Hi everyone! This is my first time making something for Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice, so I hope you all enjoy it. I haven't played the game, but I've read the manga, a few blogs, forums, and discussions here and there and a lot of fanfics. Hopefully, that'll be good enough for all fellow readers and authors out there. So, enjoy!

I do not own Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice, Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and any other stuff related to this wonderful story/otome game/manga TT^TT (well…except for my own character).

But I love it all the same. ~

"Dialogue"
"Alice's thoughts"
'Flower's Dialogue'
"Black's Dialogue"

Chapter 1

"…"

"…Hit me."

"As you wish young lady." White Joker replied. "You should come down to the f***ing prison instead, bi***. That way we can really hit you f***ing har—"

White had covered Black's mask on his side. "Manners Black, manners. We mustn't say such vulgar words in front of the little miss." White flipped over a card onto Alice's side of the table. Apparently, it was the Queen of Diamonds. Alice dropped her head onto to the table with a loud thud.

White took the liberty of peering at her two original cards: an eight club and a six diamond. Add that with the Queen of Diamonds and you get a total of twenty-four. Obviously, Alice was broke. Black was heard snickering through the mask.

"Would you like another round of 'Black Jack'?" White offered the foreigner, a smirk playing on his lips. The maiden raised her head from the table and took a deep breath.

"Yes, please. This'll be the last one for today. If I don't win…I suppose I'll try again tomorrow." White smiled.

"Very well."

"You're gonna f***ing lose this one again bi***." White shuffled then passed the cards. As soon as Alice looked at her two cards, a wide grin spread across her face.

"Ha! Black Jack!" The foreigner flipped over her cards to reveal a King and Ace of Spades.

"…Damn f***."

"Hm, I suppose that means you win. Now, milady, which season would you prefer?" asked White with a hand on his chin. After eight tries, Alice had finally beaten him. The ringmaster had to admire her tenacity.

"Man, White…you suck," stated Black. Alice smiled. She turned to the ringmaster who rolled his visible eye at his twin's remark.

"I'd like you to turn the season to Spring." White smiled in response and snapped his fingers. The previous season had been winter. Tired of the cold, Alice decided to switch to a season that was slightly warmer. Besides, Vivaldi had sent an invitation to her for a tea party in her "secret room". She couldn't turn that offer down for two particular reasons. It was nice to get out of Clover Tower once in a while, and she really looked up to Vivaldi. Vivaldi was strong, independent, kind, and treated Alice like a little sister. Another reason was Vivaldi's tendency to order executions. It wasn't really proven that the Queen of Hearts would behead all the servants unless she saw Alice, but there was no way Alice would take that chance. As Alice readied herself to leave Joker Forest, a sound caught her ear. "Was that a bell?"

"Did any of you—" Alice had trailed off when her eyes met the Jokers. White had looked off into the distance, a bored expression set on his face. Black was surprisingly quiet for once. The silence didn't last long.

"So she's finally awake is she?"

"Great. Now the f***ing brat's here. As if it wasn't enough dealing with the f***ing w****."

"Um, what are you two—" Alice started. White had finally turned his head toward her and gave a gentle smile.

"It's nothing for you to be worried about. I suppose you're off to visit Heart Castle? Best not make the hag of a queen wait so long." White said as he placed his hands on her shoulder and gently pushed her toward the exit.

"Yeah, and make sure your card skills improve next time you come over because you f***ing suck." Black stated.

Alice rolled her eyes. "I'll see you guys some other time then." White waved her receding figure goodbye as Alice waved back in return.

As our favorite foreigner made her way to Heart Castle, she heard that same peculiar sound yet again. "Really, why do I keep hearing bells? Boris always tries to sneak into Heart Castle, but I know he doesn't have a bell on his collar, so it can't be him, right?" Alice stopped her tracks when she came to a fork in her path.

"Strange, I don't remember seeing this path before. It reminds me of the time when I first met the Jokers…I suppose Vivaldi will just have to wait a little longer," the foreigner decided as she took the path away from Heart Castle.

Alice had planned on leaving Joker Forest at around noon or mid-afternoon. She managed to beat White at noontime, so she still had a lot of time left before she visited Vivaldi. Luckily, the transition between day and night wasn't as random as when she first came to Wonderland. Julius did mention that during April Season, it's not time that changes but the seasons. Time seemed to work just as it did in her world, but then again, she wouldn't be able to visit everyone as frequently as she wanted. Fortunately, her skills in card games seemed to be improving…but not by very much.

Along the way, Alice couldn't shake off the peculiarity of the current path she was on. It twisted and curved around so much, it seemed more like she was following the path of a cork screw. Much to her advantage, there was a sort of hill up ahead that served as a guide to our favorite foreigner. But as she proceeded along, the sound of bells seemed to be getting louder with each stride.

Finally, she reached a large and beautiful garden with a giant willow tree at its center. The ringing seemed to have stopped. However, Alice paid no mind to it and looked around in awe at the garden before her. "Wow. I don't think I've ever seen these many kinds of flowers in one garden before. Blood's rose garden is impressive, but this is just beautiful," the foreigner sighed. Indeed there was a vast variety of flowers, ranging from tiger-lilies, roses, violets, orchids, daisies and so much more. Near the willow tree seemed to be a row of various herbs.

'Now what do we have here? She doesn't look like the other Roleholders. Perhaps she is another kind of flower?'

'Don't be ridiculous. She obviously isn't a Roleholder, despite her having a face. And if she were a flower, which I doubt, she's not a very pretty one now is she? Compared to me, she wouldn't stand a chance.'

'Orchid, you are as vain as ever. Obviously, you can't see the true beauty to which this one possesses. Her color seems right, although her petals seem to be curling a bit. Do you think young Amaranta has met her yet?'

Alice whipped her head to the source of the voices. It seemed very odd, for it seemed like the flowers were talking. Flowers didn't talk. If they did, then Blood's and Vivaldi's roses should've talked at some point during her previous visits. Then again, this was Wonderland. She knew she shouldn't be so surprised anymore. Nonetheless, she blinked twice to ensure she wasn't hallucinating. When she knew her head wasn't playing tricks on her, she finally spoke up.

"Um, did you all just…talk?" she asked the flowers.

'Well, of course we can talk child. All flowers can,' spoke the tiger-lily.

"It's making them shut up that is the tricky part."

Alice turned her head to the new voice. This one was obviously not a flower. However, it did seem to fit in with the rest of the garden. Before Alice stood a little girl, which looked no more than seven years of age. If she were to stand next to the foreigner, she would only reach Alice's waist. The girl had short, messy, spring green hair that ended at the back of her neck. Her bangs were neater and parted in the middle while her fringes framed her small round face. In her hair were two clips shaped like cherry blossoms propped on both sides of her head. At the center of each cherry blossom clip was a small bell. Two small, red ribbons flowed from each of the clips, with a tiny bell at the ends as well.

"So that explains the ringing."

The little girl wore a long-sleeved white polo. Both sleeves were puffed slightly and had tight cuffs. She wore a red silk ascot on her collar with a cherry blossom brooch at the central knot. Unsurprisingly, there was a small bell at the center of the flower. As for the bottom half of the little girl's outfit, she wore black suspender shorts that ended one inch above the knee. Beneath those shorts, she wore white knee socks with dark brown silver-buckled shoes.

The little girl stared blankly at the foreigner with wide, curious eyes. She cocked her head to the side as she studied Alice. It was then that Alice noticed the girl had pink colored eyes. In normal circumstances Alice would have thought that it was rather strange, but it was quite adorable nonetheless. Teal eyes clashed with pink, staring at each other unblinkingly. Then the little girl quickly shut her eyes and began to rub them.

"Oww. Aw, you win!" the little girl stated.

"…Huh?" Alice was dumbfounded. She didn't remember playing a game with the girl. Although, she has been dragged into numerous games since she came to Wonderland.

"We were playing a staring contest. I had to blink first, so that means you won!" the little girl stated as a matter of fact.

"Oh, I guess I did win," Alice smiled, amused by the girl's antics. "By the way, forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Alice Liddell. What's your name?"

"I'm Amaranta, but since I've immediately taken a liking to you, I'd really like it if you'd call me Ama-chan!" the girl, Amaranta, had said with a wide grin plastered on her face. The grin disappeared as soon as it came. She looked at Alice quizzically, and blinked. "Alice-onee-sama…are you by any chance a foreigner?"

"Yes, I am," Alice answered. She really hoped this wouldn't turn into an awkward moment.

"I see…that's cool!" Amaranta stated, yet another childish grin back on her face. "My 'role' here in Wonderland is to tend to these flowers...well, among other things, so I may be known as 'the Gardener'. So what brings you to the Talking Garden?"

"The Talking Garden? Ah, so this is your territory, isn't it?" Amaranta nodded. "Well, I was on my way to Heart Castle, but then I came across this path. I've never seen this territory before, so would you mind answering a few questions?"

"Ask away Alice-onee-sama!"

"Um, right. Well, first of all, why haven't I seen you and your territory until now?" Alice asked.

"Huh? Oh! Well, I've been asleep for the whole time. By the looks of things, I'd say I've been asleep for five years," she explained as she looked around. "It's Spring, right? Does that mean you beat the Jokers?"

"Y-yeah. Wait, so you've been sleeping since you were two? Where are your parents!"

"W-what are you talking about? I wasn't two! I was seven when I went to sleep and I'm seven now. Or I could be seven and a half? Hey, did I grow taller?"

'No child, you haven't grown a bit,' said a daisy. Just then all the other daisies started joining in.

"Silence! If you daisies don't stop, I'll pick all of you! I mean it," Amaranta warned them. Most of the colorful daisies had turned white from the threat. Alice sweat dropped. This little girl certainly was amusing in a way, albeit easily distracted.

'The daisies are the worst of all. When one starts talking, they all begin together. It was of some relief to not have anyone to talk to all this time; otherwise they would all start babbling and shouting again. They know I can't get to them and so they insist on their mindless chatter!' the tiger-lily had swayed a little and whispered into Alice's ear.

"Darn," the girl turned back to the outsider. "Oh, and my parents died a long time ago." Amaranta waved it off as if it were no big deal. Alice's eyes softened at that last part. Alice didn't cry at her mother's funeral, but she had an idea of what it was like to not have your parents with you. Her little sister clearly hated her and with their father buried in work, the only person she could turn to was her older sister, Lorina. However, that happiness was short-lived. But ever since the stalker rabbit kidnapped her and brought her down the hole, she felt…happy again. Despite all the senseless killing, violence, etc. that is. Realization brought her back to the girl before her.

"Wait, how could you not age at all?" Alice tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Mm…I think it'll be easier if the other Roleholders explained it to you. You can ask the flowers, but they won't be of much help." A couple of coughs were heard throughout the garden.

"About that…how can they talk? The tiger-lily over there said that all flowers can, but the roses in Blood's and Vivaldi's garden don't say anything at all." Alice pointed out.

"Oh, well, the answer that you're looking for is right underneath you. Feel the ground." Alice proceeded to do as the girl had said. She crouched down and laid her palm on the soil. It felt different compared to other gardens.

"The flower beds are much harder compared to the other gardens I've been to. But what does that have to do with the flowers talking?"

"It's just as you said, 'The flower beds here are harder compared to other gardens'. Because the flower beds in most gardens are soft, the flowers are always asleep." Amaranta explained with her finger pointed upwards. It made sense, but at the same time it didn't. Alice decided that it seemed logical. After all, the flowers before her were talking and almost anything this strange could make sense in this strange land. "The flower beds must've become hard while I've been asleep, so I assume they've been talking for a long time. You all must feel so tired now."

'Not at all deary. It seemed amusing to be awake and talking again,' said the violet.

'Yes; however, this conversation wouldn't have started if this young lady hadn't said the first word,' explained the rose.

Alice had shot Amaranta a questioning look. "Oh, the flowers won't talk unless someone else starts the conversation." Alice nodded at the girl's explanation.

"Would all of you like to go back to sleep?" Amaranta had turned back to her garden. Nods and various sounds of agreement resounded throughout the whole area. The young girl then turned to face the outsider.

"I know you said that you were heading to Heart Castle, but do you think you can help me soften up the soil before you go? That is, if you don't mind." Amaranta asked as she looked down to her feet. "She looks so adorable! How can I refuse?"

Alice gently took hold of the girl's chin and raised the girl's head. She offered her a small smile. "On one condition: I'd like you to accompany me in visiting the other territories, if you don't mind…Ama-chan."

Amaranta's eyes sparkled. "Deal!"

Yeah, my original plan was to make this a one-chapter story. I was planning to make this one an introductory for my OC and then make sequels, but I guess I'm gonna have to put this into multiple chapters. After this I plan to create other stories and sequels with Amaranta in it. Although this is my decision, I would REALLY appreciate all your lovely reviews. And I'd like to explain a few more things.

*The Talking Flowers are obviously from "Through the Looking Glass". I know there is no such thing as 'the Gardener' in Lewis Carroll's story, but the game has both original and 'based-off-of' characters in it so I thought, why not? Look at Julius. He's an original by QuinRose, but can possibly be based off a Time. Ace is possibly based off of the Knave of Hearts. For Joker…I got no clue on who he/they're based off of. Besides, if Amaranta really were to be one of the flowers, how is she to walk around? Someone's gonna have to make the flowers shut up, especially the daisies.

…if any of you like daisies, I mean no offense. I am just going along with what Lewis Carroll wrote in "Through the Looking Glass", chapter 2: The Garden of Live Flowers. Yes, I did research and am proud of it.

So again, I ask all of you…PLEASE REVIEW! THEY WILL BE MUCH APPRECIATED! AND IT'LL GIVE ME THE DRIVE TO CONTINUE! :)