A Queen and Her Kings

The Mark Felt Around the Universe: Part Two

Vil had been asleep, getting his self mandated nine hours (though, not because he needed beauty rest; he was already beautiful. He made himself sleep that long for the sake of feeling energized. Modeling and acting were far more exhausting than anyone gave them credit for.). Something that should have been considered a miracle with how worried he was. Rook had been acting strange ever since he had wandered off into the forest by the athletic green during lunch. He wasn't being his usual flamboyant self, staring off into space and sighing at random intervals, not to mention the fact he couldn't seem to look him in the eye. Most people had trouble reading Rook, the man was far from an open book, and while Vil wasn't most people, he was still at a loss. It was probably nothing, but it still worried him

Then, He was jostled awake by a burning pain on his right thigh. He had no idea what was happening, if he was being attacked or not by something he apparently could not see, and so he gave the expected response to his situation.

He screamed bloody murder at the top of his lungs.

He was not a weakling by any means (years of martial arts and fencing classes had ensured this), but he was unequipped to deal with whatever this was. He needed help.

Sure enough, the object of Vil's concern burst into the room, guns-er, well, crossbow ablazing. He looked very focused and aware for someone who was just woken up by the sound of screams; well, his face looked aware, but the rest of him made it very apparent he hadn't been awake two minutes ago. He had a slight bed head, which wasn't too bad because of his naturally straight hair, and was wearing a summer green t-shirt and loose fitting yet stylish sun yellow pants, which complimented his natural color scheme.

He looked exceptional even at his least prepared; as expected of the vice dorm leader of Pomefiore.

But the hunter's blaze of glory didn't last long, because soon enough, he was plagued with the same pain as Vil. Rook collapsed to the ground, his crossbow clattering on the floor. Rook screamed along with Vil, feeling what he did not know to be a similar pain on his right bicep.

At some point, the pain had stopped, and with it, both of the young men's screaming. Panicked and disoriented, Vil was left lost in his own head wondering what had happened before Rook, his concern over weighing his panic, quickly came to sit beside him on the bed and gently grabbed Vi's arm, bringing him back to reality.

"Roi du Poison? Roi du Poison?", Rook asked, grabbing Vil by the shoulders and looking him in the eyes when he didn't speak.

"Vil, talk to me. What happened? Are you alright?", The third year asked. That got Vil's attention. Rook almost never used his name, and when he did, he was either very serious or very concerned.

"I-I think I'm fine, I just- I felt like something was burning me and I couldn't see what was causing it. What about you? You collapsed and started screaming too, are you okay?", Vil answered, his voice sounding half there before it came back full of worry when he asked Rook his question. Rook furrowed his brow and frowned.

"I think so. I felt a pain on my arm. It felt like something was burning me, as well.", he said, his voice filled with confusion at his situation. After Rook's statement, Vil slid his silk lounge pants right leg up to his upper thigh in an attempt to see what had caused his pain. The model gasped in shock as he saw what lay on the right side of his thigh.

It was a coat of arms-esque tattoo of sorts with a large 'M' in the middle. Vil felt his brow furrow, for once not caring about the wrinkles doing so might cause him later in life.

How on Twisted Wonderland had that gotten there?

"What in the world...?", the champagne blonde trailed off, the awe in his voice and expression causing Rook to lean over to see what his dorm leader was so shocked by.