Author note: I do not own Count Cain: Godchild, and I don't own the song that inspired me to write this oneshot, 'Follow Me Down' by 3OH!3 ft. Neon Hitch.
Wow. It's been a while since I've posted anything Count Cain: Godchild related. Heck, it's been even long since I've thought of the 'Wonderland' concept. This time is different than the original concept I had-much different. Alice (the minor character that got kissed by Cain in the first chapter of Godchild, 'Mad Tea Party') will be the main heroine of this fic, which is interesting because I rarely write with a female protagonist. This should get interesting, I think... I do have an idea of writing some more things involving this 'verse, so this should be fun!
Warning: Wonderland AU, Violence, implied Gryphon!CassandraxAlice, onesided AlicexHatter!Cain
Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope that you read, review and enjoy! Thanks!
Follow Me Down...
The story did not start with the girl chasing a white rabbit, and falling down a rabbit hole. No, this one started as she was preparing to go to a tea party, a party where the Mad Hatter would be the host. Alice had never been invited to such a party before, and she was thrilled to be invited, but...
Why was she invited? The Mad Hatter's parties were for the rich ones, the nobles, the ones who had tons and tons of money to burn. She was not one of those people. She never would be. Yes, she was technically considered a 'noble,' considering that she was considerably wealthy compared to the average girl, but she wasn't supposed to really be one of them in the first place.
As she contemplated this, standing in front the open closet as she struggled to figure out what to wear to the party, she heard a noise.
Scratch the noise being just a noise. No, it was a deep chuckle, descending into gentle laughter. Holding her breath, she turned to face the intruder.
"Do not look so alarmed, dear," The Gryphon simpered, smiling as he stood on the balcony just outside the room. He was wearing a tuxedo tonight, dark as the dead of night. Feathered wings of silver-gold and bronze extended from his back, gleaming in the afternoon sun. Alice never understood how he managed to have those wings fully extended and not have his clothing completely torn to shreds in the process. Running a hand through his nearly shoulder-length hair, he let out a soft breath. "It is only me that comes to see where you're headed off to, not some terrifying card soldier that comes to take you to prison for no reason."
The last statement only barely reassured Alice. Ever since her parents were thrown into prison for apparently trying to aid a rebel group against the ruler of Wonderland, just after the last game had been finished, she'd been haunted by the thought of being taken away by the card soldiers. She was so sure her parents were innocent of such crimes-she'd never heard them speak of it openly, or try to go approach anyone supporting the rebels, but on the day of their arrest she stumbled upon a hidden office in their house, messages from the rebel group scatted on the desk, messages that requesting loans of money and weapons. There were letters containing vast amounts of money from the rebel group itself, to reward Alice's parents for their valiant assistance, and it was then that she realized how they were able to afford to become nobles.
She tried not to think of the past, and decided to answer him instead.
"I've been invited to a tea party." She told him, picking out a bouffant gown with a long skirt of pink tulle, accompanied with a bodice of white lace and silk. It had been one of the first fancy dresses she'd ever received, once her parents were able to afford it after they became nobles due to 'new money' from the rebels.
The Gryphon's right eyebrow dared to raise itself slightly. "A tea party?" He repeated slowly, savouring the words on his tongue, as if they were some sort of delicious treat. "Interesting. Who is the host?" He let out a huff, shaking his head. "I swear, if it's hosted by the Mansfield girl and her family again I will go curse them for all eternity for their so-called 'entertainment,' if it bores me to tears."
"No, it's not her." Alice cut in, shaking her head. "It's...It's the Mad Hatter. He invited me, for some reason. It's this evening, and I can't be late, and-"
He looked slightly bewildered at the mention of the Mad Hatter, perhaps showing fear, but he did his best to mask that emotion. "Cain." He murmured aloud, and she caught notice of the name.
"What?" She wasn't sure if she heard him correctly. "Pardon?"
"Cain." The Gryphon repeated, taking a few steps into the room as he adjusted his bow tie. "Cain Hargreaves. He's the one ruling Wonderland at the moment, because he won the previous Game. A shame I could not win-though I'm not sure if I would be delighted with so much to do with such a position." He let out a sigh, shaking his head." As much as I yearn for it, the fact of doing so much work disgusts me. I'd rather be taking my time for myself now, to find someone or something to play with. That's so much more entertaining than ruling Wonderland, I think."
Alice let out a sigh, glancing down at the dress for a moment. She didn't exactly understand how the 'Game' worked, but all she knew was that it was some sort of battle for control over Wonderland. It happened as frequently as once a year, sometimes even more than that. Former rulers were killed, banished or mysteriously disappeared somehow as the new ones took the throne. The entire dilemma was nothing but never-ending bloodshed, and she couldn't help but admit to herself that she didn't mind the Gryphon losing the Game-at least, that didn't mean that he had a high risk of getting killed the next time around.
The Gryphon did almost die during the last Game. That was when she first met him, a little while before her family became 'nobles.' She remembered just simply sitting out in the garden out back, under the willow tree reading a novel, when he stumbled out of the bushes, collapsing onto the ground and staining the grass with fresh blood. He'd begged, begged for help (which was uncharacteristic of him, Alice soon found out later) and Alice remembered running into the house calling for her mother and father. She remembered sitting by his bedside as he rested, bandaging his wounds. Taking notice of those beautiful wings that extended from his back, she remembered the soft, silky feel of them.
That was when he woke, his wings flapping in an erratic motion in a desperate attempt to get away from the hand that was touching him. Calming him down hadn't been easy-Alice got a scratch on the back of her left hand in the process (the same hand that touched his wing) and a scar remained there since.
"You're safe now." She told him quietly, taking hold both his hands in hers. "No one is going to hurt you here."
He merely laughed. "Foolish girl," he chided, "No one is ever completely safe."
Yes, he was right. Despite her parents being so careful to hide the matter of the rebels from her, in fear that she would expose them, they ended up getting arrested anyway. And ever since her parents were arrested, the Gryphon always watched her-mostly out of the hope to gain some entertainment by watching her, but also to repay her for helping him that one time.
"Alice?" She blinked out of her thoughts, and looked up to see that the Gryphon was not far from her now, standing right beside her as he glanced at her dress in dismay. "Pink?" He murmured quietly. "Hm, I think you'd look more ravishing in a light blue..."
He leaned in far too close for her taste, gazing at her more than the dress. She noticed him lick his lips a little, the amber eyes roaming her body. "Yes..." His voice seemed to take a more tender, yet dangerous tone to it as he concluded his thoughts. "You would look much more lovely in that blue dress you wore not long ago, Alice."
"Er-" She took a step back away from him, holding the dress tightly against her as if it were a shield. "If you plan on staying in here, I suggest you turn around, please!" She half-squeaked, and covered her face a little with the dress so he wouldn't see her face, scarlet of embarrassment over the fact that they had just been so close.
The Gryphon laughed, withdrawing himself and grinning. "If it pleases you, milady." He purred, before turning around. "I won't peek."
This was incredibly normal for the Gryphon to be in the same room as her while Alice was changing clothes-it made Alice wonder sometimes, why she kept neglecting to buy a screen to change behind instead of being out in the open like this. If the Gryphon wanted to hang around her, he did literally wish to constantly be within her line of sight-he would barely settle to be away from her for too long.
She realized this the day after he was mostly at full health, after she took care of him-no one could imagine her surprise and horror when she realized that he was sitting in the tree above her, watching her as she read a book, instead of being asleep in the guest room trying to recover from his wounds. She tried to ask about how received the wounds, and he simply replied that he'd crash landed after a flight gone wrong. She knew he was lying-but she decided back then that it wasn't the best time to hear the real truth.
She didn't think now, just as she finished dressing herself, was a good idea either; there was a party she needed to attend, and she could not afford to arrive too late. She didn't want the Mad Hatter to be disappointed, nor anyone else who was there to use her lateness as something to hold against her being a so-called 'noble.'
"Alice?" She was once again brought out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see a bunch of purple flowers extended towards her. "I thought you'd like these." The Gryphon murmured quietly.
She quietly accepted them with a nod, and gazed at them quietly. Almost every time the Gryphon came to see her, he always brought a gift, whether it be a bunch of blooms, a box of candies, or even a bottle of perfume (or wine-he did try that once, but she told him not to give it to her because she wouldn't have any idea what to do with it). She assumed that it was out of kindness, probably to cheer her up considering that she was alone often, but she was so sure that there was another reason. She just didn't know what it was.
"What type of flowers are these?" She asked, inhaling the lovely scent.
"Gymnadenia conopsea. Fragrant orchids. I couldn't find any perfume that matched their divine scent." The Gryphon waited as she departed the room for a moment, to put them in a vase, before she returned. That was when he spoke again. "Would you like me to accompany you to the party, Alice?"
She hesitated for a moment. Did that mean that she was going to be grabbing him around the neck and holding on for dear life while he was flying, or was he going to walk her there? She didn't want to know, yet she did want to. She remembered being carried in his arms several times whenever he flew-the first few times had been terrifying, but after that became a more exhilarating experience for her.
Well, either way she would get there on time, unharmed. Right? Therefore, it didn't matter what sort of transportation the Gryphon was trying to refer to. Taking a deep breath, she answered as she looked him in the eyes.
"Yes."
He just simply smiled back.
Much to her surprise (and slight disappointment), he did not fly her straight to the party. Instead, the two walked to the location together. Some of the other people stared at them, or moved out of the way as they passed by-they feared the Gryphon, and they figured that it was best not to approach him, or the girl, in fear that they would get their throats slit open in response.
Nobles chattered to one another as the two entered the garden. Seated at the head of a long table covered with plates of sugary delicacies and delights, was none other than the Mad Hatter himself. The raven-haired ruler of Wonderland put down his cup of tea, standing as they approached him.
"Gryphon, Miss Alice," The Mad Hatter greeted, smiling as he shook hands with the Gryphon, before he turned to face Alice. Emerald eyes, flecked with gold, bore into Alice's blue ones. "It's a pleasure for the both of you to be here. Especially you," He stated, kissing Alice's hand tenderly. Alice couldn't help but blush a little-she was so inexperienced of what to do afterwards, but she managed to say something in reply.
"It's-it's an honour to be invited to your party, Hatter." She responded, curtseying a little.
The Mad Hatter gently smiled. "Please, call me Cain." He responded quietly. She couldn't help but blush-damn, was she that nervous to be in front of him? The last time she'd ever seen him was during the time of her parents' arrest. He and Riff, the Knave of Hearts, had stayed afterwards, to console her with some tea; this matter was not her fault, she would not be imprisoned since she never knew a thing about it, even-
-And the Gryphon had been hanging around in the shadows, jealous that Alice wasn't paying any attention to him. Even worse was the fact that he'd picked up the perfect bunch of roses-yellow ones-and he had been so ready to offer the bouquet to her and be her shoulder to lean on. He never offered her roses again since that time.
"Alice." The Gryphon's voice snapped her out of her thoughts once again. Amber eyes bore into her blue ones as he spoke. "I'm going to talk to the Knave, if you don't mind." He glanced at Cain for a moment, before he spoke again. "I'll be back eventually. Don't worry."
Alice nodded once, watching the Gryphon stride towards another man, younger than the Gryphon but definitely older than Cain. Alice immediately remembered Riffael Raffit, the Knave, dressed in his usual armor of red, black and white. She knew she couldn't focus on them now-the Hatter was talking to her, and it would be rude to ignore him.
"Perhaps..." Cain paused for a moment, before extending his hand to her. "Will you dance with me, Alice?"
"Um, yes..." She took his hand, and he led her towards the crowd of dancing nobles. Sweet violin music pierced the air gently as they began to dance together. Alice barely remembered how to dance, for few moments, but she caught on eventually, making it through a box step with general success.
It was so hard to focus on dancing, especially when the partner she was dancing with was none other than the Hatter. The raven black hair, the golden green eyes... One did say not to read a book by its cover, Alice remembered, but it was difficult not to do that when it was someone as handsome and charming as Cain.
"Miss Alice?" His voice-Alice couldn't help but blush again at such a heavenly voice enticing her-pulled her out of her train of thought. "Is anything the matter?"
"N-no." She managed to reply quietly, shaking her head a little after she nearly stumbled on another box step. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be spacing off like this-so much is distracting me, and it doesn't seem right for me to-"
"It's alright." His words calmed her, and she let out a quiet sigh of relief. "The arrest of your parents must still pain you, doesn't it?"
She nodded in admittance, biting her lip slightly. "It does, but..." She couldn't help but think of the Gryphon, sitting in the tree above her as she read that novel. "I've had help since, and I'm grateful for it." She remembered almost screaming in shock as the Gryphon laughed.
"H-how did you get out here!?" She'd yelled.
The Gryphon kept laughing as he explained. "I flew. Isn't that obvious, considering that I am a Gryphon?"
"B-but-aren't your wings still at least a little injured? Wouldn't it hurt!?"
"I'm much stronger than you think, Alice. Much stronger that one can assume for some injured person. You shouldn't worry about me so much..."
Cain hesitated, before speaking again. "The Gryphon is dangerous." He stated.
She hesitated, before she spoke in reply. "Well, I do agree, but-"
"No, Alice. I do mean it. The Gryphon is more dangerous than you think." The golden-flecked eyes darkened slightly as he continued. "I know that you know that he is dangerous, but you should be aware of how dangerous he can be. If you're not careful, he'll use you like some puppet and discard you like a broken toy, like you're nothing. You shouldn't be around him so much..."
"Excuse me, but I believe that the Knave of Hearts wishes to speak with you, Alice." Both stopped dancing to see the Gryphon, his dark amber eyes glaring at Cain, before turning towards Alice as he spoke. "I don't think it's best to keep him waiting-the Knave does have his duty to make sure the party doesn't end in chaos after all, and he can't afford to be off-duty for so long." He muttered.
"Um, right...excuse me!" Alice nodded towards Cain, who just gave her a quiet nod in response as she rushed over to the Knave of Hearts, who was standing near the snack table. Unfortunately, she ended up tripping-
-And thankfully, landed in Riff's arms. "Are you alright, Miss Alice?" The Knave asked her politely as he helped her stand. "You seemed quite distressed earlier, and even more so when the Gryphon approached-"
"It's fine." She managed to say. "It's fine, thank you."
The Knave smiled at her. "I'm glad to hear that you are alright, Miss Alice." He replied, bowing a little. The Knave, despite being so intimidating when restoring order in a chaotic situation, was quite the gentleman as far as she knew. Sometimes, he even seemed less intimidating than Cain, which was saying something considering that the Knave of Hearts was supposed to be intimidating. Normally, he would have been serving the Queen of Hearts, but Cain changed that as soon as he became ruler of Wonderland.
She couldn't help but let a question rise out of her mind and float through her mouth. "Um, Knave?"
"Yes, Miss Alice? What is it?"
"Um, well..." Alice took a deep breath, pushing a lock of hair out of her face, before speaking. "Why are you and Gryphon so close despite Gryphon's and Hatter's strong dislike of each other?"
It was a question that had riddled her mind for a good while. During the time when the Knave and the Hatter had been there to console her after her parents were arrested, the Gryphon had been watching. Naturally, the Knave was the first to notice, and Gryphon didn't seem to mind him. The only one the Gryphon seemed to mind being around was the Hatter. The Gryphon had talked to Alice about the Knave quite a bit, remarking how much more gentlemanly and polite he was than the Mad Hatter. Obviously, there had to be some reason they were close-just what was it?
"Well," The Knave swallowed a little, before continuing- "I would explain, but I feel that it wouldn't be right for me to tell you the whole story without the Gryphon's permission. I believe it would be best to ask him about that. However, I do think that he has changed since I met him...and since he met you, Miss Alice."
"Me?" Alice asked, total confusion coming to her mind. "Why?"
"Because-" Again, the Knave took another breath before continuing. "I believe that it was just due to certain events, and we just happened to be there for him."
She thought of the time when the Gryphon was lying there on the grassy ground, silently pleading for help as blood stained the grass a bright scarlet. She thought about bandaging the wounds, touching his wing, making sure that he ate something every day, to help regain his health...
Yes, that made sense if the Gryphon was impacted so much by her. Who was the Gryphon before, though? She never really found out anything besides the name 'Cassandra Gladstone.' He'd told her not to call him by that unless they were completely alone together, but even then she still felt that it would be rude to call him by something of the past if it hurt him so much.
"Has he changed for the better?"
The question lingered in the air as Riff paused to think.
Unfortunately, he never got to answer that question as screams and bullet sounds filled the space around them.
Riff was suddenly in front of Cain, sword out and pointed at the Gryphon's throat. The Gryphon held a revolver in one hand, pointed towards the air.
"I apologize for that." The Gryphon spat out sarcastically, still glaring at Cain. Alice knew, without even asking, that whatever they had been conversing about had been touchy for the both of them, as Cain was also glaring at the Gryphon. "Obviously, though, I can't just shoot you instead-I'd be killed in an instant by your Knave."
Cain's lips were firmly pressed together, before he spoke again. "I suggest, Gryphon, that you leave this party early, before you cause more disturbance than you need to."
Golden-green eyes and a dark amber pair glared at each other with all their strength, before the Gryphon broke the stare and turned towards Alice. "We're going." He told her quietly. "I'm getting sick of the so-called 'entertainment' here, anyway."
She let out a breath, turning and nodding towards Riff, who gave her a quiet nod back. She then walked over to the Gryphon, who didn't hesitate to scoop her up in her arms before taking flight. His grip on her was firmer than usual, tenser than what it usually was, and Alice was sure now that something was definitely wrong.
"Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn..."
The Gryphon let out a sigh as he lay on the bed, wrinkling the bronze-coloured sheets in the process. He didn't care though-this was his room in his castle, so it wasn't like he had to take care of it for someone else.
Alice just sat on the edge of the bed, saying nothing. She had been at the Gryphon's small castle before-it wasn't as extravagant as the large manor the Hatter resided at, but she still found it pretty to look at. The Gryphon claimed that it wasn't all that glamorous, but she begged to differ-she thought the bronze, silver, gold and iron structure was unique, different than the flowery forest where the Talking Flowers lived, and different from her house as well.
"I apologize for ruining the party for you."
Alice looked down to see him, looking up at her as he continued. "Damn, Alice, it's just..." He shook his head, letting out another sigh. "The Hatter. He just gets me riled up, especially when he starts mentioning the past, and-"
"I understand." She told him quietly, biting her lip a little.
"No, you don't."
"What?"
The Gryphon pulled himself into a sitting position as he continued to speak. "He's dangerous, you know. He may seem like some dark knight, but in reality he's no knight at all. He's a womanizing fop who'll ditch you the next day. He is constantly armed with poisons, he knows how to manipulate nearly anyone-"
"Funny, isn't it, Cassandra?" She cut in, shaking her head. "Cain was telling me the same thing, except aimed towards you."
He just looked more irked at the mention of Cain. "That damned Hatter..." He hissed, reaching towards his back with one hand to touch the wings. "If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have ended up like this. I didn't want to be a Gryphon in the first place; I just wanted to be the one to rule Wonderland. Of course, he found out, and as soon as he captured me he thought it would be entertaining to get the Knave to sew wings onto me, to literally make me the Gryphon. The Knave does have medical knowledge, if you don't know already." His hands clenched into fists for a moment, before slowly releasing their grip. Alice noticed that his fingernails had cut into his palms, causing them to bleed a little.
"...Oh." She quickly stood, going to the nearest set of drawers and opening it to find bandages. He waved it off as soon as she approached him with them, though-it was a sign that he didn't need them, that they would heal by the next day. As Alice learned quickly when she first met Cassandra, the Gryphon just seemed to naturally heal faster than most people-especially when it came to minor cuts. Major wounds, though, like when he'd made that crash landing-that was much harder to heal, and hence why he came for help.
So becoming the Gryphon was why he hated Cain so much. Of course, it still didn't help explain why he still seemed to respect Riff a little. After all, if Riff had been the one to sew the wings onto his back and serve the Hatter, why would Cassandra still give Riff a small amount of respect?
"...At least the Knave was nice enough to slip me painkillers afterwards, when the Hatter wasn't looking."
Well...at least that made some sort of reason for why Cassandra didn't mind Riff. Alice couldn't help but think that he was still hiding something, but she figured that questioning him now, while he was so angry at Cain, was not going to help her.
A pair of arms wrapping around her waist caused her to break her train of thought, and she looked up to see the Gryphon, holding her tightly with her back against his chest. "You may see me as someone who just simply wants to mess with you," The older man started, changing the subject, "But if I just simply wanted to mess with you, I wouldn't be guarding you from that bastard Hatter, nor would I be giving you all those gifts..."
She felt her heart start to race, unused to the extremely close contact.
"I'm not going to let him get his hands on you. Why?" Alice heard him chuckle once. "Because, well, I decided from the beginning that you're going to be mine and no one else's. That's why..."
She could do nothing to stop him from kissing the back of her head and lying down beside her, falling asleep almost instantly as his head hit the pillow. Of course, he was still holding her, and she knew that there was no way one could escape a sleeping Gryphon's clutches that easily-unless, of course, you were as strong as Riff or maybe stronger.
Alice couldn't help but wonder if things could keep going on like this. She doubted it. Something troubling was bottled up somewhere, in the people she knew that were around her...and it wasn't going to be long until it would explode and cause massive destruction to anything it touched.