~~

"The one we are speaking to is not the anemones but rather, her. Charlotte Luchessi of the Ramshackle Dorm."

.....

"If you come back with the photo from the museum by the time sun sets on the third day from now, the 225 will be set free. However, should you fail...The Ramshackle dorm belongs to me, and you, Lotte, will join the others in servitude."

.....

"Besides, it's kinda our fault that Charlie got into this mess in the first place. I couldn't forgive myself if she suddenly caught a cold or something horrible from staying outside too long."

....

"Even though I said I'd have your back dealing with Azul, I couldn't do a single thing to help you. Not to mention, we owe you for what happened at Magift, so it's likely Leona can't refuse."

——————————

Darkness was all I had seen.

"Come in, my child! You're here because you have fallen for a human?" Ariel swam through the dark cave.

"Here's the deal: I will give you a potion that will turn you into a human for three days. And you've got to get dear old princey to fall in love with you." Ursula produced the golden contract with her henchman smiling in the background.

"Of course we haven't discussed the subject of payment! You can't get something for nothing, you know. What I want from you is: your voice." Without hesitation, Ariel signed the contract.

"I feel like I made a deal even in my dreams...." I shook my head. Somewhere in my mind, I heard:

'The mermaid princess became her "guest"

and the Sea Witch had one last conquest...'

—————————

Charlie's eyes clenched shut as the first rays of sunshine filtering through the terrace and hit her eyelids. Grim was snoring ever so snuggly on her stomach.

"Rise and Shine! Time to get up, Leona! You two, Grim and Charlie!" Ruggie jumped through the doorway, alerting the two awake.

"Hmm? But it's too early..." Grim whined.

"Savanaclaws take up morning training for Magift. And since you're here for the time being, that means you gotta get into it as well!"

"Morning training?" Grim repeated, still pretty sluggish.

"We started after the games."

".....ngh.....will ya shut up?...." Leona yawned, rolling over. But Ruggie was persistent.

"Leona, get up! Don't even think about going back to sleep!" The second year started tugging at the third year's legs with vigor.

Grim just stood there, watching the exchange as Charlie grabbed her toothbrush, face wash, deodorant and hairbrush. Before leaving for the bathroom, she looked back to see Leona struggling to get outta bed.

"So he doesn't wake up unless something impudent happens..." she murmured, letting the information sink in, then vanished.

———————-

Three days left until the contract ends....

———————-

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The trio made it to the Magift stadium in Savanaclaw's domain, in their PE uniforms. Ruggie and Leona, his hair in a low ponytail, blended with the black and gold, but Charlie stuck out in blue and pink, her pigtails swaying with every step she took.

Jack looked up to see his seniors and Charlie approaching.

"Rabbit? You're joining as well?"

"Well, I, for one, wanted to sleep in. But Ruggie dragged me against my will..." Grim yawned.

"What say you to a game since we're all here? Make the first years work up a sweat!" Ruggie smiled.

"I'll fall asleep standing in one spot. Let's get goin'." Leona nodded.

It was Charlie, Grim and Jack vs. Ruggie and Leona, who on cue, let out another yawn.

"He's yawnin' over there? This is gonna be easy!" Grim smiled.

"Please. I can beat a raccoon like you with my eyes closed." Leona rebuffed.

"Let's get goin!" Ruggie starts.

Duck, weave, dodge, sprint, and flying everywhere. Jack was moving so fast like lightning, Charlie couldn't even catch up with him! But Jack was surprised as well! Charlie's backhand springs and flips were enough to put maybe Ruggie to shame!

"Jack's moving around like crazy! And Charlie's got so much agility, she's like a ninja!" Ruggie awed.

"I'm not turning my back on a challenge! Do your worst!" Jack cracked his knuckles.

"Ugh....so persistent..."

"Not bad...for Fresh-meat, that is..."

The next part had involved magic. And Charlie was using just a fraction of her strength in order not to over work herself. But by the looks, she gained more respect from Jack, half from Ruggie and a bit from Leona.

"Looks like I was wrong about her...she's no weakling after all..." Leona stared at her cartwheeling across the ground.

"Okay! My killer trick's coming!!" Grim shouted. "He-huh?!"

"Well, that helped me."

"Things are getting way crazier now!"

"Thanks for the practice!"

"What?! No fair!"

—————————

The four called it after awhile and took a break from their exercise.

"Y'know, maybe I was wrong: morning exercise is a lot better than I thought!" Grim spoke.

"Totally! Got up an hour earlier to get some running in." Jack smiled.

"Uh, I think you may be taking it too far..." Grim sweatdropped.

"So, are you guys preparing for another Inter Dorm Magift competition?" Charlie perked up.

"You'll be gettin lotsa enemies~!"

"Oh right, you're not aware..." Ruggie put his water bottle down and approached the two. "Every May, each year, there's a tournament that's a lot bigger than what happened back in October."

"The Inter-School competition." Leona puts in, standing beside his sidekick.

"So, you mean, like, other schools other than Night Raven compete?" Charlie assumes.

"Yep. Like the name suggests: Magical Shift but with other schools." Ruggie confirmed.

"We go head to head with Royal Sword Academy."

"Oh, we've heard that name before!" Grim points.

Charlie nodded. Che'nya, was it? Trey said he goes to that school.

"There's lotsa different schools dedicated to magic here in Twisted Wonderland. But there's only two: Night Raven and Royal Sword known as the 'two powerhouses' in this world."

'Wow, kinda giving me Grand Magic Games story Arc vibes....' she thought. 'Only the strongest of the strong magic guilds fight in the Grand Magic Games to be number one...'

"So, what's Royal Sword Academy like?" Grim asked.

"Simple: a school filled with stuck-up prissy assholes." Leona puts it bluntly.

"True! Their school buildings and flashy uniforms are tacky~!" Ruggie snarks. "Even the whitest of uniforms show the smallest of stains. No matter how prestigious they are, I don't want to get involved with them."

"But Night Raven lost for 100 years from that event, right?" Charlie intervened, recalling what Trey said at the Unbirthday party.

"Huh?! Uh, n-no! Correction: it's been 99 losses! This year's will be 100, but this time, it's OUR turn to show 'em!"

"Yet, when I was watching them on TV, I felt like their individual plays, each RSA student showed potential, and more than that, the team plays were killer." Jack put in.

"So 'inter-school'...means that others besides this Dorm go up against Royal Sword?" Grim puts it.

"Exactly. Tryouts take place and different students from different dorms are chosen."

"And I can already see a fistfight going down over some of those spots..." Charlie nodded unimpressed.

"Lots of people have fought over in the past. And there was a huge brawl going down over positions. Caused a scene last year..." Leona rubbed his forehead.

No surprise. This was how NRC students were, and will be....

"Sounds like my kind of thing!" Grim cheered. "I'm gonna steal a spot, with all I've got! I'll for sure get on that team!"

"If you want that, you gotta train daily to be a starting player and show what you've got."

"Plus, this one has a lot more popularity. Great time to show off your abilities!"

"Getting a spot's difficult, so don't think about holding back. You and especially me will need to start mulling it over. You've got spunk, Rabbit. No doubt."

Charlie smiled at Leona's 'compliment', like her heart just bursted with light.

"My power's still growing and I'll give my all to prove to anyone that girls are capable of magic as well." Charlie glowed.

Things were about to get heated!

—————————

~~

We were all sitting in the cafeteria, after practice that morning. I managed to sneak in a quick shower, before meeting up with the others for breakfast.

I had grabbed some waffles and a jelly donut, container of carrots and water.

"Eating after such a hard-core workout. It's awesome! I wanna eat more!" Grim chomped on his own food.

"Oh yea. Now I remember..." Leona looked at me. "Hey, Rabbit: why did you decide to do something as reckless is making a deal with that octo-punk? Because of that, my room's getting cramped."

I felt myself shrink a bit under his hard gaze. But it wasn't as cold as I thought it was. There was a bit of.... warmth in it.

"Okay, here's the deal...." I start. As soon as I finished, leona started snickering.

"So you made a deal to free all the idiots that entered in the contract before the final exams? Hahaha! This is too good! Not half bad at all!"

I felt myself blushing with embarrassment.

"I've heard rumors that Azul's textbooks were pretty dope." Ruggie stepped in before his lead could embarrass me more. "I can see why anyone wants their hands on it."

"So that means you two never made a deal with Azul for the booklets?" Jack asked. "Leona seems like one who'd want to take it easy the most....uh, forget it." He waved off his slip of the tongue.

"Idiot. Who in their right mind would want to make a deal with that cheat if a bastard because they want to?" Leona retorts. "I've made a deal before because the situation called for it.... but the conditions weren't anything extreme."

"Yea, he's definitely not a person you'd want to rely on..." Ruggie agreed, his ears drooping. "But he is a skilled wizard that can make even the most bazaar of wishes a reality."

"When striking a deal, The one who wants something holds the disadvantage." Leona jumps back. "There's numbers of ways to dupe dumbasses that aren't quick on their feet and will sign without a second thought."

Wow. And just when I thought he was about to be redeemed in my eyes...

"Well, YOU'RE of help." I scoff and finished my waffles.

I felt Leona staring at me, but I paid no mind. That was.... until he put his hand over mine, almost reassuringly. I tensed up.

"You can tell me. What kind of condition did he give you?"

~~

"By the time sunsets on the third day...."

"You have to sneak into the Atlantica Memorial Museum and steal a certain picture..."

The vice head and dorm leader shared a look before staring at me.

"Sorry, but you've my condolences." Ruggie shook his head.

"Don't go jumping to say things like that when we haven't even started!" Grim jumped in front of me.

"Well, for starters, isn't the Atlantica Memorial Museum underwater? How are you planning on getting there?"

"He gave us a potion that can let us breathe underwater." I rummaged through my bag and took out the bottle for them to see.

"But we don't know how perfect it'll work...." Jack grimaced.

"Oh, it'll work. Coming from Azul, that is. His pride wouldn't allow it." Ruggie answered. Yea, now I remember: he said he drank a potion before the parade started.

"Hm...also, shouldn't you hurt up and get started? Time is money, so they say."

"Fgna! Right! We gotta get to the museum and fast!" Grim swallowed his food without chewing and hopped off the table.

"Yea. We've got three days. There's no time to waste." Jack stood from his seat.

"Let's grab Ace and Deuce on our way there!" I nod, stuffing my carrots and water into my bag for later. "Let's roll!" I snatched the jelly donut and tore off a chunk, frantically chewing while racing after Jack.

———————-

Leona and Ruggie watched the frantic first years race out of the cafeteria, Charlie struggling to keep up with Howl's long strides.

"Well, they're off." Ruggie went back to his food. "Leona, you're cruel." He smirked to the third year.

"Hm? What are ya talkin' about?" Leona piqued before cutting into his steak, a knowing smile on his lips.

————————

All four of us had gathered in the mirror room, circled up and staring at the potion in my hand.

"So this is the potion you got from Azul? You sure it'll do the job?" Deuce stared at it skeptically.

"Sitting around and wondering won't answer anything. We'll have to see for ourselves." Jack answered.

I nodded silently, and uncorked the bottle. I could practically see green-like fumes emanating from it. We poured a few drops into small glasses Deuce snuck from the Heartslabyul kitchen and each took one.

"Okay. Well do this on 3. 1,2,3!" We downed the potion in seconds, then froze.

"What the..."

"Bleeegh! Tastes like dead frog with expired mushrooms!" Grim gagged.

"What kind of taste is that even? What even is your diet?" Jack coughed. "Damn, it's got a kick to it!"

"The way this thing tastes is a serious deal, in my opinion. How the hell do adults put up with this?!" Ace asked, covering his mouth as he retched.

"Effectiveness is far important than taste....huh? Why's it so dry in here...?!" Deuce started choking.

Suddenly, I felt light headed. It was seriously getting hard to breathe in the room!

"Looks like it's starting to take effect!" Jack realized.

Ace stared heaving, "D-damn...I feel weak...we gotta get to the ocean!"

"Mirror, Mirror on the wall! Take us to the Coral Sea!" Jack commands.

The mirror's surface warped. A bright light filled the room. And we were gone.

—————————

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

When I opened my eyes, we weren't in the mirror room anymore....

"Whuuuu...weeeerrreeee uuuuunderrrrrrrwaaaaateeeeeerrrrr? Weeeeereeeee gonnnnnnnaaaaaaa drooooownnnnn!!"

Jesus, Grim. Calm down.

"Huh.....we're not drowning..."

"Huh? Oh my bad..."

"We're seriously breathing in water..."

Jack was right. I could feel the water on my skin like when I go swimming, but all my lungs felt....was air! Just as on land!

"Whoa! Check out the coral reef! It's so cool!" Ace gawked. "If Cater was here, he'd be all, 'it's so grammable~!' and just start snapping photos like nothing!"

I absorbed the surrounding area. It really was beautiful...note to self: take up scuba diving lessons when I get back home.

"Hey, Charlie? Where are your clothes?" Deuce asked. I looked at him and then down. My clothes had transformed yet again. A light blue trapeze top with white straps tying around my neck. Underneath the top was elastic material that fitted where my bra should be. Detached sleeves with white material underneath swayed with the current, cinching at my lower arms. Light pink shorts, and yellow sandals to finish. But the weird thing was: the clothes were made out of the same material as regular swimsuits. Even my sandals were made of rubber! My hair was tied into a high side ponytail, leaving my bangs to frame my face.

Shit. I never told them about my magic-changing wardrobe. But before I could answer, Jack spoke up.

"Now's not the time to sight see things. Let's snatch that picture while we've got time!"

"Hey, I can't swim properly!" Grim complained. I sighed, taking ahold of him, and put him on my shoulder, as I swam forward with the others.

"Hey! I see something!"

"It's the museum!"

Ace and Deuce were right. The place was shaped exactly like king Triton's palace. But it was a lot more wider.

'With every twist and turn, see the color of a sky...'

I couldn't help but smile. My child self really had a thing for mermaid folklore, and fantasizing about them, and it was all happening now before me.

"Fgna?! There's a lot of people with tails!"

"They must be....Merfolk. Can't believe there's people living down here!"

Suddenly I froze. That same feeling of being watched was back. As dark shadows passed by me.

"Ahhhhh! They're here! Koebi-Chan and her friends~!"

"Greetings, everyone. So, how is it? The world underneath the sea?"

"Wait a minute! It's those twins!" Grim leapt into my arms.