Chapter Text
Ramshackle Dorm ♤ Yuu’s Room
Yuu woke up without any outside prompting, from neither the ghosts and fairies nor Grim.
The introductions between the fae and Yuu’s other dorm mates had been surprisingly smooth. Aside from Grim being salty about Yuu recruiting a fire fairy, and Ferran cooing over him.
Their sleep had been largely uneventful as well. Rather than finding themself in the larger marble room as usual, Yuu came to in their dream in the very place they’d last been.
The room that had been a replica of their old one.
The other first cycle Alices had come rushing in at one point, simply worried when they’d recognized Yuu as having fallen asleep but were unable to find them in the marble room.
They’d chatted for a bit before Yuu requested some alone time.
They hadn’t been alone in a long time. Lonely, yes, but never alone.
They knew they weren’t truly alone, that Grim was sleeping with them out in the real world. That the fae were fluttering around, still getting settled. That the ghosts were wandering, occasionally lending the fairies a helping hand.
They knew that the Alices were all with them, intertwined with them forevermore. Wandering around inside of their head.
But they could pretend. Sitting in that recognizable room. They could pretend they were home for a mere fleeting moment. They could get comfortable in their familiar bed, far softer than the one in Ramshackle.
They could turn off their mind and shut out the rest of the world.
They could play pretend.
They’d always been good at that.
Yuu shook their head, groggily trying to disperse their thoughts. It was nice being able to sleep through the night like that. But now they probably had horrible bed head.
Today was the first official day ‘on the job.’ Yuu never imagined they’d become a janitor; at least they don’t think they ever did.
Stretching their limbs out, listening as their bones crackled like the rickety joints of an old man, Yuu sighed and hoisted themself out of bed.
With a lethargic yawn, they shuffled their way over to the cleaned dresser where they had chosen to store their clothes.
They’d be out in public today, on display for any and all to see. Long sleeves and pants would be their best bet.
Yuu dug through the clothing Crowley had provided before picking a large shirt and the most comfortable-looking pair of pants. They grabbed the binder and a pair of boxers as well.
They held the clothing in a heap as they lumbered their way to the connected bathroom. Thankfully, they had at least one large body towel on hand.
They set the toilet seat down after locking the door to the bathroom. After placing their gathered clothes onto said toilet, they began to shuffle out of the clothes they’d worn to bed.
Yuu lazily tossed the dirty clothes into a corner for later, mentally making a note to get a hamper eventually.
They turned to the shower and closed the curtain to prevent any water from spraying out before turning the faucet on. It stuttered for a bit, water halted by the air bubbles in the pipe, before cold water rushed out.
The water was blessedly clean and passed Yuu’s little sniff test. They let it run a bit as they turned around to collect their, unfortunately, 3-1 shower essentials. They grabbed a washcloth as well, but hesitated before entering the shower.
They were…worried to use it. They’d rather have some shower shoes—just plain flip-flops even. Who knows what’s in the tub, what’s been festering?
But they didn’t exactly have that choice…
Setting their supplies aside, Yuu turned around to dig under the sink. They found another, far older body towel.
They lifted it up and spoke forcefully, “With these…uh, no, that won’t work…”
They thought for a moment before nodding their head decisively.
”With this towel that I glean, see it now that it be clean!”
Feeling the magic coalesce in a far smaller amount than their clothes the other day (if they had to guess, it was the lackluster rhyme’s fault), Yuu directed it into and through the threads of the towel. Once the magic faded and Yuu was satisfied, they turned around and placed the now clean towel onto the floor of the tub.
They pulled the little doohicky that shifted the water to the shower head. It struggled a bit to come out, similar to the lower faucet. But, once again, it was merely air bubbles getting in the way.
Soon enough, nice, warm water began to rain out from the head of the shower, and Yuu grabbed their supplies once more.
They dipped their foot into the shower trepidatiously, and found nothing wrong with it. Eventually, Yuu pulled themself into the shower fully.
Feeling the warm water hit their skin, Yuu sighed.
This should’ve been the first thing they did here, really.
Ramshackle Dorm ♤ Lounge
”Hello, Yuu!” Crowley said in a sing-song tone as he waltzed through the dorm and into the lounge.
Yuu turned from where they’d been having a conversation with Idalia and Abel.
”Hey Crowley,” They replied with a wave.
”Oh my,” He remarked, “I see you’ve expanded your little group even more.”
”Yeah? And what of it?” Grim asked, whilst sitting on one of the salvaged chairs.
”Nothing, nothing!” He held up his hands in surrender.
”Did you need something?” Yuu asked.
”Ah, I’ve just come here to discuss your task for today,” He replied, “Seeing as it is now your true, official first day on the job.”
”Okay, yeah,” Yuu nodded, “See ya,” They waved to the two fairies who flew off as Yuu walked over and grabbed Grim.
”Nooooooo…” Grim whined.
”You’re seeming quite stable this morning,” Crowley remarked.
Yuu adjusted their hold on Grim, allowing him to camber up onto their shoulders. “Probably won’t last for long. I’m still riding out the high of my shower this morning.”
“Well, it’s delightful to see,” He said, continuing, “Now then, let us speak of your assignment today.”
“Myeh…” Grim sighed from Yuu’s shoulders.
“Your job today is to clean the campus. That said, the campus is vast, and without magic, it'd be quite the Herculean task to clean it all.” Crowley explained. “Therefore, today I'll have you focus on the area spanning from the front gates to the library. Now, I do expect that you'll keep a close eye on Grim, lest he cause another incident like orientation.”
Yuu shrugged, despite Grim’s presence on their shoulders. “I’ll try my best.”
“Wonderful!” Crowley said, “I await the fruits of your labor.”
He handed a small rolled-up paper to Yuu before leaving, a dramatic teleportation exit as per usual.
”Hah? Wazzat?” Grim asked.
Yuu unfurled the rolled-up paper. “Looks like it’s the map of campus that I asked for.”
Grim pointed to the little depiction of Ramshackle, “Ooh! Look, look!” He said giddily.
”I see it,” Yuu smiled, but shifted their finger across the map in search of the day’s designated cleaning area. “Ah, there. This should be our destination, the front gate.”
“Hrmph. I ain't cleanin' nothin'!” Grim said as he stood up on Yuu’s shoulder and crossed his arms, “I'm here to study magic so I can be blastin' off spells left and right! Like BAM! POW! FWOOM!”
”After we clean, I could teach you some tricks,” Yuu offered, “Or maybe we could check out the library.”
“Hrmph,” Grim pouted, but eased back into position on Yuu’s shoulder.
Main Street
Checking the map repeatedly as they went, Yuu eventually found their destination.
”Wow, so this is Main Street, huh? This is incredible!” Grim exclaimed and hopped down from Yuu’s shoulders. “I didn't get to see it much yesterday. What's the deal with these seven statues? All their faces look pretty scary…”
Yuu rolled up the map and put it into one of their pockets. “I don’t know, Grim,” Yuu replied, as they looked up, “I’m not from here re…mem…ber…”
They trailed off as they saw it. They could tell Grim was saying something, but it didn’t matter. Yuu almost stumbled as they walked up to the statue.
It was clearly meant to be large and intimidating, depicting a revered figure.
But that’s not what Yuu saw. That's not who Yuu saw.
”What…” Yuu said softly.
As they came upon the statue, memories of the orientation night spawned in their mind. The red-headed boy declaring it was off with Grim’s head, citing the Queen of Hearts rules.
And, here she was. Immortalized in stone, at least. Yuu trailed their fingers across the indentations in the stone, dictating who it was, ‘The Queen of Hearts.’
”Victoria…” Yuu said, uncharacteristically quiet.
Looking up at the three-dimensional angry face of the woman carved into the stone, Yuu felt a mixture of emotions.
Confusion at how this could be, fear at what it could mean, surprise at the fact that there was a reverent statue of the woman.
Sadness and irritation at the depiction.
Was this even Yuu’s Victoria? Or was this some kind of alternate version of her?
When an Alice dies, the tiny dream removes all the proof of their existence from the world. Leave behind only the fragmented wisp.
And yet, this statue clearly displays her…
The 3rd Alice of the 6th Cycle.
The Queen of Hearts herself.
Victoria.
They weren’t the closest, barely had any time to get to know each other. But there was solidarity in the Alices, in the pain inflicted by that tiny dream.
This version they showed of her bore more resemblance to how she was before she’d gained a soul, back when she was a puppet. Such a recurring character in the tales of all the Alices before her.
Even Yuu had met the Queen of Hearts puppet.
It made Yuu angry to see this statue glorifying this version of her. The only time she ever truly looked this mad was when she had no soul, or when she’d succumbed to the madness of Wonderland.
This was what they chose to immortalize?
This is how they chose to depict her?
This is who that red-headed little brat seemed to admire?
Yuu clenched their fists in anger and disgust.
And yet, at the same time, they felt a fond feeling over the statue. Over one of their own being recognized for…something.
When they looked out at the other statues, not one of them was familiar.
Although the lion itched at something in their brain, as well as the staff held by the horned lady.
But they couldn’t figure out what was niggling at their mind. What was digging through their burned archives of memories.
So, they turned away.
Maybe they should look for answers; maybe they shouldn’t be complacent.
Maybe they should take up the ’quest’ the others had given them.
Yuu stepped back, taking in as many of the details as they could. Grim was no longer at their feet, but they assumed he was fine.
Turning around and away from Victoria’s statue, Yuu decided to see if they could figure out why the lion and horned lady made them feel like they were forgetting something.
At least, that’s what Yuu planned to do.
Until they turned around and were nailed in the face by a fireball.
Or, well, they would have been if they hadn’t lifted their arms to shield themself in time.
Feeling the flames lick up their arms and encompass the sleeves of their shirt, Yuu was glad that they were more resilient to such things these days.
They didn’t burn like a normal human would.
They hadn’t been a normal human in a long time.
Yuu smacked their arms a few times and dispersed the flames before giving themself a few seconds to breathe.
”Grim,” They said steely.
”H-henchman,” Grim replied.
Yuu looked up to see that the weasel wasn’t alone. Matter of fact, a boy was standing almost right next to him, staring at Yuu in shock.
Yuu’s eyes darted to the heart on the boy’s face, but tried to dismiss any thoughts that it had invoked.
Just because Victoria exists here doesn’t mean that that heart has to mean anything.
”Would you mind explaining why I just had a fireball launched at my face?” Yuu asked, deceptively calm, “Or, maybe, who the hell this guy is?”
”U-uhm, well…!” Grim stuttered, “It’s his fault!”
”Oh?” Yuu cocked their head.
”Explodey-hair was makin’ fun of me! And you!” Grim exclaimed, “He called us janitors.”
”Grim, we are janitors,” Yuu sighed.
”He also called me a piddling weasel!” Grim tattled, “And tried to make fun of you for having no magic.”
Tried being the key word, it would seem. Hard to make fun of someone for something that isn’t even true at all.
”So you tried to burn him?” Yuu asked, a bit weary.
”I tried to roast him like a chicken!” Grim said proudly.
”I’m sorry about him,” Yuu sighed as they spoke to the boy.
”Why the hell are you apologizing!?” He asked, “We just lit you on fire!”
”We?” Yuu asked, and the boy looked like he wanted to backtrack.
”Myah! My aim is far too good for me to miss,” Grim declared, “He’s the one who used wind magic to send it your way!”
Yuu knew that the people here, at this school, could apparently use magic despite not being Alices. But it was still weird to hear about normal humans doing so.
And Yuu hadn’t even heard him chant. Granted, they hadn’t heard any of the scuffle, too preoccupied with the statue and their thoughts.
”Just…why?” Yuu asked the boy.
”Your weasel was tryna burn me to a crisp!” He yelled, “I wasn’t gonna just let him!”
”Why’d you have to send it my way?!” Yuu exclaimed, “If I hadn’t stayed where I was standing, you would’ve charbroiled the statue!”
The boy looked a bit paler at that thought.
But Yuu wasn’t paying attention to that any longer. Hearing a small flutter of feathers, Yuu turned just in time to see the crow appear.
“Would you mind repeating that for me, Mx. Yuu?” Crowley asked as he approached. “I would very much so love to be informed of the situation happening here.”
”Gah!” The boy exclaimed, “It’s the Headmage!”
“Not more lashings of love!” Grim yelled, “I’m outta here!”
Unfortunately for them, the crow was quick to extract his…‘whip of love’ and prevent the two from escaping his anger.
”Ow!” The boy yelped.
“Myaaaaah!” Grim cried, “And I'm still sore from yesterday, too!”
“As if the likes of you could ever flee from me!” Crowley declared and turned back to Yuu, “Now then, would you be so kind as to fill me in?”
”I didn’t see everything,” Yuu answered. “I was preoccupied by one of the statues. When I finally zoned back in, there was a fireball hurling at my face. I would’ve dodged, but then the statue would’ve been hit, so I just blocked.” Yuu held up their arms, the sleeves far more roughed up than earlier, for emphasis.
”Almost burning a statue?” Crowley said, “Successfully attacking a member of staff!?” He turned over to the boy and Grim, “It’s almost like you want to be expelled!”
“No, forgive me!” The boy begged.
“Myaaaahhh,” Grim cried.
”This will not do!” Crowley zoned in on the boy. “State your name and grade!”
The boy spoke pitifully, “Ace Trappola…Freshman…”
Ace? Was his name Ace?
Heart.
Ace.
Ace of Hearts.
The Trump Card.
It can’t be. This can’t be happening here. The crow and the other teachers knew nothing of the cycle. The tiny dream was gone.
But what if it was a lie? What if it was still here? That it just pretended to die because it found more prey?
All these souls, it’d be a veritable buffet for the little demon.
When Yuu looked down at Grim and the ace as they were chastised by Crowley, they watched as the two gained shocked and upset faces.
”Let me,” Yuu demanded.
”What?” Crowley turned around, and the other two looked suddenly confused.
”Their punishment, whatever it is,” Yuu elaborated, “Let me join them.”
”Mx. Yuu, surely you’re not serious?” Crowley asked, “I understand that you may be fond of Grim…”
”No, no, that’s not all,” Yuu said frantically, “The ace—I can’t let the ace out of my sight. Not again, not again. I can’t let it happen again!”
The boy looked confused, almost fearful.
Grim rushed over and started circling them.
”Yuu, please calm down,” the crow spoke weirdly softly.
”They always die, every time,” Yuu said, grasping their head painfully as they forced their eyes shut, “They never listen, they never hear me! It’s a trap, it’s a trap, it’s a trap! Go back! It’s a trap!”
”Yuu, please let go of your hair,” Crowley said, reaching for their arms.
Yuu stepped backwards and away when they saw the crow reach out for them, “No, they need to leave! Leave, please, please leave. They never leave; they pass through the doors! They keep explore-explore-exploring…”
”What the fuck is your issue?” The Ace of hearts asks.
Yuu’s eyes snap to the boy, away from every other thing. His face shifted, 12 separate sets of features replacing it. Sharon and Lyra’s faces were the first to appear, but they faded in and out, replaced by the others.
Rather than saying anything normal, Yuu blurted out, “Do you have a twin?”
”Bro, what the hell are you talking about?” The Ace of hearts replied, “Of course I don’t!”
Yuu’s heartbeat steadied out some. The boy—Ace—he wasn’t…He wasn’t one of them…
It was all a coincidence, and an unfortunate one.
Yuu allowed their hands to drop some, but they surged forward and grabbed hold of the boy, twisting and turning him.
”Hey!” He yelled, “Let me go, you crazy!”
”Yuu, please release my student,” Crowley asked.
”No, no, you’re not the Trump card,” Yuu said decisively and released him. “The knave maybe? Possibly? Who knows! I don’t!”
”Henchman!” Grim demanded, “Stop fawning over others! I’m your boss!”
”It’s not fawning, Grim,” Yuu shook their head, but walked back over to the weasel, “I’m not into that stuff. I was checking, making sure.”
Yuu picked him up and held him in their arms the same way they’d seen Mr. Trein hold Lucius the day prior.
The crow sighed, a deep, exasperated noise, “Head along to class, Trappola.”
”Gladly!” Ace—that was his name, just his name—responded and scurried away. Like a little rat.
”Yuu,” The crow said as he turned around, “What in the seven’s name was that all about!?”
Yuu’s hold on Grim tightened somewhat, but nowhere near enough to hurt. “I thought…I thought he was something else…”
”Please elaborate,” Crowley instructed.
”An Alice, I thought he was an Alice,” Yuu forced out.
”Truly? Why would you think so?” Crowley asked, thankfully seeming to remember the conversation from before.
”The fourth Alice, they’re always a pair of siblings who are twins,” Yuu tried to explain, “They’re called either the Trump card or the Ace of Hearts.”
”Oh!” Grim said, a light bulb going off, “His name was Ace, and he had a heart on his cheek!”
”Exactly…” Yuu breathed deeply, “I’ve tried so many times to save the aces; I would reach out, exert myself. Tell them to leave, that Wonderland was a trap,” Yuu bit back the pain that bobbed in their throat, “They never listened. Every last one of them died.”
”I see…” Crowley replied, “I can assure you, though, that there are no Alices or cycles here.”
Yuu turned their head slightly, as their eyes darted to the statue of the Queen of Hearts.
Maybe not anymore…
”I’ll get back to cleaning,” Yuu declared all of a sudden.
”As long as you promise not to harass any other students,” Crowley nodded.
”Don’t worry!” Grim exclaimed, “I’ll watch over them!”
”Right…” The crow said, clearly not believing him for a second, “Just don’t forget that you offered to assist Grim and Trappola in washing 100 windows.”
”Wait, I did what now?” Yuu asked
”Ta-ta!” The crow exclaimed and disappeared.