My friend really loved this, so I promised her one more chapter. No more after this though. :P
-Static
/*\
Alice warped to the clearing, the flames brighter than usual. This time, though she was still excited, she was also very, very scared.
She had been getting sick all week. For seven days straight, she'd been throwing up heavily from the moment she woke up. It was a wonder that the pure-white carpet and sheets of her bedroom hadn't been destroyed. After the first few days she had gotten a little worried - she had been given to understand that dragons did not fall ill in the same manner as humans - and visited the doctor.
She'd been completely floored by what he told her.
"Congratulations, Madam Jabberwocky. You're going to be a mother."
Alice hadn't even thought herself capable of having children. She hadn't gotten her period since she took the role. From what she had been told back home, by her mother and sister, the bleeding signified she was of an age where she was capable of having a baby. When it stopped, she assumed that had no longer been the case, but...
Apparently she'd been wrong, and now she was facing the consequence.
Her seeming barrenness had been the reason she had come to agree to be so careless with him. They weren't even married yet.
She had no idea how he would react.
/*\
Alice had sat herself down on the log that they so often met at. The sky was as blue as her favorite dress, not a cloud blemishing the smooth color. The mountains glimmered white over the noonday sun, and the icicles on the bare trees glimmered like prisms. She turned her attention to the frost-covered meadow, and the light reflecting off of it.
Will it like the snow? She idly wondered, Maybe it will detest the cold. Or maybe it will be like me, unable to feel the temperatures.
Then she heard the light crunching of footsteps on thinned ice, and she looked up to see her lover.
She hoped he would still love her.
"Ace!" She exclaimed, she hadn't realized he'd gotten so close, and that surprised her. She could hear people approaching from a mile away. Had she really been that preoccupied?
"Hey, Alice!" he answered, "How's it going? What happened at the doctor's?"
They had been together for almost a year at this point, and they saw each other almost every day. He had known that she'd been sick every morning waking up, and though he would never admit it, he'd been getting a little worried. Even when she had been human, Alice had never even come down with a cold. Getting sick for seven days straight...even he knew that was not a good sign. The fact that she hadn't known he'd been there up until the last few feet, that deepened his concern.
"Well," She stated slowly, standing up, "It's not a virus." Then she stopped speaking, and she was playing with her fingers and chewing on her lips. This made Ace frown. Her behavior was puzzling. She hadn't looked this nervous since he'd shoved his shotgun in her face, so very long ago...
He'd proven that he no longer had any intention of harming her, in any way. Time and again he would kill rebels for her (even when she protested she could take care of them herself) and he took great consideration to be gentle each and every time he touched her. He even performed his duties for her, when he had always been adamant that rebelling against the Role was the only fight worth fighting. She had no reason to be afraid, not anymore, so why was she scared of him now?
"...So what is it?" He asked softly. He had no clue what was happening. Was she sick with something else? Was it serious?
"Well," she repeated, looking up at him, her eyes meeting his. Her pupils were starting to narrow. That definitely wasn't good. Then a thought popped into his head.
"Alice are you..." he interrupted, "Okay?" He had an idea of what was going on, and he didn't like it. Not one bit. He refused to even acknowledge the word.
The look in her eyes only heightened his suspicion. She could not expect him to take this. For the longest time she had told him that it would only ever be him, and no one else, and for him it had been the same.
If he was correct in his assumption...she would be taken away from him forever. What would he do then?
No. This could not be happening.
"Here's the thing Ace," she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then she met his gaze once more, "I'm-"
"No!" he snapped, grabbing her shoulders. "No, don't say it. I don't accept it. You can't demand that I be okay with this."
No words could describe the devastation she felt right then. He'd understood what she was implying, and now...
Would he demand she get rid of it?
The idea horrified her.
"...You...aren't okay with this?" She asked, still unable to comprehend the meaning behind his words. He released her shoulders and threw his hands down, backing away a few steps. Now he looked angry. Really? She was going to vanish forever, and he was just supposed to say, "Alright."?!
"How could you expect me to be?! Once it happens-" He broke off. He didn't even want to think about the results of this horrifying revelation. "Maybe the doctor was wrong," he stated hopefully, "We could go to the doctors at Heart Castle-" and then she blew up.
"HE'S NOT WRONG, ACE!" She screamed, "I know! I can feel it and all the symptoms I've been having are correct. This is happening whether you like it or not."
Alice was heartbroken. He had always told her he'd love her no matter what, that even though he'd felt nothing for her once she'd first arrived, he had started longing for her presence when she became the Dragon. That initial want for understanding and companionship had morphed into something else, and she had wanted that something else...she had wanted it more than anything...
And now he was taking it away from her.
He'd broken his promise, and now she was wondering how she would ever recover from this emotional trauma.
Ace had remained silent, doing nothing but glare at her.
"You would ask me to get rid of it?" She squeaked, her voice cracking on the last syllable. She wouldn't do it. Even if it meant he would leave her, she would not do that. The life currently growing inside her had absolutely nothing to do with this situation. It hadn't asked to be there, and so it was more than unfair to penalize it for her mistake. She would not put it up for adoption, she would keep it, and if he hated her for it...So be it.
At this point, Ace's anger had dimmed down into confusion. What was she talking about? If she could just get rid of the illness, then wouldn't she have done so already? Why would she willingly... It made no sense in the context of his thinking. Could he have...had he actually missed what she was saying?
She observed the change in his expression warily. He didn't seem upset anymore but...he'd been able to fool her before.
"Alice," he stated, "Are we talking about the same thing here?" She glared up at him,
"You want me to get rid of the baby." she growled, and then she started shaking her head, "I won't do it. No matter what you say or do-" Her voice had stared to gain volume when Ace had raised his hand up and spoke over her,
"Wait!" He'd snapped, then softer, "You're...pregnant?"
Had he really not understood?!
"Yes!" she'd exclaimed, annoyed, "I was going to tell you before you so rudely interrupted and said..." Tears started flowing down her face, "Before you interrupted and said you won't accept it."
Oh sh*t. Now she was crying. He really had jumped to conclusions.
"Alice," He'd started hesitantly, before he stepped up and wrapped his arms around her, her hands covering her face as she tried to repress her sobs. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I thought you were saying something else."
"And what," she hiccuped, "Did you think I was saying, you moron?" The insult did not sound sincere, but even Ace knew he probably shouldn't push his luck right now.
"I thought you were going to say that you were dying." He mumbled into her hair, and she let out a soft, somewhat relieved laugh before lightly hitting him in the chest.
"Idiot." She snarled, before sighing and leaning into him. "So," she started again, "Now that you know I'm not actually dying, what do you think?" He said nothing for a moment, choosing his words carefully.
"I don't know. I thought you said you were barren, so I never thought to expect this. Give me a second." He stated, and then mulled the thought over.
Alright, so Alice was pregnant, and to his knowledge, he was the only man she had ever been intimate with.
"I assume it's mine?" He questioned, and he got a real slap for that,
"What kind of person do you take me for?!" She had growled, "Contrary to popular belief, I'm not actually a wh***. Of course it's yours!"
"I was just reiterating!" He'd defended, holding a hand up to the forming bruise. She was still bristling, but made no more violent moves against him, and Ace looked at her. Really looked at her.
This woman - this beautiful, powerful, gorgeous woman who could have any man she desired - in nine months, was going to give him a baby. A baby that probably wouldn't be human, as animal genes were dominant. He was going to have a child, a dragon child, and he was concerned.
Dragons were exceedingly rare. They only lived in the far territories where there were no Role-Holders, - Alice was the only one he'd ever met, and she had started out human - and so he had no idea how he might go about parenting one. They didn't even age the same. Ace could keep himself looking as young as he'd like by turning back his clock - all Role-Holders could do it - but once a dragon stopped growing, it would only age a year for each thousand that pass. Then there was the matter of the rebels and the lower gangs. They all wanted Alice dead, because she was the Jabberwocky, and he wasn't exactly the most popular Role-Holder either. Not only would he have to figure out the parenting, but he would also need to be there very, very often, so that he might protect the child until it was old enough that it could handle itself.
However, there was one emotion that outweighed his apprehension.
He couldn't help but to feel excited. He'd seen young families in the towns. He'd watched mothers buying their daughters pretty hair ribbons, and fathers carrying their sons to see festivals. Of course, he'd heard that he could no longer be interesting or ferocious or have adventures when he was a parent but...
If he could bend the Rules of the Universe, he could break that one no problem. He liked the idea of taking a child on camping trips, teaching it how to hunt, or even just showing him or her his favored places in Wonderland.
In fact, he simply liked the image of Alice holding a baby that looked like him.
This, he could accept.
"Alice," He stated, walking up to her, "How far are you in?"
"The doctor estimated six weeks." He nodded, and wrapped his arms around her.
"So we only need to wait seven and a half months until we get to have a baby." He murmured.
Alice's world was no longer shattering.
/*\
Everyone who resided in the city around Jabberwocky Tower could not sleep that night period, for they could all hear the screaming. Their leader was in a great deal of pain, and many had an idea as to what was going on. Though no one had actually seen her for the past several months, her people were not dumb. They could put two and two together. The Dormouse was bringing twice the amount of groceries to the tower. The seamstress was making gowns for her again, getting ever larger in the stomach area. Then there was the fact that the Queen was visiting her more than ever, and for some reason, she had started bringing the Knave.
Today, they could also see that the Queen had made herself present. Just as she was stepping out the carriage, the Knave had launched himself out the other door, and dashed to the entrance of the tower.
It wasn't long until the screaming actually turned into words.
"ACE, I HATE YOU! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" A feminine voice wailed.
With a literally draconic mother, and a psychopath for a father, the entire community could agree on one thing.
It was fairly likely that this would be an exceedingly terrifying child.
/*\
When the noise had died down, and Alice was left merely panting on the bloodied sheets, her eyes starting to close in her exhaustion, the nurse approached with a swathed up blanket. The dragon's eyes focused, and too tired for words, simply held her hands out.
Ace, now allowing the doctor to bandage up his right hand and take care of his cracked ribs, watched, equally exhausted. In her pain, Alice had actually broken his hand with her own, when she squeezed just a little too hard. When she had released him, she'd actually wrapped her tail around his torso, and slammed him into a couple of different walls, all the time ranting on about how much she despised him and how it was all his fault that she was in so much pain.
"Hey Ace," She stated, looking down at the baby, "I'm sorry for all those vile things I said. I didn't mean them. It just really hurt." Then she let her eyes flicker to his and beckoned him over, "Come say hi to your daughter."
He would have been lying if he said he wasn't a little disappointed. He had been hoping for a boy, so that he might be able to relate to his child a little more, but a girl was okay too. The doctor gave his approval for the Knave to stand, and he did so, repressing a hiss of pain as he moved over to his wife's side.
Right after she'd announced her pregnancy, he had paid off a priest in Heart Castle to marry them in secret. It had not mattered to Ace - life was so brief in Wonderland, that the people often did not bother with such time-consuming ceremonies, it wasn't that important - but he knew that she came from a culture where it was a serious taboo to have a child out of wedlock. If it made her more comfortable, then he didn't mind doing it. He had no intention of leaving, after all.
When the Knave of Hearts looked down into the woman's arms and saw the tiny face - whose eyes had already opened - he found he didn't care at all that it had not turned out to be a boy. It was exactly like the vision he'd had in mind. The little girl didn't look exactly like him, but she had gotten something. She stared up at her parents with a set of wide, wondering crimson eyes, and Ace realized something.
The Role had always demanded he be solitary. It was not a "hero's" privilege to have a wife or a child. That was something that belonged solely to the faceless citizenry that he so desperately wished he could be a part of again. It was not a Role-Holder's place to have such attachments.
Once again, he had defied the Role, but that wasn't the part that made him so overwhelmingly happy with this development. He felt normal, and though that in itself was an amazing enough thing, he also found himself falling in love again. However, unlike the love he had created her with, he silently promised something to the infant.
She would never see the psychopath she would hear of in the town and on the streets. She would always find confusion in other people's words when she compared them to what she saw. She would forever view the facade, and she would live happily and innocently and entirely unknowing of the darker points of the world she would grow up in. She would remain in ignorance until she was old enough to handle it, and even then, he might not even tell her the whole truth. Only the parts she would need to survive.
Aramis Liddell, he thought, when Alice handed the baby over to him, and he awkwardly held her in his arm. May you never know how awful I really am.
However, he didn't need to hide so completely just yet, for the smile he gave her was entirely real.
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I wasn't expecting it to end that...serious. o.o But then, it turned out cheesy the other way. I'm not into that. But anyways, yes. My friend really, really liked this one-shot, so I told her I'd write another chapter for it. :3
-Static