ahem, now that that matter is all settled, come along, Ms. Kenway! The master bedroom and bathroom has been set up and running!"

Vesper has to admit it; the Headmaster did an incredible job cleaning up the bedroom.

The whole place reminded her of a mix of vintage and Victorian elements, down to the floors and wallpaper, to the furniture, even the light fixture. There was also a closet and tall empty bookshelves to the side, and Vesper's first thought about those shelves was to fill them to the brim with books. The room even had a fireplace, which was incredibly neat, in her opinion.

There was a door in between the closet and the bookshelves. When Vesper opens the door to investigate, she is met with a clean bathroom: complete with a bathtub and a shower head over it. There was a sink and a rack to hang a towel, along with a clothes wicker basket. She stared at the toilet though, because the back part was way up near the ceiling. A high level toilet, her mind supplies.

"I did a fine job, I must say!" Crowley exclaims, nodding to himself, "Ms. Kenway, there's something you must see over here!"

Her eyes follows to where the Headmaster was gesturing, and sure enough, placed on top of the bed was a pitch black suitcase, one that her eyes missed when she observed the room for the first time.

"I found this curious little thing underneath the bed as I cleaned up the room," He explains, frowning, "I could not open it, however. No matter what I tried, it seemed whatever enchantment on the case was strong. But it did seem to let out a very familiar aura that you might know..."

As Vesper touched the suitcase, her eyes widened at the texture. The case was made out of celestial bronze, but covered in shadow, as if someone dumped the case in a bucket of darkness. The lock needed some sort of key, but when Vesper brushed her fingers against the metal to inspect it, there was a resounding click and the case popped open. Cautious, she lifted the case cover closely.

What greeted her eyes first was her jacket.

In shock, Vesper abruptly pushes the case cover wide open, her quick movements surprising Crowley, as she reached to inspect her jacket. The jacket was a lightweight parka with a hood. It was a midnight blue color, fading to black at the sleeves and hem, dotted with a design that resembled stars in the night sky where the black color was.

As she raised it to eye-level, Vesper felt a wave of relief when she sees that the jacket had no wear and tear, and smelled like it was freshly laundered.  

"Phew, and I thought I was never gonna see you again." She sighed, a little happy that her parents' gift was safe and sound. The jacket may have been her mother's first gift, but it was her father's last. The moment was ruined however when Grim tries to take a peek at the suitcase rather roughly.

"What's inside this thing?" The cat asked, almost trying to dive into her suitcase.

Vesper shuts the case roughly, although she made sure it didn't clamp on her jacket. She glared at Grim, who flinched and backed off, grumbling to the side of the room. As she began to sort through the case again, she could hear Crowley seriously chiding Grim for attempting to "invade a lady's privacy".

Focusing back on the contents of the case, she noticed it had some casual clothes, a couple of Camp Half-Blood shirts (both the orange and black ones) and even some pajamas, and there was a shoebox that had her hiking boots. Off to the side was a small case for eyeglasses, and Vesper immediately snatches it up. She opens it eagerly, lo and behold, her sunglasses was inside. Smiling, she takes them from the glasses case and puts them on.

To her, she could see through the shades with no problem; it was almost as if she was wearing normal eyeglasses. But according to her friends, when they wore it, it was pitch black. Vesper would often wear her shades to protect her eyes from direct sunlight, but also to hide her gaze from others. The eyeglasses were also enchanted; if she wanted to, she could switch the lens to a normal reading one by simply touching the frame. The glasses helped translate any words to Ancient Greek, allowing her to read her books or do homework with no problem.

Taking off the sunglasses, she sets them to the side. As she reached the bottom part of her suitcase, Vesper blinked. She pulls out a pillow, almost the length of her arm. From the fabric, she realized that the pillow resembled the enchanted ones that the children of Hypnos would carry with them. How did this fit in here? Not questioning further, she pondered a bit, before nodding to herself. 

"Lord Fuzzball! Get over here, I have something to give you." She called. 

"Hey! The name's Grim, henchman!" Grim grunted, but comes over.

"Until you learn to say my name, I'm calling you any nickname I want. But never mind that," Vesper presents the pillow to him. "Here, this is for you."

The feline looks at the pillow suspiciously, "What's this for?"

"Its a pillow. You know, where you can rest your head or sleep on? Anyways, its an enchanted pillow. You'll be out like a light no matter how awake you are. Not to mention great sleep and comfort."

"Eh? For real? This better not be some sort of trick-"

"Just try it if you're that paranoid."

After a moment of ruminating, Grim snatches the pillow from her before going over to the seat near the fireplace. He tosses the pillow on the chair before hopping on it, making himself comfortable. "Hmm, not bad, henchman!" Grim yawns, stretching, "Uwah~ Its like I'm on a floating cloud..."

The cat passes out, fast asleep.

"Well! Now that you two have settled in, I shall take my leave!" Crowley dusts his suit a bit, "Ah, Ms. Kenway, Mr. Crewel and Sam have dropped off other necessities as well. I believe dinner is also a part of that!"

"Thank you, Headmaster. I'll check them out later."

Nodding, Crowley flourishes himself once more. "Good night, Ms. Kenway. I sincerely hope your time here at Night Raven College will be fruitful!"

Vesper nods, waving with a slight smile. "Good night, Headmaster."

In a blink of an eye, the crow vanishes from view.

What a day.

Vesper reaches up to pull away the hair clamp from her hair, letting it fall down her shoulders. She moves to the bathroom, looking at mirror. She pauses as she takes in her reflection. Huh. As she looked closely, she realized she was wearing dark make up; eyeshadow, eyeliner, the whole package. A voice that suspiciously sounded like Kuya AJ says "It suits you!" at the back of her mind.

Vesper feels a bit sad having to wash it away, but she needs to freshen up before heading to bed. Her mind clocks in at what time it was at the moment: 3:00 am. Sheesh, what a night. Or is it morning?

After doing her nightly routine and changing to her pajamas, Vesper heads back to her room. As she opens the door, she pauses to see the three ghosts from back then all hovering around the sleeping and snoring Grim, all whispering quietly to one another. 

"Hi." She calls out softly, the ghosts all perked up at her greeting. 

"Hello, little miss, we're not disturbing you both at all, I hope?" One of the ghosts drifted near her, seeing her in her pajamas. "Oh, just tell us if you're about to hit the hay, and we'll scramble!"

"I was, but seeing you guys made me wanna stay up a bit longer." Vesper smiles, moving to sit on her bed. Wow. Softer than it looks. "By the way, I didn't get to ask, but what are your names? If you don't mind."

"We don't mind, missy! Uh, just a tiny problem though: We don't got any names!"

"Oh," She blinked. "Um, do you not remember them?"

One of the ghost shook their head, "No dice, little missy. Nothing at all."

"Well then, that won't do." Vesper clears her throat, another idea popping up in her mind. "What if I gave you names? I can't keep calling you all numbers in my head. It's kinda rude."

"Really? You will?" The ghosts beamed. 

She nodded, smiling gently, "If you don't mind."

"Okay then! What names will you give us?" They piped excitedly, reminding Vesper of the eager hellhounds (disguised as huskies by the Mist) that she takes care of back her grandparents' farm-ranch.

The demigod hummed, looking at the ghosts in deep thought. The three ghosts in front of her seems to be always together, and seemed to be "leaders" of the other ghosts of Ramshackle. Yet, they each had different personalities despite having similar appearances here and there. A few moments passed before Vesper snapped her fingers, "I got it!"

She points at the closest ghost, who looks a bit more "older" than the rest. "You'll be sir Athos!"

"And you," Vesper gestures at the ghost in the middle who was quite chubby, "-will be sir Porthos!"

"Lastly," She smiles at the last ghost, who looked a bit more spirited (Heh.) than the rest. "I'll give you the name sir Aramis!"

The three ghosts all marveled over their names.

"Wowie, not just a name, but a title to boot!" Sir Aramis giggles heartily.

"Thank you, little miss! We'll treasure these names!" Sir Athos bows, Vesper returns it with a nod of her head.

"This kindness will be forever remembered, missy!" Sir Porthos agreed. 

"Glad you all like the names, my friends!" Vesper chuckles, before stopping herself from yawning.

"Oh dear, its already really late! Okay, friends, let's bid good night for now. The little missy needs her rest!" They all nodded to one another, before moving to leave.

The ghosts all wave, "Good night, little miss!"

"G'night, musketeers!" She salutes.

With that, the ghosts vanished.

Vesper looks over to where Grim was, and just as she thought, he was still deep asleep thanks to the pillow she gave, mumbling about tuna.

With a sigh, she flops back into bed, pulling up her blanket. As she stared at the ceiling, her mind jumps to recall everything that has happened up until now. Vesper really couldn't believe her luck at this point, to be transported to a different reality of all things...

She wondered what was the Oracle trying to tell her.

Well, that's a problem for future me.

The demigod shuts her eyes and lets sleep take over.

Chapter Text

Bright sunlight greeted her first thing in the morning.

Vesper groans, lifting a hand to block out the light as she opened an eye. She realized that she forgot to draw the curtains close last night, and because of that, the first crack of sunrise hit her directly in the face. Sighing, she mentally kicks herself awake, moving out of the bed as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Grim was still snoring on the seat, and she envied the cat for being a deep sleeper. Vesper was not only just a night owl, but she also wasn't the greatest morning person either.

She now understands now why her Hypnos cousins loved to sleep as much as they could.

After freshening up and taking a bath, Vesper changes into a more casual wear before heading downstairs. As she reached the lounge, the demigod stopped, blinking at how the entire living room was now fixed; spick and span, starkly different to when she first arrived. All the furniture looked as good as new, and the ceiling and floors were fixed, not a single loose board or splinters seen. It was liked she stepped into a whole different house.

"Surprise~!" The ghosts phased to existence, all having proud smiles and puffed chests.

"Wow," Vesper walked down the steps, looking around the lounge, "Did you guys do this?"

"Yes and no." Sir Athos answered, "Good ol' Headmaster Crowley did much of the work. We decided to jump in and help with the clean up here and there!"

"Ah, and here I thought the dusty old crow was gonna make the little missy do all the work!" Sir Aramis shook his head, "Well, its a good thing he didn't! I would've spooked 'im if he did!"

Huh, Vesper blinked, Guess I have to thank the headmaster again...

"Oh, little miss, them other teachers left some things for you over here!" Sir Porthos guides her to one of the couches, where some bags and boxes were stacked. There was a bag of take-out and some water bottles at the table, and as Vesper inspected it, the warm smell of food greeted her, and her stomach growled. Oops, I forgot about dinner last night. It's a good thing it was kept warm with magic, I'm guessing...

She inspects the other bags, and sees that there were more toiletries and other necessities like cleaning supplies. On another bag, there were some ingredients that looked like spices and other things needed for cooking. There was even a package of tuna cans (undoubtedly for Grim). Setting the groceries aside, Vesper opens the neat boxes. Inside, there was a note penned with an elegant writing:

"Pup, I have already prepared these uniforms for you. If the uniforms are either too tight or too loose, simple put them back in the box and write your observations. I shall make the proper adjustments. If the uniforms are already comfortable, however, simply discard this note." -Professor Divus Crewel

Underneath the note were the uniforms. Deciding to just wear the standard one for today, she sets aside the other clothes. Well that was incredibly fast, perhaps he used magic to alter some already existing uniforms for a girl and for my appropriate size? As she breathed deeply, Vesper smiled at how generous the staff were being. She hopes that her stay wouldn't be a bother, because no way was she going to repay their kindness with trouble.

"Strife and change; thy will sow." A traitorous thought pops up in her mind, sounding like the annoying sandy voice of the Oracle. Vesper's smiling expression immediately dropped to a frown. I hope it won't mean I'll be the source of trouble.

"Something wrong, missy?" Sir Athos asked, concern fliting his expression. "You were looking really down."

She blinked, wiping the furrow of her expression with a genuine smile. "It's fine, Sir Athos, just thinking about other things. Still, thanks, guys-" Vesper looks over to all the ghosts, motioning to the clean lounge, "-for all of this."

"Hehe, it's nothing, little missy!"

"No need for thanks!"

After finishing a hearty breakfast, Vesper waves to the other ghosts and heads back up, boxes of clothes in hand. Grim still snores soundly as she settles the boxes inside the closet, beside the suitcase, just in case the cat might rip them open. She gently closes the bathroom door and tries on the uniform Crewel designed for her, smiling to herself when it was the right size. The fabric wasn't stifling at all, and she could move fluidly. If her uniform fits her now, then surely the others will.

Vesper observes herself in the full length mirror. Her dark eyes were still the same as ever, with the thorny ring of silver around each of her pupils. She thinks she's gotten a little darker despite having a tanned complexion from all that time spent outdoors. She kept her hair in it's usual style: in a messy bun with a purple octopus hair clamp, with her fringe parted to the right side of her face.

But she stares at the braided part of her hair at the left, which was also tied with the bun. Compared to the rest of her hair, which was as black as night, this part was white as snow- a reminder to the consequences to using a dangerous power...

Blinking away from her white hair, Vesper focuses on the uniform. It looked just like the one Mori was wearing, except this time, her waistcoat was dark-grey. In place of her necktie, she decided to wear her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace and dull silver pendant, the engraved griffin twinkled dully under the light. She decided to wear her jacket for now instead of the blazer, and thankfully, it doesn't clash against the uniform's colors. Kuya AJ would have her head if the colors did clash, but she bets Eris will appreciate the color disorder. 

After pining the black-and-white arm band over her left arm and fitting on her black-purple hiking boots, Vesper decided to wake Grim up. The clock read 6:15 am on the wall nearby. 

She nudged the little creature gently, "Psst, hey, Lord fur-ball..."

Grim tried to bat her hand away sleepily, "My name's Grim... Ugh...*snore*"

Vesper leaned in closer near his ear, "All the tuna will be eaten by the time you wake up~!"

"Snrk! MRAH!" Grim snorts awake, nearly jumping a feet in the air. "Tuna?! Where?! Save some for me!"

"Good morning, your fuzziness," Vesper dusted her knees, putting on her sunglasses, "Now up and at-em, your tuna's waiting for you downstairs."

In my graciousness, I have decided to assign a senior student here at NRC to give you and your charge a tour of the school! Please meet them at the main street of the campus at 7 am sharp! Also, please give this mage stone to Grim, in order to show his status as a student!

P.S be a bit more cautious in regards to your abilities, Ms. Kenway! Have Grim take the heat as much as possible!

-Your magnanimous Headmaster, Dire Crowley

Vesper understands what the Headmaster was getting at, but to not use her abilities as publicly as possible might be a bit tricky, especially without the aid of the Mist. She shook her head, following an excited Grim who bounded towards the main street. I guess I'll cross that bridge once I get to it.

"Man, this main street's impressive!" The cat looks around excitedly and Vesper agrees with him for once. The street was paved neatly with a greyish pathway, and surrounding it were lush green grass and trees. There were also street lamps off to the side. The real kicker were the stone statues of what Vesper believes to be the disney villains, but since they seemed revered in this world, she decided not to say the last part out loud.

Don't get her wrong though, she does have favorite Disney Villains. Her favorites of the classic movies were none other than Ursula and Maleficent, and she does like the jazzy Dr. Facilier as well... Speaking about Disney Villains, its like I'm in an actual disneyland attraction! She observes each of the statues closely. Every single one of the villains look like they were in a regal pose, and inscribed below each statue were descriptions of some kind. 

Vesper stops before the statue of the Red Queen from Alice and Wonderland. "The Queen of Hearts..." She reads the description, shifting her sunglasses to eyeglasses to help with the transcription of words: 

A queen who ruled over a maze of roses and brought the rule of law to a chaotic kingdom. Under her strict leadership, no rose was off-color, nor was any playing-card soldier out of step.

"Sheesh, that expression!" Grim comments right next to her, squinting at the statue. "It looks like she could use an anger management session or two!"

Remembering how the Red Queen acted in the movie, not to mention the book, Vesper was about to give her own two cents when a new voice speaks up.

"If you knew the Queen of Hearts, that expression isn't the only thing she could do!" 

Switching her glasses back to her shades by subtly tapping the frame, Vesper follows Grim as they turned to see the newcomer. A teenager with messy, ginger red hair (she was reminded of Kuya AJ, but this boy's hair was brighter) and bright red eyes stood before them, a red heart shaped mark sitting over his left eye. Another student, she guessed, judging by his uniform. Except his vest was a bright red color compared to her dark-grey one, and his armband had a logo of some kind. His vest and collar were a left a bit ruffled though, like he didn't care to fix it up.

But there was something in the student's expression that made Vesper wary; she's had enough experience dealing with the children of Hermes to know what that expression meant.

This guy is looking for trouble.

She stayed quiet for the most part, watching as the student humor Grim by answering his endless questions about the "The Queen of Hearts" statue.

"Anyways, who're you?" Grim asked.

The student gave a slight smile, Vesper didn't trust that smile. "The name's Ace. Ace Trappola. I'm actually starting out as a first year student here as a member of the Heartslabyul Dorm, so...Nice to meetcha!"

"Heh, I'm the prodigy whos plannin' to be, like, the greatest mage who ever lived! Grim! You better remember the name!" The cat puffed, grinning proudly. He motions over to Vesper, "And this here is my far less interesting human henchman!"

"Aha. Keep dreaming, Lord fuzzball." Vesper rolls her eyes.

"Hey, yeah! I remember you!" Ace begins, his eyes lighting up in recognition and mischief. Hoo boy. Here we go. "You're the first gal that's ever made it to NRC! You're Viv- Er, no, Val-Ve-something-" He snapped his fingers, making a show of trying to remember her name. He clearly knows who she is, he was just trying to get a rise out of her by pretending to not know her name.

Well she wasn't planning to give him the satisfaction. Rather, she shrugged. "You seemed to have forgotten my name, but that's okay. There were a lot of students during the ceremony. It's easy to forget one in a hundred even though I'm a girl, amiright?"

Ace could feel the corner of his right eye twitch. "I remember now," He grits, "You're Vesper, right?"

"Oh, so you do remember me." Even though he couldn't read her expression well because of her sunglasses, Ace could feel the smugness oozing out of her words.

Grim cuts in, "Hey, is that lion with a scar in the eye an important guy too?"

The two turned to Grim, and Ace nods his head, "Of course!" But Vesper could still feel the lingering irritation that spiked up from the boy when she spoke back at him. She looks at the statue of Scar and reads the inscription below: 

Through grit and determination, this king of beasts overcame his lesser claim of succession to rule over a vast savanna. He sought equality for all creatures—even those once banished from the realm.

"That's the King of Beasts who ruled the savanna." The redhead explains, "But he wasn't born into the throne. He had to earn it through hard work and elaborate schemes! When he became king, he decreed that the hyenas would be pariahs no more, and should live among his subjects as equals."

Vesper tried to keep her expression neutral, but she couldn't help a small down turn of her lips. In the original story, Scar more or less used the hyenas as a stepping stone in his plan to overthrow his brother and his nephew in order to become king himself, just because he wanted power. Like how some gods or titans did in the past. If memory serves her right, the story roughly followed the same events of Shakespeare's Hamlet. But it seemed he's painted in a far better light here. Maybe the same goes for the rest of the Disney Villains?

Grim, on the other hand, seemed to think that the King of Beasts is a "great guy" for being able to do what he did. She's honestly not surprised. If Scar was indeed like what this world's history portrayed him to be, then maybe he wouldn't be scorned by the very people he wanted to rule over in the original story. That was a person she could probably get behind too.

The next statue they came upon was one of her favorites: Ursula's. The inscription read:

A compassionate sea witch who dwelled in a grotto deep beneath the waves. To repent for past misdeeds, she devoted herself to helping troubled souls, guiding even seemingly hopeless romances to a true happy ending.

"A 'compassionate' Sea Witch..." Vesper mutters, hand on her chin, "'Compassionate' is one way to put it. Though it wouldn't be a word I'd use considering what she does..."

"Oh? You know of the Sea Witch?" Ace asked, a bit surprised. And here he thought that this girl was just as clueless as that weird cat!

"If you admire the Queen of Hearts, then I guess you could say I admire the Sea Witch too." Which isn't a lie, because Ursula was actually her first favorite villain when she got to watching the movie. Vesper memorized and loved singing the whole song of "Poor Unfortunate Souls" and its reprise, to the point where Leo teased her by joking if she was Percy's long lost sister who Poseidon banished or something. "The Sea Witch does have the ability to grant any wish, so to speak, but just like everything else in life, it came with an equivalent price."

Ace shrugged, "She is granting wishes though, so of course there's something that you gotta give in return!"

"Myahaha!" Grim's eyes were practical glimmering. "So you're sayin' that once I'm a great mage, gettin' rich off folks will be a total cinch?!" 

"That depends on what you can do." Vesper teasingly smiles, "Then again, I think granting wishes tend to be a bit more attractive than burning things down."

But she wondered if the original tale of the Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen existed in this world too? Probably not? Who knows...

Ace snickered while Grim fumed at the tease. "That's why I'll be an even greater mage, dang it! You'll see! You're lucky you're my henchman, 'cuz I would've totaled you for that! Anyways, what about this guy with the big hat? What's his deal?"

A wise sorcerer of a desert kingdom who used his keen insight to obtain a magic lamp that granted him great power. He supported his king by regularly offering carefully considered words of advice.

'Supported'... Vesper almost sighed in exasperation. Yet another figure known in the original story to have backstabbed his ruler in order to gain more power. 

Ace introduced Jafar as the "Sorcerer of the Sands". Compared to the movie, it seemed that in this world, he "won" in the end. 

"He exposed this swindler once: It was some guy pretending to be a prince in order to trick the princess! After that, he got this magic lamp and became the greatest sorcerer in the world. Then, they say he used that power to become sultan himself!" 

It's true that Aladdin tried to impress Jasmine by pretending to be the prince, so is the part where Jafar got the lamp. But instead of being "sultan", he ended up taking the genie's place and was locked away for good. Then again, he technically did become the greatest sorcerer in the world... but at the cost of his own freedom. Vesper thought. Then there's the the sequel movie where he got free only to get crisped and burned.

Shaking her head, she followed the two to the Evil Queen's statue. 

"What about this beauty over here?" Grim asked. Vesper reads the inscription once more.

The fairest queen of all, and one who was always diligently striving to better herself. She utilized the powerful magic at her command to tirelessly pursue her ideals.

Vesper thinks over her words carefully. "To be the "fairest of them all", the beautiful Queen was willing to do whatever it took in order to hold that title." Even trying to murder her own daughter. In the original books, she even wanted the Hunter to cut out Snow White's heart to probably use it to maintain her beauty.

"That's not all there is to it!" Ace grins, "The Queen had this magic mirror that she used to check how she ranked on a daily basis! But I gotta say, her level of dedication is really something! Also, they say she was a master of making poisons!"

Yeah. Poisons. To kill anyone who got in her way. Vesper nearly coughed. She remembered how the Evil Queen died in the original Snow White story. Honestly, her death in the movie was pretty tame compared to the source material.

"She sounds super s-scary, yeah, but-!" Grim perks up, a kind of fire lit in his eyes. "She fought hard for what she believed in, and never gave up!"

"Her determination does stand out." was Vesper's comment to that, still finding it a bit difficult to think that this world's Evil Queen variation was seen as something to be admired. She gets standing up for what you believed in, but to go that far...

A memory of sandy blonde hair, blue gold eyes, and a scarred face flashed momentarily in her mind's eye. Vesper almost scowls, but settles on pursing her lips instead. Even now, I still don't know what to make of everything that you did.

"-Now THAT guy looks scary!" She hears Grim say. Vesper sees the next statue and dread instantly fills her whole body. Oh no. Here it comes... Bracing herself, the demigod reads the statue's description carefully.

The lord of the Underworld, and guide to the wandering souls of the dead. He carried out his fearsome duties with diligence and care, motivating even the defiant to offer their aid.

That's... actually not that bad. Well, maybe the last part?

"That's the King of the underworld!" Ace comments, looking up at the statue of Hades from Hercules. "He single-handedly ruled a kingdom packed with rambunctious spirits, and let me tell you- that takes competence!"

He continued, "He may look scary, but he was a straight shooter who worked tirelessly at a tough job he never even asked for. I mean, this is the guy who was ordering Cerberus, the Hydra, and the Titans into battle for him."

Vesper blinks, before it took everything in her body not to scream. 

Nico, Hazel... I sincerely hope that you two won't find your way in this world... and Ate Quinn too, I hope you won't see this, otherwise you might as well be offended on the behalf of your dad's boss... Worse, Hazel would give a tongue lashing, Nico would get the skeletons and Ate Quinn might as well bring out her scythe and start swinging.

There was a reason why the movie "Hercules" was the least favorite disney movie of almost all the demigods. She can't imagine: Zeus being a supportive dad? Hera as a loving mother? Hades wanting to overthrow Olympus and take over with the Titans, practically being the main bad guy of the movie?! Talk about historically inaccurate, the movie was mythologically inaccurate! It was like a whole retelling of the misunderstanding with Hades in Percy's first quest!

And now, she winces, looking at the statue of the Lord of the Underworld, it might as well be canonized in this world. Cerberus, I get, that's his dog after all. But the Hydra and the Titans?! Oh gods...

"That IS something." Grim nodded to himself, "T'think he could have that much power and not let it go to his head!"

At least that's a good compliment. "For sure," Vesper agreed, "To be fair, he can't let himself be caught up in his own head if the place that he's running requires a tight ship." And unlike some gods, he actually minds his own business and doesn't get caught up in petty squabbles.

The trio comes upon the last statue belonging to another one of Vesper's favorites. The statue's inscription read:

A fairy who reigned over a mystical mountain, wielding magical powers that included mastery over storms and thorns. Proud and refined, she cherished solitude even as she commanded her countless minions.

"Oh, well if it isn't the fairy who could turn into a dragon." She comments, before a certain goddess' mischievous smile flashed for a brief second. "...she's definitely a powerhouse that you wouldn't wanna mess with."

Vesper remembers her half-sister Eris, and how she had amusingly recounted the story of how she started the Trojan War (in her version of events, that is). Eris even found it amusing that the mortals went ahead and retold her story in the form of the tale of Sleeping Beauty, particularly through Maleficent. Oh but don't get me started in the more original versions of the tale of Sleeping Beauty, ew... I guess the movie is a little more preferable despite its flaws.

"Definitely." Ace agrees, "She was noble and elegant, and a master of magic and curses, even by the standards of these Seven! She commanded storms, covered the kingdom with thorns... She could use magic on a massive scale!"

From what she could gather from the first year's answers, it seems the Disney villains were hailed as "Heroes"  in this land, and that they had better conclusions than their ghastly and grizzly ends back at her world. They had their own titles and epitaphs as well, seeing as they don't have their true names engraved at all. What an interesting twist... Then again, they did say that this world was called "Twisted Wonderland".

"...And she could even turn herself into a dragon too!"

"Ah, the greatest of all monsters! Man, all of these magicians are truly worth their salt!" Grim exclaims with admiration. His reaction puts a small smile in Vesper's face, but her expression was immediately wiped out when Ace proceeded to ruin it.

"Yeah, they're all pretty cool, huh?" Vesper feels a sliver of disdain come from Ace as his lips pulled into a scornful sneer. "...Not like some piddling weasel."

And there it is. Trouble.

Grim paused, blinking, until his face scowled in outrage when he realized the redhead's jeer. "What'd you say?!"

Ace (or as Vesper now nicknamed, "Ace-hole"- or should it be "Trap-hole-a"?) lets out a full blown guffaw. "Pfft! I can't even-! Ha! You guys were the ones who made a huge mess out of the ceremony, right? Imagine that! And one of you can't even be sorted into a Dorm at all! I guess even the Mirror must be pretty stumped as to why it brought in a girl to an all boys school!"

What a charming gentleman. Vesper deadpans. She remembered the strongly worded names Professor Crewel used to describe the boys, and now she understands why Professor Trein could only count a few hands of "okay-ish" boys at best. Good to know that Ace-hole made his true colors known, then again, he came all this way looking for trouble from the very start.

While she kept silent, Grim was seconds away from exploding. "Kuh-! You jerk! You don't gotta be rude about it!"

"I can't believe it!" Ace-hole cackled, putting a hand in his hip, "Man, to think the Headmaster would let in some kind of creature like you. What was he thinking? Ha, isn't that the lamest thing ever?"

"A first year student like you not knowing about The Seven at all? Have you been grown under a rock or something? Maybe you should try enrolling into kindergarten, then you'll be better educated afterwards!" The first year continued, and Vesper could sense the anger beginning to rise like an active volcano within Grim as he growled.

Vesper could care less about some stranger's immature insults, she's heard worse. In her opinion, those insults, coming from somebody who didn't even know her, had the same worth as dirt; they were meaningless. But Grim, on the other hand... Her charge was clearly enraged, eyes ablaze in anger at Ace-hole's insults. His mouth was beginning to let out a small puff of blue fire.

As Grim hovers forward, Vesper holds out her arm. 

"Don't." She whispered seriously, eyeing Ace before them. He's lucky that she's wearing her sunglasses. "He's just trying to make you look stupid, Grim."

The flaming feline growls, teeth gritted, "No way, henchman! A human jerk like him doesn't get to say those- those insulting words to me or you like that! I ain't giving 'im a chance to run!"

Vesper paused, eyes widened a bit at the remark, and feeling a bit touched. But that moment was all it took for Grim to duck away from her arm and the demigod could sense it before she could see it.

She yelled out, "Grim, don't-!"

Too late. Grim lets out a spew of fire at the first year redhead. Ace, who had already left the duo, turned upon hearing Vesper's yell and yelped as he ducked, narrowly avoiding getting his hair set on fire. "W-Whoa! Hey! Watch it, cat!"

She sees Ace reach up to his chest, taking out the red gem from his breast pocket. It wasn't a gem, Vesper corrected herself, but a pen, just like the one Kalim brought out during the ceremony to use his magic. The gem seemed a bit brighter than the Kalim's though. Ace held the pen like one would hold a wand, in a defensive position, like he was ready to fire a spell of his own. Uh oh.

"As if you're getting away scot free!" Grim grinned, fire brimming around his mouth. "Not if I had a say in it! I'll give you an actual fire log head to match the one ya got on right now!"

"'Fire log head'? Ha, you're really asking for it now, shorty!" Green wisps of wind began to gather where the gem of Ace's pen was. "I'll shave you like a toy poodle!"

Meanwhile, Vesper pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Those two aren't gonna listen to me if I try to talk them down, right?" Vesper asks the statue of Ursula, before sighing and taking a step back from the ensuing battle zone. With how fired up both of them were, she doubted they would stop at her request. Might as well deal with damage control. Literally.

Some of Grim's fireballs were sent off course by Ace's wind magic, nearly landing on the green grass or the trees close by. Tch! Careless! Vesper focuses on the shadows made by the sun's light, expanding and molding them to her command. But she pauses for a moment when she feels someone watching. Shaking her head, Vesper raises a shadow wall to intercept Grim's fire, using tendrils to block smaller flames from the other parts of the main walkway from hitting the green and the pavement around them.

"Hm?" She sees students beginning to pass by, some stopping short to see the commotion. Some students wandered too close for her liking...

"Is a fight going on over there?"

"Seems intense!"

"Woah, they're really going at it!"

Her eyes zeroes in at a stray gust of wind sent spiraling at a passerby. 

Vesper willed their shadow to listen, and the student yelped in surprise when they feel their body move on their own, making them fall over just as a strong gust blew over his head. For the students that had no room to move, Vesper erected a temporary shadow wall to stall either the fire or the wind gusts. Realizing the extent of the danger of either getting third degree burns or wind lacerations, the students began to scramble away from the fight.

Good. Maybe with this ruckus, they could call a professor nearby-

"Let's see you dodge this!"

A large blue fire ball, the biggest one Vesper has ever seen yet, was sent hurling from Grim's mouth and directly at Ace.

"Is that all you got?!" Ace sneered, straightening himself.

With a flick, he willed a funnel of wind to manifest, like a mini-tornado forming with the movement of his pen. The fire was sucked in, and the twister was now enveloped in blue flames. Smirking, Ace quickly did a whipping motion, intending to give the little fur-ball a taste of his own medicine. But Ace's triumphant smirk faltered and morphed into that of horror when he realized his miscalculation. He moved his pen too fast. Instead of the spell landing on Grim, the fire slipped out of the wind funnel- heading straight for the statue of the Queen of Hearts.

"Crap!" Ace swore loudly. The statue's gonna be flame broiled!

His horror turned into disbelief when the girl, Vesper, seemingly slid between the statue and the fire out of nowhere. What the-? Where did she come from?

Without wasting a second, she slams a hand into the ground, and suddenly, Ace's view of Vesper and the statue was blocked by a black wall that looked like it was woven out of a charred, smoke-like substance. Then, both the wind gust and fire hits it dead on. Weirdly enough, it looked as if the wall itself absorbed the fire and snuffed it out, before it rippled and vanished, revealing an unblemished statue of the Queen of Hearts, along with an unharmed Vesper.

...who wasn't wearing her sunglasses anymore.

...and looked really pissed.

Ace blinked, and suddenly, Vesper was just an arm's length in front of him. He made eye contact with her and flinched, taking a step back. He nearly pointed his pen at her in reflex. The girl glared at him, like an actual death stare, and Ace felt a chill going down his spine. It didn't help that her eyes scared the absolute hell out of him! If looks could kill...

He was spared from the agony that was her glare when she sends the same look at Grim, who also flinched.

Grim froze, his fur standing on end. He abruptly snaps his mouth shut. His mind flashed back to when he got glared at by Vesper back at the Mirror Chamber. That same eeriness... Ack, that familiar feeling was back!

"I think," Vesper's voice rang out, leveled, but Ace can tell that she looked seconds away from literally killing them both. "That's enough from the both of you."

"I believe the young lady has a point!" The familiar voice of the Headmage made Ace pale even more. Damn it! Talk about rotten luck!

"Ow!" He yelped as a black whip wrapped around him tightly, restricting his movements. It stung like hell even if it didn't actually whip him. "What even is this thing?!"

"This "thing" as you called it, is the Whip of Love!" Crowley says proudly, as Grim was strangled in the same rope. "And those who break the rules will feel it's sting even more!"

"It's not even officially the first day of classes, and you two have already caused such a mess!" The Headmaster admonished in disbelief, "It's as if you are asking to be expelled!"

Both Ace and Grim winced at that. Vesper couldn't have the heart to sympathize. Though she was raising an eyebrow at the so-called Whip of Love. She can hear her friends making some inappropriate jokes and chortles about it in the back of her head.

"You! State your name and year level!"

"Urk, uh... Ace Trappola, a freshman, sir..."

"Then listen up! Both of you, Mr. Trappola and Grim, are hereby ordered to wash a hundred windows!" The Headmaster commands sternly. "You will meet in the cafeteria later after classes have concluded. Are we clear?"

"W-Wait, hold on! How come she isn't getting punished?!" Ace motions with his head at Vesper, who raised an eyebrow at the accusation. "She was just standing around and not keeping this cat in line!"

"I'm afraid that is not the case, Trappola." A familiar smooth, deep-but-a-pitch high voice says.

A student of small stature steps forward. He looked quite young, but Vesper immediately takes notice of his pointed ears and his magenta-colored eyes which had vertical pupils. A Fae. He wore the same uniform and colors as Mori too, except it look like it had more of a personal touch to it. The way the student wore his blazer was almost similar to how Kuya AJ wore his Nemean lion jacket.

Vesper blinked, recalling the shorter figure last night who had noted Mori's absence during the ceremony. Wait, is he the student from last night? He is!

"Ah, Mr. Vanrouge," The Headmaster coughs into his fist, "You arrived! Pardon the troublemakers, it seems this year is quite full of them!"

"Well, at their age, a competitive spirit is to be expected!" The Fae's smile dims a bit, "However, discipline is also a must at this age too."

"But going back to Trappola's comment," Lilia began, his accusing stare making the redhead wilt. "Ms. Kenway was making sure none of your spells, along with her charge's, harm the students around you. In fact, fifteen students could have been injured by your wind spells or gain terrible burns from Grim's fire. She even prevented your failed attempt of redirecting said fire from destroying the Queen of Hearts' statue. If your Dorm Head were to hear of this, what would he think?"

Ace paled at he mention of his Dorm Head and gulped, keeping his mouth shut. 

Crowley nods at the Lilia's statement, taking it in before turning back to the two troublemakers. "You two will follow through with this punishment. As for you, Grim, you will come after Mr. Vanrouge concludes the tour. Ms. Kenway, please make sure he does not escape."

Vesper nods, giving a two fingered salute, "Yessir."

"Now, I believe we are all very busy people, so off you get!" With a snap of his fingers, both Grim and Ace are released from Crowley's lash. The Headmaster swivels to look at the remaining on-lookers in the main street, "And all of you! Head straight to your classes! Or else the same fate shall befall the lot of you!"

Immediately the street was cleared of students. With a huff, Crowley gave one last stern look at the Ace and Grim before turning to pass a knowing gaze at Lilia then to Vesper. He briefly waves them a goodbye before heading further down the main street and disappears from view.

"Talk about a wild first day," Vesper scratches her temple, sighing.

The young lady turned to look at Ace, who nervously yet bravely meets her stare. 

"Ace Trappola, was it? You better head to class, or else you'll land yourself in even bigger trouble." She says, before her eyes turn cold. The air seemed to freeze with her stare. "But I'd watch your insults if I were you. Grim might have caused a lot of trouble, but he is my charge at the end of the day and under my care. So for the sake of both our peace, look for another, healthier way of relieving your boredom." 

Without waiting for a reply, she turns to walk down the main street. Grim blinked, seemingly taken aback by what Vesper had said, shook his head and followed after her, but not before blowing a raspberry at Ace. Lilia gave a smile, one that had a bit too much teeth, before moving to match Vesper's pace.

Chapter Text

The first thing Lilia was expecting when he came back to Diasomnia with the new first years was an upset and moody Malleus. He was hoping to cheer up the prince with the fact that Sebek made it to Diasomnia.

What he didn't expect was to see him looking quite pleased, and dare he says, fond.

"Oh? You seem quite spirited today, Malleus." He muses, surprised that the prince of Briar Valley wasn't moping around for once. "Did something good happen?"

"Lilia." Malleus greeted, that soft look still in his face. "Yes. I met someone quite unique tonight..."

"...I met the first female student of Night Raven College."

Lilia's mind flashed to the young lady in the Mirror Chamber. What? When did Malleus have the time to meet her? Was it when the Headmage went to look for her?

"Hmm, it sounds like there's more to the story behind your meeting?"

"Indeed."

"Well, the night is still long and the others have all settled down. Let's hear of the details somewhere more private, shall we?"

The recount that Malleus gave was quite deep; the Fae prince did not hesitate to go into detail about his meeting with the young lady. To say Lilia was intrigued was an understatement. That bit where the girl was cautious in giving her true name? He chuckled at that. The name "Gabby" does sound quite adorable. Why, she even promised to invite him again!

It was no wonder Malleus was in high spirits. He made a friend, one who didn't seem to know or mind his title nor his identity at all!

What a twist of fate it was then for Lilia when he received an urgent request from the Headmage. A request pertaining to none other than the young lady that Malleus spoke about. The Headmage had asked him to show Ms. Kenway and her charge (was he talking about the cat who cause quite the stir in ceremony?) around the school, to familiarize them with the campus while their living quarters get renovated. The innocuous request was easy enough, and Lilia is curious about the new student, so he accepted.

Lilia was amused, however, when Malleus looked rather petulant when Lilia shared the news to him. 

He arrived to the agreed upon meeting place along the main street, though he was there quite early, way before the assigned time. But his early arrival wasn't for nothing when he sees two figures passing the entrance to the main street. It was none other than Ms. Kenway and her charge, Grim. The creature beside her seemed quite impressed with the statues of The Seven, and even with her expression hidden by her sunglasses, Lilia could tell that the girl was equally intrigued.

But of course, what was Night Raven without a few mishaps here and there?

The two were approached by what seemed to be a student from the Heartslabyul Dorm, but even from afar, Lilia knew that this student was up to no good. Ah, the arrogance of youth. What proceeded to catch his attention however, was how Ms. Kenway acted around the newcomer. It was unnoticeable to the untrained eye, but Lilia had enough experience to know that she was assessing whether the Heartslabyul student was a threat or not.

The young man, a freshman who goes by the name of Ace Trappola, was oblivious to this, but he kept glancing at Ms. Kenway from time to time, seemingly unnerved by how she was observing him. So the boy does have some self-preservation after all. He chuckled. Lilia observed Vesper, and just as Malleus had described, she had this sort of ancient hold on the shadows, and felt more other worldly than just human.

It wasn't long until trouble reared its head. The freshman and the cat began to argue, throwing insults first before deciding to throw spells at each other. Vesper seemed to have step aside, away from the line of fire from both students, but Lilia noticed how she was keeping an eye at the spells being haphazardly thrown back and forth.

With an experience that seemed like Vesper had done this plenty of times, she utilized the shadows to stop the fire or wind spells from causing irreparable damage to her surroundings. When other curious students began to flock near the fight, she summoned a wall of shadows to protect them from the blasts of magic. There was even one student whom Vesper moves to avoid a stray wind spell by manipulating his shadow.

The amount of control she had over her power made Lilia agree with Malleus' statement to the Headmage: she is indeed worthy to attend Night Raven College.

When Vesper had to stop a spell from charring one of the statues, Lilia decided that the fun was over and that he should step in like the responsible senior that he is.

Now that she stood a little closer to Lilia, he noted that Vesper's eyes were the most striking feature that she had. They were a very striking image of an eclipse. To others, like that redheaded first year, the sight would indeed be quite uncanny and intimidating. The Vice Dorm Head believes that there might be students who could mistake her to be some sort of Fae as well.

Vesper seemed to have calmed down after the whole fiasco at the Main Street. Her demeanor simmered into something quiet and mellow, very different from the expression she wore when she lost her patience with Grim and that Heartslabyul student. The whiplash of emotions reminded the older Fae of Malleus' mother... Lilia felt a pang of nostalgia at that before willing it away.

"Now, spontaneous morning aside, let us start the tour!" The older student cleared his throat, "Ah, but Ms. Kenway, I believe the tour should start at the Front Gate, and we're moving the other way."

Vesper was now wearing her sunglasses from before, but Lilia can see her eyebrows raise in surprise before coughing into her fist, the tips of her ears turning red in embarrassment. Beside her, Grim was snickering at her reaction.

"Sorry about that. Also, Mr. Vanrouge, was it? You can call just call me Vesper." She replied, giving him a small smile.

Lilia chuckles, "Alright then, Vesper. If that's the case, just call me Lilia. "Mr. Vanrouge" seems a bit too formal, and it's making me feel quite old!"

The demigod quirks her lips in amusement. Just like Mori, Lilia seems to be old too, if not probably older. The Fae has that air of wisdom around him, the kind that comes with age and experience. Something that she has sensed from a lot of gods and monsters alike.

"But aren't you old though?" Vesper decided to say, a good-natured grin spreading on her face, and the older Fae immediately looks at her aghast. She can tell that the Fae isn't really offended though.

"'Old'? Excuse me, does this face look old to you?" Lilia gasps, faking offense. 

"He seems to be more baby-faced to me." Grim added.

"Indeed! I am baby-faced." The older student nodded in agreement, "Kidding aside, let us go see the Front Gate! One moment... "

Vesper blinks her eyes, and as she did so, they were no longer standing in the Main Street. Instead, in front of them lied what seemed to be the main gate to the whole of Night Raven College. The intricate iron bars were accompanied by twin posts that had two raven statues atop it, holding a brass key within the their beaks. On top of the gate was the school's sign, along with its logo. The school seems to really love raven motifs. Vesper noted. Then again, it is called Night Raven College...

Grim jumped at the sudden teleportation, before squinting at the gates with suspicion. Oh right, he probably saw this gate already, twice now, I think. The first time was when he broke into the school, and then the second time where he got kicked out of it...

"Eh? Why're we back here?" Grim questioned impatiently, "I've seen this gate lotsa times already!"

"Every tour starts at the main entrance, of course! Besides, have a little more patience, Grim." Lilia explains patiently, "Even though you have seen this part of the school already, I doubt Vesper had the opportunity to do so."

"Nope. I didn't get to see this at all," She waves over to the gates, "I just woke up in that coffin within the Mirror Chamber, and I didn't even get this far." Also because I shadow-traveled inside the school from the get-go.

"After the Front Gate, the next location to remember is the Gymnasium. You can see it's roof from here, actually!" He points over at the nearest building beyond the gate. Sure enough, a building's rooftop could be seen peeking above the trees. "And that is our next destination! Let's go."

From the Front Gate, the trio walked a bit of distance until they reached the building to where Lilia was pointing at. Vesper's eyes scanned the place, and it seemed the building's architecture matched the medieval-fantasy aesthetic NRC was going for, but when they entered the building, a more modern gym floor greeted them. She was reminded of New Rome's infrastructure at how both modern and medieval themes were blended together. Lilia explained that there were other facilities within the building, and that the basketball court they were looking at now was one of them. 

"So like, does that mean they have a badminton court?" Vesper asked curiously.

Lilia nodded, "That they do, along with a tennis court as well."

Grim tilted his head, "Badminton? What's that, henchman?"

"It's a kind of racquet sport, where you bat something called a shuttlecock over a net." Vesper explained, trying to not to let her enthusiasm for the sport leak over to her voice. "The player who fails to hit the shuttlecock back will lose a point to the other player. It's a rather amateur explanation of the whole game, but I think we might get stuck here all day if I tried to explain it." From Lilia's expression, he seems to know what Badminton is. It must exist in this world too. Strangely enough, Grim doesn't know about it though. Hmm...

From there, they headed down the Main Street. Lilia chuckles in amusement though, his eyes had mirth in them as he mused that he doesn't need to go into detail seeing as the two already had a history run down thanks to Ace-hole Trap-hole-a. As Grim fumes and began to rant about the first year, Vesper wondered if she should call him Tapioca Head instead...

"A bit of a fair warning, though," Lilia begins, cutting Grim from his angered rant. "Trappola will not be the only type of student you will meet in NRC. In fact, you'll realize that this is school is full of interesting, not to mention, colorful personalities: those who will fight for themselves! And they can be quite stubborn when it comes to working with others."

"...So basically I'm stuck in a school with teenage boys." It could be a lot worse, Vesper's mouth thinned into a straight line. I could've ended up in a school full of monsters. But it's just her luck. Not only does have to deal with students like Ace, but now she has to deal with students who may or may not test the limits of her temper. And I'm already just a paper sheet thin away from strangling Grim!

Grim frowns at Lilia's warning, before giving a smug grin. "If ya think that's gonna stop me from becoming the greatest mage ever, then think again! I'll blast their butts with fire if they wanna pick on me!"

"I'm going to have to stop you there." Vesper cuts in, rubbing her temples. Is it too late to ask Crowley to rescind his decision? "Not only are you my responsibility, Grim, but remember you're currently dancing in a thin line that, if you fell from, could lead you to get expelled. Permanently and for real, this time."

"That's why you're here too, henchman!" Grim pipes up, puffing with confidence. "You may have let that stupid first year run get off scot free, but with that scary look of yours, you can easily put anyone in their place!" The cat cackles triumphantly, "And then I'll show 'em whose boss!"

Sighing lowly, Vesper mumbles under her breath, "...the only good thing that you got going for you is that you have a cute face..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Aww, so they appear quite closer than they look. Lilia mused, finding the duo's interactions amusing. Despite Vesper's reluctance on following her charge, she seems to genuinely worry about Grim. From the way she defended him from Trappola too is a sign that the girl cares more than she lets on. Does she not seem to realize that, or is she keeping her care for Grim a secret? The memory of Sebek's embarrassed look upon being put on the spot whenever his concern for Silver is exposed flashed in Lilia's mind. The older Fae wondered if he could introduce them to each other...

"The next stop is the Library!" Vesper perks at that.

As they entered the building, her eyes widened as she takes in the vast row of shelves, packed to the brim with books. Just like any library that she's been through, the shelves were filed and labelled neatly, showcasing the different topics and subjects in each row and bookshelf. She wondered if her favorite books existed in this world, and if they did, would they still be the same story or a different variation? Do the authors exist in this world too? Or were they written by someone else? The demigod honestly couldn't wait to find out.

Vesper whistled, eyes gleaming with excitement as she takes in the whole Library. "Now I know where I'll definitely spend most of my free time! This place looks amazing!" She whisper yells, moving to one of shelves eagerly.

"It just seems like a boring place to me, henchman."

She waves her hand at Grim's comment. But because she was so engrossed looking at the books, Vesper ends up patting her hand on Grim's face, muffling the cat's surprised yells. "Hush, Grim. Keep your voice down." She tuts, ignoring her charge's ensuing yelling.

Seeing Vesper's reaction to the library confirmed a single thought in Lilia's mind. 

Yes. The Vice Dorm Head of Diasomnia nods his head firmly. I should definitely introduce her to Sebek! Not only are they both first years, they could both geek over literature and books! However, Sebek might not share my enthusiasm. Meanwhile, it might take some time for Vesper to warm up to him, especially if they got on the wrong foot. Hmm. That certainly is a problem...

After spending some time inspecting the books, Lilia suggested that they tour the inside of the school first before touring the rest of the grounds. Vesper inwardly bids farewell to the library before they moved up to enter the main building itself. Before entering, Lilia waves them to the view of the entirety of NRC. Standing from that height, both Vesper and Grim marveled at the sight of the whole location. Wow. It looks like the whole campus grounds dwarfs Camp Half-Blood in comparison, and Vesper could see the stretch of the whole sea beyond that. Woah, we're in an island of sorts too!

From where they stood, the older Fae points out the locations that they could see in the distance to the right: the stables, the sports field, the gymnasium, the main street and the library, the coliseum, some kind of watchtower, and a humble windmill at the very edge of the school. To their left, he pointed out where the Hall of Mirrors were, followed by the location of the Mystery Shop (Is that where Sam was?), the botanical gardens, and the alchemy workshop. 

As they entered the school, Vesper admitted to have already seen some areas such as the Courtyard, some of the hallways and classrooms, along with the Headmage's office and the Mirror Chamber. For Grim's sake, they had to go revisit some of those areas before moving on to the rest of the school. With the exception of the classrooms and lecture halls, of course. With classes currently in session, Vesper noted that the school looked empty.

She also observed that Lilia was keeping her from being seen by the other students, like when they took another detour upon hearing some approaching voices nearby. Vesper appreciated that, because she doesn't feel like she's ready to meet the other students all too soon... Especially given their personalities from what Lilia told us.

"Oh my, would you look at the time! I think getting something to eat should be the next order of business." Lilia declared, leading both Vesper and Grim to the Cafeteria. As they entered, they were greeted with a wide, airy room with rows of long tables and benches. The ceiling was decorated with beautiful chandeliers, and the place was further illuminated by the dozens upon dozens of large, almost floor-to-ceiling windows.

Beautiful. Vesper thought, but seeing the windows made her wince a bit. A nightmare for him though. She glanced at Grim who was gawking at the rows of windows in horror.

"As you can see, Grim, these will be windows that you'll have to clean alongside that Heartslabyul student." Lilia comments unsympathetically, without blinking that close eyed smile of his. His smile reminded Vesper of whenever Ate Quinn smiled at repeated offenders of breaking the rules in Camp, especially when they try to escape their punishment. Grim took one look at Lilia's expression and deflated. "Anyways, the food counter is over here..."

The various food options reminded Vesper of a mix of western and Japanese cuisine. Another surprise that made her double take was the fact that the kitchen staff were ghosts. Shaking her head, she just grabs two ham sandwiches while slapping Grim from taking a bite of her share, shoving a tuna sandwich into the cat's mouth instead. Even though she wasn't feeling hungry at the moment, Vesper munched at her sandwiches. Wow. They're just as good as lola's sandwiches.

"Come, I know of a place where we can eat without any disturbances, and it just so happens to be our next stop too!" Lilia states, before teleporting all three of them out of the school. 

The trio stood in a relatively empty lawn, but before them was a small Shack, made of red bricks and a black tiled roof. Beside the door was a sign that read: Mister S's Mystery Shop with a logo of a white skull wearing a black top hat with a red ribbon in between the sign's words. Vesper's eyes brightened at the signage. Mr. Sam!

Grim finishes swallowing the rest of his tuna sandwich before asking; "What's with this place?" The cat eyes the withered tree with narrowed eyes and shudders at the ominous stitched dolls behind it. "Yeesh, those dolls really look creepy."

Vesper disagreed. "They seem to give the place charm, though." Let's just hope they won't break into a song, or else we'll really be in trouble...

"This is a special shop, one where students can come and buy just about everything." Lilia explains, stopping right next to the withered tree. Vesper follows, finishing the last bites of her sandwich as the other continued explaining, "The shop sells items that are said to be hard or almost impossible to obtain, and rarely does it ever ran out of stock, all thanks to Mr. Sam's diligence."

"He's quite the diligent character, yeah." Vesper agrees, dusting her hands off the sandwich's crumbs. "Which reminds me, I haven't said hi to him since last night. You think he's in right now, Lilia?"

"Well, we're here now, so let us enter and find out!" Lilia pushes the shop's door open.

"Woah," Grim blinks, looking at the different bits and bobs that hung around the shop, and Vesper couldn't help but stare in wonder as well. She observes the various shelves, all filled with an artifact or some kind of trinket that probably has a kind of value or use. 

A shift in the corner of the shop caught Vesper's eye. Blinking, she looks over to a shadowed area of the room, and sure enough, Sam's shadow moved, seemingly taking notice of the three within the shop. Vesper waves at the shadow, which seemed to shift at her with surprise before waving back eagerly. It quickly zoomed into the back of the shop, and not even a minute later, Sam himself makes an appearance.

"Welcome, welcome~! To Mr. S' humble Mystery Shop!" He greeted, a welcoming smile on his face. His smile brightens when he take notice of who exactly entered his shop. "Ah, if it isn't the little Imps and the Lil' lady! How's the tour of NRC so far?"

"Hi, Mr. Sam." Vesper greets back with a smile of her own. "The tour's going great! Probably because we also have a cool and informative tour guide." She jerks a thumb over to Lilia, who chuckles at the compliment.

"It's but a basic responsibility of the seniors to guide their juniors, after all." The Fae replied, looking pleased with himself. "I'm merely fulfilling that responsibility."

From behind them, Vesper spots Grim moving close to an impressive-looking artifact to inspect it out of curiosity. 

"Grim, if you break anything in this Shop, you're paying for it." She warns, and the cat backpedals with a yelp.

"Speaking of payment, Lil' lady, I already have your account up and running!" As he says this, Sam thinks back to when he deposited the money. He was quite surprised when he converted the golden coins the Lil' lady gave him to thaumarks. Needless to say, she wouldn't have to worry about getting by in Twisted Wonderland. Financially, that is. To be fair, the coins were literally solid gold. Incredibly pure and in high quality too...

"Oh, right. I almost forgot about that. Thanks, Sam!" 

Grim perked up at the mention of her account. "Hold up, you've been holding up on me, henchman?"

The demigod raises an eyebrow at her charge. "Before you think of getting any bright ideas, Grim, remember that you're my charge. Meaning you'll have to come to me if you ever want to spend money. But then again, I ain't your sugar mama." She punctuates her sentence by staring at Grim dead in the eye.

Lilia, who had been drinking from a bottle of water, choked, then spat out what he was drinking that it nearly reached half the room before hacking out his lungs. The moment he finally cleared out his airway, he collapsed on the floor, banging his fist down and letting out loud, hysterical guffaws. Nearby, Sam's shadow seemed to be mimicking the Fae combined with full on belly flopping across the Shop's walls. Even Sam was affected, practically covering his face with both of his hands as he trembled, sounding like a tea kettle, trying (and failing) to keep his laughter in check. 

Grim seemed to be the only one who looked confused. His eyebrows scrunched, which only made Lilia chortle further, tears already leaking from his eyes from how much he was wheezing. Vesper miraculously kept her poker face, but based on how her mouth quirked sharply to the side and her arms were clutching at her sides to keep herself from shaking, Lilia could tell that she was laughing too.

"Huh?! Why's everybody laughin' all of a sudden?" The cat asks, clueless.

Sam was the first to recover, but his eyes were still dancing with mirth. "Allow me to explain!" He moves closer to Grim, whispering the explanation to the cat's ear, whose expression immediately morphed into one of embarrassment and disgust.

"Eurgh! BLEH! N-No way!" He moves almost a feet away from Vesper, "I'll pass!"

His reaction only caused Lilia, who had just calmed down, to start laughing all over again. 

"HA-! Ack! O-Ow, my stomach. It hurts! Haha...! Ha..." Lilia slowly calms down, taking a deep breath as he wipes a tear from his eye. "Ah, I haven't laughed like that in such a long time!"

Vesper lends Lilia another water bottle, one that the Fae accepted. His throat felt dry from all that laughing...

"Anyways, that fiasco aside," The demigod clears her throat before turning to Sam, still trying to straighten her expression, "Do you sell any smartphones here too? I realized that I don't have a phone for, you know, here..."

"Oh! As a matter of fact, I do!" Sam ducks behind the counter, before taking out boxes of different smartphone models. "These are the ones currently in stock!"

"If I may, I could help in picking a good phone out." Lilia offered, surprising Vesper with that statement. The Fae chuckles at her reaction. "Not to toot my own horn, but I know quite a lot of things about technology here and there."

"Mr. Vanrouge is a bit more tech-savvy than most Fae." Sam explained upon seeing her expression.

Vesper frowns, muttering, "Now I really need to get those history books from Professor Trein..."

After listening to Lilia's advice about each of the smartphones' pros and cons, the demigod chooses one of the more recent models before paying. When she gets more free time, Vesper really ought to check Sam's Shop for more trinkets. She wondered if there were some gizmos or items here that she could gift to Leo and the others. That is if I find out a way to contact them.

Something else in Sam's Shop catches Vesper's eye after she purchases the phone. To the left, displayed on the wall, was a rather cool looking acoustic guitar. It seemed to be of medium size, perfect for her height, and it was colored practically bone white with silver, gold, and black designs, and the headstock looks like it was following a skull motif. Actually, there seemed to be an intricate skull design near the base of the guitar too.

Sam follows Vesper's gaze at the guitar displayed on the wall. "Ah, that guitar has quite the history, if I do say so myself. This instrument once belonged to a family that revered music, but because of a dark conspiracy that happened without their knowledge, music was later banned in their household. It wasn't until later on, when one of their descendants bravely sought the truth of what happened, did the family enjoy music once more!"

"Wait, is this guitar some kind of heirloom then?"  The demigod questions. "How'd it end up here?"

"I happened to know a friend of a friend!" Sam answered, "The guitar was given to me in hopes that someone else would be interested in playing and taking care of it with unbridled passion, just as that descendant once did! They said that so long as the guitar is played from the soul, the instrument will never rot, and its strings will never rust. I'm quite clumsy with string instruments though, so I used an enchantment to preserve it."

"That is quite the history. Even I can feel a bit of its power. " Lilia hums, gazing at the guitar before he sighs, a smile of sheepish amusement crossed his face. "But it is quite a pity that I cannot take it, however. I fear my "passion" might break the strings, haha."

Vesper inclines her head curiously. "You can play the guitar, Lilia?"

"The electric guitar, to be specific." He nodded, "I'm a fan of very intense riffs in music, especially if I do it myself!"

Huh. Not only is he knowledgeable with technology, but he's a lover of Heavy Metal music. What a guy. Or should it be "What a Fae"?

"Well, I happen to be a fan of the more acoustic variety." Vesper states, matching Lilia's enthusiasm. "Oh, but I'm not lacking in passion either! I think I'll take this guitar too, Mr. Sam. Rest assured, it'll be in great hands."

Sam nods, his expression approving, while his shadow gives a thumbs up. "Then its a purchase worth your thaumarks! Thank you for your generous patronage!"

They continued the tour around the rest of the school campus after that hearty visit at Sam's shop. A few hours later, after taking a look at the Alchemy Workshop, Lilia stops them just before the familiar path to Ramshackle Dorm.

"It seems classes have finally concluded." The older Fae stated, turning to Vesper and Grim. "The Headmage had just sent me a message to inform you to head over to meet him in Ramshackle. Oh, and he had also instructed me to escort Grim to commence his punishment in the cafeteria." 

Grim groans at the aforementioned punishment. "Ugh, if it wasn't for that stupid fire-log head..." He grumbles, his tail swishing in annoyance.

"Might as well get it over with so that you can finish it sooner than later." Vesper's eyes softened a bit, before it glinted with a sort of mischief. "Tell you what, Grim; if you manage to finish washing over a hundred windows before that Ace-hole does-- without causing trouble, by the way-- then a special, tuna-licious surprise will be waiting for you back at Ramshackle tonight."

That made the cat perk up from his grumbles, his eyes practically radiating at the thought. 

"Hm, not only do I get to rub my victory in that fire-log's face, but I also get to eat something delicious afterwards!" Grim pumps a paw in the air determinedly. "Ha! Then I'll hold you to that, henchman! I'll beat that freshie in no time!"

He immediately turn-tails and bounds back into the path leading back into the school building, not waiting for Lilia to follow him.

"My, this is the first time I've seen someone so eager to start his punishment." Lilia chuckled. "Hopefully your challenge will keep him from causing trouble in the mean time."

Vesper scrunches her face, "Yeah, keyword "hopefully". My only problem now is if Mr. Trap-hole-a instigates an argument again." The older Fae chuckles at that.

"Still," She turns to face Lilia, but not before taking off her sunglasses and tucking them into her necklace. "Thanks for giving us the tour, Lilia, even if it was the Headmage who requested it. I had a lot of fun learning about this place."

Her smile was very gentle, and the way her eyes crinkles a bit already displays a degree of openness that, to Lilia, meant that the girl trusted him. The older Fae has a sinking feeling that the little one before him is not exactly the type to trust or open up to others easily, even if she is a respectful and considerate young lady. 

Lilia softens his expression as she makes eye-contact with him. She should really show her eyes more, he thinks, still though, she might not be comfortable doing that just yet. But that's okay. 

He returns her thanks with a smile of his own. "As I said before, it's no problem, Vesper. You're welcome to contact me anytime."

"Right. Oh wait, speaking of contact, can you tell Mori I said 'hi'?" She grins sheepishly, scratching the back of her ear. "I did promise to invite him again, but I'd like to fix Ramshackle up a bit in my own way before I do."

"'Mori'?" Lilia blinks in surprise, "Do you mean Malleus?"

"Yup." Vesper nods, popping the 'p'. "We kinda decided to just give each other nicknames when we first met. Mori's nickname is short for the name Morrigan."

Lilia's eyes widened in surprise when he feels something in the air shift when Vesper says the name, before a smile forms on his lips. "I see. Still, that's a rather adorable nickname you've given him."

"Ha, he said that he liked it too."

"HEY!" The two paused when they hear Grim yelling from a distance. The feline was waving his arms (or paws) vigorously, jumping up and down with impatience down the pathway. "Are ya done talking over there?! I wanna get this punishment done pronto!"

"What a bundle of energy." Lilia chuckles while Vesper rolled her eyes at Grim's distant yells. "But he has a point. I'll be taking my leave now. It's really been a pleasure meeting you, Vesper."

"Likewise, Lilia." She winks, "Though I hope you don't mind if I give you the nickname 'Niki'." 

"'Niki'?" Well that sounds like a cute name!" Not to be outdone, Lilia decided to give Vesper a nickname too. "If that's the case, I shall call you 'Nighthawk'."

They both chuckled at their respective nicknames before parting ways with a goodbye.

As Lilia followed after the Nighthawk's charge, who was rather impatient with how Lilia walked after him, he recounts all that he has learned about Malleus' unique friend. There were countless things that the older Fae noted, but there was one fact that stood out to him the most: Her eyes. Not its unique appearance, but what it held. 

The girl had a look in her eyes that should not belong to someone as young as she was.

Lilia has seen those eyes in the soldiers he fought alongside with. Sevens, even he had those eyes too, once upon a time. That gaze of a hardened warrior who has seen much and experienced much, and that includes witnessing the loss of many a life of both foe and allies alike. Not to mention loved ones too.

He noticed that Vesper was naturally alert and observant of her surroundings no matter where they were in the school. She was really good at hiding it, and her sunglasses were like a mask that kept her expressions concealed or difficult to read. Whenever they were about to come upon students in the school, Lilia noticed that Vesper would straighten herself, as if she was bracing for the arrival of some kind of danger. Even in an environment that should be relatively safe, the girl seemed to never let her guard down.

The only times I have seen her act her age was when she talked about Badminton, when we entered the library, and when we were in Sam's Shop. Lilia noted. She also relaxes whenever she banters with Grim, or when she sees something that genuinely catches her attention...

The little Nighthawk has the makings of a child soldier.

The realization made the Fae frown and his lips thin in displeasure.

With the way the Headmage seems to tiptoe around Vesper, it would seem that the old crow is aware of something about the girl. He noted that it wasn't just the Headmage but Sam as well, the way the storeowner seems to hold a soft spot for the girl was quite telling.

Lilia will not pry if it is too personal, and by no means will he invade a young lady's privacy. But it seems he would have to discuss some things with Crowley later on.

He takes one last look at the Ramshackle Dorm before following Grim into the school.

Hopefully the little Nighthawk will be able to find her footing here.

Chapter Text

Upon closer inspection, Vesper realized that Ramshackle Dorm looked... cleaner.

The once boarded windows were fixed up, the grime and stains of the windows were seemingly neatly cleaned. The rotting wood or the other bits and pieces falling from the building were replaced, looking good as new. The paint looked fresh even if Vesper doesn't smell a thing. Magic must've been used.

In this state, Ramshackle looked new instead of the "ramshackle" that it once was.

"Ms. Kenway! I trust that Mr. Vanrouge's tour was informative?" Crowley greets by the porch.

Vesper nods, "It was helpful, headmage. Lilia has been a great guide too."

"Ah, as expected of a senior like him! And because I picked him too, haha!" The demigod inwardly rolls her eyes exasperatedly at the last part. "Moving on, as promised, Ramshackle has been fixed up! Go on, take a look inside!"

Not only was the outside of the Dorm all cleaned up, the other rooms in the house was fixed too. As Vesper looked closely, she noticed that the appliances in the kitchen were replaced and looked better than the old rusty ones from before. The rest of the furniture in the other rooms were fixed just like the master bedroom. It seemed Ramshackle was capable of holding a lot of guests too.

Vesper did inquire if she could make a few personal changes to the Dorm, and the headmaster agreed. The thought of designing the dorm made her excited, and she mentally listed down what she might need. She also thought of using the shadows a bit to help with the redecorating. Maybe even the ghosts can help?

"Hm, it's been quite a while since I have sent those two to their punishment," Crowley wondered aloud, snapping Vesper from her thoughts, "They must be at least finished by this time. I shall go and observe them!"

Hopefully Grim stayed out of trouble too. She winces slightly, feeling as though she just jinxed something. "I'll come with, headmage. Just in case Grim finishes early."

The two departed Ramshackle, heading towards the school. But as they neared the Cafeteria, a set of loud, familiar and unfamiliar, voices could be heard behind the doors.

A determined voice, one that Vesper hadn't heard before, spoke up. "-could I summon to hold onto him? Oh! That's it!"

"Did you come up with somethi- Oi, oi, oi! Hey! Stop! What're you doing?! Why are you pointing your pen at me?!" A familiar voice panicked, voice a little bit shrill. Vesper felt her expression twist into annoyance. That sounded like the Tapioca head! What was happening now?

"Because I'm gonna launch you!" The new voice answers, tone serious.

Beside her, the headmage frowns in confusion. He and Vesper exchanged looks before heading to open the Cafeteria door. What greeted them was a sight that Vesper wasn't expecting- Well, maybe she expected some parts-- but not everything that was about to happen!

The first thing that caught Vesper's eye was Grim. Grim, who was currently hanging on the chandelier, looking very smug and triumphant. How did he get up there?! The next thing she noticed was that Ace was there too, but he wasn't alone; another student was with him, and judging from his arm band, it looked like he was in the same Dorm as that Trap-hole-a. But what made her raise her eyebrows was how he had his pen pointed at Ace, who, Vesper realized, was floating a bit from the ground. Ace was frantically making "abort" movements, his expression frazzled and bordering hysteric.

"Just make sure to grab him tight!" The other says, before raising his pen (which also raised Ace higher, who flailed some more) at the chandelier where Grim was. "I've got him in my sights, and- Go!"

As if in slow motion, both Vesper and Crowley watched, slack jawed, as the student rears his arm back like he was about to throw a baseball, before doing a sudden throwing javelin motion with his pen. Ace shrieks as he was launched with that motion, crashing into the chandelier where Grim was. Grim squeaks in surprise, not expecting such an action as well. Both students, along with the chandelier, crashed into the cafeteria floor in a destructive heap.

Dust scattered across the room, along with the bits of the fallen chandelier. One large piece bounced and landed with a clink on the tile floor just right next to Vesper's shoe. The demigod blinks at the broken piece, before slowly and cautiously looking at the headmaster beside her. Crowley was in the same state of shock as she was, but that shock soon began to bubble into outrage at the students before him. Uh oh...

"You complete and total moron!" Ace yells, both disgruntled and nervous. "We got Grim, but we broke the chandelier! If the headmage finds out about this-"

Oof. Too late.

"If I find out about what, Mr. Trappola?" Vesper winced at the headmage's tone. Oh, he's mad mad right now...

All three students jolted in shock, turning to look to where the headmage and Vesper stood. Even Grim, though he looked a bit disoriented from the fall.

"Nearly burning a statue was not enough for you, hm?" Crowley began, disappointment and anger laced in his tone. "And now, you've gone and destroyed a CHANDELIER?!" His voice went a bit shrill at the end, and the troublemakers winced at the sound. The headmage composes himself before speaking with a tone of finality; "Enough! You have done enough, I say! All three of you-" He points to the trio of students before him, "-are expelled!"

The statues are important, and from the way the headmage acted, the chandelier must have the same value too. Vesper observed the broken chandelier. She bends on her knee to pick up the broken piece that landed near her shoe, and felt herself hiss softly in regret as she examined it. The piece she held looked like a really expensive gemstone, the kind you would only see in super expensive jewelry, roughly the size of her palm. It wasn't exactly broken, but it was cracked from the crash. The gemstone looked a bit dull, as if a bit of its color had been sapped out of it.

A sharp sting of fear and distress cuts through Vesper like a vice. She perks up, looking at the three students who have received the ire of the headmage. All three of them had varying expressions of shock at the declaration of expulsion, especially Ace and Grim, but the one whose reaction made an impression on her was the other student that she had never met before. Looking closely, he had neatly combed navy blue hair and bright cyan eyes, and just like Ace, he had a black mark of a spade over his right eye and was wearing the same uniform as Tapioca head.

The spade boy's expression was one of utter horror. Even though he had a hand in the chandelier's destruction, Vesper felt bad for the guy. He was probably dragged into this by accident.

"Headmage, please give me a chance!" He pleaded, desperation in his voice. "I-I can't be expelled from this school! I really need to be here!"

As the boy continued to plead, Vesper felt her lips purse. A pang crossed her heart as she feels the raw and genuine emotion that the boy was emitting...

Ah, dang her bleeding heart.

"Is the chandelier really done for, headmage?" She speaks up, halting Crowley from reprimanding the boy. They all looked at her as she spoke. "If there is a way to fix it, anyway at all, then maybe you can give these guys a chance to to make up for their mistake?"

"I-" The headmage looks at her surprise and consideration before giving out a sigh, "Well, the chandelier was truly a precious historical piece, enchanted to forever burn thanks to the ingenuity of a legendary artificer. Due to its invaluable place in this school, it's worth is a billion thaumarks!" 

The cyan-eyed boy lets out a strangled noise at that.

"Uh, but headmage, couldn't it be fixed with magic then?" Ace seemingly regretted asking his question, rubbing the back of his neck, nervously meeting Crowley's eyes.

The headmage looked like he wanted to turn Ace into a chipmunk. "Mere magic cannot fix the magestone--the very heart of the chandelier! And a magestone cannot be easily replaced!"

"However!" He casted a glance at Vesper and the magestone in her hand before focusing on the boys, "There is still a chance--a tiny sliver of chance-- to repair the chandelier! Listen well, all three of you! The magestone that powered this chandelier was mined from the Dwarfs' Mine. If you can acquire a magestone with the same properties, it may be possible to repair it."

Vesper could sense the incoming "but".

"But-!" There it was. "-the mines have been closed down for a long time now. So, there is a possibility that the magestone that you are looking for has already been mined."

That didn't stop the cyan-eyed boy. He spoke up with renewed vigor. "With your permission, headmage, I'll go find that stone! Anything... Anything to not to get expelled!"

"If I may, headmage," Vesper raises her hand slightly, "I'll accompany them too."

"What?!" Crowley sputters in surprise while the other boy's eyes widened at her request, "Ms. Kenway, there is no need to involve yourself in this! You are not part of the punishment, and you had nothing to do with the broken chandelier! While Grim is under your charge, that does not mean you are his babysitter!"

Grim made an offended noise at that, but was shushed by Ace, knowing that they were on thin ice.

"Regardless, headmage, Grim is still my responsibility. Besides, it was short-sighted of me to leave him on his own. This time, I can properly ensure he does his punishment without running away." She pointedly looked at Ace as she said that last bit, and the latter looks away with a scowl. This proved her suspicion that the redhead tried to escape the window-washing punishment. Go figure.

The headmage was silent, but after a moment, his shoulders slumped when he meets Vesper's unwavering gaze. "Oh, very well..."

He turned to the trio of troublemakers, voice stern. "I shall withhold the suspension for tonight until tomorrow morning. But if you fail to retrieve the magestone by then, all three of you are expelled! Am I clear?"

"Yes sir!" The cyan-eyed boy replied seriously, "Thank you for the opportunity! I- We won't let it go to waste!"

Deuce couldn't believe how bad things can go from just a simple desire to do good.

When he decided to help the cat (he has no idea if it really is a cat or some kind of other creature) catch the redheaded troublemaker, his own classmate, Deuce would have never expected to have to chase the feline down for also being a troublemaker. Well, it's not like I can talk. The navy haired boy cringes at the sudden flash of memories that came from his delinquent days. But things are different now! I have to get better! For mom...

He nearly had a heart attack when the Headmage declared them to be expelled. At that moment, Deuce felt like all his hard work had been flushed down the drain. A thousand thoughts raced through his head; What would mom think? What would she feel? Did I just screw up my chances to be a better person? Desperation shot through him like bullet. If there was anything that he could do to make up for his mistakes, no matter how difficult, he'll do it!

Still, what surprised him was when the student beside the headmage spoke up to give them a chance, even going far as to offer her assistance to help them complete their task. Or, well, watch over them, that is.

Deuce remembered the Entrance Ceremony last night, on how he was one of those who were shocked when the headmage announced that the last student to be sorted was practically the first girl to enter Night Raven College. He worried about her because- Well, first of all, she was in an all-boys school. Deuce himself can attest that sometimes boys aren't always the best to be around. Secondly, she wasn't even sorted! Where did she go if she wasn't sorted? He hoped the teachers had a solution for that.

To see the student again, seemingly safe, made Deuce relieved. But his nerves practically froze over when he realized that he dragged her into this mess that was all his fault! What would his mother think?!

When the headmage left after leaving them with instructions to head down to the Dwarf's Mine, an awkward kind of silence filled the atmosphere as the student, Vesper (Deuce's memory finally kicked in), crossed her arms and was seemingly staring at Ace and Grim blankly. He wasn't sure if she was staring blankly though, the sunglasses made it difficult to tell. But he can definitely tell that the other two were affected by her stare given by how they were inching away from her.

"Ahaha...Hi there, Vessie..." Ace greeted nervously, beside him, Grim gulped.

Vesper raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. She ignored the two and instead looked at Deuce, who straightened himself. What should he say? What should do? Should he apologize first? It was his fault he got her involved after all!

"Sorry for getting you dragged into this." Deuce blinked, dumbstruck. Huh? Why was she the one apologizing?!

"I can tell that you didn't mean for any of this to happen." Vesper sighed, rubbing her temples a bit before giving the boy a wry smile. "So, what's your name? Just call me Vesper, by the way."

"O-Oh, uh..." Deuce felt himself clam up, his hands getting all sweaty within his gloves. Damn it! Don't shut up now! "I-I'm Deuce. Deuce Spade."

"Well, Deuce," She waves over to Ace and Grim, who were currently having a spat. "Welcome to the team."

"Uh, what-"

Before he could comprehend what she meant by that, Vesper claps her hands together loudly, earning the attention of the other two. "A'ight boys, you heard the headmage! Let's get this quest over with."

Without waiting for a reply, she turns on her heel and walks away. Deuce blinks owlishly for a bit before going after her, while hearing a grumbling Ace and Grim following afterwards from behind.

Vesper, Deuce observed, was a very nonchalant person.

Even when they had been greeted with less-than-friendly looking woods just after they exited the Mirror, she simply took one look at their surroundings before moving on, whistling a jaunty tune. Deuce looks back at Ace and Grim, who all shared the same looks of confusion at the girl's actions. Ace simply shrugged, and they followed after Vesper.

The darkness didn't seem to bother her at all, Deuce realized. Vesper walked as if she knew the path like the back of her hand, like she was in her element. He was honestly surprised that she could walk straight even if she was wearing those sunglasses in the middle of the night. Those sunglasses really suite her, Deuce thought. But as soon as he realized what he was thinking, he felt himself blush, and scratched the back of his ear. Hopefully the other two didn't notice.

Deuce simply followed her lead, walking by her right, while Ace followed just behind them. Grim was around Vesper's left, pouncing around, looking warily at the darkness beyond them.

"Watch the tree root to your left, Grim."

The cat yelps when he trips over an exposed tree root. He could've gotten a face full of dirt if it wasn't for- Deuce was taken aback. Was-Was he just seeing things, or did he see a shadow reach out to cushion Grim's fall? He blinked rapidly before shaking his head.

They took a small detour in an abandoned house nearby, and seeing its' dismal state made Deuce felt a bit sad, looking at such a place that probably once had happy residents. Meanwhile, Vesper frowns as she observed what used to be the house of the Seven Dwarves. Strange. I wonder where did the little guys go? Did they move or something? 

After realizing that their search in the abandoned house was fruitless, the group made their way to the entrance of the Dwarf Mines by following the road by the side.

Vesper whistled, impressed at the atmosphere that the cave emitted, looking at the entrance. "Well, isn't this a charming little place?"

When she turns to look at the boys, they all looked at her as if she grew a third head.

"Just me? Okay." Shrugging, she looks back into the cave. 

The cave was the opposite of charming, Deuce shivered, staring into the depths of the mines. The cold night air wasn't helping, neither was the ambience of the woods around them. It felt as though the trees had faces carved into their trunks, glaring and screaming at them as if they were trespassing their territory.

"Ugh, it's practically pitch black!" Grim pounces up to hang from Vesper's shoulder, squinting into the cave. His voice cracked a bit in nervousness. "Do-Do we really have to get down...there?"

Ace snickers beside them. "What? Afraid of the dark?" But there was an edge of anxiousness to the redhead's voice as well, and he was just trying his best to hide it.

"Kuh! Says who?!" hissed Grim.

Sensing trouble, Deuce was about to step in between an upcoming argument that was about to pop up until Vesper beats him to it. 

"Now's not the time to argue, ladies." Vesper cuts in, her voice was firm even if she didn't raise it at all. She was still looking forward. "We need to focus. All we need to do is to get that magestone-"

She stops talking. Deuce wondered why she stopped when Vesper suddenly takes off her sunglasses, staring intently into the cave. He was taken aback by her eyes, which seemed to glow due to the darkness around them. But what caught his attention was how her stare was filled with caution and wariness. Did-Did she see something in there? Deuce looked into the cave, squinting his eyes, but he couldn't see a thing at all.

Vesper mumbled something under her breath, then steps forward into the cave, clicking a flashlight open. They all started at the sudden illumination of the cave. Without saying a word, Vesper steps into the mines, leaving Deuce, Ace, and Grim by the entrance.

The three remaining students looked at each other nervously before following.

"Just where did you get that flashlight?" Ace asked suspiciously, trying to light up his pen with a simple spell. He managed a weak glow from the gemstone, which was just as bright as a candlelight. Deuce does the same, while Grim merely uses the flames in his ears as a natural light source, even if it was a bit weak.

"Magic." Vesper replies matter-of-factly, turning to Ace to give him a close eyed smile. "I used magic."

"Yeah right..." The redhead mumbles as she turns away.

"Watch your footing around here, the headmage wasn't joking about the mine being abandoned." Vesper warned, avoiding some rusted mine cart rails. As she observed the walls, she noticed that her surroundings glittered when her flashlight passed over them. Interesting, she mused, looks like there are still some precious stones here, but if quests have taught me anything, it's that this task won't be so simple...

The demigod must've spoken too soon when she feels a hint of mischief and a brush of cold air hit her. But she wasn't the only one who noticed. Beside her, Deuce stiffened and stood beside Vesper, holding his arm out to stop her from taking another step forward. "Wait! Something's coming!"

Immediately, Vesper feels the freezing aura of ghosts as they appeared out of the walls of the mine. Both Ace and Grim jumped in surprise, moving closer towards her and Deuce, pen raised to cast a light over the specters. The ghost had various expressions of amusement, but compared to the Three Musketeer ghosts back at Ramshackle, they didn't exactly look friendly. 

They don't seem to exhibit any hostility though, Vesper squints at the ghosts, but they do look familiar.

One of the ghost shrilly laughed, as if they were saying something funny. "Heehee~! Looks like we finally got some visitors! Ten years late, but ha! Better late than never! Hee~!" Their boisterous laughter seemed to echo, the sound bouncing around the cave, freaking out the rest of the group beside her.

Another ghost sniffed, before letting out a loud sneeze. "F-Feel free to stay- Achoo! Forever!"

Grim squeaked, jumping on Vesper's shoulder. "Q-Quick, henchman! Work your ghost magic or whatever!"

"'Ghost magic'?" Ace whispers incredulously behind her.

"Shush. I was getting there." Brushing off Grim's weight off with a shrug, Vesper approached the ghosts despite Deuce's protests.

"Hey there." She waved, befuddling the ghosts and the others behind her sans Grim. "Sorry if we're trespassing your territory--or your haunt, I guess. We're just passing by, looking for a magestone. Speaking of which, do any of you know where we can locate one?"

The ghosts all exchanged looks with one another, surprised at her manners. Then again, Vesper remembered the do's and don'ts when it comes to talking with the spirits of the departed from Nico and Ate Quinn. First, don't disrespect their haunts. Secondly, don't ask them how they died unless they're willing to share that info themselves. Third, they were living people once, they deserve respect and good mannerisms as any other living people do.

"Er," A ghost scratched it's chin. It looked shifty, nervous. "No need for apologies, missy. But are ya sure ya really need that gem?"

"Yes, we're sure." Vesper nods, but she was inwardly frowning when she could sense that the ghosts were all getting increasingly worried. Not worried, but afraid.

"So could you tell us where the stone could be?" Deuce cuts in, stepping to stand before the ghosts, before realizing his manners. "Please, sir?" He added with a cough.

"If you insist, kiddo..." An older looking ghost answers with resignation. They pointed deeper into the mines behind them. "If my good ol' memory isn't failing me, there is still a deposit of them magestones down there. Just head straight, can't miss 'em. But...uh..."

Don't tell me. Vesper speaks up, "There's something guarding it, isn't there?"

The spike of hesitancy and fear from the ghost all but answered her question.

Before any of the ghosts could reply, the whole mine shuddered, as if an earthquake had just occurred. The ghosts seemingly turned paler than ever, if that was even possible. Now, Vesper could outright feel their rising fear and panic. One by one, the ghost fled frantically, surprising everyone with their mad dashing.

"W-Woah! What's going on?!" Ace asked aloud, reflexively stepping aside as a ghost flew by him. 

"Y-You guys g-gotta run!" A ghost whimpers, before flying to follow after the others.

"Huh?! W-Why?" Grim yells, huddling closer to Vesper to hide away from the frantic ghosts. 

"It's coming!" Was all they said before vanishing.

From the corner of Deuce's eye, he sees Vesper stiffen. She widens her stance, almost reminding him of whenever he would ready himself for a fight against some delinquent that insulted him. Her head swivels to the tunnel deeper into the mine, her gaze alert and hardened. 

Then they heard it.

A low, gurgling sound groans, but it almost sounded like someone trying to speak with a mouthful of water.

"...iiivvv... ...oooouuu..." The sound echoed across the dark space of the mines. "...neeevvvaaa... ...iiivvv... ...ooouuu..."

"Wh-" Ace looks around the dark space, his heart threatening to beat out of his chest from how it was consumed with fear. "Where is that sound comin' from?!"

"Run."

All three of them turned to Vesper. "What?!"

"We need to go! Now!" Vesper snaps, swiftly turning to Ace, grabbing him by his shoulder before pushing him back. Without her sunglasses, Ace could see just how serious Vesper's expression was. With a gulp, he turns and runs for the entrance. The Demigod picks up Grim by the scruff of his neck, ignoring his yowl as she carried him around her arms. Vesper made sure Ace ran ahead of her, but she stops, realizing that Deuce wasn't following them.

She looks over her shoulder, spotting the navy blue hair of Deuce as he sprinted deeper into the mines.

...Straight to where she could sense the monster's incoming presence.

"Ace! Take Grim and wait outside!" Without waiting for the the other's reply, she tosses Grim into the air, who screams at the sudden throw. Ace barely turns back before catching Grim with a yelp. Vesper turns and sprints back, deeper into the mine.

"Deuce! Stop!" She yells, catching up to the cyan-eyed boy. Vesper grabs Deuce by the arm, stopping him from going further. "It's too dangerous! We need to turn back!"

That sickening feeling of greed, gluttony, and rage was getting close. The demigod almost wanted to throw up. She had never felt such a strong collective and exhaustive form of negative emotions before...

Deuce grits his teeth, a conflicted expression on his face. Vesper's seen enough of that look in other familiar faces of demigods to know that Deuce wasn't going to back down that easily.

"The stone is just right there! This is our only chance! I-!" He throws her a regretful look before yanking his arm off her grasp. "I'm sorry, but I won't be expelled! No matter what!"

He runs off.

Vesper's eyes widened when she realized that the monster was just around the corner.

"Deuce!"

As Deuce takes another step forward, he felt himself freeze up in terror when he nearly runs into...into...!

"Stooonesss...! Stooonesss aaare miiiiine!"

Before him stood a creature--No, a monster practically drowning in a black substance that seemed to make up it's whole body. It wore tattered red rags, and it's limbs look like it was made out of that same ink-like substance. But what terrified Deuce more was the fact that it had no face, but a glass bottle for a head. It was cracked and oozing out some kind of black fluid. The monster shuddered, letting out a loud growl. 

"Stooonesss... ...nevvva give stooonesss...!"

It raised its pickaxe in rage, furiously swinging it down on Deuce. 

Like a deer caught in headlights, Deuce couldn't get his legs to move, shell-shocked at the sight of the monster. As if time slowed into a halt, his eyes widened in terror as he saw the pickaxe drop closer-

Something glints in the corner of his eye.

The monster suddenly shrieks. Deuce blinks hard in confusion, snapping out of his terror. The monster inches away from him, screeching in pain, clutching its own arm. The very arm that was about to skewer him with a pickaxe. There was something impaled in the monster's arm, something silver and thin...

Deuce had no time to examine it further when he felt himself get tackled from the side.

"Gah!" Who...?

Instead of feeling the hard ground of the Dwarfs' Mine, Deuce suddenly felt like he was falling through air.

...and everything went dark.

Chapter Text

Eh?

Deuce blinks. He should be feeling the ground right now after being tackled, but all he could feel was the cold air whistling passed his ears. A tingling sensation of something... something dark made his skin crawl, and goosebumps emerged at the feeling. But not a moment later, Deuce finds himself sprawled across the grass, the familiar sight of the night sky and the foliage of the silent woods greeted him.

"What in the gods' names were you thinking?!"

Furious silver-ringed eyes glared at him, and he flinched at the anger present in both Vesper's eyes and tone.

"I-I tried to-" His throat dried when the girl's glare intensifies. 

"'You tried to-' What? Get yourself killed?!" She snarls, fists clenched. Her shadow fizzles a bit. "Did you even realize that had I just been a second too slow to react, you would've ended up being bludgeoned to death?!"

The darkness of the woods seemed to look like it resonated with her fury, but Deuce couldn't tell if that was real or if that was just his fear taking over his brain. He tries to get a word out, to say something, but his mind just refused to work. Or rather, his mind was too scared.

Vesper couldn't help it. The moment she saw that monster ready to kill Deuce with the pickaxe, her mind was flooded with memories—

Blood.

Glassy eyes.

Lifeless bodies of demigods, children like her, scattered across the battlefield. 

Her battle instincts grew sharper, however, and were faster than her mind.

Before Vesper realized it, she pulled out her crossbow from the shadows and fired an enchanted silver bolt at the monster's arm. Once the monster reared back, giving space, she quickly tackled Deuce then shadow-traveled both of them out of the mine.

Fear brushed against her heart, and as Vesper focused back on Deuce the moment she pulled herself back to the present, she paused. The boy was trembling with cold sweat, staring at her with a frightened expression. Unease and guilt swallowed her. Great. Now look at what you did, Vesper. The demigod also realized that the shadows of the silent woods were shifting, probably in response to her anger. She could sense the stunned and frightened silence from Ace and Grim, who had just caught up to them as well.

Breathing in deeply, Vesper willed herself to calm down. The woods returned to its normal ambience, and the shadows stilled. In order not to startle him, she slowly lowered herself into a kneel beside Deuce, softening her gaze as much as she could upon making eye contact. He didn't flinch away this time, and even relaxed a bit. But the demigod could still sense the lingering fear.

"Look, I can tell that you've got a hefty reason as to why you want to be in this school, and I'm not here to throttle you for that. But..." She purses her lips for a moment, before letting out a heavy sigh. "Don't let that reason make you reckless, Deuce. Magestones, in the end, are things that can be replaced, one way or another. Human lives, on the other hand? That's a different matter."

Vesper looks away, but Deuce can almost see how her eyes were tight and a little misty. "So think deeply on how your actions could affect those around you."

Guilt instantly stabbed at his heart. Thinking on her words now, Deuce understood why she was so quick to lose her temper on him upon seeing what he did. 'Think deeply on how your actions could affect those around you.' His mother's face was the first thing that came to mind: her bright and determined grin morphing into one of tears and devastation if she ever received the news of him dying. He swore to make her never cry again, to do better... and yet, he was so close to breaking that promise if it wasn't for Vesper. 

Seeing Vesper had calmed down, Grim moves closer, tail shifting with uncertainty. "So... What do we do now?"

"Whatever that thing was in the mines was obviously guarding the Magestones." The demigod noted, staring at the Dwarf's Mine entrance with a calculating look. 

Ace huffs, shoulders loosening slightly now that Vesper was no longer angry, his expression twisting. "Yeah, but it's not like we can just rush in there either. We might as well end up as ghosts ourselves!"

Vesper hums contemplatively. The monster looked like it was made entirely out of ink, and given its size and how easily it could raise that giant pickaxe, it looks like the ink monster's strength was no joke. Not to mention that sickening amalgamation of emotions that I felt from it. Ew. I felt like I could've thrown up if the situation wasn't so dire.

Wait, she realized, what about it's head? It seemingly looked like it was made out of glass. That trait alone in its appearance made it a bullseye for "potential weak spot". Emphasis on potential, because the next thing you know, it's glass head is impenetrable. But Vesper noticed that the monster reacted strongly to the enchanted silver bolt she fired at its arm. Was it because of the nature of the bolt? What will happen if I used my Stygian blades? If that's the case, then...

"You three stay here. I'll go get the magestone." Without waiting for a reply, Vesper stands, walking back towards the mine.

It took a moment for the other three to realize what she had just said.

"WHAT?!" They all shrieked in unison.

"Woah, woah, woah! Hold it right there, Vez!" Ace runs ahead of her, blocking her path. "Are you nuts?! You can't seriously go get that stupid stone by yourself!"

"I can, actually." Was all Vesper said before quickly sidestepping Ace, who sputtered at how fast she passed him. 

"Vesper, no!" Deuce bolts forward, grabbing her wrist and halting her stride. He falters at Vesper's frown but holds his ground. "I just can't let you do that! I thought you just said to think deeply about how your actions could affect those around you—"

"Like Loosey-Deucey says," Ace butts in, while Deuce's eye twitched at the nickname. "You're seriously gonna tell him all that only to walk back on your own word?"

"I'm not walking back at my own word, because unlike some people, I did think my actions through." Vesper deadpans. Deuce wilts at the pointed look. "Besides, this isn't the first monster that I've taken down by myself."

They were all taken aback.

"Eh?! Henchman, what do you mean by that?" Grim asks, bewildered.

"'First monster'? Wait, you're telling me that you fought monsters like that before?" questioned Ace, who stares at her in disbelief. 

"S-So, you actually know how to beat it?" inquired Deuce, also in shock. 

Vesper frowns contemplatively. "This is the first time I've encountered a monster like that, actually. But if there's one thing I've learned from fighting monsters, its that no matter how powerful they seem to be, they'll always have a weak point. I just need to find it."

"By yourself?" A mix of worry, frustration, and then determination crossed Deuce's face. His grip remained firm but not tight on her wrist. "No. Way. I'm not letting you do this alone."

"Deuce-"

"It was my fault for getting you involved in this mess!" He cried, and Vesper could sense the genuine shame that he felt as he said that. Deuce looks at her resolutely, gaze unflinching. "I'm not gonna run away from owning up responsibility for my mistakes, especially if it gets someone hurt!"

"Myah! Don't forget about me!" Grim bounds to her side, grinning at her smugly. "What kind of master mage would I be if I let my henchman do all the easy work that should've been for me?! Ha!"

"Not that I want to lump myself with these two dunderheads," Ace jabs a thumb at Deuce and Grim, who made offended noises at that. "But even I know that it would be a sucky move for me to just stand around or to run away! Besides, I'm pretty sure the headmage will kill us for real this time if we up and left you to get hurt by whatever that abomination was."

Okay, Ace had to admit, even he felt guilty for dragging Vesper into something that was partially his fault. Not that he'll ever admit that out loud. But at the same time, Ace isn't stupid. He's seen how the headmage acts around Vesper, along with that senior student from Diasomnia. He doesn't know if its because of favoritism or because Vesper is a girl, but all three of them will be expelled (or worse) if she got hurt because they couldn't even go through with their punishment.

Unbeknownst to Ace, Vesper could sense his guilt from a mile away, but she kept silent.

It was very clear that all three of the troublemakers won't let her go by herself, and they would most definitely fight her on that if she disagreed. Not only that, but they seemed motivated now more than ever to get that magestone. Geez, what a weird bunch of apples I've gotten myself mixed up with...

"Well, since you're all so determined to walk to your graves," Vesper sighs aloud, exasperated. "Fine. But first, we need a plan."

Gently prying Deuce's grip from her wrist (she didn't notice the boy moving his hand away, flustered as he had finally realized that he was holding on to her the entire time), the demigod puts her hand within her jacket and takes out the broken magestone from the fallen chandelier.

She stares at the lackluster stone before an idea crossed her mind.

"And I just happened to have one."

Grim balances the broken magestone on his head, even as he waves his paws around. He huffs small blue flames around him, becoming almost like a beacon in the dark of the mines.

"Ooh~ Lookie here! A nice, shiny magestone!" The cat says aloud, the blue flames refracting with the surface of the magestone on his head. "And its all mine! Hahaha!"

Loitering close by, the monster zeroes in on Grim, and growls lowly upon seeing a magestone on top of his head.

"Thiefffff...! Giiiiiive...! baaaack...SToooNeess...!" It bellowed, moving wildly towards Grim, pickaxe raised. 

"Eek! C-Come and get it, slowpoke!" The cat taunts, moving deeper into the mine behind him, his tail wrapping around the stone as he pounced out of the monster's reach.

As the monster followed Grim, it failed to notice a figure moving in the dark from behind. Vesper willed the darkness around them to spread thin over the path of where the monster came, blanketing it in shadow and concealing the way from view. As she did so, she noticed that the path where they lured the monster from did contain the magestones that they needed, but she held back to focus on the plan.

She sinks and shadow-travels to where Ace and Deuce were. The two were currently in a more open space of the Dwarfs' Mine, an area filled with abandoned rails and minecarts. The place had more breathing room and areas to take cover just in case.

"Get ready, guys." Vesper whispers, startling them as she appeared out of nowhere. "It's coming this way, so get in to position!"

"R-Right!" Deuce nods, moving to a hidden corner behind a minecart.

"Man, you gotta stop appearing like that." Ace grumbles, recovering from his brief scare. 

"Get use to it." She snarks. "Now hide!"

Vesper watched Ace move quickly yet quietly to the other side of the dark area before sinking back into the shadows to hide herself. Just in time for Grim to come rushing in, straight to the center of the open area, with the monster hot on his heels. 

"GIiiIIve...baAacK...SToooOOoneS..!" 

It failed to notice Deuce standing up from behind the cart, pointing his pen at the top of the monster's head. He yells, "I summon thee: Cauldron!"

A black cauldron, larger than the glass bottle head of the monster, appeared in a flash. It fell and crashed straight into its' head, knocking the monster forwards, its pickaxe and lantern dropping from its grasp. Seeing this, Vesper rises from her hiding place and has the shadows move; willing it to swallow up the monster's weapons from its reach. The monster groans, attempting to get back up, but another cauldron dropped on its head, pining it on the ground. The demigod breathes deep and focuses on the monster's limbs, before pulling up the darkness around them, forming chains that shackled the monster to the ground.

"GRrraAAaaHh...!" It shrieks, trying to break free from its restraints.

Vesper holds fast on the chains as she signals, "Now!"

"Hehe! Not so tough now, huh?!" Grim grins, before exhaling a large ball of blue fire and spitting it at the monster.

"Turn up the heat!" Beside him, Ace raises his pen, and wind bursts forth. The redhead twists the flames into his tornado, creating almost like a funnel of fire, before pulling a whipping motion towards the monster. This time, he did it slowly before abruptly moving his pen. The inferno twister follow true to his movements and hits the monster directly.

"HNngGH...! HUUuuRrsTss...!" The monster squeals in pain, tugging harder on the chains restraining it. It managed to kneel, straining itself in an attempt to stand. Gritting her teeth, Vesper raised her hand before clenching her fist, willing more shadows to pin the monster down.

"Oh no you don't!" Deuce waves his pen again. "Cauldron!"

Another massive cauldron drops on the monster's head. This time, the glass head of the monster cracked, leaking out ink. The damage caused the monster to convulse, collapsing flat into the ground as it keened in pain. Now's my chance! Vesper runs forwards, summoning Jekyll—the longer blade of her Espada y daga—and flips it in a reverse grip. As she comes up to the monster's head, the demigod raises the blade with both hands and stabs it down as hard as she could. 

The blade easily shatters the monster's glass-head like a bullet shot through a window pane. Ink splatters against Vesper's face and clothes as the monster shudders, letting out one last pained groan, before stilling. With a deep exhale, she steps back as the monster's body dissipates into black smoke, flaking away into nothingness. What was left was a red cap where its body use to be. Vesper looks at Jekyll, and watches the Stygian blade curiously as it seemingly absorbed the essence of whatever that thing was.

"I-Is... Is it over?" Grim was the first to move closer. Upon seeing what's left of the monster, he jumps up in triumph, an elated smile spreading across his face. "W-We did it!"

"Huh, we actually defeated it!" Ace lights up before slumping his whole body in relief. "Phew! Glad that's over and done with!"

"Vesper, are you okay?" Deuce asks, approaching her. But he is suddenly taken aback and blinks in shock at the blade held in her hands: It was a slightly curved at the ends, and looked like a thinner version of a machete. The hilt had some kind of shape like an animal head (an eagle?) but that wasn't what caught Deuce's attention.

What was striking about it was the fact that the blade itself was as dark as the cave they were in, but it seemed to be darker. To the point that the blade seemed to glow from absorbing what remaining light was inside the cave. Before Deuce could ask Vesper about it, it vanished in a blink of an eye. 

"I'm fine, Deuce." She waves, before her expression melted into slight disgust as she patted her jacket. "Ugh, it's a good thing the ink disappeared too, otherwise I'm gonna have to get this jacket washed again."

"Wait a minute, what was that?" Ace suddenly butts in, his eyebrows furrowed in suspicion.

"Uh," Vesper exchanges looks with Deuce and Grim before looking back at Ace with confusion. "What was what?"

"That- That sword-thingy you just pulled out of nowhere! You know, what you used to smash that thing's head in?!" Ace clarifies, he turns to Deuce and Grim. "You guys saw it too, right?"

Deuce and Grim glanced at each other, and a brief moment passed before they were looking at Ace with confusion. 

"Saw what, Ace?" The cyan-eyed boy asked, hand on his chin. "I didn't see anything."

"Me neither!" Grim followed before grinning mischievously, "What, ya hit your head somewhere? Or are ya just seein' things cuz of the dark?"

Ace is taken aback, "Are you guys for real?!"

Meanwhile, Vesper inwardly grins at the three troublemakers before her. She felt mischief and amusement shared between Grim and Deuce as they continued to play dumb with Ace. Looks like she'll have to thank them later for distracting Ace from asking any questions. 

"Okay, that's enough you three." Vesper calls out, stopping their bickering. "Now let's go get those stones. Luckily, I know exactly where they are."

After picking out the magestone with Vesper's help (along with that weird mishap of Grim eating something strange from the ground) the four students made their way back to NRC. The demigod sensed that it was already about to be midnight as they went towards the Headmage's Office. As they entered, Vesper noticed the man filling out paperwork in his desk. She could hear him muttering about "expulsions" and... whatever "deadlines" were.

It took him a bit of a while before he noticed the four of them. Vesper informs the Headmage of what happened down in the mines (with certain details omitted) before the crow man proceeds to sob into his hands. Vesper sweatdrops as the grown man in his hundreds? thousands? wail like he's in mourning, and she could sense the other three shifting a bit uncomfortably at the Headmage's reaction.

"Oh-Oh goodness gracious! This truly is a year of many unexpected events!" Crowley cried, "Never, in my many years as Headmage, have I seen the students of Night Raven College finally joined hands and worked together to defeat a common foe!"

Deuce suddenly gives Ace and Grim a wide berth, moving closer to Vesper as he shudders, looking a bit green. "'J-Join hands'? No way would I ever join hands with that guy!"

Ace also had a look of abject horror. "I'm gonna have to stop you there, Headmage! First of all, we didn't join hands or whatever, gross. Secondly: Just how old are you to say those things?!"

Wow. Vesper rolled her eyes at the way they acted. "Is it really that big of a deal to work together? That's basically what happened. No skirting around that."

"That might be the case, Ms. Kenway, but remember!" Crowley perks up, as if he wasn't sobbing violently earlier. "As they were chosen by the Dark Mirror for their talents in magic, many students in this school have quite the pride and egos! Aside from being self-reliant and self-centered, the last thing that would ever enter their minds is "working together"!"

Just like what Lilia- Er, Niki said. "So they're egomaniacal airholes, what's new?" Vesper shrugs nonchalantly, ignoring how everyone in the room blanched at that. Ugh, don't tell me I'm going to have to deal with many "Octavians" around here. I mean c'mon, even Clarisse knows when to fight by herself and when to work with her fellow demigods.

Clearing his throat, the Headmage continues, "At any case, these series of events have show that my decision to put Grim under your charge and to make him a student was correct! As for you three, Mr. Trappola, Mr. Spade, and Grim—your expulsions are revoked!"

All three of them sagged in relief.

"Oh? Hmm..." Crowley squints at Grim, who immediately perked up at the attention. "Ms. Kenway, have you given Grim his magestone yet?"

"Huh?! A magestone? For me?" The cat exclaims, both in shock and rising excitement.

Vesper blinked, the letter that Crowley had given her before her tour with Lilia flashing into her minds eye. Whoops. Looks like I forgot all about that. 

"Oh right. I was supposed to give this before our tour." She pulls out the light colored magestone from her inside jacket pocket. Just like the magestones embedded in the student's pens, Grim's magestone was the same. The only difference was that it was hooked on a black and white striped ribbon-like collar; the colors were similar to the armband around Vesper's left arm. "Here you go."

"Sweet!" Grim vibrated with giddiness as he stares at the magestone. Using magic, Crowley ties the ribbon around the cat's neck. Vesper had to quietly clear her throat as she sees how the ribbon matches (and looks cute) with Grim. 

"Myahaha! I look awesome! A magestone collar, to be worn only by the legendary archmage, Grim!" He yells out proudly, practically ignoring the Headmage's attempts in educating him on the uses of his magestone. Vesper could relate to the exasperation Ace and Deuce felt as the cat parades around his magestone collar.

Crowley gives up, sighing as he turns to Vesper instead. "Well, since you have adamantly claimed responsibility over him, Ms. Kenway, please ensure that Grim does not cause anymore major incidents!"

"Can't make any promises, sir, but will do!" She salutes him lazily. 

"Oh, so, if your dorm is just the two of you... And the Headmage made Grim your charge..." Deuce ponders a bit, before his expression lit up as he connected the dots. "Ah! That would make you the Dorm Prefect, then!"

"Oho, 'Dorm Prefect', huh?" Ace grins, nudging Vesper by the arm with his elbow playfully, "Does that mean I get to call you 'Ms. Prefect'?"

"Sure thing." Vesper shrugs, before throwing Ace a sly look. "Whatever works for you, Mr. Tapioca Head."

"Hey!"

"Um, excuse me, Headmage, but doesn't Vesper need a magestone as well?" asked Deuce, "Since she's a student here in NRC too..."

"Oh yeah! Come to think of it. I never really did see you use your pen whenever you did those creepy shadow tricks." Ace comments flippantly, only to hiss in pain when Deuce elbows him for that comment. Vesper snorted. 'Creepy shadow tricks' that's a new one.

"Why, the answer is simple, Mr. Spade!" Crowley subtly winks at Vesper, before turning his attention to the boys. "I think you all have noticed at this point that Ms. Kenway is already quite proficient in her control of her magic! A rare talent, usually found in more magically inclined races like the Fae. So you see, she has no need of a medium!"

I've got to hand it to the Crow, he sure knows how to spin a story. It almost sounds believable. Vesper thinks, as she sees the varying expressions of acceptance the boys had towards the Headmage's explanation. And the others seem to believe it too.

"Heh, you hear that, Grim?" Ace snickered, "Looks like your "henchman" seems to be the more capable mage between the two of you!"

"Bwah! Grr, you..." Grim's fur bristles, before turning his nose up and huffing. "Ha! Of course! Why else would she be my henchman? It would be a great embarrassment for me, the greatest mage, to have a weak follower!"

"Really feeling the love, Lord Fur-ball." Vesper says playfully, relishing at the aghast expression Grim makes.

"Is being a "henchman" really that great of a compliment?" Deuce sweatdrops, looking at the ensuing banter between Grim and Ace. 

"Ah, that reminds me!" Crowley interrupts as he bends down behind his desk, searching for something, before standing back up, a camera(?) of sorts was now in his hands. "I would like to entrust this to you, Ms. Kenway. This nifty little gadget here is called the 'Ghost Camera'!"

Ace's eyes lit up in recognition. "I've heard about those! I think my grandma told me about 'em. They're like, super old magitech kinda stuff, right?"

The Headmage clears his throat abruptly, "'Super old' isn't the word I'd use, but anyway! This enchanted camera can take a picture of anything; especially a subject possessing a soul! I call it "Memories". Now if the bond of both the photographer and the subject deepens, the photo taken will become animated, just like a video! Of course, that was how it was used back in the day."

He hands the Ghost Camera over to Vesper, who takes it with renewed interest. It doesn't seem that large now that she looked closely, and Vesper admires the vintage look that it had. The camera was a polaroid with black, brown, bronze, and cream colors. Though, around the lens was a design that looked quite similar to the logo of Mickey Mouse... But its function sounds really cool, though. I'm basically picturing snapshots that I could play like videos! Huh, I wonder what would Leo make of this lil' gizmo?

"Ms. Kenway, I do hope you would record your experiences here. Along with Grim and the other students, of course!" 

"Haha! Henchman, be sure to take good photos of my quest to become the greatest mage!" Grim says eagerly.

Vesper chuckles a bit at that, feeling warm at the notion of photographing all her experiences in this twisted world. Who knows? Maybe she can bring them back to her world and share all her bizarre misadventures to her fellow demigods. She just hopes that the camera's magic still works well there.

"Ah, I almost forgot. Don't forget to also take photographs of particularly—Well, let's say mischievous—students who can't just help themselves, hm?" The demigod nearly throws the headmage a "Really?" expression at that statement. He literally just asked me to snitch on his own students!

"Alright, with such an eventful night, I do believe that conversations like these can be done in a later date." Crowley nods at the students, "Return to your dormitories and rest, everyone! You all have a busy day tomorrow!"

"Right. Thank you again, headmage." After Deuce bids the headmaster a goodnight and a farewell, they all stepped out of Crowley's office. 

As the group made their way down the quiet hallways, Vesper stretches her arms upwards and behind her head, feeling a satisfying crack of her different joints. Behind her, she fails to notice the boys staring in shock at how far she pulled her arms back to release the tension.

"Sheesh, talk about a hectic first day." She idly comments, feeling a bit like a languid cat at the moment. "To think that you all nearly got expelled in a span of a few hours into this school."

"At least the Headmage reversed his decision." Deuce lets out a sigh of relief, slumping his shoulders slightly. "That was a close call, though."

"Yeah, no kidding." Ace agrees, before shooting Deuce a teasing grin. "Heck, you even looked like you were close to tearing up like a crybaby!"

Deuce clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Why don't you fix that dopey-looking grin first? Better yet, look at your own ugly mug."

"Ha! Pot, meet kettle-!"

*FLASH!*

Both Ace and Deuce winced at the sudden, brief flash of light. Dumbfounded, the two blinked in confusion before turning to the source of the flash. Vesper stood in front of them, with Grim lounging over her right shoulder as she shook the printed photograph in her hand, the Ghost Camera tucked secured under her arm with the other hand holding it.

In the midst of their bickering, they failed to notice Vesper walking further away from them, taking position with the Ghost Camera in hand as the two boys throwed insults at each other. She made sure to get them both in the frame before snapping the photo. 

"Huh, well what do you know. It works!" Vesper exclaims, looking at the photo in her hand. 

"Wha-" Ace sputtered. "Let me see!"

They both crowded around Vesper and Grim. Ace and Deuce had no problem looking over Vesper's shoulder seeing as they were taller than her. The photo she snapped was in the right angle, the moonlight being a natural light as it showed the two Heartslabyul students in the midst of a petty argument in the hallway. The photo was frozen still, like a typical photograph. But upon looking closely, it looked like the photo was moving a bit, like a slowly buffering video.

"Pfft!" Grim snorted, snickering from his place in Vesper's shoulder, "You two look stupid! Haha! Nice shot, henchman!"

"Ugh! Can it, cat!" Ace groans, trying to take a swipe at Grim, who dodge by leaping off his perch on the demigod's side.

"Um, its not really the best pose to be caught in, but you're a great photographer, Vesper!" Deuce compliments sincerely, with a touch of awkwardness.

"Aw, thanks, Deuce!" Vesper grins cheekily, "Although, try not to bicker too much, guys. Otherwise, the photo album will be filled with photoshoots like these."

"Hey! Don't forget to include pictures of me!" Grim added, smug as he practically bounces with excitement as they walked down the hallway. "After all, I'm gonna be the best mage on campus! Heh, enjoy eating my dust, boys!"

Ace rolls his eyes. "Whatever, you pile of lint... Still, good for you." The redhead congratulates sincerely. Vesper smiles a bit at the genuineness of his statement. At least he isn't as derisive of Grim like our first meeting.

"Oh, since we're schoolmates, how come I didn't see you and Grim at the start of classes today?" Deuce asks curiously. "Unless you two were in a different classroom...?"

"The Headmage wanted Grim and I to get a feel of the school first, because—you know, Grim's not the kind of student that you would see be enrolled Night Raven College. Meanwhile, I just happened to be the first girl to be accepted here." Vesper shrugs. "Still, here's hoping the rest of the school year goes well." And I do sure hope it won't have more bizarre, life-threatening events like what went down in the mines.

"Speaking of; the way you managed to take down that monster without losing your cool shows that you've got nerves of steel!" Deuce sends her an encouraging look, grinning good-naturedly. "With an attitude like that, I bet you can handle anything this school will throw at you."

I would prefer if the school didn't throw anything at all. But Vesper still appreciates the other boy's encouragement regardless.

Ace chimes in, "By the way, what's up with the punkish way you talk sometimes?"

A hint of embarrassment and shame passes over Vesper as she sees Deuce flounder at the question. "I-I do talk normally, though?" A lie. Hmm, maybe it's a habit he's trying to curb?

"You know what, forget it." Ace shook his head, resting his arms behind his head. "Let's just head back to the Dorms. I'd rather not get any grief about curfew violation when we nearly got expelled."

"Right. We're from Heartslabyul Dorm, by the way. What dorm are you guys in?" asked Deuce. 

"Uh, did you forget that we weren't sorted at all?" Vesper replied, confused.

Deuce's face reddened slightly, flustered as the memories from last night's ceremony came back. He coughed slightly into his fist. "Oh, right. Forgot about that."

Grim pipes up, "Eh, the dorm's been abandoned for years, but henchman here put a lot of work to get it back in order!" He proudly puffs his chest, "And thanks to my ghost-taming skills, the other ghosts stayin' with us are now my underlings!"

"Likely story. You should be grateful that the ghosts just wanted to play around and not actually antagonize you." Vesper reminds unapologetically, before turning to the other two. "The Headmaster called it the "Ramshackle" Dorm, so I guess you could say we're staying there. The ghosts just happen to be our neighbors."

"Man, good for you! I'd rather have ghosts for dormmates than this scowling smug-face." Ace says, voice laced with sarcasm as he gestures over to Deuce.

The other boy looked affronted. "Better than that stupid grin of yours."

"Says the crybaby-"

*KA-CLICK!*

Once again, the two boys paused at hearing a shutter sound this time instead of feeling a bright flash.

"Oh, looks like the camera has an auto feature too! Goodie." Vesper hums, ignoring the duo's gawking expressions. "That's another keeper for the album."

"Would you quit that?!" Ace yells, appalled. Meanwhile, Deuce corrects himself by stepping away from the redhead. He looked seconds away from decking his own dormmate.

The demigod gives them a close-eyed smile, her grin showing teeth. "Shouldn't you head back to your Dorm guys? Arguing isn't gonna get you there faster."

The air turned a tad bit cold as she opened her eyes a bit.

"Alright, alright! I'm going!" Ace relents, arms up in surrender, before sighing. "Anyways, catch ya' later, Vessie."

"See ya', Ace." She waved slightly as the redhead turns and heads down the corridor.

"I should be leaving too." Deuce states, before his posture slags. Guilt crossed his expression. "And Vesper, I... I'm sorry. F-For the way I acted, back in the mines..."

Vesper's gaze softened. She pats him in the shoulder. "Hey, don't sweat it. But try not to make recklessness your habit, alright?"

"Mm! I'll do my best. Promise!" The boy nods with renewed vigor, before bidding both Vesper and Grim goodnight.

The Ramshackle duo watch Deuce quietly as he heads down the same corridor that Ace took. As he turned the corner, Grim broke the silence.

"Those two are totally gonna squabble." The cat comments drily, paws on his hip. 

Vesper grimaced. "Definitely. It's like they're made for each other."

"Maybe that's how they bond? Eh, oh well." Grim proceeds to jump on Vesper's shoulder, hanging there languidly as he lets out a sigh of exhaustion. "Sheesh, I'm beat. C'mon, henchman, let's head back to the Dorm."

Her charge didn't feel that heavy, at least, in her opinion. It was like she was carrying a pair of tilapia fish over her shoulder. Besides, Vesper has carried much heavier loads before. 

"I hope you still have energy for dinner, Grim." The demigod thumbs her finger over the photos she took of Ace and Deuce, smiling a bit at their silly expressions captured in it before tucking them away. "I'm still making you that tuna-licious surprise."

"H-Huh?!" Grim jerks his head up from his slouch. "Really? B-But I—Eeh, well... I..." He curls a bit on her shoulder, and the demigod sensed the guilt crossing his heart. 

"I know. You still caused trouble even when I challenged you not to." Vesper says matter-of-factly but not unkindly. "Still, I think we both deserve a delicious warm meal after everything that's happened down in the mines."

"Plus," She gives the feline a genuine smile. "A hearty dinner will prepare you for the upcoming day tomorrow."

The cat's blue eyes looked at her in shock for a moment, before he gives her a determined grin. "Heh, looks like I really did choose a dependable henchman! Alright! Let's get something good down our stomachs and get some shut-eye!"

Grim jumps down to the her side, pumping his paw up in the air. "Get ready, Night Raven College! I'll show ya what I'm capable of!"

Vesper chuckles at her charge's declaration, following him down the path back to the Ramshackle Dorm.

Here's hoping that I'll catch a break from bizarre adventures in this new, twisted world.

Famous last words.

Chapter Text

A scenery of black and white greeted Vesper the moment she closed her eyes.

After a well-deserved dinner with Grim and the ghosts (they simply indulged in the smell of the food though, but they did tell Vesper not to feel bad about it), she and her charge hit the hay. When sleep finally claimed her, she was surprised to find herself in an unfamiliar place just a moment after. The nocturnal energy of sleep was an old friend, and upon sensing that, Vesper immediately realized she was dreaming.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she hears the sound of footsteps rushing around frantically.

"Hurry! Hurry! There are still roses left to paint!"

She turns her head, searching for the owners of the voices. Vesper blinked when she sees that tall walls of hedge bushes surrounded her, towering very much like a maze. Nearby was an arched passageway, where she could hear the voices speaking from before. As she followed the path to through the maze, the demigod was met with a nostalgic sight from her childhood.

Three familiar card soldiers ran around, buckets of paint in hand and a big paintbrush on the other, painting the white roses red. The scene was similar to the movie, except that everything was practically bleached from any color other than black and white, minus the vibrant red roses. Vesper hums the song the three soldier cards were singing, tapping her foot with the rhythm. Huh, I wonder why I'm dreaming of this scene. Is it because I'm stuck in a world where these characters practically exist?

Just like she remembered, Alice enters the scene, being the curious little girl she was. 

"Oh, pardon me, but mister three," Alice questioned, "Why must you paint them red?"

The cards soldiers were taken aback, "Why, you ask? It's quite simple!"

"We—"

"—dared...break...rules!" 

What? Vesper jolted in surprise when a new voice, one she never heard from the movie, suddenly speaks up. The voice was garbled, but she could feel the anguish and terror in the voice's tone. But that's not what—

"...all...I...was...sleep...in..." Another voice wailed, lamenting.

"...This...!...too...harsh...!" cried another in pain.

"...nothing...but...tyrant...!" A loud voice shouts in anger.

Suddenly, a cacophony of different voices filled the dream.

"...right!...had...enough...!"

"...gonna...kill...!"

"...out...control...!..."

"...MONSTER...!"

"Ow, ow, ow! Ack, gods! That hurt!" The demigod hissed, clutching her head in pain at the overwhelming sounds and emotions. "What's going on? This never happened in the original story!"

The dream fizzles, like a tv program losing signal, before the scene seemed to shift in front of her. The maze was glitching in and out with some sort of garden, decorated with elaborate chairs and a long table. Blurred figures were scattered around the place, but Vesper couldn't really tell anything from their appearance other than one thing: their emotions.

They were a scattered amalgamation of bitterness, anger, and fear. But there was one that stood out from them, one that was absolutely filled with WRATH.

Their figure, instead of being blurred out like the rest, was practically leaking ink. 

The familiar sight of that ink filled Vesper with dread.

"...THE...ONE...RIGHT...!"

"...NO...ALTERNATIVE...!"

"ALL WHO DEFY ME WILL LOSE THEIR HEADS!"

"R--DL-...STOP!"

With a gasp, Vesper bolts upright in bed, shivering in cold sweat. She looks around frantically, balling her fists on her blanket as she scans her environment for any nearby threats. After seeing nothing but her room in Ramshackle, along with the sight of Grim snoring on the pillow she gave on the couch near the fireplace, Vesper relaxes. Sighing in relief, she flops herself back into the bed with a groan.

"What in the Hades even was that dream?" She mumbles. Prophetic dreams are things she knows very well; heck, she and her friends have experienced those a couple of times before! But this one takes the cake. Am I being warned of something? Danger, maybe?

Knowing full well that sleep will not come so easily after that nightmare, Vesper gets out of bed. After making sure Grim was sleeping soundly, she left her room. Might as well do something productive if I can't get any shut eye.

The demigod remembers that although the Ramshackle Dorm was renovated, there were still some rooms that weren't cleaned up. Fixed, yes, but not tidied. Only the important places of the Dorm were arranged properly; such as the master bedroom, kitchen, dining area, and the living room or lounge. Vesper managed to persuade the Headmaster to leave the rest of the Dorm to her, because she's not about to abuse the staff's consideration into doing everything. Thankfully, Crowley relented.

Okay, so the places left uncleaned are the guest rooms, attic, some parts of the hallways... 

"Huh? Little missy, why're you awake at this hour?" The voice of Sir Athos calls out. Vesper blinks, pausing as the elder ghost floated before her with a concerned expression.

"Oh, good evening, Sir Athos." She greeted, rubbing her arm. "I, uh, couldn't sleep. I'm more of a night owl...You know, more productive at the night than day?"

Sir Athos frowns, "Still, after everything you and the lil' neighbor went through hours ago, it's best that you get a good rest!"

Before Vesper could think of a reply, Sir Porthos appears, phasing through the floor. His expression looked troubled. 

"Sir Athos! There's a stranger knocking—Oh," Sir Porthos stops upon seeing Vesper beside the other ghost. "Erm, good evening, little miss. Shouldn't you be sleeping right now?"

That first bit in Sir Porthos' sentence caught her attention. 

"A stranger?" Vesper frowned, immediately alert. "Where?" She passes her ghostly neighbors, beelining for the stairs to the first floor. The two ghosts exchanged worried looks before following after their resident.

As Vesper reaches the the hallway to the entrance, she sees Sir Aramis watching the door vigilantly. The demigod wondered why until she hears it: the sound of someone knocking on the front door—Well, in her point of view, they seem to be pounding their fist rather hastily, as if they needed to get inside. Sir Aramis noticed her and the other two ghosts, though his eyes did widen a bit when he sees Vesper.

"Missy? What're you doing up so late?" He whispers as he moves closer to them. 

"Can't sleep." Vesper replied shortly in a low voice, staring at the front door with a guarded expression. "Whose knocking so late at this time?"

"I dunno, missy, didn't check." Sir Aramis answers after a beat, the other two ghosts shaking their head as he sent them questioning looks. "We were just makin' sure everything's right tonight. Suddenly, someone came bangin'!"

Vesper hummed, thinking deep. She sensed no ill will from whoever was outside, but from their worried and frazzled state of emotions, the stranger knocking doesn't seem to be much of a threat. Then again, most people, or should I say—most monsters—tend to hide their true colors until it's too late.

"Stay here." She whispered firmly to the ghosts. Before they could protest, Vesper sinks into the darkness and shadow-traveled out of the Dorm and into the outside patio of the building. She slowly appears out of the shadow of a post, manifesting her dagger, Hyde, in her hand but kept it hidden behind her back. As she sneaked to the main entrance, Vesper stopped, eyes widening in surprise when she recognized just who was banging on her front door.

A familiar figure with ginger red hair stood before Ramshackle's front door, his back turned towards her.

"Ace?!" Vesper calls out in disbelief, letting Hyde fade into her shadow.

Ace shrieks, nearly jumping a foot in the air. He turns, back hitting the front door abruptly as he steps back in shock. His expression would've made her laugh if it wasn't for the fact that she was currently staring at him with a befuddled look.

"Freakin' hell!" He hissed, hand clutching his chest as he tries to catch his breath. "Will you please stop doing that?!"

"It's almost past three o' clock, what're you doing he—" Vesper paused, eyes locking on to what Ace was wearing. Specifically, what he was wearing on his neck.

A familiar, gaudy-looking, black and red heart collar was clamped snug around the redhead's throat. The same one that was put on Grim during the Ceremony. Vesper could sense the magic brimming from it. Wait, no. Not the magic, but the intent...? Huh. Didn't know I could do that.

Ace shifted nervously as Vesper stared at him like he was some kind of pinned insect under a microscope. Realizing she was putting him off, Vesper blinked, easing her stare. With Ace's presence here and that collar around his neck, coupled with the emotions she had felt coming from the collar and from him prior to appearing out of Ramshackle...

Oh, great. The demigod resisted the urged to run a hand down her face. Just when I thought I wouldn't get into more trouble. Good job me for jinxing it.

"So..." She frowned, folding her arms. "What did you do this time?"

Vesper felt irritation brim within Ace as he threw up his hands in frustration. "Let's just say I'm absolutely done with Heartslabyul! I'm joining your dorm. For real."

"Uh, what?" She blinked dumbfoundedly at the redhead. The demigod tilted her head. "Come again?"

Ace now looked embarrassed, scratching the back of his head. "I—Ugh, don't make me repeat it. Let's just...Continue this where it isn't freezing and dark out?"

A moment of silence passes, before Vesper lets out a soft sigh. She disappears into the shadows, surprising Ace, before the front door of Ramshackle opens with the sound of a latch unlocking. Vesper opens the door wide, leaning slightly against it. She raises an eyebrow at Ace who still stood where he was. Well? Her expression seemed to say, are you coming in or not?

With a grumble, Ace steps inside, Vesper shutting the door right after him.

What the redhead didn't expect was to be greeted with the sight of three top hat-wearing ghosts.

...who didn't exactly look thrilled to see him.

"Hmm, aren't you the troublemaker who dragged the lil' missy into your mess?" An older looking ghost glared, crossing their arms in disapproval.

"I heard he messed with the lil' neighbor too," A stout ghost scowls, "And now, you're messing with little miss' rest!"

"He don't look shameful 'bout it too!" Another sneers. "Ya hear to cause trouble for 'em again?"

"U-Uh..." Ace stammers, taking a step back as the three ghosts hounded on him, all looking particularly peeved in some manner.

"Guys, guys, enough." Vesper steps in between them, arms raised in a placating gesture. "He's had a rough night already, so go easy on him."

The three ghosts looked at Ace with varying expressions of apprehension and suspicion before they reluctantly agreed to back off. One of the ghost did a "I'm watching you" gesture as they floated off to the side to give him space.

"Sorry 'bout that. Those three are the other residents of Ramshackle Dorm." Vesper explains, waving over to three ghosts. "Their names are Sir Athos, Sir Porthos, and Sir Aramis respectively."

Ace wanted to ask about the "Sir" titles, but given the way the ghosts were glaring and watching him like a hawk from their corners, he refrained from saying anything for now.

"Are they the only ghosts here?" The redhead asked, a bit curious and wary.

"Nope. The others are spread out across the Dorm." She answers with a nonchalant shrug. "But enough about them. Did you eat anything?"

"I- Wait, what?"

Vesper raised an eyebrow, "Did you eat anything for dinner? We pretty much missed that after our fun little adventure in the mines. So out with it. You hungry?"

"I guess?" Ace answered, confused with the sudden line of questioning.

"Make yourself comfortable then, I'll be back." In a blink of an eye, Vesper disappears.

Yeesh, maybe I really should get used to her shadow teleportation magic or whatever. Ace sighs, rubbing the back of his neck as he reluctantly took a seat in one of the long couches of the lounge. As he tries (and fails) to ignore the ghosts watching him, Ace focuses on the look of the lounge.

The redhead has to admit, when he heard that Vesper and Grim were staying in Ramshackle Dorm, he was confused. Ramshackle? As in, that one abandoned building in the school campus? He's heard of the stories that revolved around Ramshackle from his older brother. That place was practically haunted with prankster ghosts! There's just no way the Headmaster would put someone like Vesper in that dump!

Except for Grim, Ace guesses, maybe the headmaster wouldn't mind putting Grim here.

But it seemed Vesper must've put in the work to get the place back in order. The lounge looked pretty cozy. He doubted Grim was much of a help though, knowing the cat's personality. Ace also bets that the Headmage may have had a hand in fixing it too. The ghosts seem way more friendly than what the rumors suggested—Well, maybe to Vesper and Grim and not certain people...

I know that now. Ace glances at the ghosts. They were still giving him the death glare. He quickly looks away. Yup. Definitely know that now. 

"Here." Thankfully Ace did not shriek (nor did he nearly jump into the air) this time when Vesper appeared out of nowhere. She places down a freshly made sandwich in a plate on the table before him, along with a glass of water.

"It's not poisoned, if that's what you're thinking." Vesper jokes when she caught Ace staring at the food.

"Knowing you, it's kinda difficult to tell." Ace snorted, taking a bite out of the sandwich. He blinked. Wow. That tastes really good! But the satisfaction disappeared as quickly as it came when he feels the weight around his throat. Man, the weight of the collar is gonna kill him at this rate!

"Flattered." Vesper replied with a lazy grin, taking a seat in the other chair next to the sofa. "Anyway, late night visits aside, what's up with—this?" The demigod gestures around her own neck, miming the collar currently locked around Ace's throat.

Ace finishes the last bite of the sandwich before swallowing. He clears his throat as he grimaced, the memory of getting collared by his Dorm Head still as fresh as ever.

"I ate a tart." The redhead admitted.

"You...ate a tart?" Vesper echoed slowly, her eyebrows furrowing in disbelief. "Did I just hear that right?"

Ace groans before spilling the beans.

"...so long story short," Vesper began, pinching the bridge of her nose, expression tight. "You're an idiot."

The three ghosts, who used to be sticking to the corners, were now hovering behind Vesper, murmuring and nodding at one another in agreement to her statement.

"Oh, come on!" Ace sputtered, indignant. "Don't you think he went overboard?! I just ate ONE slice of tart! One! Then he goes ahead and practically maims me by sealing away my magic!"

Vesper thinks back to "the Blue Cookie" incident that happened back at Camp Half-Blood.

The Stoll brothers thought that it would be a good idea to steal Percy's box of blue cookies that his mother (who she lovingly calls "Tita Sally") baked for him. Normally, Percy's a pretty chill dude, so if you asked him nicely, he's willing to share the cookies with you. Unfortunately, the Stoll brothers felt like flirting with Quinn's father (aka Death) that day, so they stole a freshly made box of blue cookies with no hesitation whatsoever. When the son of Poseidon found out, needless to say, the Stoll brothers spent a week in the infirmary. 

And there was that time some mischievous demigods thought it would be a great idea to prank me, so...

"Ace, imagine if someone raided your closet and wore your clothes. Now imagine if they never gave them back. Or if they did happened to return your clothes, they were ripped to shreds. How would you feel?"

The redhead's eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Of course I'd be pissed!" He then blinked in realization, "Wait, hold on—"

"There you go." Vesper confirms with a nod, leaning back on her seat. "Now do you get why he reacted that way?"

"I-! W-Well...!" Ace grumbled, "It's not like he wrote his name on the dang tart..."

"You don't go stitching your name into all of your clothes either, but here we are." She snarked,  shrugging her shoulders.

Sir Athos spoke up, "Lil' miss has a point, troublemaker. It's impolite to go around eatin' what isn't yours."

"You mentioned three tarts, yes?" Sir Porthos thinned his lips, "Maybe your Dorm Head lost his cool because those tarts were meant for somethin' big, like a party, and you ate one."

"Me thinks ya gotta go say sorry." Sir Aramis had a mean gleam in his eye, "Can't say it'll go well though, considering your personality..."

The other two ghosts murmured lowly and nodded in agreement to that. Ace felt his eye twitch.

"Guys..." Vesper chided, looking back slightly at her residents. The ghosts stopped, mumbling half-hearted apologies. "Anyways, the Musketeers have a point. You need to go apologize to your Dorm Head, Ace."

"Really?! C'mon, Vez..." Ace slouches back on the sofa, miffed. "I'm practically a victim of tyranny here! Can't you at least give me some sympathy?"

Vesper tries to not look too uncomfortable when Ace said the word relating to "tyrant". That weird nightmare she had still lingered at the back of her mind. Instead, she sends him a deadpan look before stretching her hand out to him, palm open and empty. "Here, have some sympathy."

"Seriously..." Grumbled Ace while the ghosts snickered behind Vesper's back.

"Look, I know your pride is blown out of the water right now—" She ignores Ace's indignant yell at that. "But you have to own up to your mistake and go apologize to your Dorm Head, before things go from bad to worse."

Vesper sees the apprehension and annoyance cross Ace's face. Again, she had to resist the urge from throttling the boy or rolling her eyes at him. It's like I'm talking to a kid. Is it really that hard to go say sorry? Then again, from how he described his Dorm Head, his apology needs to go both ways.

"Fine...Fine! I get it, I'll go apologize." Ace declares, grimacing. "But since this is your idea, you better accompany me through this whole spiel."

"Sure." The demigod had to bite back a snark from leaving her tongue. Stay cool. Play nice. He's a mortal, Vesper, you might send him straight to Hades if you lose it now. "On one condition though: we do this before class. Otherwise, we'll both be late."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He replies, waving his hand. But Ace's back straightened when the ghosts scowled at his behavior. "A-Anyways, do you have a place where I can crash for tonight?"

"You're sitting on it."

"Uh, what?"

"Unfortunately the other rooms haven't been tidied yet." Vesper shook her head, not looking all that sorry. "Plus there's no proper bed other than mine, so you'll have to take the couch here in the lounge for now." She stands, wondering if there were any spare pillows or blankets that she could lend.

Ace follows her. "Aw, can't I just sleep with you in your bed? I mean, I'm pretty sure we can both fit."

It took a moment for that statement to register in Vesper's brain before she could react. But before she could, the Musketeers beat her to it.

"You—! You shameless lout!" Sir Athos bellows, turning red in rage (Wow, who knew ghosts could still change color, Vesper thought.). "How dare you ask such a- such a-?!"

"That's the last straw, boy!" Sir Aramis menacingly moves closer to Ace, who began to back away in fright. 

"Lost your mind, fella? I'll help you find it!" Sir Porthos followed after the younger ghost, equally enraged.

Ace's carefree grin slips from his face, practically turning white as paper at this point.

What was I supposed to be doing? Oh, right—

"Woah, woah! Okay, guys, time out! Time out!" Once again, Vesper moved in between the redhead and her fury-driven ghost friends, forming a "Time out" gesture with her hands. "It's just a joke, Ace didn't mean it—Right, Ace?" She glances at the boy behind her, her expression telling him to speak up lest her residents rip him apart like maenads. 

Thankfully Ace was quick on the uptake. "Uh, y-yeah! It's a joke, I swear! Promise!" 

Sir Aramis squinted at the first year suspiciously. "It better be, boy..."

"...Hrmph... Since you said so, little miss." Sir Porthos moves away, eyeing Ace with disdain. "But he better not get any bright ideas like that again."

"Agreed." nodded Sir Athos, before an amusing smile passes his lips. Vesper feels a sliver of mischief flit through the air. "Speaking of ideas, why don't we go with the little missy's original plan: the troublemaker stays down here, on the lounge couch. What do you say, fellas?"

The other two Musketeers agreed, but from their expressions, the demigod could tell that they've got something planned... Something that'll definitely be fun for them and not-so-fun for Ace. 

"Way to go, Tapioca." Sighing for the umpteenth time, Vesper herds Ace back over to the couch. She made sure the ghosts behaved before shadow-traveling to her room, but from the looks of things, it seems the ghosts were watching themselves (for now). After getting the needed pillow and blankets, the demigod drops them on Ace's lap.

"Go catch some z's. If that's all, I'll be upstairs." Without waiting for a reply, Vesper heads for the stairs. She figured she could use this time to tidy the place, but tonight's events surprisingly made her tired. 

Just as she reaches the top, Vesper realized she forgot to warn Ace about the ghost's upcoming pranks. But then the demigod figured that the redhead deserved it for putting his foot in his mouth around the ghosts.

Oh well. Rest in pieces, Ace.

She mentally checked her night (or morning?) clock: 4:30 am.

At least she can get some shut-eye for an hour or so before morning training.

Just what did I get myself into... Deuce scowled, walking along the pathway to Ramshackle Dorm. 

The other students were talking amongst themselves about a Heartslabyul student that got collared  last night for eating a tart. A tart meant for the Dorm Head. When Deuce heard the news, he had a sinking feeling in his gut that he knew exactly who it was. It was glaringly obvious, considering a certain redhead spoke of "wanting to get something to eat" or something along those lines upon returning to the Dorm last night.

"Idiot!" Deuce huffed, kicking a stone down the pathway in irritation. He's also heard that the apparent collared student was banned from entering the Heartslabyul Dorm until he apologized. But knowing Ace, he might refuse to do so out of spite.

Deuce wondered where would have Ace spent the night, until it hit him. Vesper said something about staying in Ramshackle Dorm, and knowing the redhead, he might've gone there to stay. Knowing that didn't ease Deuce's annoyance though, it only amplified it. Realization hits him in the face like a brick: Ace might drag Vesper into his mess. Grim wouldn't be far behind either.

The nerve! We already had her risk her neck for us back at the mines! Shaking his head, Deuce realized he was already at the front door of Ramshackle. Speaking of the Dorm, it doesn't exactly look run down at all. In fact, it had that sort of old aesthetic to it. He blinked. Oh right, now's not the time to get distracted.

He was about to raise his fist to knock on the door when a voice calls out to him.

"Deuce?"

"Guh-!" The aforementioned boy jumped, startled. In reflex, he swung his fist back as he swiveled to look behind him. A firm hand stops his fist short, and silver ringed eyes blinked back at him curiously. 

Vesper tilts her head slightly, almost cat-like. "Hi." 

"Oh. V-Vesper..." Deuce stammers, relaxing.

Then he realized he was just seconds from hitting her, and promptly flips out again. He quickly (and awkwardly) pulls his arm back from the girl's grip, waving his hand apologetically. "S-Sorry! I didn't hear you approach, so I got a little startled."

Looking closely, Deuce realized that Vesper was dressed differently. Her hair was in a loose ponytail, different from her usual style. She was wearing jogging pants and a sleeveless hoodie, along with running shoes. From the look of the sweat on her, Deuce guessed that Vesper must've went for a morning run.

An amused smile makes its way across Vesper's lips as she raises an eyebrow at him with mirth. "Relax, Fisticuffs. It's my fault for scaring you."

"Still, I think I might've overreacted." Deuce mumbles.

"Like I said, it's cool." She shrugged, "Oh, that's a good arm form, by the way. You know self-defense?"

An uncomfortable expression crossed Deuce's face when she asked that, and a sense of unease fills the air. Oops. Landmine. Back up. Vesper changes the subject. "Anyway, what brought you here this early? Oh wait, let me guess—A certain Tapioca went and ate something that wasn't meant for him?"

"T-Tapioca...?" Deuce stuttered, confused, before realizing it was a nickname. "Oh, you mean Ace? Wait, does that mean he's—"

"Here and crashing in Ramshackle? Yup." She popped the "p". "He spilled the beans on what happened to him last night, too."

"Grr, of course. He didn't cause any trouble for you, did he?"

"Well~" Vesper trailed off, her mind jumping to the ruckus Ace caused last night with her ghost residents. "...Not for me, exactly. Can't say the same for my Musketeers."

Deuce sighed aggravatingly. "Sorry for the trouble again, Vesper. Wait," He stopped, blinking. "Did you just say 'Musketeers'?"

"They're the ghosts of Ramshackle. Don't worry, they don't bite." teased Vesper, unlocking the front door. "Come on in. Ace is probably up right about now."

"But fair warning: he might be extra cranky thanks to the Musketeer's pranks."

Chapter Text

Talk about entering Disneyland...

That was Vesper's first thought as she slips through the mirror leading to Heartslabyul Dorm. 

Lilia (or Niki as she calls him) explained that while Ramshackle Dorm was inside the school campus, the other Dorms were within different dimensions. The only way you could enter them was through the Hall of Mirrors, where each mirror was a "gateway" to each Dorm. Seeing as magic was used in the whole "separate mirror dimensions" thing, it would hand wave some technical bits when it came to the mortal thinking of architecture or engineering. 

Huh, what if Camp Half-Blood did the same thing? Vesper wondered, before shaking her head. Nah, the cabins are already charming enough as it is. We did ask help for enchanting each cabin's size on the inside too.

"Uwah! It's practically a castle!" Grim exclaims in disbelief, eyes wide as he looks around the entrance of Heartslabyul. "Hey henchman, ya think we could do somethin' as fancy like this in our Dorm?"

Haha. No.

"In our dreams, maybe." She retorts simply, taking in the look of her surroundings.

Vesper lets out a low whistle of appreciation. Grim wasn't wrong about the whole castle aesthetic. The paved entrance was bordered by heart-shaped trees with vibrant red roses. Near the entrance was a lamp post with a banner hanging from it, the insignia of Heartslabyul printed on the center. Beyond that lied a fountain in front of what she guesses to be the main building: a castle of cream white and reds. From where she stood, it really was as if Vesper was inside an Alice in Wonderland attraction in disneyland. 

The sight of the roses made her a tad unsettled, though.

"C'mon, we have to look for the Dorm Head." Deuce calls out, snapping the demigod from her trance. He turns to Ace. "You do know where he is, right?"

The redhead shrugs flippantly. "Beats me. Shouldn't you have a better idea since you stayed here?"

Deuce floundered at that. "W-Well..."

"We might as well go look for him." Vesper cuts in. She looks over to the Castle, mouth quirking to the side. "Or better yet, ask someone if he's around."

As the group were about to head to where Deuce pointed the direction of the Dorm's lounge, Grim's ears perked up when he hears a voice coming the Rose Maze. He points a paw in the voice's direction. "I hear someone singin' from over there!"

Without pausing, Grim bounds over to the entrance of the maze. Vesper followed, while the other two boys exchanged questioning glances before following suit. Upon reaching the area where Grim ran off too, Vesper is met with a familiar sight.

Whoa, deja vu.

Standing near the rose bushes was a tall young man with light orange hair, some of which was tied into a ponytail. What caught her attention was the eye-catching clothes that he was wearing: it looked like some kind of uniform, but the patterns and color mix of white, black, and yellow really sold the look. Is- Is everyone here really dressed that snazzy? The nicely dressed student (she guessed he is a student too) was waving his pen around, and Vesper watched some of the white roses fade into a vibrant red color, just like how the card soldiers in her dream painted.

"Hmm...?" The young man paused his jaunty humming when he caught sight of them nearby. The demigod noted that he had green eyes, and had a red diamond mark painted on his cheek just under his right eye. He gave them a friendly smile and wave, but Vesper noticed that there was a look of recognition that crossed his face when his gaze looked behind her. So he knows Ace and Deuce, huh? Not surprising, really.

"Hey there!" The diamond student greeted jovially, pen relaxed in his fingertips. "You guys need something?"

Before Vesper could answer, Grim speaks up. "Whatcha doin' over there?"

"Oh, this?" The student gestures to the rose bush behind him, "I'm painting the roses red, obviously."

"Uh, but why?" asked Ace, perplexed.

"Shouldn't you two know why, though? You're a part of this dorm." Vesper whispered to the Deuce, who also looked confused.

"This is the first I heard of it..." Deuce weakly defends, scratching his head.

The diamond student lets out an amused hum. "Haha! Well, I can't fault you guys, really! Especially now when I realized just who you all are!"

He waves to point over to Ace and Deuce, and the two perked up at the attention. "If memory serves me right, you two are the ones that busted that billion-thaumark chandelier! Yeesh! You nearly got expelled for it too, yeah?"

"...That chandelier is gonna haunt us till the day we graduate, isn't it?" Ace groans, burying his face on his hands.

"Well, you only get one chance at a first impression." Vesper quips, eyes gleaming in amusement. "Good job, by the way."

"Quiet, you."

"Meanwhile," With a bemused expression crossing his face, the diamond student focused on Ace. "This guy right here stole the Dorm Leader's tart and ticked him off even more!"

"Gh! How'd you even know about that?" Ace questioned, baffled.

"Rumors fly all over the Dorm." The diamond student shrugs, the mirth never leaving his eyes.

"Ehem, those shenanigans aside, who are you exactly?" Vesper steps in, asking politely before joking a bit, "Sorry, I just can't keep calling you "diamond" student in my head."

The student's green eyes lit up when he takes a long good look at Vesper. "Wait a sec! You're the gal that made it to NRC! Not to mention quickly becoming a Prefect, to boot-" Wait, how does he know that? "-and you're like, one of the hot topics going around in campus!"

He straightens, but not stiffly. The student's stance was more on the playful side, it seems. "Nice to meetcha, I'm your resident third year senior here at Heartslabyul! Cater Diamond's the name! You were almost on the nose with "diamond student", hehe."

Cater winks, "Feel free to just call me Cater! Or Cate, maybe even Cay-Cay if you're cray cray!"

"Aha, right. Nice to meet you too." Vesper laughs slowly, hesitant. The way the older student spoke reminded her of how some social media savvy mortals or demigods talked to each other back at Camp. She doesn't mind it per say, but... "By the way, where'd you hear that bit where I was a prefect?"

"Hm? The Headmage's the source! He just informed the other Dorm Heads about it, and then our Dorm Head kind of talked about it to the Vice." Cater answered honestly.

That means there are others that already know about my position. I don't really know if that's a good thing or a bad thing...

The preppy senior turns to the rest of the group. "How 'bout you guys? I think some self introductions are in order! Hold up-" He pulls out his phone, raising it high enough to capture all of them within the camera's selfie mode. Vesper was grateful that she was wearing her sunglasses when Cater snapped the photo, but not before putting up a peace sign as a jest. "Sweet! So~ What are your names? I'll post this at Magicam if that's A-Okay!"

"Magicam? Is that a social media site or something?" Vesper whispered over to Ace.

Ace gave her a weird look. "You live under a rock or something? But yeah, it's more of an app where you could upload photos and share 'em with people."

So...It's like this world's Instagram? She wondered. Was that app even downloaded in the phone she got from Sam?

"So~ What're your names? I'll tag you!" Cater taps away in his phone.

"Deuce Spade..."

"...Ace."

"Grim and Henchman!"

"More like Lord Fuzz-ball and Vesper Kenway."

"Hey!"

"There. Aaaaand posted!" exclaimed Cater, smiling in satisfaction. He puts his phone away, facing the rumored Ramshackle Prefect. She was wearing a really cool jacket with some night sky motifs (Cater definitely needs to find out if this girl's into astrology), and had sunglasses on her face. The shades looked super dark, which made the Prefect's expression difficult to read. She doesn't look like the closed-off type though, if her actions towards the rest of this lil' ragtag group are saying anything.

"Speaking of, you sure you're doing fine over there at that run-down place?" He questioned Vesper, discreetly watching her body language. "That Dorm wouldn't even be on my list of Top Tens of places to sleep! The ghosts over there are something else, too! Not really the best peeps I'd have a photo with."

Honestly, Cater wondered if the Headmage has some screws loose in his head sometimes. Making a girl sleep in a place like that hot garbage? Yikes! Think of the drama that'll happen if she happened to have posted her first experience in NRC on Magicam! That'll definitely cause a huge load of online backlash. Then again, she doesn't look like the sort to do that.

"Sheesh, ya don't need to go raggin' at our Dorm like that!" Grim huffed, putting his paws on his hips. "It ain't like your fancy castle, sure, but it's super cozy thanks to henchman over here!"

"Uh, henchman?" Cater blinks, looking over to the so-called "henchman".

"That's just what he usually calls me. Don't mind him." Vesper shrugged, nonchalant. She's just gonna ignore that diss about the ghosts though. But the demigod should really get a photo with them sometime. "You don't need to worry about Ramshackle. That place is all well and good enough, and the ghosts are actually a friendly bunch if you get to know them better."

"Say that to my sleep." Ace grumbles underneath his breath. Those "friendly bunch" ghosts practically spooked him from getting any decent sleep last night!

"Really now? If that's the case, I gotta check the place out sometime! Oops, if that's okay with you, Prefect." Cater chuckles with a cheery salute at Vesper in a joking manner. "Say, now that we've all gotten to know each other better, how about you all lend a hand in painting these roses?"

"What? Why should we?" Ace frowned, suspicion lacing his tone.

"Because, my tart-stealing friend—"

"Hey!"

"—it's part of our chores! Did you both forget the orientation already?" Cater clicked his tongue as he shook his head, wagging his pen at the his two freshmen. "The party is just a day away, and there are still a bunch of things that haven't been sorted out yet! And you bet that I'm not itching to lose my head like Ace-y over here!"

"Heh, looks like one of the ghost's had a solid theory!" Grim throws a smug grin at Ace, who scowled in return. "Looks like ya ate somethin' meant for a party!"

"Not just any party, but... a birthday party for the Dorm Head! No wonder why he was so pissed!" Deuce realizes with a gasp.

Wow, Cater had to stop himself from laughing, these two are really clueless! He was about to correct the two of them about their wrong assumptions when Vesper beats him to it.

"I don't think so, Deuce." The Prefect speaks up, a hand in her chin, looking in deep thought. "It's definitely a birthday party, yeah, but it's not...Uh, anyone's birthday? It's a—What's it called again?"

"An Unbirthday party." Cater finished, intrigued that a different student, an outsider no less, was able to guess the upcoming celebration. "It's an annual celebration that is held in, you guessed it, no one's birthday! Our Dorm Head usually decides to hold the tea party if he felt like it. Oh! And there's that upcoming croquet tournament too!"

"Seriously?!" Ace exclaims, incredulous. "That's the reason why we have to do all these chores?"

"Mm-hm! But FYI, painting these roses red are an absolute must right now! So let's get to it!" Without waiting for their reply, Cater turn heels and picks up a bucket of red paint and a large brush, handing the items over to Ace. "Since Ace-y here can't use magic, you might as well make do with these!"

Ignoring the redhead's grumble, Cater turns to Deuce and Grim. "Meanwhile, you two can work your magic on turning the roses red!"

"Uh..." Deuce looks at the white roses with apprehension, gulping nervously. "W-We're really doing this with magic?"

"Meh...Can't say I've done this before." Grim followed, looking up at the tall rose bushes. To be fair, burning things down is usually your go-to action. Vesper inwardly snorted.

"It's no problem, guys! Just relax!" With a twirl and flick of his pen, Cater turns the white roses next to him into vivid red ones. "See? Just picture 'em red in your mind, and then you'll be able to cast it! Like so!" Another wave of his pen turned the next white roses red.

Huh, not so different from how we use our powers back home. Concentrate, visualize, then cast. Vesper looked on, amazed. Since Cater's a senior, it makes sense that his casting has a bit more finesse than the others. Wait, does that mean I have to call him "Kuya" too?

The demigod was snapped out from her thoughts when she hears Ace complain. "Hold on, how come she's not doing anything?" The redhead points his brush over to where Vesper stood. 

"Hm?" Cater looks over to her, and in a blink of an eye, Vesper senses a flicker of mischief before the senior student gives Ace a cheerful grin. "C'mon, Ace-y! It's rude to make a lady do all the work that you're supposed to do, you know~! That's Gentleman 101!"

The demigod squinted. Wait a diddly-darn minute... Did he just confess that he practically tricked them into doing his chores? That's... Well, pretty resourceful of him actually. Vesper was reminded of how some Hermes or Aphrodite kids could get away with scheming like that. That is if they're also willing to risk the consequences thereafter.

Vesper isn't really one to stand still while the other's were moving about though. But her mind jumped to that social media app that both Ace and (Vesper's still on the fence about calling Cater Kuya) talked about. She remembered the look Ace gave her when she asked about the app, and realized why.

Magicam seemed to be something that students her age knew about, like it was basic knowledge. Vesper knew that Ace is a quick-thinker, the kind who can make up a plan when the situation calls for it. Even if the redhead didn't broach the topic, he's quick to catch on her reaction, which could lead to the possibility of him asking difficult questions.

The demigod's lips pursed at that. She needed to be more careful. Perhaps she can come up with a lie about where she came from? No one else, sans the staff and Crowley, knew of her true origins. No, maybe a half-truth is better, to make it a bit more believable.

Vesper unlocked her phone and sure enough, the Magicam app was installed in it. The app really was like her world's version of Instagram, and it sure was easy to make an account. She couldn't think of a username at the moment though, so she just used the name she gave to Cater. It wasn't long before her empty account received a notification, and as Vesper tapped on it, she sees the photo the senior student took of her and the gang.

She's not surprised that Cater had a lot of followers (while he also followed a lot of people, like wow), and neither was she surprised that the post already had a lot of likes and comments within a few minutes. Much of the comments were aimed at Ace (Vesper feels a bit sympathetic for him now) while other comments questioned about Grim and her presence.

Vesper tapped the "Like" option, but she couldn't help feeling unsettled at having her presence in social media. Years of avoiding technology and having just recently gone back to getting used to it via the Iris-phones, many demigods like her have yet to feel comfortable in using something like a phone. She still felt wary using the custom demigod tech out of paranoia of attracting nearby monsters. 

Speaking of which, even if she's in another world, do monsters still exist here too?

The memory of ink and broken glass flashed forward at the thought. Vesper grimaced.

Maybe staying in the photo wasn't the best idea... But then again, didn't Crowley said that no such monsters exist anymore?

She broke out of her thoughts when she sensed someone approach. Vesper straightened, shifting her phone away from sight. Fingers reached up for her sunglasses, ready to tear them off at the first sight of danger as she turned to look at the incoming-

Cater blinked, stopping his approach abruptly. Right now, it was almost as if he was looking at a different person. Gone was the nonchalant and easy-going vibe that Vesper had. Now, it was almost as if she was waving a red flag of warning. He had noticed her frowning at her phone in a distance, and Cater wondered if it had something to do with the picture he posted. Not wanting to put the girl on the spot, he wanted to ask her about the post when Vesper's personality did a complete 180. 

When Cater saw her reach for her shades, he had a sinking feeling that making direct eye contact with Vesper wouldn't be the greatest idea at the moment. 

Thankfully, the girl looked like she recognized him before that could happen. Vesper seemingly relaxed, that air of nonchalance back again. But Cater noticed a flicker of guilt in her shaded expression. Odd... Why would she look guilty?

"Oh, hi." The prefect greeted, as if she didn't wasn't spooked seconds ago. "Did something come up?"

"Nothing serious~!" Cater waved his hand playfully, "I was just wondering, like, for real, if you're good with the post in Magicam. I mean, I can take it down if it makes you uncomfortable."

"It's okay, I don't mind." She shrugged, "I'm just not used to all this-" Vesper waves a hand to the phone she's showing to Cater, "-Magicam stuff. We have similar apps back at home, but we don't engage in this often..." Her mouth moves to a slight frown, eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the phone in her hand like it bit her.

Seeing such an expression made Cater almost frown. Now that won't do!

"But this is totes a great opportunity to use it, then!" Cater grins good-naturedly, beaming, making the other girl slightly jump. "After all, there's a first time for everything, yeah?"

Not that he's one to brag, but Cater believes that he's got some experience dealing with girls. He has his overbearing sisters to thank for that. But Vesper is different. Compared to how fussy and loud his sisters are, the Ramshackle Prefect is mellow and calm; she isn't shy though, if her quips with the other freshman and her monster cat charge were saying anything. However, Cater can also tell that Vesper is quite wary with strangers.

Her reaction to his approach and subsequent change in personality confirmed that.

She reminded Cater of a black cat, except this black cat used to be a stray before it found a home. It has experienced enough to be rightly wary or alert of danger, even if it was taken off the streets. Cater isn't saying she's homeless, or any insulting of the sort. It just happened to be a metaphor that popped in his mind when he took a long look at Vesper when the first met.

Now that she was in NRC, as the only girl in an all-boys school, Cater can understand why Vesper had every right to be cautious of the students here. Still, everyone should at least get to have fun every now and then, right? The Prefect is no different.

He focused back to Vesper when she hummed thoughtfully at Cater's comment, a small smile forming on her lips. "Well, you're not wrong about that. Besides, your post's pretty cool. You seem to know your stuff with the camera."

"Knowing how to take pics is a must skill, you know." Cater winked. A smile really does suit Vesper. "If you're interested, Cay-Cay's willing to give some tips!"

"AH!"

The two paused their conversation to look over at where the others were. The scream seemed to have come from Deuce, who was slack-jawed in surprise at seeing the roses he was painting turned to different design patterns instead of the color red. Grim wasn't any better, as the cat let out a panicked yowl at burning one or three of the flowers. Ace looked miserable painting one rose by hand, it looked like he has yet to finish one bush...

"Um," Vesper scratched her head, "Should we...?"

"Ha~" Cater lets out an amused yet exasperated sigh, "Heads are going to roll at this rate."

Barely thirty minutes passed and the boys looked like they were ready to pass out.

Mostly Grim and Deuce, since they were exhausting their magic trying to paint the roses red. Vesper decided to help out by taking out a red spray paint (don't ask) from her shadow inventory to help Ace out with his side of the bushes. She flatly refused to give the spray paint to Ace because first of all: she only had one. Secondly, the demigod still believed Ace needed to go through with painting manually because she felt like it was payback for dragging her into the mess he caused.

Cater thankfully helped get rid of the smell emitted from the can with magic. Though the senior did wonder; why didn't Vesper just use her magic to help Ace out? Maybe she's conserving her strength? Hm...

"Why can't we just leave them white?" Ace frowned, staring at the white roses. "It's prettier..."

"It's tradition, that's why!" Cater informed, "Roses have got to be red for our Unbirthday party, while the bats for croquet must be seven shades of flamingo, and our ball has got to be hedgehogs! Ah, but the roses must be kept white when the flowers hold their concert in the spring garden- That's a real key point!"

All the rules are references to events that occurred in the story of Alice in Wonderland, Vesper deduced. There was the scene of the card soldiers painting the roses, then the Queen of Hearts using flamingoes and hedgehogs as equipment for croquet. The flowers must be a nod to the talking flowers Alice encountered, although Vesper had to admit, she isn't exactly a fan of those flower's and their personalities. Not to mention how they insulted Alice for simply being different from them.

"What a bunch of weird traditions!" Grim yelled, seemingly finding the rules absurd.

Cater shrugged, "Well, each and every rule was decided on by one of the Great Seven: the Queen of Hearts! Our Dorm Head, Riddle, is pretty serious about upholding our traditions. Like, he follows them way more so than the past Dorm leaders..."

"Although," The older student's expression closed off, looking down a bit. "...I won't deny that he's taken it a bit too far."

Vesper frowned at the change of Cater's mood. She sensed some sort of uneasiness and a tinge of disappointment from the senior. If even a senior student like Cater is reacting this way, just what kind of person is their Dorm Head?

"Wait a minute, I don't have time for this!" Ace realized, putting down the painting utensils. "I need to talk to our Dorm Head! Is he here?"

Oh yeah, I forgot about that part... Vesper checked the time in her phone. At least we still have several minutes before classes starts. Good thing we came here early.

"Well, there's some time before he leaves, but..." Cater's eyes sharpened, his smile thinned a bit. Uh oh. "Btdubs, did you bring a tart in apology?"

"Huh? Uh, no." Ace answered, befuddled by the line of questioning. "I came here first thing in the morning, so I'm empty-handed..."

"That so? Ah, ah, ah! That's a big problem now." The Heartslabyul senior clicked his tongue, scratching his head in disappointment. "'Rule Number 53: Stolen items must be returned at all costs.' Sorry Ace-y, but I can't let you back in the Dorm."

"A-Are you for real?!" The redhead sputters. Irritation and nervousness spiked from his heart.

Oh boy, this isn't gonna end well. Vesper steps in front of Ace, facing Cater. "Hold on, Senior. Does that mean all Ace has to do to get back in the Dorm is to make a replacement tart in return for the one he took?"

"It's according to the rules, Vessie, so yeah," nodded Cater, looking slightly apologetic. "Until he brings one, sad to say he's never gonna be allowed in here."

"Come on, Senior Cater!" Ace began, stepping forwards beside Vesper. A sort of desperation was already beginning to show in his eyes. "Can't you let me off the hook just this once?"

Cater smiled wryly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, but I'll have my head taken too."

Vesper's eyes narrowed behind her shades when she sees the older student shift his posture, and his attitude and cadence changed into something more serious than his previously preppy self. He looked just about ready to take them out of the garden by any means necessary. She feels the nervousness and desperation begin to well up within Ace. Knowing things might not go well if they overstay their welcome, the demigod decided that they have to leave. Now.

"Bummer." She said, sighing. Her lips thinned, before Vesper shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it can't be helped, I guess. Let's go, guys. Thanks for entertaining us, Senior."

"H-Huh?!" Deuce sputtered, watching Vesper turn heel and begin walking away.

"Wait, Vesper-!" Ace started, but he stops when the girl pauses to look back at him, her fingers pulled her sunglasses low on her face, showing half her eyes. She stared at him sharply.

"You heard what he said. There's no use arguing with Senior Cater, he's just trying to follow the rules." Vesper turns away, continuing her stride. "So let's go, or we'll be late for class."

Deuce lets out a gasp upon seeing the time on his phone. "She's right! We only got a couple of minutes before first period begins!"

"Finally! I get to show off my amazin' mage skills!" Grim grins excitedly, bounding after Vesper. "Let's go, slowpokes! Or you'll miss my first steps to greatness!"

Before Ace could interject, he yelps when Deuce grabs his arm and pulls him alongside his stride as they hurriedly left the rose maze. Vesper takes one last look at Cater before she sends him a two-fingered salute and wave, then steps out of the premises. Grim follows not long after. The senior waggles his fingers as he calls out a cheery goodbye to his underclassmen; with Deuce bowing his head slightly with a sullen Ace in tow as they left.

"Ah, geez~" Cater huffed exasperatedly, "What a colorful cast my juniors turned out to be."

It seemed that this school year of Night Raven College would be an interesting one.

"Damn it!" Ace kicked a stray pebble off his path, his face pinched with irritation. "What's with all these stupid rules?!"

"Hey, tone it down!" Deuce whisper-yelled, seeing some students turn their heads towards their direction when Ace yelled. Thankfully, no one seemed to think much of it as they all continued moving towards their respective classes.

"Yeesh, we went in there for nothing." Grim harrumphs, lounging on Vesper's shoulder, equally annoyed. "And he played us like total chumps! Getting us to do his work for 'im- painting those roses red and all."

"At least it didn't boil down to a confrontation." Vesper remarked, "He looked ready to toss us out the longer we stayed there, and a getting into another fight is the last thing we need right now."

"I doubt he would toss you out." Ace scoffed. "You two looked like you both hit it off really quickly."

Observant as usual, Tapioca. "Eh, maybe he will or maybe he won't, but he'd still make me leave regardless." Was Vesper's answer to that. 

"Vesper's right, I think getting into a fight with one of our seniors isn't the best idea right now." Deuce agreed, glancing briefly at Ace's neck collar. "But I am curious about what he could do if we did end up fighting..."

"Hey! You're giving him too much credit already!" Grim argued, "I can take 'im no problem!"

"Nope. I don't think you can." Vesper disagreed flatly, ignoring Grim's squawk at her statement. "You should learn not to overestimate your abilities, and at the same time, don't underestimate your opponents. Doing either of those is bound to get you badly injured, or worse..."

The demigod continued, "Just think about it, Grim; you and Deuce are capable of using your magic, yeah, but Cater's got two steps ahead in terms of experience. Not only that, you have no idea what exactly can he do. Meanwhile, Ace can't use his magic because of that collar."

"I bet you could stand a chance, though." Ace points out, "I mean, have you seen how you moved and acted back in the mines?"

Deuce nodded at that. "And with your advice, it sounds like you've got experience."

"Yeah, you also can like, hop through shadows and stuff." Grim followed.

Woah, am I getting found out already? I must really suck at keeping secrets then.

"Even if I did, just like I've stressed before; I'd like to avoid getting into enough trouble already." The boys all had varying expressions of guilt at that statement. Vesper sighed, before looking back at Ace, her cadence soft. "I know you're itching to get that collar off of you, but it looks like we'll have to play by your Dorm's rules to remove it."

"You can say that again..." The redhead muttered, "Where the heck am I gonna get a tart anyways?"

"Relax," Vesper pats Ace in the shoulder reassuringly, "Since you asked oh-so-nicely for help before, I'll lend a helpful hand out with this time. Hopefully my baking skills haven't gone rusty."

"You..." Ace started, before letting out a groan, scratching the back of his head. "You do know that you don't have to get yourself involved in this, right? I mean, it's not like we expected those asinine rules to stalwart us."

Deuce frowned. "At least be grateful that she's willing to help you out," Again went unsaid.

"Hey, hey! Don't think about getting away without payment!" Grim grins, "As she's my henchman, you owe her- and me, duh- somethin' in return!"

Ace honestly wanted to thwack the cat, but Vesper beats him to it. She nudges Grim roughly from his perch on her shoulder, rolling her eyes when Grim yells at her for that after falling flat on the ground.

"Moving on, we should focus on our classes first. We'll deal with the tart situation after class."

"At least we still got a couple of minutes before the first bell..." Deuce mumbles, checking the time in his phone again. He's really taking his studies seriously, huh? Vesper found that admirable, knowing that she herself would rather skip a class that was nothing but boring just to get to the next one. 

She wondered how the others were faring back in her world. Hopefully they aren't skipping their classes just to find a way to bring her back home.

Who am I kidding...A certain phoenix would be pulling all nighters to find a way. Piper, Jason, please make sure Leo takes care of himself too. At least I can trust Nico and Will. Quinn and the rest of her cult-buster squad can handle taking care of each other, thankfully.

"Oh yeah, which class are you two in?" asked Ace, turning to Vesper and Grim. 

"The Headmage said that we're in Class 1-A." Because he'd rather not separate me and troublemaker fuzzball over here, gods knows what he'll do if I'm not there to reign him in.

"Whoa, that makes us classmates then!" A genuine smile crosses Deuce's face. "By the looks of it, our first class is Alchemy."

Grim beams with excitement. "Oh~! That seems interesting!"

"Alchemy. Yeah, that does sound interesting." Vesper wondered if making poisonous cosmetics or making use of Greek fire or other dangerous substances counted as using Alchemy. It...might be? I need to ask Leo or Kuya AJ about this when I get the chance.

"U-Uh..." Ace fiddles with the collar around his neck nervously, "I wonder if I'll be okay without my magic."

"You'll do fine...I think?" Vesper tried, eyebrows scrunched. "I dunno if this class like, need-needs magic for Alchemy, though. We don't use it at all back where I came from."

"At least try to sound more encouraging! Geez!"

Chapter Text

"Listen up, puppies!" A sharp crack of a pointer against a firm palm echoed throughout the laboratory. 

Standing straight and fashionable as ever, their alchemy professor assessed his students with a critical eye. "My name is Divus Crewel. You may call me "Master" Crewel."

Uh... Vesper discreetly glances at her classmates, and it looked like none of them reacted to the fact they had to call their professor "Master". Instead, they looked more threatened by the pointer being held by their professor. 

Ooookay...I guess this is must be a norm here then. I can only imagine the jokes made by the people from my world at that statement. Still, Professor Crewel looks as great as ever.

"We'll start with the basics first," Crewel began, pacing amongst the work desks where the students stood behind in the laboratory. "I'll lash those tiny brains of yours with hundreds of medicinal and poisonous herbs until you can identify them all."

That doesn't sound too bad. Vesper thought, but she blinks her inner monologue away when she sees a nearby classmate curiously moving forwards to inspect an ingredient on his desk.

"Stay!" A wave of disapproval radiated off of Professor Crewel before he smacked his pointer on the student's hand, which was inches away from touching the ingredient.

"Keep your paws off the equipment!" Crewel warns sternly, while the student rubs their hand from the pain of getting whipped. "For now, I realized that many of you have the self-control of voracious hounds. But do not think for a second that I will let such a habit flourish!"

He stares at them expectantly. "There will be no failing whatsoever in my class! All of you will be trained under my firm hand."

"Man, talk about high maintenance. Look's like we've got a real back-breaker for homeroom." She hears Ace mumble quietly behind her, "That coat looks real fancy though."

"I think he's rather passionate, to be honest." Deuce replies in a whisper as their professor continued his lecture.

Vesper agrees with Ace's last statement and Deuce's opinion. Professor Crewel must be really cool, if he could teach a subject that could potentially mess up his clothes and looks without changing into lab uniforms like us. 

Beside her, Grim shifted uncomfortably, watching the pointer that Crewel was waving around warily. "That thing looks like it could hurt if it smacked ya'."

"Then you better stay in your best behavior." Vesper whispers back, preparing to listen to their professor. She wonders if Alchemy was almost the same as chemistry. I mean, didn't chemistry originate from alchemy? Plus astronomy needs the base knowledge of chemistry and other subjects like mathematics. After all, chemistry is needed in astronomy in order for you to determine the composition of astronomical objects along with the chemical make-up of things like rocks and atmospheric gases-

The demigod blinked hard, missing another student getting called a "bad dog" by Professor Crewel. Oops. Looks like her mind fixated on astronomy again. She'd better not make that a habit, especially when she definitely doesn't want to be called a "bad dog".

That would be embarrassing.

Their next class was History of Magic under Mozus Trein.

Vesper would like to find a way to repay the older man for giving her those needed books about Twisted Wonderland, because those books were definitely a life saver for her. There's a high chance the older professor would refuse something in return though, given his personality.

"I will not only evaluate your work, but also your attitude in class." He reminded sternly, his familiar seemingly meowing in response to that statement. "Now, open your textbooks to page fifteen."

As the class period continued, Vesper noted that more and more students began to take a trip to slumber town, with Ace being one of them. The redhead stifled a yawn as he leans on his propped fist, while Deuce continued to take firm notes diligently, though Vesper noticed he had a lot of scratched out marks. Vesper absentmindedly twirled her pen between her fingers in an effort to pay attention, while her other hand beginning to tap her desk in a rhythm.

It is tempting to zone out, but no way in Hades is she going to disrespect her professor like that, even though she can understand why it was so easy to sleep in History-related classes. But boy her ADHD sure is making it difficult...

She paused when Grim snored aloud beside her. Just as she was about to pinch him awake, Professor Trein's familiar, Lucius, was already perched on their desk. Vesper blinked when the cat squeezes Grim's nose with its paw, startling her charge awake. Grim yowled. His scream jolted many students awake from their would-be slumber.

"Whaddya think you're doing?!" The feline hissed, rubbing his nose in pain.

"There will be no sleeping in my class." Professor Trein scolds, congratulating Lucius softly when the cat leaped back into his arms. His tone went back to being stern. "Do keep that in mind."

Wow. Vesper glanced at Lucius, her fingers itched to pet him again. He jumped all the way from that distance? Talk about super-cat.

As Grim continued to grumble beside her, Vesper watched as some students tried to not fall asleep in Professor Trein's class this time.

Huh, maybe being awakened by a cat pinching your nose is embarrassing here?

Next class was PE.

Given the general awkwardness that Vesper is the only girl in her class, she did not join the rest when they went to change into their PE uniforms.

Instead, she decided to pull another one of her tricks in her arsenal. After making sure no one was looking, Vesper steps into a nearby shadow, sinking within it. Thanks to the comfort and privacy the darkness gives, she swiftly changes into her PE uniform before stepping out. Kuya AJ loved to whine about how she and Ate Quinn practically have mobile changing rooms in the form of their shadows.

Thanks to an enchantment, Vesper's jacket could change into any article of clothing she wanted. Besides, she wasn't comfortable with the idea of not wearing it on her person. It kind of became a habit. Vesper shifted her jacket into a thin black shirt under her uniform, and debated on whether or not she should wear her shades. She shrugged. Guess I'll see what'll be in store in for this class first.

As she steps out of the shadow, she appears just right behind Ace, Deuce, and Grimm, who seem to be bickering amongst each other on where she went. With a sigh, Vesper takes out her Ghost Camera and keeps the flash off, but still made sure that the sound of the shutter was loud enough. *CLICK—SNAP!*

The boys jumped at the sound, turning around to see Vesper checking out the now printed photo.

"What the-?! Hold on, just where the heck did you go?" Ace asks incredulously, before pausing upon seeing her already dressed in the standard NRC uniform. "And when did you even change?"

"Just after you guys went ahead to the changing rooms." Answered Vesper, who tucks the Ghost Camera and photo away nonchalantly. "Now let's go, or else we might end up late to class this time."

Thankfully they weren't late. But from the look in Coach Vargas' face, Vesper had a feeling that she won't be wearing her shades this time. It seems their coach is eager to put them to work straight away...

"Alright you beansprouts! A brilliant magician has a brilliant body!" Coach Vargas flexes his muscles with an enthused smile that did not match the lack of enthusiasm that radiated from his class. "Feast your eyes! These are the muscles I forged drinking raw eggs every single day! Why, would you all ask? It's because you need strength to be a magician!"

Okay, first of all, drinking or eating raw eggs (especially every single day) is a sure fire way to land yourself in the hospital. But props to your iron stomach. Vesper inwardly grimaced, but she was reminded of the scene where Gaston swallowed those eggs straight up with the shells in the original movie of Beauty and the Beast. No one eats like Gaston...Or should I say Coach Vargas?

"Now, let's get started!" Coach Vargas blew his whistle. "First give me twenty laps, then give me one hundred push-ups!"

Beside her, Deuce beams. "Finally! A subject that I'm good at!" 

Ace and Grim on the other hand were less than delighted.

"Great. Forget the forced exercise, meatheads like him are gonna drive me nuts!" Ace grumbled, fidgeting his collar. Vesper's lips thinned at the obvious handicap of the collar. That cannot be comfortable for this class, not to mention the level of physical activity that comes with it. 

Grim harrumphs, his annoyance was something Vesper doesn't need to double check. "You tell me! Explain to me the appeal of runnin' around in circles! Do I look like a hamster?"

At least the hamster is more fit than you. "Like it or not, we might as well get it over with." Vesper goes to do warm-ups with Deuce before the run. She raises an eyebrow at Ace and Grim. "Well? Unless you want Coach Vargas to give you remedial classes?"

Ace moves first. "I'm going, I'm going." He grumbles, beginning his warm ups.

Vesper shoots another look at Grim, who jumps a little at her now unconcealed gaze, and also moves to join the others, grumbling just like Ace. At this point, those two are practically adopted siblings with how they both act.

In those twenty laps and one hundred push-ups, Vesper and Deuce were practically the only ones standing. Behind them, Ace and Grim (along with the rest of their classmates) were practically sprawled on the grass, looking wrung out like dried plants. 

"Guh...Hah...H-How are ya still standing...?" Grim huffs, laying on the ground. Beside him, Ace sits up, equally run ragged by the intense work out.

"Eh, I experienced much more strenuous stuff than this." Vesper shrugs, moving to help Grim up to his feet, even if her charge could barely stand at all. He was still wobbling a bit. "Comes with the territory of having an aunt whose a professional trainer and fighter." It also comes with the territory of being a demigod whose had to fight wars, prophecies, and other life-threatening beings.

Deuce perks up at that, wiping his brow. "Wait, your aunt is a professional fighter?"

"Keyword is "was"." Vesper corrected, helping Ace steady himself. Not an easy thing to do with the collar in the way. "She mostly teaches people these days on self-defense, healthy work outs, and martial arts stuff." 

Before Deuce could ask further, a shrill whistle echoes across the field.

"You can't just be tired after that?!" Coach Vargas bellows at the other poor first years still laying on the field, "Go do another set!"

"This sucks." Ace groaned.

All in all, the classes weren't that bad in Vesper's opinion. The way some classes were handled reminded her of a typical high-school curriculum. Then again, it's only the first weeks that take it slow before upping up the ante later on. Vesper can already feel herself dreading for finals.

But she wasn't blind to Grim's feelings of increasing impatience and frustration. He was radiating those emotions ever since their first class with Professor Crewel. So it wasn't exactly surprising for her that Grim decided to make a scene. Again.

Deuce does a double take upon seeing a familiar ball of fur running across the yard by the window. "Wait, what is he doing? We still have classes to attend to!"

"Geez, that fur-ball's fast! Hey, Vez, you sure you're okay leaving Grim be?" Ace jokes, watching Grim make a run for it across the courtyard. When he was met with silence, both Ace and Deuce turned, only to see no one behind them. 

Ace sputters, "Huh? Where'd she go?"

Outside, Grim looks for the nearest exit out of this boring school. So much for a prestigious school! He grumbles. No way am I puttin' up with this boring routine day in and day out! There's nothin' useful about whatever they're saying! All this, and all that, and blah, blah, blah! Urgh!

"I'm Grim, the Sorcerer Prodigy! I don't need no one to teach me how to blow stuff up!" The feline exclaims aloud with frustration.

But just as he bounds under the shade of the apple tree near the middle of the courtyard, he yelps when—instead of feeling solid ground—his whole body sinks within the shadow. Grim had no time to scream when he sinks in completely, and for a brief moment, all that he could see was pitch black, before he falls freely through thin air.

"GNACK-! Oof! H-Huh?" Grim blinks, wide-eyed when his fall was cushioned by a pair of arms. Looking up, he sees the ceiling of the open walkway of the courtyard, before his blue eyes met his bewildered reflection within a pair of black sunglasses. Uh-oh... 

Vesper's lips thinned, and before Grim could move away, she holds him by the scruff of his neck with one hand, leaving him unable to move at all. The feline realizes that this was the same move his Henchman pulled on him when they first met. Letting out a little noise, Grim is left hanging from his scruff as Vesper used her other hand to lower her shades. Her silver-ringed eyes locked on to Grim's, making him squirm under her gaze.

"I'll only say this once, and you are going to listen." She began, her voice leaning on a more serious tone. "No one becomes a great mage in a day, Grim. Besides, it's only the first week of classes. These kinds of lessons are things that you can't rush—you'll get your chance to shine eventually. Not only that, have you forgotten the many chances the Headmage has already given you? If you mess this up, again might I add, then you'll be kicked out of this school. Permanently. And I can't help you this time, you hear?"

Grim winced at that, his ears going flat on his head. But he can't find it in him to retort Vesper's reprimand. Behind her, Vesper could hear Ace and Deuce approaching from behind, the former was catching his breath a little. 

"Man, you really gotta stop trying to ditch classes, or Vez..." Ace mumbles, fidgeting the locked collar around his neck a bit. He straightens with his hand on his hips, trying to look like he was also scolding Grim, but Vesper could see the mirth in his eyes. "Seriously, like, you of all people should know that trying to make Vesper's life difficult is the quickest way to get on her bad side."

Deuce nods, though his expression was earnestly more stern than Ace. "It's not like you can be the best in just a blink of an eye, Grim! You have yet to put in that effort!"

Grim huffed, not meeting Vesper's eyes. She feels a sliver of guilt ripple from the feline, like a quiet echo in the back of her mind. Her gaze softened just slightly. "Ugh...Since when did you all start to get bossy?"

"Consider this me asserting my authority as the Prefect of our Dorm, Grim." Vesper reminded, before sighing. "You really want to blow stuff up that badly?"

"Duh! Who cares about all this potions or history stuff! I wanna get in to the nitty gritty! Like, uh, like how can I make my flames hotter! More explosive!" Grim explains, still boneless in Vesper's hold. 

"Seriously? Grim, you're just asking to blow yourself up at this point!" Deuce frowns, looking unimpressed. "We haven't even got to the basics of casting more advanced spells yet!"

"But hey, if you wanna blow yourself up so bad, then go on ahead! Just don't drag us to your mess and get us roasted too!" Ace huffs, but his smirk grows a bit more teasing. "Or worse, you might end up burning all your fur! Pfft, I wonder what nickname we could give you then."

Grim bristles at that, trying and failing to scratch Ace's smirk off his face. "Hey! As if I'd be a lousy caster of fire! I'm the master of fire! I bet ya can't shoot your spells straight!"

Vesper rolls her eyes, before raising an eyebrow at Grim, unimpressed. "'The' master of fire? You nearly burned another student's lab coat trying to just light up a burner today in Professor Crewel's class."

Deuce tries to stifle a snicker while Ace didn't even try. "I bet he'd burn marshmallows to a crisp too." The redhead snorts.

"Guys. Focus." The other two settled while Vesper turns to look at Grim again, this time, her visage softens, but her serious tone was still there. "No running from classes again, okay? Think of these as stepping stones to your journey that is to be the greatest mage. Rome-Or well, I should say a "great mage" isn't born in a day, you hear?"

Grim mumbles something unintelligible before huffing, "Fine, fine! No more runnin'. Can ya put me down now?" When he gets a look from Vesper, Grim grumbles more before adding, "Please?"

"Before I do that: Promise me you'll stick to class. Cuz if you don't, I'll be carrying you like this all day. Don't test me." The mortified look and squawk from Grim was enough to get the other boys snickering again. 

"Oho, I bet you don't want that." Ace snickers, leaning slightly near Grim.

Deuce clears his throat, his face twisting a bit in sympathy. "Yeah, don't test her, Grim. Uh, just go with what she's asking."

"Okay, okay! I promise!" Grim says quickly, "Happy, now?"

"Very." Vesper deadpans, before gently setting Grim down. She pushes her sunglasses back up in place before dusting her hands, ushering the others forward. "Now, let's head to our next period. Last one there owes me a latte and a chocolate croissant at lunch!"

In a blink, the boys watch the hem of her jacket disappear around the corner of the hall.

"Wait, you can’t just—Hey! No fair!" Ace shouts, bolting ahead with Deuce and Grim hot on his heels.

"Cheater." Ace pouted, as Vesper takes the chocolate croissant from his tray.

She gleefully adds it to her own tray, which already held her lunch (along with Grim's, since the feline could not carry a tray without toppling over) along with the latte from the redhead. Deuce, being the gentleman he's trying to be, offered to help carry the other tray of food meant for Grim. Meanwhile, Grim was seemingly itching to try almost every dish in the lunch buffet, until Vesper sends him a look that made him pipe down.

"It's called being resourceful, Tapioca." Vesper chided playfully, ignoring Ace's offended noise. "You should really exercise more, though. Your speed needs more work. Like, what if you got chased by a hellhound or something?"

Ace sputters, blinking. "Where in the heck did that come from?! What even is a hellhound?"

Vesper blinked, popping a potato fry in her mouth. She swallowed before answering, "It's a large wild dog. Like, a really huge one. They got red beady eyes and black fur. They're a usual sight where I'm from." And I totally did not forget that they don't exist here. Like, at all.

"Remind me not to go there then." Ace jokes, but Vesper sense a slight spike of nervousness from his tone when she mentioned the hellhound's features.

"Um," Deuce interrupts, scanning the busy cafeteria. Beside him by his foot, Grim was practically itching to gobble up all the food in the other tray Deuce was holding. "Where do we sit...?"

Vesper looks over the sea of lunch eating students. She has to admit, the cafeteria looked like it was packed to the brim. Do all the students eat here or can they go eat wherever they want in campus?

So this is how it would look like when Niki was touring me around, no wonder he had us eat out near Sam's Shop and not in here. Too many eyes for my taste. Speaking of Lilia, she saw his familiar hairdo and color near the wide windows of the cafeteria, but it seemed as though his table was occupied. The Fae was also in an animated conversation with students who looked like his dormmates.

Hm...

She locked eyes with a familiar pair of green ones.

Cater winks, waving jovially from his seat near the side of the cafeteria.

Welp, when in doubt, go with what's familiar.

Chapter Text

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of updates.

Okay I'll get straight to the point here: No, I'm not abandoning this story, if anything, it'll be in a hiatus or until I get my motivation back.

For the past months (or year?) I've had to deal with stuff related to academics, health, burn-out, and writer's block. I still have the same interest in Twisted Wonderland and PJO, but lately I've been having difficulty finding the energy and motivation to write the story. Also, due to previously mentioned reasons, it made it all the more difficult to concentrate and plan the same way like I usually do with my stories.

In a nutshell, I'm kind of all over the place, but at the same time, I felt that it was unfair to just leave the story hanging. Not to mention leaving you guys without an update to what's been going on. But still, I'd like to thank you all for the support the story has been getting through these times. I kind of decided to publish this story on a whim, but I never imagined it would reach this much people. This isn't the only story I'm usually focused at, because I have other WIPs or story prompts about other stuff too.

Rest assured, I'm not gonna give up on this story. There might be a couple of changes that I might add into the previous chapters (among other things) but I'll still keep most of it the same.

Again, thank you all for supporting this story of mine. If you like, feel free to drop a comment on things like: What moments or events are you looking forward to in the story? What dynamics between Vesper and the other TWST characters are you interested in seeing or developing? Or so on.

Thanks again for reading and supporting this story, I can't make much promises, but one way or another, I'll update it as soon as I can once I get better. 

(づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡