Knight vs Dragon
Author's note:
Hey guys, I am so sorry. I have no excuse for taking down my old version of this story. I know I hate it when I read a story and then it ceases to exist. It's just that I was going through a difficult time in my life and had decided to quit fanfiction altogether. But I'm back now! (under a new account) And I really missed this story so I have put it back up for my own pleasure of reading it, and hopefully you guys enjoy it too. I tried to rewrite some parts so it's somewhat more original than my previous version where I just took the words from the manga and added and replaced some of Alice's dialogue with my own. Thank you so much for the reviewers who gave super wonderful constructive criticism on my old version of this.
I don't own anything other than my OC. This goes without saying for all ten chapters.
Without further ado, please enjoy! :-)
Chapter 1:
Right at this moment, a young woman by the name of Clara Wright was at clock tower with Julius where she was sent by the Queen of Hearts to pick up Ace to go back to heart castle.
"Drinking coffee again?" A teasing voice could be heard asking the Clockmaker
"Yes," he replied flatly
"And brooding again, huh?"
"Leave me alone. I have work to do." Came the deflect
Clara pouted before she could stop herself. "But I'm bored Julius. I can't believe Ace isn't back yet. What's keeping him?"
Julius shrugged nonchalantly, obviously not caring about the possible reasons for what could be causing the Knight's lack of appearance.
"Vivaldi's probably furious." Clara muttered to herself as she watched Julius tinker with the gears of a broken clock. She couldn't help but let her eyes roam over his form admiring his long dark blue hair and broad shoulders. She knew she'd be drooling if she kept going down this particular train of thought. She slapped herself mentally.
Bad girl. Stop that right now.
There was no denying that all the men of the country of hearts were dreamboats. Heck ever since she first arrived here she hadn't met a single bad looking person. Even the twins were cute! She wondered if they would ever grow up and could only imagine how handsome they would turn out to be.
She was pulled out of her thoughts by Julius quietly saying, "That man… despises the castle."
"To be more accurate, he despises his role." She saw his brows furrow ever so slightly
He paused to glance up at Clara "But if you try to bring him back, you might succeed. The queen was wise to send you."
She arched a brow in surprise "Oh? Is that so? Well now I feel kind of bad for making him go back to the one place he hates."
Clara knew that Ace liked her, if his advances were any indication.
Luckily for him though, the feeling was mutual.
She had had a bit of time to think about her feelings for said knight and had come to the conclusion that maybe there was a bit more depth behind her attraction to him beyond her initial opinion that he was smoking hot.
For one, she didn't feel nearly as much for any of the other men such as Peter, Blood, Elliot, Boris or Julius, even though they were all undeniably very very good looking.
She thought Peter was kind of clingy. And shuddered at that. No thank you. Blood seemed rather malicious, and his smile often gave her the chills. Elliot.. hmm.. well she didn't know how she felt about his love for carrots. Boris was childish. And Julius wasn't all that fun. Oh who knew, maybe she just had a type. That being the Ace type.
Clara's musing was once more interrupted by Julius
"I wish you wouldn't drag me into your drama." He sighed
"What! What drama?" She feigned indignation
He gave her an 'are you serious?' look.
"Okay, okay…" She relents. "Well, suppose I do have… drama. I don't mean to involve you or anything like that."
Clara smiles in what she hopes is a kind way, "Why don't you put me to work, so I stop bothering you? Ace probably won't be back for a while yet."
Julius looks taken back by her offer of help, and almost doesn't realise when she reaches out for a broken clock.
"DON'T TOUCH THAT"
This makes Clara screech to a halt, her fingers millimetres from the clock.
Withdrawing her hand, she faces Julius with her arms crossed, "That's fine. Don't yell at me."
Julius breathes a sigh of relief "I didn't… mean to yell. Sorry."
"But this is not a matter for outsiders," he explains
Clara relaxes considerably, and she sheepishly adds "I know, and I'm sorry I forgot..."
She knew that each clock functioned like the hearts inside the people of this world. If a clock broke it would be taken to Julius where after he fixes it it starts ticking again, but as a new person. Both Julius and Ace had dedicated their lives to the clocks.
The sound of the door opening could be heard, accompanied by a familiar voice.
"Whoa. Clara is here."
Clara turns to the visitor "Ace!"
"Hey", he lifts his hand in a friendly greeting.
"What took you so long?!" She did nothing to hide her displeasure at his tardiness.
"Hunh. Didn't know you were waiting for me." He scratches the back of his head
"Vivaldi's looking for you. I know you don't like it, but please come back to the castle with me."
He becomes serious, "You're right. I don't wanna. But as a knight, I can't refuse an invitation from a lady like you…"
He thinks on it for a second, "Hmm…"
"I'm not inviting you—Vivaldi's ordering you." Clara states blandly
Ace finally makes his decision, "You got me."
He lets out a small sigh nonetheless "I have finished my work here, and I guess I should go to the castle once in a while."
Clara's irritation at his lateness subsides at his willingness to go to the castle. She thought that it was best not to waste any more time keeping Vivaldi waiting.
The knight places his bag on Julius' table, "I'll put 'em here."
"Thank you," Julius replies.
"Okay, Clara. Lead the way!" he says unnecessarily.
"Of course," She deadpans. Wouldn't want him to get us lost.
Ace smiles and waves, "See you, Julius. Tell me when you need me again."
"I will," he answers back
Clara also heads towards the door "And sorry I bothered you Julius. I'll be back."
"That won't be necessary," he says, already having gone back to his project
An idea suddenly pops into Clara's mind and she can't help but blurt it out, "Why don't us three do something soon!? Like a pic-"
"Not interested!" Julius cuts in, annoyed.
Ace however seems all for it, "Sounds cool."
"Please, Julius?" Clara tries to persuade him, "you'll grow mould if you stay penned up in here."
He growls out, "I will not. And aren't you on an errand for the queen? Hurry up and leave." He retorts
Clara mutters "Jeez. What a crank." Unconsciously she grabs Ace's hand as she reaches for the door with her other hand to close it
"Yup." Ace agrees, grinning down at her
"We're all going on a picnic next time! I promise you." Clara states matter-of-factly before closing the wooden door behind her.
She intended on leaving Julius with no room for refusal. But his words, "NO WAY IN HELL" errupted from behind the door, making her snicker behind her hand.
Ace smiles his trademark smile with his eyes closed, "He's fun to tease. And you're good at it Clara."
She steps closer to him and whispers mock conspiratorily "… you're a bad friend. But so am I"
"Hmm.." He murmurs distractedly as he leans down
She blushes and pushes at his chest, "Come on. Let's go meet the Queen"
Unbeknownst to Clara, their time at clock tower was coming to an end.
AN: How was it? Fingers crossed it was better than my last. I have about 9 more chapters to rewrite so hold onto your horses. Also feel free to leave a review letting me know what you think.
