“Boarding schools can be used for families to send rebelling or misbehaving children if they can’t handle them at home. I think Ark School has a lot of those students,” Leeds said.
Even the stellar Charles wasn’t needed by his family.
Bullies like Fry and Batta probably didn’t fit in in their families either.
If Ark School existed as a place to receive these kinds of boys, there was little reason to confront threats to their safety.
“I see what you mean. So, the families don’t even care when their problem child goes missing.”
Reforming them was a benefit for the family, but their death did the family no damage. These boys were gathered on an island full of mysteries. I would have never thought to send Dum and Dee there if I knew the truth.
I looked at the two of them to see their expressions, but our eyes met immediately. It was as if they’d been watching me from the very start.
They smiled at me, their blue eyes softening.
“What is it, Alice?”
“What is it, Alice?”
“I-I was just wondering if I should have ever brought you here at all.”
They looked so much like young princes from a romance novel now. My heart sped up a bit.
When they were little, I could look them in the eyes and be unable to read their emotions. But now, deep in those light blue eyes, I saw an azure stillness, a peach sweetness, and golden glimmers of light.
These young men, brimming with potential, were a rainbow of colors.
Perhaps the eyes change color as the body matures.
While I tried to recall the pages of biology textbooks in my head, Leeds gave me a command.
“Let’s save the pity party for later. Our job is to find the demon that laid the traps, get everyone’s real bodies back, and head home to London. If we can do that, we can pretend this whole thing never happened.”
“You’re right. Let’s sneak into the Nameless Woods tonight.”
“Feel free to take a nap here so you’re all ready to go when it’s time.”
We decided to take Leeds up on the offer and sleep before our nighttime mission.
The infirmary beds were softer than those in the dorms. For the first time in a while, I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
✦ ✦ ✦
🎃 🎃 🎃
INNUMERABLE stars dotted the night sky.
I walked quietly through the sports grounds wearing a black dress.
Lights-out in the dorms was two hours ago. I waited for the sounds of the other students’ snoring, slipped out of the room, and began my trip to the Nameless Woods.
The night breeze carried the fragrant scent of dry grass. Having spent so much time on the island now, I was used to the smell of the salt in the air and could no longer sense it.
My eyes adjusted to the dark, and I no longer needed a lantern to see my surroundings—especially since it was such a clear night. The light of the stars helpfully illuminated my path.
The thought of Dark flashed in my mind. But I didn’t tell him about tonight’s plan.
When I informed Jack, he volunteered to stay behind on standby. His legs were too small to keep up with those of us marching into the forest now.
All Dark and Jack need to do is keep themselves safe.
I returned my attention to the present moment.
Leeds, with his chain wrapped around his striped sweater, led the way. The twins wore black shirts and walked at each of my sides. I was protected from attacks in every direction.
I squinted at the tall grass’ shadows cast at our feet, but they didn’t seem to move.
Greater demons, who could disguise themselves as humans, and their servants, lesser demons, were the most prevalent in London. I was a main target of theirs, so I often encountered demons just by walking the streets of the city.
But I’d never spotted a demon’s shadow since I came to this island. If they weren’t checking up on us directly, the demon had to dwell somewhere outside of Ark School.
I wonder what this demon has been doing all this time?
Once the chain fence came into view, Leeds turned and looked at me with concern.
“We’re about to enter the Nameless Woods. It’s about three times as big as the castle. Are you sure you want to go in without me?”
“I have Dum and Dee with me, so I’ll be all right. Your job is more important, Leeds. If we don’t return to the sports grounds by morning…”
“I call Jack, have him burn down the forest with his stigma, and come save you. The nature on this island is nothing in value compared to my lady.”
It was hard to find a missing person in all the trees. There was one solution—burn them all down.
Jack’s power, Flames of Fury, only burned objects of his hatred, so it was impossible for them to hurt us.
“Be careful, my lady. We don’t know if it’s a monster, demon, human, or something else lurking in this forest.”
“That’s exactly why the Tweedles are coming with me.”
I took their hands. The three of us formed a circle.
“Let’s go, Alice.”
“Let’s go, Alice.”
The moles underneath their eyes began to roll down their cheeks like black ink. The trails formed lines on their skin, drawing out the picture of a rose.
Warm air wafted up from our joined hands, sending our bangs floating in the draft. The air around my body tightened and grew denser and denser until finally…
Crack!
A sensation like being struck with a rubber band ran through me. At that moment, my body turned transparent like frosted glass. It wasn’t just my hair and skin, but my clothes, shoes, and even my pouch were now see-through.
This was Hide-and-Seek, the power the Tweedle brothers possessed. It made not just the twins themselves, but anyone holding their hands invisible.
“I can’t see you at all now!” Leeds said. “You’re still there, right, my lady?”
“Yes. We’ll be going now.”
We crossed the fence, making sure not to let go of each other’s hands, and began our mission.
I couldn’t use the stars to calculate our direction since the trees shrouded the sky. Instead, I drew a mental map of our location based on the turns in the path and what I’d seen on the real map before.
I feared we would struggle to get anywhere, but the path was clearer than expected. Overgrown grass spilled onto the path, but the dirt underneath was solid, and someone seemed to have removed any fallen sticks.
My ears picked up an owl’s hoot somewhere in the distance. Birds of prey were cautious creatures, so they rarely approached roads that humans traveled.
So this path is used a lot, even though it’s supposed to be off-limits?
I’d been told that only prefects could come this way. But it looked like it had been used more than that.
“There’s houses, Alice.” Dum had been walking in front of me, but he stopped.
A few old one-story houses sat ahead of the road. I counted five in total.
“It’s like a ghost town.”
The houses were stone just like the castle, but their walls were falling apart. I could tell no one lived there from how ivy shrouded the houses up to the roofs.
No humans, at least.
As I heightened my awareness of the area, Dee stood close behind me.
“Do you want to keep going, or do you want to leave, Alice?”
“Let’s go. We need to find this demon and get them to undo the spell as soon as possible. I’ll be sure to get the small, adorable Dum and Dee back.”
I took a determined step forward. But Dum didn’t move.
“What’s the matter?”
“……”
Dee called out sadly to the still, silent Dum.
“We can’t do this, can we, Dum?”
“No, we can’t, Dee.”
“Eeeek!”
Then they let go of my hands and wrapped their arms around me, both from in front and behind.
Tender but heartbreaking words grazed my ears like a light snowfall.
“We don’t want to go back…”
“We don’t want to go back…”
“Huh?!”
“We don’t want to be small again.”
“We don’t want to be small again.”
My eyes went wide at the unexpected revelation.
It felt like the first time I ever heard their hearts’ true voices.