Okay, I know this is different from what I usually do, but enjoy it.
I'm a big Alice in Wonderland fan. Who you see here is my version of the White Rabbit, Tei, and his backstory. Originally this is uploaded on Deviantart.
Warnings: There are warnings for this. Character abuse, mentioned character rape, death. Tei's story is not a happy one. However, if you can stomach these, then please, enjoy the ride.
Prologue
They were getting worried. His door had been closed for days now. It had nearly been a month since the Dormouse's death. The guards had tried to keep an eye on him, tried to keep him sane, tried to keep him taking his own life in his despair, but they were met with a locked door. They were worried about their fearless leader, their boss.
So, a couple of his workers crouched outside his door, listening. They heard no violin playing—which the Rabbit loved to do—but only the scratching of pen on paper.
Bill, the cook, looked up at Mary, one of the maids, and started to speak, but she shushed him, leaning closer to the door, hoping to hear a voice that never broke through.
Tei pushed his chair back and got up abruptly. He started to pace, ripping a hand through his hair. It was too late. Too quiet.
He looked to his bed. It would forever be missing one of its occupants. He would never get back the Dormouse. Tei would never see him again.
The Rabbit looked away quickly and down to the floor. It was too much. Too much. Voices raged in his head and he was on the brink of Madness. Every time he tried to fight them down, they surged against him, louder, more insistent.
With a roar, he grabbed the edge of his desk and pulled, overturning it and scattering the contents on the floor.
The door handle started to wiggle then, the door shaking.
"Master Tei?" came the voice. Mary, "Mast Tei, are you all right?"
"Sir? Sir, a'e you a'right?" And that was Bill.
"Go away!" he growled, and pulled the gun from the holster at his leg and fired a shot towards the ceiling, "Get away!"
The calls at the door only got more frantic and he gave a cry before running for the bathroom and locking the door behind him.
His bedroom door was soon wrestled open and Mary and Bill stumbled in, looking for their master rather quickly. Bill went to the bathroom door, calling for Tei while Mary started to pick up the mess off the floor, buts topped when she saw their mast's writings.
Curiously, she picked up the paper and started to read.
I remember growing up in the King's castle. It wasn't easy and it wasn't fun. The first thing I remember was being branded, the side of my face and under my ear. The scar is still there. That was how I met Chauncey. He was another of the King's servants, as he typically had Cards and a large number of Dormice working for him, and he tended to every wound the king dealt upon me. Many of which have left permanent scars.
The King, at first, enticed me with sweet words and treats, but that didn't last long. I learned rather quickly that he was never kind. And he learned that there was only way to deal with a rebel.
Often, he would—
The page was snatched from her hand quite suddenly and Mary looked up to the barrel of a gun.
"Get out," Tei said softly, eyes hardened in anger, "Now."
The maid scurried to her feet quickly and was out the door with Bill on her heels.
Tei closed the door behind them and locked it, gripping the page in his hand tight as his mind started to swim. Back to those times. Back to the pain. Back to Chauncey.