2. Her Heart: Awakened
The morning felt like a fog for young Alice Liddell. Was she even really awake? It certainly looked like it- her dreams were rarely this lifelike. It didn't feel like it, though; it was as if an invisible mass had taken over her body, forcing it to function on this dreadful day and carry out her usual duties. She wasn't even sure if she was still alive as she pulled on a pink gown Vivaldi had insisted she take after another game of "dress up" a few weeks ago and tied on her usual cream apron, nor when she stepped out into the hall and walked downstairs. It was as if she were another being entirely. She just couldn't find the sense in it, but then again, what sense was in Wonderland?
"Hey, Julius, Happy Valentine's Day!" A familiar voice rang from downstairs, and the fair-haired girl didn't need to look to know it was Ace who said it, but she noticed the knight anyways when she stepped into her friend's office. The clockmaker was perched at his desk per usual, a golden clock and several silver instruments littered across the oak before him as he tried to avoid the knight before him.
"Go away, Ace." the man said lowly, avoiding the taunting crimson-eyed gaze of the man above. "I have work."
"Aww, is that any way to treat a friend?" Ace feigned hurt, slinging a playful arm around the mortician's broad shoulders. He grinned demonically, poking at the man's cheek. "Especially after last Christmas…"
Julius blushed angrily at the embarrassing reminder and violently shoved his friend away, still refusing to meet his gaze. "Shut up, you bloody knight, and go home. I don't require your services today."
"Oh, Julius. So shy." Ace teased, waving in a girlish motion to the man; tormenting him. "But you were just so into it…"
"SHUT UP AND GET THE HELL OUT!" the navy-haired man ordered rashly, quickly jumping to his feet and pointing to the door; infuriated. His blue eyes were cold and heartless as he said this, fed up with the knight.
"Aww, don't you want to play a little? I thought you could be my valentine." Ace taunted, playfully pouting. Julius grinded his teeth fiercely.
"Get bent and GET OUT!" he shouted, slamming a fist on the table. Neither noticed the foreigner that stared at them with a blank, blue-eyed stare.
Alice blinked in confusion at the men from the stairwell. It wasn't the men that confused her, but something else- an urge, one that certainly didn't belong to her. She felt… passion. Need. Want. She wanted them- to wrap her arms around each of their necks and kiss them.
What am I thinking? ! Alice cried internally, knowing for sure that this wasn't normal. She didn't love them- not in that way. They were her friends, and most certainly nothing further than that. What was this strange force that was dragging her legs toward the men, catching their attention? Why did it feel as though she were losing herself- her soul becoming separated from her body?
Go back, go back! Stop it, Alice! No matter how hard she tried to reason with herself, there was no helping the desire that spread across her body. This wasn't her- no, she would never do this. Something else was controlling her. It frightened her. She was scared. What could this be? What was this pressure- this force? It tingled inside of her body, forcing her away so it could control her movements; her speech. She was soon lost to this overwhelming power, and Julius and Ace stared in curiosity and confusion as she neared the two; blue eyes blank and wide.
"Alice? Are you alright?" Julius asked, noticing her unusually dull stare. The girl blinked, something glinting in her eyes; desire.
"Julius…" Her voice came out like a whimper, and the man couldn't make sense of it. Alice tried to break through this force internally, screaming for help. She went ignored, though, and the powerful force and need pushed her away.
"Julius…" Her tone was seductive this time- her smile weak, but needed. It wasn't her voice; it sounded like her, but it wasn't Alice. The role holders didn't know that, though. The clockmaker's eyebrows pushed together in confusion, not comprehending.
He blushed lightly as the girl reached her dainty hand up towards the man, her fingertips lingering against his cheek in the most feather light touches. Her smile widened at this, and she leaned forward, forcing the clockmaker to fall backwards onto his chair. The brunette grinned, resting herself on his lap- legs on either side of him- and pressed her lips against his.
Ace stared in both amusement and curiosity as Alice's arms wrapped around the mortician's neck, sucking at the man's lip. Julius stared in shock, his face deep in a cherry shade as his roommate continued to straddle him in his chair.
"A-Alice!" Julius shouted sternly when the kiss broke off, the foreigner needing air. The brunette stared at him, tilting her head to the side. "What are you-?"
"Don't you like it?" the maiden asked, leaning forward to brush her lips against the man's neck. He blushed, and she frowned, caressing his cheek gently. "Is it because Ace isn't kissing you, too?"
"WHAT? !" the mortician cried out, outraged and shocked. He couldn't make sense of the girl on his lap- this definitely wasn't the Alice he knew yesterday. Was she feeling alright? What brought this on?
Thinking she was right, Alice lifted her gaze toward the knight. "Do you want to join?" Ace grinned demonically, and in a sudden, swift movement, the knight was at her side. "I would've joined anyways." He smirked as he placed one hand on Alice's hip- the other brushing the back of Julius's hair. The clockmaker felt uncomfortable and sandwiched between the two.
"Okay Julius, I really want you to make that statue of- WHAT THE HELL? !" All eyes lifted to a shocked and slightly scarred incubus in the doorway- his silver eye wide at the scene. Ace pouted, and Alice tilted her head to the side- the force slipping for the slightest moment, allowing Nightmare to skim her thoughts.
"Nightmare…" Alice said, her voice pleading. She didn't know what was going on. Why was she seducing Julius and Ace? Why was she assaulting them? What was happening to her? So many questions ran through her head, but the pressure pushed her back again- desire forcing itself through her body.
Lucky for her, Nightmare didn't need much more than that brief moment of her escape from the invisible force to understand what was happening. She couldn't control herself- he could tell through that one single plead she spoke aloud. She was terrified. He felt bad, wishing there were some way he could help her. He needed to know what was wrong to help, though.
Alice abruptly lifted herself from Julius's lap, giving him room to breathe as she strode towards Nightmare; unable to unlock herself from his concerned gaze. Her eyes were lifeless, as if she were dead. The incubus's eyebrows pushed together when a new glaze spread across her expression- want. He'd seen such a gaze in his own reflection long ago, back in October.
In a new game.
When she was in reaching distance, Nightmare grasped the girl's shoulders tightly, shouting, "ALICE!"
The girl reached for her head instinctively, and if it weren't for the dream demon's tight grip on her, she would've collapsed to her knees. One pale hand reached toward her head, as if to push off a headache.
"Ow…" she moaned, feeling relief when the fog disappeared. Her stomach ached, and the foreigner felt wrong; so very wrong indeed. Back to her normal self, she glanced at Julius- eyes widening in horror when she realized what she'd done. "Oh my… I'm so sorry!" A blush painted itself across her cheeks as the outsider lowered her head, avoiding the eager gazes of the men around her. "I-I didn't mean to! I'm terribly sorry!"
Nightmare patted her shoulder gently, smiling in assurance at the girl. "It wasn't your fault."
Alice blushed deeper, recoiling from his touch. Nightmare frowned, but watched curiously as the pink-gowned girl stumbled uneasily backwards- toward the door. "I-I think I need some fresh air."
When she turned to leave, Nightmare's words stopped her. "A new game started, didn't it?"
Eyes watched Alice eagerly, awaiting her answer. The foreigner refused to turn to them, and they took her silence as a yes. It certainly explained her rash behavior… but wasn't the game supposed to affect the role holders, not the outsiders? What happened to cause this change?
Silence devoured the four friends, and Alice opened the door- surprised to see the snow had melted and flowers painted beautifully scenery outside of the tower, indicating the springtime at hand. She murmured a low, "I need air."
With that, she darted outside- almost forgetting to shut the door behind her- and raced ahead. She knew where she was going this time; it was no longer just an accident anymore. It was only logical she'd go to them for help- after all, they knew more about these games than anyone. They were sure to help her, weren't they? That pressure… Alice shuddered at the thought. It truly terrified her- more than anything else in Wonderland. She'd never felt something so strong possess her; force her to do things she knew she would never normally do. Desire, want, need… It was all so easy to feel, but it wasn't her feeling them. Was this how the role holders felt during the past two games? A possessed feeling; one that forced them to do whatever the game required instead of their own personal desires? If it was, she felt pity towards them; she'd never felt something so surreal and horrifying in her life, and she never wanted to go through this again.
Was she going to desire everyone in Wonderland? Or was there more to it- would her moods change? What would become of her? As Alice began to hear the festival music of Joker's circus arise above the green canopy of spring leaves hanging on the trees in the forest around her, she knew her answer would be shortly answered…
Or, she hoped.
Alice, you seducing foreigner, you. O/o This might need to be changed to M for obvious reasons, but I'm going to try the best I can to stay in the T-zone. Mainly because, well, I suck at M stories. DX
I was listening to Skillet's "Monster" while writing this. I feel it suits Alice perfectly now. 8D
