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jasmariswonderland · 1 year

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Shining Hearts Chapter 15 ~ Invisible No More

Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14

Chapter Summary: The time has come, the VDC has commenced and the Black Swan Quintet finally takes the stage. And after all that has transpired, come what may, they are determined to meet success with confident enthusiasm, zero regrets, and shining, hopeful hearts.

Word Count: 8195

A/N: A huge thank you to @twstinginthewind and @twst-the-night-away for being kind enough to let me use their ocs for this story. I’m always nervous working with ocs that aren’t my own but I hope I was able to do them justice! ❤

⚠General Warning For Chapters 12-17⚠: First off, thank you for sticking around with this fic for this long. As we inch closer to the moment of the overblot and it’s aftermath, be forewarned, the final chapters of this fic are gonna get…kind of intense. And may or may not include the following: Vil being mean, Rook being tactless, canon typical violence, language, sex*al harassment, misogyny, near de*th experiences, suic*dal thoughts and very, VERY HEAVY angst.

~~~

“Well now! Wasn’t that show from NRC Tribe amazing?!”

The crowd screamed with agreement and from the audience, many of the NRC students cheered on their classmates on stage. Cater, sitting with a bunch of his dormmates, spent a good chunk of the first performance snapping pictures and uploading short live reels to his Magicam, all of which immediately went viral.

“Go Acey and Deucey!” he grinned, looking over one of his uploads. “They KILLED it up there!”

“I was ready to have both their heads if they made a poor show of it,” Riddle smiled. “But that was a splendid performance that did Night Raven College justice.”

“Our dorm’s problem pair managed to pull it off,” Joker added. She, Violetta, and Crisanta were holding up a large banner with the words ‘ GO NRC GO ’ painted in purple and decorated with chibis of all twelve NRC performers that were drawn by Crisanta.

“The girls are up next!” Crisanta grinned. “I’m so hyped! Ione is gonna be so awesome!”

“Yes, and on that same note,” Riddle said, frowning briefly “I’d like to reiterate to you all what will happen if any of you DARE to vote for the RSA girls' team!”

“Yes, Sir!” Joker replied. “Off with our heads!”

“Shouldn’t we see how they’ll do first, Riddle?” Trey chuckled.

“Hmph! Implying Ione will be anything less than spectacular!” replied Riddle. “I refuse to believe it!”

Trey walked back his comment, agreeing with his dorm leader. Violetta and Joker shared a secret smile. Riddle’s partiality for Ione was already obvious, but he wasn’t even trying to be subtle anymore.

Meanwhile, closer to the front of the stage, Farron was watching with Savvy, Sidonie, Maximilian, and a few other Pomefiore students. Savvy had ordered custom lightsticks for her dormmates set in their school colors that they waved together during the show. But Farron watched the stage intently and found he could hardly stay still in his seat.

“Something wrong, Farron?” Sidonie asked. “You seem kinda antsy.”

“If you’re worried about RSA topping this, don’t stress yourself,” said Maximilian. “Neige would have to pull a miracle out his ass to top THAT!”

“Right?!” Vil and the boys were absolutely dazzling up there,” Savvy grinned. “Epel especially! I didn’t know he had it in him!”

“Dang, I kinda wish I auditioned now,” Maximilian replied.

“Why didn’t you, Maxie?” Savvy asked. “We could have auditioned together!”

“Ehh, I wanted to, but I had other priorities. But anyway, Farron, what’s on your mind?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Farron replied, turning from the stage to his dormmates. “I’m just excited to see Danica wearing what I made for her!”

“You told me she decided to wear what you originally made for her and not the white dress she had before I dropped out,” smiled Sidonie. “I’m curious, is she wearing what I think she’s wearing?!”

“You’ll see soon enough!” Farron gave her a teasing wink. “It’s not usually my thing to brag, but I think this is some of my best work to date!”

“The VDC has gotten off to a fantastic start but we’ve only just begun!” Right on cue, the host announced the next act, to everyone’s excitement. “Up next, performing another original song, ‘Guilty Heart’ , we have the girls' unit from Night Raven College! Give it up for the Black Swan Quintet!”

~~~

In the final moments in the darkness, before the stage lit up for them, Danica gave each of her teammates one final smile of encouragement. This was their moment to display their power and beauty to the world. They had overcome challenge after challenge to be standing on that stage and nothing would stop them now. Together, victory was within their grasp.

“The black swan was not only able to seduce the prince, but her charm also left the entire court spellbound…win the VDC…show us that power you showed me at the masquerade…”

Danica looked out at the countless faces in the crowd, cheering and screaming, eager to see her and her black swans in action. Her heart was pounding so hard that she was certain her teammates could hear it and she briefly had to press her hand to her chest to calm herself. There was no need for anxiety, she told herself, they had this. They rehearsed this song to perfection and loved every moment of it. Surely, the audience would love them too. After all, that was her power.

I broke my promise to you once, Vil-san. But I will bring home victory for NRC. That is a promise I intend to keep!

As she took one final deep breath, the stage went alight and the music began.

“Look at me, before I vanish forever. Hold me, the chains become tighter. Love me, before regret poisons us both. Even if you swear yourself to me, your guilty heart will never again take me captive…”

A roar of applause followed Danica’s first solo, putting her confidence into overdrive and tossing any fragments of anxiety to the wind. She and her teammates pranced out onto the stage, swaying elegantly as Danica sang out the next few verses. Taima and Iman sang together but Ione and Vidaria each had a moment to display their vocal talent, to great enthusiasm from the crowd.

“Your smile was my miracle, under your gentle hand all my dreams came true. But why has my dream become a nightmare? And why can’t I look away?”

“Your love is beautiful, but I will not be your slave…”

Before her next solo, Danica took center stage, dancing en pointe to even greater applause. After one last pirouette, she struck a pose, seductively extending her hand to the audience before placing it to her heart, singing out the next verse with Vidaria and then another with Ione.

“I followed your radiance to my happily ever after, standing by your side, anything was possible. But why has my dream become a nightmare? And why can’t I look away?”

“Delightfully sweet poison, betraying my innocence…”

The beat dropped and the lighting shifted accordingly. Danica, Taima, and Iman stepped forward for their special dance segment. From the wings, the RSA Divas and NRC Tribe watched the performance with bated breath and racing hearts. They were all quite taken with what they were watching and no one could take their eyes off the Black Swan Quintet. But none among them watched more intently than Vil.

In truth, this was Vil’s first time really watching this performance, as he had been too consumed with his own negative emotions to really pay attention during rehearsals. And whenever he saw hints of what this performance could be, he had purposely shut his eyes to it. Watching now, with opened eyes and a clearer heart, he could fully take in the bewitching and graceful charm Danica displayed on stage. And he could finally give himself over to all the feelings he attempted to push away, building up from the moment he had seen her dance to this song in the ballroom weeks prior.

How strange it is that I am now watching the same trembling freshman I first met on orientation night, someone I had to practically force a name out of. It’s amazing how much you’ve grown in so little time.

However, even as Vil watched with awe, a bittersweet sensation pulled at his chest. Though he had only heard this song once before today, he could still vividly remember the impression it made upon him, how much he had secretly enjoyed it despite professing the opposite out loud. But he also could remember the original lyrics to this song and they were very different from what he was currently listening to. And the song had been titled Guilty Kiss not Guilty Heart . Some of the words were still the same but this song now had an overall darker, almost sadder theme. Juxtaposed by the fun melody and infectious beat.

“The poison won’t take me a second time. Even if you swear yourself to me, your guilty heart will never again take me captive…”

It didn’t take him long to connect the dots. The song had been changed and these new lyrics were about him. Just as he guessed the lyrics to Our Happily Ever After had been about him as well. But while the latter song had been sung by an infatuated young girl thinking herself in love, this song was sung by a hurt and humiliated young woman who still found herself drawn to the guilty heart that initially poisoned her.

As he realized this, for a moment, Vil’s heart stopped. A mixture of terror and embarrassment seized him as he prayed no one would be able to figure this out as well. But after the initial shock wore off, so did his hope no one would know the origin of these lyrics. He knew such could spell disaster for his public image but at this point, Vil found it difficult to care. The world already unfairly painted him as a villain long before he and Danica knew each other and unfortunately, his actions towards her meant the lyric changes were justified.

After all Vil had done, why shouldn’t Danica see him as a villain? Why shouldn’t she be afraid of him? It honestly surprised him that she was able to look at him with any kindness at all. And as this thought passed his mind, Danica began her final solo, something he had deliberately missed during rehearsal. Something he wouldn’t ignore now.

“You were my everything, you were my miracle, and before you, I never knew what it meant to be loved.”

The music picked up in tempo as Danica’s vocals became louder and more profound in their feeling. The beat pumping on, faster to the rhythm of Vil’s pounding heart, but he wouldn’t look away anymore.

“All I want is to return to the way things were. I want to love you again. But why has my dream become a nightmare? And why can’t I look away?”

“No more! I refuse! I will set myself free!”

What Vil found affected him most as he watched Danica wasn’t even the words she was singing. But the high levels of raw, intense emotion in her voice as she declared her heartbreak to the world and final resolve to be free. A burning sensation entered Vil’s throat that he immediately swallowed back. As much as this hurt, he wouldn’t look away anymore. Vil would no longer ignore who Danica truly was, and all that was brilliant and beautiful about her. Faults and all.

Whatever he felt was absolutely trivial compared to what Danica was probably feeling. Instead, as the song neared its conclusion, Vil simply smiled as his perfect swan captivated the audience with her very same spell he himself had fallen under, months ago.

You’ve met every expectation of mine and more, and I expect you to continue growing, my precious potato. Even if I can’t be by your side as you do.

The music stopped and the Black Swan Quintet made their final pose. In the following seconds of silence, Danica took several deep breaths. She had done it, they all had done it and soon, they were met with an eruption of applause. Golden confetti rained upon them as they basked in the praise and adoration from an audience thoroughly enthralled with them. Danica stepped out further on the stage, listening to the crowd cheer their names. A far cry from ever being invisible again.

We’ve done it…we’ve really done it! WE’VE DONE IT!

“That was the Black Swan Quintet, the female entrants from Night Raven College led by Danica Ledelle!” said the host. “Let ‘em hear it! They left the entire crowd on the edge of their seats!”

“AHHHHHH YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!!!” one girl called out.

“You’re so hot, Danica! I think I’m in love!” another man added.

“WE LOVE YOU IONE!!!”

Through the deafening applause, Ione heard her name and looked out to the crowd to see her Heartlabyul friends waving at her. She blushed, immediately seeing the banner Joker, Violetta, and Crisanta were holding up and pointing it out to her teammates. Danica laughed and smiled widely, waving to Joker while Ione made a heart with her hands, a special greeting meant only for Crisanta. Taima saw her parents, stepmother, and two brothers in the crowd and gave a double thumbs up to which her mother did the same, telling her that she had done well.

Vidaria and Iman also waved to the crowd with the latter blowing several kisses and making stylish poses for the photographers in front of the audience. They glanced further out at the coliseum and Iman was the first to see Lilia, Sebek, Silver, Nana and other Diasomnia students applauding them as well. Malleus was with them and while his response was more subdued, the smile he wore showed that he was also pleased with their performance. Vidaria waved to them, but as she did so, she noticed someone sitting with the Diasomnia students whose figure seemed very familiar. Too familiar for it to be a coincidence. Her eyes widened.

No…it can’t be…is that…? IS THAT?!

Across the coliseum, they locked glances and Vidaria’s heart jumped with the sudden, wonderful feeling of having seen the face of an old friend after a very long absence. Because that was exactly what she saw.

“Look, Heloise!” Lilia pointed out to Vidaria staring at them from the stage. “Vidaria sees you! Wasn’t she amazing?”

“Absolutely!” Heloise smiled, waving to Vidaria. “They all were!”

“They’re gonna win for sure!” Nana beamed. “And when they do, we have to celebrate!”

“Yes, we MUST celebrate the young miss’s victory!” Sebek grinned. “A victory that brings honor not only to our school but to our dorm and our young master!”

“Heh, that was quite entertaining indeed,” Malleus admitted. “Worth fixing the stage, I’d say.”

And back on stage, the Black Swan Quintet stood upon the stage a few moments longer. Each of them made sure to wave to every corner of the coliseum and thank their audience for watching them.

“We hope you loved that as much as we did!” Taima smiled.

“You’ve all been a fantastic audience!” Vidaria added. “Let’s do this again sometime!”

“Thank you everyone!” said Danica. “Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!”

~~~

More praise and applause followed the Black Swan Quintet as they left the stage and returned to the hallway. A wave of clapping and repeats of “great job” and “that was amazing” echoed throughout the air but Danica was deaf to all of it. Her heart was on cloud nine and she didn’t want to come down for even a moment.

This feeling, when we were on stage, and now…this is euphoric.

What she was feeling was perfection, their performance was perfect. After all the training, all the strife, changing their song on such short notice and even considering the harrowing ordeal they had experienced a few hours ago, they were still able to stand upon the stage together and meet the audience with radiance and enthusiasm. Even from backstage, the crowd were still cheering for them, chanting her name.

This was the moment she had longed for. Never again would she be afraid of judgment. Never again would she feel like she wasn’t enough. Upon the VDC stage, Danica was finally reborn into the kind of performer she always wished she could be; confident, vicarious and bold. And the audience had responded to her perfection in turn. At that moment, she felt as though she could rule the world.

I hope you’re watching, Fiona, wherever you are. You were able to see what no one else could, and you were right. I’ve finally become as brilliant as you imagined I would be. I wish you were here so badly, but I hope you’re proud.

“How are you feeling, Dani?” Taima briefly brought Danica down from her euphoria by pulling on her hand. “Think we got a good shot at first place?”

“Not even a question!” Iman jumped in. “That was fire! Did you hear how they were screaming when we broke out for our dance segment?”

“And did you see the sign my dormmates were holding up?!” Ione jumped up and down with excitement. “I wasn’t expecting that!”

“But back to you, Danica,” Iman smiled at her. “We all pulled this off because of you. But that doesn’t mean anything if you didn’t think we did well.”

Danica hesitated, looking into the faces of each of her four teammates, she took a deep breath and then opened her arms wide and threw them around them. They were all surprised but quickly returned the affection, sharing a group hug.

“I felt it when we were on stage,” Danica whispered to them. “Perfect, it was perfect. Thank you, all of you, for helping to make this possible.”

“Ugh! You’re too sweet, Missy!” snapped Iman, but she was still smiling. “Shut up before I throw up!”

“I’m glad I was able to stand on the stage with all of you” Ione replied. “A few months ago, I never would have imagined such a thing could be possible. Thank you for letting me have this chance.”

“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure about you guys when we first started,” Taima said with a small chuckle. “Especially after that first day when your bickering caused Dani to run out the room crying. But somehow you guys proved me wrong and in the end…Vidaria, you’re crying.”

“Vidi, what’s wrong?” Iman asked, to which Vidaria began crying harder. “We did great! Your voice was on point and you didn’t miss a step! So why…”

“No, no! I’m not sad at all!” Vidaria replied, pulling away from the group embrace and pressing her hand to her face to cover her tears. “I’m just so happy! Everything worked out and I can’t say that for many things in my life!”

“Oh Vidi,” Iman pulled her into another embrace. “Vida Vidi Vici, I’ve never seen you like this before. But there’s no need for that. Save it for when we win!”

“And that’s not all!” a few more tears slid down Vidaria’s face before she gave herself over to a fit of laughter. “When I was looking out at the audience, I saw Malleus and Lilia. Silver and Sebek, and Nana too! And guess who was with them! Go ahead guess!”

“Hmm? Who, Vidi?”

But before Vidaria could answer her, Vil and the others from NRC Tribe approached them. Vil clapped his hands slowly, a full and genuine smile gracing his face.

“Excellent, ladies,” he said. “Very well done.”

“Oui! You all were tres spectaculare!” Rook exclaimed. “Such a stunning image you all presented to the world, a perfect blend of enchanting and frightening! It was magnifique!”

“You’ve done your school justice,” added Vil. “Each of you should be proud of how all your hard work has paid off.”

“Vil-san…” Danica looked up at Vil as reality slowly returned to her. “You’re no longer upset about our song change?”

“As far as I am concerned, what you all did on stage was exactly what you should have been doing all along,” Vil replied. “And based upon the audience’s reaction, I’d say you’ll soon have more reason to be proud of yourself, Danica.”

“I…I…” Danica felt a flush of red coming to her face and she quickly bit her tongue. “Thank you, Sir. Thank you.”

“Great job, guys!” Ace grinned. “Even you, Ione! You were awesome!”

“Really? Oh...uh...I mean, yes, thank you Ace!” Ione smiled, but then asked, “Hey, where is Yuulan? Wasn’t she with you guys earlier?”

“She and Grim are out in the audience now, taking pics with her special camera,” Deuce replied. “I can’t wait to see them!”

“I had so much fun watching you all!” Kalim smiled. “Your dancing was amazing and I couldn’t look away if I tried!”

“Good work, you guys,” said Jamil. “We all did our best but you girls were incredible. You’re Highness, you were great out there,” He smiled at Iman. “Your dancing has always been top notch but your vocals have greatly improved too!”

“Ahhh, ohhhh,” Iman turned away in case she was blushing. “Thanks, that’s a lot coming from you!”

“Ya’ll were sooooo cool!” Epel exclaimed, briefly forgetting Vil’s presence in a fit of excitement. “Mah heart was racin’ watchin’ ya’ll sing an’ dance. I’m sure ya’ll will win an…oh!” Vil glared at him and he quickly corrected himself. “Oh! I mean…you all will win for sure and…”

“Thank you, Epel!” Taima smiled at him.

“We’ve all done what we can,” said Rook. “Now we must wait for the other teams to perform and leave it up to the vote.”

Danica nodded, taking a few more breaths as the pressure of the last four weeks continued to remove itself from her shoulders. Followed by a great wave of relief washing over not only her but all of the performers representing NRC. They had done it, and come what may, they all felt proud of the final result of their efforts. Even Vil, in spite of the hideous display he had subjected them to, was beginning to feel his confidence rise again at the possibility of victory. They had exerted every bit of power they had, now all they needed to do was wait.

This time, I will be number one.

The twelve NRC performers continued standing together in the hallway, enjoying this moment of peace between them when it was suddenly interrupted by a high pitched whistling sound. Danica and Taima turned their direction down the hallway and saw two male Savannaclaw students who were working on the VDC staff team. They both leered at the girls rather shamelessly and one of them made several loud kissing noises at them. A strong, sick feeling came over them and Danica immediately remembered how the two male reporters were looking at her during rehearsal. She moved closer to Vil and Rook without realizing she was doing so.

I guess with power and beauty, comes jerks who think they’re entitled to it.

“There will now be a brief intermission and then the RSA teams will have their turn,” Vil said. “Our moment of relaxation will be brief, but feel free to take advantage.”

“Yeah, I wanna go find Yuulan and see the pics she took!” Deuce said, already beginning to run down the hall before Vil could give him leave to go.

“Hey! Wait up!” Ace ran after him.

“I wanna see too!” Epel followed behind them, leaving Jamil, Kalim, Vil, Rook and the girls alone in the hallway.

“I’m gonna go call my sister and see what she thought of us,” Jamil said, walking off with Kalim following.

“Ladies, you’re free to use this time to your advantage as well,” said Rook.

“But be back here in fifteen minutes,’ Vil added.

After catching the Savannaclaw boys gawking at her, Danica considered asking Vil and Rook if one of them would stay with her and her teammates. But she couldn’t seem to find the words and watched blankly as she saw her dorm leaders walk off in the opposite direction. Looking around her, she thought about returning to their dressing room until innermission was over but Vidaria was adamant about going back out in the coliseum and wanted her teammates to join her.

“Vidaria, we don’t have much time before the second half of the show,” Danica said, trying to reason with her. “Are you sure…”

“Yes please!” Vidaria interrupted her. “There was someone out in the audience I have to see now! It can’t wait until the end! Please humor me!”

“Of course we’ll go with you, Vidi!” Iman smiled, beginning to pull her hand down the hallway. But Danica remained still. “You too, team leader!”

“I…uh…I wanna come too but…”

Danica looked ahead, but noticed the Savannaclaw students were now nowhere to be seen. Taima must have known what her friend was thinking and tried to reason with her.

“We’ll all be together, Dani,” she said. “And if we’re together…”

“Of course! You’re right, Tai-chan!” Danica forced a smile, walking past her. “Come on, let’s go!”

~~~

The girls were nearly to the outer part of the coliseum. Iman briefly stepped out to a visible part of the stage, quickly catching the notice of the audience who cheered and squealed at the sight of her. Iman couldn’t help but step out a little further to wave to the crowd and bask in their adoration before Taima pulled her back, much to Iman’s chagrin.

“What? Just giving the fans what they want!” she laughed.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Taima scoffed. “Save your smiles for the awards ceremony!”

“Save a few smiles for us too, babe!”

The two Savannaclaw boys from before suddenly appeared, deliberately blocking the exit to the outer coliseum by standing in front of them. Iman tried to walk past them but they made a point of putting themselves in her way so she couldn’t pass easily. She glared at their audacity and Danica suddenly felt chilled, this was exactly what she was afraid of.

“Excuse us! We’re going out to the audience for a moment!” Ione spoke with an imperious tone. “Please let us pass!”

“Awww, how cute that you said ‘please’!” one of the guys replied with a little smirk. “But why would we do that when we’ve been wanting to talk to you since the second you got off stage!”

“Very nice show, ladies,” said the second boy, coming closer to Danica and making them all feel very uncomfortable. “We couldn’t take our eyes off of you! Y'all sure know how to move!”

“Really?” Iman sarcastically asked. “Well sadly for you, we aren’t doing autographs! If you wanna show your admiration, do so by voting when the time comes!”

“Hmph, maybe we will vote for you,’ the second boy continued, leaning into Danica’s face with a chilling smile. “And maybe we won’t. What’s in it for us, ladies?”

His eyes were directed down her feathered bodice and he was so close to Danica that she could smell his sweat which made her feel even sicker. Her heart raced and her eyes scanned the area for a quick out from this situation. There was none but Taima quickly pulled her back, placing herself in front of her friend.

“The hell does that mean?!” she snapped. “Shouldn’t a victory against RSA be enough?!”

“My my, feisty aren’t we,” the first boy came up from behind Taima, boldly grabbing her arm and pulling her closer to him. “I like that, babe!”

“HEY WHAT THE FUCK!”

“Taima!” Danica shrieked as she felt a hand press against her hair. She turned around just in time to see the second boy trying to grab her shoulder and jumped back. “What the hell is wrong with…”

“Disgusting!” Iman snapped, pulling Danica back even further. “Common street rats would have more decency!”

“Ohhh come on, ladies, don’t be like that,” he chuckled. “We loved your song and your dancing was nice too! We just wanna show our appreciation!”

“LIKE HELL YOU ARE!” Taima snapped, snatching her hand away. “Do us a favor and fuck off!”

“Heyyyy that isn’t very nice!” the second boy teased her.

“Nice would be too good for your behavior!” from behind him, Vidaria sharply planted her foot into his back, forcing him to the ground. “Such audacity! I’ve never…ahh!”

The first boy tried grabbing Vidaria’s hand but she wouldn’t have it and kept smacking his hands away before he finally grabbed her by the arm. He glared at her.

“Ungrateful bitch!” he spat. “We were trying to be nice but…”

“HEY!”

A loud, booming voice forced him to quickly let Vidaria go and take several steps back. Leona and Jack were passing by on their way to look over the lighting for the second half of the show, and saw what was happening. As Savannaclaw’s dorm leader, the last thing Leona needed was his own students harassing performers under Vil’s management, especially when one of them was Malleus’ bride. He and Jack moved swiftly to stop this, putting themselves in front of the girls and giving the two boys a thorough piece of his mind.

“What the hell’s your problem?!” he growled, grabbing the first boy by his shirt. “You two are supposed to be working on the lighting for the next act! Not accostin’ the talent!”

“Aww come on, boss!” the first boy groaned. “We were just having some fun with them!”

“Didn’t look like it from where we were standin’!” snapped Jack.

“You stay outa this, freshman!” retorted the second boy.

“No, you two are juniors so YOU’RE the ones who should know better than to talk to girls like that!” Leona sharply replied. “ESPECIALLY girls reppin’ for NRC!”

“That is NOT how we do things in Savannaclaw!” Jack added.

“What if Vil walked by and saw what you were doin’?! I’d never hear the end of it! You’re both makin’ my job harder than it needs to be!” Leona roughly let go of the first boy but didn’t move away from his protective stance. “Stop actin’ like chumps and go do what I’m payin’ you to do!”

“But you ain’t payin’ us at all, Leona-san!”

“GO BEFORE I ROAST YOU BOTH ALIVE!”

The Savannaclaw boys ran off, ears lowered and tails tucked between their legs. Leona continued to glare down the hallway until they were gone. Jack shook his head.

“If I ever tried something like that, my mom would skin my tail,” he turned to the girls. “Ya’ll alright? I hope they didn’t hurt you.”

“We’re fine, thank you, Jack,” Danica replied, though her voice was clearly shaken.

“But I hope you don’t plan to let those two fully off the hook!” Vidaria said sharply.

“Oh I don’t plan to, don’t you worry your pretty little heads about that!” Leona allowed himself a small smile. “I don’t want any heat from any of your dorm leaders.” He moved away to let the girls pass out of the hallway. “But lemme know if they act up again! Got it?”

“Thank you, Leona-san.”

Danica was quick to walk to the exit with the other girls following her. But she allowed herself to turn back to Leona and smile as well. Though she didn’t always have the best opinion of him, she was grateful to be reminded that some guys still had sense not to be lewd about her beauty.

“Don’t mention it,” Leona replied. “By the way, good show, ladies! You’re got our votes for sure!”

~~~

The second they were outside, the girls were met with a loud wave of cheering from a group of students in the first rows of the audience. Danica noticed her Pomefiore friends in the distance and waved to them as they made their way through the stands to where Lilia and the other Diasomnia students were sitting. Vidaria ran ahead of them, excited suspense rushing through her chest as she came closer to her dormmates. She stopped short, emotional tears burning in her eyes as she realized that she wasn’t dreaming.

“HELOISE!!!” She gasped, jumping up and down and waving her arms. “HELOISE! HELOISE! It’s really you!”

“Oh, Princess!”

Heloise immediately jumped from her seat and ran over to Vidaria, throwing her arms around her and crying loudly. Vidaria cried as well, certain before today that she would never see her favorite handmaiden ever again. In truth, Heloise was far more than a handmaiden, she was also Vidaria’s confidante and after Iman, her closest most trusted friend. She had attended NRC with Vidaria the previous year, but after defending her from a kidnap attempt, was forced to return to Briar Valley for several months. Their friendship suffering in the process.

It was a dreadful incident that Vidaira couldn’t help but blame herself for. She was convinced that Heloise would resent her because of what she had sacrificed to keep her safe. But what Vidaria did not know was that beyond her vows to the Draconias, Heloise considered it a privilege to protect her friend and would gladly walk through Hell if Vidaria asked it of her. Their separation had caused Heloise as much pain as it had Vidaria but at long last, Heloise had recently been given permission to return to NRC and they could pick up their friendship where they had left off. And from the heartfelt response Heloise had to her, Vidaria understood that her devotion was as strong as ever.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” she said, squeezing Heloise tighter to her.

“Your Highness, Vidaria, I’ve missed you so much!” Heloise wept softly. “I’m so sorry, I wish I could have spoken to you sooner. I’ve been in Briar Valley all this time and yet…”

“No, no, it’s alright. You were recovering and that was your priority. Forgive me for forcing you to endure something so horrid.”

“A small price to pay, to ensure the safety of Briar Valley’s future queen,” Heloise pulled back from Vidaria’s embrace to smile at her. “And the greatest hope for peace between the fae nations.”

“Heyyyy! Helo! Heloise!”

Iman and the other girls had caught up to Vidaria. Having been a freshman with Vidaria and Heloise the previous year, Iman was already familiar with her and went to embrace her as well. Danica, Taima and Ione weren’t quite sure what was going on, but this was the first time any of them had seen Vidaria so happy and loved to see it. Danica waved to Lilia, who waved back but didn’t move from his place sitting beside Malleus and Silver.

“Your highness! You were so amazing up there!” Nana also ran over to them, grinning widely. “Heloise and I loved every moment of it! And your outfit is sooooo pretty!”

“Thank you, Nana,” Vidaria smiled, gently patting Nana’s soft black head. “I’m glad you enjoyed watching us!”

“I enjoyed it too, your highness!” Sebek shouted passionately. “Your beauty and grace had me absolutely enthralled! Your talent alone will secure victory for your team for certain!”

“What?” Nana looked up at Sebek. “But Sebek, I’m pretty sure you were saying all of those things about Taima.”

“WH…WHAT?!” Sebek’s eyes immediately locked with Taima’s. The sly smirk on her face made him blush fiercely. “I…I was not! Do not tell falsehoods, Nana!”

“Heh heh, yes you were!” Heloise laughed. “You couldn’t stop talking about her! I heard you!”

“HEYYYYYY!!!” The exposure left Sebek absolutely mortified and unfortunately for him, there was little he could say in his defense besides try to change the subject. “Anyway! Your highness, we all enjoyed watching you and your team perform!”

“I’m glad,” Vidaria replied, looking over at Silver sitting with Malleus and Lilia. Unlike how he was normally, his eyes were alert and he and Vidaria shared a secret smile. “I’m glad you all enjoyed it! Please vote for us too! That’s the only way we can win!”

“WITH THE UTMOST PLEASURE!!” Sebek replied.

At this, a loud clanging bell announced the end of the intermission and the continuation of the VDC. The Black Swan Quintet were expected backstage soon so they said their goodbyes to the Diasomina students who in turn wished them luck, promising that they each had their vote.

“By the by, could one of you please show me how the voting system works?” Malleus asked. “I’m not quite familiar with how this QR code thing works. Is this some sort of special language?”

“Oho! I will show you when the time comes, Malleus!” Lilia grinned. “Don’t you worry!”

“Be sure to do that, Lilia!” Danica called out to him as they walked back to the stage. “We’ll need every vote we can get!”

~~~

The Black Swan Quintet hurried to get back to the stage, receiving applause and cheers all the way. For the most part, the initial reception to their performance very positive and they reveled in the adoration they were receiving. They were almost to the inner part of the coliseum when the girls heard a high pitched voice, sounding like a child’s, calling out to them.

“You’re so cool, Black Swans!”

They turned around and from the middle stands they saw a little girl running up to them, probably no more than six or seven years old, with a large smile on her face. Iman grinned and knelt down as the girl came closer to them, reaching out her hand to shake her hand. Despite her imperious attitude, something about children always brought out the sweetness in her. Especially well behaved, reverent ones.

“Hello there, little one, did you enjoy our show?”

“I did! I did!” The little girl jumped up and down with excitement. “I love your fashion! I wanna dress like that too!”

“Ohhh,” Danica giggled, also kneeling down to meet her level. “Maybe when you’re big like us, you can!”

“Awww, I remember being her age,” Taima whispered to Ione and Vidaria. “And looking up to pop idols, this is probably a big moment for her to meet girls that she admires.”

“It’s so nice having such a sweet little fan like you,” Iman smiled, holding both of her hands, “You remind me of my little sister.”

“I’m gonna vote for you too! I hope you win!” she beamed, holding up a pink smartphone. “Can I take a picture with you guys?”

Despite having limited time, the Black Swans were more than willing to pose for a photo with their little fan. Vidaria agreed to sit out of the photo to hold the phone and take it but just as they struck a pose, an angry voice interrupted them.

“Sylvia! There you are!” A woman, likely the girl’s mother, came up to them and quickly grabbed her by the arm. “I told you about running off!”

“But Mommy!” the little girl pleaded, “I wanted to meet the Black Swans! They said I could take a picture with them! Can I please…”

“Absolutely not!” the woman’s words were directed to her daughter, but her angry glare was directed at Iman, the one closest to her. “You know better than to talk to strangers!”

“Bu..but…”

“No buts! You shouldn’t be bothering them anyway!”

“Pardon me, Ma’am,” Danica spoke up. “Your daughter wasn’t bothering us, she’s very sweet and we don’t mind…”

“I’ll thank you to stay out of this!” Sylvia’s mother snapped, pulling her daughter closer in a strangely protective manner. “Pardon my child’s rudeness but intermission is nearly over. You girls should go backstage.”

Without waiting for their response, she quickly pulled Sylvia away from the Black Swans; nearly forgetting that Vidaria had their phone, she came back to them long enough to snatch it back. Sylvia looked back at them, her face looking absolutely despondent and heartbroken. And Vidaria heard when the woman whispered disparaging comments about them under her breath.

“So inappropriate! To think my daughter could look up to girls like that?! What is this world coming to?!”

“Girls like what?!” Vidaria glared as she watched them go back to their seats. “What did she expect to see at the VDC?! It’s not like we were dancing in our undergarments!”

“Has that woman NOT looked at magicam?!” Iman added, “Or even at music shows on tv?! We were tame compared to other groups!”

“Seriously, if that little girl wanted a pic with us, that shouldn’t be a problem!” Taima shook her head. “I swear I don’t understand adults sometimes, they tell us to grow up but when we do then they loose their shit!”

“Poor girl,” Ione sighed, “That woman reminds me of my own father. He didn’t want me singing in the VDC neither.”

“Hush you guys,” with her arms, Danica huddled her teammates closer to her and tried to push them in the direction of the inner coliseum. “You don’t want her to hear us.”

“So what if she does?!” snapped Iman, raising her voice some. “That woman was a bi…”

“Enough!” Danica pressed her hand to Iman’s mouth. “Remember you’re a princess. Be above it and don’t confirm her prejudices.”

Iman yanked Danica’s hand away from her mouth, but she took her advice and bit her tongue. But that didn’t mean she liked it, most little girls wanted to mimic older ones that they found stylish and cool and Sylvia was no different. It was flattering that the Black Swan Quintet could make such an impression on her but her mother’s reaction was more than a little frustrating to all of them. This was another thing Danica feared but this time, instead of internalizing her guilt, she only felt angry.

Hmph, she was a bitch though! Poor girl, that’s probably why some girls end up so insecure!

Vil had been correct about people judging girl groups by harsher standards, but it didn’t make it right. And by this point, for the first time in weeks, Danica could honestly say she no longer cared. To her mind, they were all hypocrites and all that hat mattered to her now was winning, weather people secretly vilified her or not.

~~~

Neige and his little friends were the first to perform for the second act of the show. He was met with as much enthusiasm as Vil if not more, and the crowd immediately melted at the sight of the dwarves.

“Who are those little kids?!” one audience member asked. “They’re soooooo adorable!”

“Come on everyone!” Neige smiled. “Let’s all sing together! Everyone yahoo!”

His stage presence was as flawless as ever but it also made the lack of grace and coordination between the dwarves all the more noticeable. They continued to mess up their already simple choreography and when they sand together, their voices clashed terribly with Neige’s. Vil really didn’t want to watch them, but Rook had insisted and Danica made a point of joining them along with Ione and Taima. Iman considered watching Neige’s performance during rehearsal insulting enough and couldn’t bear to watch it a second time. She and Vidaria opted to stay in their dressing room chatting with the RSA Divas who equally couldn’t be bothered.

“I feel like they’re even worse than earlier,” Ione whispered to Danica. “They’re not in sync, not even a little! They’re not keeping the beat at all, even I’m not that bad off!”

“I know, right?!” Taima softly replied. “Vil-san really lost his shit over THIS?!”

Danica heard them, but did not respond right away. She was focusing on Neige and trying to decipher what it was that the audience was responding to, though she knew she already had the answer. Looking up at her dorm leaders, she could see Vil watching the performance with a strange sense of anxious fear in his eyes while Rook seemed absolutely enchanted. The response of the latter was what really bothered Danica, the look in Rook’s eyes was very similar the very same way he would gaze at her when she danced. But even when she felt at her lowest, she knew she could perform better than this.

What exactly was Rook thinking? Something she wanted to know more than anything else at that moment.

The second their song was over, Vil walked off back to his dressing room, though Rook stayed behind, eager to watch Neige and his friends until the last possible second. Everyone in the audience applauded them and Neige and the dwarves waved to the audience, charming them with their adorable faces and bright smiles. And Danica couldn’t help but think that Sylvia’s mother preferred his performance a thousand times over her or even Vil’s. Even if Neige’s performance was extremely out of place and probably didn’t even take a fourth of the time they put in to prepare.

As Neige and the dwarves left the stage, Rook walked off as well and once he was gone, Danica rolled her eyes.

“Innocence and adorable sweetness will always trump something more profound,” she said dryly.

“What are you talking about?” asked Taima. “You said something similar during rehearsals, what did you mean?”

“The reason Vil was upset was because the audience responded better to Neige than they did NRC Tribe. And the only reason for that was because Neige is adorable and endearing in how ridiculous he is,” Danica made a sound of frustration with her teeth. “If anyone else dared to compete with Vil with a performance like that, they would be laughed off the stage.”

“There does seem to be kind of a disconnect here,” Ione nodded. “Even the RSA Divas had a stronger performance than that.”

“And the reason that little girl’s mom didn’t want us interacting with her was because we aren’t like Neige Leblanche. That’s why those boys felt they could harass us like they did. We aren’t endearing or cute. We’re provocative and bold,” Danica gave a sarcastic sneer. “The last thing a girl should aspire to be!”

“Well so what if we didn’t have a performance like Neige and his friends?” asked Ione, rather indignantly. “That doesn’t mean our performance was bad, if you ask me, that girl’s mom and those Savannaclaw boys were the wrong ones for assuming we’re whores just cause we look a certain way.”

“I just hope everyone will still vote for Vil and our boys.” Taima added. “Regardless of how cute Neige is, NRC Tribe still had the strongest performance technically speaking.”

“I hope so too,” Danica sighed, looking down the hallway at Rook’s silhouette wit a strange sense of jealousy and bewilderment. “I hope so too.”

~~~

The RSA Divas performed soon after this. Iman and Vidaria emerged from their dressing room to join the other NRC performers in watching them. They also received an enthusiastic response from the audience and once again, Rook watched them and didn’t bother to conceal how intensely he was enamored with them. Danica made a point of standing away from him, and tried to close her ears to his audible musings which only furthered her increasing uneasiness with him.

Thankfully, Petals in the Snow was a short song and soon enough, they were done. With the RSA Divas being the final performers, the VDC had now officially concluded. After another, shorter intermission, all the entrants were called to the stage for the final voting and awards ceremony.

There would be a winner among both the boys and girls units with a large cash prize going to each of them. However, the winning units would be determined by a vote and every person in the coliseum from audience, staff to the performers themselves, would have the chance to cast a ballot.

“Which team did the best job of expressing the world contained in their song through singing, dancing and production?” The host asked the crowd. “Cast your vote now! Choose which team you think shined the brightest!”

Three minutes, only one hundred and eighty seconds to determine who would be bringing home victory for their school. Danica and her teammates huddled together, smartphones in hand to cast their votes. From across the stage, she locked eyes with Lilianne and both nodded, knowing well what was expected of the other.

“There!” Taima tapped on her phone. “We all voted! Now all we gotta do is wait for the results!”

“My hearts pounding outa my chest!” said Epel as he cast his votes.

“There were a ton of very good performers,” Deuce admitted.

“Yeah I’m still voting for NRC Tribe!” Kalim grinned.

“Yeah absolutely!” Ace added.

“Both NRC teams are definitely top contenders,” smiled Jamil. “Both performance-wise and popularity-wise so vote with your head held high!”

“You bet!” Iman smiled as she cast her votes. “I don’t need the prize money, but it’s the principle of the matter!”

“Indeed after all we’ve been through, we don’t deserve second place!” said Ione.

“Ten seconds until the poll closes!” The host announced. “Nine, eight, seven, six…”

“We got this!” Danica told her teammates. “Like Jamil said, vote with your heads held high! We got this!”

“Four, three, two…”

“That Rook guy may have been a creep,” Isabel said to her friends as she cast her votes. “But those guys still had a much better performance. They deserve our votes!”

“And don’t forget!” Lilianne replied, casting her votes as well. “BOTH NRC teams need to win so Neige will leave me alone!”

“TIME!” The clang of a bell announced an end to the voting process. “And now, we will tally the votes to determine this years’ victors. Starting with the winner for the top girls’ unit!”

After a few moments, a staff member handed the host a small white piece of paper with the winning girls’ team written on it along with the margin they won by. The host took one look at the paper and his eyes widened.

“WOW!!! What an INCREDIBLE response! This is the first year in more than a decade that girls’ units have competed in this competition and NEVER has one won by such an overwhelming number!”

The Black Swan Quintet all took each other’s hands, holding their breath. The moment of truth had finally come.

“Winning the girls’ division of this year’s Vocal and Dance Championship, by a RECORD BREAKING landslide is…”

~~~

#twisted wonderland #twst fic #twst writing #twisted wonderland oc #twst oc #shining hearts ~ melodies and melancholy #things i write

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