Hey there, how's it- a;osdnaoerbgvs;ldfnclvnserofnaeorck;hfeefffhhhh
Gahh, I've got nothing. I'm going to attempt another chapter, but after this I've no clue how to fill in the middle of the story. I know what scenes I want, and I know how it's gonna end, but WHAT THE FLIP AM I GONNA PUT IN THE MIDDLE DX Maybe this will help. Please leave a review! :D
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/*\
Alice had elected to allow the servant girl to take residence within the Tower. She knew her mind would continue to suffer, but for now...the Role just might be silent a little more often. It had only been another day since the other girl had arrived, and the dragon had noticed a significant difference in her mental state.
The girl - Lacie - understood the consequences of remaining. Being so close to the storm, it was all too possible that her sanity might suffer as well. She could go mad, and one day even change into one of the creatures now inhabiting the country. If she stayed, she would not be allowed to leave, ever.
Not one word of Alice's lecture had dissuaded her.
Lacie had insisted that she would undertake similar duties to those she held at the mansion. She would cook and clean and prepare the Dragon's tea and coffee as she liked. She would do laundry, and she would keep Alice company until she either turned or died. All this, in exchange for escape from the Hatter.
Blood, Alice thought to herself, watching her new companion as she dashed to the kitchen to fetch another pot of tea, What did you do?
The Dragon listened as the pot was moved around and water was poured. Just seconds afterwards, she hear the tiny wince that always seemed to follow afterwards. Muffled, suppressed, and never uttered in the Jabberwocky's presence. One thing was abundantly clear.
Lacie thought Alice didn't know she was injured.
/*\
You know, the Role said, You could have done that a lot better.
Well, the host bit back from his perilous position a good thirty feet up in the air, If you had just been willing to share that bit of information a little earlier, we might not be in this mess, now would we?
Ah, ah, ah, the other voiced "tsk"ed. That's not how this particular Game works. But you knew that already, didn't you Julius?
Screw you.
And then gunshots - perhaps from a pistol? - rang through the air in the manner of church bells on Sunday morning. Startling, annoying, and obscenely loud.
/*\
Once the Cheshire Cat had obtained the gargoyle's attention, it promptly released it's hold on the Clockmaker's arm. As he and the Prime Minister fell to the ground, the gargoyle landed in the grass not two yards from Boris, towering a good three feet above him, standing straight, it's wings extended, and it's tail flicking.
The newcomer was not feeling very self-confident.
"Um, hello." The cat greeted, a little hesitantly. Yeah, the Role had told him he could speak with the gargoyles...but how? He thought it would be a little trickier than just "hello" but...it had stopped. It was looking at him almost expectantly and slightly nodded it's head at him, as if to say "Go on already.".
"Hi," The cat repeated, a little nervous. That thing's claws looked sharp, and just how many teeth were in that stone mouth? "I would like to speak with your boss. Please." He stated, swallowing. The statue merely tilted it's head quizzically.
What about?
Boris - like all the other Ones with Duties - had gotten used to having a voice in his head. He had learned to become accustomed to the voice, and it's responsibilities and the occasional bickering that made him feel truly crazy, but he had never felt afraid of it or resented it. Now, for the first time, it perturbed him to hear a voice not his own on this telepathic level. The Cheshire Cat's voice was warm, lilting and slightly sarcastic. Most of the time it was helpful, and his speech was always laced with good humor, even if his words were a mite insulting on occasion. It was a fun-loving and mostly kind entity. This voice...it was soft and whispery. It spoke politely, but there was a coldness behind it's inflections that left the Cheshire Cat more than a little uneasy. This was not a living creature. It was not capable of humor or happiness or independent thought, and if he did not tread lightly...
It would have no qualms about taking his life.
Normally, Boris might not care about this so much, if it wasn't for the fact that brutal death by gargoyle would be the one offense that Alice would never forgive.
"She and I are friends," he stated, and straightened a bit. Not afraid, not afraid, not afraid... "I just wanted to visit her." And though his animal instincts told him to run with his tail between his legs, he stood tall, and looked the gargoyle in the eye. It's head straightened, a bit disbelieving.
Alright, It responded slowly, I will take you to her. And the creature snatched the cat up in it's claws and soared over the wall.
/*\
Vivaldi wasn't entirely sure what to make of the things she had just been told, however, her immediate reaction was an emotion she had no trouble recognizing.
Fiery, unbridled rage.
The Queen hauled her brother out of the seat and she slapped him so hard the nerves in her own hand stung painfully. She shook out the pins and needles as she spoke.
"What was the agreement We made with you? The one condition you had to meet in order to get Us to continue visiting you as Our brother?" She hissed, rubbing the stinging out of her flesh. Blood appeared to be almost stunned, and then he glanced to the ground.
"You would still be my sister as long as..." he trailed off, "As long as I didn't forget who I was before the Role."
"You were never a person to exploit people in this manner. Especially not your own servants. As awful a man as my brother has become, he made a point to cling to certain morals. What changed?" Vivaldi questioned, slipping back into her regal form, standing straight with her arms crossed. Blood took his hand away from the forming bruise, and glared at his sister.
"Is that a question you really need to ask?"
/*\
As Edith raced through the woods, she took into zero account the possibility of a misstep, and that mistake had cost her greatly. She had been doing fine, jumping over logs and dodging trees with all the grace of one of the deer that sometimes invaded the gardens over spring. As she leaped over a small bush, she swung her arms, and so ended up smashing her lamp into one of the enormous plants.
As she used her jacket to put out the fire, she realized just how dark it was outside. The lamp had been her only source of light, and now she was stranded in the stygian night with absolutely no idea where she was. She shivered a little, with her jacket having been rendered useless by the fire.
It'll be fine, she reassured herself, I just have to wait until it turns day again, and I'll be able to see again. This place is so small, it won't be long until I stumble on a building.
And then she heard something. It was skittering around in the brush, and though she told herself it was probably just a small animal...there was an awful lot of rustling. The noise was sounding bigger by the minute. Something was out there, and as it dawned on her, Edith was feeling quite terrified. Whatever it was, it was getting closer, and closer, and closer...
"AHH!" the little girl screamed. Something had lunged out of the brush, and at that moment, all she could process was the fact that she could see stains of reddish-brown covering it from head to toe. She turned to run, but then realized,
Wait a second, she mused, Why would an animal have a light? She looked back, and saw that "it" was actually a person. A person she recognized. She had mistaken the dark red of his coat for blood. But hadn't there been something on his face?
"Aren't you the man from the castle? The one who visits the Watchmaker?" She inquired.
The last thing Ace had expected on this particular venture was to run into Alice's younger sister. At first he was a little puzzled as to why she had been so frightened, and then remembered,
Oh yeah, he thought, The disguise scares the Foreigners. So he was quick to stuff the cloak and mask into one of the pockets of his jacket, and grinned at the stunned little girl, who had turned to see him in his normal attire once more.
"I am," he answered, "I'm not sure we've been formally introduced, my name's Ace." And he knelt down to eye-level with her and shook her hand. "So what's a young lady like you doing wandering around the woods in the middle of the night? It's dangerous." He reprimanded gently, smiling softly. Her eyebrows scrunched together, and she huffed in a manner that only a child could successfully pull off.
"I'm going to the North." She stated, as though daring him to question her, "I need to see my sister." The man grinned,
"Well what do you know, you and I are headed to the same place."
/*\
It hadn't taken long for Ace to "convince" the little girl that she should probably stick with him. He hadn't been lying when he said the woods equated to danger. He assured her that he was closely acquainted with her sister - and he had met Lorina - and that he would see her to the Tower safely. However, she was not a stupid young lady. She knew much better than to go off with some strange man, even if it seemed to be her only choice. She chose to test the truth behind his words and quizzed him.
"What's Alice's favorite color?" She questioned once he was finished speaking, taking her company completely off guard. This genuinely puzzled Ace.
"What?"
"What's Alice's favorite color?" She repeated with more vigor, "If you are truly close with her, then you should be able to answer the question." He sighed,
"It's blue."
"Her favorite sweet?" She inquired, not missing a beat.
"Rum cake."
"Least favorite person."
"The Mad Hatter."
Ace - shockingly enough - had the patience to endure this for almost ten minutes straight (the Role had insisted) until he finally got bored, and simply picked the girl up, throwing her over his shoulder.
"What do you think you're doing?!" She shrieked, slamming her small fists into his back. It was almost cute, the ferocity she demonstrated with absolutely no effect.
"I can't leave you out here for the wolves." he explained, "Alice will kill me." And so, holding onto the girl with one arm and a lantern with another, the wayward Knave searched for a suitable place to set up camp.
/*\
...So what sorts of shenanigans will Ace and Edith get up to whilst lost in the forest? R&R please! :DDDDDDDDDD
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