Twisted Wonderland Book 1: The Rose-Red Tyrant

Chapter 25: A Sad Little Child

Suddenly, Briar opens her eyes and sits up in shock. Briar lets out a grunt and groans as she feels her head in pain.

"What happened?" Briar asks herself, and rubs her head, "And my head feels like it's going to split open."

She suddenly remembers, "Riddle..."

Briar looks around the area, but she doesn't seem to see Riddle. In fact, she can't see anything here.

"What is this place? Where am I? And where is everyone?" Briar asks herself, and stands up on her feet.

She then calls out, "Ace?! Deuce?! Grim?! Seriea?! Jasper?! Tanzanite?! Trinket?! Guys?! Riddle?!"

She looks around as she calls out, "Where are you?!"

Suddenly, Briar finds herself in some room of some kind. There is a table with some chairs, and some glass windows. It's hard to see very clearly, but Briar can see silhouettes of two adults. One of them is a man and the other is a woman. There is one more person in the room, and it is a child. The boy is young and has fair skin, neutral red hair, and bluish-gray eyes.

Briar looks at the boy, "That face and that hairstyle... he looks so familiar.

Suddenly, the silhouette of the woman says,Happy eighth birthday, Riddle. This year's birthday cake is a low-sugar recipe made with nuts and lecithin-rich soy flour to improve your cerebral function.

Briar gasps in surprise and says in thought, "That's Riddle... when he was a child.

"Thank you. But, Mom..." Young Riddle says, sounding a bit nervous.

He then says, "Just once, I'd like to try one of those tarts covered with bright-red strawberries..."

But his mother sternly says, "Absolutely not! Those tarts are monstrously unhealthy. I might as well feed you poison! Even just a single slice would exceed your recommended daily intake of sugar. Now, dinner tonight will be a tuna sauté rich in DHA and omega-3 fatty acids. Now that you're eight, your caloric intake should be 600 kilocalories per meal, so don't eat more than 100 grams of it. Understood?"

"Yes, Mom," Riddle replies, and is very disappointed.

Just then, the entire scene disappears.

And then, Briar hears Riddle's voice, "I'd always... wanted to try one of those tarts... with the bright-red strawberries. The local cake shop had them in the window.... They shined at me... like forbidden jewels."

Suddenly, the Briar finds herself in the scheme background, and young Riddle is with the silhouette of his mother. Riddle appears to be reading and writing as the woman educates him.

Riddle's mother says, "That's enough classical magic study for today. Your homework is to read the first fifty pages of the philosophy of language book referenced in today's magical philosophy texts. You may now have one hour of independent study before your potionology lesson."

"Thank you, Mother," Young Riddle replies.

"I need some time to prepare the lesson materials. I will see you in one hour, okay?" Riddle mother adds.

Then the scene disappears again.

And then hears Riddle's voice again, "I was studying every possible subject, scheduled down to the minute. When I didn't understand something, the lesson was extended until I did. That was my 'normal.'

Soon, the scene of Riddle's home appears again. Only this time, they hear a knock at the window.

Riddle asks, "...Is someone knocking on the window?"