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My life has never been better, Riddle decided, right then and there as he, Trey, and Chenya played together. Before meeting Trey and Chenya, most of his memories were about his mother, and associated with a feeling of disappointment, in himself, and fear, aimed towards his mother. This, of course, was nothing against his mother. Riddle’s mother only had the best in mind for him. She wanted him to grow up to be a responsible, healthy, and smart young man. There was nothing wrong with wanting your child to be successful in life. In fact, his mother often said that that was the point of having a child in the first place.
He recalled early conversations between his mother and his father. All about him.
“You want him to stay at home for his entire life?” Riddle’s father exclaimed, in a tone that made the young Roseheart scared, which he later regretted feeling something so foolish.
“Are you purposely ignoring what I'm saying?” His mother responded, perfectly composed. “Just not until he’s older. I don’t trust any of the teachers around here to get the right lessons for him. We’re both doctors, you know how vital these first years are. We can’t have him exposed to bad people or bad education.”
All of Riddle’s memories from this time in his life were of his parents arguing. Riddle would sob in some other area of the house, like the weakling he was. He had not yet learned how to handle such situations. Luckily, there was a person there to guide him while his parents were busy. A nanny, the most trusted person in his early life.
He remembered her stroking his hair, as they lay in his room, away from the arguing parents downstairs. “Is this my fault?”
She stopped stroking his hair for a second and looked into his eyes, with an expression he had not understood at the time, “No, honey, none of this is your fault. Sometimes, parents argue. That’s a decision they’ve made. Nothing you did caused this.”
At the time, this had been a great comfort for him. However, his mother later informed him that this was all wrong. Soon after that occasion with his nanny, his father had left them and the nanny had been fired.
“My son,” Riddle’s mother said, as the two of them were alone in a study, “Your father has left us. He doesn’t understand what it means to raise a successful child. We can’t have any obstructions in your way.”
He didn’t understand, “In my way? From what? And where is Nanny?”
Her face was stern, “First lesson, don’t sound so childish when asking questions. Try again.”
It was from then on that his mother began to homeschool him. Riddle learned all sorts of things, things he could never learn from a subpar-school-education. Everything he learned, it had to be perfect. If he had to memorize something, there could be no single mistake. His mother made him learn all 810 rules the original Queen of Hearts had put in place. He would recite all of them to her, and if he tripped up a single word, he would start over. This was how he would become successful.
Eventually, his mother allowed him to go to school. Of course, her grasp on his education did not let go, but he was getting older, into older elementary age at this point, and interacting with others was a part of how to be successful. She made sure his teachers were the best, and that every child he interacted with day to day would not be a bad influence. And when he got home, he was to study for a few hours. It was at this time that he drifted away from what his mother intended for him. He did the unthinkable. Riddle Rosehearts snuck out to hang out with two bad influences.
He wasn’t sure what to make of Trey and Chenya at first. Sneaking out went against everything his mother taught him. Taking time out of his strict study schedule to hang out with two random children? Absolutely unacceptable. However, the more he hung out with the two boys, he began to come around to the two of them.
“I’ve climbed to the top of the tree before,” Chenya boasted, as the three of them stared at the tallest tree in the neighborhood.
“No way!” Trey exclaimed. “You’re lying.”
Chenya grinned wide, like he often did when playing a trick, “Nuh uh!”
Riddle scoffed, “Oh, please. It’d be impossible to get to the top without falling!”
Trey nodded enthusiastically, almost like he was trying to get his head to fall off.
Chenya just shrugged, “Well, I did. I bet even you could do it.”
He crossed his arms and flushed, “That sounds dangerous…”
“You shouldn’t do it if you don’t want to,” Trey put his hand on Riddle's shoulders. “But I believe in you!”
Riddle looked up the tall tree. He wasn’t much of a climber. Of course, he made sure to get his proper exercise, as everyone should. Climbing, though, wasn't a part of his usual regime. It was good to make sure you did all sorts of exercise. Only doing one type wasn’t very healthy for your body. Perhaps he should use this opportunity to do something unique for him.
“Rule 802 says that no tree must be left un-climbed. I doubt you’re telling the truth, so I must do my duty.” With that, Trey and Chenya cheered. Riddle grasped on to the lowest branch. The tree was somewhat sticky, and the branches didn’t seem very trustworthy for all of his weight. He tried to push down the lurch of fear in his stomach. He thought of Chenya and Trey, cheering for him. Riddle quite liked having friends. He thought of Trey. He was always so supportive and happy for Riddle. The two were different from any of his peers at school, and especially different from his mother. He had been unsure at first, but Riddle decided that they were good. They were really good.
Riddle was almost at the top. He could hear shouts and cheers from Chenya and Trey. He couldn’t stop smiling from how happy they sounded. His smile slipped off his face when his hand missed the next branch. Riddle’s breath hitched. Oh no…
His head reeled as he fell down the tree. Luckily for him, the tree wasn’t actually that tall. Not enough to break any bones anyway. Still, when he fell it hurt more than anything else he’d felt. Black spotted his vision. Trey and Chenya’s voices felt faraway. He felt hands grab him.
“Dont…” Riddle said meekly. “Not my mother…”
He didn’t want her to worry about him. He didn’t want her to know how foolish he had been. Most of all, he didn’t want Trey and Chenya to be taken away from him.
When he woke up, he was in a room he didn’t recognize. It wasn’t a hospital. It seemed to be someone’s bedroom. He spotted Trey and Chenya sitting next to the bed he was in.
“Riddle!” they exclaimed at the same time.
Trey then said, “You took a bad fall there… Your arm is broken. But, hey, you got away without a concussion!”
Riddle almost felt the need to argue with him on that point, given his raging headache. He could almost argue with them about convincing him to climb that tree in the first place. However, he was quickly overcome with another thought.
“What time is it?” Riddle said, panicked.
“Almost 4,” Trey said. “We uh, we didn’t tell your mother what happened. You seemed… worried about that.”
"Of course I’m worried!” Riddle exclaimed. “I need to get back. She’ll be checking in on the study soon.”
“You got injured,” Chenya said, “That seems more important.”
“No, it’s not. She can’t know I was out. I have to go back.”
“Look!” Trey rested his hand on Riddle's hand. “We can just explain to her what happened. I get you might be in trouble, but she’ll probably care more about the fact that you’re safe now, right?”
Riddle shook his head, although Trey couldn’t tell if it was to his question or just in his state of shock, “I need to go back.”
Trey didn’t let go of Riddle’s hand, “...Alright. We’ll help you sneak back in.”
“It’s better if we don’t risk her seeing you,” He said as he got up from the bed, and slipped off the cast on his arm he’d woken up with. “Which of your houses are we at?”
“Mine,” Trey said, standing up with him. “But I’m not letting you go alone. Your arm is broken! Why are you taking that off?”
“So his mom won’t know it’s broken right away,” Chenya guessed.
“Right. Now I need to go. I don’t have time for this.”
As he started to head out, his hand slipped from Trey’s. He walked through the house, and he could hear Trey, Chenya, and Trey’s family saying something to him. Riddle ignored it. Just as he got out of the house, Trey was once again behind him. Riddle stopped.
“I just want you to be okay,” Trey’s hand was sweaty, and his voice seemed full of emotion. “You will be okay, right?”
Riddle stared. Maybe Trey cared about him as much as he cared about Trey. He wasn’t sure what to think of that. “It’s just a broken arm.”
They both knew it was more than that.
He got home a few minutes before his mother checked the study. His heart was pounding, and he couldn’t stop himself from feeling guilty. She didn’t suspect a thing. As they headed down to dinner, he faked a fall down the stairs. She fawned all over him, and managed to get in a lesson about bones while doing it. As she cared for him, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about his friends, and how they cared about him. It was different. Which made sense, because they weren’t his mother. But when she talked to him about his broken arm, she couldn’t just let him rest. There was always more to do. Every second resting was a second away from your responsibilities. But Trey and Chenya? They didn’t have to talk about all of that when he was with him. Trey… he just wanted him to be okay. That’s what he had said. What would he think about Riddle’s mother?
Soon after that, he did find out what Trey thought of her. At least, maybe a glimpse. This was the day he first ate a strawberry tart. Chenya and Trey’s surprise that he had never had one was almost funny. They just couldn’t seem to believe it. Even when he explained how unhealthy they could be, they refused to let him go back to his house without having tried it. Trey let him have it for free from his family’s patisserie. It was the greatest thing he had ever tasted. It just melted in his mouth, with the sweetest flavor. He understood why people ate so many sweets. He could’ve spent all day there. He almost did. Time ran away from him. Somehow, she had found him at the bakery. Riddle was frozen with guilt as his mother yelled at Trey. This was the last time during his childhood he hung out with them. He would look out his window sometimes and see them. Occasionally, he saw one of them cast a glance up at him. He stopped working at that window.
Years later, Riddle started to attend Night Raven College. As he stood tall in front of the crowd, next to the mirror, he spotted familiar faces. Trey and, oddly enough since he didn’t go here, Chenya. His heart pounded. He turned to face the mirror. Trey had been wearing red, the color of Heartslabyul. Riddle hardly needed to be told what house he would end up in.
“Heartslabyul!”
Just as his mother taught him, he quickly asserted his authority within the house. After becoming the housewarden in just a week, he made sure the students did not doubt to listen to him. However, he was just a first year, so there were initially problems with his house.
“Why should we listen to you, firstie?!” he recalled an older student saying to him, in his early days of being a housewarden. Riddle prepared himself to collar the delinquent, but just before he could, the student was hit with a snow ball, and fell to the ground. He looked in the direction from whence it came and, standing next to a tree in the Heartslabyul dorm yard, was Chenya. Riddle marched over there.
“For a student of Royal Sword Academy, you seem to be here quite a lot,” Riddle sniped, looking him up and down. He hadn’t properly talked to him in a while. He seemed to be doing well, still playing pranks like to be expected from him.
Chenya grinned, disappearing and then reappearing behind Riddle. He spun around to face him again. Chenya said, “I thought I’d visit the little Queen of Hearts. How’s it going, your highness?”
“It would be even better if I didn’t have intruders causing trouble,” Riddle snapped, making himself seem taller, although that didn’t help much.
The other boy laughed, “Just me that’s causing trouble?”
Riddle looked back at the students of his dorm. He saw the older students who had been disrespecting him earlier. They seemed to be laughing again, not bothered by their actions. It made his blood boil.
“I was going to handle it. I didn’t need your help.”
Chenya shrugged, “We’re friends. Friends help each other.”
Riddle stepped back from Chenya, “Then I don’t need friends. Go away before I report you to Crowley.”
“He can’t control me,” But even as he said it, Chenya disappeared. Riddle found him a little hard to read, but he could have sworn there was a sad look on his face as he left.
I don’t need his help, Riddle scowled, storming off to the delinquents. I’ll make sure they respect me.
Luckily, there was at least one of his childhood friends that respected the rules. Trey was his second in command, and did the role well. He listened to Riddle, and enforced all of the rules as he should. He’d heard Cater refer to Trey as the “Good Cop” to Riddle’s “Bad Cop”. Riddle had made sure the other boy knew quickly what respect meant, but internally he was glad to be a duo with Trey again. He made sure no one knew that fact, though. He wouldn’t be doubted for showing emotions.
Riddle was happy with the respect his house was showing him. Really, he was. He was acting just as his mother taught him. He was a responsible housewarden, and conducted his studies well, unlike some students. Everyone in his house listened to him and did well in school. They had no choice, after all. Riddle made sure about that.
That was, until his second year. The first years were the most insufferable group of delinquents he had the displeasure of being the housewarden of. To make matters worse, the prefect they hung around with only seemed to encourage their behavior. The disrespect they showed him made his blood boil. What did they think they were doing? Disgracing Heartslabyul like that? Punishing them with his signature spell was merciful, in his opinion. They were lucky he didn’t kick them out entirely. Riddle was set in his ways. And when they disrespected him even more, he saw red. The whole world seemed to circle in on every moment of disrespect he had faced. He was barely even aware when he flung magic their way. He only seemed to be aware again as he started crying.
Later, he woke up in the infirmary. Trey and Chenya were sitting at his side. They both looked regretful, especially Trey.
“You’re here,” Riddle rasped.
Trey rested his hand on Riddle’s, “Of course. I have a lot of time to make up for.”