#crossyourheart-twff

[crossyourheart-twff]

Chapter 1

Edit: Here’s a link to Ao3 in case the visibility is bad:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23812213/chapters/57212440

Edit 2: Edits and formatting has been fixed! 

The Mirror asked for a name. It was a simple enough question under normal circumstances. The problem was, these weren’t normal circumstances, therefore the person standing before it had no idea what to say. Not when the Mirror was talking, not with a room full of robed strangers craning in for a better view, and definitely not when a name could reveal so much…

“State thy name,” the Mirror droned again.

A name.

The figure considered giving a fake one, but if the mirror was magic, would it know? Would it sense the lie and expose them for what they truly were? The seconds tick-tick-ticked away at the audience’s patience. It was late and the already antsy students couldn’t wait forever. Even the more dignified ones that stood to one side of the mirror shuffled about. One rolled his eyes, another examined the moon out the window. State thy name…

Thy name...

Huh. Now that’s an idea.

The figure before the mirror cleared its throat. In a voice they hoped sounded appropriate, they answered, “Parker.”

There. Their name.

Their surname.

One of the students by the Mirror gusted out a sigh of relief. Parker suspected it came from one of the shorter ones, the red head, perhaps.

“Parker,” the Mirror repeated, not a hint of suspicion- or of any emotion, really- passed across it’s pallid face as it spoke, “The nature of thy soul is,” the Mirror closed its eyes. Parker didn’t breathe. The chamber was so quiet, the only sound was the creak of wooden benches as the other students leaned forward. At last, the Mirror opened its soulless eyes, “unknown to me.”

A wave of chatter broke through the hall. Parker swallowed. This couldn’t be good.

The Mirror was not finished. It spoke louder as if to compete with the flurry of whispered speculation, “I sense no magic from this one. There is no color, no shape. They are not suited to any dormitory.”

No magic.

Well, Parker could have told it that.

In a rush of green flames, the Mirror’s face vanished and the glass went dark. Whispers moved throughout the hall, the sound made the skin on Parker’s neck prickle. It was like sound the wind made through a palm tree before a thunderstorm, only much less comforting. What happened now? Parker’s thoughts went into overdrive, searching the memories of the last half hour to see if, somehow, they contained the solution to their current problem.

It started with the fire. There’d been a burst of flames so hot they’d singed the hair on Parker’s arms… Wait no. That wasn’t quite right. The fire wasn’t the problem, it was the demon cat. What was his name again? Ah, right. Grim. He was, after all, responsible for the explosion that knocked the lid off the coffin In which Parker woke. He’d made sure they were well aware of that. Of course, it wasn’t quite as shocking as the fact the demon cat could talk. Oh! and what’s more, he had the audacity to demand Parker give him clothes!

“Give me your uniform,” Grim crouched low on Parker’s stomach, “or I’ll roast you!” The fire at his ears flickered a brighter shade of blue as if to emphasize his threat. A scream tore through Parker’s throat as they shoved the creature away before sprinting out of the room.

Then again, Grim didn’t have all the blame…

“No magic!”

Parker snapped out of the memories as a masked man strode down the aisle to the dais where the mirror stood. Headmaster Dire Crowley, right on cue. 

“Ahh, there you are!” He’d said just as Parker ducked behind one of the stone columns that lined the outer walkway. The stranger didn’t look any different than an average man, but what got Parker’s attention was the crow mask that hid the top half of his face. Like a fancy plague doctor. “I thought I saw someone come through here. Are you one of our new students? Honestly. The entrance ceremony is already well underway! You should be there with the rest of the first years and look at you! You’re not even properly-“ He rounded the column and stopped at once, “Oh. Oh, dear.”

Back in the present, Crowley reached the top of the dais.

“There is absolutely no way you were meant to be collected by a black carriage. Since the founding of this institution, there has not once been an error with student selection! How in the name of the Great Seven has a non-gifted-?” Someone in the crowd coughed and Crowley turned to the waiting students. As if suddenly remembering the sea of shocked faces gaping at him, he straightened. If they hadn’t known any better, Parker could have sworn he’d almost let the truth slip in front of the entire school. 

“Where are we going?” the hem of Parker’s new robe dragged along the cobblestone path. The bird man had done something with his hand (magic?) and transformed Parker’s casual attire into, well, the robe.

“To the entrance ceremony, of course. Weren’t you listening?” The birdman didn’t take his eyes off the path ahead.

“Entrance ceremony…” Parker had to jog a bit to keep up his long gait, “Where am I, exactly?”

This time the birdman did glance over, “Still dazed from the trip? Very well. This,” he gestured to the building around them, “is Night Raven College, the most prestigious school of magic this side Twisted Wonderland,” even through his mask, Parker sensed his pointed look as he added, “for young men.”

For young men… oh. Oh.

The birdman must have caught the understanding as it settled across Parker’s face, “Now you’re getting it.”

”Then why am I here?”

“Ah, now that’s the question, isn’t it?” he said, “ I’m afraid if you haven’t a clue, then neither do I.”

Parker almost tripped on the hem of the robe. With a huff, they hitched it to up to their ankle and caught up to the birdman, “So, who are you, then?”

“I am Dire Crowley,” the birdman gestured to the campus around them, “headmaster of this fine establishment.”

They stopped in front of another set of doors. Where the entrance of the library was massive, these doors were a more accessible size, with intricate details carved along the post. Parker managed to catch a scarab beetle and lion’s head amongst the ornamentation before Headmaster Crowley regained their attention.

“Now, keep your hood up and stay here while I wrap up the ceremony. Soon as the students have vacated the hall, I’ll come fetch you,” he instructed.

“Okay?” Parker frowned, “Why can’t I just go inside? What was the point of,” she gestured to her robe, “this?”

“Because,” Crowley said," if a young la-“

The doors to the ceremonial hall opened then. Another man, this one unmasked and much bigger than Headmaster Crowley stood in the thresh hold.

“Headmaster,” the man seemed relieved to see Crowley, he opened his mouth to speak when Parker caught his eye, “Ah! Looks like we missed one! Come on, then! We just finished the dormitory assignments.” The man grabbed Parker by the arm and dragged who he thought was a student inside.

Crowley straightened his mask and addressed the room, “Well. It seems we’ve had a rather eventful evening. Consider today’s entrance ceremony over. Students, please follow your dorm leaders to your quarters. I expect to see everyone ready for lessons in the morning.”

No one moved despite the dismissal.

“Not a minute to be wasted,” the headmaster clapped his hands, “to your dorms at once!”

“Yes, Headmaster Crowley,” the red headed dorm leader said, then went on to lead his dorm out of the hall. Parker ducked away as whispers washed over the room. Row by row, the students left, each trailing behind one of the figures that stood at the dais. Parker didn’t dare meet any of their gazes. A minute passed as they waited to be sure the room was empty. After all of that, they couldn’t risk slipping up now. Once they were both certain they were the only two left in the hall, Parker ripped the hood away.

Her long hair tumbled free down her back.

“What was that?” she cried.

Headmaster Crowley shook his head, “There goes my Diamond Crown Academy theory… Well. You have my sincerest apologies for the spectacle. I can assure you, it was never my intention to subject you to such humiliation. Either way, I’m sure you’re ready to be sent home. If you’ll just step in front of the Dark Mirror.”

Parker did as she was told. After everything she’d been through, she was ready to go. Never mind how she ended up in that coffin in the school’s basement. Never mind where that stupid demon-cat had scampered off to. Soon she would be home, Crowley wouldn’t have to worry about the consequences of a girl winding up in a magical all-boys school, and she could chalk this whole thing up to a bad pizza dream.

“Excellent,” Crowley nodded once, “Now, picture your home clearly in your mind.”

Eyes shut tight, Parker called up every detail of her apartment, from her roommate’s theatre mugs to the chipped paint on the bottom corner of their front door. It was all there. Now it was Crowley’s turn to address the mirror. In the same tone of voice he used on his students, he raised his hands.

“Dark Mirror!”

The Mirror sparked to life in a rush of green flames. Crowley continued once the face reappeared, “Guide this one back to where she belongs!”

Parker braced herself for the room to spin, for some wind, or a free fall. When nothing happened, she heard Crowley clear his throat.

“Once more!” he commanded, “Guide this one-“

“I cannot,” the Mirror interrupted.

What.

“The place where she belongs is nowhere in our world,” the Mirror said, “Her home does not exist.”

Parker’s face turned cold as her blood drained away. Her home did not exist? What did that even mean? Crowley frowned, a finger tapped his chin as he admitted, “This is quite unusual indeed. Tell me. Where exactly do you come from?”

Parker couldn’t help but feel like he was suddenly suspicious of her. As if she somehow had anything to do with this! “St. Augustine.”

The headmaster didn’t move. In fact, Parker swore he didn’t even blink underneath his mask. She tried again.

“I’m from St. Augustine,” she said, “Florida?”

Still, Crowley did not respond.

“In the United States?”

A beat. Two beats. Three.

“I have never heard of such a place,” Crowley said at last.

Something cold shot through Parker’s chest, “You’ve never heard of the United States?”

And that was when, for the first time since she awoke, Parker truly felt afraid.

Well, except for the stuff with the demon-cat. He was terrifying.

One important note! Diamond Crown Academy is used with permission from @phoenix-manga​, it is NOT my creation but it IS there’s!

This is a little slow, but it should pick up in the next chapter! Thanks for reading!

[crossyourheart-twff]

... rude.

author’s note on fanfic ch4: i’ll probably have it updated by the end of this week!

author’s note on fanfic ch5: so i know it’s been two years but i can explain

[crossyourheart-twff]

Chapter 2

This is a long one. Strap in.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23812213/chapters/57624229#workskin

Parker was too numb to double check the pile of books headmaster Crowley set before her on the library table. He’d already checked their contents with the aid of magic so there was no real reason to verify, but it was his own way of distracting her, and boy, did she ever need a distraction. They’d been in the library for an hour, searching every book, map, and grimoire Crowley could think of in search of her home town. So far, they’d come up empty.

Now, after learning that her home apparently didn’t exist, she questioned where she was. Was this a dream? A hallucination? Had she had a breakdown at work and this was the consequence of a psychiatric cocktail pumping through her veins? Funny. It felt too real to be any of those things, but she pinched herself for good measure. The tiny bite of pain told her this was no dream. Whatever was happening was all very, very real.

Crowley shut the last book he’d pulled from the stacks, “Your home doesn’t appear anywhere. Not on a single map, nor in any of these texts.”

Nothing at all. So, the Mirror hadn’t been lying. But then how would Parker explain… herself? She had to have come from somewhere. She had come from somewhere, or else everything she knew, everything that she was, would be a lie.

She shrugged, not looking up from the table, “I don’t know.”

The headmaster tapped his chin. The frown he wore deepened as he considered all of the possibilities that came to mind, “At this rate you might as well be from another planet! Or perhaps,” Crowley lit up, “perhaps another world.”

Parker blinked, “Another world.”

Crowley nodded as if settling on the idea, “It might be the likeliest possibility. If that is the case, then I’ll have to do some deeper research to find a way to send you home. In the mean time, it does present a problem.”

Parker almost asked ‘how so?’ but based on how the night had gone, she wasn’t sure she wanted to. Crowley, on the other hand, did not hold back.

“For starters, since you do not have any magic Night Raven is simply not the place for you. However, as an educator I simply cannot turn you out on the street with nowhere to go,” Crowley thought a moment before continuing, “Of course there is the old Ramshackle dorm.”

“Ramshackle?” Parker said.

“Its an older building most students tend to avoid, but it is livable,” Crowley said, “Yes. Of course, you’ll have to earn your keep… I might have a proposition for you. You may stay on campus as a something of a grounds keeper. You may help by keeping the school clean in exchange for room and meals. How does that sound?”

How did that sound? This whole situation was nothing short of insane for Parker, but as far she was concerned she couldn’t afford to turn it down.

 “Sure,” she said, “that’s fair.”

“Wonderful!” Crowley grinned, “That solves that problem. Now, as for your disguise- “

“Disguise?” She practically jumped to attention, “What do you mean disguise?”

Crowley shook his head, “This is an all boys school. That includes an all-male staff. Besides, I’m sure more than a few students might recognize you from tonight’s events.”

Parker couldn’t believe what she was hearing. A disguise! That meant she would have to go on pretending to be a boy until Crowley could figure out a way to get her home.

“Can’t you make an exception?” she asked, but even before she spoke she knew the answer.

“I’m making several exceptions already,” Crowley answered, “I’m afraid this is where I must draw the line, both for your own safety and the sake of my position! If you want any hope of returning home, this is a sacrifice you’ll have to make.”

It took everything in Parker not to fight back. This was ridiculous! To masquerade as a boy until she could leave? And who knew how long that would take? Still, Crowley had a point. It was this, or fend for herself in whatever world lay beyond the school, and after meeting Grim she wasn’t sure that was a chance she was willing to take.

“I guess I don’t have a choice,” she sighed.

Crowley sat back in his chair, “Very good. I think I’ll be able to whip something up for you. For now, let’s get you settled for the night.”

  Ramshackle dorm lived up to its name. The building was so abandoned that if Crowley hadn’t walked through it’s rusted gate, Parker would have assumed it was condemned. Most of the windows were caked over with dust so thick it looked like dirty snow. Even the front door hung askew on its hinges. Crowley had to prop it open just right to get it to swing open and shut without dragging on the floor.

“It isn’t much,” Crowley admitted as they looked at the piles of broken furniture that littered the common room, “But it’ll keep you out of the rain.”

Just as Crowley finished a drop of water landed on Parker’s shoulder. Well, he was right about one thing: it wasn’t much.

Whether Crowley noticed the leaking roof, she couldn’t tell, especially as he turned and said, “Make yourself at home. I’m sure with some dusting this place will be good as new!”

He left a minute later with a swirl of his cape, leaving Parker by herself for the first time in hours. She stood in the middle of the common room trying to decide where to start cleaning, but in the end, all that did was give her emotions a chance to catch up with her. Without magic mirrors or demon cats or mysterious headmasters, Parker could finally take stock of her situation. She’d somehow wound up in another world with no clue how she got there, somehow managed to get herself a job as a janitor in exchange for a rundown dorm building to sleep in, and she was completely alone.

The silence of Ramshackle dorm was broken by a low rumble of thunder, followed by the steady beat of rain pelting against the windows. Several more leaks sprouted from the onslaught of rain, soaking into the already moldy carpet. Parker’s legs buckled beneath a wave of fatigue. Her eyelids grew so heavy she had to fight to keep them open long enough to hunt for a place to sleep. A set of rickety stairs lead up to a second floor. That must have been where the bedrooms were.

It took the better part of an hour before Parker could find a room in decent enough condition. It still wasn’t great, but at least the bed wasn’t broken. That and the roof here was mercifully intact. She only beat on the mattress twice before throwing herself down and sinking into an uneasy sleep.

  The smell of cinnamon and fried eggs sent Parker’s stomach rumbling. She wasn’t sure who oversaw the cooking in the main dining hall, but whoever it was their cooking smelled delicious. Unfortunately, she had to wait until the last of the students cleared out before she could have her own breakfast.

Crowley came by early that morning with her assignments for the day and a rumpled set of coveralls. The baggy work clothes did most of the work in disguising her, but he’d snagged a plain cap for good measure to hide her hair.

“It’ll have to do,” he said, then sent her off to tend to the dinning hall.

So far, the students of the school didn’t spare her a second glance as she’d wiped down tables and collected dishes. In return, she didn’t so much as glance at any of them, choosing instead to focus on the job at hand and, whenever the work died down, admire the chandelier that illuminated the room. It didn’t have a single lightbulb that she could see. It was lit entirely by candles, yet there didn’t seem to be a trace of smoke anywhere. One of the branches of light extended towards a set of tapestries on the back wall. There were seven total, each with the image of a different person and in one case a dark-maned lion. She wondered at them even as she tied her latest garbage bag shut.

“Impressive, yeah?”

Parker turned to the voice on her left. A student stood there looking over the tapestries in the otherwise empty dinning room. For a second Parker thought he might have been the red head from the night before, until she realized it couldn’t have been. This one was taller.

“Uh, yeah,” she answered, coughing to try and lower her voice, “Are they like the founders or something?”

The student looked her over, “Something like that. They’re called the Great Seven. Each of the dorms here are modeled after them,” he pointed towards the tapestry of a woman dressed head to toe in hearts, “That’s the Queen of Hearts, figurehead of my dorm. Name’s Ace, by the way.”

“Oh,” Parker didn’t quite know what to say next, so she settled on “I’m Parker.”

“Every one of them were great magicians,” Ace said, “So naturally everyone here wants to be just as powerful by the time they graduate.”

Parker took another look at the Great Seven. She didn’t doubt they were powerful magicians. By the looks of them that much was obvious, but the more she examined them the more uneasy she felt. She wasn’t quite sure what it was, the arch of the octopus woman’s brow, the calculated stare in the lion’s eyes…

“I don’t know,” she squinted, “They look more terrifying than anything.”

“Of course you’d say that,” Ace said, “You’re that magicless runt that caused a scene at the ceremony last night.  Don’t think I didn’t notice. What, you didn’t have any magic so they made you the janitor instead?”

Ok, she could see where this was going. The sooner she disengaged, the better.

“I should get back to work,” She turned away, but Ace wasn’t finished.

“Aww c’mon,” he grabbed Parker by the arm. She froze under his grip. He was too close to her, way way too close. Panic tingled at her fingertips and around the spot where his hand held her bicep. If this idiot blew her cover not even a day in... She had to get him off. Now.

“Let go,” Parker tried to shrug him off.

“Don’t be so lame,” Ace laughed. He yanked Parker forward so hard she almost fell. Her free hand flew to the cap on her head, just to be sure it hadn’t slipped. A newfound rage burned inside her chest. She straightened, adjusted her stance and knocked Ace away with more force than she intended.

“I said, let go!”

Horror spiked in her stomach as she watched Ace tip backwards over his heels and into the tray of another student. Ace caught himself on the edge of a table, but it was too late as the tray was knocked out of the other student’s hands. A bowl of leftover oatmeal hit the stone floor, splattering the liquid it held onto both of their uniform pants.

“Aagh!” the other student cried, “what’s wrong with you?”

Ace ignored him. Instead his gaze locked straight onto Parker. She back tracked as he pulled himself up.

“Picking fights, then?” Ace straightened, “Couldn’t get yourself into school so now you want to take it out on me?”

“Look I-” She didn’t get a chance to finish as Ace launched himself at her. She ducked out of the in time to avoid being pinned to the wall. Ace reared, ready to go after her again when the student he’d fallen into held him back.

“Are you insane?” the student shook Ace. Parker noticed he wore a red and black ribbon around his arm just like Ace did. They must have been dorm mates, “Riddle’s going to kill us if-“

Ace shrugged him away and went after Parker again. She braced herself, covering her head with her arms as he charged straight at her. This was it. But just when Parker expected the impact she heard Ace scream instead. Curious, she lowered her arms and nearly keeled over when she saw him hovering in the air just above her.

“I can’t let you drag me down on our first day!” Parker saw the other student aiming what looked like a pen right at Ace. It took her a second to realize he’d used magic to keep Ace from beating the absolute crap out of her. She would have thanked him, but she sensed this whole thing was far from over.

“Put me down!” Ace clawed at the air around him as if he were trying to swim, but only managed to turn himself upside down. The other student only glared in response. His pen remained aimed on Ace, “Fine! I give! I give! Now get me down before Riddle hears about this!”

That seemed to do the trick. The other student nodded and shifted his pen, but Ace only dipped a few inches in the air.  

“Put him down!” Parker said.

“I- I’m trying,” the other student shook his pen now, but Ace only matched his motion. Nothing he did released Ace from the magic that held him. He hovered higher now, a good three feet over their heads and rising. Ace struggled even harder as the other student’s motions became wilder. Parker could only watch as he dipped and rose in a spastic pattern. It seemed Ace wasn’t expecting his ankle to brush against one of the branchlike arms of the chandelier, for when it did he cried out and gave a mighty kick. They all heard something on the chandelier crack.

 The other student jumped. His magic released Ace and sent him plummeting to the floor. Parker had to stop herself from screaming as he fell. If it weren’t for a sudden gust of wind that slowed him just enough, she was sure he would have broken his neck. Something small fell to the floor between the three of them and shattered into a thousand sparkling pieces. A second later, the chandelier flickered and went dark. 

“Oh no…” the student who’d levitated Ace went white.

Meanwhile Ace sprang from the floor. He rounded on the other student, “Are you an idiot?! If headmaster finds out we broke the chandelier-“

Footsteps clicked against the floor one by one. She didn’t have to turn around to know who awaited them.

“If I,” Crowley’s voice was brittle, “find out.”

As one, Ace, Parker, and the other student faced the headmaster. His mouth was set in a thin line as he came closer, looked from them to the floor, and stared at the broken remains that littered the floor. Crowley didn’t move. Parker wasn’t even sure he was breathing. He only stood there, head down, absorbing the sight before him.

“Have you any idea,” the headmaster said at long last, “What you’ve done?”

They didn’t have a chance to answer as Crowley flew into a rage.

“This chandelier was made by a renown master of magical items! It was entrusted to this school since it’s very foundation over a century ago, and thanks to you delinquents it will never be lit again!” the head master pinched the bridge of his nose through his mask, “The destruction of such priceless artifact is grounds for expulsion.”

Expulsion. The two students went rigid at the news while Parker wondered, did that apply to her? She technically wasn’t a student so there wasn’t a way to expel her. But by the way Crowley was fuming, she wondered if this was serious enough for him to kick her out on the street. If he did that, she’d have nowhere to go and what’s worse, it would mean the end of his help in researching a way home. She might be stranded here forever.  

“Can’t you fix it with magic?” she dared ask. It felt like a stupid question, but she hoped maybe his temper was blinding him to the simplest solution.

“Magic isn’t all powerful,” Crowley said, “fixing a magical relic of this importance can’t be done with a simple spell, especially not when it’s source of magic has been damaged beyond repair.”

Source of magic… could he mean the thing that shattered all over the floor? She glanced down at what remained of it. It looked like some kind of glass ball, or crystal. Crowley took the time to examine the rest of the chandelier.

“Of course,” he began, “the rest of the structure seems to be intact…” Hope sparked in the both Ace and the other student as circled the chandelier from the ground, “It might all be a question of replacing its magic crystal.”

“I’ll do it!” the other student jumped up, “I’ll fix it, please, just don’t expel me! Whatever I must do, just say it.”

“Yeah, and I’ll help!” Ace added, “I can’t get kicked out of school on the first day.”

Crowley held up his hands to quiet the boys down, “Finding a compatible crystal is no small task. It must be the same type with the same origin. The crystal that powered this chandelier was taken from the Dwarf Mines, and those have been empty for decades.”

Ace frowned, “Maybe one of the crystals was missed. We’ll go check! And If we can find a replacement, we can stay at Night Raven, yeah?”

Check the mines? Ace must have been desperate to keep his place in the school. Parker was sure there was no way Crowley would take him up on that. Absolutely-

“Alright,” the headmaster nodded, “Since I am such a generous headmaster, I’ll allow you a chance. You’ll have until tonight. If the three of you manage to find a replacement by then, you won’t be expelled.”

The three of them? Parker wasn’t sure whether to thank the headmaster or protest. How was any of this her fault? Ace was the one who started the fight, the other guy was the one who used magic! Granted, she did end up shoving Ace into the other guy’s breakfast so… Ok, maybe she did have a hand this. Whatever. At least they had a chance to make things right.

“You may go together once classes have ended, but for now, shoo,” Crowley gestured towards the exit of the dining hall. Ace and the other student left bowing, promises of success and a shower of thanks poured from their lips all the while. When they were gone, Crowley simply nodded towards the remains of the crystal and the discarded meal tray.

“Clean this up,” he ordered, and disappeared. Parker frowned and went to find a broom.

Between cleaning the dining hall, the bathrooms, half the classrooms, and the library, Parker was exhausted. By the time the final bell chimed through the halls of the school, she felt simply storing her cleaning tools was too much to bear. How was she supposed to go searching through an old mine feeling like this? She decided not to dwell on it as she locked the broom closet. It was time to meet the others.

They, waited for her in the Hall of Mirrors, an aptly named room containing the entrances to all seven dorms along with an enchanted mirror meant to transport travelers to destinations off Night Raven’s campus. Or so they said. Really, Parker was ready to believe anything at this point.

“Let’s go,” the other student said, and made his way over to the mirror without so much as a look back. Parker and Ace followed in silence following his lead as he stepped through the mirror. For a second, Parker hesitated. In her mind, she knew all she had to do was step through, but her instincts weren’t getting the memo.

Ace shoved her forward. It was what her body needed to get moving, annoying as it might have been. Her foot slipped into the mirror much as it would have a puddle of water. The reflective glass rippled and swirled until she couldn’t feel herself moving. The sensation was like running in a dream, moving and not at the same time. In a blink, it was over. The Hall of Mirrors was replaced with a forest of trees and thick leaves. What little remained of the afternoon sun streamed in patches on the grassy floor. What she didn’t see was the other student.

“Where’d he go?” Parker jumped at the unexpected sound of Ace’s voice.

A moment later, the other student emerged from a thicket, “I can see the Dwarves’ cottage. If I’m right the mines aren’t too far off.” He slipped off again, not bothering to see if the others were behind him.

They caught up to the other student as he came upon the entrance to what must have been the mines. Whoever worked the place hadn’t been around in decades. In fact, it was so abandoned it reminded Parker of Ramshackle Dorm.

“Empty,” she said, “Do you think it’s safer to go in there?”

The other student huffed, “We don’t have a choice.”

“Relax,” Ace started towards the mine’s entrance, “Or do you need buttercup over there to hold your hand?”

“My name,” the other student grumbled, “is Deuce.”

“Yeah, sure,” Ace shrugged, “get in here, Goose.”

“Deuce.”

Parker sighed and followed them inside. The path before them yawned deeper into the ground. Much like her dorm, cobwebs and dirt reigned supreme over ancient support beams. The stone walls had chunks of glittering rock embedded in them, but none looked like the crystal they’d broken. That’s when it occurred to her. They were in a mine, meaning if they did find the crystal, they were going to have to pry it out of the rock. How were they supposed to- she smiled as they rounded a corner. Propped against the wall was a small pickaxe. Jackpot.

She jogged ahead and lifted it, wiping away cobwebs. The handle wobble a little, but it was better than nothing. Just as she was about to find the others, something jumped on her from above. Parker screamed as whatever it was leapt to the floor and took off further down the mine.

“Hey!” she cried and ran after it, almost knocking into Deuce as she did.

He jumped back in surprise as the creature darted around his ankles, ”What-?”

“Stupid humans! That crystal’s mine!”

Parker’s grip tightened on the pickaxe. It was Grim.

“Not you!” she cried out. It was bad enough she’d been roped into this along with Ace and Deuce, now she had to deal with the devil cat? Again?

“Uh, you know him?” Ace’s blinked as Deuce and Parker ran further into the mine. Both ignored him. The trio panted hard as they followed Grim’s blue glow down winding tunnels and tortuous caves. His light became smaller and smaller the further they went.

“That sucker’s too fast,” Ace frowned.

“I got it,” Parker adjusted her grip on the pickaxe and put on a burst of speed. In her mind, she told herself: Grim was a Running Back, a soccer ball, a pitch that was quickly flying out of bounds. And Parker had her feet. She was on the smaller side, but her size made her nimble. Grim darted left. Parker was about turn behind him when an unearthly roar shook the mine around them. Grim flew back and hit the wall hard as a massive shadow emerged from the tunnel he’d run through.

Parker’s face went cold as the blood drained from her cheeks. She heard Ace and Deuce halt just behind her.

“What is that thing?” Deuce cried.

“Headmaster Crowley never mentioned one of those,” Ace took a step back.

The monster towered over them, a faceless nightmare of a creature. Something black oozed from it’s head onto the tattered remains of a shirt.

“WON’T. GIVE,” the creature bellowed, “STONE. IS. MINE!”

Stone. So, there was a magic crystal left! Any hope the knowledge brought disappeared as the monster reared back, “WON’T. GIIIIIIIVE!”.

Ace was about to turn and run when Deuce caught his arm, “What are you doing? It has the crystal!”

“And?” Ace tried to pull away.

“We’ll be expelled without it! We need to go after it!”

Parker shot Deuce a look, “We need to be alive to get it! Let’s go!”

The monster roared again, the reverberations shook loose pebbles from the ceiling. The creature reared back and charged the three of them. Ace blew it back with just enough force to buy them some time to run. Parker was vaguely aware of Grim sprinting at her heels. They cleared the entrance of the mine a minute later, the monster’s chilling voice still echoed at their backs. They didn’t stop running until they couldn’t see the mines anymore. When they felt it was safe, they collapsed in a clearing by a small stream.

“My one chance at getting into Night Raven College, gone,” Grim lamented.

Ace shook his head, unblinking eyes stared at a patch of grass somewhere in front of him, “That’s it. I’m not going back there. I’d rather get expelled than fight that thing.”

Parker was too busy gulping air into her lungs to protest, but Deuce on the other hand… The second Ace suggested giving up his spine straightened and went rigid. Slowly, he craned his neck until he could get a good look at the red head.

“You can’t be serious,” Deuce stared Ace down. When Ace didn’t answer, Deuce narrowed his eyes, “Don’t screw with me. I would rather die than face expulsion. There’s a magic crystal right there, and you want to give up?”

She hated to admit it, but in that moment Parker wasn’t sure who she sided with. On the one hand, Deuce was right. The magic crystal was in their reach and the risks of not going after it could mean she was trapped in this world forever. On the other hand, the monster was terrifying. If she even wanted a chance to get home, she’d need to stay alive to do it.

Ace rolled his eyes, “That’s some big talk from someone like you. You think your magic is strong enough to beat something like, go right ahead, but I’m not risking my life just to stay at Night Raven.”

Deuce clenched his jaw, “Oh, so you’d rather stay here like some spineless coward?”

“Coward?” Ace let out a single laugh, “buddy, you need to straighten out your priorities. There are worse things than getting kicked out of school.”

Something akin to fire lit in Deuce’s eyes. Parker sensed at once that Ace had crossed a line neither of them knew was there. Deuce rounded on Ace.

“Worse?” he asked, “You mean like, disappointing your family? Or showing up at home not even a day after promising you’d make them proud?” Deuce raised his voice, “Or maybe hearing your mother cry about how she doesn’t know where she went wrong because her screw-up son can’t get his damn life together?” Deuce was shaking now, “Yeah. You’re right. There are worse things”

Silence stretched between the four of them. Ace’s throat bobbed as the truth of Deuce’s words sank in. For once, Grim refused to look either of them in the eye. As for Parker, she took a deep breath and adjusted the cap on her head. That was some heavy stuff, but what could they do? Ace’s magic barely did anything more than give them enough time to escape. Going back would be suicide, but they couldn’t give up now that they knew a replacement crystal existed. Not when Crowley expected all three of them- Parker blinked. Three of them.

Three of them.

“I think,” she began, “there might be a way to beat the monster.”

Ace, Grim, and Deuce faced her, but it was Ace who said, “Don’t play.”

“I’m not playing,” Parker put up her hands, “think about it. There’s four of us and one of it. We might be able to outsmart it if we work together.”

“Together?” Grim balked, “I’m the Great and Mighty Grim! A magician of my caliber doesn’t collaborate with lesser wizards.”

Parker crossed her arms, “Oh, so, you’ll be fighting that thing on your own then?”

Grim sputtered as the others watched him rack his little brain for something, anything to say to that. Unfortunately for him, he knew they were right, “But getting that crystal is my only chance to attend Night Raven. After I heard you idiots broke the the chandelier, I thought…”

Parker sighed, “How about this, if you help us we’ll put in a good word for you with Headmaster Crowley.”

The idea sparked some life back into Grim, or she thought it did based on how the fire of his ears flickered brighter.

“What about you two?” she looked over at Ace and Deuce. The two exchanged a glance. Ace still did not look convinced, but at the very least he was listening.

A beat later, it was Deuce who asked, “What do you have in mind?”

  The four of them huddled behind a line of thickets at the edge of the Dwarves’ Mines. From where they were, it didn’t look like there were any signs of the monster. Still, they kept out of sight in case it lingered around the entrance.

“Everyone remember what to do?” Parker turned back to the others. They each nodded.

Alright. Nothing for it, then. With a nod of her own, she stood and jogged for the entrance of the mine, collecting rocks as she went. As soon as she was just outside the mouth of the mine, she tossed on in as hard as she could.

“Helloooo! Big faceless monster dude!” she cried, “You home?”

Parker let loose another rock. This time, the familiar roar echoed from deeper in the cave. Good. She had to draw the monster further out. She kept up the taunting and tossed another three rocks before the monster’s head emerged from the mine. It was working!

“Over here!” She jogged further from the entrance and landed a rock to the monster’s left shoulder. It roared again, though Parker didn’t think for a second she’d hurt it. The monster edge closer and closer with each taunt until the entrance to the mine was left wide open. Now was their chance, “Grim! Ace! You’re up!”

“Hurricane force winds, coming right up!” Ace loosed a rush of air so powerful, Parker had to jump out of the way to keep from being blown into the monster, her hand  was pinned to her hat. Grim wasn’t far behind, sending a wall of flame into Ace’s wind. The fire whipped into an inferno that encircled the monster.

“Alright Deuce,” Ace called over, not daring break his gaze away from the monster, “Its all you!”

Deuce, however, was in a panic.

“Something heavy… something heavy,” he muttered to himself.

The monster roared and swatted at the inferno.

“Deuce!” Ace yelled.

“Ah!” Deuce made a snap decision, “Big- heavy-yeah! Come forth, Cauldron!”

If not for the fact she was caught in the middle of an honest to goodness battle against an honest to goodness monster, Parker would have gawked as a large, cast iron cauldron appeared over the monster’s head, then crushed it to the floor.

“Yeah!” Grim pumped his paw into the air like a fist.

“Let’s hurry and get this over with,” Ace ran into the mine, Parker went after him, retrieving the pickaxe she’d left by the bushes.

“You think they can keep him subdued?” she asked.

“They’ll have to,” Ace grinned.

Before long, they made it to tunnel where the monster had first appeared. There, embedded into the stone at the end of the chamber was a crystal the size of Parker’s fist. Parker ran up to the stone and raised the pickaxe. The impact rang through her bones like the vibration of a bell. She lifted it to strike again when Ace snatched the tool from her hands.

“No time,” he said, and made quick work of the rock. In three strikes the crystal rolled to the floor. Parker wasted no time in scooping it up. Ace tossed the pickaxe aside and followed her out. They made it out of the mine in record time, yelling “Go! Go! Go!”

Grim and Deuce did not need to be told twice. The cauldron keeping the monster down was beginning to buckle as it tried to rise.

The four didn’t stop until they found the spot where they’d first exited the mirror. Parker was only half surprised to find another mirror etched into the trunk of a wide tree. She didn’t stop to wonder if, technically, it was the same mirror on the other side. She was too busy leaping through it to care.

Grim was the last one through the mirror. As soon as he landed in the Hall of Mirrors Deuce cried, “Close!”

A flash of light later, the mirror’s face returned to normal. None of them breathed as the enormity of their success settled over them. They had worked together, had survived the most terrifying creature any of them had ever seen, and made it back in time to save their positions at the school. Parker looked around the empty Hall of Mirrors to convince herself she was there.

As one, they all checked to make sure the crystal didn’t fall on their scramble back to the school. Sure enough, there it was, sparkling a rainbow of colors in the palm of their hands.

They’d done it.

The floodgates of relief burst open. All four cheered, a mix of disbelief and joy swam through them as they jumped up. Ace clapped Deuce on the back while Grim did a little dance Parker knew she’d have been roasted for calling adorable. But the excitement turned to dread as Ace yanked Parker into a headlock.

“You pulled through, you magicless twerp!” He laughed digging his knuckles into her head through her hat.

“Ace, no!” Parker said, but it was too late. Ace was already mid-noogie when her hat tumbled off her head, the braids she’d so carefully hidden in the cap dropped around her face. Ace let her go and jumped back like she was a hot coal.

“No way,” he breathed.

Parker scrambled to shove the hat back on. Her fingers shook as she struggled stuffing her braids back under the brim.

Grim frowned, “’No way’ what?

“Are you blind?” Deuce shot him a wide-eyed look, “He’s a- she’s a-”

“Shhhh!” Parker’s gaze darted around the Hall of Mirrors, hoping against hope they were alone, “No one’s supposed to know!”

Ace scoffed, “Supposed to- how’d you- why- huh?”

Something bitter tingled along the back of Parker’s tongue like spoiled pop rocks. Crowley was not going to be happy about this.

She gestured out of the Hall of Mirrors, “I’ll tell you on the way.”

  Headmaster Crowley stared at them from his seat behind the desk. He’d spotted the crystal the instant they’d entered his office and demanded they tell him everything. Between the four of them, they managed to cover every detail of their adventure up to and including the fact that Ace had blown Parker’s cover. The headmaster listened, nodding occasionally as they described what they’d seen and how they beat the monster. Parker was certain his calm demeanor would all vanish once she confessed, but even after they’d stopped talking, Crowley was careful to keep any emotion from showing on his face.

They stood there for ten seconds, then thirty, then a full minute without so much as a word from Crowley. Then, as if shocked from his seat, the Headmaster sprang up and beamed at the four of them.

“In the history of this school, never has there been such a rousing display of cooperation between students!” Parker thought she saw tears welling in the corner of his eyes, but didn’t bring it up. Anyway, he was moving around too much to get a proper look, “You all stood up against a common enemy and defeated it hand in hand. This truly is an auspicious day!”

“We- we definitely did not hold hands,” Deuce said.

Crowley either didn’t hear or chose to ignore his comment as he rounded on Parker and beamed, “You! You don’t have a spark of magic in you, and yet you’ve managed to accomplish something no professor ever could! Perhaps its your lack of talent that gives you the ability to think strategically.”

Parker couldn’t believe her ears, nor could she conjure up a better response than, “Thanks. For that.”

Again, Crowley went on as if no one had spoken, “We still don’t know how you’ve come to us, but its clear to me, Miss Parker, that you have something to offer this school yet.”

Parker still didn’t quite understand everything she was hearing, “So, you’re not kicking me out?”

“Why ever for?” Crowley laughed.

“Because I managed to blow my cover after only a day?” She exchanged a glance with Ace who could only shrug. He was just as confused as the rest of them.

“Hey! What about me?” Grim’s patience was at an end, “I helped too, you know! And these guys promised they’d convince you to let me attend!”

Ace put up his hands, “All we said was that we’d put in a good word for you, fur ball.”   

“Grim’s right,” Deuce said to Ace, “We did promise.” He turned to Headmaster Crowley and gave a short bow, “Grim was an important part of getting that crystal, we think it’s more than fair that he can attend Night Raven.”

For the first time since they recounted their adventure, Crowley’s smile faltered. He examined Grim from a distance as if trying to gauge something in him. Grim stared back, standing on his hind legs with his front paws crossed in front of him. It was a little unnerving to see a cat standing like a bratty child. Then again, the mine monster was more disturbing to look at.

“I see,” Crowley stroked at his chin, “Well, he certainly has displayed bravery…”

“And he has fire magic,” Parker chimed in, “It’s incredible.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Ace muttered.

Crowley thought for a second more, then said, “I don’t doubt it. But some of the subjects do require more (how do I put this?) human characteristics to be successful,” the headmaster’s gaze fell on Parker. He hummed, tapping his chin as if considering something, “Then again, there is the issue of Parker’s identity having been discovered…”

Ace, Grim, Deuce, and Parker all exchanged a look. How in the world did one have to do with the other? She’d been discovered by Ace and Deuce, but that had no bearing on Grim whatsoever. They jumped up as Crowley sparked to life once again and clapped once.

“I have it!” Crowley said, “Parker and Grim, how do you feel about being enrolled as two halves of the same student?”

Both Grim and Parker didn’t respond beyond a confused, “Huh?”

“Simple!” Crowley’s smile was back, “Grim has the magic, but may need some extra assistance with the more mundane aspects of class, and since he isn’t assigned to any dorm he can be the second resident of Ramshackle. As for Parker, I appear to have underestimated the challenge of hiding her, well, her herness. If I enroll her as a freshman, that will make it much easier for you boys to help her prevent anyone else from finding the truth.”

 Ace started at the news, “How is this secret my responsibility?”

Deuce didn’t even hesitate,” Maybe because you were the reason we found out.”

“What?” Ace whipped his head towards Deuce, “I didn’t know!”

“Neither will the other students,” Crowley said, “Having one of you three around at all times will ensure none of them accidentally reveals her to the rest of the school.”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Parker asked, “What happened to being the janitor? I don’t want to be a student I… I’m taking a gap year!”

Crowley shrugged, “Well, you certainly have a choice. But know that if you decline my generous offer, Grim will be unable to attend.”

Parker knew better than to look at Grim, but she found herself doing it anyway. Grim looked up at her with the biggest, bluest eyes she had ever and would ever see again. The meekness on his face and the dulled flames at his ears made him look like a proper house cat. She couldn’t say no to that.

She glared down at him, “Fine. You manipulative little a-“

“Then its settled,” Crowley nodded, “You’ll begin classes in the morning.”

“Um, no,” Ace was not about take this, “Deuce and I never agreed to do anything!” When Deuce didn’t say a word, Ace shoved him, “Back me up, cauldron boy.”

Deuce glowered, but didn’t say a word.

Crowley was beginning to get irritated, “Well, if you don’t agree I could always go through with your expulsion.”

“What?” Deuce jumped up. He couldn’t believe what he just heard.

“That’s extortion,” Ace narrowed his gaze.

Crowley simply smiled and sat on the edge of his desk, “Welcome to Night Raven. I’ll expect to see all four of you in classes tomorrow. You’re dismissed.”

And that was the end of that. The four of them exited the headmaster’s office with varying emotions. Grim burst out first, doing a little dance that set off sparks wherever he went. Deuce followed, looking for all the world like he hadn’t slept in weeks. Ace muttered under his breath as he followed behind his dorm mate, and Parker trudged out with a knot in her stomach so tight she feared she would heave. How were they going to do this?

They walked together down several hallways until they came to the point they’d have to separate; Deuce and Ace would go back to the Hall of Mirrors and their own dorm while Parker and Grim made their way back to Ramshackle dorm. They hovered together, not quite sure how to leave each other after everything.

“We’ll see you tomorrow, I guess,” Ace rubbed the back of his neck.

“I guess,” Parker answered. She wasn’t too keen on him after the objections he’d given to Crowley. They shuffled around for a second more.

 Ace sighed, “It’s nothing against you.”

“We know you’re not happy with this either,” Deuce added.

“I am,” Grim sang. He ignored the three scowls aimed at him.

Parker softened. Deuce was right, she wasn’t happy but neither were they. With a little less force than she thought she needed, Parker half smiled, “We’re stuck.”

“Yeah,” Ace returned the smile, “We are.”

At last the tension that haunted them since they returned dissolved. Deuce even managed a parting joke before both groups dispersed at last.

“Get a good night’s sleep. You’re going to need it.”

[crossyourheart-twff]

Chapter 3

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23812213/chapters/58942240

    “Stop fiddling with it,” Grim said for the third time that morning. He and Parker were still adjusting to the uniforms Crowley gave them as they headed towards the dining hall. Where Grim accepted his collar with not a little pride, Parker couldn’t stop pulling at the messy knot that was supposed to be her tie. Between that and adjusting the hat she still used to hide her hair, she was a constant fidgeting mess.

     “Sorry,” Parker frowned, “I don’t usually wear ties.”

Grim raised his head to the air, “Its an embarrassment really. My underling shouldn’t be so unkempt, y’know?”

     “Underling?” 

     “Hurry up, human. I’m hungry.” Grim sauntered ahead into the dining room. Parker’s frown became a scowl as she wondered how much trouble she’d be in if Grim were made into a nice pair of mittens. Not much, she hoped, because if she had to endure being looked down on by a talking cat-

     “Parker!” Ace’s voice cut into her thoughts. She spotted him at a secluded table where Deuce was already eating his own breakfast. No one else sat with them, but students were claiming seats every second. She hurried over, hoping to have at least a few minutes of privacy before someone else populated the table. 

     “Hey,” She settled into the seat across from them while Grim hopped next to her.

     “Did Headmaster give you a schedule?” Deuce asked.

Parker reached into the pocket of her blazer and pulled it out. Ace wasted no time in snatching it up so that he and Deuce could have a better look. They went through the list of courses one by one, listing off professors and subjects like Magic History and Animal Languages. When Parker first saw her classes, she’d laughed until Headmaster Crowley asked what was the matter. From there the laughter faded fast.

Deuce handed her back the schedule, “These classes shouldn’t be a problem. If we sit in the back it won’t be difficult for you to go unnoticed.”

Alright, she shrugged. If he said so. Parker tilted the bill of her hat further over her eyes, then dropped her hand when she caught sight of Ace and Deuce’s faces, “What?”

Ace frowned, “Is that really how you plan on wearing that?”

That was the last thing she expected to hear. What was wrong with her hat?

     “It hides my face,” she said.

 Ace’s lips curled into a smirk, “Your face isn’t the problem.”

      “He’s right,” Deuce gestured in front of his own forehead to indicate the bill of her hat, “It looks like you’re hiding something.”

     “I am.”

 Ace sighed, “First rule of disguise: you gotta look natural. Hold on.” The red head sat beside her and spun the hat so the bill covered the nape of her neck, “There.”

  “Really?” Parker cried, “I look stupid.”

     “You look like you don’t care,” Ace corrected, giving her a quick once over. His eyes landed on the mess she’d managed to make of her tie, “Ok, what’s that?” 

Parker’s hand found the knot without needing to look. After being harassed about it all morning, it became a tender point, “I don’t… know how to tie a tie, alright?”

     “Disgrace,” Grim said around a mouthful of tuna, “a complete disgrace.”

The thought of cat-fur mittens resurfaced in Parker’s mind, “I can go to Crowley right now and unenroll.”

It was enough to shut Grim up. For now, at least. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind he’d find other things to bother her about.

      “Here,” Ace’s expression softened as he worked the tie into a simple Windsor knot, careful not to tighten it too high on her neck. When he finished, her tie was a perfect imitation of his own- passable, but not too fancy.

      “Much better,” Deuce handed back her schedule which she tucked back into her blazer. She hated to admit it, but the adjustments from Ace did leave her less self-conscious than before. Her cap, silly as it was, felt more secure over her pinned braids. That alone loosened the rock-like tension in her shoulders.

     “Thanks,” Parker said, and she meant it, “Anything else I should know?”

     “Just stick with us,” Ace grinned, “you’ll be fine.”

 From the start, Parker knew Magical History was going to be trouble. While she and Ace managed to find seats in the back, the danger here did not lie with the other students. No, it lay in the older man poised at the front of the room. He watched down the length of his nose as the students settled into their seats. This was Professor Trein, unless the name printed on Parker’s schedule was wrong.  When the class was ready, he greeted them with all the warmth and humor of an icicle.

Not even ten minutes into class, Professor Trein’s lecture added weight to Ace’s eyelids. Grim didn’t last very long either as he curled up in Parker’s lap and began purring softly. Even Parker found she had trouble paying attention. It was a shame, really. His lecture was on the discovery of magic crystals, and after handling one in person she wanted to know more. She tried to focus his words rather than his voice, but aside from a brief mention of the Dwarf Mines, grasping any other information was like trying to get a firm grip on water. It sent her attention wandering to the dust particles that danced in the rays of sunlight that streamed through the arched windows.

     “You!”

Parker’s face went cold at Professor Trein’s outburst. Ace’s eyes cleared of sleep-fog in an instant, even Grim jolted from his place on her lap. To their relief, Professor Trein wasn’t looking at them. In the front row, a student sputtered to attention, blinking away the weight from his eyelids.

      “Am I boring you, Mr. Silver?” Professor Trein crossed his arms.

Parker heard Ace’s breath hitch. Despite not being in trouble, she noticed he was pale.

     “Apologies, professor,” Silver straightened in his chair.

Professor Trein ignored him, “You should be setting a better example for your peers, especially as a member of Diasomnia!”

     “Diasomnia?” Parker turned to Ace.

     “His dorm,” Ace was too focused on the scene before them to look at her, “They’re a big deal.”

Professor Trein wasn’t letting up, “Unless, of course, you already know everything about the origins of magic crystals. Perhaps you can inform the class which was once the largest cache of crystals in Twisted Wonderland.”

Parker sensed the class’s attention shift onto Silver. Her gut tightened as the poor guy opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. This was too hard to watch, but no matter how she tried she couldn’t ignore it. Wasn’t he already humiliated enough? She didn’t need to add to his pain, and neither did Professor Trein for that matter. Of course he would ask which cache was once the largest, he’d only mentioned it once! Hell, if she hadn’t visited them herself, she wouldn’t have known either.

The class was whispering now, that same storm breeze from the entrance ceremony. It raged in Parker’s ears. The panic from that night crawled along the edge of her mind, it played on Silver’s face as he stammered and struggled for words.

      The Dwarf Mines, she willed the name to come to him, it’s the Dwarf Mines! But even in a world dripping with magic, her thoughts went unsent. She wished she could stop this. Do something, say something to end the torture the same way she wished someone would have intervened for her. Parker frowned. Say something… If only she didn’t have to blend in.

      “Well,” Professor Trein spoke after a full minute. Parker’s heart sang. It was over. He’d go back to his lecture and let Silver off the hook. Her hope deflated a second later, when the next thing out of the professor’s mouth was, “We’re all waiting.”

That was it. She couldn’t take it, subtlety be damned. If they were going to spend the rest of the class in this agony, she’d rather risk a target on her back. She scarcely remembered to lower the pitch of her voice before saying, “The Dwarf Mines.”

Professor Trein’s face slackened. The whispers stopped. Ace elbowed her and glared as the professor recovered enough to demand, “Who said that?”

No one spoke. A couple of students in front of Parker turned in her direction. She met their gaze with the smallest shake of her head. Don’t. Please. She wasn’t sure if her message was heeded out of solidarity or because they didn’t want Professor Trein’s attention on them either. What ever the reason, they turned away without a word. Beside her, Ace refused to look up from his desk.

       “When I ask a student a question,” Professor Trein eyed the class, “I expect that student to answer unless I say otherwise. The next time someone intervenes, expect both will be punished.”

They spent the rest of the class in silence. Not once did Ace rest his head on his arms, nor did Grim settle back into Parker’s lap. They were the picture of model citizens for the remainder of the hour. Once they left the class, however, Ace didn’t waste a second. He spun on Parker so fast she stumbled back against the corridor wall.

       “What was that?” He hissed.

       Parker sighed, “I know. But, c’mon! He was being a dick.”

       “He’s a professor. Professors are dicks,” Ace breathed before he blew and called attention to himself, “What happened to the shy act from yesterday?”

       Parker rubbed at the back of her neck, “That was different. And I wasn’t exactly shy when I shoved you into Deuce.”

       “Wait, what?” Grim grinned up at them, “You shoved him?”

        Ace shot Grim a look, but didn’t answer. Instead he said, “Look, you’re a decent, uh, guy, but Deuce and I have a lot riding on this. I might not be willing to risk my life, but I’ll help you if it means keeping my spot here. So please, if you can’t do it for Crowley, do it for us?”

       Parker didn’t answer right away. She still found this whole thing to be very stupid. Insane, actually. Yet she couldn’t deny the truth of Ace’s words. It was like they’d said yesterday: they were stuck. The least she could do was try a little harder.

       “Alright,” she said, “I’ll do my best.”

 And she did. All in all, she, Ace, Deuce, and Grim found their strategy of avoiding attention worked most of the time. The professors barely gave them a second glance, and the other students gave them even less. That wasn’t to say, however, that she didn’t have her fair share of hiccups.

In Alchemy, she was unlucky enough to be picked on by Professor Crewel, a much younger instructor than Trein who had a strange habit of calling his students “pups”. When she stumbled over the list of poisonous herbs in her textbook’s index he scoffed.

       “Don’t tell me your lack of magic effects your ability to read,” Professor Crewel said. A couple of the students snickered as he said, “Once again, from Belladonna. Be a good boy, now.”

       Once Parker finished the list, she refused to look up from her desk, even as Grim frowned and mumbled, “Well that was harsh.” 

Animal languages also proved to be anything but a joke, especially after the cat she was meant to greet hissed and took a swipe at her eyes with razor-like claws. Upon double checking her pronunciation, Deuce informed her that she’d accidentally called it a rather rude name. No number of meowed apologies could get the cat to “speak” to her for the rest of the hour, much to Grim’s amusement.

By the time her fourth class rolled around, Parker’s shyness wasn’t an act, not when every time she did catch someone’s attention it meant she was being insulted. The now wrinkled schedule crinkled in her hands as she checked where to report. Her face lit up when she read the name ‘Flying and Magical Sports’.

Sports. Gym. Her next class was gym. Relief washed away the tension further when she realized there was just enough time for her to change at Ramshackle. It looked like Crowley got something right after all.

      “Meet us back here,” Deuce said, indicating the corridor that led out to the sports fields before leaving to get changed himself. That was where she headed now, dressed in a baggy shirt and sweat pants, and fighting the urge to skip the entire way there. This was her comfort zone; this was her niche. Even back home, gym was always the time in her day where she felt most like herself. She got lost in the exercise, let her heart beat in time to her footfalls on the running track, became so engrossed that she was nothing more than pulse and heat and breath. Her worries couldn’t catch her when she ran, couldn’t drag her while she climbed. It was an escape into her own world, and after falling out of step with the rhythm around her, this was just the thing to bring back in time.

She caught up with Ace and Deuce while they lingered behind the other gym-bound students. They were out of the castle in seconds, stepping onto low-cut grass so green Parker blinked to help her eyes adjust. Further out, another group of students were throwing around what looked like a glowing Frisbee. A sports club, no doubt.

 Parker smiled. This. Oh, how she missed this. The fields were the one spot at Night Raven that most reminded her of home. Sure, it was missing a few things, the sea breeze, heat, and high humidity being among them, but it was the similarities here that mattered.

       “Coach Vargas says we’re doing flying basics today. You’ve ridden a broom before, yeah?” Deuce asked as they stepped onto the sports fields. He said it more than he asked it really, as if there couldn’t be any way the contrary were true. 

       Parker squinted at the sky, “Uh, no. Can’t say that I have.”

       She continued onto the field, not realizing that her companions didn’t follow until Ace asked from somewhere behind her, “Not even with a magic friend?”

       A magic friend? Parker stopped and turned to him, “I’m from a different world, remember?”

       “I mean, yeah,” he rubbed at the back of his neck, “but you guys have magic. All worlds have magic, right?”

Now it was Parker who paused. He thought all worlds had magic? For the first time, she considered the possibility that Ace, Deuce, and Grim didn’t know any better. Magic was an integral part of this place after all, or so it seemed. Maybe, to them, a world without magic was like a world without trees, or light, or air. It must have been if it never even crossed their minds that Parker’s lack of it was normal where she was from. It almost made her laugh when she thought about it. To her, a world of magic should have been impossible, something you only read about in books or saw in movies. But to them? She wondered if they even had stories of magicless places at all.

         “Not mine,” she said. 

The three of them didn’t speak. It was likely they didn’t quite know what to say. Grim was the first to recover from the news, but instead of laughing and calling her a ‘pathetic human’ he was almost whispered, “A world without magic… Huh. It’s a little scary to think about, y’know?”

        “Yeah,” Deuce agreed, though his face was far away. Probably considering what a magicless world would entail. He blinked once to bring himself back into the present, “Right. Well, just listen to what Coach Vargas says. We’ll give you pointers if you need them.”

They joined the rest of the first years by a set of metal bleachers on the side of the running track. Even as they hurried to catch up, Ace wasn’t done marveling at what he’d learned.

         “Hold on,” he said, “you’ve never seen real magic before?”

         Parker smiled, “Not until I got here.”

Ace looked at her as if he’d never seen anyone like her before. Chances are he hadn’t, now that Parker thought about it, for even if there were people without magic in this world it wasn’t quite the same as meeting someone completely unfamiliar with it, “Oh, wow. Wait, so-“

He didn’t get to finish his thought. Instead, he along with the others turned towards a broad man in a red track jacket as he yelled, “Line up!”

Parker recognized him at once. He was the man form the entrance ceremony, the one who pulled her inside before Crowley could stop him. So, that was Coach Vargas.

         “We’re not done,” Ace mumbled to her as they fell into ranks with the rest of the class.

Coach Vargas stalked up and down the pavement, appraising each student for a second or two before stopping in front of them, crossing his arms, and smirking. A tiny speck of the happiness in Parker’s chest shriveled at that. He didn’t even have to speak for her to know what was coming. She didn’t know why she was surprised, especially after her track record with her other professors. Still, her gym class oasis was corrupted by a coach she knew -she just knew! - was a total, unapologetic meat head.

         “Alright, ladies,” Parker frowned as her suspicions were confirmed mere seconds after she formed them, “Warm ups! I want ten jumping jacks, ten push-ups, and fifteen lunges down the field and back,” his eyes flicked over to her and he added, “Magic or no, I expect everyone to keep up. Let’s move!”

Parker didn’t. ‘Magic or no’. What had she done to deserve that? What remained of her joy was smothered, choked as reality flooded into the paradise she constructed in her mind. What was wrong with this place? What was so wrong with her that no matter where she turned at this school, there was always something ensuring she was miserable. It was unfair! Now, because of Coach Vargas, she couldn’t even have gym class.

She jolted into her warm ups as something zinged down every nerve in her body like an electric current. No. This was gym class, this was hers. Maybe the coach was a meat head, maybe she didn’t have magic, but she did have jumping jacks, and push-ups and lunges, and she was going to enjoy them.

By the time warms ups were through, Parker finished alongside both Ace and Deuce. The coach was eyed her again, but she couldn’t tell whether he was irritated or just observing.

         “Take a breather,” Coach Vargas instructed. Half the class sat on the ground as the coach snapped a finger and presented a broom, “Today, you’re gonna learn how to use this bad boy. I’m sure plenty of most of you have flown before, but we’re sticking to the basics today. We gotta start small if any of you ever hope to reach my level of expertise.”

Beside her, Parker caught Deuce rolling his eyes and nearly choked on laughter. She hid it in time to keep the coach from noticing.

She listened through his explanation on proper mounting, take off, and landing techniques, even gaped along with the rest of the class when he demonstrated a double loop fifty feet above their heads. Reality caught up to her as she realized, yeah, this was flying class. She was going to learn to fly! Her joy rekindled at the idea of zooming through the air faster than her feet could take her. But alas, that hope was also killed when Coach Vargas pulled her aside and informed her she wouldn’t be flying.

           “No magic, no broom. Your pet raccoon there can partner with another one the guys.”

          “What am I supposed to do, then?” she cried.

           Coach Vargas didn’t miss a beat, “Go run laps. I want thirty by the end of class.”

Parker ran five laps before she was sure Coach Vargas wasn’t watching. He was too caught up in correcting the first years’ take offs to pay her any mind. Well, if he didn’t care whether she ran then neither did she.

She kept going, of course, but she let her attention wander from her feet on the track to the others gliding above her head. From where she jogged, she watched Ace and Deuce zip around each other as Grim clutched the end of Deuce’s broom for dear life. She laughed. It figured Grim was afraid of heights.

            “Hey!” Deuce called down to her. She waved up at him as Ace swooped over to him.

            “Let’s race,” Ace said, “us against you!”

             Parker laughed, “That’s not fair! I can’t fly.”

             “Didn’t think you’d give up so easily,” Deuce smirked. 

            “Last one to the edge of the field owes Grim lunch!” Ace didn’t wait for Parker to object again. He dove forward, dropping until he hovered just above Parker’s shoulder, “We’ll dismount to make it fair. How’s that?”

 Deuce landed on her opposite side. A relieved Grim hopped off the end of the broom.

             “I’ll sit this one out,” Grim said, “Wouldn’t want to embarrass you guys, y’know?”

              Right. Parker smiled despite herself, “On three. One.”

              Ace and Deuce held their brooms at the ready.

             “Two.” 

              She dug the balls of her feet onto the track for a good grip.

             “Three!”

They were off! Parker darted ahead as Ace and Deuce sprinted, jumped, and took to the skies once again. Parker looked up at them while she ran. It was no surprise to her when Deuce doubled down on his broom and sped ahead of them both. She laughed as Ace swore at his back, pushing his broom to go faster. Her own footfalls slapped against the track in quicker succession until she was past it and onto the grassy field instead. Above her, Deuce was getting smaller while Ace dove and ascended, swerved left and right to gain on his dorm mate. Parker put on a burst of speed. There was no way she would win, she knew, but if she was going to lose, she wanted it to be as close as possible.

 Deuce was almost to the edge of the field when Parker’s foot caught on uneven ground. Someone yowled in pain as she stumbled forward.

             “Grim?” Parker searched the grass, convinced she’d stepped on him. Hadn’t he said he wasn’t running? Strange. That noise she heard was feline. Instead of Grim, she found herself looking at a pair of sneakered feet. Her gaze trailed up to a pair of sweatpants and a mustard gym shirt, all belonging to the tallest student she’d encountered so far. A handful of others lounged about a short distance away. They must have been the ones with the Frisbee. She was too busy staring up at Ace and Deuce to notice she’d run right through their game.

Parker inched back as an honest to goodness growl emitted from the base of the tall student’s throat. If that weren’t enough, she shivered at the sight of animal ears protruding from his dark hair. He wasn’t the first animal-eared student she’d seen that day. In fact, Deuce scolded her in Crewel’s class for staring too long at a boy with wolf’s ears, but there was something about this student, something in the way he carried himself, that framed him as a true threat.

             He seemed to grow larger as he leered forward and said, “You’ve got some nerve stepping on someone’s tail.”

             “Sorry,” Parker flinched. A lion’s tail swayed back and forth just behind his left leg.

             “Say,” the hair on Parker’s neck stood as he leaned closer, “You’re the one from the ceremony, aren’t you?”

            The air lodged in Parker’s throat, “I-“

            The lion-man groaned, like he couldn’t be bothered to be so… bothered, “So. You don’t have magic or sense. I’m gonna have to knock some into you. What a pain.”

            A gust of wind brushed Parker’s cheek as Ace alighted beside her, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Give him a break, yeah? He didn’t know any better.”

            “All the more reason to teach him,” the lion-man’s gaze locked back onto Parker. She couldn’t choke back the gasp his mere stare knocked from her lungs. It wasn’t just the threat alone that shocked her, though, but that calculated look… she’d seen it somewhere before. If only she weren’t so panicked, she might remember where.

            “Eh, Leona,” one of the Frisbee players jogged up to where they stood. He was smaller than the lion-man, Leona, with a set of animal ears of his own. For the life of her, Parker couldn’t place what animal they belonged to, “We’re waiting for the next play.”

Leona growled again, only this time the threat was gone, or at least diminished. He spared a glance over to the other Frisbee player, but his eyes were back on Parker before relief properly set in. He didn’t move, didn’t speak. His face shifted without dropping his snarl. He flickered between her, Ace, and the Frisbee player. She and Ace didn’t blink. He a beast sizing up his prey, though another look at those lion ears made Parker question if that was a metaphor or literal. He straightened, dropped the snarl and stretched.

           “Too much work,” he grumbled, then sauntered away, but not before turning one last glare in their direction, “Watch yourself, herbivore.”

            The other Frisbee player lingered by them long enough to snicker “What a temper, huh?”

            Parker watched them go. Another breeze played over her skin.

            “What was that all about?” Deuce dismounted from his broom.

            “I don’t know,” Parker said. She was trying to work that out herself.

            “Let’s get back,” Ace suggested. Deuce and Parker didn’t need to be told twice.

               The dining hall was much livelier than it had been that morning. Now that everyone was awake and more than a couple classes into their day, the energy spiked. Tired minds were refreshed by food, fresh air, and freedom from the tyranny of books and oppressive professors.  The need to shed the rigidity of the classroom chafed the students, and so did their need for mindless conversation. Ace, Deuce, Grim, and Parker were no exception.

             “Ok, wait,” Ace speared his food a little harder than he meant to, “so back to the no magic thing. How do you do anything?” 

             “What do you mean?” Parker popped open Grim’s second can of tuna. She was back to the normal uniform now, though she left the tie undone. It was too much work. Besides, she could always ask one of the guys to help her with it later.

Once again, Ace was interrupted from his questioning as three new faces approached their table. Two of them looked like older versions of Deuce and Ace, but were just different enough that they couldn’t be related. Where Deuce’s hair was a black to rich is was almost blue, the other dark-haired student’s looked greener in the light. The one that looked more like Ace scrolled away at his phone while he balanced his tray with the other.

        “If it isn’t the infamous freshmen,” the one with the phone smiled as he approached, “break any more chandeliers today?”

        “Don’t encourage them, Cater,” the third student was the smallest of them, with hair a darker red than Ace’s. Despite his size, there was something about him that seemed… powerful? Authoritarian. Parker wasn’t sure what to call it. The one thing she was sure of: he was one of the students on the dais during the entrance ceremony, “Is that the Ramshackle student?”

       “Half!” Grim said before anyone could get a word in, “Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Great Grim and this is my underling, Parker the human.”

      “I’m not his underling,” Parker frowned. All the same, she placed his can of tuna before him like the pampered house cat he was.  

Deuce gestured over to the other students, “Parker, these are Riddle, Trey and Cater. They’re upperclassmen in Heartslabyul Dorm. Riddle’s our head.”

      Parker nodded, “I remember you from the entrance ceremony.”

      “So do I,” Riddle looked her over once and frowned, “Your tie’s undone.”

      Well that was blunt. She shrugged, “We just got done with Flying.”

      “Parker’s from a world without magic,” Ace blurted like the knowledge would choke him if he didn’t let it out. Nice, Parker thought, subtle. Silence stretched among the seven of them while the older students processed his declaration. Then, as one, three pairs of eyes locked onto Parker so suddenly she flinched.

       “No way!” Cater gawked.

       “Um, yeah,” she said.

Deuce’s counterpart, Trey, adjusted his glasses, “No magic at all? How do you do anything?”

 Ace let out a little sound, justified in his own curiosity now that someone else wanted to know the same thing. By the looks of it, they all did. Even Grim cocked his head forward for a better listen.

     “This is a big deal for you guys, isn’t it?” she rubbed her arm.

     “Do you have cell phones?” Cater whipped his out and lit up the screen, “Magicam?”

     Parker was almost offended, “Yeah, we have cell phones. Don’t know what Magicam is though.”

     “Its an app,” Trey rolled his eyes, “Cater’s addicted.”

      “What about…” Cater scrolled through his home screen again, only for Riddle to cut him off.

      “Wait,” the dorm head said, “if he is from another world, then he’ll need us to show him how to live by our rules,” he ignored everyone at the table’s groans, “I’m sure you have a thousand questions.”

      Parker brightened, “Yeah, actually.”

     “Why don’t we trade, then,” Riddle suggested, “a question for a question. You answered ours, so now it’s our turn. What did you want to know?”

      What did she want to know? So many things swirled around Parker’s head, she was sure it would burst at any moment. It was a little hard to start, though, with so much going through her brain. She looked around the dining hall, from the tables to the exits, looking for something to tell her where to start. She caught site of the tapestries from yesterday. The Great Seven, Ace called them. It was as good a place as any.

     “Tell me about the dorms,” Parker gestured towards the tapestry, “Ace told me they’re based on them. You guys represent the Queen of Hearts?”

     “That’s right,” Trey said, “every dorm has its own main value. We’re in Heartslabyul. Our value,” he leveled a look at both Ace and Deuce, “is upholding the rules.”

      Neither of the younger Heartslabyul boys met his eye.

       “We have seven dorms, obviously,” Cater chattered away, unaware or uninterested in the first years’ discomfort, “they’re Savannaclaw, for stubbornness,” he indicated the lion’s tapestry, “Ignhyde ,for perseverance,” next was the blue man with flames for hair, “Pomefiore, for effort and beauty,” he pointed out the youngest of the tapestry figures, and by far the most beautiful, “Scarabia, for careful planning,” the bearded man with the snake staff followed, “Diasomnia, for elegance,” he gestured to the horned, green-skinned witch, “and Octavinelle, for mercy,” the last tapestry was of the octopus woman.

     “Mercy?” Parker asked. All the other dorm values fell in line with poise and discipline, but mercy? Something about it felt out of place.

     “Ah ah!” Ace wagged a finger, “That can be your next question. It’s our turn now.”

Things went on like this for the rest of the meal. Parker traded questions with the Heartslabyul boys like currency. The older students taught the first years how to navigate Trein and Crewel, they described a sport called Magical Shift which turned out the be what Leona was up to during their flying lesson, and some even told her stories about a place called the Rose Kingdom, the land most of the Heartslabyul students came from. In returned she told them about planes and cars, countries, and even stories about her own life. As the lunch hour ended, Riddle and the upperclassmen parted ways one by one, claiming a class or study session or club meeting. It was time for Parker to do the same.

      “Where are you going?” Ace asked as she gathered her things.

      “Class,” Parker piled Grim’s empty tuna cans onto her tray, “Aren’t you coming?”

       “I don’t have class for another half hour,” Ace said.

       “Then I’m probably with Deuce.”

        Deuce shook his head, “I’ve got Study Hour.”

        “So, we get a break from you guys. Alright!” Grim leapt from the table.

This wasn’t a break, Parker thought. A break would be welcome, a break meant she could rest. How was she supposed to know what to do?

Somehow they’d left the dining hall. Deuce and Ace walked on either side of her, offering up quick reassurances that tangled together in ‘you’ve seen how things are’, ‘keep doing what we’ve done’ and ‘sit in the back, keep you mouth shut, and you’ll be fine.’ She wanted to argue that no, sitting in the back did not guarantee she’d be fine, but her tongue was so dry it wouldn’t unstick from the roof of her mouth. She did manage to wonder, though, when exactly she’d come to view both Ace and Deuce as walking security blankets.

         “We’ll meet you in the courtyard,” was the last thing they said before going off in their own directions. The door to her next class loomed before her.

        “Oh, c’mon!” Grim pulled at her right pant leg, “you don’t need them.”

He scampered into the room without looking to see if she followed. She didn’t like this. Parker never thought confidence was an issue for her, but ever since waking up in Night Raven’s basement, she felt it being tested again and again.

       You don’t need them.

       For once, Parker hoped Grim was right.

[crossyourheart-twff]

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 is UP! 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23812213/chapters/59260480

Floyd wished he had something to squeeze. Preferably someone’s throat, but anything would do. He wished he were rounding up one of Azul’s clients with an outstanding bill, then he’d have the perfect excuse to work off the tension coiled in his muscles. Heck, he’d settle for scrubbing down greasy pans in the Monstro Lounge’s kitchen. In short, he’d rather  do anything besides sit through Magical Analysis.

At only the second day of classes he was already fed up with the subject and had been ever since he went over the syllabus with Jade in their room. His twin tried to reassure him. It would be fine, he told him. There were sure to be plenty of flashy spells and tricks to keep him entertained, it was Magical Analysis after all.

Well, it was day two and the professor hadn’t even cast a simple cleaning charm. Never mind that class hadn’t started, that was beside the point.

The seat beside him squeaked as someone claimed it. Funny. There weren’t many people so brave as to sit next to him. This sudden, if minuscule, change was enough to pique his interest. Floyd cast a sidelong glance to the student beside him and deflated. He was the most generic looking boy he’d ever seen. In fact, the only remarkable thing about him was the grey baseball cap resting on his dark hair. That, and the flame-eared cat curled on the desk, probably some sort of familiar or a manifestation of his Unique Magic. He sighed and drew his gaze back to his own things. How disappointing.

Floyd twirled his magic pen between his long fingers as the professor began to speak. If the lecture was to be boring, and his neighbor uninteresting, then he’d create his own entertainment. The professor started on his lesson, something about the different parts of a spell working together to blah blah blah blah blah. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard a hundred times before, if not from a teacher then from Jade or Azul.

They always loved to harp on such technicalities. But Floyd? As far as he was concerned, if the spell worked, it worked; if it didn’t, it didn’t. That’s all that mattered, right?

The professor fished a magic pen from his pocket now, gearing up for a demonstration. Floyd rolled his eyes. Sure enough, a spark of light erupted from the end of his pen and burst in shimmers and flashes of color above the class’s heads with a sharp clap! Predictable.

At least for Floyd. Others in the class hummed or tilted their heads in response, but none gave such a spectacular reaction as the boy next to him. It went far beyond mild interest or appreciation. He flinched in his chair and cried out in surprise - perhaps  delight- as the sparks of the professor’s magic drifted to the floor.

The room fell silent. Floyd turned in time to catch his neighbor’s expression shift from delight to horror as he realized he’d gained the entire class’ attention. A beat and then the class tumbled into laughter, none louder than Floyd himself. Somewhere at the front the professor struggled to regain control of the room. Forget him. This was much more amusing than some tired parlor tricks.  

What the professor did was nothing, it was the sort of thing adults performed for small children all the time. Why would anyone their age react to something so simple? Floyd had to know.

“Ehehehe,” he gave his neighbor a sharp-toothed grin, “jumping at some flashy magic?”

The boy did not answer him. He was too embarrassed, that much Floyd figured. What he didn’t count on was the glare the cat shot at the boy. He was taken aback in the best way as he heard him hiss, “Get it together, human. You’re pathetic!”

The cat leapt away and settled on a window sill before the boy opened his mouth.

“I said enough!” the last bits of ruckus died with the professor’s final command, “Now, as we’ve discussed…”

While the rest of the class refocused on the lesson, Floyd kept his attention on his neighbor. The window for talking was closed, but the damage was done. He’d found the perfect distraction. Gone was the urge to squeeze, replaced instead with curiosity. Despite the boy’s mundane exterior, instinct told Floyd there was something interesting here, and his instincts were seldom wrong. He opened his notebook and began to write.

Parker wished for the ground to swallow her whole. Or better yet, she could hide herself away in the coffin she’d arrived in and never come out. She could convince Ace and Deuce to nail it shut. These were her thoughts as a piece of paper slid onto her desk, its corner poked at the back of her hand.

It didn’t take long to figure out where it came from. There was only one other person in her row.

And he was smiling at her.

Something about him rubbed her the wrong way, and no, it wasn’t the sharp teeth that lined his grin. He’d laughed at her once, the smart thing would be to ignore him. Why should she give him a chance to mock her again? She swatted the paper back at him as if clearing away dust.

Floyd’s mouth collapsed into a frown. What’s this? He blinked as his note slid back to him without being read. Was he ignoring him? Well that was no fun. Unless... Did the little shrimp want to play? His grin returned. In that case, Floyd would play.

The note returned to her desk. Parker stifled a groan. She didn’t want to deal with this. Back it went.

Floyd waited long enough for the paper to settle before sliding it over once more.

Parker’d had it. This was the last time, she’d make sure of it. But as she went to shove the note away, her neighbor’s arm whipped across and pinned it to her desk. She tried to shove his arm aside, but it held firm. Parker’s options ran through her mind in rapid succession. She could push him away, but by the looks of things he was much taller than her. She might be able to hold her own against Ace, but a giant like this guy? She wouldn’t stand a chance! She could always call on the professor, but again that led to more attention. That was out, too…

She loosed a sigh from deep in her chest. She was out of options. Making it a point to frown at him first, she lifted the top half of the sheet and read:

Why did you jump?

There. She read the note. She flashed him a tight-lipped smile and shrugged. That was all. It wasn’t enough, for he slid the paper closer to her and tapped on the empty space beneath the question.

He wanted her to write back.

Parker huffed. Ok, fine. If it got him off her back, she’d do what he wanted. She readjusted her cap for good measure, then slid him her response.

I wasn’t expecting it.

He chuckled under his breath. A minute later, the note was back.

Don’t be scared, Shrimpy. It’s only a silly trick.

Shrimpy?

My name is Parker.

Ten seconds. The new note read:

Eh. I like Shrimpy better.

Parker was about to respond when he snatched the note back and added:

Have you never seen magic before?

Oh, no. How was she supposed to handle this? She could try to ignore, but she had a feeling he wasn’t afraid to escalate the situation, and that was the last thing she needed. Parker steeled herself.

I don’t have magic.

His response took longer this time. Almost a full minute passed before she felt the paper tickle the back of her hand.

You’re the guy from the ceremony.

Parker didn’t want to answer, although she knew her silence was confirmation enough. He took the paper back and returned it with:

         It’s ok, Shrimpy. You’re an interesting one.

An interesting one… Dread pooled in the pit of Parker’s stomach. Interesting. She was supposed to be anything but interesting right now. Interesting was bad, it meant attention and attention meant… No. Breathe. She couldn’t think like that. Play it cool.

What do you mean, ‘interesting?’

His response came quickly.

I’m bored now. Bye.

What the heck? Bored? She asked him as much, but when she tried to pass him the note, he turned away from her, opting instead to twirl his magic pen between his long fingers. What was with this guy?

Meanwhile, Floyd’s spirits lifted at the prospect of a new thing. A boy without magic at Night Raven. Well. It seemed he’d have something to analyze after all.

It just wouldn’t be magic.

The tall student disappeared. Class scarcely ended as Parker glanced over and found he no longer reclined against his chair. It struck her, though she couldn’t put her finger on how, nor could she explain to Grim why it mattered that he’d gone. As the cat creature put it, who was he to her, anyway?

Grim was right. There were more important things to worry about, after all. Like how she couldn’t keep from spazzing longer than five minutes without Ace or Deuce around to hold her hand. She rolled her shoulders at the thought as if to shake it. Since when was she the type to be co-dependent? This wasn’t her, she wasn’t like this, but ever since she’d left that coffin, since Crowley found her, since she talked to that stupid mirror-

It was this place. The longer she spent here the more she realized there was a reason it was called Twisted Wonderland. It had a way of flipping things until she couldn’t tell up from down or left from right. Perhaps it would deform her so thoroughly she’d wake up one day and suddenly be unable to find her own face in her reflection.

“Oi! Wake up.”

A fingertip found the center of her forehead.

Her thoughts shattered at the touch. Gone were the stone corridors and arched windows of the main castle, in their place was an afternoon sky and weed-encrusted cobblestones. Were they halfway to Ramshackle?

“Where’s you head?” Ace smirked.

Grim pointed his nose in the air, “She’s probably still agonizing about class.”

Of course  he’d say that. Parker sighed, “I’m not-”

“I don’t blame her,” Deuce shook his head, “That could have cost us her cover. She needs to be more careful.”

She was right here, thank you! Parker opened her mouth to say as much but Ace beat her.

“Wasn’t as bad as Magic History,” he laughed, “I call it improvement.”

Deuce’s hands clenched into fists by his sides, “Is everything a joke to you? If we don’t watch her properly-”

Watch her properly. Deuce said watch her properly, like she was somebody’s kid, or a plant. Watch her properly.

Parker shook her head. Ace and Deuce were at each but their words didn’t register in her ears. She was stuck on her demotion. Was that all they saw her as? A chore, a thing to be watched? Her shoes scuffed the cracked cobblestone. It was obvious she needed their help, but this implied something else entirely, and if that was how they saw her, how this was going to go...

“This isn’t going to work,” it was the only thing Parker could say with confidence.

The bickering stopped.

“Aw, not again!” Ace slapped a hand to his forehead, “I thought we-”

“No,” Parker said, “Ever since I got here I’ve been told what to do and how to act, I have no idea how anything works- Hell! I can’t use my real name!” She didn’t bother disguising her voice, “do you know how that feels? And here you come talking about me like I’m some babysitting job-”

The world tilted. Her breath came in short.

“I’m a person! I’m capable! I-” Parker closed her eyes. Deep breath. She was loosing focus. There was a point to make, “Look, if we’re going to pull this off, then we’re partners. Equals. Just... Just give me this.”

The two Heartslabyul boys exchanged a glance. Where did this come from? She had no idea how to navigate their world, she said it herself. She needed them, and they’d guarded her- against their will and under duress, but they had. And yet there she was, tie undone, shirt rumpled, and looking for all the world like she was two steps away from plunging into a pit.

Deuce had the inkling that it wasn’t their fussing that was bothering her, not really. To an extent she reminded him of his mother, her sobbing, wishing there was something she could do to get through to him.

“What’s your name?”

Both Ace and Parker blinked.

“You said you can’t use your real name,” Deuce let a small grin tug at his lip, “If we’re partners, I need to know who I’m working with.”

Grim piped up next, “It makes sense. I need to address my minion properly, y’know?”

“Partners, furball,” Ace shot Grim a glare before pointing his chin towards her, “Go on, then. Tell us your name.”

She didn’t speak as the mirror bubbled into her memory.

“C’mon!” Ace said, “You wouldn’t shut up a second ago.”

They’d listened. She couldn’t believe they actually listened. She didn’t fight her first genuine smile since Flying class, “Violet.”

Deuce cocked a brow, “Where’d ‘Parker’ come from?”

She shrugged, “My last name.”

“Well, Violet, we tried. Hopefully you won’t screw up worse tomorrow,” Ace shoved past her, continuing their walk towards Ramshackle. Parker- Violet- scoffed at his back but caught up soon enough.

“Me?” She crossed her arms.

“Honestly, Ace,” Deuce matched step on his other side.

The banter began anew. But this time, Violet Parker was a part of the fight as they walked together.

[crossyourheart-twff]

Y’all, I promise chapter 4 is COMING. I’m stuck on how to end it and that’s it.

[crossyourheart-twff]

Summary

As the most prestigious school of magic for boys, Night Raven College is a breeding ground for secrets, and no student has a bigger secret than Ramshackle Dorm’s head resident, Parker. Under the command of Dean Dire Crowley, Parker must fight to keep the truth hidden. Unfortunately, Azul Ashengrotto, head of Octavinelle Dorm, is a master at spotting secrets and Parker has just caught his eye...

[crossyourheart-twff]

OC time!

I made some picrews of Parker as herself and in her disguise.

Credit to @sangled for the picrew designer.

[crossyourheart-twff]

Author’s notes: Chapter 1!

(I know. I’m trash. I’m sorry.)

Hey guys!

Just wanted to start off by saying if you’ve read the first chapter, thank you so so much! I know the writing is ***rough***, there’s really no excuse for it. My impatience kinda got in the way of the quality, so expect a rewrite/polish up soon! If anything changes drastically as to impact future chapters, I’ll post a notice.

Anywho, that being said I am currently in search of a beta, mostly to bounce ideas off of and to help with the flow of the writing. It’s really important that yes, this story is entertaining, but that it’s a pleasant reading experience as well. (Honestly. The amount of times I read/ wrote the name “Parker” in this chapter made me want to hit something. If *I* suffered, pretty sure you guys did too.)

So! If you’re interested in being a beta, feel free to drop me a dm. I’ve got most of the fic outlined already, so that should help with things.

Alright! That should do it for the Author notes this time around!

Thanks so much for reading! 😊

[crossyourheart-twff]

Author’s Note 2

Hey guys!

 So, this turned out much longer than I'd anticipated, but I'm pleased with it for now. Chances are I'll be back to edit this sometime in the future. 

This is where things will start to go in a different direction. Canon rules are still going to apply, but the story will take on its own life from here on out, so don’t be surprised when it’s not following the overblot storylines from the game. Hopefully that means I’ll be able to churn the next chapter out a little quicker, but I make no promises.

The search for a beta continues! Like before, if you’re interested shoot me a message. 

As always comment your thoughts so far if you’d like. Feedback means a lot and helps keep me motivated! That’s all for now, thanks for reading!

[crossyourheart-twff]

You ever have a chapter outlined, know exactly what you need to happen and how everything turns out but the words just don’t *happen*? Yeah, that me right now.

[phoenix-manga]

Please support them by reading their amazing story! They posted the first chapter and its amazing!

I wish you good luck on your story! @crossyourheart-twff

Chapter 1

Edit: Here’s a link to Ao3 in case the visibility is bad:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23812213/chapters/57212440

This formatting might be an issue… 

Ok! I’ll also be posting this over at AO3. You can find a link to the fic on my blog soon. 

One important note! Diamond Crown Academy is used with permission from @phoenix-manga​, it is NOT my creation but it IS there’s!

This is a little slow, but it should pick up in the next chapter! Thanks for reading!