Twisted Wonderland Book 3: The Merchant from the Depths

Chapter 13: A Dorm Suite

Sometime later, Briar and the others arrive at the Savanaclaw Dorm with Jack to talk to Leona and the others about their living situation. The group kind of discussed it at the lounge, but...

"Not a chance," Leona says.

"You didn't even pause before answering..." Jack replies.

Then Leona says, "No pets allowed in the dorm. They shed all over the place."

Grim feels offended by it and angrily says, " First of all, I AIN'T NO PET. Second of all, I DO NOT! Aren't you guys, like, a billion times furrier than me?!"

"This is about you, not us," Ruggie says.

Then Leona says, "For one thing... Our empty rooms haven't been cleaned in months. Dorm students use 'em as a dumping ground for their junk. Where are we supposed to put up two extra freeloaders?"

Just then, Ruggie has an idea, "Ooh, I know! Why don't you just bunk with 'em in your room, Leona?"

"What?!" Everyone exclaims in shock.

Leona glares at Ruggie, "Ruggie, if you keep flapping your lips, you're about to find 'em sewn shut."

Then Ruggie says, "Think of it this way, Leona. You're used to havin' people do everything for ya, right? What if we put 'em in charge of serving you instead of charging for room and board? Seems like a win-win to me.

Leona growls at him, "Grr... Ruggie, you little..."

Hey, I still ain't fully healed up from the interdorm Spelldrive tournament, y'know? I dunno if it was that major magic I chugged a whole potion to use or what, but hard work's been wearin' me down more than ever lately. And if I might remind you, Leona, I busted my tail for you. So I'm thinkin' I'd heal a whole lot faster if I had these guys waiting on you for a while!" Ruggie explains.

Then Leona says, "Tch. You're a regular mercenary sometimes."

"Hey now, I haven't said a single dishonest word! Shyeheehee," Ruggie says and snickers.

Then Leona says, "Maybe, but I don't let just anyone cozy up to me like that."

Then turns his head, "Hey, boys! C'mere a sec!"

And with that, three students approach them. Briar is starting to have a bad feeling about this.

One of the Savanaclaw students asks, "Yes, sir! You called, Housewarden?"

The second students notice Briar and the others, and recognize them, "Oh, hey, it's the schmucks who spied on Savanaclaw before the Spelldrive tournament."

Then the third student says, "Ain't every day an escaped quarry comes back to us! Heh heh heh!"

Sereia, Trinket, Tanzanite, and Grim flinch and hide behind Briar. Jasper however, is not afraid. Briar is, however , kind of worried.

And what Leona says makes Briar even more worried, "Fight my dorm's students. If you win, I'll let you stick around as gophers. I don't care if it IS just for three days. Savanaclaw's got no use for dead weight, no matter how short or long your stay."

Briar sighs and says, "Okay then, bring it on!"

Jasper turns to Tanzanite, "We can take them, right bro?"

"I suppose," Tanzanite replies.

Then Jasper says, "Let's show them what us brothers can do."

Tanzanite starts to feel a little more confident, and says, "Right."

And soon, the three students begin to charge towards them. Grim, Sereia, and Trinket are worried while Jasper, Tanzanite, and Briar try to stand their ground. Jasper and Tanzanite suddenly stand in front of the group with their backs against one another, surprising the others.

"Ready bro," Jasper says.

"Ready," Tanzanite says.

Then they both say, "Let's do it."

Jasper and Taznantie both use their magepens and combine their magic to fire their stones and gemstones at the three Savanaclaw students. And surprisingly, the twins are able to knock the Savanaclaw students easily and they end up knocking their own pens from their hands with the stones. This ends up coming as a surprise, including Briar and the others.

"Myaah! Wow! You two are able to beat them easily!" Grim says, surprised.

"You both did great!" Sereia says.

"Well, Jasper and I do have our own magic, but our magic and abilities are stronger when we work together," Tanzanite says.

"Yeah. With my stones, and his gemstones. Things can get pretty rocky," Jasper says.

"Well, you guys sure impressed me with it," Briar says.

Leona however, feels the opposite of the result, "How could you lose to some puny little herbivores that fast? You're givin' me a bad name over here."

The first Savanaclaw Student says nervously, "Yipe! Sorry, sir!

"Okay, a deal's a deal! I want that three-day stay and I want it now!" Grim says.

"Grim, don't be rude," Sereia says.

Then Jasper says, "But Grim is right. A deal's a deal."

"Grrr..." Leona growls bitterly.

Then says in frustration, but kind of calm, "Tch. Just remember, even the slightest bit of trouble from you and you'll be out the door faster than you can say 'tuna casserole.' You hear me?" And gives Briar a glare.

"Y-yes, sir!" Briar nervously says.

Grim sighs, "Phew. At least now we don't gotta sleep outside."

"That's good, but we still have lots to do tomorrow," Tanzanite says.

Then Ruggie turns to Jack, "All right. Jack, bring some spare beddings to Leona's room."

"Will do," Jack says.

Ruggie snickers, "Shyeheehee! Lucky me! I get to coast down easy street for three whole days!"

Leona glares at Ruggie again, "I heard that, you know. You're in for it later."

Then turns to Briar and the others, "Okay, herbivores. Get the lead out and follow me."

And with that, the group follows Leona, Ruggie and Jack to Leona's bedroom.

Moments later, everyone arrives in Leona's bedroom, and it seems rather fancy. Something a prince would live in. Then again, Leona is a prince. Briar and the others are amazed. Of course, the spare bedding is already placed on the floor of Leona's room.

"Daaang! Now this is a wild man's room!" Grim says, amazed.

"It's really big," Sereia says.

"Looks cool," Jasper says.

"Quit yer gawkin'. I'm goin' to bed now, and if you disturb my sleep, I'll turn you into shag carpet. Grrr..." Leona says, bitterly and lets out a low growl.

Soon enough, Leona lies on his bed and begins to sleep, "Zzz..."

"He was out in literally three seconds!" Grim says, surprised.

Tanzanite shushes Grim, "Keep it down. We don't want to wake him."

Briar sighs, "Come on guys, let's try to get some sleep and discuss what we need to do in the morning."

"Do you think we'll be able to beat Azul?" Sereia asks.

"I'm not sure, but we have to try," Briar says.

Briar lies down and says, "Night guys."

Everyone else lies down on the bedding and covers themselves with the blankets.

Everyone softly says, "Night."

Soon, everyone falls asleep for the night, and tomorrow will begin their first day of trying to take the painting for Azul.