The Court of Thorns.
I havenβt played Twisted Wonderland since it isnβt available in my region, so characterizations may be OOC. This oneshot is purely for fun please donβt think too hard about accuracy. (gave up on coloring midway)
One night, (Name) finds themselves lost in a dreamlike fragment of Twisted Wonderland an otherworldly, exaggerated Wonderland within the world they already know. Guided by strange whispers, they stumble into a surreal βtrialβ overseen by bizarre versions of the NRC dorm leaders. The question at the heart of the trial: Is (Name) truly meant to stay in this world, or are they merely an intruder who upset the balance?
The first thing you noticed was the scent of roses. Too sweet, cloying, almost suffocating.
You sat up and blinked, but the familiar walls of Ramshackle were gone. Instead, a sprawling field stretched around you roses taller than trees, their vines curling and tangling into arches that blocked out the sky. Thorns shimmered with moonlight, and when you reached out, the petals burned cold against your fingertips.
βAnother stray,β a voice whispered, but it didnβt come from a throat. It rippled through the roses themselves.
You turned and nearly stumbled back.
A mirror stood in the clearing. It was cracked, edges bristling with briars, yet its surface pulsed like water. Your reflection wavered, melting into someone else,no, not someone else. A dozen someones. Dorm leaders, their gazes sharp as knives, their mouths moving in unison.
βThe Court is convened. The trial begins.β
Your chest tightened. Trial? For what?
The world folded like paper. In an instant you were seated at the center of a throne room made entirely of card suits spades and diamonds stitched into banners, hearts carved into marble, clubs twisting like skeletal chandeliers.
Around you sat the dorm leaders, though not as you knew them. Each was dressed in attire more storybook grotesque than reality allowed:
Riddle in a crown of glass roses, his robe dripping with thorns that cut his own hands as he gripped a gavel.
Leona draped lazily over a throne of bones, a lionβs tail coiled like a whip at his side, his smirk feral.
Azul behind a desk of coral and contracts, quills fluttering like sea-birds ready to stab.
Kalim glittering with jewels too heavy for his frame, smiling but hollow eyed, as though his laughter were forced.
Vil wrapped in a cape of peacock feathers, eyes cold, lips stained like crushed berries.
Idia a wisp of ghostly flame, shackled by silver chains that clinked whenever he twitched.
Malleus cloaked in shadows so tall they devoured the ceiling, eyes burning like green lanterns.
You swallowed. Their gazes pinned you as surely as thorns.
β(Name),β Riddleβs voice cut like a blade. βYou stand accused of trespass. Entering this world uninvited. Disturbing its fragile order. How do you plead?β
You opened your mouth, but your voice didnβt seem to reach the air. The roses whispered louder, drowning you.
Leona chuckled. βLook at them. A kitten dropped in the middle of a pride. They wonβt last. Not in this world.β
Azul adjusted his spectacles, though his grin was sharp enough to cut glass. βYet theyβve managed, havenβt they? Gathering allies, stumbling through disasters. Some would call itβ¦ lucrative.β
βSome would call it fate!β Kalim chimed, though his smile faltered when Jamilβs shadow rose behind him like a cobra.
Vilβs lip curled. βFate? Hardly. An eyesore plucked from nowhere. If they remain, they must prove they can becomeβ¦ beautiful. Otherwise..β He raised a hand, feathers trembling. βThey will poison the garden.β
Idia muttered something, sparks hissing from his hair. βItβs just likeβ¦ some bugged NPC. Dropped into the wrong code. Error on the worldβs part. Theyβllβ¦ theyβll break everything if they stay too long.β
The shadows around Malleus pulsed, his gaze heavy with something unreadable. βOr perhaps,β he rumbled, βthey were meant to come here. To turn the key in a lock none of us could open.β
The court erupted into overlapping voices, each louder than the last, until the sound was unbearable.
βGuilty!β
βInnocent!β
βUseful!β
βDangerous!β
The words wrapped around you, suffocating.
The mirror appeared again, floating in the center of the chamber. Its surface flickered, showing two visions:
On one side, Ramshackle Dorm your home here. Dusty, drafty, but filled with faint laughter, with friends who stumbled into chaos with you.
On the other, a blurred shape you couldnβt quite see. But you knew what it was. Your world. The one you came from.
Riddle slammed his gavel. βChoose. Stay, and forever be bound to Wonderlandβs thorns. Leave, and never return.β
Your breath hitched. Your heart ached. Every eye in the court burned into you, waiting.
Leonaβs smirk softened, almost pitying.
Azulβs quill hovered, ready to write your decision into eternity.
Kalim leaned forward as though urging you to stay.
Vilβs gaze was sharp, as if daring you to prove him wrong.
Idiaβs flames flickered nervously, unreadable.
And Malleus⦠Malleus looked at you as though your answer would change everything.
The roses whispered again, curling around your ankles like chains.
βSoβ¦ which will you choose, little stray?β
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βRemain.β The thorns will claim you, but the garden will bloom.
βDepart.β The mirror will shatter, and youβll never return.
