Wow... So this was the Tower of Clover. It was huge...with so many stairs. Oh, god, am I going to have to climb up all those? Someone just-um, never mind. Already been shot. Hm, not as funny anymore. Eh, oh well. I took a deep breath, looking up at the giant stairs, and declared, "CHARGE!" Before attempting to run up the large set of stairs. Oddly, I was reminded of the academy in Soul Eater and the huge stairs they had to walk up.

In all honesty, it took me about all day to get here to the tower. It was night time already, and has been, for the past hour or two. By the time I managed to get all the way up the stairs, I was panting and out of breath. Those stairs were long. I hate stairs. Stairs are evil.

Anyway, to my surprise, the tower really did have a clover on it, which made me laugh because it meant I was correct. I pushed the huge doors open and stared, not wanting to process all the different doors I was going to have to check if I wanted to find what I suppose too, which, I believe, happened to be Nightmare himself. I still didn't understand that doctor guy's problem with Nightmare. Yeah, he's an incubus, but he's said so himself-he's not that kind of incubus.

"To the right."

"Whoa, what? Huh?" I closed the door behind me, looking around in alarm.

"Start walking forward, then go to the right. Take the stairs there and go up, before making a left."

I was about ready to make a jibe about me going crazy, when I remembered my dream.

"Follow my voice, Alexis. Go forward, and take the stairs to the right."

"I heard you the first time!" I said, and started moving forward. Turning my head when I neared an intersection, I went right and up the stairs. "How many stairs does this place have!?"

"Plenty. Now make a left." I did as told and went left, walking straight. "No, no, no, go back a few feet! Turn there!" I made a face as I had to backtrack. "Good! Now go left at your next right and go up those stairs." Oh, god, more stairs? I groaned and hung my head as I tried to follow his directions, pausing to ask as I was half-way up the stairs,

"Th-These stairs, right? It was go right, then left?"

"Yes. You're doing fine." I let out a sigh of relief. I was horrible with directions. "You seem to be following mine perfectly so far. Oh! Make a turn to that right and go forward, then open the door on your left."

I stopped walking and placed my hand on the door handle, hesitant. "Wh-What's in there?" I could almost imagine the amused smirk on Nightmare's face. The jerk.

"I'm not a jerk, I'm important. Now enter..." How very ominous, dear sir. I couldn't help but crack a grin at that and hesitantly twist the door handle, opening it. "ALEXIS! Welcome to my room!"

"Wh-Wha-? Wait," I tried to recollect myself from my surprise and stop myself from stuttering as I cried out, "you're actually real!? I'm not hallucinating?"

"Of course I'm real! What kind of question is that?"

"I-I don't know; a question!?" Nightmare was grinning at me from his spot at a small couch, a really all man with dark hair and gold eyes standing next to him and holding papers. "Wh-Where am I?"

"I told you, the Tower of Clover. You're in Wonderland, Alexis."

"I-I got that much! I meant-I meant...Just, like, um...How am I supposed to get home?" Yeah. That was a good question. A very good question. Nightmare narrowed his eye, frowning.

"You can't." I looked at him in alarm, taking a step back. "You drank the potion, right? All of it? Where's the vial?"

"Oh, um..." I paused, trying to remember, before reaching and checking my jacket pockets. To my surprise, there was a small glass vial with a clover lid on it. It had a drop or two of liquid in it. "Here. Why?" I must have put it in there without thinking.

"That's the Potion of Clover, Alexis. Once you drink that, you can't leave Wonderland until you complete your game."

"My game?" I questioned, eyeing him weirdly. He nodded.

"Yes. Once one game is completed, another must begin. Your game is whether or not you'll leave Wonderland. Keep in mind that since everyone loves an outsider, you'll be a victim of people wanting to be either friends, or enemies." This is such a lovely conversation. Most people hate me already, so what's the big difference? "Most people here won't hate you, Alexis." I was takenaback. Not by what he said, but by what he said.

"Whoa! Wait, dude, you can seriously read minds even in real life!?"

"Of course! Minds so unguarded like yours are especially easy to read!"

"What's that supposed to mean, you jerk!?"

The tall man from before spoke up, saying, "Lord Nightmare, your paperwork..." Nightmare made a face. I tried not to laugh at the ridiculousness of it.

"But Gray! Can't you see I'm busy? I'm your boss, so you should respect me more!"

"But I do respect you, sir," Gray replied, and I kept turning my head to look at the one who was talking. Gray continued, "I would respect you even more if you'd finish your paperwork, and actually go to the hospital when needed. You have an appointment at two thirty."

"I'm not going to a hospital! I'm busy welcoming Alexis!"

Gray frowned at Nightmare, pushing the stack of papers he was holding. I blinked and asked, staring, "Wait, tall-person's working for you? What's your job?" Why do I get the feeling that he's some rich kid...?

Nightmare grinned at me and extended his arms out, gesturing to everything around him, as he said, "I'm the Lord of the Tower of Clover. And Gray here is my subordinate!" He then struck a pose, placing a hand on his chin while crossing his one arm over his chest, smirking. "Impressive, right?"

I stared at him blankly. How was that supposed to be impressive...? It just meant that he had loads and loads of paperwork to do in order to make sure things didn't go out of control. Rather than impressive, it was more bothersome, and to have to do that much paperwork... "I feel so, so sorry for you."

"What, why!?"

"Because! All that paperwork! That's as bad as math homework!" Tears welled up in Nightmare's one visible eye as he stared at me, before crying out as he waved a finger at me dramatically,

"See, Gray! Even she doesn't like paperwork! Why do I have to do it!?"

"Because it's your job, Lord Nightmare! You'd be free from all this if you didn't go and escape into dreams all the time!" Nightmare huffed and sat back down, crossing his arms and turning his head. He was pouting.

"You're just jealous of my powers."

Gray had an annoyed smile on his face as he looked down at Nightmare, saying, "Yes, yes, very jealous. Now, if you'd just finish this paperwork, I'd be even more jealous of your ability to do work diligently!"

"No! Stop shielding your mind; I can't read it when you do that!"

"I will if you do your paperwork and go to your scheduled appointment."

"I refuse!" What am I even watching anymore? Actually, scratch that, this reminds me of the time when Jack, Sarah, and Erin where trying to convince me to get off my lazy ass and actually get lunch. I kept saying things similar to Nightmare, like, I refuse! I refuse, I refuse, I refuse! and But I'm so lazy! I don't wanna! and I was also reminded of the time when Sarah had to force me to go to the Nurse's Office because of a time when I was really sick, and nearly passed out trying to get my saxophone out of its case. I didn't want help. I didn't want to miss class and go to the Nurse's Office; all they would do is have me sleep for ten minutes before sending me back to class anyway. She literally had to grab my wrist and drag me up there.

...I wonder if Nightmare or Gray would notice if I left? I thought curiously, watching them fire arguments back-and-forth. Taking a step back, I slowly reached a hand out to the doorknob, attempting to be ninja, but was stopped as Nightmare quit arguing with Gray to point a finger at me.

"No leaving! I'm not done talking to you yet!"

"Awww! But I don't want lectured!"

"You're not getting lectured. You're being informed. Gray?"

"Already on it." I watched Gray move towards one of the bookshelves and pull out a small scroll, before moving back over and handing it to Nightmare. Nightmare opened it and placed it on the table. I walked over to get a better look at it.

"You can sit down, Alexis," Nightmare told me, looking down at me in confusion. I felt my face flush with embarrassment.

"R-Right. I knew that." I quickly, and hesitantly, took a seat on one of the small couches surrounding the round coffee table. I looked down at the scroll, and was surprised to see that it was actually a map. "Is that Wonderland?"

"A part of it," Nightmare said, holding the map open with one hand. "This is merely one of the countries here in Wonderland; Clover." This is going to go by cards, isn't it? And all the different suits? Nightmare lifted his head and looked at me confused for a moment, before nodding. "Yes. There's also the Country of Hearts, Diamond, and Spade. Here is where we are currently," He pointed to the giant building in the middle of the map. He then slowly moved his finger over to a big mansion-like building, saying, "And this is the Hatter's Mansion; the place where you encountered the March Hare and gained that injury of yours. A man named Blood Dupre lives there, along with his other two subordinates called The Bloody Twins. They are part of the Mafia." Somehow, the fact that they were Mafia didn't surprise me, but it still made my eyes widen.

Slowly, I raised my left hand up and pressed it gently against my wound, resisting the urge to wince. So the mafia did this to me. Well, they're nice. Remind me to avoid them in the future. I quite like living, thank you.

Wait...Oh, crap! I forgot to take the medicine the doctor dude gave me! ...What if it tastes like cherry cough syrup, though? Gross...Ugh, but I'm going to have to drink it anyway. I'll do it after this explanation.

Nightmare made a face at my thoughts of drinking medicine, and continued, pointing at a giant castle that was sitting atop a hill really far away from the Clover Tower. "This is the Hearts Castle, where the Queen of Hearts resides. I suggest that when you're better, you greet her soon as possible in order to prevent yourself from getting beheaded." Oh, great. Looks like all Red Queens are the same. Fun. Let's hope this isn't Tim Burton's version, though... "A man named Peter White, the White Rabbit, lives there. He's the Prime Minister. Here," He gestured to all the green surrounding the entire land and buildings, " is the forest of doors. If you hear them speak to you, urging you to open them, block your mind and clear your thoughts; ignore them completely." I frowned.

"Why, what happens if I open them?"

Nightmare was silent for a moment, before ignoring the question and saying, "And these are the towns. You can find shops, libraries, and anything you need there."

"What happens if I open a door?" I was going to keep asking until he told me. Nightmare sighed and said,

"They take you to the place you want to go to most, but only the Cheshire Cat can control them and where lead too." Oh...

"So, in other words, if I-If I wanted to go through them I'd need the Cheshire Cat with me?" Nightmare paused, thinking about my words, before saying,

"Sure." I frowned again. Now I was tempted to open a door and go through, just to see where it would lead. "Don't. Just ignore them, Alexis. Stay away from the Knave of Hearts, though. He's dangerous."

Dangerous... "Like the March Hare?"

"Worse. Just avoid him if you're able too."

I nodded, trying to memorize that. "What's he look like?"

"Red coat and eyes, with brown hair. Wields a sword." I opened my mouth to respond, but was cut off by Gray placing two mugs on the table.

"I brought refreshments, Lord Nightmare, Alexis."

"Coffee!" Nightmare cheered, latching onto the warm mug with both hands and lifting it up to his mouth.

"Careful, it's hot." Gray warned, hovering over Nightmare. He then turned around and moved over to me, causing me to look up at him uncomfortably in confusion. "I suggest you wait a few minutes before trying to drink it, Alexis."

"O-Okay..." I don't even like coffee... but I felt like I should drink it anyway. Oh, crap, is he actually one of those people I can tell right away you don't want to make upset because then you'll feel so freaking guilty about it later and just want to hug them if they look sad or about to cry?

...I can generally tell who was that kind of person just by looking at someone...also, I don't want to be rude.

"Um, thank you?" I finished, furrowing my eyebrows as it came out like a question. To my surprise, Gray smiled and reached over, patting my head. I blinked, confused as to why he did that, and watched as he pulled his hand away.

"Your welcome."

Nightmare started to complain again, "How come I don't get special treatment?" Gray frowned and stood up straight immediately, saying,

"Because you don't do the work your supposed to."

"You're so mean to me!"

...It's like watching myself argue with Jack...Only older, and I was a guy with silver hair...and damn it all Jack was still taller than me in my comparison of us being Nightmare and Gray! Gray was around six-foot-two while Nightmare was five-foot-ten.

"Need I take away your coffee-breaks, Lord Nightmare?"

"No!" Nightmare crawled up into a ball on the couch, holding his coffee protectively close to his chest, as he scooted away from Gray. "Don't! I'll do the paperwork later!"

It was really difficult trying not to laugh. Nightmare looked at me out of the corner of his eye and pouted, saying, "I'm glad you're finding this amusing..." I couldn't help it. I laughed. "Stop that! No laughing!"

"T-Too bad!" If I was going to laugh, I was going to laugh. I was tired of holding it in in this world. "You guys are freaking ridiculous! Give me one-one reason why I shouldn't laugh?"

"B-because! It's mean to laugh at others!" I leaned forward and grinned at the man sitting on the couch at the opposite end of the table.

"Really? Then I'm a very mean person, then. 'Cause I'm never not laughing." It was true. Back in my world, I was always smiling and laughing and acting like the biggest goofball you'd ever know. But here...I didn't feel comfortable enough to smile and grin and laugh freely. Now, however... I felt perfectly fine. I felt me again.

I ignored the pain in my shoulder as I sat back up straight and reached out with my right hand to grab the mug of coffee, resisting the urge to cry out in pain as my shoulder tugged painfully at the extra weight. Lifting the mug up to my lips, I braced myself for the terrible taste of coffee. However, I tasted something entirely different, and the taste caused me to freeze.

Nightmare and Gray looked at me curiously, and watched as they saw me gulp down the drink in thirty seconds flat. Nightmare asked, slightly amused and partially stunned, "Was it that good?"

"Dude, that was the best hot chocolate I've ever had!" I didn't think hot chocolate would taste this good without marshmallows, but this...this was the freaking definition of "beautiful". I looked up to Gray with wide, awed eyes. "You made this?" He nodded, a smile on his face. "Dude, you are amazing!"

"Thank you, Alexis. I'm glad you like the drink."

"Like it? I freaking loved it!" And now I'm kinda sad that I downed it all...Shame on me. I then jumped a little, remembering something as I placed the mug carefully back on the table. "Oh, Nightmare! I have a question!"

He looked surprised at my change in attitude, but smiled. "What is it?"

"Why are so many people missing eyes? And how come you have them while they don't?"

"Simple. Because I have a "role"." I frowned, not understanding what that was supposed to mean. He explained, "There are two types of people in this world, Alexis. There are the role-holders, people with eyes and roles, and the faceless-those without eyes and roles."

"...That's demented. Wait! Then why were they glaring at me? And why was that doctor guy so scared of you?"

"Because most faceless hate us role-holders and the importance of the roles we hold. Some faceless in particular may hate certain role-holders for personal reasons. As to why I'm feared..." He narrowed his one visible eye at me, sitting up and leaning over as he rested his chin against his laced fingers. "I'm an Incubus. A dream demon such as myself, as powerful as myself, can give you nightmares that even you would never be able to think of." I could feel a small twinge of fear as I resisted the urge to shiver, feeling a cold chill go down my spine. Okay, note to self...Don't make Nightmare angry. "Ah! Yes, right, now I remember! Gray, can you show Alexis to the room she'll be staying in while she's here?"

...And that was basically the story of how I ended up living at the Tower of Clover...

"Y-You sure it's alright for me to stay here?" I asked Gray, looking up at the really tall man as we neared the room I was going to be sleeping in. "I-I'm not intruding or anything, right?"

"It is perfectly fine for you to stay here, Alexis." We stopped at the door and I closed my eyes out of reflex when he placed his hand on my head. Why does everyone keep patting my head? Jeez...I know I'm short for being a teenager, but still... I didn't hate having my head pat. I actually quite liked it. I just didn't understand why people did it. Jack patted me on the head all the time, and Erin did too occasionally when he and Jack were making fun of me as I started to pout and complain and call them jerks. They always patted me on the head and went,

"Aww, it's okay! It's okay!" In really weird baby voices. Made me want to slap them...mentally, of course. Unless I was punching them repeatedly in the arm. That was fun, too.

"O-Okay..." I replied to Gray, and entered the room.

"This is one of the hotel rooms here in the Tower of Clover. You don't have to pay, as it is entirely free during your stay here."

"H-Huh? Wait, seriously? I-I don't have to pay? Are you sure? I got, like, five bucks with me that I can give Nightmare-"

"It's fine." How was it fine? This looked more like a rich kid's room you'd find in Sims4 after building a house than a hotel room! Hotel rooms are small! At least, the ones I've been in. This room was huge, had a big bed, a table with chairs, another table, a dresser, a wardrobe in the far corner with, probably, a built in mirror, and a couch-and there were bookshelves! This was not a hotel room. Oh, yeah, did I mention the small table in the corner with a vase of pretty flowers? No? Well it had one! With a cloth! How fancy was this place? "This is one of cheaper ones, and Lord Nightmare seems to think of you as a comrade, so you do not need to pay. Also, considering as you're a foreigner, and a mere child, you have no Wonderland currency in the first place."

I was about to argue with him that I wasn't a child, and that I was fifteen, but the kind smile he gave me made me bite my tongue. For some reason, I just really didn't want to make this person upset. Hm...everyone has that one person that you don't want to make upset. Maybe Gray's mine? Great! Now all I need to do is find my "soul mate"! Haha, yeah, right, like that's gonna happen. No one would ever love someone like me, nonetheless like.

...Woooow, Nightmare was right. I am a very negative person. Huh. Interesting.

"Wait six time periods. I'll return for you and we can go shopping for some attire. While we are out, we'll need to go grocery shopping for Lord Nightmare."

Aaaand now I'm lost. "Six time periods?" Did he mean six days or six hours?

He looked mildly surprised, before explaining patiently, "Time runs differently in Wonderland. It can go from morning to night, and night to evening here. It's never in order and is always random. We call these time periods."

"Oh! Okay, that makes sense...I think."