Chapter Nine

Wonderland, the Land of Psychopathic Axe-Murderers

The room is a flurry of noise.

Boris stared drowsily around him, not fully understanding what was happening. He was lying down on something cold - stone, maybe? The floor? How had that happened?

He tried to stand up, but something restrained him. Turning his head, he eyed the shackles on his arms and legs.

…What happened? Why was he here? Why was he - and he noticed this with mounting panic - strapped to what looked like an operation table? Where was his gun? Also, why was he naked?

Boris gritted his teeth in frustration, the shackles keeping him from moving. This was bad. Very bad. The last thing he remembered was some kind of drug being released into the air, and trying to warn Gowland, but his body had felt so heavy, and he couldn't move…

His stomach churned uneasily. Did that mean the Faceless caught him?

This was bad. This was really, really, bad.

The door opened, and his head shot into the air. Boris looked around, straining to identify the faceless man who walked in, wearing what looked like a white lab coat.

The man was muttering to himself, "Three more days, she says, three more days - I say, that woman will drive me crazy. I don't have five days, much less three. That bitch."

Then the man noticed Boris. "Oh, you're awake," he said unenthusiastically. He walked closer. Boris resisted the urge to snarl at him, settling for clenching his fist.

Pulling out a flashlight, the faceless peeled back his eyelids. This time, Boris snarled at him, a low, deep sound burbling up in his throat. Animal instinct.

"Hey, stop that," chided the man. He placed the flashlight back into his coat pocket and heaved a dramatic sigh. He grabbed a vial of clear liquid, which Boris eyed uneasily. Fear pooled in his stomach as the man approached.

"H- hey, what are you - no! Stop - Argh!"

xXx

In the movies, when the villain lunges at the heroine with a sword, the heroine miraculously pulls out her own moves and defeats him, all while managing to look impeccable.

Unfortunately, movies are a load of shit. So, it didn't really go like that.

When Ace first lunged at me, my brain kind of disconnected from my body, leaving me feeling weightless. Oh, yeah, by the way, Emma, you're going to die. Have fun!

Thanks a lot, brain. Some help you were.

Back to what I was saying: Ace lunged at me. With a fucking sword. A beautiful sword, yes, but nonetheless: he lunged at me with a fucking sword.

I cleverly escaped by falling on my butt. He passed over my head, the sword ramming into the wall just inches above my head.

"Eep," I articulated, eyes wide. If that sword went a few inches lower, and if I hadn't reacted in time… I swallowed. I did not want to die. Not now, not today, not ever.

"Hey, you can't do that!" Ace pouted, his crimson eyes still gleaming dangerously. His tone was playful, despite the fact that he just tried to kill me.

Insane. This guy was insane.

I snuck a glance at Alice and Julius, who were staring wide-eyed with shock. Help me! I glared at them.

Alice recovered from her shock first, and she shouted, her voice trembling with fear, "Ace, stop it! You're going to hurt her!"

"It's fine! We're just training!" Ace reassured them, which actually wasn't very reassuring. He tugged on the hilt of his sword, and this time he pulled it out of the wall, leaving a crater about three inches wide. "Aww, I chipped my sword!"

He lifted it up again, grinning cheerfully. "Let's try again. I won't miss this time!"

When he slashed the sword downward, towards my still form, I thought quickly. This time, instead of standing there stupidly, I rolled to the side. The sword skimmed over me, cutting the fabric of my coat, just barely missing my skin by millimetres.

My blood ran cold. He almost hit me. He's actually trying to kill me. Oh, god…

"Dammit! Stop moving!" The brunette scolded lightly, tapping the flat end of his blade against his hand lightly. "It's no fun if you're not fighting back!"

"Ace!" Julius' voice, authoritative and dark, cut through Ace's villainous monologue. "That's enough. Sheathe the sword."

I internally breathed a sigh of relief. My saviour. I crawled out from my position and stood up, albeit a little shakily. Alice rushed over, examining the cut on my coat. "Are you okay?" She murmured, clasping my hands in hers.

"Fine," I managed, giving her a shaky smile. My brain was still not in my body, so my processing was a little slow. Ah, but my coat was damaged… Dammit, and it'd been a present from Joker, too…

"I'll take you shopping," Alice decided. She turned to face Julius, who was busy reprimanding Ace (who in turn was laughing sheepishly - the fucking asshole), and called out, "I'm leaving! I'll take her to Heart Castle's stores - they've got better quality."

Julius nodded absentmindedly, still snapping at Ace. Alice rolled her eyes.

"Come on." She tugged me out of the room gently, "let's get you cleaned up."

xXx

Weirdly, as soon as I stepped out of the room, my brain decided to come back, no hint whatsoever.

So I was standing in the hallway, staring blankly at the bland walls, trying to process what had just happened… And bam! My brain started working.

This meant I went into a 'confusion-what-the-hell-just-happened' mode, normally reserved for when I passed out late at night or when I found myself in an unusual situation. This was the latter.

"Ace!" I exclaimed suddenly. Alice jumped at the random exclamation, then glanced over at me in confusion.

"Uh, what about Ace?"

"He tried to kill me! With a sword! And he almost did! Is that- is that legal here? Where the fuck is the police? How is he a Roleholder? He's insane!" I rambled, spilling all of my questions and anger into my voice.

Alice sighed, opening the front door of the Clock Tower. Almost immediately, a gust of cool wind blew by and we shivered in unison.

"It happens almost all the time in Wonderland," she said mournfully. "You get used to it, I guess. Ace is the Heart Castle's Knight, but he spends most of his time with Julius and the Clock Tower."

Ace, the knight? Oh god, how has this country not burned down yet? This was a disaster.

"Urghh." I resisted the urge to fall down into the nearest snowbank and just… never move. Remember, Emma, you are a normal seventeen year old, not a deranged lunatic.

…Okay, I'm not normal at all, but whatever. Don't freak Alice out.

"I know." Running a hand through her hair and adjusting a bow tie, Alice gave a fresh smile, looking happier. "Still, it's nice that there's another Foreigner with me. I hope you don't mind me asking some questions?"

"Of course not." My mind drifted back to Canada, and I couldn't help but smile softly.

I wanted to go back, not stay here. I wanted to go back and have my mom make me a hot chocolate and sit around our fireplace, watching snow pile up on the window sill despite the fact that it was already June (Calgary was weird). I wanted to go back to where Violet would visit every weekend and we'd spend the night debating anime pairings (because obviously AusHun would work more than PruHun, and Prussia belongs to Canada anyway), and in the morning we'd stumble down the stairs and almost die.

Alice reached over and squeezed my shoulder. "Hey, it's not that bad here. The world's a little weird, sure, but everyone here is so nice to me. I'm sure you'll learn to enjoy yourself."

"Yes." The words tasted strange in my mouth, and even to me my voice sounded thick. I swallowed back a lump of emotion. Why did it feel like I wanted to cry? I'm not an emotional person. (Okay, that's a lie. You should've seen me bawl over Hetalia.) But… my chest ached with suppressed emotions. "So, what did you want to ask me about?"

Looking thoughtful, Alice asked, "Where did you live? I came from England, if that's not obvious."

"I could tell from your accent." I grinned, gently bumping my shoulder against hers. She floundered a bit, then regained her balance, rolling her eyes at my childishness. "I come from Canada. Not America. I know, the accents are similar, but I'm 100% Canuck, I assure you."

Alice hummed. "Canada, huh? Is it cold? My aunt went there for Christmas once, and told me it was so cold you had to wear coats inside to prevent yourself from freezing. I've never been there in person, though, so I wouldn't know."

I snickered. Stereotypical assumptions. Although Canada is cold (especially Calgary, where there's like half a month of summer and 11 months of winter), it's not to the extent where it was unbearable. You got used to it, and learned to enjoy it. Besides, the cold wilderness had always been something I admired in our country.

"It's not that cold. It's pretty nice in the winter, too. Sometimes we'd have these big festivals, and my mom would take me to visit. Calgary's pretty urban, but there aren't that many people living there, so it's always quiet." I hummed, remembering my hometown fondly.

She tapped her chin with an index finger. By this time, I hoped she knew where she was going, because I didn't.

(It's not my fault I have no sense of direction… Granted, I could memorize routes pretty quickly, but if you handed me a map, I'd be lost in seconds. My mom used to say fondly that it was the "Emma Paradox".)

"What about family?" Alice suggested. She weaved amongst a Faceless throng and I ducked under an elbow to catch up.

"Just my mom. I never knew my dad. How about you?"

Grimacing, I held onto her for balance as I nearly slipped in a patch of ice. We were going to Joker's Circus, I think. How did I know, you ask? Well, I remembered walking this way to get to the tower of clover.

Ooh, I wonder how Joker's doing. Black's probably as salty as ever and White's probably being a clown. Speaking of which, I need to apologize for ripping their coat they gave me…

"I have… two sisters." I mentally noticed how Alice's breath hitched slightly when she said two. "And… my older sister, Lorina, she's amazing. Kind, beautiful, and everything you'd wish for… And she only cared for us, and sacrificed everything for us. And… I still feel guilty for leaving her alone… She'd worry so much, especially after mom's death… But it's better than I don't burden her."

Ah. Sore topic. I quickly changed the subject. "What about your other sister?"

Alice actually lightened up a lot more, even grinning a little. "Ah, Edith hates me. It's okay; I'm sure she's okay. She's a feisty girl."

"I'm sure she's doing fine," I agreed. We were now past the town, the glittery christmas lights against our backs. Compared to the bright and lively town, the forest seemed dark and foreboding.

"I wanted to talk to you about Wonderland, now that I think of it." Alice looked at me, this time, her turquoise eyes were serious. "Did you drink from the Medicine of Hearts?"

Medicine of Hearts? What's that? I mean, I don't remember drinking anything…

"Uh…"

"The Medicine of Hearts means you play the 'game'. You have to interact with Roleholders until the vial is full, or you won't be able to go home. Once it's full, you can decide whether or not you want to stay here or go home. I've filled mine already, but I'm not sure how much you have." Alice trailed off, giving me an expectant look.

I fumbled around with replies in my brain, trying to process what she just said. But… I didn't have a vial… Does that mean I wouldn't be able to go home? My heart thumped painfully at that thought. No… I didn't want to stay here forever…!

"And, just saying, as a foreigner, Roleholders will be very attracted to you." Grimacing, Alice sighed. "Most are dangerous, but once you get to know them, they're not so bad."

That made things so much better. Wow. (Can you feel the sarcasm?)

"We're here!" Giving me a grin, Alice pulled me along the path. I stumbled and nearly slipped, but her grip was firm enough that I didn't crack my skull on the ice and die. (That would be bad. Really bad.)

"Welcome back, Miss Alice!" White's familiar voice chirped. I glanced up, spotting the tip of his jester hat as he waved cheerfully. "Oh, and you've brought Emma!"

"Hey, White!" Alice and I chorused. I stared at her in confusion. I thought I came up with the names 'Black' and 'White'? I guess someone else has thought of it too.

"So where are you going this time?" Raising an eyebrow, the redhead played with a deck of cards, absentmindedly shuffling them back and forth. "Spring? Summer? Or autumn?"

I bit my lip and walked forward. "Uh, before we get to that - I may have, um, ruined the jacket and clothes you gave me…"

Guilt pooled into my stomach and I looked down at my shoes. These clothes had been a gift, too…

White surprised me by laughing. "Is that what you're worried about, my dear?" He snapped his fingers, and then my clothes glowed before changing. A white blouse with a pink sweater over it appeared on my body, along with jeans and sneakers. On my head, the flower I always wore appeared.

Woah. Not. fair! I wanted that ability! If that's what it meant to be a Roleholder, then sign me the fuck up.

"Holy shit!" I spun around, admiring the new clothes. Damn, I looked fine. "Thanks! Ahhh, this is so nice!"

"Of course! I hope you like it. Now, for Miss Alice…" With a small smirk, White turned to Alice, who stiffened just a bit. Her eyes became guarded.

… Why was she so scared? What did Joker do to her…?

"I'll be going to Hearts Castle, thank you," she replied curtly. Her eyes darted around the circus nervously.

"Who's going to play me first?" Opening his arms invitingly, White gestured to the seat in front of him.

"I'll play." Carefully, I maneuvered around Alice's stiff form and sat down on the chair. "What are we playing?"

"Blackjack okay for you?" The lone visible eye gleamed deviously.

Ugh. Does he only know Blackjack? Fine, I'll play this time, but next time, no.

"Deal it to me." I opened my palms and received the cards.

From the sidelines, Alice watched nervously. Why did she feel like something bad was going to happen?

xXx

Four time periods, an angry rant on why Blackjack was the "stupidest game ever", a surprise visit from Black, and Alice playing her own card game later, I finally beat White.

"Yes!" I screamed victoriously, waving my cards around to display the perfect 21. "Ha! I beat you! Finally!"

"You cheated, you bitch! There's no way you won after thirty nine losses in a row!" Black accused from his mask.

"Excuse you, I won through pure talent," I huffed, crossing my arms and placing the cards back onto the table. Stupid Black. He was just jealous of my awesome card-game skills.

(... Okay, so I lost thirty-nine times in a row, but at least I finally won!)

White was gaping rather stupidly at the cards, his eye wide with disbelief. "...How did you - you know what? Never mind." He snapped his fingers, and the snow on the trees disappeared, turning into cherry blossoms.

"You just suck at this, you fucking bastard!"

"Please, don't be jealous!" I smirked, still gloating over my recent victory. Ahh, it felt good to rub it in, especially since Black had been taunting me since the beginning. ("Like you'll win, bitch!")

"I'm not fucking jealous! How many fucking times do I have to say it for your puny brain to comprehend-"

"Shut up," I grumbled, rising from my position. I stretched, feeling my muscles relax. Four time periods was a long time to play cards for. "Anyway, thanks for being patient… I'll leave now."

"No problem," White smiled.

If I were to be entirely serious, I'd say White's smile was always very strange. Why? There was just something off about his smile, and though it looked real, it felt hollow. Fake.

Maybe I'm just really weird.

Shrugging the thought off, I approached Alice, who was snoring against a tree. Her light hair fell against her face, framing the creamy visage and petite features perfectly. With her round eyes closed, the long eyelashes gently fluttering ever so slightly, and her mouth open just a little, she looked like an angel.

So beautiful… Damn, would I ever get to be like that? I looked down at my ratty jeans and the sneakers on my feet and inwardly sighed. Of course not.

Gently, I nudged her shoulder. "Alice, come on, I'm done. We can leave now."

"Nnhh…" Alice stirred, but didn't wake.

"Alice…" I chanted under my breath, shaking her not-so-gently. "Alice~ Time to wake up~!"

"Wait…" Her reply was listless but a lot more coherent this time. Ha - she was waking up. I smirked. Fine. She doesn't want to wake up? I'll make her.

"Do you have any cold water?" I directed this question at Joker, who frowned in confusion.

"Why do you want that?" Regardless, White raised his hand, and a bucket of water appeared in his hands, which he handed to me.

What was I going to do with this? Well, I was going to wake Alice up. This was me being mean and evil to Alice. I'm such a terrible person. Oh well.

Snickering evilly, I grabbed the corner of the bucket and tipped it onto her head.

Her scream echoed through the forest.