Blood's smile resembled that of a cat with a mouse between its teeth. They were already a block away from the tea shop and Alice still didn't fight him. Granted, that was probably because she was still recovering from her shock. But he was willing to take whatever encouragement he could get.
People saw the mafia leader with the pretty girl. Blood's smile turned to a smirk as they whispered to each other while pointing at them. Just like he planned, people were already taking notice. That meant that they would spread the word for him. Soon all of Wonderland would know that Alice and Blood were together, which would be a sufficient warning to all the other men that groveled at Alice's knee.
Suddenly, Alice pushed him away and gave him a cold stare. It seemed that she had finally gotten over her bewilderment.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
People were still staring. Blood grabbed Alice's wrist and dragged her down an empty alleyway. The public didn't need to know that the new hot couple was fighting with each other. Once he was sure they were alone, he turned to the young girl.
"I'm taking you to the mansion," he said simply. He didn't bother to explain himself.
Alice's jaw went slack. She obviously couldn't believe how bold Blood had become. Blood could practically hear the gears in her pretty little head trying to make sense out of his actions.
"I am not yours."
"Is that right?" Blood quirked a brow.
Alice knew it was a challenge. Sighing, she swiveled around.
"I can't just leave work like that," she said, as she proceeded to walk away, "In case you didn't know, managers don't like it when you leave without notice."
Blood grabbed her wrist once again, only this time more forcefully. She jumped in shock. Alice turned to look at him, her lovely eyes staring at him as if he had gone insane.
"I will inform you manager that you weren't feeling well. Believe me, they will listen to what I have to say," he said it with the upmost confidence.
Alice gulped. She looked like she rather be anywhere else but here. It made Blood want to hold onto her even tighter than ever before. Alice tested his grip and seemed to realize he wasn't going to waver.
"I feel fine. I don't have a fever. Now please let me go."
"I don't think you feel as well as you claim. Let me take you to the mansion. You can rest there."
"I said let me go," she looked at him with that same fire he adored.
He smirked. This game was quite amusing.
"I really must insist you come with me, Alice."
"I'll...I'll scream."
"Go ahead," Blood's voice held no emotion, "I doubt anyone will help you. They're all afraid of me."
Save for a few of the men that loved Alice. But he didn't think any of them were nearby.
He was wrong.
"Hey, it's big sister! Hi, big sister."
"Big sister. What are you doing with boss?"
"Dee! Dum!" Alice smiled with relief, clearly thinking they had come to her rescue. But she seemed to have forgotten that the twins worked for Blood. He turned to them.
"Take Alice to the mansion while I talk to her manager."
The twins exchanged glances before looking back at Blood and Alice. Alice shook her head in a silent plea. Blood gave them both a look that dared them to disobey.
They chose the safer route. Dee and Dum morphed into their adult forms, grab Alice by her arms, and carried her off.
Alice kicked and screamed the whole way, but Blood had been right. No one who saw them had dared to help her out. The two handsome men ran with all the speed of a well trained horse. In no time at all, they were at the front of the mansion. They let go of the girl. Hurt crossed both their faces when she threw herself away from them and glared.
"How dare you two? I made it clear that I didn't want to be here. Why did you force me to come with you?"
At her scolding, both twins morphed back to children in order to make it harder for her to be angry with them. It was exactly the same strategy as when Peter became a full rabit to look cute, a simple ploy to rid themselves of Alice's anger.
Alice placed her hands on her hips and refused to lessen her scowl.
"We have to listen to boss. It's our duty," said Dee.
"Well, it's my duty to work at the cafe."
Dum shook his head, "You're an Outsider. You don't have a duty."
"Yeah. That's just a job," his brother added.
"There's no difference," Alice argued.
"There is too. Duties are more important than jobs," Dee said.
Alice's cheeks flushed with anger. The twins thought that looking like kids was enough to appease her, yet they would say things like this. Didn't they know that would make her angrier? How dare they act like their jobs were more important than hers?
Her glare intensified. The twins wobbled their bottom lips in unison, both ready to cry. Alice crossed her arms.
"I'm leaving. Unless you guys are going to force me to stay?" Alice dared them in much the same way that Blood just did.
They looked at each other.
"Should we, brother?" Dee asked.
"Well...boss just said to take her here. He didn't tell us to keep her here."
"You're right," the twins looked at her, imploringly, "We'll let you go. So you can't be mad at us anymore. Okay?"
Alice opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. She was too angry to be rational. If she didn't excuse herself, she might say something that she would regret.
Without another word, she stormed off, heading into the forest. Usually the sounds of birds singing around her could put her in a better mood. But not today. She could lose her job because Blood decided to abduct her. Why did she let him drag her away from the cafe?
Because he said she was his.
The thought only made her rage grow. She didn't care how dangerous Blood was. He had no right to lay claim to her without asking her first. And to say that in front of Peter was beyond humiliating. Just what was Blood's aim here?
Well, if he thought he was going to force her to do what he wanted, he had another thing coming. Alice kicked at a pebble, imagining it to be Blood's head. The stone flew into a nearby bush.
"Ouch!" Ace popped up from inside it. He rubbed his head.
Alice quickly realized what she had done. She rushed over to the knight.
"I'm sorry, Ace. I didn't see you there. What are you doing here anyway?"
The redheaded knight grinned at her in his usual carefree manner. He no longer seemed to be in pain because of the stone.
"Oh Alice. I was on my way to the castle, but then I guess I got lost. Weird, huh?"
There was no hint on his face to show he was being sarcastic. Despite this, Alice found herself giggling because she knew it wasn't weird at all. Ace got lost all the time.
The knight jumped out of the bush so that he was standing in front of her.
"What about you, Alice. What are you doing here?"
Alice shook her head, keeping her smile intact, but at the same time revealing nothing. She didn't want to think about Blood anymore today. It was too late to go back to the cafe. She would just have to explain herself later and pray that she could keep her job.
Ace curiously tilted his head, "You're not gonna say?"
"I'd rather not talk about it, Ace. If it's all the same to you."
"Oh. Okay," Ace perked up, "Since you're here, you wanna go hiking? It's a nice day for walking."
"Don't you have to be at the castle?"
"They can wait. What are they going to do? Fire me?"
His words caused a stir in Alice, but she hoped he didn't notice. The residents with duties could apparently never leave them. While most seemed to be okay with that, Ace did not. But Alice didn't dare breach the subject.
The knight took her hand (less forcefully that Blood had) and dragged her along.
"I told you it didn't need salt," Ace said as he bit into his cooked fish.
Alice felt like one of those rustic hunters, eating fresh fish in the middle of the wilderness, with nothing but an open campfire to cook the meat. However, Ace was right. It was still tasty. She dug into the flesh, relishing in the white meat that was tasty on its own. Still not as good as tarts, but close.
She accidentally got the tail stuck in between her teeth. She was about to take it out when Ace laughed.
"You're pretty cute. You know that?"
Flustered, Alice took the tail out and tried her best to look civilized. Ace's lips spread into a sudden smirk. The knight no longer looked like the oblivious dork that he had before. Now something dark traced along his eyes as he stared at Alice like she was prey.
This change didn't surprise Alice. She had seen it before. But she knew that once he was like this, talking with him would be a very different experience.
"You don't make sense sometimes, Ace."
"Alice..."
Something about that tone seemed dangerous. The knight was coming closer. Not knowing what else to do, Alice backed away until she was pressed up against a tree. Ace rested his palm on the bark, looking down at Alice with smoldering eyes. He was uncomfortably close. And his head was leaning even closer.
"What...what are you doing?"
"I heard a rumor about you. Did you know what I heard?" Ace said without a hint of emotion.
Where did this come from all of the sudden? Alice couldn't tell if Ace was angry with her, or simply bored.
She wasn't afraid, exactly. But Ace's weird behavior placed her on edge. She wished to run from this situation as quickly as possible, but she couldn't think of a good enough excuse to leave.
Finally, she decided that she would humor him.
"What did you hear?"
Ace smirked, "I heard people saying they saw you and the mafia boss together. From what it looked like to them, you were both a couple out on a date. That's not true...is it?"
Alice shook her head in anger. That was what this was all about?
"No. He...it was a misunderstanding. There's nothing going on between us," she had a sudden thought, "Why do you care, anyway?"
Ace opened his mouth to speak when a gun cocked behind him. The knight turned around to reveal Elliot and Blood. The hare was the one holding the gun, eyeing Ace like he was ready to kill him. Alice stood frozen in fear. The smirking Ace, however, merely smirked in amusement.
"Thank you, Knight of Hearts, for finding Alice. Now if you'll please bring her to me," Blood said simply.
"I don't think she wants to go with you," Ace looked at the girl in question, "Do you, Alice?"
Alice thought about how Blood had acted at the cafe. She frowned.
"You're right. I don't want to go with him."
"Alice!" Elliot gasped in shock.
Blood shrugged.
"Fine. Don't come with me."
The blonde stared at him, bewildered. Did he really give up already? Elliot was just as confused.
"Boss," he called after Blood. The mafia leader had already turned around to leave.
But then he stopped, and looked back at Ace.
"By the way. I believe you're hunting in my territory. Without my permission. That's a criminal offense, you know?"
Ace shrugged, "I thought it was part of the neutral area."
"My mansion is just up ahead. You're still in my territory. And I'm sure the rest of Wonderland will be prone to agree."
"What are you going to do? Have the Queen cut off my head?"
It slowly dawned on Alice that Blood was threatening Ace. She wished she could believe it was an empty threat.
"If it comes to that," Blood stated.
She knew better.
"Wait, I'll come with you," she said.
Elliott and Blood looked at her. Blood smiled as she walked passed Ace and by his side. She gave him a look.
"But no one needs to know he's been fishing. Or I'll tell them that I had too. I'm just as guilty."
"That's incorrect," Blood tilted his hat, "For you do have my permission. But we'll keep quiet about Ace's crime."
Alice turned back and noticed that the knight had suddenly vanished. Shocked, she looked around. Elliott let out a laugh.
"I guess he chickened out. He didn't want to fight you," he chuckled, "But boss, I didn't even know this area was yours. I thought it was closer to the Clock Tower."
Instead of responding, Blood grabbed Alice's wrist and dragged her along. Elliott followed closely behind, just in case Alice got any second ideas about running off.
The trek was a long one. But they finally made it back before time transitioned.
"Go see if the twins are doing their jobs," Blood ordered Elliot.
"Sure boss."
The hare left Alice alone with the mafia leader. She resented him for it. Blood eyed her with an evil smile, his grip on her never receding.
"You can let go of me now."
"Will you try to leave again?" Blood asked.
"What does it matter to you?"
"I've already explained myself," Blood stated simply, "You're mine."
Alice's face grew hot. She looked away before Blood could see the effect his words had on her.
"I do not recall ever agreeing with that notion, Mr. Dupre," she said his name coldly and without a hint of formality.
Blood brought the hand he was holding up closer to his lips. It was a common greeting expected from men back in Alice's world. There was nothing particularly peverse about the action.
Yet when Blood did it, it always seemed like there was something perverse about it. Alice resisted the urge to yank her hand away.
"That's because you hadn't."
Now Alice's cheeks were warm with anger.
"Then what gives you the right to tell anyone that I belong to you?"
"The kiss."
Alice didn't have a response to that, so she twisted her head to avoid looking at him.
"That area wasn't part of your territory, was it?"
She felt Blood's lips on her hand again. He leaned forward to whisper in her ear.
"Don't worry about minor details like that, Alice. Let me take you to the guestroom. You'll have all the privacy you need to rest there."
Upon hearing the word 'privacy,' Alice finally agreed.
