Hey guys, now I know most of my other fics aren't great or aren't finished, however this one is entirely written out already, on paper. Which means I just have to transcribe it and post it here. I hope you all like this and I'd love some reviews because even though the entire thing is written out I'd love to hear what you think and what suggestions you might have because if I like your suggestion enough I might just incorporate it. I'm aiming to update every two weeks, but it might not be on the same day every two weeks.
Anyway, I don't own any of the characters from Alice in the country of hearts/clover/joker/diamond that show up in this fic. As for any of the oc's that I have, any relation they may have to anyone is purely coincidental.
I sat on the picnic blanket, listening to my friends as well as my music; it was fine though as Lyssa was on her Ipad and Rebecca was on her 3ds. We were content with our small talk, little pieces of conversation stringing together randomly. I listened to Ariel and her wish for a different world, and half wished for the same thing. To go out on an adventure, meet strange people, learn new customs. I always wanted to travel, but never alone. I wouldn't want to leave my friends; I could never leave them behind. They would hold everything that was familiar, that was home, no matter how strange things got.
I lay back on the soft blanket to stare up at the blue skies above and suddenly felt like I was falling. A scream from Lyssa told me it wasn't my imagination; we really were falling, picnic and all. I stared up to see a hole of sky, and dirt walls quickly rising around us. We were falling at an alarming rate, so fast that no matter how far down we fell, we would probably die on impact. Well, goodbye world, it was nice knowing you. Goodbye Mike, goodbye Leo, goodbye Mom and Dad. I don't want to die. I started to sit up, trying to have one last glance at my friends before death claimed us, but everything blacked out.
Upon waking I saw blue skies above, and felt the soft blanket beneath me again. Perhaps it had all been a dream, yeah, that made the most sense. "What the heck just happened?" Lyssa asked. Okay, so, not a dream. Calm down Emma, breath, it will be alright. "No clue" Rebecca replied. I sat up slowly to see Lyssa looking around at our new surroundings. Clearly we were on concrete or stone and above the tree line since I couldn't see anything else, besides a doorway. I reached for my soda bottle, downing the last of it to try and calm my nerves. It tasted slightly off, but since my mind was going a mile a minute, I didn't stop to question it.
Finally I stood up, the last of us to find her footing. Lyssa was circling around the rooftop, sipping her soda while Rebecca stood still looking over the ledge. With out thinking I walked over to Rebecca first and looked around.. In the distance I could make out a large Ferris wheel in one direction, and the top of a castle in the other. "Where are we?" I voiced, looking down to see just how far off the ground we were. Immediately I regretted this decision as my glasses slid off my face and plummeted several stories down to the ground. Well, that was brilliant. I really needed those, unable to see three feet from my face clearly; I was in no shape to go exploring without glasses on.
"Well, that was a brilliant plan." Lyssa muttered sarcastically. "I don't think Emma meant to do that." Rebecca replied. Well no shit Rebecca, who would purposefully lose the glasses they so desperately need. "I need to go grab those" I said. "Why, they're probably wrecked?" Lyssa replied. "They might be somewhat intact. I need as much help to see as possible." I answered, walking over toward the door, tripping twice on my way there, just barely staying on my feet. "I'll go with to make sure she doesn't die." Rebecca said, jogging after. Well, I suppose that would help, since there are probably a lot of stairs on the way down. "Besides, maybe we'll find somewhere to get food or someone who knows where we are"
"Fine, just don't die and be back by sundown okay. I'll see if there's anything here we can use in the mean time." Lyssa said flipping her near white hair over her shoulder. I smiled in her general direction before pulling the door open. Yep stairs, there were a lot of stairs. My feet hurt just looking at them; god was today a bad day for wearing wedges. Rebecca held onto my wrist for the entire walk down, the entire, slow and painful walk down. After a while I just sat down and scooted my way down the tower, which probably meant that my rear end was covered in dirt, but I really care. Rebecca said nothing of complaint and took my whining with a grain of salt, telling me to quiet down because we'd be there soon. She was always like that, tough but sweet. She was kind of like a mother, but cool enough to just be a friend. When we finally got to the bottom we heaved the door open and began our search around the tower for what became of my glasses. Being as blind as I was Rebecca did most of the searching. I kept closer to the tower while she took the farthest ring, we circled, staring down at the ground, and getting closer with every lap. "Found them" Rebecca called. I jogged around the tower to where she stood and looked down at the ground. That sight hurt my heart. The poor glasses were mangled beyond repair; they were bent and the glass was broken. I sighed sadly, picking them up. "Well, I don't think they're of any use." I lamented. "No, you're pretty much blind." Rebecca agreed. Well this is some serious bull.
I looked up and around us at the area. There was a small town around us, I think, and a path that headed away from it. "Want to go that way?" I asked pointing toward the path. "Sure Emma, might as well" she replied. We walked down the path, Rebecca sipped the last of her mountain dew. The path was dirt, and surrounded by trees for as far as the eye could see, though with how thick the trees were, that wasn't very far. After about fifteen minutes of walking I could see a gate with gate keepers, well blue and red blurs, through the trees, though, the two looked awfully young for the job just from the size of the blurs compared to the blurry fence. I frowned but followed the path as it curved. Once getting a good look at the axes they wielded, I was ready to turn tail and head for the hills, but Rebecca pushed forward, stopping five feet from the boys. "Excuse me" she began.
"Halt intruders" The one dressed in blue said. "We aren't trying to get in, so we aren't intruding" Rebecca rebutted. The twins, because they looked nearly the same, save for the color swap of red to blue, looked to each other before looking back. "Trespassers" The one in red corrected, as both readied their weapons. "We weren't trying to trespass; we're just lost because we aren't from around here." I managed to say, quick as it may have been. Both lowered their weapons. "Not from around here." Red repeated. "OUTSIDERS" Both exclaimed excitedly. "We've never seen an outsider before" Blue gushed, "much less two" Red continued. I didn't know what was so special about being an outsider, but if it meant the boys were hugging us, instead of threatening to kill us, I was cool with it. In fact I was loving this outsider thing at the moment, because those axes looked even more wicked sharp up close. "We're Dee and Dum. Dee wears blue, and I wear red" Dum explained. "Um, I'm Emma, and this is my friend Rebecca." I introduced. "So would you mind telling us where we are?" Rebecca asked sweetly. "Yeah, you're in the country of hearts, though right now you're at Hatter Manor." Dee said. "And we're the gate keepers of Hatter Manor." Dum continued. Well what an odd name for a manor. I mean, do hatters live here, is it owned by a man named Hatter, is it a group caller Hatter, if so why choose that name? I was about to ask them something when another voice, aggravated and deep, yet surprisingly nonthreatening called out.
"What the hell are you maggots doing?" I turned around to see two older men. One was bigger all around, about a head taller than the second with long rabbit like ears to make him seem even taller. The other had a cane, a top hat, and looked all around dapper as fuck. Both eyed us carefully, one with clear hostility , the other with barely suppressed boredom. "We were talking to the outsider ladies" Dum answered haughtily. "Yeah, stupid chicken rabbit" Dee taunted. Rabbit-ears flared with anger at the name. "How many times have I told you, don't call me that, midgets" He raged. Well, he clearly has a bad temper, best not to piss him off. Dapper-as-fuck walked closer to us, inspecting us with new curiosity. Rebecca automatically stepped in front of me. The gesture clearly didn't go unnoticed.
"Feisty one aren't you? Tell me, are you both really outsiders?" He asked, paying no real mind to Rebecca's defensive stature. "If outsider means we don't come from here, than yes, we're outsiders" I muttered. Dapper-as-fuck nodded to this statement. "Well, I suppose we can take you in then." He said motioning for the twins to open the gate. "Yeah, thanks, but no thanks, we have a friend to get back to" Rebecca challenged. Dapper-as-fuck turned to Rabbit-ears and nodded, no sooner did I question this action, than Rabbit-ears pulled out a rather beautiful gun. "My dear that was more of an order than a request; usually the penalty for trespassing is death. I've decided that you're interesting enough to keep around. If you'd rather take the other option than be my guest." He explained. Rabbit-ears took another step forward and my natural response was to back up, since the gun was now close enough for me to see just how beautiful it really was, and understand just how deadly it was at that distance. However, my name has never been Grace, and I hit into a rock. I felt the whole world start moving around me, my arms reaching into air to find a grip.
Rabbit-ears other hand grabbed my wrist, yanking me to a stop. At least I had that going for me. I'd hate to fall over in these wedges, last time I fell in wedges I broke my foot. He pulled back with all his weight, pulling me all the way back up and causing me to stumble into his chest. "Geez, can't you walk?" He asked in an irritated tone while pushing me back. "Not too well without my glasses." I conceded. That seemed to take him off guard because he just turned to look at Dapper-as-fuck. "Well Elliot, I suggest you carry the young lady inside, lest she trip and hurt herself while walking across the grounds." Dapper-as-fuck stated. Rabbit-ears sighed and leaned down. I felt my knees get knocked out from under me and my back hit his arm as he pulled me up toward his chest. God, this was embarrassing being held bridal style by a guy who, less than a minute ago, had a gun pointed to your face.
Dapper-as-fuck looked over to Rebecca. "Now then, I suppose you'll be more willing to follow?" He asked. I'm pretty sure she glared at him, but I couldn't really tell. I know I would be glaring if I were her. Slowly she started walking toward the open gates. Rabbit-ears started walking and my arms naturally wrapped around his neck to keep from falling. I had a strong fear of falling, probably because I did it so much. It didn't change how embarrassing this felt, being this vulnerable. I hated being carried, my safety in the hands of someone else. It was even worse because I was sure that Rabbit-ears didn't really like me. Soon we reached the doors which automatically opened to reveal the inside of the mansion. Even with as little vision as I had I could tell that it was beautiful inside. There was carpeting on the stairs, hardwood floors, tapestries, it looked like a Victorian mansion.
When I felt my body lower I could tell that was Rabbit-ears way of telling me that he was putting me down. I let go and slid to the ground though rather ungracefully and needing to use him as support much more than I liked. As soon as I was safely on the floor Rebecca grabbed my hand. "Wonderful, you there maid, take them to rooms in the left wing, then get them fitted for some clothing, use hostile force if they resist, but try not to kill them." Dapper-as-fuck stated. The maid curtsied and pulled out a small handgun. "Up the stairs ma'am and take a left when you get to the top." She stated. Rebecca growled, but I tugged her along. Soon she took the lead as we made our way down the hall. Even the hallway was pretty ornate, with portraits and vases along the way. After a bit of walking the maid stopped us and motioned to a door. "A room for one of you, whichever of you wants it." She stated.
Seeing that Rebecca wasn't moving I hesitantly opened the door and looked inside. It appeared there was a vanity and a four poster queen sized bed. There was also a full length mirror, and a closet. It was a decent room a little small and bare, but overall rather nice. Oddly though there was another door on the wall. I slowly approached the door and opened it. It was a small room with a door on the other side. Stepping in, it became clear that this was a bathroom, or rather a powder room since it had no shower or bath. It was nice, with a large sink and larger mirror, and a rather nice toilet as far as toilets go. Yet the door on the other side held my curiosity as to what was over there. Perhaps it was a linen closet, or perhaps another bedroom, or even an office area, though that would be rather odd. Though curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back, and I was certain I would be satisfied by whatever I found.
Pushing the door open it appeared to be another bedroom, there was a large bed, violet drapes, a desk, and a small bookshelf. It had a nice carpet, though I couldn't really make out the pattern of it. The room appeared very lived in, seeing as the bed was a mess, and there were clothes falling out of the closet. Whoever lived here was simple, messy, and hardworking. I liked that personality at least, so I wouldn't mind living next to them. However the masculine scent that the room possessed did worry me a little worried. I would be sharing a powder room with a man. I hope you can lock the door from inside the powder room. As I walked back in and closed the door I found that yes indeed they locked from the powder room side.
With that mystery solved, I turned around and left back through the powder room. Seeing my room again, I could tell that my drapes were much thinner, and my bed was smaller than that of my companions. With my final assessment I left the room, returning to the hallway. The maid was down the hall with Rebecca, who had just come out of that room. I scurried down the hall to catch up to them.
"Now that you both are situated, Master Dupre has asked that you both get fitted for clothing. Follow me." She stated walking back down the hall. I followed obediently, while Rebecca lagged a bit behind. We went down to the right wing of the manor, which was much plainer than the left. Obviously this was where the servants lived. The maid turned a corner and opened a door, ushering us both in. Inside were two other maids that looked very similar to the first. Yet while the first had strawberry blond hair the other two had dishwater blond, and sandy blond hair. I stood, waiting for instructions, not wanting to do anything that would upset the gun wielding servants. "Miss, come stand over here." Sandy said, motioning me to come over to a little platform. Rebecca went over to the other side and we both got up onto the platforms.
I followed Sandy's instructions as she took all of my measurements. "Well, this isn't so bad" I said. I'm positive I received a glare from Rebecca, even if I could see it. "Not bad, we're being held captive, Lyssa is on her own somewhere, and we don't even know where we are." She sniped back at me. "It could be worse, they didn't have to give us such nice rooms, they don't have to give us new clothes, or clothes that actually fit well. I think for the situation we're in it could be much worse." I replied. "Whatever, I'm still worried about Lyssa." Rebecca stated. "I am too, but there's nothing we can do about it. If we act cordial and pleasant perhaps they will allow us out to go find Lyssa." I turned to look at Sandy and smiled. "I apologize for my friend's attitude my name is Emma Owens and my friend here is Rebecca Roberts. We got separated from our friend Lyssa Connor, whom she is incredibly worried for considering she is the youngest of us three and the least capable of protecting herself." I stated.
"Oh, that's all well and fine Miss Owens. Your friend will probably be perfectly well off on her own, everyone loves an outsider." Sandy stated. "Well, since we're being acquainted may I ask your names?" I asked pleasantly. Sandy stared at me for a moment before setting down her measuring tape. "My, my name is Anna, Miss" She said, her voice trembling. "My name is Mary" Strawberry said quietly. "Jill" The last stated, just above a whisper. I suppose that these women weren't asked such a question very often, which was highly disconcerting, hinting at a high level of disregard to the working class in, well I suppose the land of hearts from what Dee and Dum had said. "Well it's a pleasure to meet you, you all are being very kind to us." I stated as I stepped down from the platform.
"Well Miss, may I ask what sort of clothing you would prefer to wear?" Anna asked. "Hm, dresses with petticoats, bloomers, stockings, I'm okay with either corsets or braziers, I'd prefer the dresses between mid thigh and mid calf and sleeves can be any length," I stated. If I was getting a new wardrobe for free, I might as well get things exactly as I wanted, unlike back home where finances wouldn't cover my tastes. "I like pants, short or long sleeved shirts. I don't really care beyond that. Except braziers and panties please, I don't do bloomers and corsets" Rebecca said. Of course our taste in clothing was vastly different. I was totally okay with this, and so was she. She just didn't like dresses and frills, however if I had the chance to wear a dress every day for the rest of my life I would jump at the opportunity. With my long, soft, black hair, and bright doe eyes, I looked perfect in cutesy dresses. Rebecca on the other hand had brown hair, cropped into a pixie cut, and very fierce looking blue eyes. Aesthetically she did best in pants. Not to mention the height difference, the girl had me beat by a good four inches, and I was two inches taller than Lyssa.
"My how different the two of you are. Much like Master Dupre and Mister March. It is very pleasant though." Mary stated as Jill and Anna cleaned up. "Now, I suppose I should show you around to all of the amenities that will be offered to you during your stay at our manor." I turned and smiled at Rebecca who followed Mary out of the room silently. We followed her back downstairs and toward the back of the mansion. "Now all of the rooms in the right wing are servants quarters, in the left wing are the role holders rooms, meeting rooms, offices, and another room that only Master Dupre, Mister March, and Mister Villier are allowed to go into. The armory is on the main floor, as well as the laundry room, the linen room, the kitchen, dining room, pantry, and the bath" Mary explained. "Er, you mean there is only one bath?" I questioned. "Well, yes and no, the servants have a communal shower room in our wing, so we don't use the actual bath much, but Master Dupre, Mister March, Mister Villiers, and the Bloody twins use the bath quite frequently." She said leading us down toward the left wing of the first floor. A set of double doors stood there, a staircase just a few feet away. "That staircase leads up to the left wing, Master Dupre and the others use it frequently to come down here. I suppose you will being doing so as well now." Mary stated, though that last part seemed more to herself than us. She opened a door and let us walk in.
This room was rather large, on one side was a wall of open cabinets with baskets in them. Two benches sat in the middle of the room. On the other side was a wall of showers, six in all. Near us was a shelf of towels and to the other side was a basket of used towels. "It looks like a japanese bath, first you shower, then you bathe. You put your clothes in those baskets, right?" I looked to Mary who simply nodded. "Wonderful of you to know Miss, the bath is also exquisite" She stated opening the door on the other side of the room. I looked inside, the bath looked huge, and the room was rather steamy. As I was admiring the room as best as my poor eyesight would allow I was yanked back out of it. "Emma" Rebecca hissed at me, okay clearly she was a little upset.
"Um, what's the problem now?" I asked. "The guy" She stated. Okay, now there must have been something wrong with her. "What guy?" I questioned. "Mister Villiers was in the bath, he didn't seem to notice you though Miss." Mary explained. I blinked and nodded in understanding. "Oh, with my hawk like vision it was silly of me not to have seen him" I stated with as much sarcasm as I could muster before pointedly looking at Rebecca. This curbed her anger immediately. "Oh, oh yeah, I just, I forgot" She said, clearly embarrassed about having nearly yelled at me. "Well, since this is over, maybe we could visit the kitchen, I'm starved" I stated. "We were at a picnic right before we got here." Rebecca stated. "And after the hour or two we've been here, and everything we've been through, I'd like a snack" I retorted.
"I would be happy to show you both to the kitchen" Mary said leading us back into the hallway. "Maybe we could have some mint tea, or maybe chamomile, darjeeling, or possible chai, even just a simple vanilla would be good, something calming, actually on that thought no darjeeling." I rambled as we headed toward the kitchen. "You and tea, next you'll be asking if the have catnip or dandelion tea." Rebecca joked. "I've had both before, and I did like them." I stated. "Really, I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure of indulging in dandelion tea before." A voice spoke from behind us, a relatively familiar one.
Dapper-as-fuck and Rabbit-ears were standing behind us, obviously having turned down this way. Dapper-as-fuck was looking at me with intrigue in his eyes. "How is it?" He asked, though it seemed like more of a demand. "Well, it has a smooth, almost sweet and earthy taste but a slightly bitter after taste, dandelion root is more earthy and bitter than the flowers and leaves." I stated, though I hadn't had it in awhile and couldn't describe it perfectly. A thoughtful look crossed his face before he nodded to himself. "You have a love of tea, correct miss…" He trailed off, realizing that he hadn't yet asked Rebecca and I's names. "My name is Emma Owens, and this is Rebecca Roberts. And yes I do happen to love tea, though if I had to say what type is my favorite, I simply couldn't name just one." I stated. "A pleasure to be formally acquainted. I am Blood Dupre, the head of the hatter family. This is Elliot March, my right hand man." He introduced. I curtsied and turned to Rebecca who simply nodded in acknowledgement.
"Now if the two of you wish to have some food, and promise to be on good behaviour, then you may join us for tea." He offered. While I wasn't entirely fond of these men, and Rebecca straight up hated them, behaving and getting good food was a good option here, especially considering that we hadn't a clue what would happen if we decided on the other option. "We would love to accompany you for tea Mister Dupre." I said. I could feel Rebecca glare at me, but she said nothing else, probably having come to the same conclusion, but still unhappy about it. He nodded, approving of my more demure nature and took the leading taking us not into the dining room, but instead outside into the garden. It was night outside, but I could have sworn that it was noon when we walked into the building. Then again it had been nearly three when we fell from our picnic. Still it shouldn't be this dark.
He sat at the head of the table and Elliot sat on his left with each twin taking up residence next to the, um, hare. So I took the seat across from Elliot and next to Blood so that Rebecca could have some fair distance from them. She didn't look particularly pleased with me sitting there but at least didn't protest verbally. Maids and man-servants set the table, mainly with sweets. One set a decent sized carrot cake off a little to my left something which I was incredibly happy for. I'd always loved carrot cake, even when I was little. Mom mom used to tell me the story about how I once ate so many carrots that my cheeks turned orange. Needless to say I have loved carrots and carrot based dishes, since I was little.
Once everything was set and the tea was poured Blood started the tea party by taking the first sweets, a few scones. Elliot almost immediately grabbed the carrot cake, pulling just out of reach. I know I pouted, I might have even whimpered, but it quickly drew his attention to my outstretched hand, grasping for the cake. "Do you want some?" He asked. I gave him my best puppy face and nodded, pulling my arm back to me. Elliot quickly cut a section of the cake off, quite more than I could actually eat, and placed it on my plate. I smiled at the sentiment and dug into the cake happily A small smile spread across Elliot's face before he starting eating himself. Even Rebecca started eating after awhile.
"May I ask a few questions?" I asked after awhile. I looked over to Blood and saw him nod. "So what's it like in the Land of Hearts?" I asked. Blood set down his cup. "There are four territories, three of which are in a constant power struggle. The Amusement Park, the Castle of Hearts, and us, the Hatter Manor. The last territory is the neutral Clock Tower surrounded by clock tower plaza." Blood explained. So we had shown up on top of the Clock Tower and walked to the Hatter Manor. "Why did it seem like noon before we entered the manor, and it was perfectly light when I checked out my bedroom, but it's now as dark as midnight?" I asked. "The time in this world change erratically. There are three time periods, day, evening, and night sometimes one may drag on forever, or may last only a short time." Blood explained calmly. "So what are we going to do while we're here?" I asked. Blood smirked at me. "You could make yourselves useful and work as servants. It would help us to trust you faster." He stated.
"Will I have to wear the maid uniform if I decide to help?"
"While you are working, but you can wear any of your dresses when you are off the clock"
"If we prove to be trustworthy would we get weapons?"
"Yes, but that will take a few weeks, and if you decide to stay in our fair manor."
"Would I be able to get a new pair of glasses since I'm half blind without them?"
"Yes, it may take awhile as well, since I would probably send Elliot with you into town, so whenever he has free time enough to take you out."
I nodded, pretty content with the answers I received. If nothing else, Blood was honest with us, and that was what made this bearable. I turned to look at Rebecca who still looked incredibly displeased. I frowned slightly at the sight. "Come now Dear, cheer up a bit. Think on the positive, like the little Sweetheart here." Blood stated. Rebecca glared at him. "Oh, my apologies, I forgot how much of a blessing it was to be held against your will in a strange place, by strange men while your younger friend is off alone in a strange land all by herself doing who knows what." She growled. I shrunk away from the pure anger in her tone. Blood rose from his seat and leaned over me. "No, you are being protected in a strange land, by men who promise to not hurt you as long as you behave well, If you want we can go get your friend. I don't have to provide you with nice bedrooms, I don't have to provide you with good food, I don't have to provide you with nice clothing, I don't have to give you free reign to roam the manor at your leisure. I could have ended you at the gate. I never much cared for Outsiders, despite the fact that everyone is suppose to be enamored with Outsiders." He stated in a deadpan. I sat there for a bit, the thought that these people were mafia again ramrodded it's way to the front of my mind. Rebecca sighed and picked up her teacup. "Sorry" She said curtly. Blood stood up straight and sat back down.
"Well, um, thank you for taking us in and providing us with everything. And thank you for answering all of my questions." I said softly. "You're very welcome Miss Owens" He replied with a soft smile. The door behind us opened and I turned to see a teenage boy with mouse ears, half of his face concealed behind his bangs, and a very nice outfit on. He looked at Rebecca and I questioningly before looking at Blood. "Outsiders, Pierce. Their names are Emma Owens and Rebecca Roberts." He explained. The teen's face spread into a wide grin. He was just so adorable, especially with the way that his ears twitched. "Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you both, chu~" He said. Oh my god, he has a speech impediment that's just so adorable. "It's wonderful to meet you as well Pierce, um, may I hug you?" I asked tentatively. His eyes lit up immediately as he all but ran over and tackled me into an embrace.
"Of course, chu~. you can hug me anytime you want, chu~. I love hugs and I don't get them very often especially from pretty girls much less Outsiders, chu~" He ranted cuddling me. I swear every 'chu~' just made me squee a little more inside. After several minutes he let go and went to sit down on the other side of Rebecca. "Pierce is the last of the role holders of Hatter Manor." Blood explained. "And what is a role holder?" I asked. "A role holder is one who holds significance in the game which everyone must participate in. Everyone who isn't a role holder is either a faceless, or an Outsider like you two and your friend." He stated plainly. I nodded, still confused, but took the answer as is. The tea party ended when the time period switched to evening, and Blood allowed Rebecca and I to go off to bed.
Again tell me what you think. Especially if there are grammar issues, I do have a beta who reads but her punctuation isn't that great. So pointing it out or clarifying something would be greatly appreciated.