Sinister: I am back Little Laughers! For a short time. Hopefully I'll be able to write more when the semester ends! And I now have an editor who will fix the typos if there are any after this point! So any way disclaimer please!
Lucas: Sinister owns nothing. Only me and Hannah.
"I think its time we leave," Blood said loud enough for Hannah to hear. She stopped laughing with Ace and turned to look at her father and brother.
"Aw, but why?" she whined. "Can I stay?" Lucas was about to answer her when Ace chimed in.
"Yeah," he said cheerfully. "She can stay if she wants to~!"
Lucas stepped forward as if to say something but Vivaldi beat him to it. "We insist that she stay with us." Lucas suddenly felt like he was being ignored; which he was. He watched as the others talked about allowing Hannah to stay while he fumed silently. He watched as Hannah continued to try to convince Blood to let her stay and he could tell that she was winning again.
Crap! he thought. He thought about the promise he had made to their mother. That he would always look out for her and no matter what never leave her side. If she kept up with this, he wouldn't be able to keep that promise and it irritated him to no end.
Hannah noticed Lucas standing a little ways away from everyone else with a dark frown on his face. He must have been thinking about something that bothered him because he didn't look too happy about whatever it was. He looked up and their eyes met before he looked away quickly and Hannah returned to listening to the four adults in the room. Well three adults and one Ace.
"I said she isn't staying!" Blood snapped at Vivaldi who in turn glared at him.
"And we said she is!" she said back.
Hannah sighed as they continued going at it. She eventually found herself wandering over to where Lucas stood mumbling to himself about keeping a promise to someone. She tapped him on the shoulder and watched as he nearly jumped ten feet in the air before he realized it was just her.
"Are you okay?" she asked concerned for her brother. "You look like angry for some reason."
"Fine," he said not bothering to say a full sentence in front of her like he normally did. "Stay if you want." He straightened up and changed the expression on his face so he looked completely normal. If Hannah hadn't known him, she would have thought nothing was wrong with him. Before she could say anything, she was suddenly pulled in a hug.
"We are pleased!" Vivaldi said in her ear. "This wretched man has cracked and is allowing you to stay here with us." Hannah momentarily felt excitement before it once again disappeared at the sight of Lucas' face. He was furious. And the glow of his right eye was even brighter and Hannah found herself slightly afraid of him.
"She is only staying for a couple of time periods," Blood reminded Vivaldi. "She will be coming back with me when I come to get her. Understood?" Vivaldi glared at him once again as Hannah nodded her head once in understanding. Vivaldi released her long enough for her to hug her father and brother; the latter of the two returning the hug reluctantly. She watched as the two left the Castle and smiled when Ace came up to her, a big grin plastered to his face.
"I didn't think he would actually let you stay, but I guess I was wrong," he laughed.
"I think he finally figured out that it's pointless to keep me from doing something once I set my mind to it," she replied.
"I can't believe that he is your father," Peter said, joining the two. "I wish it had been me!" His eyes began to shine as he thought about it for a moment before he remembered what he had learned and his mood instantly shifted. Hannah felt sorry for him because the news was given to him in a harsh way.
"Well, now that I'm here," she began changing the subject. "What shall we do?"
"You will have tea with us," Vivaldi said. More like commanded. "We will have the servants prepare the finest tea!" Hannah had heard from her mother what would happen if someone refused the Queen of Hearts so she nodded enthusiastically and followed her out into the garden.
Tea was something she enjoyed, mostly because she was like Blood in some ways. She had once teased Lucas about being just like him when it was only the two of them. Even though he never showed it, you could tell he was just like his father by the way his eye glowed when he was doing something he enjoyed. Like drinking tea.
"Hannah?" Vivaldi's voice brought her out of her thoughts and she turned to see that Vivaldi was wearing a slightly irritated expression. "We do not like being ignored."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Hannah said quickly. "Did you say something."
"Yes," Vivaldi sighed. "We noticed that your eye glows and we were wondering why this is."
To be honest, she didn't know much herself. Lucas was the one who knew why their eyes glowed and she had never asked him about it. She told Vivaldi that she would ask Lucas about it when she got the chance and then tell her to which Vivaldi nodded. They talked about what life was like for Hannah and Lucas as they were growing up and as Hannah told her several stories about their lives being threatened, she saw Vivaldi frown in anger.
Hannah could understand this. She had always hated the people in that world for treating them the way they did. It wasn't their fault they were different. As a result they were forced to stay indoors and whenever they did go outside they were required to stay together at all times. Lucas ended up getting a thin scar that ran from just above his collarbone and down his chest. He got it when someone from their neighborhood had tried to attack Hannah with a knife and ended up in the hospital because Lucas had beaten to a pulp. Ever since they were rarely let outside ever. And then their house had been burned down. Vivaldi watched as tears began to run down to young girl's face as she recalled that memory. Alice had told them another story about her adventures in Wonderland before sending them to bed when they smelled everything in their home burning.
Hannah had to stop because she couldn't talk about it anymore. Lucas had told her there was no way they all would have made it out alive if they had tried to save their mother but she believed that there had been time.
"Sorry," she said as she wiped her tears away. "I guess I still haven't gotten over it."
"There is no getting over losing a loved one," Vivaldi said. "But you have to learn to go on with life after they leave." Hannah nodded in understanding and they quickly changed the subject to something more cheerful.
Lucas sat beside Blood at the table and stared into the tea in his cup. He didn't dare take a sip for fear that he would be found out. He didn't want anyone to know that he was just like Blood. The only people that knew were Hannah and his mother. He internally cringed for thinking about her. He may have only shed one tear during that night, but behind closed doors he would cry himself to sleep.
As he sat there staring at his tea, he could feel the urge to drink it begin to become unbearable. He soon gave in and smiled slightly as he took a sip. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to hide it for long.
"Hey, Lucas," Elliot said from the other side of the table. "You should try the carrot cake! Its really good."
The glow of his right eye became brighter and he frowned in disgust at the suggestion.
"No," he said simply, taking another sip of his tea and earning a sideways glance from Blood.
"You know," Elliot said thoughtfully. "I've been wondering why your eyes glow. I mean I only ever see your right eye glow but I'm sure your other one glows too, right?" Lucas didn't know how to answer at first. No one had really asked him about his eyes before so he didn't know what to say.
"Yes," he said. "They glow because I'm a mix of both my parents. The eye that glows the most means I act more like one of my parents. Because my right eye glows all the time it means I act a lot like him." He pointed at Blood. "Hannah acts more like our mother, that's why her left eye glows so much." Elliot seemed to be in awe to which Lucas quickly said, "It's not that big of a deal. Most of the time it's hard to see."
He took another sip of his tea signaling that he was done talking. Elliot and Blood talked about how the glow could be possible but it was a mystery that even Lucas couldn't solve.
"Do you like to read like Alice did?" Elliot asked. "Since you're kind of like her as well." Lucas was silent and looked down at his lap. Elliot took it as a sign that Lucas didn't like to talk about Alice much.
"I can't read," Lucas murmured. Everyone looked at him in surprise. "Can't write either."
"But you're fifteen years old!" Blood said. "How can you not know how to read and write?"
"Too difficult," was all he was given in response before Lucas stood and disappeared inside.
"Maybe Alice never taught him," Elliot said. "But then again that doesn't sound like her."
Hannah and Vivaldi both laughed as Hannah told her that Lucas was basically stupid.
"He is unable to read and write?!" Vivaldi exclaimed between laughs. "How is it possible that he is your brother?"
"His brain wasn't as developed as it should have been when he was a toddler," Hannah said. "It's difficult for him to learn new things. Momma gave up trying to teach him because it was no use. I still haven't given up though. I make him try to read things and I try not to laugh when he tries to pronounce words." Vivaldi laughed.
"It is even harder to believe that he is Alice's son," she laughed. "Enough about him. What about you? Do you share your mother's love for books?" Hannah nodded and smiled.
"I love to read! Momma used to read to us. I would always get absorbed in the story while Lucas fell asleep. She stopped reading to us when we got older though. She said we were old enough to read on our own."
They finished their tea as the time period ended and then went to Vivaldi's secret room. There were stuffed animals all over the place and Hannah smiled at how cute everything looked.
"It still amazes us that our little brother managed to have children like you two," Vivaldi said.
"To be fair he didn't know we even existed until Nightmare introduced us to him," Hannah commented. Vivaldi thought about that for a moment and Hannah could tell she was thinking about reasons why Alice had kept them a secret for so long. Hannah knew that the question would come up so she prepared herself with an answer she thought was adequate.
"How are you enjoying Wonderland so far?" Vivaldi asked instead catching Hannah off guard. She sat there for a moment looking confused before the question sunk in and she thought about it for a minute.
"I like it here. It's just like Momma said it would be!" she said smiling brightly. Vivaldi accepted that answer and smiled in return.
"Perhaps we could convince Blood to let you stay here with us instead of at that dangerous mansion," Vivaldi said with disgust. Hannah laughed nervously.
"Actually I would rather stay where Lucas stays," she said. "I promised Momma I would keep an eye on him. And since he didn't seem to comfortable here I guess I'll be staying at the Mansion." Vivaldi didn't look too pleased by this.
"Your brother is quite capable on his own," she said. "We don't care for our brother as much as you care for yours."
"Well Lucas is different," Hannah said defensively. "He can't look out for himself if he gets into trouble."
"Then we will have White escort you home if you are ready to leave," Vivaldi said suddenly.
"Huh? But I never said I wanted to leave yet!" Hannah said quickly.
"Then you will agree to stay here," Vivaldi said. Okay, this is getting nowhere, Hannah thought.
"But-" she was cut off as Vivaldi held a finger to her lips.
"We insist," she said and Hannah gave up the argument. She knew Blood would never allow it and he stood a better chance of arguing with Vivaldi than she did. She sighed and listened as Vivaldi went on and on about being able to spend time with her. Yep she is just like Momma said she would be, she thought sighing again.
Lucas stared at his reflection in a mirror as he moped about in his room. Peter was right. He looked a lot like Blood; his messy black hair, his green eye and his usual expression all came from his father. He didn't inherit anything from his mother with the exception of his blue eye. He glanced at the book that sat on his bed. He had snuck into Blood's room and had grabbed a book from one of the many bookshelves, thinking it would be a good idea to try and learn to read. It would be hard considering he was going to read a book instead of be taught by someone but he didn't want to ask someone for help.
Flipping it open to the first page he plopped down on the bed and began trying to pronounce the words out loud. Some words he knew just by hearing them when he talked to his mother but the rest was still a mystery to him.
He eventually became frustrated and slammed the book closed. He threw it to the other side of the room and listened as it collided with the wall and came to rest a few feet away from the bed.
"You're such a failure!" he whisper yelled at himself. "You'll never be a proper son!
Sinister: I feel kinda bad for writing that ending.
Lucas: Why did you then?
Sinister: *avoids question* Anyway! I hope you liked this and I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as possible but school and my other responsibilities come first.
Till next time Little Laughers! please review! You're all awesome!
