Straight-Up Not Having A Good Time At Night Raven College: Chapter 1

Chapter 3: Garden Decoration

Kat followed Deuce across the Hall of Mirrors, with Grim walking next to her and Ace making up the rear.
"It's this one!" Deuce informed them, pointing to one of the alcoves set in the wall.

As the name of the building suggested, there was a mirror in it.

It was a pretty big one, about the size of a door, with an antique silver frame. The frame was fashioned in the shape of a crooked arch of playing cards, embellished with roses. Two silver spears with heart-shaped heads were crossed on the wall behind it.

At the top of the arch was what could only be the dorm's emblem.
It was a heart, with a crown and a stand-up collar, a lot like the Queen of Hearts' from the statue, at the top. There was a heraldic scrolling ribbon at the bottom with the dorm's name on it.

In front of the mirror was an oversized book lying open on the ground, made of the same silver metal as the mirror's frame.

Weird, colorful mushrooms sprouted from the edges of the stairs, from strips of what looked like red carpet. On closer inspection, it actually turned out to be red moss.

"Cool!" She remarked, hanging behind Deuce as he hopped up the short flight of stairs.
"So, how does it--"

Deuce walked through the mirror.

It rippled and shimmered as he passed through, and she jumped, eyes widening.

"...Oh," she said after a second. "Okay..."

She glanced at Grim, who looked nervously from her to the mirror.

"You... You really wanna go through there?" He squeaked.

Kat shrugged.
"Yeah, why not?"

Turning, she took a deep breath, steeling herself as she stepped up onto the silver book.
Then she took another step.

Once again, she felt herself passing through a wall of water.
She suddenly couldn't breathe, then something sucked her forward like a whirlpool. It was only a few seconds, but it was still an unpleasant sensation.

Blinking in the sudden sunlight, she looked around.

"W--Wow..."

Deuce was already standing there, grinning eagerly.
"Well? What do you think? Incredible, right?"

"No KIDDING!" Kat agreed, stepping forward with her mouth open.
"This is amazing..."

It was like they'd stepped into a whole other world.

Back on Main Street, the air was chilly with early autumn, and the leaves were starting to turn.
Here, it was a bright, sunny country afternoon. Wispy white clouds drifted through a brilliant blue sky.

They were standing on a pale brick path leading up to what could only be the dorm building.

It looked like a mini castle-- one of the blocky, squarish ones, not the delicate types with the spires.

Built of red stone, it had patterns of ivory marble outlining diamond-shaped windows. It didn't really have a door so much as a large, heart-shaped archway leading into what looked like a foyer area.

The path widened out into a kind of courtyard in front of the building, complete with a fountain, and lined by...

She frowned.
Well, that was familiar...

Heart-shaped topiary rosebushes lined the path, as well as smaller bushes in marble pots. They were all blooming with red roses.
Even the air was filled with the scent of roses. Unless it was magic, there had to be a whole garden of them somewhere around here.