Chapter Text
Dreams never came to him easily. But when they did, he never usually remembered them. And they never felt this vivid or lucid. Arun felt like he was walking in the middle of a hedge maze. Smack dab in the middle of a rose garden. A rose garden with vibrant red roses on a heart-shaped tree. He had to blink a little to figure out what was going on. This usually didn’t happen in the middle of the night. But then again, today he had witnessed a lot of new anomalies.
Was it his imagination or did those roses look a little fake? They shone too brightly to have been a natural red. That color felt too artificial to be real. Curious, he reached a hand out, finger extended, and wiped it on a rose. He was immediately met with a wet sensation on his fingertips. A pink smear on the bloom from where he had touched it.
“Paint?…” he questioned. Rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger, it smeared all over his skin. Voices sounded off nearby. Arun whipped his head around to look for the source. His eyes darted to and fro. Searching. For whatever sounded like it was… singing? And whistling. They were whistling.
“Hurry and paint the roses red,” he heard someone call. “Hurry before the flowers wither.”
Arun’s feet acted before the rest of his brain could think. Running, he followed the chanting voices. Through the maze and through the garden. Until he came across another clearing with a heart-shaped rose tree in the middle. Before him, three men shaped like cards carried buckets of red paint. All of whom had clovers on their fronts. One had a single clover, another had two, the last had three. In their free hands were paintbrushes dripping with the red substance. Waddling side by side like crabs, the card-men scurried to and fro in painting the white roses.
“Hurry, hurry!” cried the third card-man. “We have to paint them all red!”
Arun had no idea what was going on. Apparently, his dreams had a kickstart from everything that had happened today. From surviving that ink blot monster to driving Riddle off all the way to coming back to the dorm. It must’ve made his brain go haywire.
“Why do you have to paint the white roses red?” asked a small voice. Arun jumped, the voice was alarmingly close to him. His head whipped to the side. And his eyes widened. Beside him stood a rather pretty girl with golden hair and a blue dress. Her baby blue eyes glanced up at the card-men and their chore in curiosity. Arun would be lying if he said his heart didn’t skip a beat or two. She nearly made him jump out of his skin.
“Huh?” asked the card-men. “Well, the fact is, Miss,” one took the time to explain. He had two clovers on his front side. “We planted the white roses by mistake.” Huh. Interesting, Arun mused. Can’t say he hasn’t made that same blunder.
“The Queen, she likes them red,” explained the card-man with a single clover. “If she saw white instead, each of us would quickly lose our heads.”
“Goodness!” cried the girl whilst holding her hand to her throat. Arun mimicked her gesture. Cringing in fear at the thought. What kind of monarch does that to her own soldiers? And for such a minor mistake? For sure, he’d hate to live under such a tyrant lest he loses his head. Literally or otherwise.
“Since this is the part we dread,” stated the card-man with three clovers. “We're painting the roses red.”
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!!
Arun stirred in the bed. His eyelids fluttered and eventually shifted open. The room around him was deathly still. Not a light could be seen nor was there any sound. Even the wind was motionless. Waiting. With a bated breath for what was to come. In the bed beside him, Grim tossed and turned. Irate at having been woken up from such a good night’s sleep. Arun didn’t blame him. Yet he wasn’t sure he wanted to go back to sleep. Yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he sat up in his bed.
What the heck was that dream? Card soldiers? A hedge maze? Painting the roses red? What’s more, there was talk about a queen who beheaded her own soldiers for such a minor mistake. He’ll ask himself again now that he is marginally awake. What kind of monarch did that to her own people? And, to his knowledge, all for such minor inconveniences. Subconsciously, his hand wandered over his throat. Grimacing and cringing at the thought of his head rolling off.
What in the world was that?
“What a weird dream…” Arun muttered to himself. Blinking his eyes shut, he laid his head back down on his pillow. Sighing and ready to re-enter dreamland again. Today was long and arduous. Not counting driving off Riddle and fighting that inkblot monster. The sheets of the bed encompassed him in a blanket of contentment. Lulling him back into the rhythm of sleep. He wanted nothing more than to get the night over with and start a new day.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!!
Of course, it didn’t come to pass.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!!
“Mmm…” Grim groaned. “Hey, Arun…” Arun turned his bleary eyes towards Grim. “Sounds like we’ve got a late-night visitor…” Grim sat up. His mouth was open wide in a yawn and his paw was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Seems like he shared the same sentiment about being woken up in the middle of the night.
“Is it those ghosts again?” He grumbled. “They don’t know when to quit.” Arun listened for the ghost trio.
“… I don’t think it’s them this time,” Arun said. Throwing the covers off himself, he jumped off the bed and onto the wooden floor. Before Grim refused to take a bath this morning, Arun made it a point to sweep at least one room for them to use. It wasn’t much and it could still use some detail cleaning. But it would do. While they were all at the mine, Ollie and Milton took it upon themselves to help with the cleaning. Sweeping a sizable number of rooms for when they got back. Dusting in the hard-to-reach places. Removing cobwebs from corners that were too high. Not all of the cleaning was done, but they’d made a dent in the effort.
Wolfgang occupied himself with the kitchen. According to his report when Arun got back, the pans in the kitchen were made of cast iron. And he had spent all day cleaning and seasoning the pans for them to use. On top of cleaning the counters and organizing the pantry. He even made sure to store the groceries Suravi had bought today. Arun remembered Suravi had wanted a cast iron pan back in their old world. Mostly for their durability and long, long life. So to hear most of the cookware was made of it, he just knew Suravi would be happy. He thanked the ghost for his help.
As a result, the dorm was cleaner than it had been in years. And it was thanks to everyone’s hard work and team effort.
“If it ain’t them, then who could it be?” Grim questioned. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes while Arun walked over to the door. “Whoever it is, it better be good.”
“No comment,” Arun said in agreement. Jiggling the handle of the door, he mentally went over what he was supposed to do until Suravi came back. It was an unspoken rule that strangers weren’t allowed in the house while he was home alone. Unless they were workers such as plumbers or electricians. Which he doubted Crowley would send this late at night. A little push later and soon the door was open. Which was soon followed by another round of knocks at the front. Trudging down the hall he heard two of the ghosts muttering among themselves.
“Who’s banging on the door this late at night…” he heard Wolfgang grumble. Ollie poked his head out from a hiding place in curiosity. Followed shortly by an annoyed Milton. Grim jumped and hissed. But he was soon placated by Arun picking him up and letting him sit on his shoulders. Grim went limp and snoozed as soon as the boy set him on his perch.
The repair work they had done on the place was minimal. With Ollie and Milton’s help, Arun found some usable nails and plywood to start fixing up the dorm. A little bit later, they found some locks they could use to repair the one on the front door. With some guidance from Milton, Arun replaced the lock with the newer one. He was glad the ghost had reminded him to lock the door before he went to bed. Who knows what the students at this school would have done if they had found out people lived here again. What loot could they take that wouldn’t draw attention? Shaking his head, Arun dispelled these thoughts from his mind. He had to go see who was at the front door.
The knocking continued even as Arun journeyed down the stairs to see who it was. Wolfgang and Ollie trailed behind him. Milton materialized by the door. He pressed his ear against it in time for another round of knocks to sound off. He flitted away from the door, taking his place beside the other two while Arun walked up. Planting his feet in front, Arun called out to the person on the other side.
“Who is it?” he asked. The silhouette on the other side rubbed their head.
“It’s me, Ace,” the silhouette said. “Let me in.”
“Ace?” Arun questioned. Grim’s ears perked up. “Ace, what are you doing here?” Arun moved quickly to undo the locks on the door. His little hands worked deftly and swiftly. And soon, the door was open.
“What the heck are you—” Grim started. “Gah!” he suddenly cried. Paws high in the air. “And what’s with the collar?!” Arun’s eyes widened to the size of Wolfgang’s beloved dinner plates. Said ghost poked his head above Arun’s and shrieked. Followed by Ollie and Milton holding their necks and cringing. Ace stood in the front. With crossed arms and an equally cross face. But now there was something new about him. Something that set off alarms in everyone’s heads. Especially those who were at the opening ceremony. What was the thing that startled everyone into silence?
Ace was wearing a familiar heart-shaped collar around his neck.
“I’m never going back to Heartslabyul ever again!” Ace proclaimed. “Starting today, I’m joining your dorm!”
SLAM!
Grim and the ghosts were dead silent. Tails rod straight and stiff. Before their eyes, Arun’s swift hands locked the door nice and tight. Not a care that Ace was still outside. Watching. Waiting. His posture on the opposite end gave away his shock and surprise. Arun jiggled the door handle one last time. Then he turned around and walked away from the door.
“I’m going back to bed,” he muttered. Grim and the ghosts watched. Slack-jawed and stunned. Did he just… lock Ace out of the house? For real? Grim shivered seeing the kid being this ruthless. The memory of soaking up the rain the previous night was still fresh in his mind. On top of being thrown out for going against the elder Song. Who knew his boy could be so scary?
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!!
“Hey!”
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!!
“I know you heard me!”
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!!
“Come on and let me in already!”
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!!!
Ace continued rattling the door. Trying everything he could and then some to convince Arun to let him in. The irate look on the younger boy’s face bore an eerie resemblance to Suravi when she was about to go volcanic. Grim tucked his tail beneath him seeing the scorching scowl on Arun’s face. For once, he wished it was Suravi almost blowing a gasket and not him.
“I’m not allowed to talk to strangers,” Arun fired. His patience was running extremely low. “And whatever you did, I want nothing to do with it!” Grim and Ollie snickered. Wolfgang hid an amused grin. Milton turned away so no one could see him laughing. And Ace sputtered out indignant swear words not worth writing down. Arun crossed his arms facing the door. Foot tapping in an irritated rhythm. Ace, to his credit, didn’t let up.
“Oh, come on!” Ace protested. “You don’t even know what I did!”
“You just admitted you did something,” Arun fired. “And my answer is still the same.” His eyes narrowed while the magical heat built up. “You’re not coming in.” Ace released a steady stream of swears and expletives. Pacing back and forth on the front porch. Arun could see his silhouette stuffing his hands in his pockets. He would have grimaced knowing the stitches weren’t fully healed yet. But this was Ace he was talking about.
“Come on, not even for one night?” Ace argued. “I swear I don’t take up a lot of space.”
“You’re likely going to be taking everyone else’s space when we’re not looking,” Arun argued back. Thoroughly unimpressed. “Besides, how do I know this isn’t permanent?” Wolfgang was doing his very best to not sputter. But it was exceedingly difficult given the scene playing out in front of him. Ollie joined Grim in a belly laugh. Rolling upside down. He would be kicking his feet if he had any. Milton struggled to keep a straight face so he could offer his help. But it was to no avail. Grim cackled at Ace’s misfortune.
“I swear it’s not permanent!” Ace shouted. “I don’t know what’s up with my dorm leader, but I can’t go back to Heartslabyul!” Arun quirked an eyebrow. “Besides, you’ve got room, right?” The ghosts exchanged glances with one another. “I can use one. Just one. That’s everything.”
“Just one?” Arun asked. The ghosts held their breaths. Pausing. Waiting. Wondering what he was going to do.
“Just one,” Ace assured. “Cross my heart and hope to die.” Arun’s eyebrows flattened. On the other side of the window, he could see Ace doing the motions for crossing his heart and hoping to die. Complete with the needle in his eye. But his other hand was hidden behind his back. Making some unknown gesture.
“… can I come in now?”
“No.”
Ace released a loud stream of curses, swear words, and other expletives while he pounded on the door in dire frustration. Not caring at the moment about the stitches on his injured hand. The door trembled back and forth in an agitated wriggle. Almost threatening to come off the hinges. Arun’s eyes searched for something he could use for self-defense. Milton rose from the back and offered him a hammer. To which Arun silently thanked him and took hold of the tool. It fit snugly in the palm of his hand and it was light enough to swing with force. Perfect.
“It’s just one damn night!” Ace shouted in frustration. “How can you be so stingy?!”
“I’m still not allowed to talk to strangers,” Arun said. He could feel the veins popping on his forehead. “Can you ease up on the door? I just fixed that this morning.” Ace removed his hand from the door. Frozen. He could see his silhouette taking labored breaths to in an attempt to control his temper. He still had the hammer in his hand. Ready to start swinging in case Ace tried to break the door down. He was grateful Ollie knew how to reinforce a door in the event of something like this. He’ll need to find something to express his thanks to the ghosts.
The knocking died down. Replaced by heavy breathing and the groaning of the door. Arun planted himself in front of it yet again. Watching. Observing. Ace was now leaning on the door. Panting and wheezing. The excitement from earlier had worn his endurance to nothing. And now, he was paying for it.
“Please?…” Ace pleaded. His head thumped on the wood of the door away from the glass. “I legit have nowhere to go.” His breathing slowly evened out. “You’re my only hope.”
Arun paused. Watching the dejected silhouette slump against the door frame. His only hope? What in the world did that mean? And what was this about him not being able to go back to Heartslabyul? Whatever was going on, if Ace really had no other place to go, it was rather telling he chose this run-down building of all places. He checked with Grim, who only gave a small shrug. He checked with the ghosts, who had varying opinions on whether or not to let him inside. He glanced at the fireplace. Contemplating with pursed lips whether or not he would regret this.
The three ghosts positioned themselves behind him. Ready to jump out and scare Ace away if he tried anything. Grim rested his paws on the top of Arun’s head. Ready to blow fire in the event of any underhanded tactics. A small smile graced Arun’s lips. Happy for the assistance. Taking a deep breath, he made his decision.
The door jiggled and wiggled again. And it swung inward to reveal a surprised Ace. Still wearing that heart-shaped collar around his neck. But now he was facing a glowering Arun and a hissing Grim. He gulped seeing the three ghosts behind the duo. All with menacing gazes. Daring him to try anything. He tried his best to not show he was spooked by the three. Let alone a kid who wasn’t even old enough to go yet somehow snagged a position as a student. Looking down, he jumped and flinched seeing the white-hot glare on the kid’s face. Welding him to the spot. Arun planted himself in front of Ace. Looking him square in the eye.
“You better have a good reason why you’re here this late at night.”