Chapter Text
You, whose image the Dark Mirror did beckon forth…
Revel unto me the nature of your soul!
Bearer of dark powers, I call thee forth!
It was dark, and eerily quiet. Walls surrounded Yuu on all sides, it was akin to being a toy in a box.
A moment later, her space began to rattle and shake, something was trying to open said box.
“Hmm, what’s going on? Leave me alone!” Her precious but small space was being violated! She may have only known of this for a minute, but all she wanted to do was to curl up and forget life ever existed.
“I better hurry up and find that uniform before someone spots me…”
Um okay, something is going on, and it’s getting increasingly concerning. She supposed she should have started questioning why she was in a box of all things in the first place, but her head was horribly fuzzy at the moment, you can’t blame her for that! Now though, she was hearing a random, scratchy voice talking about uniforms on the other side of the wall.
“Urgggh… This lid weighs a ton! Fine then! Try this on for size! Mya-ha!”
OH NOOOOOO, no no no no no. This whole container suddenly got a hell of a lot hotter than before. Yuu was NOT going to stick around and be cooked to perfection.
With the thought of a roasted bird as her motivation, she pushed against the lid, even as it started to sting her hands.
“Now to grab the goods! Wait, what?! You ain’t supposed to be awake!” She finally got the door open enough to squeeze through and there was this… animal? It was staring right at her.“What in the heavens above am I looking at?! A talking cat?”
“How… How DARE YOU! I’m not just some talking cat! I’m Grim, sorcerer extraordinaire!”
“Oh okay, sure thing little one…” Welp,there were now some new thoughts running through her head.
Number one: She’s asleep and this is quite the dream she’s having.
Number two: The time has come where she lost her mind from the stress of a crushing society.
Number three: Magic is now a thing and this cat is a sorcerer
……… It’s gotta be a dream, right?! Maybe the heat was just caused by sleeping with too many blankets. Yeah, that has to be it, magic can’t exist!
“Whatever. Just hurry up and gimme your uniform!” This Grim fellow started smirking and crossing his arms. Honestly, even if he wasn’t a sorcerer, the fact that he can talk and stand on his hind legs while using his front legs to imitate human arms was actually impressive.
“The NERVE of this human! You’re not even paying attention to me now. Fine! The Great Grim will make sure to teach you a lesson you’ll never forget!”
At his declaration of vengeance, Yuu was so wonderfully brought out of la la land when flames began to surround her. Grim waving his arms towards the skies looked as if he was summoning a demon. Perhaps he was the demon.
“Nope, not happening! Not today sucker!” Yuu took off running through different rooms and corridors, anytime she tried to look around Grim would start another round of fire. Finally, she found an open set of doors and ducked in. She found herself in a vast library and quickly scanned the room, trying to find a hiding spot. “Did I lose him? Ack! Guess not!”
Grim the little terror was approaching her. “Foolish human! Did you really think you could slip away from ME? Now unless you wanna get burned to a crisp, take off that—. Me-Yeow ! That hurt! What gives?”
“Consider it tough love.” Out from the shadows appeared a man with a bird mask covering his face, along with a top hat and overcoat that was adorned with feathers and keys. For some reason, instead of visible eyes through the mask, yellow lights appeared instead.
“Ah, I’ve found you at last. I trust you’re one of this first year’s new students? You certainly were eager to make your debut.”
“Um…” Great, now Yuu was in trouble and about to be scolded by a bird looking man.
“And bringing a poorly trained familiar with you? That is a clear violation of the school’s rules.” He leaned down and quickly wrapped Grim in a strange rope.
“As if I’d serve some lowly human! Now let me go!” At his protests, the man started to cover up his mouth. “Mrphhhh!”
“Yes, yes. Rebellious familiers always say that.” After wrapping up Grim he then turned to look at Yuu. “Honestly, out of all the students I’ve dealt with, you would be the first to open and leave your gate.” He huffed in exasperation, making her shrink into herself. “Well, in any case, let us be off. Orientation has already begun.”
“Orientation? Gate? Sorry sir, but what are you talking about?”
“You awoke to a room full of gates, did you not? All students arrive through those gates. Normally , students would be patient enough to wait until I open them.”
“Oh, um, sorry about that…” Grim was taking all of her attention, but she should have looked around a bit more. Maybe that would have clarified things. Still, what’s this about orientation?
“Hmph, well enough prattle, we must make haste.” Motioning towards the door, he made it clear that he did not want to dawdle any longer.
“Alright sir, but can you explain where I am or who you are?” If he already explained the gate thing, maybe he can also tell her where she is. That was her hope anyway.
“Hm? Have you not fully regained consciousness? The timespace teleportation must have muddled your memory. Well, these things happen.” Ohhh! That would explain why her head hurt when she woke up in the box, or gate as he called it. Hold on, a gate? Teleportation? This dream is starting to get more complicated by the minute.
“I shall explain it to you as we return to orientation. Truly, I am most kind!” Odd thing to say, but he did save her from Grim and now is willing to give her answers. Perhaps he wasn’t so bad.
“This is Night Raven College. It is an institution for students the world over who possess a rare aptitude for magic and by far the most prestigious academy of its sort in all of Twisted Wonderland. As for who I am, my name is Dire Crowley, headmage of this fine academy.”
Twisted wonderland, huh, was that the name of the world or the continent?
“Um, what do you mean when you say magic?” Now that she took a look around, this place resembled a castle. With a name like Twisted Wonderland, everything was shaping to be a fairytale.
“Those who the Dark Mirror perceives as having a talent for magic are admitted to the college. Gates can appear anywhere to summon the students. A black carriage with a gate should have come to meet you.” He looked at her expectantly, those yellow lights piercing her mind and memories.
“Yeah, I think I can remember a horse pulling a carriage.” It came to her suddenly. She was awake at an ungodly hour to get work done when out the window she saw a large black horse walking towards her.
She could remember that, but why can’t she remember what happened afterwards or even stuff from earlier in the day? It was as if there was a barrier, preventing her from reaching her memories. With her head pounding and eyes stinging, she gave up trying to recall more. The pain faded away shortly after.
“That black carriage is sent to retrieve a student the Dark Mirror chose. As you know, it is a time-honored tradition to send a carriage for someone on a special day.” He smiled at the notion, not noticing the scrunched up face Yuu made at that thought.
“Time-honored tradition? Sounds entirely forgein to me—” “Mmfff! Mmmmmffffff!” Grim was starting to get more desperate, trying to squirm and wriggle his way out of Crowley’s grip. Seems like Grim wanted a uniform for this school, but would that mean he wasn’t accepted? Yuu looked at the robe she woke up in. It was a combination of black and purple material with golden embroidery. This must be the uniform he wanted to take from her. It was far too big, so how he was going to pass it off as his, she may never know.
Still, she knows for a fact that she was not wearing this before, so that means someone or something changed her while she was asleep. Creepy…… and disgusting. Hopefully they used magic, that might make her feel better.
That also wasn’t addressing the fact that the gate just went and snatched her from home without permission. Though, if she was dumb enough to see the carriage, say “Why not!”, and hop in, that might be on her.
Soon, a looming set of doors broke her out of her thoughts. Seems like this was the end of the line.
With great flourish, Crowley strode forward and swung open the doors. “Despite this unorthodox start, we’ve now arrived at our destination. Allow me to welcome you to Night Raven College! Please, try to keep trouble at a minimum.”
————————
“We’re done with orientation and form assignments? Alright, new students-let me be clear. At the Heartslabyul dorm, I am the law. Break the rules, and it’s off with your head!” A red headed boy spoke with absolute authority. His students had a mixture of annoyance and acceptance on their faces to his words.
“Well, that ceremony was as boring as ever. I’m going back to the dorm. If you’re in Savannaclaw, follow me.” A tall man yawned as he addressed his group of students. Honestly, they were too riled up to care about their leader’s lethargy.
“New students! Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your achievement. As dorm leader of Octavinelle, I am honored to have the opportunity to support you in what I hope will be a fulfilling campus experience.” A boy with glasses raised his arms with cheer as he addressed his students. Even with his honeyed words, he gave off the feeling of a snake oil salesman. Very much slimy, probably.
Next, a handsome boy who could rival Aphrodite spoke up amongst the crowd. “Hey, does anyone know where the headmage went? He disappeared midway through the ceremony…”
“Some headmage he is.” There was a tablet, a blue floating tablet was talking. Could it be? The tablet of everyone’s dreams? A fine sophisticated key? Whose knowledge can redeem?!
Who knows, it’s a tablet.
“Maybe he had a tummy ache?” In the head mage's defense, a boy with vibrant red eyes chirped up.
At that moment Crowley burst in and frowned at those words, “I most certainly did not!”
“Ah, speak of the devil.” The red head made a notion to the rest of the student body. Everyone turned to the headmage, some out of respect, others with impatience.
“If you must know, I was searching for the new student who’d failed to show up for orientation.” Crowley turned to Yuu and set her on a path straight to a mirror. “You are the only one who has yet to be assigned a form. Step up to the Dark Mirror, and be quick about it. I’ll watch your weasel.”
Wow, a bit rude don’t ya think? Yuu turned to walk as Grim made a growl. Guess he was offended too.
As she approached the Mirror, a large mask formed. “State your name.”
“I’m Yuu…”
“Yuu………… The nature of your soul is……”
The air went still. Everyone had their eyes on her, waiting. She tried to look ahead, to look only at the mirror.
“… unclear to me.”
Just like that, the stillness in the room shattered like glass. Voices started to whisper amongst the crowds. She felt like a failure.
“What did you just say?” Crowley briskly walked up to her, or more accurately, the mirror. Looks like he wasn’t satisfied with the answer.
Of course, he’s proud of this top tier magical school. A magicless student is absurd. Yuu just wanted to wake up. This dream quickly turned into a nightmare.
That cursed mirror started talking again, “I sense no magical power from her. Soundless. Colorless. Shapeless. Utterly vacant. Therefore, no dorm would be appropriate.”
Everyone only got louder. It was all melding into a jumbled mess of voices. Laughter, booing, jeers, and shock.
Damn this wretched place.
“Are you suggesting that the black carriage went to receive a girl who cannot even use magic? Absurd! The student selection process has not erred once in its century of existence! How could this have happened?” In his shock, Crowley’s hold on Grim loosened. Grim took that opportunity to set himself free.
“Mmmph! Nnnrggh…” Grim jumped down to the floor before putting some space between him and Crowley. “ME! Let ME have this student’s seat!”
Crowley looked down at Grim, annoyance clear in his voice. “Not so fast you hyperactive weasel!”
“Unlike THAT human, I can actually use magic! So let me be a student here!” To be outdone by a damn cat. He had a point, he could blow fire while she had nothing. “Look, I’ll show you! My spells’re the cat’s meow!” Grim started to tense up, inhaling, and turned around as he let out a large burst of fire. “Myaaahhhh!”
“Everybody, get down!” The red head boy again spoke up, this time with much ergency.
Blue flames quickly started to scorch the floor. Smoke rose and filled the room as students started scrambling to get out of the hot zone.
This isn’t so bad.
“AHHHH! HELP! I’m on fire over here!” The boy with red eyes was too close, as the flames started to quickly spread up his robes.
At his screams, Yuu’s mind stopped. She looked around at the students, some running, some standing back, some not reacting. Just a moment ago they were mocking her, but this doesn’t feel right. Well, not for this kid anyway.
“Someone catch that blasted animal before it sets the entire school ablaze” Crowley was NOT happy about this.
“Urgh. Can I go now, or…” The man was just, yawning. Did he really not care what was happening around him?
“Oh? I thought you fancied yourself a hunter. Go and help yourself to that plump little morsel!”
“Too much effort. Do it yourself.” A hunter who’s lazy. Makes sense, everyone is just letting Grim blow fire everywhere.
“Allow me to handle this, Headmage Crowley.” Yuu stands corrected as the boy with glasses speaks up. “If none of you are up to the task of catching a small animal, I will accept the responsibility.”
“WTG Azul. Rackin’ up those participation credits.” HOLY, a tablet is FLOATING! It’s floating and talking! This place really is magic!
With Yuu’s attention on the tablet, the boy on fire yelled again, “Hey, um, my butt’s on fire. Could someone maybe put this out?!” Oop, she forgot about him. How has he not solved the fire problem yet or why has no one moved in to help him. Welp, if you want something done, ya do it yourself as they say!
She ran over and quickly took off the outer layer of the robe ensemble. With it, she started to smother the flames. It took a bit of work, but hey, the flames finally died down. Her robes took most of the damage, scorch marks covering most of it, but hey, the kid was fine!
With a great smile that put the sun to shame, he stood up and looked at her. “Ah, thank you for helping!I didn’t expect him to throw a fireball at me.” He thanked her with slight embarrassment as Yuu examined her robe. “Say, what did you say your name is?”
“Oh um, m-my name is Yuu.” His expression was a far cry from how everyone else treated her. “Well Yuu, I should give you something back for helping me. Let’s see, I’ll get you a new robe. Hmm, that doesn’t seem like enough. Oh, I know! I’ll also let you pick something from the storage room! Don’t worry, you can choose whatever you want, haha!” Oohhh, now this got her attention. Perhaps good karma does exist!
As they were talking, another student walked up to them. “Kalim! You know you should have come to me when you were set on fire.” He quickly looked over Kalim, fixing anything that was out of place. “Well, Yuu was it? Thank you for helping him.” Was this student a friend of um, Kalim? He seemed to be more responsible, but he acts like this wasn’t the first time Kalim was in a situation like this.
“Mmyaahhh-ha!” Grim threw another fireball and separated Yuu from the others. She looked and to her relief, no one was on fire again.
“I’m sorry, we’re my instructions unclear?!” Crowley continued to issue orders towards his students, yet he himself didn’t do anything. Strange,he caught and tied up Grim just fine earlier, is it because there were fewer people before?
The man with ears was getting tired of this farce. All he wanted to nap and this ceremony dragging on was interrupting it. “Preeety sure you can handle catching one mangy weasel all on your lonesome there, headmage.”
“How many times do I gotta say it? I’m Grim, spell caster extraordinaire! I am NOT a weasel!” Why was everyone calling him a weasel? He’s more of a cat, so being called a weasel would only make him angrier. In turn, he keeps on spouting more fire, oh the cycle of torment, such a waste!
“Aren’t you a spunky little fellow? Riddle, would you be so kind?” The students now identified as Azul and Riddle stepped up to FINALLY take control of the situation. “Furry miscreant. I will abide by no rule-breaking. You will be judged by my hand!”
This whole ordeal was such a mess. Yuu couldn’t wait to return home…… Ah! Wake up! She meant she couldn’t wait to wake up from this
obvious
dream, hahaha…