Deuce and Yuu returned to Ramschackle with two sports bags.

"Welcome," the big ghost greeted them.

Deuce almost backed away in surprise.

"Grim and your friend told us that you would come later," said the thin ghost.

"Hello! Yes, this is Deuce. He's also going to spend the night here with us," Yuu said.

"You are the same boy from this morning," the little ghost recognized. "Nice to meet you."

"Yes... Nice to meet you too," he replied trying to be polite.

"Forgive the mess," Yuu told him. "We are still rebuilding process."

Ace and Grim were sitting on the couch in the living room.

"You have finally returned!" Grim said. "The ghosts scared us when we arrived... Good grief!"

"We just wanted to say hi. Hee, hee!"

"Here's your stuff, Ace," Yuu told him as he handed her his gym bag. "It's everything you asked us for."

"Thanks." He opened it and looked for something specific. "Here it is! This will help us kill time."

He drew a game of cards from the French deck.

"I've been thinking about this," Grim said. "But how are we all going to sleep today? Our room is still the only one clean."

"What do you mean?" Deuce asked.

"I had to sleep on the couch last night..." Ace recalled. "There's another one over there for you, anyway."

"That won't be necessary, I've just been talking about it with Deuce," Yuu said. "Yesterday Grim and I looked through the rooms in this dorm and I found some futon-like spare beds in good condition. You can sleep in them here."

"Did you have spare beds to sleep on!? Then why did I have to sleep on the couch!?" Ace asked him.

Yuu gave him a nervous smile and shrugged. "Well... by then I didn't remember them and my mind was tired because I had woken up in the middle of the night."

"Will we sleep here tonight with them?" Grim asked him. "I refuse to sleep on the couch!"

"Relax, we have plenty of mattresses for everyone. And here we have enough space to be together, we just need to move the table and the rocking chair aside."

"Better for us, that way we can play some cards before going to sleep," Ace said, pointing to the cards. "Can you play Old Maid?"

"Yes. I know of other card games, too" Deuce said.

"Me too. I've just played a few times, but I think it's a good idea" Yuu said.

"I don't," Grim said.

"I imagined it... There is no choice, I'll explain to you how to play!"

"I'm going to get ready for sleep first," Yuu said. I'll be right back. "The bathroom is in good condition, in case you need to go."

"I should do the same too," Deuce said as he opened his gym bag.

"Do you want one more pillow to sleep better with the collar, Ace?"

"Thank you, but I don't think that even the biggest and softest pillow in the world will take away this discomfort..."

After changing into pajamas and brushing their teeth, the four of them chatted while playing until exhaustion got the better of them. Although Grim did not like going to sleep very much without having won a single time...

After visualizing the mirror in his room, Yuu suddenly opened his eyes and found himself in the same labyrinthine rose garden as the night before. He was wearing the same blue dress with a white apron.

"Another strange dream?" He wondered aloud. "Or is this the same one as last time?"

It wasn't, because Alice was lying on the ground next to the three soldier cards, who appeared to be bowing to two long rows of soldier cards. Among them, a plump, burly woman dressed in a black and red dress was seen appearing behind the hedges with a friendly smile. With her right hand, she was holding a kind of heart attached to a stick and wearing a crown on her head.

"... Her Excellency, Her Royal Majesty... The Queen of Hearts!" he finished introducing her between gasps a white rabbit next to her.

All the soldiers received her with ovations and applause.

Then a man the same height as the rabbit appeared behind her and cheerfully beckoned to him.

"And the king..." the rabbit introduced him indifferently.

Only a distant "Hurray!" was heard, but he did not seem to care.

"Poor man..." Yuu thought.

The atmosphere took a complete turn when the queen was enraged to look at the hedges that Alice and the three soldiers painted and notice a hideously painted one. She gave a creepy smile as she approached the hedge, intriguing Yuu and Alice.

"Who's been painting my roses red?" She asked after examining it.

Then she grabbed the trunk of the hedge, ripped it, and lifted it into the air, displaying incredible strength.

"Who's been painting my roses red!?" She repeated screaming. "Who has dared to ruin my roses? For painting my roses red, someone will lose his head!" She exclaimed before throwing the hedge down and looking at the three soldiers. She didn't seem to notice Alice.

"Oh, forgive me, Your Majesty! It was not me, but the two!" said the three of clubs.

"No! The fault is not mine, but of the ace! The ace!"

"No, my queen! It was two!"

"The deuce, you say?" asked the queen.

They continued to blame each other until the queen had enough.

"That's enough! Off with their heads!"

Between cheers and applauses, the three soldiers were seized by others and dragged elsewhere under Alice's astonished gaze, who continued to lie on the ground.

"We have no choice because you got the wrong color for the roses," said a two of diamonds.

"Mistaking white for red was a stupid mistake," added a three of spades.

Then the images gradually disappeared while the queen ordered silence with a deafening scream. The dream was over.

"Did she really have to punish them for making a mistake?" Yuu wondered. "If she was so harsh, why didn't anyone stop the queen?"

He ended up thinking it was surely out of fear, the soldiers feared for their lives...

He finally woke up to the gentle shaking of Deuce, already dressed in his uniform in the living room.

"Wake up, Yuu," he said. "Today is the Unbirthday Party, remember? They'll behead us if we're late.

"Good morning..." Yuu mumbled while rubbing his eyes. "That's right, today is the day." He looked around. "Where are Grim and Ace?"

"Ace got up early to look for the tartlets, now he's with Grim in the kitchen."

"Have you got up that early? I didn't even realize..."

He got up and brushed his teeth. He removed the bandages from his arms after realizing they seemed to be better, and looked at the print on his shoulder for a few seconds before putting on his uniform.

As he left, someone knocked on the door.

"Someone is here," Deuce commented, and Yuu opened the door.

"Good morning!" Cater greeted them and Yuu let him in. "How was your slumber party? Did you have fun playing cards and pillow fights?"

Ace and Grim, who heard him, entered the living room.

"Good morning," Ace yawned. "Yes, we played cards. Grim didn't know the rules so we just played Old Maid."

"Jeez! I couldn't win a single time!"

"That's because your face completely shows when you get the joker" Deuce explained.

"Come on, let's hurry and give the tarts to Riddle," Cater urged. "Actually, I'd like you to hurry up and come with me. I'm running out of manpower for the party."

"Man-power?" Ace and Yuu asked at the same time.

"No, it's nothing. Come on, to the Unbirthday Party! Let's go!"

They were soon in the Heartslabyul dorm. Ace was holding the tray with the tarts.

"Okay, I'll head on bring the tarts so the dorm leader forgives me..." He said.

But then a Cater in sports uniform appeared in front of them. "Hey, you've finally come! I was waiting for you, me."

The Cater who was with them, dressed in the school uniform, greeted him in the same cheerful way. "I'm back. Sorry for the delay, me."

The four first-year students were shocked. Yuu rubbed his eyes and looked back at both Caters in perplexity.

"Now there are two Diamonds!?" Deuce asked, not believing what he was seeing.

"Do you actually have a twin?!" Ace asked remembering the previous day's conversation, trying to make sense of the situation.

"No, no," replied the Cater in the school uniform. "As I told you yesterday, I am the only male sibling in my family. This is my unique magic: Split Card. I can make clones of myself with my magic."

Then more clones began to appear one by one.

"Welcome!" One dressed in the lab coat greeted them.

"Welcome, little Yuu!" Greeted him another Cater dressed in the ceremonial robe.

"Oh, Acey! You made me wait a lot" The Cater dressed in the sports uniform complained.

"Wow! There is more!" Ace exclaimed stupefied in response.

"I'm getting dizzy..." Yuu muttered from seeing so many clones. "Which is the real one?"

"It's me," said the Cater in the sports uniform who had approached Ace and Yuu took a step back to separate from the clone in the school uniform. "It's tiring cloning myself," he added, "so I don't want to prolong this too much. I'll be beheaded if I'm late. And there aren't enough people here, so give us a hand, please? I'll take you to see Riddle when we're done."

"Are you going to make us paint the roses again?" Grim asked reluctantly.

Two clones gave two brushes with red paint to Ace and Yuu.

"You are so carefree, you know it, right?" Ace replied with annoyance.

"Come on, let's get started!" The real Cater exclaimed.

"Alright!" The clone in the school uniform replied.

"Leave this to me!" The one in the lab coat exclaimed.

"Okay!" The one in the robe said.

At this moment Yuu wondered again if he was dreaming and pinched himself hard. The pain reminded him that he was in real life, no matter how unreal it all seemed.

They dedicated themselves to painting the white roses red in the garden, in addition to doing it better than the day before, they finished in a short time with the company of the clones.

"You did great!" Cater said after seeing the roses that Deuce had painted and took out his phone to check the time. "Oh! It is almost time. Great job mes! That's all for today!

"Aye aye, sir!" The clones exclaimed in unison before disappearing.

In the process, the real Cater changed his sports uniform for the school uniform.

"Okay, I made you a promise. Follow me, the party is around there."

He led them to a large area with red rose bushes, prepared and decorated for a tea party filled with tables with white tablecloths, sweets, and food. There were a lot of boys talking to each other, dressed in curious white suits with red and black colors and details related to roses and French deck cards.

One of them played a fanfare with a trumpet. "Make way for our great leader!" He announced. "The Crimson Ruler! The dorm leader, Riddle!"

Riddle entered the party with a serene and solemn gait. He wore a much more elegant and elaborate outfit than the others, accompanied by a cape as a symbol of his leadership. On his head, he wore a small golden crown-shaped ornament.

"Three cheers for dorm leader Riddle!" The other students exclaimed.

With that scene, Yuu remembered the dream he had that morning.

Next to him was Trey, who wore the same suit as the others, with the difference of a hat folded to give a heart shape.

Riddle cast an impassive glance over the festive atmosphere and nodded.

"Yes, the roses are red, the tablecloths are white," he said. "It's truly a perfect Unbirthday Party." He arched an eyebrow. "I assume there is a dormouse sleeping inside the kettle as planned, correct?"

"Of course. We also have the jam in case we need to put it on its nose."

"Very well."

"Fwaa! Look at those clothes!" Grim exclaimed in wonder after seeing them. "They look so cool!"

"Of course!" Heartslabyul's dorm uniform is great," Cater said. "They are very stylish and worthy of going directly to Magicam!" He took his magical pen out. "Well, I should get changed too."

He made a movement with the pen and in the blink of an eye, his uniform changed into the same one the others were wearing.

"Wow!" Yuu exclaimed.

"The Law of the Queen of Hearts states that you have to dress formally on festivities," he explained, looking back at the first-year boys. "As today is a special occasion, let your big brother help you today with the appropriate clothes."

He made a second wave of his hand in them and their clothes were transformed into the dorm uniform. They all looked at each other in amazement at the sudden change.

"Oh!" Deuce exclaimed startled.

"Wow, this is so cool!" Ace said enthusiastically.

Yuu and Grim were not excluded, the human had the same uniform as his friends and the monster's ribbon had turned more elegant with black and red colors.

"Nyaha!" Grim exclaimed." I look incredible!"

Yuu looked at his arms and jacket with admiration, even his shoes were different. Until then, he had only worn three outfits in the time he was in Twisted Wonderland.

"You guys look great!" He said to his friends. "It's a shame I left the ghost camera in my room..."

"Don't worry, I'll take all the photos you want!" Cater laughed. "Of course, don't forget the Mont Blanc for Riddle. All right, let's party!"

In the center of the longest table in the place, Riddle sat in a huge red chair with a heart-shaped back that was reminiscent of a throne and Trey poured him some tea.

Looking at him, Yuu couldn't help but think that he looked like a king... or a queen, as was the case.

"Yuu, look at this!" Grim exclaimed. "I've never seen before so many sweets and desserts in the same place!"

"Be careful not to eat everything or it will give you a stomachache!" He laughed.

"My stomach isn't as weak as yours!"

They sat at an ornate table near Riddle and chatted to pass the time.

"There's something I wanted to ask you, Yuu," Deuce told him. "How was your last name? It was Oshi... something?"

"Oshiro. It means 'Big Castle'," he explained. "It's my mother's last name."

"Oh? Is it a tradition where you live to use the maternal surname?" Trey asked him.

"No, but it is not unusual in some countries that when a woman and a man marry each other, her maiden name is adopted instead of his bachelor name. Although it is still not common..."

"So did your father adopt your mother's last name?" Ace asked.

"Yes. He insisted on changing his because he came from a different country and had already lived in my mother's for a long time. And also because he directly did not like his last name, as he reminded him of his father."

"What was your father's last name?" Grim asked him.

"Walter... It's not like it sounds bad, but if they had chosen that last name, right now my name would be Yuu Walter."

"I like Oshiro better," Grim said. "But what do you mean that he reminded him of his father?"

He was about to respond when Riddle stood up and tapped a small spoon against his teacup to get the attention of the audience. When the silence was completely extended, he rose from his chair.

"Let's have a toast before we start the croquet match," he announced before reaching for a cup. "Do you have your cups of tea ready? Well, let's celebrate this Unbirthday Party."

"Cheers," exclaimed the assistants.

"Look, Acey. This is your chance," Cater told him.

Ace remembered his goal, grabbed the tray of tarts, and walked over to stand in front of Riddle. "Very well..." He cleared his throat and smiled." Um... dorm leader."

Riddle stopped drinking from his cup and looked up. "You are? Ah, the freshman who stole my tarts," he said calmly.

"Yes... I wanted to apologize for that. So I have prepared other tarts to make up for it."

Riddle seemed interested. "Hm? I'll ask just to be sure, what kind of tarts are they?"

"I'm glad you asked! These are Mont Blanc made with lots of chestnuts!"

Riddle's stoic expression twisted into one of revulsion. "Did you say Mont Blanc tarts!? I can't believe this!"

The reaction was not expected at all. Grim, Deuce, and Yuu watched the situation from afar stupefied, just like Ace.

"Eh!?" Ace asked, not understanding anything.

Riddle frowned. "Rule #562 of the Law of the Queen of Hearts: 'You cannot bring Mont Blanc tartlets to an Unbirthday Party'," their blood ran cold. "This is a serious violation of the law! How could you!? This perfect Unbirthday Party is officially ruined!"

It was impossible for Yuu and the rest of the assistants to hold back a gasp of fear and concern. The joyous festive atmosphere of just seconds ago had grown tense.

"Rule #562?!" Deuce asked.

At most they had heard up to more than 300 rules but did not know that they exceeded 500.

"But how many rules are there in total!?" Yuu asked aloud.

"A total of 810," he replied. "I've got all of them memorized, I'm the dorm leader after all," he said sternly.

Yuu couldn't help looking at Trey with a feeling of betrayal, since he was the one who had proposed to make Mont Blanc tarts. To his surprise, he was as pale as they were.

"Man, this doesn't look good at all," Cater whispered. "Did you know anything about this, Trey?"

"I've only managed to memorize up to rule 350," he whispered. "I let my guard down, I didn't think there could be any rules related to the type of tart..."

Yuu changed his gaze to one of understanding, he couldn't understand how someone could memorize that insane number of rules and follow them thoroughly... he felt some pity for Trey, who just wanted to help.

Riddle placed both hands on the table authoritatively. "As the leader of Heartslabyul dorm, I can't ignore a crime like this." He waved his arm at a group of students. "Get rid of these tarts! And take this rule-breaker out from here!"

One student took Ace's tray from him and another grabbed his shoulder to kick him out.

Everybody watched in horror as he approached a distant trash can to dump the tarts they had made.

Ace easily pulled away from the boy who was holding him. "Wait a second!" He protested furiously. "As if I'm going to listen to such a ridiculous rule!"

Grim had jumped off the table to grab onto the student's leg to stop him. "He's right!" He exclaimed to support Ace. "If you're going to throw away the tarts, let me eat them instead!"

The student with the tray shook him off his leg to make him loosen up.

Trey got up and walked over to Riddle. Deuce, Cater, and Yuu did the same.

"Dorm Leader, my sincerest apologies. I was the one who suggested him making Mont Blanc tarts," he said, trying to help Ace.

"Exactly!" Cater said. "We didn't know it was against the rules!"

"The problem here is not that you have made them, but the fact that you have dared to bring them here, this day!"

"But I don't understand!" Yuu exclaimed. "Are you really going to throw away some good tarts just because they are 'against the rules'!? Ace made lots of effort to make them for you and we helped him with Trey's prompts to make them the best he could!"

For a second, he thought he saw Riddle look away in remorse and frustration within his scowl.

"He's right!" Ace exclaimed. "I have enough of these absurd rules. Don't you realize you are being an idiot?"

The second of frustration immediately disappeared from Riddle. "Idiot?" He asked in a dangerous tone.

Cater paled even more. "Hey, hey, stop! That word is forbidden!" He looked at Riddle nervously. "Come on, Riddle, these guys are new and they just got into this school. They still have to adapt to the rules..."

"No, I'm going to say it," Ace said with determination. "Only an idiot would follow a rule would heed a rule related to tarts. Stop messing around with me!"

Deuce moved to Ace's side. "I agree with Ace," he stated firmly. "Of course, it is important to follow the rules and they should not be broken... But this is overstepping the line."

"How bold of you to speak to me like that," Riddle said as he left the table to walk in front of them. "Listen to me well: breaking a small rule will end in big trouble later."

Ace didn't want to hear him. "And the others too!" he exclaimed, pointing around him. "They are afraid that you will seal their magic so they don't speak up, but I'm sure they feel the same!"

The other attendees were petrified to feel included in the discussion.

"No, we don't..." One of them muttered.

"Eh? Is that right?" Riddle asked a nearby group with his arms crossed.

"No, that's not true, dorm leader!" one insisted.

"Everything the leader says is always correct and we follow the rules!"

"I can't believe it!" Grim exclaimed at the lack of support.

"They're too scared..." Yuu said.

"So lame..." Ace mumbled.

Riddle drew his magical pen from some pocket and it transformed into a long golden scepter with a heart-shaped ornament that held the magic gem. He propped it up firmly on the ground.

"Since I became the leader, no student from Heartslabyul has repeated a year or been expelled. And that's counting all the dormitories in this school. In this dorm, I'm the one with the highest marks and the strongest!" He pointed to himself. "That means I am always right! You just have to follow my rules without question!"

"That's..." Deuce muttered fearfully.

"It's not like I'm doing this because I want to. Don't you realize that you are the ones at fault for breaking the rules?"

For some reason, Trey scowled sadly after hearing Riddle's words.

When he said that, Yuu noticed that hidden feeling of frustration in Riddle again as if he was trying to believe what he was saying. But he found it strange that someone as authoritarian and determined as he wanted to continue doing something that he did not like.

"But you don't have to destroy other people's work because of a rule they didn't know!" He insisted. "If you don't want to do it, then don't. Aren't you the leader here?"

Riddle didn't seem to want to listen to him. "Exactly, I'm the one who rules here! If you are not going to obey me, it will be off with your heads!" He made a quick gesture with his free hand in front of the neck to simulate a decapitation cut. "I am myself clear!?"

Cater's nerves were raw. "Come on, guys. You just have to say: Yes, dorm leader!"

"I refuse," Deuce said seriously with folded arms.

Seeing that there was no way to reason with Riddle, Yuu moved to Deuce's side. "Me too," he said. "I can't agree with this."

Ace joined them. "I've had enough with this selfish tyrant!" He said.

Riddle clenched his magical scepter as if he were trying to break it. "What did you just say?" He asked in a deep voice.

"He said that you are an irritating and selfish tyrant who does unreasonable things like throwing food away to the trash for stupid reasons!" Grim said without thinking twice.

Deuce's determined facade collapsed with Grim's rash action. "Hey! He didn't say that!"

But it didn't help, Riddle's pupils had already contracted in fury.

"OF WITH YOUR HEAD !!!!

Heavy metal necklaces that looked like heart-shaped shackles closed around Grim and Deuce's necks, making them scream at the sensation of having their magic locked.

"Not this collar again!" Grim yelled.

Deuce tried to remove it with his hands. "Damn, I can't take it off!"

Yuu couldn't help but put his hands around his neck as he didn't feel anything. Unlike them, Riddle hadn't put the collar on him.

He quickly understood the reason: it would be useless to block magical power from someone who did not possess it...

"Trey, Cater!" Riddle shouted with the same fury. "Get them out of here immediately!"

Both nodded with a downcast expression.

"Yes, dorm leader..."

"Guys?!" Deuce asked with a feeling of betrayal.

"Sorry!!" Cater said with a nervous smile. "We can't go against the leader."

"You too, Trey?" Yuu asked.

"I'm sorry..." He answered ruefully before trying to grab him and Deuce by the shoulder.

But Ace got between them. "Aah, that so?! Then come at me!"

He tried to pounce on them but they grabbed him below the shoulders without much difficulty.

"You can't defeat me that easily!" Grim exclaimed, but Yuu scooped him up. "What are you doing?! Put me down!"

"Grim, it's not worth it," Yuu said. "Right now we can't do anything against them."

Then Trey grabbed his shoulder with his free arm. Cater did the same with Deuce and they were taken to the front door of the party.

Yuu looked at Riddle for a moment before being led outside, the dorm leader was glaring at them angrily.

"Well then, Acey and friends. See ya later!" Cater said cheerfully.

"I'll try to calm him down so you can apologize and come back," Trey said with his typical kind smile to try to ease the tension.

Ace stand up and looked at them. "Dammit!! I'm never going to apologize!!!" He yelled before they both closed the doors on them.

It could be seen that in the end, it was not too necessary to bring the ghost camera for the party...

[Published in 30-8-2021]