Chapter Text
part one
tell me, child of man, what do you know of broken dreams?
chapter one
oh, you have no idea
THE LAST THING THE GIRL REMEMBERED before she was swallowed by the darkness was the tilted clock of her bedroom wall. It was strange that in a house full of glaring imperfections that the clock is the last thing that she saw but nevertheless, that was what she saw last. The clock always went tick-tick-ticking away on the regular – she hated it. She despised the clock. She never knew why – was it because it was tilted? Maybe the ticking was too loud? It didn’t matter – she never wanted to see it again.
Which was okay. Because she never did.
The girl couldn’t even see the traces of the mehendi on her hands in the enclosure of the coffin and the clothes she was wearing was unfamiliar. Smooth and comfortable, a certain lightness with the way it was draped on her but unfamiliar nevertheless. But she didn’t have the time to process what was happening, not when –
“I better hurry up and find that uniform before someone spots me…”
Who –
“Urgggh, this lid weighs a ton!” And then the girl witnessed the lid of the coffin open, the light of the lamps in the room she was in making her squint.
“Try this on for size! Mya-ha!” The mysterious voice gloated before an azure wave of fire sprouted in front of her vision. The girl seized, instinctively stepping back and letting out a yelp when her back hit the board of the coffin.
“Now to grab the goods… What?! You ain’t supposed to be awake!”
The girl wasn’t sure where to look to see who was talking to her but upon looking down, she didn’t know how to react when a cat? A monster? A creature looked panicked at the sight of her, paws up. His fur was a smoky shade of grey and his ears had azure flames coming out of them, perpetually still however.
These flames made her attempt to go back as flashes of a memory that hadn’t happened yet fly by in her mind.
(A chamber just like the one she was in completely enveloped by blue flames just like the ones coming out of the monster’s ears. An even bigger monster, a chimera almost, with snakes for tails as big as what she imagined Cerberus himself to be roaring. People fighting it around her, with what looked like wands in their hands up in the air. A roar. And then nothing.
Nobody makes it out alive.)
The scene around her was simply out of the ordinary. Floating coffins went up and down right in front of her, almost dancing one could say and in the center of it all, a big and rather important looking black mirror.
“A… weasel?” She could barely let the words out of her lips and she coughed.
“How… How dare you! I am no weasel! I am Grim, sorcerer extraordinaire!”
The monster seemed cross, his eyebrows (?) furrowing downwards and his eyes which were the same shade as the fire of his ears narrowing down as he glared up at her.
“Tch. Whatever. You… human!” he demanded, half his lips curling up to a smirk, one of his eyes narrowed and the other of a normal size, “Just gimme your uniform and be quick about it!”
She clutched onto the robes adorning her protectively – they’re purple, she had realized and it was then that she realized that she had a hood up on as well.
“’Cause if you don’t…” and then more blue flames sprouted up in front of her and her back hit the coffin once more out of instinct, “you’re gonna regret it!”
A scream ripped its way out of her throat, her legs curled up as she attempted to move further back which didn’t seem to please the monster.
“Hey, come on!” To her horror, the monster came closer, “I’m on a tight schedule here!” And as if she needed a reminder, the blue flames flew up once more.
The girl still had the smell of smoke wafting up to her nose when she decided to run, out of the coffin, out of the room and wherever she could. None of the hallways that twisted into different directions were familiar to her, nor was the well in the – what seemed to be – courtyard that she had run through. Her knees began to ache a familiar pain as she stopped in what seemed to be in a library. Green flames of the lamps shone brightly, illuminating the floating, dancing books in the air with stairs that went upwards, a globe in the corner and chairs – green chandeliers high up on the ceiling.
She tripped and almost fell, her elbow gripping the rough wall as she caught herself – the smoke she didn’t want to be so familiar with wafting its way to her nose. The smoke however didn’t function as a good enough warning for the startling blue flames catching up to her and then the monster she ran from with his tiny yet dangerous frame making its way to her.
“Foolish human!” he gave a sly grin that would have been more dangerous had he not been the size of a toddler, “Did you really think you could slip away from me?”
“Now, unless you wanna get burned to a crisp,” the monster proclaimed with confidence, “take off that – ”
“Me – yeow!” A flash and a crack that didn’t leave the girl wondering what it was for too long. Not when she saw a man right in front of her, whip in hand.
“That hurt!” The monster seemed just as surprised as her, “What gives?”
“Consider it tough love.” An angry voice from her saviour – a taller man with what looked like a crow mask and darker lips. With a suit and vest with a myriad of shiny colours, he had a hat with a looking glass and a feather in it, his glowing golden eyes narrowing. His coat of loud and dramatic feathers hung nicely on his frame and his slightly pointed ears were a point of curiosity for the girl.
“Ah, I’ve found you at last.” She thought he was happy to see her, stepping forward towards the girl, “Splendid. I trust you’re one of this year’s new students?” But before she could object, his mouth turned down once more, “My, were you ever eager to make your debut.”
“And bringing a poorly trained familiar with you?” He gestured to the downcast monster – Grim, his name was – “That is a clear violation of the school’s rules.”
Before the girl protested, the monster did.
“As if I’d serve some lowly human!” he wiggled and squirmed against the man’s grip, “Now lemme go!”
“Yes, yes. Rebellious familiars always say that.” He had a bemused expression on his face as he held the little monster tighter, “Do be quiet for a bit, won’t you?”
“Mmmrph!” The monster shudders against the hands forcing themselves against his mouth and the girl would’ve let out a light laugh if not for her circumstances.
“Dear me,” the man lamented, “Of all the students I’ve dealt with, you’re the first with temerity enough to open their own gate and step out of it.”
Student? Here?
Gate?
“Does the very notion of patience elude you?” And once again, before she could answer, he dismissed it, “No matter. Your orientation has already begun. Let us return to the Mirror Chamber.”
“Gate…?” The girl’s voice was hoarse and she coughed once more.
“You awakened in a room full of gates, did you not?” The man asked, “All of the students here at the campus arrived by passing through such gates.”
“Although the students have restraint enough to wait until I open them before waking up.” He grumbled.
“So those coffins are… gateways?” She was relieved to find that she could talk much better now, her voice sounding lighter and more relieved than the gravel that had filled her throat when she first saw the monster who blew open her lid.
“The design is intended to symbolize a parting with your former world,” the man seemed displeased that he had to explain this, “and a rebirth into a new one. But now is not the time for such prattle. You’ve a student orientation to attend!” He proclaimed!
“Go on, now.” He urged the girl, “Make haste.”
“First, just tell me one thing:” She stood her ground, “Where am I?”
“Hm?” The man seemed confused, his hand – which she had just realized was gloved and had what looked like shining golden claws attached to it – “Have you not fully regained consciousness?” He considered, “The time-space teleportation must have addled your memories… Well, these things happen I suppose.” Once more, he dismissed it with a wave of the gloved, clawed hand, “I shall explain it to you as we walk.” He smiled, his golden watchful eyes now much happier, “Truly my magnanimity knows no bounds.”
The girl decided to take a look around her as she walked with the strange man with his grip tight on the monster who had just threatened to torch her with his flames mere minutes ago. If she truly was kidnapped to be in this place, she would need to know the layout of the place and exit points so that she could go to the nearest police station and call for help.
They were now in what seemed to be a courtyard. The building – school, since she was referred to as a student – looked like a castle, its imposing structure coming closer to her with every step she took. An apple tree was in her line of vision, its trunk twisting in on itself and a well in her sights – tiny, with pointy and tall bushes surrounding it. The gravel of the road in front of her made a crunch with the walk that they took. The man cleared his throat.
“This is Night Raven College,” he announced with a dramatic flourish, “It is an institution for students the world over who demonstrate a rare aptitude for magic.”
The girl almost stopped in her path at the last words the man had so proudly announced. Magic.
Magic?
“It is the most prestigious academy of its sort in all of Twisted Wonderland.” The man prattled on, unaware of the crisis the girl was going through right now.
Twisted Wonderland?
She was in Wonderland?
“And I am Dire Crowley.” The pride in his voice was absolutely booming, “Having been entrusted with its care by the chairman, I serve as headmage.”
Headmage?
“Magic?!” The exclamation crawled its way up her throat without any thinking, her eyes widening like saucers at the prospect of such fantasy becoming real.
“Only those who the Dark Mirror perceives as having a talent for magic are admitted to the college.” The headmage – Crowley – seemed displeased that he had to even explain this, “Those who are selected are summoned to the campus through those “gates”, which can appear anywhere.”
The moon was a pearl in the sky, but its light seemed to dim when he said, “A black carriage bearing one such gate should have come to meet you.”
The girl knew nothing about carriages except the rickshaws and the rare proper horse carriage people rode on for recreation back home.
“That black carriage serves to receive a student chosen by the Dark Mirror.” He explained, “It too bears a gate that connects to this campus.”
“And as you know,” he said on the assumption that she did know (she most certainly did not), “sending a carriage to meet someone on a special day is a time-honoured tradition.”
“Uh,” The girl said uncertainly but she felt the fire of boldness power her vocal cords when she asked, “A time-honoured tradition where?”
The monster grumbled once more against the grip of the headmage, his little body squirming and wriggling against his arms that were wound tight against him.
“Now,” Headmage Crowley said, ignoring the monster’s futile struggles.
“Let us attend to your orientation.” He announced with a flair of finality.
(The girl didn’t know that the tilted clock wasn’t the only thing that she would lose.)