4. Her Heart: Questioning

"M-Move… in?" Alice tested the words unsurely, almost as if they didn't belong in her mouth. She'd been through this with Julius- about him suggesting she move, and she always refused it. After all, he was her best friend, and she knew he'd never get anything done without her around. Seeing her situation at hand, she felt a little intimidated by the suggestion from the Jokers.

To her dismay, both men leaned back so she could see their faces and nodded an affirmative, allowing the knots to begin tying themselves in her stomach. She suddenly felt nauseous.

"Why? Didn't you say you liked it here?" White asked, almost genuinely saddened as he brushed a hand across the foreigner's cheek. Alice blushed under his touch, feeling uncomfortable.

"B-But… I don't know…" Alice answered, looking away from the two awkwardly. It was the truth; she didn't know. Her insides were aching and crying for her to stay at the tower, just as they had every other time. Yet, a small, small voice in the back of her head was pondering the idea- and enjoying it. It whispered for her to agree; agree to stay with these men, and become a part of their home. She didn't make sense of it, and tried her best to push it aside.

"You already f****** agreed to it, so you can't back out now, w****." Black hissed, his breath suddenly at her ear while he shifted behind her again; hands at her hips. Alice tried to shake him off, but the prison guard didn't budge.

"That… that's not…" Alice tried to object, but she knew any argument she would attempt to throw would soon be lost. She couldn't win this, she knew. Not against the Jokers. They were too smart for her- they messed with her mind and sometimes she didn't know up from down. It was a wasted effort to attempt to win an argument against them. Sighing heavily- trying to ignore the sickening bad feeling in her body- the foreigner murmured in defeat, "Fine."

"Good." White said, smirking deviously; a new plan forming in mind. "I'll send the jester children for your belongings."

"And I'll get your dress." The outsider didn't need to turn towards the darker Joker to see that demonic, perverted grin plastering his face. Her insides ached at the thought, but the voice in the back of her head cheered at her decision. The rest of her body told it to shut the hell up.

"You need to explain everything to me first, though." Alice objected, her eyebrows pushing into a v-shape as teal eyes glared at the men. "I need answers."

"And you'll get them." White assured, patting the top of her head. Alice flinched in response. "When we're done."

Alice shook the two off, quickly crossing her arms protectively in front of her chest as she took several steps backwards. "Whatever. Just hurry, please."

"As you wish." the jester said. Alice sighed, expecting him to leave. He startled the girl, however, by grasping her wrist tightly in his palm and leading her into a prison cell; slamming the iron gate. A loud clatter rang against the stone walls, and Alice blinked in confusion, hardly comprehending what had happened.

"Wh-White?" the foreigner stammered, anger boiling inside as she raced towards the gate; her fair hands gripping the rusted metal fiercely in her palms. "White! Why did you lock me in here? !"

"You need to f****** stay here until we get everything ready." Black replied, crossing his arms firmly in front of his chest. He glared at the foreigner. "Try not to f*** the cell while we're gone."

Alice blushed deeply in both embarrassment and anger. She spoke through gritted teeth, "Trust me, I won't."

"Hmph. We'll see about that." the warden replied cockily. Alice would've slapped him across the face, but he was already walking down the hall. She could never win against these two, could she?

The foreigner stared irritably ahead while the men left to their business, leaving the maiden behind. Part of her didn't believe what was happening. How could she agree to move in with the Jokers? Was she a complete idiot? Who would agree to move in with them? Foreigner or not, nobody would be stupid enough to agree to this.

Alice turned away uncomfortably in her cell; taking a seat in the far corner against the stone walls. The floor was cold against her skin, but the brunette pushed this thought away, sighing oh so deeply as she leaned her head against the wall.

"Why do you always f****** come to us for these games?" Black's words echoed through her head, and Alice frowned; half-lidded teal eyes locked on her feet. Why did she always go to them for her problems? Surely there had to be a better reason than her preference for the circus and such. She could have gone to someone more trustworthy; more reliable, such as Julius or Boris. Yet, here she was, asking for help from the most devious men in Wonderland. There were certainly better people to ask for assistance- even Blood was more dependable than these two. So, why did she come to the Jokers?

Alice yawned, blinking her eyes so as to stay awake. She shifted her weight a little, resting her head against the wall as her thoughts continued.

"I just said I liked being here- not seeing you." Was that really the truth? Did she really not enjoy the Jokers' company? Or was she just fooling herself? She wouldn't come there if it weren't for the Jokers- that was a fact she was far from willing to admit, even if it were only to herself. She enjoyed seeing the redheads; she found herself enjoying their company more than even the residents at Clover Tower, despite what she said aloud. It was a hard reality to face, but it was there nonetheless.

No, it wasn't the Jokers that kept her coming here. It was only but one Joker that held her attention; one that was there for her again and again, despite how many insults he'd thrown at her in sheer bluntness. Was he really willing to even help her, or was it her own selfish bribes that kept him attending to the girl's assistance? He was not a man willing to help damsels in distress in their ivory tower- if anything, he was the one that locked them there in the first place. He was a villain; a true villain, masked by smirks and devious glints in his ruby-tinted eye. His foul-mouthed words lashed her hard and cold like they'd come directly from his whip itself, but other times… He was almost secretly sweet. He'd never admit it out loud of course, and who could blame him? He was the infamous prison guard- his clock steel and black, if he even had one. Gentleness was not of his nature, not anything he'd fall victim to. And yet…

Alice smiled softly, barely conscious as the memories of Halloween flashed through her mind. He'd saved her so many times… but was it really for her, or for himself? She frowned. She knew better than to believe he'd ever do something for another living creature- foreigner or not- without something in it for him. Of course it was for himself; she was foolish to think otherwise.

"Black…" the word slurred from her lips as an unconscious state began to dread on the girl, tugging her towards a slumber. Alice tried to pull through it, but deprivation of sleep had the upper hand. "Black…"

She could hear shouting somewhere close by, but it felt distant compared to the sleep she suddenly found necessary. It was not the voice of the Jokers, but a new, frightened tone; one that was familiar, but she was too sleepy to recognize the body that belonged to it. Flashes of reds and whites whirled before her eyes as the figure bent down towards her, but she was unable to make out the person behind it. Fingertips caressed her cheek…

And then the darkness overcame her.

Kind of a short chapter I guess. =/ Sorry. I'm tired and kind of uninspired right now. DX I'm having a writer's block for RMR, which is definitely killing me since I wanted to get the chapter out last week. I'll try my best, but I didn't even fill the first page yet, so it might take a little while…

*yawn* I'm sleepy. It's not even 8PM yet. -_-'' I think I'll be filling up on coffee for the next 6 hours.