Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any characters from Heart no Kuni no Alice/Alice in the Country of Roses.
Confessions of Cruelty
Chapter 4
"Elliott? Are you feeling any better?" Alice asked, still concerned about what had actually happened to the orange-haired not-rabbit.
Beaming at her, the man in question looked up from his work. "Much, thank you."
The girl couldn't help but smile at his reaction. It was so like him. "I'm glad. I was worried…"
"Aww... you shouldn't have. I was fine. Just saw something I couldn't quite stomach..." Elliott dipped his head, trying to hide his embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his head. The last part was said so quietly that Alice almost missed it.
Alice didn't say anymore, though she shifted on her feet as if she couldn't decide on something, causing Elliott to quirk his ears. "So… what's up, Alice?" he tried prodding.
"I was wondering…" Alice glanced his direction, biting her lower lip in thought. "Do you know how your role came about?"
Elliott cocked his head to the side, thinking. "I can't say that I do. I've never really thought about it though. Why?"
"Well, Blood was talking about how the Mad Hatter role evolved, but something about it keeps bothering me."
The girl was fidgeting, that much was obvious to the hare, but he wasn't sure why she was so nervous. "Why don't you ask him, then? Blood's a lot more resourceful and finds uses for all sorts of things I would never even dream of existing. He's probably researched it."
"Maybe…" she mused. Frankly, Alice was afraid to ask Blood. She had known that asking Elliott was a long shot but for some reason it felt safer to ask him.
"Well, if you're afraid to ask him, I might be able to help, or at least help you think it through." His voice was hopeful, Alice couldn't help but notice. Elliott enjoyed what little time he spent with the foreigner and he knew that she was often still frightened of Blood. It had actually become a somewhat common occurrence that she would want to talk to the hatter about something but would come to him first to work out what to say or how to say it so as to not rile Blood. It did make the March Hare wonder sometimes if the girl was at the mansion of her own volition or if his boss was somehow forcing her to stay.
"He talked about how the role changed over time, but I thought that the roles couldn't change."
"They can't, as far as I know."
"Can they mutate over time?"
"Hmm… I don't know. Depends on how much time I would think. If Blood said that they could, then I would believe him, but…" Elliott shrugged, his ears twitching slightly as he thought.
Sighing, Alice began to leave. "Well, no one else seems to know how their role came about either, so I guess I'll have to ask Blood." The tone in her voice almost made Elliott cringe.
"If he brought up the topic, I doubt that he'd get mad."
"No, but he'll likely think I'm an idiot child." The young woman wrinkled her nose at that idea. It often seemed like Blood enjoyed making her feel like an idiot, a child, or both. She really didn't like it when he did.
The next day Alice didn't talk at all through breakfast. She had slept in her own room, alone, the night before which had become unusual for her, but she didn't seem to be angry at anyone. In fact, Blood couldn't contain the smirk conjured up by her expression. The brunette seemed to be deep in thought, absentmindedly going through the routines of breakfast but not even noticing that anyone else was there.
After everyone left the table except the two of them, Blood leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and watched as she picked at her food. He wasn't even sure that she had eaten anything based on the amount that seemed to still be on the plate. Placing his elbow on the table and resting his chin in the palm of that hand, he finally pulled her back to reality.
"My my, young lady. What has you so lost in thought this morning?"
"Hmm?" Alice's head jerked up, suddenly in the present though still a little dazed. Seeing the bemused look on her lover's face caused her to blush.
"What are you thinking about, Love?" he chuckled.
"Our conversation yesterday."
"Oh? Which one? We had so many different conversations. Could it be the discussion on how to get rid of some of the carrot dishes from the menus?" the hatter teased causing Alice to squirm and glare at him.
"We didn't talk about carrot dishes yesterday," she stated quite confidently before cocking her head in thought. "Did we?" she questioned a bit more quietly, confusion settling in her eyes. Blood outright laughed at this, causing her to scowl at him. "I meant the one about how your role got the name 'Mad Hatter'."
"You're still stuck on that?"
"Well, some of what you said doesn't make sense to me." Blood merely quirked his eyebrow, so she went on. "Like, you talked about how the role changed over time, but I thought that roles couldn't change."
"They can't."
"Then why did you say that they could?"
"I didn't." The hatter smirked, moving his hand to cover his mouth as he continued leaning on it.
"Yes you did! You told me that one of the role holders had been a hatter but that it hadn't been part of his role initially, but eventually it did, then eventually it wasn't again and being the mafia leader became part of the role!" Alice was indignant.
"Maybe I lied." Blood could barely contain his laughter. The unconcealed rage in Alice's eyes was almost too priceless.
"Lied? Why would you lie about something silly like that?"
"Because I knew you would get mad and act like this?" The man fully leaned back in his chair, chuckling.
Alice blinked owlishly in surprise. Then blinked again. Finally she hurrumphed and turned her back on him, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You are correct, Alice," Blood finally commented after several moments of silence. "Role holders can't change their role, but what their role is isn't always obvious." He had tamed his laughter enough that Alice turned slightly to hear him better as he spoke. "Take the twins for instance. Their role has nothing to do with guarding the gate. I have them do that to keep them out of trouble. If I die before I have them do something besides guarding the gate, my replacement will likely keep them guarding the gate. If the twins die before that replacement, my replacement will likely have the new twins guard the gate. A few rounds of the game and now suddenly the Bloody Twins have Gate Guarding as part of their role."
"If that's not their role, then what is?" Alice wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer, but she couldn't help but ask the question.
Glancing downward, the hatter smirked evilly. "You really don't want to know the answer to that, my dear Alice." The girl said nothing, hoping that he would go on. Finally he added, "Let's just say that there is a reason that they think killing people is a game and that they know more about weapons than any other person in Wonderland. It goes with their ultimate role."
"Which you say I don't want to know."
"Yes, which I say you don't want to know."
"Then what is your role supposed to be?"
"I can't keep my promise to shield you from the worst of the mafia's enterprises if I tell you that."
Alice's eyes opened wide. "That bad?" she asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper. Blood leaned forward, jade eyes staring deep into her concerned emerald ones.
"In your eyes? Yes, that bad."
Without a hint of warning, Blood leaned in to forcefully and aggressively kiss her. Tangling his fingers in her hair, he roughly pulled her head back, causing her to yelp in surprise and pain while giving him a better angle and a more dominant hand. His free hand grasped her hip painfully as he swung around to roughly throw her across the table, paying no mind to the dishes still there, his mouth never leaving hers. The mafioso knew that he was hurting her, knew that this would likely leave bruises and maybe cuts, but as with most things he did, there actually was a point.
When the girl whimpered beneath him, he pulled back but didn't release her.
"Was that gentle enough for you?" he smirked, his voice low and seductive. Alice didn't respond as silent tears tracked down her cheeks. "I asked a question, young lady. It would be polite for you to answer."
"Nn..n..no," she stuttered. "That wasn't gentle at all. How could you ask that?"
Holding her wrists tightly, Blood leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Think of the worst that I have ever treated you. Then double or triple it." He waited a few clock beats for her to process what he said. "That is only a fraction of the difference between how I am with you, and how cruel I can be without seriously trying."
Alice paled by several shades but said nothing. Her eyes spoke enough of her fear.
"That is why you don't want to know, Love." Blood kissed her quickly, gently on the cheek before stepping back to help her off the table and into his arms. Her reaction told him she was a bit shell shocked at his statement. When she started shaking, he sighed and gently picked her up and carried her to his room, holding her protectively.
11 Oct 2011
A/N: As always, thoughts, criticisms, and critiques are always welcome.
