Update of Chapter 2~!
Open P.O.V.
"Hey! Hahaha~ Julius? I kinda need your help here!" exclaims Ace, disturbing Julius from his work yet again. Looking up from the clock in his calloused hands, Julius glances over at the unconscious girl in Ace's arms.
She was covered head to toe in dried up mud, some of it caked onto her face, so it was hard to tell what she truly looked like. Blood was dripping off of Ace's cloak and mask, onto her face and chest. Hopefully she wouldn't make too much noise when she noticed it after waking.
Great, just what he needed right now…
" Hey! I think she's a foreigner!" Another foreigner? They already had Alice. Why was another brought into the game? Did Nightmare bring another one into the game? Why? That stupid rabbit, he probably brought another foreigner into the game. His luck, she probably drank the hearts' medicine too. If that was the case, he will have to talk to that troublesome incubus and his annoying assistant later on about the new player.
Can his day get any worse?
Setting down his wrench and taking off his spectacles he gets up and strolls over to the unconscious girl in Ace's arms.
"Take her to a guest room. We shall let her wake on her own first."
"Ahaha~Yeah, that would be good I guess."
"Yes, Well... Once you're done, I expect you to go back to the Heart's Castle. I do not need you to scare the poor girl again."
"Ahahahaha~ Whatever Julius! I'll get on it!"
Stupid knight, laughing over what seemed to be a serious matter. That was more than fear in her eyes, it was pure terror. As if she was living a horrid nightmare all over again.
"Just get her to bed Ace."
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Victoria's P.O.V.
Looking around, all I see is green, purple, blue, pink; colors all over, like a unicorn threw up everywhere. Looking down, I see the same colorful background; I'm floating. A palette of colors, only brown and monochromatic colors missing. Kind of cool, but really creepy too
Is it a sky? If it is, then am I flying? That would be cool. Actually, where am I?
"You're dreaming."
Hm? Who's that? Dreaming? I would never dream up a place looking like this.
Glancing behind me, I see a guy, definitely a older than me, floating in the air.
He had silver hair, an eye patch over his right eye, wearing a black buttoned up suit with gold lining. His eyes were silver too, what's with people and the weird eye colors here? First red, then silver? What next? Purple? Pink? Goldenrod? How about a freakin' rainbow?
"You know, I resent that. My eyes are perfectly fine. I was born with this color you know?" He chuckles, watching me perceptively as he floated just a few feet above me.
How in the hell did he know I was talking about his eyes? Next thing he's going to say his hair's natural too.
"My hair is natural Victoria."
"Okay, what's with the creepiness? Are you like, a psychic or something? How do you know my name, and for that matter how do you know what I was thinking about? Who are you?" My voice starts to rise from a slight panic. He's starting to freak me out, even more than that bunny-guy, maybe a bit less than that murderer I recently met. Knowing my name; supposedly reading my thoughts, it's just downright...creepy, period.
"Hey! You shouldn't think about people you just meet like that you know! Honestly, such a rude first meeting. My name is Nightmare Gottschalk." He smirks, coming down to my level, if I had one in this situation.
"Well, at least now were on a first name basis. You already know my name, obviously. How are you in my dreams?"
This is all so confusing! Weird rabbit-creepers kidnapping me and dumping me in a forest, murderers in a clock tower, and now a floating pirate guy in my dreams who can read minds. Perfectly normal.
"I'm an incubus, a dream demon, not a pirate. I can visit you in your dreams and hear what you're thinki- 'cough,cough,COUGH. Urg-Ughhh'
"OH MY GOD! Are you okay?!" He threw up blood! Jesus, he needs a hospital, and FAST!
"NO! Don't take me to the hospital! I'm fine, really, I'm just a sickly demon is all."
He is not fine, I know he isn't. Are there even hospitals in a dream?
"Ughhh…Alright.. Before you go, I need to tell you of the Hearts' Medicine; The potion you drank before you passed out. After you drink it, you're a player in the game, you must fill up the vial to finish the game. Every resident of Wonderland, where the "Rabbit-creeper", Peter White - the white rabbit, took you to, will fall in love with you, no matter what. Any questions?"
He smiled... As if every question in my entire life has been answered.
They'll... They'll fall in love with me? What? From just meeting a person? Is that why that Peter guy was so up close and personal near me?
"I-I don't understand. That weird liquid I had keeps me here against my will? What if I don't want to stay here? I want to go home, not stay here!"
Other residents of Wonderland? There are more people? Are they as creepy as, the first guy, Peter?
So many questions and thoughts are swirling through my head. I never asked to be brought to a different place. Wonderland; that's what Nightmare called it.
I'm getting a headache from all of the confusion. All I remember is that murderer was in front of me, had me in his arms, and he probably is going to kill me, if I'm not dead already. Wait! What if-
"It's time for you to wake up now Victoria. I'll be seeing you soon~"
"Wait! I-"
Gone.
All the colors slowly melting like ice cream on a summer day, oozing into one colour; Black.
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I blink; once, twice. Colours forming together, blues, golds, browns and silvers. A comforter lying on my body, warming it as I slept.
Sore. I'm sore all over; it hurts to even move a finger. I feel my hand around a bit; silk, cotton, warmth.
I'm in a bed. Why? Who put me here? Was it that masquerade murderer? I don't care, it's comfy and warm, and I'm not moving an inch, not unless it's necessary. I'm hungry, thirsty, I need to use the bathroom and bathe. Pulling the blankets back, I look down to assess my clothes, I see there is blood droplets on the dried mud that covers my tanktop and over-shirt. In the room across the bed is a dresser, made of an almost black wood that matched the bed-side dresser, the posts of the bed and the colour of the mirror frame in the room. The blankets were a blue and gold, some white spotting in-between the design of the blankets.
Something from the corner of my eye catches my attention; a mask. The mask the murderer was wearing! It was still soaked in blood, and a bit of the blood got on the cherry wood floor, staining the dark wood into a deep maroon.
I need to get out of here, call the authorities, something! I jump out of the bed, throwing the covers to the side of me; my boots were gone. It doesn't matter, leave, you can get more shoes later, getting away from a murderer is more important.
Grabbing the mask, I run to the door, throwing it open I run forward, but run into something, a wall? No.
The killer; He's back! Oh crap, crap!
"Oh! Here's my mask! Ahahahaha~! Were you were going to give it back to me? How sweet~"
The man smirks at me and leans forward next to my pierced ear.
"Thanks a lot. I should repay you for finding it for me~" He whispers and caresses my hip. Pulling me close to him, he stares me down like a wold to its dinner. Leaning his head down, he licks his lips hungrily and second by second, he gets closer to my face until he is a hair's breadth away.
No.
No.
NO.
I back up. I'm not kissing anybody. Especially not some murderer I had the displeasure of meeting, knowing for this long and then gaining his attention to make it worse.
"ACE! Leave the girl be! Get going to the castle, I don't want to hear from that rabbit or Queen because of your tardiness." A sultry, smooth voice comes from behind this man.
Ace? Is that his name? Ace.
"What? Why? We were just catching up and getting to know each other is all~" he says, his mouth spreading from cheek to cheek as he smiles. Is that all he does? What is there to be smiling about?
"Besides, she's kind of cute~ Better looking than Alice in all honesty!"
Alice? Who's Alice? One of those residents of "Wonderland"?
"Doesn't matter Ace. Leave. You're scaring her again."
"Fine,fine." he pouts and looks back at me, his grip tightening around my hip for a moment. "Bye my maiden~ I shall see you soon~" he hums, letting go of my hips and winking at me. I appreciate the offer of men hitting on me today, seeing as how they weren't bad eye-candy, but they were practically freaks, save for the man who got Ace away from me.
Good, he's leaving. Good riddance, go bother that Alice girl or something. Just stay away from me murder-man. Once Ace turns to leave, another man comes into view, the one that got Ace out of here, my savior!
He was about 6'0" - 6' 3", long, navy blue hair framed his thin yet shaped face nicely. Navy eyes behind glasses framed his masculine face, making the eyes shine more from the glass. A blue overcoat with pockets, gold garnishing galore was across it, a white undershirt with a grey and blue vest to top it off. Aw~ His hair even had a little bow to tie it up in! That's cute as hell, oh my God.
"Miss, I know you must be confused, but I must get back to my work. There is a bath down the hall to your left, your…clothes and the bed sheets you were previously laying on will be washed as you bathe. May I ask what is your name is?" He doesn't even know me and yet he is letting me use his bath? Why doesn't he throw me out? Most people I know would do that, especially where I live.
"Oh, uhm...My name's Victoria." I reply skeptically. How should I know this ain't a trap or something? He could be some creep that makes Peter look ... He's hospitable, but he's also a bit demanding and a little bit rude too.
"Yes, well, Miss Victoria. I am julius Monrey. Once you are done bathing I will be expecting you." And with that, he walks off. Just like that. Just says those few little sentence and leaves.
It's better than nothing I guess. I look out the door way and notice he's gone. Well I guess he really was in a hurry as he put it. Busy man maybe? Running a huge clock tower like this and having to keep it in tip-top shape might be a lot of work after all.
Stepping out I slowly walk to the left, glad I can take a shower after being so grimy and filthy all over.
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That bath was amazing! Once I learned how to use it of course. It was huge! Practically the size of a swimming pool! My clothes already cleaned, as well as the room when I went to check on it.
Ah~ No more brown, mud-caked, disgusting and sticky clothes. Clean and colorful, just the way they were supposed to be.
I'm able to see things a lot more detailed now that I'm not rushing and running around this place.
Looking around, I see clocks trailing down the hallways; big ones, small ones, new ones, old ones, Coo-coo clocks, grandfather and grandmother clocks standing tall and proud, even tiny ones that could be hung around a necklace, just like mine. It was insane! Yet, breathtaking at the same time. Like something out of a movie.
Walking up to a bronze clock on the wall, I touch it ever so lightly, as if it were to crumble to dust from my touch. Feeling the intricate designs carved into the device; swirls and twirls going round and round as if it were a dance. I've always had a weird connection with music, animals, and clocks. One of the major reasons I have one around my nec-
WAIT-...WHERE'S MY CLOCK?!
Running back to the bathroom I note that it's nowhere in sight…NOT. GOOD.
I turn and dash down the hall, terrified. I need to find my clock! I've had since I was a little girl after Richard gave it to me.
Wait- maybe Julius will know where it is!
He said he needed to see me anyway, so I'll be killing two birds with one stone. Sprinting down the hallway, I try to find a room that held Julius within. Stopping for a moment, I see an open room in front of me with a certain ravenette working on a clock. Coming to a jog I barge into the room. I should have said some type of warning, but this is an emergency.
"Julius!" Looking up from the open clock in his hands, his eyes widen the slightest bit at me recklessly barging into the room. Finally, coming to a halt, I attempt to catch my breath. You can tell I'm in such good shape right? After about 2 minutes of me panting like a dog, which is so attractive by the way, I look up at him sitting in his desk. In his hands sat my baby, open and ticking louder than ever.
"Julius, why do you have my clock?" I ask, stunned at the extraordinarily loud ticking it was making.
He looks at me, confused and then annoyed.
"This is not yours. It was broken and left at my doorstop, so it is my job to fix it. I am the Clock hand after all."
I know it's mine. Richard's signature is on the back. Don't tell me what is and isn't mine!
"Here, look at the signature on the back. It says Richard, which was my best friend. He gave this to me a while back. I lost my clock necklace a while back. The chain must have broken when I fell down that hill. I smashed into your doorway when I stopped rolling, so it had to of fallen off then."
Looking down at the clock in his hands skeptically he traces over the signature slowly with the rough pad of his thumb. Glancing back up at me he closes the back of it painstakingly slow and sighs. He takes his glasses off and gets up and grabs my long, golden chain that was rung through it before he took it from the doorstop, from me unintentionally. Walking away from his work desk, he slowly and cautiously hands it over to me.
My baby~
Holding it close to me I sigh in content, I swear, I nearly died of a heart attack when I found out it was missing. I was never able to get it to tick as loud as when Richard had it. Sure, fixing clocks is pretty easy, dad taught me how to when I was little, but, I could never get it just right.
Julius said something to me, but what he said just went in one ear and out the other.
All I can hear now is the memories of me and Richard, sitting with each other trading and looking at Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and other cards while the clock he wore ticked away.
"Hey Victoria! Cm'ere! Lookit! I finally got the Blue-Eyes White Dragon from big brother!"
"Yeah? Isn't that like, a common card? I'd try to shoot for a Red-Eyes Dark Metal Dragon or s'mthin like that..." I reply snobbishly, trying to jab at Richard's "Card Pride".
"Ahahaha~ Yeah yeah~ I like Blue-Eyes though, he's cool." He grins ear to ear, his cerulean eyes shining with excitement as his short, chubby fingers mess around with the precious card in his hands.
Sitting cross-legged, we start to talk and trade our cards, from Yu-Gi-Oh! to Pokemon to our Garbage Pail Kids cards.
The wind picking up, blowing both of our long hair out of ours faces that were lit up with excitement, our laughter carrying along in the wind as we sat in our hidden spot under the tire ladder at the park.
At first, I was fine with the memories crowding my head. Then, a waterfall of emotions and tears washes over me. Julius looked over at me when he heard me choke back a sob and stood there, frozen. His face showed confusion, then surprise, and then strangely enough, fear.
"Stop crying…H-Hey. Stop it, stop your crying." His voice wavering a bit, he doesn't know what to do probably. Only Brandon and Anissa can calm me down when I cry. Richard used to be able to too but-..
Slowly and cautiously he approaches me, but I was a wreck. My knees collapse and I fall. Julius runs forward and catches me before I even have a chance to hit the floor. My body is shaking with the emotions that are flowing through me; confusion, anger, fear, thankfulness. After a couple of minutes, I begin to speak up, "I-I'm s-sorry Julius. You've been so kind to me. You don't even know me and yet…" I begin to stand up; I'm an emotional wreck in front of a stranger. I'm so embarrassed, I can't even stand it.
As I get up I feel something unravel around me; his arms. His arms, he was holding me and I didn't even notice.
"Are you okay?"
"Thank you." That's all I can say right now. I can't think, I just want to run.
So that's exactly what I did.
I ran.
Out of the room, through the hallway of ticking clocks, down the stairs (and almost tripping down them in the process), and right out the front door.
Going through the forest I was lost in before, I can't think of anything else other than running.
I don't care where I go, all I want to do is run.
I'm not sure if I'll get chapter 3 updated, it's 5:30 in the morning and I was up all night so-..
I'll try to update tomorrow though, if I can~!