The Other Side of Darkness

Unfair Trade

Episode 2: Chapter 1~5

Rebel of the Savanna

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Lev opened her eyes to the feel of a fresh clean breeze tickling her face. Sitting up, she found herself in the middle of a large prairie, or savanna. Tall green-yellow grass rippled in waves as large animals crowded around a large outcropping of rock. Lev stood up and began to follow them. 

"Hey!" a voice shouted. Lev looked down to see Chirithy right next to her.

"Oh, hello," Lev said with a smile.

"Follow me," Chirithy said simply. It started running towards the large rock. 

Lev followed it, weaving through large elephants and giraffes.

This place is totally different from the Queen of Hearts' rose garden, Lev thought. Soon, Chirithy stopped.

"Look," it told her, pointing one of its stubby little arms towards the peak of the giant stone formation.

Lev squinted to see a baboon walking to the peak of the rock, cradling a small lion cub in his arms. A large, proud lion and lioness stood behind him.

"What's happening?" Lev asked the small creature next to her as the animals around her began to bow to the lions.

"A new story is beginning," is all Chirithy told her. 

The area around her disappeared, and she woke up.

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Lev awoke to the taste of dust in her mouth and the feeling of Grim's little paws softly shoving into her sides. The little monster was still asleep, muttering something about beating Riddle in a fight. Lev laughed a little.

Dream on, Grim. Dream on.

Lev hopped out of bed with a huff and stretched. 

Speaking of dreams, that's the calmest dream I've had for a while. Lev thought. I hope it stays that way. However, Chirithy's words played over and over in her mind.

"A new story is beginning." 

She sighed and went into the bathroom to clean up. She was probably overthinking this. Grabbing her school uniform and jumping into the shower, she decided to leave it at that.

====Time Skip====

A lunch that day, Lev and Grim walked with their two Heartslabyul friends to the lunchroom.

"I swear Mr. Trein has to be using some sort of sleep spell," Grim groaned, his small body slumped over Lev's shoulder. "No matter how hard I resist I always end up falling asleep!" 

"You fell asleep five minutes in. You weren't resisting at all," Deuce said. The group walked into the surprisingly crowded cafeteria.

"Woah, the lunchroom is really crowded today," Lev remarked as Grim hopped of her shoulder.

"Yeah, I wonder what's going on," Ace muttered. As is on cue, a chubby cafeteria ghost appeared right next to them.

"Today is a special day!" the ghost told them. "A super popular bakery from town is here to promote its food at the school. Things sell out pretty fast, so you gotta hurry to get what you want!" The ghost disappeared to help out with other students.

"Sweet!" Ace exclaimed with a large grin. "Everything looks really tasty!"

"Yeah, but with everything so popular, we should probably hurry," Deuce pointed out. "Lev, Grim, what do you two wanna....Grim?" They all looked around at their feet, but Grim was nowhere to be found.

"Uh-oh," Lev groaned. "The hungry beast has been unleashed."

"C'mon, Ace!" Deuce exclaimed. "Let's go get him before anything bad happens!" He pulled a reluctant Ace into the fry Grim had already started to create.

Oh goodness...When will he learn? Lev wondered, plopping onto one of the tables. She didn't want to risk adding to the situation, so she decided to stay put. She was glad she did, because the conflict was quickly resolved and Ace and Deuce left to get their food as Grim started prancing to back towards Lev with a large grin on his face and a large sandwich in his arms.

"Ah, crap." Lev heard someone behind her hiss. 

She looked behind her to see the boy with dirty blonde hair and large ears walking through the lunchroom with an unhappy look on his face. He was the same boy who indirectly saved Lev from possibly getting mauled by Leona. 

She sighed and looked away, scanning the area around her for Grim. She was surprised to see the small monster suddenly trading with the sandy-haired boy. Not only that, but he was trading his deluxe sandwich for a mini.

Jeez, next thing I know, pigs are gonna start flying.

She was even more confused when Grim and the other two sat down at their table and Grim seemed very sad at the trade-off. He ate several mini sandwiches and grumbled about today being the worst day ever.

"C'mon, Grim. If you're going to complain about it this much, why did you trade it in the first place?" Lev said, taking a bite of pasta Ace and Deuce got for her.

"I didn't want to trade!" Grim exclaimed, stuffing more food in his mouth. "When that guy stuck his arms out my body moved in the same way! The trade was over before I knew it." His ears drooped. 

"Oh, I see," Ace said in realization. "You just kinda went along with it. That happens sometimes." Deuce and Lev nodded in agreement.

"That's not it either," Grim growled. "Ugh! I can't explain it well. I'm confused so I'm just gonna eat to feel better. Deuce, Lev, gimme some of your guys' pasta!" 

"No!" Lev nearly shouted. "I get that you're stress-eating, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna let you eat my food." 

"Yeah," Deuce agreed, pushing a desperate Grim away from his plate. "Knock it off!" 

"Fooood," Grim whimpered.

Today's gonna be a rough day.