Alice IX

As Cheshire and I neared the castle, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of person he really was. Even though he looked so much like Gunther, not only did he lack an accent he was more toned down. It was almost as if he was a normal person, despite the ears and tail. From what I heard, wasn't people or creatures of this place supposed to be eccentric in a way? Angela was a talking angel-fish and Flynn, Martin and Tyler were not their normal selves…

A thought came to me in a rush, and I stopped walking.

"Delilah? What is the matter?"

How did all of these people resemble the people I knew from Chicago and why? How can this place possibly exist if no one had discovered it and bothered to put it on a map of the Earth?

Was all of this a dream? Did I simply need to wake up and everything would be okay?

"Delilah, you are starting to worry me. Please answer me!"

Pinching should do the job just fine. I could wake up and all of this would be a dream.

"Delilah!"

I raised my hand and was about to pinch myself when I froze. For some reason unbeknownst to me, I had this tugging feeling in my chest that I didn't want to wake up.

Why was that?

Cheshire shook me, panic in his eyes. "Delilah? What is going on with you?"

Yes, that's right. Cheshire was scared. But why was he so frightened?

"Please, answer me!"

Did he care about me?

"Delilah!"

Why would he care about a stranger like me?

Oh. It's because we're friends now.

Thinking about Angela and how she wanted to find her mother again, and all of those other citizens I realized how I could relate to them. They had no one to turn to but each other, like a family. And Angela had turned to me in her time of need.

I lowered my hand.

Cheshire was helping me, and somehow I knew that it wasn't just because he wanted to know about Gunther. It was because he was one of the many who needed help in Wonderland.

And he also turned to me as well.

"Friends help each other out," I stated, my voice a whisper.

Cheshire gave me a confused look. "Huh? Where did that come from?"

I backed away from his grasp and walked forward. "Let's continue on, Cheshire."

Still bewildered and skeptical about my interesting statement, he followed me to the castle.

From the first step I took after that, I made a promise to myself that despite this being a dream I would help these people with whatever means necessary. Dream or reality, I had to do this for them.

For my heart was frozen, and I will not let theirs stop as well.

"We're here!" Cheshire announced, the sand crumbling underneath his feet.

I looked at the grotesque display of floating heads in the water surrounding the castle. "What…happened?"

Cheshire smirked, his eyes slanting and looking devious. "The Queen of Hearts can get very violent when she is provoked or irritated in the slightest. Why, she almost chopped my head off when I broke up with her in Roinuj High."

"You used to date the Queen of Hearts?"

"It was a strange time, Roinuj High School. A very strange time indeed," Cheshire's eyes turned glassy as he wiped a tear away. "Well, shall we go on?"

I looked at him strangely for a few moments before I nodded.

Remembering that the Queen of Hearts was supposed to be Cecelia, I shuddered. The thought of Gunther and Cecelia dating boggled my mind.

When we reached the castle gate, I was face to face with my adoptive mother.

"Trespassers! What is your business here?" The blonde woman yelled at us, her temper different from her earthly counterpart.

Then again, I was almost always in my room when she was home. Could it be that this was Georgia Jones' true nature?

"We have come to pay a visit to Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts," Cheshire announced, not fearing the angry woman as if he had dealt with one at a regular basis.

She raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you Cheshire Cat? Why, she used to date you in Roinuj High before she dumped you!"

I held back a smirk as Cheshire started to blush. "I recall that it was me who dumped her for chopping my cousin's head off."

She curled her lips in a teasing manner. "That's not what I heard."

Cheshire groaned, and started to lick his hands furiously in an attempt to evade the conversation.

I finally spoke. "We need to talk to Her Majesty for an important matter. Lives are being taken ruthlessly as we speak."

She rolled her eyes. "What's new? That's been happening for as long as I can remember. Those damn Spades…"

I stood my ground. "All the more reason we need to talk to her. I came with Cheshire so I could stop all this chaos!"

"Hah! Chaos, you say? We call it madness here, and we've got plenty of it. I don't think sticking your nose into this business will help in any way whatsoever. What did you say your name was, girlie?"

I growled. "My name is Delilah. And if you say that this is great madness, then how would it hurt you if I tried to help?"

She growled back with a sneer. "Delilah- it means fragile, right? I'm not gonna waste my time helping a fragile little girl try and fail to save Wonderland. Go back home to your mother or whatever you come from."

I shook my head. "I don't have any- no one here does anymore."

Georgia rolled her eyes, but I could see a hint of sympathy in the way she was standing- she looked unsure, as if she could relate to my statement somehow.

"And the Queen of Hearts must be lucky, huh? Still having a mother and father to cherish- or does she not?"

She shook her head. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Leave at once!"

Bingo. "You're her mother, aren't you?" She froze, and dropped her sword.

"H-how did you…"

"And if you're her mother, then why aren't you part of the royal court? I mean, being a guard dog isn't really one of the most prestigious jobs in the castle, if I understand correctly."

"I…I have-"

"So I wonder what would happen if word got out that the Queen of Hearts' mother was working a job as a security guard. It probably wouldn't make a good impression, now would it?"

Georgia shook with fury for what seemed forever before she turned on her heel and motioned for us to follow her.

The walls of scarlet and gold were draped with blood red curtains. Our footsteps echoed throughout the halls of the Hearts Castle, as if we were the only ones inside the lonely halls.

Thinking about it, it almost reminded me of myself.

As we neared the royal room, Cheshire squeezed my hand. Confused, I turned to him only to receive a worried look. "Delilah, I must warn you. The Queen of Hearts is cruel and despite her name, it may seem that she doesn't have a heart. If you anger her, the penalty is death by beheading."

I smirked to hide my fear. "That makes two of us- I don't have a heart and I'll kill anyone who makes me angry."

Cheshire sighed, but I wasn't sure if it was of exasperation or of worry. Somehow, it almost sounded reminiscent.

The colossal burgundy doors towered over us, and the gold door handles reflected Georgia's scared face. "Your Majesty, I come with visitors."

There was a long pause before a resounding and bratty "Enter!" echoed through the doors.

The doors opened to reveal CeCe perched on a red velvet and gold throne, with her usual curly-perfect hair and flawless face. Oddly for a queen, she wore red and black striped thigh high socks with black converse, a black miniskirt with red ruffle detailing on the side, a sequin black tank top with a red, short-sleeve cardigan layer, black and red striped arm warmers, gold bangles, choker and earrings, and of course, a small crown that sat crookedly on the side of her head.

To her left, Rocky sat on a smaller step in a silver and white chair, without her usual smile. Her eyes however a strange red, reflected kindness and virtue. She wore a white, quilted cardigan over a grey ruffled blouse, bleached jeans, faux fur white boots, and a silver necklace around her neck with a single pink pearl as a charm. Along with her abnormally red eyes, Rocky had snow white rabbit ears and a pocketwatch wrapped around her wrist. "My Queen, we're going to be late for a meeting with the Duke of Clovers! It's a very important date!"

Queen CeCe whispered something to Rabbit Rocky before looking at us. "What do you guys want? I'm busy here."

Georgia's voiced echoed through the throne room, seeming to resound through my mind. "I have an audience to present to you, my Queen. The girl claims that she wishes to help with the war we have with the Spades."

CeCe rolled her eyes. "Rubbish," She looked at me, smirking. "You foolish girl- what makes you think that you can make a difference in what's happening?"

"Here we go again with all of that talk of doubt!" I exclaimed. "No one here thinks that I could do anything!" Cheshire looked surprised at me, and genuinely scared for my sake.

Queen CeCe smirked. "That's because you can't, you idiot. This war is too much of a problem to have a little girl like you resolve it."

"You govern an entire country! And you're not even sixteen! Hell, you don't even have anyone to help you! Not even your own parents!" I argued, angry with her.

She froze. "How did you know that…?" After staring at me in bewilderment, she shook her head. "Leave my sight, you wretched girl."

Georgia quickly took my arm before I could run. "Let go of me!" I screamed.

"No way- it's the Queen of Heart's will," Georgia said before beginning to pull me out.

Cheshire nodded. "Delilah, I think it's for the best that we-"

"No!" I yelled, all my fury pouring out of me. Furious, I tore Georgia's grasp from mine and faced CeCe once more. "You listen to me, Cecelia! I'm sick and tired of being looked down upon! I've been through shit that you have never been through with your pampered lifestyle! You may not have a father, but your damn mother is there, and she cares for you enough to stick around!

"My mother and father hated me all my life- you can't imagine what I've been through because of that! So don't you tell me that I'm a fool, and I can't do anything; it's because even with my heavy baggage, I still have the courage to pull through!"

Suddenly, a blinding gold light glowed from my wrist. "What-?"

A burning hot pain seared through the light, and it felt as if it engulfed my entire being. I couldn't hear my own screams of pain through the fire.

When the pain disappeared, I collapsed to the ground on my knees and palms. My wrist still shook, and I looked to see something strange.

A tattoo of a black crescent moon dripping with red blood appeared, and CeCe jumped from her throne to inspect my wrist.

"Oh- oh my goodness…" She whispered, and grabbed my face to look directly into my eyes. "You…you're the one from the legend, aren't you?"

Cheshire stared at me in disbelief before smiling softly. "I had a feeling…"

Confusedly, I exclaimed, "What legend?"

"You foolish girl…" Georgia sighed. "The Blood Red Night."

Author's Note:

Yeah, the Blood Red Night. Lame? Yes.

But I thought it to be sort of cool at the time. :P

Wow, I am a sad person.

Umm, you're probably confused at this point. You might be asking as to why am I doing an adventure/fantasy thing when this is supposed to be a romance story.

Don't get your panties in a twist (or boxer/briefs if you're a dude). Read the next chapter's author's note to find out why. As for the Blood Red Night thing, I sort of got the idea from Heart no Kuni no Alice (Alice in the Country of Hearts). In fact, this whole thing kind of grew from that. (Yes, I'm an anime/manga fan. Deal with it.) Hints from HnKnA? The Wonderland characters have weapons. Nuff said.

*HNKNA is amazing. Read it! OR play the game! Or watch the movie!

Also, there's a character role thing. It's sort of hard to explain, but in relation to this story, each character of Shake It Up! has been given a role in Wonderland. So, Delilah has one as well.

Keep in mind that this story isn't actually based on the Alice in Wonderland story. It has multiple ideas from it, but the fact is that it doesn't really follow the whole plot.

Remember to review? :D