When Lane felt that her body had finally rested on solid ground she opened her eyes. She saw that she was on a ledge with an incredibly high drop point; she did her best to scoot back without disturbing the ledge beneath her in case it was weak. Her fear never revolved around heights specifically, it was more centered on falling, making her feel shaky from the possibility of falling over.
"This way." The old man said.
Lane didn't know where she was or where else she could go so she felt she had no other choice but to follow the old man.
"I've been waiting ages for you to return! Where were you!?" The Queen of Hearts demanded.
"On vacation?" Lane said truthfully.
"Vacation!? Vacation!?" The Queen said.
"Yes… your highness?" Lane said.
"Unacceptable! Off with her head!" The Queen yelled.
The Queen's guards surrounded Lane from all sides getting ready to take her away to the guillotine. The Queen never thought twice about sending someone to their deaths. She was a brutal and merciless woman and all the power always went to her head with no one to tell her otherwise.
"Anyone touches her and they'll have me to deal with." A mature, semi digital voice with a New York accent said.
Lane and the others turned in the direction of where the voice came from and saw what appeared to be the body of a man with a porcelain rabbit head above his shoulders.
'This place just keeps getting stranger and stranger. …What if that's his real head!? Can it really be possible for him to survive like that!?' Lane thought, a clear picture of horror painted across her face.
"How are you doing, angel face?" The rabbit man said.
Lane could not answer due to the sheer disbelief of any of this being real.
"You look so fucking creepy." Lane managed to slip out before putting her hand over her mouth. "Oh, my bad." She tried to avoid looking at the rabbit man.
"Ha ha, you haven't changed much. You never really were one for having a filter. The apology thing is a little bit odd though. Have you been letting people teach you manners, Ace?" The rabbit man said a little confused about the slight politeness shown by Lane.
"What is the meaning of this, Mad March!?" The Queen demanded.
'Mad March, That's a weird name. Then again this is a weird place.' Lane thought.
"Come one Queen, can't do, Ace, the way you did me. You'll be defacing a gift sent to us from below." Mad March said.
'A gift sent from below? Is this guy talking about hell?' Lane thought, confused by Mad March's words.
Mad March turned to Lane and seemed to be checking her out. At least she thought he was. It was rather hard to tell if he was since he wasn't able to show any facial expressions.
"She shall not disappoint me again, do you understand? The only reason I'm letting her go is because I like you and I like her." The Queen said after what seemed like forever.
"O-Of course not, I'll keep my standards high to please you." Lane said, happy to find her neck had literally just been saved.
"Yes. You can always count on our angel-faced demon." Mad March said. "Shall we?" He said holding his arm out for Lane. She linked arms with Mad March and he led her away.
"Your room is exactly the way you left it." Mad March said, after reaching a pair of Fancy looking double doors. They were adorned with black and white Ace symbols, the one you would see on playing cards. The word 'Ace' was also written across both doors in a fancy manner.
"My room?" Lane said.
"Yes, angel face, your room." He said, before turning to look at Lane.
He let go of her arm and pushed both of the doors open.
"See? Your room is just the way you left it." he said while watching her walk into the room and look around.
Lane walked around the room and took in all of its beauty. The intricate design had her mesmerized by the lot of it. All of the walls were white with black pin stripes going down them; the carpet was white and had little aces littering it in vertical and horizontal pattern. The bed was king sized, had a black comforter with white sheets underneath, the pillows top pillow were black and white and the bottom pillows were white.
"It's really fancy." She said, smiling to herself. She went to go lie down on the bed and rest her eyes for a bit, having had quite the adventure for one afternoon. "If this is a dream I hope I have another one like it soon."
Lane felt pressure blanketing her body followed by a pleasant scent, the scent of a man who she was enjoying for a split second before coming to her senses. She opened her eyes and saw that Mad March was right in her face.
"Uh, what are you doing!?" She said surprised.
Lane could feel Mad March through his suit. He was built almost the same way Jason was, but it seemed to be more controlled, the shape of his build seemed more deliberate than someone who had just been trying to bulk up purely for power. The build felt light yet powerful, flexible and sturdy.
"I can turn this into a fantasy if you'd like. Tell me what you want me to do to you" He said into her ear slyly.
"What!? …What!?" She said feeling beyond embarrassed and panicky.
"I know it's been a while since we went at it. I'll work you up to it see how you respond to a few new things I've been thinking of using." He said.
Mad March's hands moved to the top button on Lane's shorts before starting to unzip them, slowly enough so that Lane was able to stop him before he tugged them down.
"What's the matter angel face, you got a forest down there or something?" He said.
"No! Get off me!" She yelled embarrassed and angry, flailing her arms and legs about trying to push him away from her.
Lane had managed to push Mad March out of the room before slamming the door behind him and locking it.
"What's the matter, Ace?" He said through the door.
She zipped up and buttoned her pants back up before answering him.
"Just get lost! I don't want to see you! How dare you try and touch me like that!" She yelled through the door, frustrated at the fact that not only Jason, but also this man she just met had just tried to have his way with her.
"Come on angel face, don't be that way. Is it someone else? Cause if it is, you know they'll never be as good to you as I can be." He said.
"Just leave me alone!" She yelled.
"Ace!" He yelled, starting to pound angrily on the door.
"I said get lost!" She yelled in response.
It was about an hour or so later when Lane heard a knock at the door.
"Ace, can I come in?" a male voice said.
The voice did not belong to Mad March's. It was still mature like his but it was softer that and it had an English accent.
"Who is it?" Lane said, getting off the bed and heading over towards the door.
"It's me, Jack." Jack said.
"Hold on." She said before unlocking the door.
Jack stepped in and stared at Lane for an uncomfortable amount of time.
"Why are your eyes so red? Were you… crying in here?" He said confused.
"I-I'm just having a rough day. I'm just so tired by all this nonsense happening in such a short amount of time." She said rubbing the corners of her eyes before going back and collapsing on 'her' bed.
Jack went and sat beside her.
"We've decided to have a party in order to celebrate your return." He said.
"Really? Is me retuning really that big of a deal?" She said.
"Yes, you're important to the Queen. You're important to all of us." He said grabbing hold of Lane's hand in a friendly manner.
"Why exactly is that then?" She said.
"Come now, you know you're the only other right hand law enforcer the Queen has. She trusts you with her life and the life, as do I. you know you're a dear friend of mine. You're the younger sister I never had." He said, before kissing the back of Lane's hand.
"Law enforcer?" She said looking more lost than ever.
Jack stared at Lane and every now and again would open his mouth like he was getting ready to say something, but only made noises.
"Take your shirt off." He said.
"What!?" She said surprised. "You're all fucking perverts!" She yelled getting up angrily.
"Okay, that didn't come out right. Could I see your back?" He said.
"Why?" She said.
"So I can see you tattoo." He said.
"What tattoo?" She said.
"It's a tattoo of a Royal Flush of Spades. It should be between your shoulder blades if you are who we think you are." He said.
"…Okay?" She said, before turning around and taking her off.
Jack touched Lane's back causing her to jump from being startled.
"I was hoping I was wrong, but this proves it. If you aren't Ace, then who are you?" He said.
"I'm Lane. Lane Fields." She said.
"How did you get here, Lane?" He said.
"The old man with the two braids. He brought me here after saving me from a neighborhood thug. He pushed me through this really old looking mirror." She said.
Jack got up to leave.
"Are you going to tell the Queen she's made a mistake?" She said.
"No, if she ever finds out that you aren't Ace, she'll have you killed on the spot." He said with a worried look on his face.
"She's so harsh. Does this place not have a legal system?" She said.
"That's mother for you. The only system here is her own form or justice, she is quite trigger happy." He said.
"That woman is your mother!? My condolences, man." She said.
"It's alright. Though not really." He said.
"So what should I do? Do I make a run for it or should I stay?" She said.
"You need to stay for now. You need to get dressed and go to your party, and act as normal as possible; slightly bitchy and very sarcastic if possible." He said.
"That's all? Yes, I can manage an attitude if necessary and I'm already pretty sarcastic." She said.
"And above all else, do not let Mad March see you naked." He said.
"Ha! No trouble there. I don't even know that asshole." She said.
Lane put on a black corset dress that stopped about two inches above her knees. It was white in the chest and sleeve area; the sleeves were a bit puffy and had black silk laces woven in and out of them to adjust the looseness of the sleeves, the bottom of the dress slightly puffed out the was a ball gown would. She put on white stockings and black shoes that looked like Mary Jane heels. For the finishing touch she put on a black chocker with an ace on it. It was a centimeter thick and had 'Ace' engraved on it.
She heard a knock on the door when she was almost done putting her outfit together.
"Come in." Lane said facing away from the door.
"Are you ready to appease the masses?" Mad March said.
"Of course I am." She said, looking at him by way of the mirror.
Mad March turned his head to the right and Lane did the same out of curiosity. There was a portrait there that she had seen earlier but didn't pay too much attention to. The portrait was of Ace and a man in a suit. The man had short, snow white hair, tea green eyes, and was very attractive. In the portrait she was sitting on a throne like chair while the man with snow white hair was sitting on the arm rest, leaning back on it casually. She and the man looked like they balanced each other out. They looked like they were genuinely alright; her arm intertwined with the man's in what seemed like a loving manner.
