𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐁𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 [TWST x Ballerina (Odile) reader]

✿𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐒✿-12-

🦢

"I'm already exhausted from a full day of cleanin'. I can't believe we still gotta wash a hundred windows!"

Grim groaned and whined, his feet barely reaching the ground as he sat on the cafeteria bench. I could only roll my eyes at his remark; he complained as if he weren't the one who caused all this chaos in the first place.

"Try and learn from this experience."

The cat simply grumbled in response to my remark, pouting with unmistakable petulance. Meanwhile, I tapped my feet impatiently on the ground, anxiously awaiting Ace's arrival.

I hope Ace follows through and arrives here on his own accord. I opted to only hypnotize him as a cautionary measure, rather than exerting complete control over him, which I consider a generous act.

If Ace fails to fulfill his duty, I may resort to exerting full control over him. While I may be viewed as a villain, my upbringing has taught me the art of graceful swan-like behavior, particularly in formal situations.

"......
... And now he's super late!
I bet he up and bailed on us!"

"It seems like he did, how unfortunate for him..."

I mumbled to myself as I picked up Grim, much to his annoyance, and walked around the school grounds until we reached his classroom.

As it was after school hours, the classroom lay deserted, with only the occasional chirping of robins and sparrows breaking the silence.

We scanned the classroom, but Ace was nowhere in sight.

I clicked my tongue in frustration. Had Ace truly not learned his lesson? His stubbornness was beginning to grate on my nerves.

Just as we were about to depart the empty classroom, a voice emanating from the wall caught our attention.

"Why so surprised...? Is a talking painting really such an oddity at this school?
The lady in the portrait on that wall talks too. As does the gentleman in the portrait on this one.
As long as a painting has a mouth, why wouldn't it be able to talk? Is that really so strange?"

"No, not at all! I once had a talking painting in my room, which definitely added an intriguing element to things."

The portrait and I exchanged a chuckle while Grim looked at us with a puzzled expression, as if questioning our sanity, which, truth be told, wasn't entirely unreasonable.

After our brief laughing session, the portrait cleared its throat in a serious manner, signaling a shift in tone.

"Now, you seem to be searching for someone."

"We're lookin' for this guy called Ace. He's got messy hair and a heart drawn on his face."

As Grim gave Ace's description, the portrait hummed thoughtfully, considering the information provided.

"Ah, I know the one. A new student, I believe? Today was his first day at school. I think he went back to his dorm a while ago. The door to the dorms is in the eastern building."

He actually abandoned us. I have to give him credit; it takes courage to defy me.

No need to worry at all; these are just minor setbacks, after all.

And I certainly hope these setbacks get resolved swiftly. I do have research that I need to get back to.

The quest for my answers is far from over.

As Grim and I ran and skipped through the hallways, we finally arrived at the dormitories.

And behold, there was Ace, calmly making his way towards his dormitory, all the while muttering something under his breath.

"AHA! GOTCHA, PUNK!"

Grim leaped out of my arms and dashed towards the swiftly retreating figure of Ace.

Ace's body froze as he spotted us, and then he too began sprinting towards the Heartslabyul dormitory, seemingly intent on diving into the mirror.

As Ace and Grim exchanged heated words, I noticed a boy with a spade tattoo on his left eye walking in the same direction as us. With a smirk, I approached him.

"Please, stop him!
He's shirking his cleaning responsibilities!"

I cried out in excitement and practically threw myself at him. His eyes widened in recognition as he saw me, and a slight blush spread across his cheeks as he caught me in his arms.

"You're the girl from yesterday! I thought you left?"

"It's a long story my sweet, but we have a runaway at our hands you must help us!"

Through gritted teeth, I said, my gaze flickering between him and the fleeting blob of orange hair.

"But how to stop him? Like, freeze his legs? Or bind them with a rope?
Or maybe I could... Hmm... No..."

Grumbling in annoyance, I snatch his magic pen and place it in his hand. Then, I position my hands over his and guide the pen upwards, just above Ace's head.

The boy's body stiffened noticeably, and although I would have enjoyed teasing him under different circumstances, we didn't have much time before Ace successfully fled.

"It's okay to be afraid; it's just amateur nerves," I reassured him. "Take a deep breath and envision something, anything, that could stop him."

I smiled at him warmly as I infused some of my magic into his pen, strengthening his summoning abilities.

"Anything?! Anything, huh...
All right!
Here goes anything!
I summon thee... something heavy!"

And just like that, the ball of magic soared into the air, summoning a gigantic cauldron with a flick of his pen.

As the cauldron descended upon Ace's head, a loud bang echoed through the air.

"Did we just... kill him?"