Another chapter. No daily updates anymore, I don't think. I'm working both at school and trying to find a job, so I'm not going to have as much time to write. At least not until I'm done with school. Sorry. :P But I can promise that there will be at least two posts from me per week. Please R&R! :D
-Static
/*\
People were flooding to the circus. The faceless had already overrun the place when the Role-Holders started to arrive. Nightmare and Gray were the first to show up, followed shortly by Julius. Next were those of Heart Castle, the Knave and Prime Minister flanking the Queen. Afterwards, the Amusement Park group, Boris begging Gowland to abandon his notebook. The performances at the Circus may be better, but the Amusement Park's rides far surpassed those found here. Pierce was idly looking around.
In minutes the tent was fully occupied, and the first show of April Season was about to start. Each of the curtains used as doors had been dropped, eviscerating the natural light, and the lamps, save one, had dimmed. The single spotlight was resting on the Jester, and the excited twittering of the guests had started to quiet. The Role Holders took their places in the seats of honor, near the front, but they couldn't help but notice there was an extra seat, not too far away from where the Mafia should have been sitting.
It was decorated similarly to the Queen's little throne that Joker always set up for her. It was silver and black, and had intricate woven patterns painted on the back and armrest, with a peculiar looking image - a braided design of a winged serpent - just above where a petite girl's head might rest...
There was no way that Joker was unaware of the events that had occurred not one day ago, and yet he still set a place for the Jabberwocky?
As though by a silent, unifying agreement, the Role-Holders decided something. They did not intend to let this mockery be overlooked.
/*\
Elliot was worried. Like it wasn't bad enough that Blood was insisting on procrastinating, wandering through the halls of the mansion and making inquiries of the servants, but now, even the not-rabbit's Role was getting on his case.
Uhh... The voice trailed off, sarcastic but still concerned, You know the circus is starting soon right? And you know that you kind of need to BE THERE, right?
I know! He snarled back.
"Blood!" Elliot called, "Why is this servant so important? I mean, I know you sort of took out your frustrations on her..."
It was true. The servant girl whom Blood had commanded visit his bedroom the night period after Alice's leaving had disappeared. She was nowhere to be found, and secretly, Elliot really couldn't blame her.
It wasn't her fault that she had looked just a little too much like their beloved foreigner, and it wasn't her fault that their boss was terrible at dealing with his emotions.
However, that being said, they did not have time to be worrying over her right now. They couldn't miss the Circus. If they did, then that would be outright breaking the Rules, and they would be tossed out of the game. They couldn't allow that to happen.
"Boss..." A small voice trailed off. Wonderful. Why did those brats have to show up now? "Chickie-Rabbit's right. We should really get going."
...What? Did they seriously just agree with him?
"Our Roles are flipping out." The other twin stated. "We promise we'll hunt her down when we get back, but right now we really gotta be at the circus!"
Blood knew they were right, but he was stressed. He would not have been so worried if it wasn't for the fact that, if she told someone what he had done...
It wasn't like his reputation would go down the drain. He was the Mafia after all, he wasn't exactly known for his kindness. Ordering a pretty servant to sleep with him was hardly the worst thing he'd ever done.
No, he wasn't worried about that, he was worried that word might get to Alice. She might be locked up in her tower now, but the Rule was that she needed to at least monitor what was going on in the outside world. Once she heard that he'd basically forced a helpless girl into his bed...
Well, she might not allow him to live this time. She was far too capable of empathy than any Role-Holder had the right to be, and considering what had almost happened to her in that asylum...
He was a proud man, but even he didn't think he could successfully fight a dragon. However, his companions were correct. Losing the Game would do him no favors.
"Alright," The Mafia boss said, straightening his tie, "Let's go."
/*\
When the circus had ended, all of the Role-Holders left. Not a second had passed before each and every one of them vacated the tent, more than furious.
She might have taken one of the most unfortunate of Roles, but that didn't make them love her any less. Ultimately, she was still the Foreigner - not like her family members, they were not considered valid - and so the magical forces of Wonderland still held her in high esteem.
She had sacrificed herself for them. She had locked herself in her tower, and surrounded herself with the clouds of the insanity-inducing storm. She could have used it to control all of Wonderland and yet...
She had still chosen to take the fall for them.
Because she loved them just as much as they loved her.
The noon day sun roasted any and all who did not escape it's blistering heat soon enough, and the Role-Holder groups split away from each other, mulling things over across the area of the circus. The Mafia had arrived just in time, and they too had observed their host's bad joke. They were just as displeased as everyone else, but ultimately, it was not they who decided to take action.
"Prime Minister White," Vivaldi had stated, walking away from the tent towards the shade of a cotton candy stall. "We order you to investigate the wall." This caught the white rabbit's attention.
"Really?" he asked, "Why?"
"We want to know of any and all weaknesses you may find." Was the only answer the Queen offered, before she sauntered off, her regal form parting the crowd of people in her way.
/*\
After the circus, Joker quietly laughed to himself. His peers were simply far too predictable. They saw the Jabberwocky's chair and they all just about rioted. They thought he was making fun of them, and their sadness over the Foreigner's tragic fate, and though that was certainly something he might be inclined to do...
They had overlooked something. To an extent, all of the Role-Holders knew a little bit about each other's Roles in the Game. They would have to, in order to play, but they had not taken into account one of Joker's other widely known purposes in this world.
Yes, it was his duty to misguide people and manage those who broke the Rules, but there was one other thing he was required to do here.
He had to give the Ones with Duties forewarning.
But if they were too stupid to be able to comprehend his message...that wasn't his problem.
/*\
When the Jester had made his way down to see the Warden, he discovered that his counterpart had found the very thing they needed in order to complete the bargain.
The Warden had searched the storage rooms underneath the prison. These rooms were only used for items that they would need in order to keep the upper hand over all of their...colleagues, within Wonderland. After all, one could not enforce the Rules if they did not have a certain amount of trump cards. It was in one of these rooms that the Warden had found it. The one thing they could use to keep the Dragon in check.
He had dragged it out into the hallway and investigated the contents just as the Harlequin had ended the show. It was a four-by-four box, maybe three feet tall, and to anyone else, it would appear as nothing more than a crate of circus candy, something that would be sold at any of the stalls outside of the tent. However, if one looked more closely, they could see the fault with this theory.
Yes, the little pieces were engulfed in shiny colored paper, metallic greens and blues and pinks, but they were different. The paper was sharp, and stiff as steel, and no matter who tried to open one of these treats, or what tools they used, there was no way to extract the "candies" from their foil prison, save one.
Ahh, yes, just what the two needed.
The medicine.
Now all they were required to do was wait.
/*\
Alice hadn't felt this miserable since the asylum.
She was stretched out on her stark-white bed face-down, in her thin little nightgown, with the glass panes of her windows closed. It dulled the noise from the storm a bit, but it was still loud. Louder still was the Role.
It's really a pity, that he didn't get to go through with his plan for you. The voice hissed maliciously as the thunder and lighting raged on outside. Perhaps such a traumatic experience might have made you stronger. More worthy of my title. She finished. Alice could almost imagine the woman behind the voice, and the way her tail might lash in irritation. You are so weak. It's pathetic.
If I am so pathetic, Alice snarked back, unwilling to let this crazy b*tch have the last word, How is it, that I was able to force you to allow me access to every bit of power you have?
To this the Role said nothing, but it did release a horrible screeching noise that hurt Alice's head. Nothing had ever sounded so painfully high-pitched. It was like the sound of nails on a chalkboard, something that set her teeth on edge, and her mind reeling, but thousands of times louder. As it shrieked through her mind, it brought tears to her eyes, and she wanted it to stop immediately.
"AHHH!" She screamed, trying to cover her ears in spite of the fact that she knew it was no use. It was all in her head, the Role was doing it, the sound wasn't actually physical.
But it felt like it.
/*\
Henry and Charles were locked up in Hatter Mansion.
Or rather, underneath, Hatter Mansion.
After the conversation with Blood Dupre, the two men had been escorted by those horrifying twin boys. They had assumed they might be going back to the rooms assigned to them initially, when they had first been brought here, but that had not been the case.
The boys had taken them into a courtyard. Confused, and a bit irritated, Henry had questioned the two children. He'd been tired and cranky and in desperate need of sleep, and he was not in the mood for putting up with pranks.
"Aren't you supposed to be bringing us to rooms?" The older man had questioned, more than a little irked. The twins merely smiled.
"We are." One stated, while the other one pressed a seemingly invisible button in the wall.
A panel opened, and just as Henry and Charles stepped forward to investigate it, they both felt blinding pain in the backs of their skulls, and blacked out.
When they awoke, they had found themselves...back in the Queens dungeons? No, the place in the castle had windows. All they had for light down here was lamp and torchlight. They were in a cell. It contained two cots, one on each side, and one manacle was chained on each man's left leg, attaching them to the wall. The floor was slightly slanted, and a small drain resided in the center of the small space. As Charles and Henry looked around, they soon realized the purpose of this drain.
Directly across from them, resting in his own worse-for-wear cot, was a torture victim. It was a little like what they had seen at the castle, but this man was in far worse condition. Through the cell's iron bars, they could see the two manacles were chained to his wrists. He was thin and emaciated, as though he only ever got enough food to stay alive, and his clothes were so ragged and dirty that the two men suspected he had been there for quite some time. His hands were scarred and his fingers looked like claws, and scars laced over every visible bit of skin. They could see brownish splotches covering the floor, and the stains on the metal of the drain.
He said nothing, and the two newcomers might have thought him dead, if it wasn't for the faint rise and fall of his chest. He was a prisoner here.
And now, they were too.
The sound of a door opening caught their attention, and in several minutes, they were looking up at the twins, who had utilized their strange ability to adjust their age. Now they appeared before them as young men, as opposed to ten-year-old boys.
"Now, it's our turn to talk to you." They stated in unison, a deceptively cheerful tone belying the cruel intentions behind their voices, smiling in a manner that made both of their new prisoners very, very nervous.
/*\
Chapter 2! To be entirely honest with you guys...I was really hoping this would come out better. It feels...a little dead, in comparison to the first one. The only reason I'm submitting now as opposed to trying to make it better is because I have no idea how to do that. Penny for your thoughts?
-Static