Everyone nodded in agreement before turning their attention towards the Rose Maze. It was quite the mess, to say the least, as if a hurricane had charged its way through. A very angry hurricane. The air was a little hazy and the scent of burned wood with a lingering sweetness from the singed roses filled their senses.

But it was nothing a little cleaning wouldn't fix. They can restore it back to its natural beauty. Riddle turned to Alice. "Um, Alice...?" he asked, a bit hesitantly. "Yes, Riddle-san?" Alice asked as she looked at him. When Riddle saw her face, he paused.

He saw how her long honey-blonde locks shone in the sunlight around her soft rosy cheeks and her innocent, clear blue eyes gleamed like bright sapphires. Despite her hair being messy and some bruises on her body, she truly looked like a cute angel. Riddle felt his heart skip a beat in his chest before he shyly blushed.

"Th-Thank you...for giving me g-good advice..." he said, trying not to stutter. Alice knew what he was talking about as she remembered their talk back when she was in the world of his memories. She gave him a sweet smile.

"You're most welcome, Riddle-san." she said. "That's what friends do, since we're now friends." Riddle's expression turned to shock when he heard her say that. "Really? We're... now friends?" he asked. "Yes, we are." Alice said as she nodded. Riddle blushed as he gave her a rare, soft, gentle smile.

"Th-Thank you, Alice." he said softly. Alice liked his cute smile. It suited him more than his solemn frown. "Well then, we should probably get started on cleaning up the garden!" Cater announced before acting all dramatic and sad. "Our photogenic garden is in ruins... This kinda sucks."

"Don't worry. I'll help you out." Trey said, preparing to help clean up the garden. But then Cater smiled at him and shook his head. "No, Trey. You take Riddle-kun to the infirmary. He did just Overblot. He should be looked at just in case." he said.

"Mr. Diamond is right. I shall escort you there." Crowley said, nodding. "Me, too." Alice added. Trey was a bit hesitant to leave everyone with this much of a chore, but he knew they were right.

Riddle may have been pulled out from his Overblot state, but they didn't know if it had left him with any unseen side effects, not to mention the toll his body must've taken. Trey nodded. "...Alright. Thank you very much." he said. Kira then turned to Alice and noticed something shining on her neck.

"Hey, Alice-chan. What's that around your neck?" she asked. Alice turned to face Kira. "Huh? What are you talking about, Kira-chan?" Alice asked curiously. "That jewel around your neck." Kira said, pointing at Alice's neck.

"Huh? What jewel?" Alice asked, raising an eyebrow. She then looked down and gasped when she saw a glittering red crystal heart pendent hanging on a delicate silver chain around her neck. Riddle, Trey, Crowley and everyone else also noticed the crystal heart.

Crowley's golden eyes widened. "By the Great Seven...!" he murmured in awe, captivated by the crystal heart. "It's truly as beautiful as the legend says!" Riddle and Trey looked at Crowley inquisitively. "What do you mean?" Riddle asked. Crowley then cleared his throat and straightened himself up.

"Come along! Let's head on over to the infirmary." he said. Trey nodded as he and Alice began to gently guide Riddle out of the Rose Maze. However, as the Heartslabyul Dorm Leader took one step forward, his knees suddenly buckled underneath him and he stumbled.

Riddle quickly caught onto Alice's shoulder to steady himself. "Oh, careful, Riddle-san...!" Alice said as she held his arm to support him. Riddle lifted his head and his eyes briefly met Alice's before he quickly released her shoulder and turned away with a bashful blush on his cheeks.

"S-Sorry..." he mumbled. "It's alright." Alice said with a smile as she gently looped her arm around Riddle's lower back. Riddle blushed even more as she escorted him out of the Rose Maze, followed by Trey and Crowley. The other girls smiled as they all breathed a sigh of relief. Looks like he's going to be okay. 

Grim sighed. "Hmm, I'm starving from using all that magic..." he groaned before he suddenly caught a whiff of something sweet and delicious in the air. "Hm? This is..." he said curiously as he closed his eyes and began to sniff around the grounds, searching for that delectable scent that had caught his nose.

His actions caught the group's attention as he found what he was looking for. He held up a very familiar black crystal. "This is the same as that black magic crystal we found in the Dwarfs' Mine!" Grim announced. "You're right! Where did it come from?" Deuce asked. He wondered where the crystal had come from this time.

When they first found one, it was left behind when that Faceless Monster dissolved into nothing but a puddle of blot. But this one? It just appeared out of nowhere. The Phantom Queen had vanished completely, but not before collapsing into a puddle of blot.

The maze was, not counting its ruined state, clear of any ink. "Don't eat it this time." Ace said firmly. This quickly caught the attention of the girls. "Wait, what?!" Jazmin asked.

Unfortunately, the smell that the crystal was emitting was just too tempting for Grim to exist, plus his memory from eating the first crystal urged him to eat it again. "I'll never forget that flavor! Don't mind if I help myself!" Grim proclaimed as he opened his mouth wide, ready to gulp it down.

"Oh, no, you don't, buster! Gimme that!" Kira shouted as she ran over to Grim. She immediately grabbed the crystal and tried to pry it out from Grim's paws. "Hey! It's mine!" Grim shouted as they two began to play tug-o-war with the crystal.

"Give it!" Kira demanded. "No!" Grim replied stubbornly.

"Gimme it!"

"No!" Both the cat and the lion girl shouted back and forth. Aria rushed over to stop them. "Grim! Kira-chan! Please, both of you, stop!" she said firmly. "But, Aria-chan, he's gonna—!" Kira started to say before Grim managed to yank the crystal away from her.

Snickering smugly, Grim opened his mouth and swallowed the black crystal whole. Kira screamed in shock as the others watched on in disbelief. "He already ate it?!" Ace shouted in disbelief. Everyone all grimaced in disgust as they watched Grim devour the crystal whole.

Kira wrinkled her nose out in disgust. "Blech! Jeez, Grim, that's gross!" she moaned. "Wait, are you one of those types that eat a bunch of weird food like it's nothing?!" Cater questioned at the freakish sight.

The girls, Ace and Deuce all sighed. "You'd better believe it." Jazmin said, rolling her eyes. Grim chewed and chewed before he swallowed. He then spread a huge, satisfied smile as this new enjoyable sweet flavor from the crystal spread over his taste buds.

"Waaahh~! It starts out with a rich sweetness, then finishes with the slightest hint of bitterness for an aromatic experience~!" Grim exclaimed in pure ecstasy as he patted his stomach. "This rock has its own unique flavor completely different from the last!"

"Are you sure those aren't bad for your stomach?" Aria asked, worried that the crystal Grim just ate might be a cause of something bad and unhealthy for him. "He's gonna get sick if he keeps eating junk off the ground like that." Kira said, turning towards the others.

"He's a monster, so maybe his stomach is just built differently than ours." Ace said, not as much concerned as she was. "Even so, I don't think that makes eating stuff off the ground alright..." Deuce added.

"Hm, the lawn has a really refreshing flavor too if you give it a try, y'know?" Grim said, smirking to himself as he pulled a clump of grass off the lawn and held it to his mouth, ready to gulp it down. "Stop! That's not for eating!" Deuce scolded as he quickly grabbed Grim's paw, stopping him.

"Never change, you lot..." Cater said in amusement as he glanced up at his three juniors and watched their silly antics. They were a lot more fun than he could've imagined. And after what they've accomplished together just now...what they did for them.

Cater gave them a rare genuine, sweet smile. "Never change. And thank you." he whispered gratefully. "Did you say something?" Ace said, turning to him curiously. Cater just smiled and shook his head. "Nope! Nothing at all~." he said assuredly.

"Be careful." Trey said as he gently set Riddle down on the infirmary bed, careful of any possible injuries that he couldn't see. Once they reached the infirmary, he told Alice that he could take things from here.

Once Alice was sure that Riddle was well taken care of, she went on her way back to Heartslabyul to help her friends clean up the mess. "Trey, I'm so sorry." Riddle whimpered apologetically as he settled into the infirmary bed. Trey nodded in understanding.

"I know, Riddle. I'm sorry too. Try to get some rest. We can talk more when you're better." he said gently. Once his friend was comfortable lying down, Trey found somewhere to sit so he could stay until the nurse showed up. After what they'd been through, he didn't want to leave him alone right now.

After a moment of silence, Riddle spoke. "Trey?" he softly said, focusing his gaze out the infirmary window. "Yes, Riddle?" Trey asked. Riddle swallowed before he spoke again. "When I said those horrible, awful things to Alice, it hurt so much to see her cry." He then bit his lip, taking a pause.

"I don't wish to see Alice cry like that ever again. I don't want her to feel sad or lonely. I want to feel like I belong here, even if it's temporary. I want to give her and her friends a place at Heartslabyul, somewhere they can feel welcome."

Trey looked at Riddle with a knowing smile. Riddle might not be fully aware of his feelings, as he sadly had never been allowed to experience the joys and pains of developing an innocent crush nor seen such things for himself, but he'd let his friend sort that out on his own.

Alice truly was something special. He deserved someone like her. "If anyone can do it, it's you. Just get some rest for now. You can iron out the details later." Trey said as he sat up and headed out the door. "Okay..." Riddle said as he laid his head down on the pillow, closed his eyes and went to sleep.

It was a long, arduous task for everyone, even the girls, but after 3 days of weeding out the ruined rosebushes and planting in fresh new ones, the girls and the rest of the Heartslabyul dorm were able to restore the Rose Maze back to its former glory.

As for Riddle, he spent those five days in the infirmary recovering from his Overblot episode. Trey, Cater, Ace, Deuce and even Alice would occasionally stop by to visit him and give him handmade gifts. Alice would even bring him homework from his classes, something Riddle was truly grateful for.

As for Alice, she often questioned what happened to her back during Riddle's Overblot rampage. Every time she looked at the red Crystal Heart around her neck, countless questions would flood her mind. How did this happen? Where did that Crystal Heart come from? Who was that white dove and why did she give it to me?

Even her friends were completely stumped by her sudden possession of her Crystal Heart. No matter how hard they tried to find a reasonable explanation, none of them came up with a likely answer. So that was a mystery for another time.

Right after Riddle was checked out of the infirmary, he went straight towards the Heartslabyul kitchen and began working on baking a tart for the Unbirthday Party. True to his word to Ace, Riddle hadn't asked Trey or anyone else to help him out. However, he was having some trouble with measuring the exact amount needed.

And the portion... and the timing. But he has always been a quick learner, so he would eventually get the hang of it...probably. Riddle furrowed his brows in concentration as he read the recipe on the cookbook and began to pour some flour into a bowl.

"I'm fairly sure it's 1 & 1/3 c., not 2." a sweet, gentle voice suddenly said. Riddle let out a gasp and nearly dropped the flour as he turned to face the owner of the voice. He instantly blushed when he saw Alice walking over to his side, apron and all. Alice smiled at him as she fixed the measuring of the flour.

"See? Now we need about 1/4 c. of granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp. of kosher salt, and 10 tbsp. of melted butter..." she murmured as she measured the ingredients. "Mi...Miss Alice?! Wh-What are you doing here?" Riddle asked, bewildered by her sudden appearance.

Alice turned and smiled at him as she began to prepare herself. "Ace-kun told you to make the tarts by yourself... but he didn't say anything about someone baking alongside you. I thought it would be fun baking together with you." she replied.

"Oh. Here, vanilla extract's been my secret ingredient. Use two drops." Alice then passed the small bottle to him and went back to making her tart. She then gave him a gentle smile. "I'm so relieved to see that you're doing well, Riddle-san. I was really worried about you."

Riddle paused for a moment. He turned to stare at her for a while before he went back to his work. They worked together in comfortable silence. Well...almost. Alice smiled and hummed a merry little song while Riddle stood there awkwardly.

His slate gray eyes then glanced towards the girl beside him. That...beautiful blond-haired girl standing right beside him. Now that he's near her up close and personal, Riddle could see how pretty she actually was. He felt his heart pound inside his chest as he took in a deep breath. "Al-Alice?" he asked.

"Yes, Riddle-san?" Alice asked curiously, turning to face him. She then noticed the faint red blush on his ears. Riddle swallowed before he continued. "H-How could you be so forgiving to me? Even after everything I said and did. I-I don't understand." he said, looking up to see the medical patch on her right cheek.

No doubt she had plenty more on her. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry." he apologized. Alice blinked in surprise for a moment before she gave him a kind smile. Her smile didn't hold any restraint. No malice. Nothing forced. It was pure and genuine.

"Yes, your words and your actions...did hurt me. But...you never meant to do that." Alice said as she gently took Riddle's hands in hers. Riddle gasped softly as he felt his heart skip a beat. "You truly didn't deserve any of that." Riddle raised an eyebrow at her words.

"Didn't deserve to Overblot?" he asked before lowering his gaze. "I think it was bound to happen to me, to be honest." Alice also lowered her gaze. "Hmm, maybe it was," she said, "but I was actually talking about your upbringing. I'm sure that must have been very difficult for you."

Riddle said nothing as he stared at his feet ashamedly, but Alice could tell that he was listening to her intently, so she continued. "You were all alone in a dark, dreary, cold place where nobody could hear your cries."

"I understand that feeling all too well. I didn't have the best childhood either. But, I'm really happy that my friends and I were able to pull you out of it." Riddle then gently turned his gaze towards her, his cheeks turning a soft pink. His slate gray eyes then became glassy, and he quickly blinked, fighting back tears.

His lips started to tremble as a small sob escaped from his throat. "...I'm so sorry, Alice." he croaked apologetically, the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. Alice then wrapped her arms around him and embraced him, catching him off guard.

She then attempted to comfort him by rubbing small circles on his shoulder. "I truly think you're amazing, Riddle-san. And you're forgiven." she whispered. Riddle froze for a moment, his heart hammering hard in his chest. To be honest, this action felt so foreign to him, especially from a girl he had only just started getting acquainted to.

However, he started to relax in her warm embrace and hugged her back. "Not that many people are strong enough to handle what you went through." Alice continued. "Even though that day was bad, I doubt that anything like this will ever happen again. You're stronger because of it."

Riddle then pulled away from Alice. "Maybe, but what I did was absolutely inexcusable." he muttered. Alice nodded. "Yes, I agree. You do have a lot of apologies to make and relationships to mend," she replied, "but if anyone could bounce back from this, it's you, Riddle-san." 

Riddle lowered his gaze again, uncertainty clouding his mind. "I don't even know if I could." he said sadly. "You're not your mother, Riddle-san." Alice softly chided him. "You're your own person, unique in your own way. A talented mage, a student with the highest grades and an amazing dorm leader."

Riddle stiffened when he heard her praises. A million thoughts were running through his head. How could this girl...this beautiful young girl keep on being so nice to him? How could she forgive him so easily? He insulted her, almost killed her and everything else, and yet... And yet...

Alice did greatly resemble the girl from the legend of the Queen of Hearts. She was supposed to be an enemy to the Queen of Hearts, but Riddle just couldn't find it in his heart to hate her. Not after she had risked her own life to save his. Hearing her kind words and seeing her sweet smile brought him a sense of reassurance.

His heart began to beat uncontrollably again. What...What was this strange feeling stirring inside him? He suddenly felt a soft hand touch his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. Riddle looked down and saw Alice smiling sweetly at him.

"I think you'll be an even better leader after everything that had happened." Alice said. "And now that we're friends, I'll never let you go back to that horrible place again and neither will Trey-senpai." she said cheerfully. "Like you, he'll learn from his mistakes and become a better vice dorm leader. And an even better friend."

Riddle's face turned bright red at Alice's words before he smiled softly and nodded his head in agreement. Any lingering spark of doubt in his mind and heart immediately disappeared. "Yes. You're right, Alice. I'm sure he will." he agreed as the two returned to baking their tarts.