Chapter Text
“I will officially dissolve our engagement.”
A powerful voice thunders across the ballroom as waves of people turn towards the one it was directed at. In the center of the room stands a beautiful lady, with golden hair pulled back into a low bun and a few loose strands framing her face. She is adorned with a ballgown the color of emeralds with black lace as an accent on the edges of the gown. An emerald necklace situated on her collarbone shines like the moon on a clear night, and her black lace gloves provide an extra air of elegance. Despite the beautiful entourage, the look of bewilderment on the girl’s face betrays any sort of decorum she might have had.
At the booming voice’s words, the bystanders in the ballroom had varied expressions on their faces, ranging from indifferent, to confused, to intrigued. Regardless, all of the attention was now on Yuu.
Yuu had to take all of her sanity to not immediately ask, “Where am I?” Her memories were jumbled, and she couldn’t quite remember what she was doing before this. All she knew was that standing here, in this beautiful ball gown whose color reminded her of Diasomnia, that this was wrong. She was not supposed to be here. Yet at the same time, she felt a nagging thought in the back of her head that she was forgetting something.
Apparently the man who spoke took Yuu’s silence as an invitation to continue, so he begins his monologue once again, “I’ve decided you are no longer of use to me. I’ve had enough of your treachery and arrogance, Yuu.”
However, being hesitant had never been one of Yuu’s strong suits. Guess I’ll play along, she thinks to herself. Rather than wait for that thought to completely surface, she takes a deep breath, and a grin befitting a villainess covers her face.
“Oh? Well, thank you for that.” She says with a smile.
At this response, an expression of shock comes upon the face of the man who initially spoke. His silver hair is perfectly combed, and his suit is well tailored, completely contrasting the sudden look of outrage on his face. Just as quickly as it had appeared, however, the man pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and settles his face back into a neutral expression. The only remainder of his true feelings is the slight tension on the right side of his mouth, made all the more obvious from the mole just under his bottom right lip. With a chuckle, the man says, “I’m glad you’re taking this so well, Yuu. I know how dearly you love me.”
“Ew!” Yuu can’t stop that exclamation from coming out, and she immediately covers her mouth after saying it. That one outburst sends a ripple of whispers across the ballroom, and the neutral face of the silver haired man twitches in response. Yuu can’t explain why, but her initial instinct when she heard that she would have to marry that man (even though she can’t quite recall who he is) was absolute revulsion. I just can’t bring myself to like someone who almost swindled me out of my home. Yuu thinks to herself.
At that thought, she freezes because she swears she has never seen this man before in her life, but also she knows exactly who he is. Time seems to slow for a moment as the dull throb in her head turns into a sharp pang that makes it feel as if her brain is being ripped apart. In an instant, all of the memories come crashing back: being transported to Twisted Wonderland, the 6 overblots, and Grim’s obsession with tuna. As these memories reenter her brain and the pain begins to subside, Yuu stumbles back.
Azul, or at least the rendition of him that is standing in the ballroom, notices this and smirks in response. He chides, “Ah, you poor, unfortunate soul. Trying to garner the sympathy of the masses by pretending to be ill? Sorry to burst your bubble, but that won’t work.” Azul smirks in a way that really makes Yuu want to punch him in the face, but she knows that might not be the best idea. Even if this isn’t the Azul she knows, he’s close enough to the original that it would be best to not poke the bear. Or octopus in this case.
In response to Azul’s words, despite the still-swirling memories in her head, Yuu says, “I don’t need their sympathies. I’ll make my own path.” Even as she says this, Yuu knows it’s only a bluff. But hey, if she can survive attending an all-boys wizarding school after getting isekaied, she can definitely survive this weird new world. The only question was, where should she start. Her eyes begin to wander around the ballroom, and her gaze settles on the balcony a few meters away. A smile creeps its way onto Yuu’s face as she concocts her plans.
Suddenly, Azul’s face begins to bubble with rage underneath a calm exterior. He marches towards Yuu with an air of superiority and stops close enough she can feel his breath. Azul leans down and snarls, “How? You have no betrothed now. And you’re much too fragile to survive alone.”
Okay, so Yuu took that personally. With a smile dripping with poison she responds, “Oh? I’m fragile? Well, if I’m so fragile, I certainly won’t survive what I’m about to do next.”
With a final glare (and possibly a middle finger, who could say) Yuu races towards the balcony and swiftly jumps over it. Turns out her time training with Deuce in the track and field club wasn’t for nothing. And, if she calculated the height correctly, the fall shouldn’t be too bad as long as she rolled.
With this in mind, Yuu begins her descent, completely prepared to safely roll to the ground. Instead, rather than a soft patch of grass, what she finds is a tall figure with striking green eyes looking at her in surprise. Yuu knows it’s too late to change course now, and she braces herself as she completely tumbles on top of him.
Luckily for Yuu, the man softened the impact. Unluckily for the man, he had completely received the impact. Yuu groans as she lifts herself onto her hands and knees, suddenly realizing she has completely trapped the man beneath her. But the man is simply gazing at her, his brilliant green eyes shining with curiosity. What catches her attention more, however, are the two beautiful, onyx horns sitting atop his head. At that moment, all Yuu can think is oh no, I just fell on top of THE Malleus Draconia.
Yuu tries to move her body off of the handsome figure she has accidentally trapped, but whether from fear or Malleus’ mesmerizing gaze she finds herself unable to move. Malleus stares at her, eyes wide, before they narrow and a mischievous grin appears on his face.
“Oh, I see you are still just as reckless as ever,” his deep voice resonates in his chest and Yuu can feel the vibrations. At Malleus’ words, Yuu regains her senses and promptly stands up, doing her best not to touch the man she had unknowingly assaulted.
After making her way to her feet, Yuu offers a hand to Malleus and says, “I’m sorry about that, Hornton. If I had known you were there, I wouldn’t have jumped…”
Yuu sheepishly rubs the back of her neck as Malleus takes her free hand and stands up. “It’s the first time someone has greeted me in such a way,” Malleus responds as he straightens out his cape. As he finishes adjusting his outfit, he looks at Yuu who has averted her gaze and is fidgeting with the lace on her dress. Yuu knows that Malleus has been accommodating to her, like how she is allowed to call him Hornton, but this might not be the same Horton she knows. After all, Azul is different and said something about their engagement. As far as Yuu was concerned, she and Azul had never had any sort of romantic relationship. What if this Hornton wasn’t as accommodating? Crap, Yuu thinks to herself, why do I always get myself into these precarious situations?
Seemingly sensing Yuu’s hesitance, Malleus’ voice interrupts her train of thoughts as he says, “A unique greeting, yes, but not unwelcome.” At his words, Yuu locks eyes with Malleus and the sparkle from his mischievous eyes settles her uncertain heart. His eyes were familiar. Comforting. Even if this was not the same Malleus, he was at least close enough that Yuu felt that she could breathe.
After finally readjusting herself to the situation, Yuu takes a good look at Malleus’ attire. He is wearing an outfit similar to the one he wore at the masquerade ball at Noble Bell College, minus the hat and the mask. It has a flowing black cape with feathers adorning his shoulders which hide the skin-tight shirt that shows off his slim figure. Malleus wears an emerald broach at his collarbone with several other small, green gems decorating the bodice of his outfit and his gloves. Black and gold lace decorate the sides of his pants and the black boots he wears add an extra inch or two to his already imposing height. Looking closer, Malleus’ outfit looks a lot like…
“Are we matching?” Yuu asks before she can stop herself. She immediately covers her mouth with her hands and tries to amend what she said. “Um I mean… I guess we just like the same colors, or something…” Yuu nervously laughs as she mentally smacks herself on the head a hundred times.
Contrary to what Yuu expects, in response to her words Malleus starts to laugh. It’s quiet and under his breath as he tries to hide it underneath his hand, but she can still see the way his shoulders shake and hear the melody of his chortles. Malleus quickly collects himself and responds with a smile, “It appears we are matching. I can’t say that I dislike it.” His smile fades as his eyebrows furrow together into a pensive expression. “Curious that your dress matches the brother of your fiance, rather than your fiance,” Malleus trails off as he observes Yuu’s reaction.
Yuu only sighs in response. “I think it’s ex-fiance now. Though it’s not like I knew we were even engaged to begin with…” she trails off, crossing her arms and letting out a huff. Wait did Malleus say Azul is his brother –
Before Yuu can verbalize her confusion, she notices Malleus’ eyes sharpen at her words. He speaks slowly and deliberately, as if carefully selecting his words, “Did you break off the engagement? You have been engaged since childhood. Forgive me if I am wrong, but I thought you were fond of Azul.”
Yuu scoffs in response and with a shake of her head says, “I don’t remember ever getting engaged to that cretin. As if I would marry someone so unscrupulous.” Yuu waves her hand as if swatting at a fly and continues, “And besides, Azul was the one who broke the engagement. Not that I’m complaining.”
Malleus ponders her words for a moment before his eyebrows raise into a look of realization. “Then you are no longer attending the ball because Azul broke the engagement,” Malleus says as he brings his hand to his chin.
Yuu nods in affirmation and says, “Yes, but that’s not even the strangest part of all of this.” Yuu hesitates for a moment. She needs to find a way back to the normal Twisted Wonderland. Malleus is strong, and seems to have a similar relationship with her compared to the real world. It’s worth a shot, Yuu thinks.
“Hornton, everything here feels odd,” Yuu says, bracing herself for getting laughed at.
Instead, Malleus fixes his gaze on her face and crosses his arms across his chest. His shoulders are tense, but he speaks calmly, “In what way?”
“Well, Azul was acting strangely, I’m in this different outfit, and just the entire… vibe is off,” Yuu rambles on, trying her best to describe the unsettling feeling she has in her chest.
As still as a statue, Malleus asks, “What do you remember?”
Yuu closes her eyes as she recalls every moment she can. She starts listing each event off, “I remember being teleported to Twisted Wonderland, the 6 overblots, Grim eating all my snacks, the Halloween celebrations, and…” Yuu furrows her brows together and brings her hand to her forehead in an attempt to conjure more recent memories. “And… the most recent thing I remember is going to Lilia’s farewell party and…” Yuu pauses again. “And…”
Malleus holds his breath as Yuu’s face continues to contort in a desperate attempt to remember anything beyond that. “And… that’s it.”
Malleus releases the air in his lungs and smiles at Yuu. “That is… unfortunate,” Malleus says as he shakes his head.
“You believe me?” Yuu asks Malleus with a look of bewilderment on her face.
Malleus smiles gently and says, “I trust you. And so I trust your words.”
“Thank you,” Yuu hums in response.
Suddenly, Yuu hears the distant sound of humans shouting. The indiscernible voices are accompanied by the thunder of horses’ hooves hitting the ground and the spine-chilling sound of metal against metal.
A serious look makes its way onto Malleus’ face and Yuu sees his eyes harden as he looks over in the direction of the sounds. “You should go home and rest, Yuu,” Malleus says, glancing back at Yuu.
Yuu feels a pit in her stomach as the shouting gets louder. At this point, she can make out some of the words from the incoming mob, including, “witch”, “exile”, and “capture”. Yeah, maybe the majority of people did not take kindly to her reaction to the disengagement.
“Thank you for catching me Malleus,” Yuu says as she removes her heels from her feet. “I hope to see you soon!”
“Make it back to your estate safely. Sweet dreams,” Malleus responds as he gently pats Yuu’s head before returning to his horse (how did she not notice the horse earlier?).
“OVER THERE!” a grating voice calls out, the same voice that so proudly proclaimed that Yuu was no longer his fiancee.
Yuu groans and turns to face the man she was supposedly engaged to a mere 20 minutes ago. “HEY AZUL!” Yuu shouts, putting all of her pent up anger into her words. “EAT MY DIRT!” she spits out before sprinting towards the forest of trees nearby.
“AFTER HER!” Azul cries out, any previous composure thrown out the window. If he was using magic, he probably would have overblotted. Again.
At least it appeared that no one here had magic, since all of the soldiers and Azul were wielding swords. I can handle weapons, Yuu thinks to herself as she begins to do circles with her right arm in an attempt to loosen her shoulder. Time to see if my softball training is still good, Yuu thinks as she abruptly stops.
Yuu spots Azul and other calvarymen attempt to traverse the forest, but the dense trees slow their speed considerably. Yuu grins as she locks onto her target. She takes one of her shoes into her right hand, brings it back, and launches it with as much strength she can muster as she shouts, “TAKE THIS YOU SLIMY OCTOPUS!”
Yuu swears she can hear a crack as her shoe makes contact with Azul’s face. All she can do is pray that the sound is from his glasses and not his nose breaking. Azul makes some guttural sounds that are reminiscent of a dying otter combined with a leaky faucet, but Yuu doesn’t stick around long enough to see the outcome. The soldiers surround Azul, asking him if he is alright, so Yuu uses this chance to escape.
Yuu doesn’t know how long she has been running, but the sounds of the soldiers have long since faded away, and the only remaining noises are her feet pounding against the ground, her breath, and the buzzing of cicadas. After realizing this, Yuu slows her pace to a stroll and takes stock of where she is. Since this is an unfamiliar world, Yuu has no clue where she needs to go from here. “Didn’t Malleus mention something about an estate?” Yuu mutters to herself. But where is it? She thinks as she continues to wander.
Suddenly, a light appears before Yuu. It is like a firefly, but there doesn’t appear to be an insect there, only the light. Then, a second light appears. Yuu steps close to the first light and it disappears, another light appearing just beyond the second light.
“Is this… a path?” Yuu says as she continues to follow the lights. Sure enough, they appear to be leading her somewhere. Not like I have anything better to do, Yuu thinks as she religiously follows the path set by the mysterious lights.
Soon enough, the trees become less dense and Yuu spots larger lights in the distance. As she gets closer, she realizes these are lights from windows on a large mansion. This must be the estate, Yuu thinks as she approaches the front door.
Before entering, however, she takes one final glance back at the forest. All of the small lights that led her here are completely gone, but that doesn’t stop Yuu from whispering, “Thank you.”
Yuu approaches the front doors of the estate, bracing herself for what is to come. Before she can knock, the door abruptly opens as a familiar figure greets her.
“Lady Yuu! We heard what happened at the ball! We’ve all been worried about you,” a ginger man states as he hurriedly ushers Yuu inside the building. “You must be exhausted, we will prepare a bath for you immediately,” the man continues as he leads Yuu towards the large staircase near the entrance.
“Wait, Ace, what are you doing here?!” Yuu exclaims as she halts in her tracks, forcing Ace to backtrack.
With a quizzical expression, Ace states, “I am your attendant, Lady Yuu. It makes perfect sense that I am here to serve you.”
With her mouth agape, Yuu tries her hardest to not make a snide comment. Ace? As an attendant? This had to be a joke. And calling her “Lady”? No way in hell would Ace actually call Yuu “Lady”.
Trying to remedy the awkward situation, Yuu responds, “I was only wondering why you were here so late.” Nice save, Yuu thinks to herself.
With a shake of his head, Ace says, “We must serve you at whatever time you need. Now, please follow me to your chambers so you may prepare for bed.” With a gesture of his hand, Ace urges Yuu to follow him up the stairs and down the hall. I so wish I could record Ace right now, Yuu thinks as she laughs under her breath. What she wouldn’t give to see his reaction after getting back to the normal Twisted Wonderland. Perfect blackmail material. However, Yuu’s thoughts are interrupted as Ace leads her to a large bedroom with an ornate canopy bed. The entire room is absolutely splendid, with walnut furniture upholstered with an emerald satin and a matching walnut table to host guests. The window curtains are made of silk and Yuu can smell the fragrance of roses drifting from the door opposite the one she entered. Suffice to say, Yuu had never stayed in a place as grandiose as this.
Ace’s voice soon pulls Yuu from her gawking as he says, “The bath is prepared, my Lady. Please call us if you need anything. Until then, good night.” Ace bows as he leaves the room, giving Yuu the chance to fully take in everything around her. She wanders around the room for a bit, touching the furniture, admiring the intricacies of the wall sconces, and of course, plopping onto the large bed that feels like a cloud.
With all that has happened and the plush comfort of the bed, Yuu feels exhaustion seep into her bones. The scent of bath salts wafts into her nose, enticing her to relax in the tub. However, Yuu’s entire body feels like lead and the bed calls her to stay there. She feels herself losing consciousness as her eyelids grow heavy. I can figure out what’s going on tomorrow, Yuu tells herself as she gives herself into the comfort of her bed and drifts off to sleep.