Daylight streamed through the window; walking Ace up, his mind foggy. Where am I…? He groaned and looked around, trying to get his non-existent bearings. I'm… In my room. Of course. Uhhh… How long have I slept…? He crawled to the edge of his bed and toppled out of it, shuffled over to his hourglass on a table a few metres away, his sheets still wrapped around him. One… Two… Three time changes…? Ace sighed and suddenly the contents of his stomach were on the floor in front of him.

Ohhh… Ace groaned again and shook his head. What happened…-? His memory of the night before started seeping back when he noticed the glass scattered around his room. I must've been utterly smashed… Ace fumbled around for a bottle and let the last few drops fall onto his tongue.

He tried, unsuccessfully, to get up a few times, and eventually managed to stand up and stumble over to his cupboard before he fell over. He reached up, trying to find the handle, and eventually gave up, simply crawling back to his bed and back onto it. Sleep came within a matter of seconds.

It was a few hours before Ace woke up again. His mind wasn't as foggy and he could at least control most, if not all, of his limbs. The mess had mysteriously been cleaned up, and Ace made a mental note to give thanks to the maids. He yawned and climbed out of bed, barely remembering to pull on some underwear and a pair of pants before stumbling into the hallway. Shockingly, it didn't take him more than a few minutes to find the dining hall. He sat down and started filling his plate with whatever was near him and started eating, not really paying attention to the food in his mouth. He was almost always half-asleep when he ate.

Ace was done by the time that Sawa came running into the room. He scowled and walked away towards where he thought his room was, but Sawa spotted him and went racing over.
'Ace! Stop! Why'd you run away the other day?' She yelled out.

Ace rolled his eyes. Bloody girl! Stop yelling it out, dammit! He ignored her and kept on walking.

'Ace! Stop!' Sawa had reached him. Ace walked quicker.

'Fine!' she yelled out behind him, gritting her teeth and sneering. 'Coward!'

Ace stopped dead in his tracks, and turned his head to the side. 'If I wasn't hungover,' he said, drawing each word out, 'I would snap your neck for that.' Without another word, he continued walking down the hallway out of the dining hall, and Sawa was left fuming, not daring to say another word against her Knight.

It was only when he had reached his bedroom once again and slammed the door that the Knight took a deep breath in and let go of his anger. His clothes had been hung up while he had gone, and he took a brisk shower before pulling on pants and a shirt and wandering over to his coat, digging deep into a hidden pocket on the inside lining, his shoulders slumping as he felt the cool metal of the clock against his fingertips. Julius had let him keep the clock because it was the only clock that he hadn't been able to fix, no matter how hard he tried. Ace bit his lip as he pulled it out of the pocket. Julius was able to fix all of them but the only clock I care about? The Gamemaster has cursed me yet again.

Ace pressed the clock against his chest and felt the coldness of the metal, sighing as he thought of his previous squire. Ashi. He'd died in a freak training accident a few years back – at Ace's own sword. The boy had been like a brother to him, and he'd never really forgiven himself for it. Sawa, on the other hand, was more of a hindrance than a help, and that made Ace miss his previous squire all the more.

He sighed and placed the clock back inside the secret pocket in his coat. He stood up and let the sheet slide to the floor before pulling on his clothes – the coat included. He carried the clock around everywhere, but usually didn't take it out. People could see it and take it from him, something he definitely didn't want.

Ace slid his sword into its sheath just as his squire burst into the room. 'Ace, the afterimages are here!' she announced, her eyes shining. Ace looked at her for a few seconds, wondering how to react, before deciding on shrugging and walking out of his room, letting her guide him down to the stables. He quickly tacked up Positivity before mounting her and setting off at a trot, following the afterimages that led him to those precious clocks.

Ace and Sawa arrived at the Clocktower two time changes later with a bagful of still clocks. More people than usual had resisted and so the bag was twice, three times as full as it should have been. It was a shame - Julius would yell at him. Ace didn't consider the fact that the faceless were just as protective of their clocks as he was of his own.

Ace and Sawa burst into Julius' room with the usual enthusiasm and greetings. Julius had the usual reaction with his 'oh; Ace, Sawa, hello', and then returning to his tinkering and coffee. 'You have clocks for me?'

'Yeah.' Ace dropped the bag in front of the man.

'Thank you. Now stop bothering me and go do something useful.'

Sawa was inspecting a bottle on a nearby table. 'Julius, who gave you this wine?'

'Oh, Blood left it. Have it if you want.'

'Really? Thanks Julius!' Julius got a free Sawa hug. Julius sighed and let her hug him. Ace chuckled before reaching out to grab the bottle. 'Oh no you don't!' Sawa snatched the bottle away and cradled it protectively.

'Can't I have any?' Ace asked, puppy-faced.

'No! It's mine! And I'm not sharing!'

'Well, you're not particularly nice, are you? I'm surprised that the Hatter boy fell for you.'

'Coming from the person who admitted their eternal love for me.'

'I did not! I just-'

'May you please move your argument outside?' Julius asked with a sigh. 'I can't work with this racket.'

'Actually, I'm going – to share the alcohol with Wren.' Sawa stalked off towards the Hatter mansion.

'Damn, my compass is gone.' Out of all the things he felt at Sawa leaving him to go see Wren, this was the one he chose to voice.

Julius ignored the comment. 'Well, at least she won't get drunk here.'

Ace narrowed his eyes in thought and chuckled softly before smiling that well-known smile of his. 'Mmm, nice of you to be positive for once, Julius.' He turned around and left the tower without a goodbye.

Julius sighed as the Knight left. Finally, he's left. It's irritating how he does that, interrupting my work without prior warning. But… The Clockmaker frowned. I guess it's a good thing how he's getting over Ashi. For him, maybe… Not for everyone else. But then again, Ace tends to get violent when the slightest thing upsets him… Julius shook his head and sighed as he remembered the few times that the mysterious knight had shown true sadness. He was so cute and innocent as a kid. Why has the Gamemaster pushed him to this limit?

Julius usually steered clear of thoughts of the Gamemaster. He had accepted long ago that he was a small part in a continuous cycle and that his life didn't matter. He had more respect for his own life than someone like Ace did (Although I've noticed that recently he's cared about his own life more than he has before, Julius commented to himself), but he didn't involve himself in higher matters or the Rolemasters themselves, besides the Incubus. Even thinking about them could involve yourself in ways that you would shudder at the thought of.

But today… he couldn't help but silently ask the woman with the most important Role in Wonderland:

Why Ace?

'Julius.' The voice send a shiver down the man's spine. Black…? What's he doing here? He dared to look up at the Joker standing next to him.

Joker smirked and run his whip through his fingers. 'The Gamemaster heard you questioning her.'