Chapter IV: Not just another bloody Riddle

Riddle honestly didn't know what they were thinking when they asked Cerelia out. "I shouldn't.. He'd be so, so! Pissed!" They started to panic a bit in Xena's hold.

Xena sighs and shakes her head. "Cy love, you know he wouldn't be mad. And besides, y'all are taking a break."

Riddle nods but still seems very tense. "But.. it feels so wrong!"

Xena gently runs her fingers through Riddle's knotted hair. "Come on, let's get you ready." She stands, Riddle still in her arms. She walks over to the vanity and gently places Riddle on the chair. "Let's get you all dolled up for your date!"

Riddle honestly wasn't paying too much attention as Xena "dolled them up" as she put it. Xena had dressed their eyes with bright red eyeshadow with white dots along the top near their eyebrows. White eyeliner lined their eyes with small swirls, making their eyes appear a tad larger.

"Do you want contacts?" Xena asks softly. Riddle shakes their head. They didn't know why they didn't give a verbal answer they just didn't want to.

Xena nods. "Okay, let's get you dressed then darling." She leaves Riddle on the chair as she walks towards the wardrobe to pick through the clothes. Her eyes land on a particular outfit which she knew Riddle loved. "This should make them feel more comfortable!" She thinks as she grabs it from the wardrobe.

The outfit she pulled was simple but it made Riddle feel more like themself whenever they were feeling down. It was a red mesh long sleeve shirt, a black corset, and checkered pants as well as a pair of black heeled boots. "What about this one?" She smiles wide.

Riddle looks towards her and nods. "That's good. Can you grab me a jacket though? It's gonna be dark soon so it'll be even colder."

Xena nods. She sets the outfit on the bed then begins to look for a jacket that would be suitable.

Riddle sighs gently as they lean their head back. "This is my first date in what?.. two hundred and eight years?" They think then shake their head. "There's no way it could be that long."

Xena finally settles on a heavy looking black dress coat with gold chains on the pocket. The coat had no buttons or anything to keep it closed so it was kind of counterproductive. It had thin white pinstripes going vertically down the jacket. It didn't have a hood either.

Riddle smiles as Xena hands then the full outfit. "Get changed honey, I'm gonna go check on Maribelle."

Riddle nods. "Make sure to keep her company while I'm gone alright? You know how she gets when she's lonely.." Riddle frowns a bit as they think back to those dark times. "Especially if she-"

Xena laughs softly. "I know, I know hon. Don't worry, I promise to take care of our baby while you're gone."

Riddle gives her a small smile. "Alright, call me if she needs absolutely anything okay? Even if it's just my voice, call me." Their tone was firm but filled with worry.

Xena chuckles softly. "I promise. Now get dressed dummy!!" Her chuckle starts to fade as she exits the room.

Riddle sighs quietly as they begin to change. Their eyes instinctively dart down to the wedding ring on their finger. "Be on your best behavior lovely, we don't want to scare them off." His words rang through their ears, causing them to let out a sad giggle.

"I miss you so so much.." They mumble as they finish getting dressed and look for some sort of accessory. They find a old looking crown of thorned leaves buried away. "Make the most of freedom and of pleasure dear, you have no idea when it'll leave you." More words rang through their ears as they picked up the old piece.

They set it on their vanity as they sit down. They brush their hair gently, making sure not to rip out the small curls. Once the violet curls are no longer knotted they gently set the brush down in the open drawer. They set the golden crown of thorned leaves atop their head as they look around the room. "Something just feels missing.." Riddle mumbles as they stand.

Their eyes land on a pure white cloak hanging by a hook near the door. They smile gently and nod. "I can't just leave something so precious here." They put the previous jacket away and grab their cloak as they walk out the door. "It's my own design! It helps me decide." A new voice rings through their mind, one of an older male. Riddle's smile grows as they slip on the cloak, the comfortable fabric fitting perfectly across their shoulders. They make sure to clasp the gold chain around their neck before they knock on Cerelia's door.

Cerelia jumps a bit from inside. "G- give me a sec! I'm almost ready!" She adjusts her dress a little, brushing non existent dirt from the white fabric. She looks at herself in the mirror, her raspberry hair was let loose and wild looking.

She does a small twirl as she looks at the dress, the forearms of the long lacey sleeves were clinging to her grey skin once it passed the elbow however it was much looser. The lace went all the way across her chest, splitting in the middle to make a boob window of sorts. Thick velvet fabric started right under the window and stopped about mid thigh. It seemed to be quite warm of a dress but Cerelia was still worried she may get cold.

"Maybe a jacket would do?" She thinks as she rummages through her wardrobe. "Ah hah!" She exclaims rather loudly as she grabs a pair of thick leggings. "This should do it!" She quickly slips them on, almost falling as she does so. Once those are on she quickly grabs a belt to help exaggerate her waist, the belt was black with silver changes and circles.

She grabs a hair of very heeled boots which have flower embroidery on them and slips them on. The embroidery was maroon in color and the shoes white, matching the dress. "I feel a bit silly wearing this color." She mumbles as she looks herself over in the mirror one more time, her eyeshadow was blue which faded out into a color that closely matched the maroon embroidery. She had white eyeliner on to help exaggerate her eyes.

Her skin was just grey enough to make it hard for her to wear bright colors like white, she always felt so silly in them due to her appearance.

She takes a deep breath. "Just breathe, it'll be fine." She quietly walks over to the door, her had pausing for a brief moment before she opens it. She gasps as she sees Riddle standing in front of her with a bouquet of roses in their hand. They were awestruck looking at Cerelia, so much so that they momentarily forgot to breathe. "Th- these are for you.." They mumble softly, a bright pink dusting their cheeks.

The bouquet was of white roses with a few purple and cream ones sprinkled in there (Where Riddle got them no one knows~). Cerelia blushes as she studies the color of the roses. "White for innocence and new love, purple for infatuation and passion, and finally cream for charm and thoughtfulness." Riddle says as Cerelia gently takes the roses. "Th- thank you so much!" She exclaims, a large happy smile plastered across her face.

Riddle chuckles. "It's no problem, Raspberry head." They smile as they ruffle Cerelia's hair.

Cerelia laughs gently. "Let me put these in a vase real quickly then we can get going." She bounces happily back into her room, leaving the door open.

The room appears to be normal again, no broken glass, ripped posters, or anything of the like lay around. The room looked absolutely fitting for Cerelia, it looked wild and messy but the good kind of messy where there's just enough clutter.

"You have a lot of instruments?" Riddle inquires as they step inside to look around.

Cerelia laughs. "Yeah. I really love music." She says as she straightens (haha neither of them are straight 😂) out the roses. Riddle smiles as they walk up behind Cerelia, gently plucking out a cream rose from the bunch.

Cerelia cocks her head as she looks at Riddle. "What are you doing?" She asks, a bit confused.

Riddle chuckles. "This." They gently cup Cerelia's face in one hand and slide the thorn free rose behind her ear.

Cerelia blushes bright red. "R- Riddle I-"

Riddle laughs softly. "Caught you off guard hm? By the way I absolutely adore your shoes dear."

Cerelia blushes more. "Th- thanks, I made them myself!"

Riddle smiles as they see Cerelia's face turn more red. "Oh? So my little raspberry is a shoe maker hm?"

Cerelia laughs gently. "I suppose you can say that yeah." She gently leans up and kisses Riddle's cheek. "Thank you for the gift." It was clear she was struggling to think of a nickname for the handsome person in front of them.

"Cy, you can call me Cy. I won't mind." Riddle smiles.

Cerelia giggles and nods. "Alrighty Cy!"

Riddle blushes softly. "Right, um are you ready to go then?" They gently extend their hand for Cerelia to take. "It's a little far so if we leave now we'll probably get there by ten?" It was half past nine in the evening right now. Cerelia quickly nods. "Alright! I'm excited to see where you'll take me!" She exclaims, nothing but happiness in her voice.

She gently reaches out to grab Riddle's hand. Riddle flinches but quickly recovers as they pull Cerelia close to them. "Come on then, let's get going."

Cerelia giggles softly but can't help but wonder why Riddle flinched. She wasn't going to say anything about it though, not wanting to ruin the wonderful night they were about to have. "Of course!"

The two walk out into the main area arm in arm, Vincentius and Eowyn continuing to play their poker game from earlier. Vincentius smirks at the pair as they go to leave. "No funny business!! And be home by one!!" He shouts behind them as they leave. Cerelia and Riddle both look behind at him, simultaneously flipping him off and sticking their tongues out.

The pair giggles as they run out the door, leaving a shouting mama Vincentius behind. They laugh and run all the way out of the dorm building until they're finally out of breath. "That was hilarious!" Cerelia exclaims, her breathing labored due to the laughter.

Riddle laughs more and nods. "He's such a mama bear!"

Cerelia nods, her laughter dying down. "We've been together ever since we can remember so yeah, he's protective."

Riddle chuckles. "Noted, I'll make sure not to leave any marks where he can see."

Cerelia's face turns beet red. "H- Huh-!?" She exclaims, not knowing that Riddle was joking.

Riddle bursts back out into laughter at Cerelia's reaction. "Oh my gods your face!!" They laugh more. "I w- was joking! I promise I was j- joking!" They exclaim, stuttering over their words due to the laughter. "I wouldn't do something like that, especially on a first date, Raspberry I promise!"

Cerelia laughs with them and gently shake their head. "By the gods I'm glad you were joking! I wouldn't allow something like that on a first date anyay."

Riddle laughter dies down after a bit. "Alright alright, come on now. Let's get walking, we've got a ways to go."

Cerelia laughs softly. "Alright Cy! I'm excited to see where we're going!" Her voice was filled with excitement.

Riddle smirks as she side eyes Cerelia. "Who says you were gonna see?" A thick black fabric appears in their free hand.

Cerelia's eyes widen. "Really?"

Riddle nods. "Yep. I want it to be a full on surprise."

Cerelia laughs gently. "You know, I'm glad you aren't a murderer or else this would seem extremely suspicious."

Riddle chuckles as they tie the blindfold over Cerelia's eyes. "Who says I'm not?"