There were three rules of Wonderland that Horatio Sin Ambrosius had had pounded into his head as a child: one, if any territories should move to the Avalon be courteous and welcome the visiting Ones with Duties; two, avoid the dangerous Queen of Hearts whenever possible; and three, stay away from Outsiders.

Of course, the country of Avalon was very different from the other nations, especially in that no portals were open to the mortal world. There were few other role-holders save for himself and the Prime Minister Alexandria Martin. The borders between Heart, Clover, and Diamond were so close that interaction was easy enough, but still the young king chose to be reclusive in regards to the others.

Then one night, while he was sipping a cup of black tea and reading a new book he had acquired, Alex came to him bearing interesting news. "Sin," she said, far more casual than any royalty should have been alright with, "there are two Outsiders here, and they seem to be very lost."

"Outsiders?" he inquired, afraid he hadn't heard her correctly. His ruby-colored eyes widened and he nervously got to his feet, never having met one of the mysterious beings before. Part of his brain reminded him of his late father's warnings, but his natural curiosity got the better of him. "Send them up." She nodded and she walked off. The teenager turned to his maid, smiling. "Could you fetch some tea for our guests?"

"Of course, sir."

The moments seemed to drag on until finally his blond employee returned with the newcomers behind her. One was a man older than him, with short black hair and a brown coat; the other was a pretty young girl he guessed to be close to him, at least in terms of physical development.

"Ah, come in, come in," the king said with a nervous smile, gesturing for them to take a seat on the soft couches near his desk. "Welcome to Wonderland, my name is Horatio Sin Ambrosius of the country of Avalon. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances." He neglected to use the royal 'we', a verbal habit he found to be quite annoying himself.

"Robert Anderson. This is my daughter Toya Anderson," the man introduced, trying to take in the regal surroundings that the opulent mansion offered.

"So then, what brings you here?"

"Well, we just sort of woke up and we were in this weird forest, and then we started walking and ended up here," Toya told him before Robert could offer a more detailed and drawn-out explanation. "So, um… those are… quite the ears you've got there."

His long, elven ears folded downward self-consciously. Of all his personal insecurities, that was his biggest one, and if it weren't for his intrigue and the girl's cute face he probably would have had them sent on their way back to the Country of Hearts for her comment. "Er… Thank you?" He decided to take it as a compliment. "Well, I take it you two are still unfamiliar with the ways of Wonderland, then." They gave a blank stare. "I'll give you some time to adjust by yourselves, if you'd like."

He offered them tea, but the shock of the dreamlike new world seemed to get the better of them so he asked a servant to take them to the guest rooms. "Alex, do you think they'll stay?" he asked, unable to disguise his enthusiasm.

She chuckled at the bright red blush in his cheeks, never having seen her boss in such a state of infatuation. He was still young, though, so naturally his first crush would affect him substantially. "They might, if you're good to them. I can't imagine how lost they must have been to find us before the other ones with duties, though; the gateway to here is pretty small, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I suppose we are simply quite lucky, aren't we?"

"Aw, I get it." She grinned teasingly.

"What?"

"You've got a crush on the girl, don't you?"

"I-I do not!" he defended weakly, looking away from her.

"Yes you do, I know that face."

He stared at the floor, pouting. "All right, so I thought she was really cute…" He fixed his thick-rimmed glasses. "But right now she's confused and lost and I can't exactly just go up to an Outsider and ask her on a date, can I?"

He pondered that thought for a while, going to bed when the night shifted to the evening. He had trouble sleeping, far too excited by the thought of finally getting to meet someone from the world above.

'But what was that about Outsiders again?' he thought silently, unable to recall his father's words. "Oh well… I'll try talking to her tomorrow."

AN/So, I know this probably isn't too promising right now, but I do have plans for this. All of the current characters are my OCs, though next chapter will bring in the canon characters and a move to make this a bit more interesting.