11. They Scare More than Just Crows
The once bright and not-so-cheerful morning skies over Heart Castle grew black with the dusk rolling in, and the faceless servants lessened and lessened as they walked towards their rooms; guards lazily sleeping on the job with the Queen and other role holders asleep in their own bedrooms. "The hunt for Alice would be put off until the following morning," so said the queen before she'd fallen into a slumber herself.
Alice had also fallen asleep; curled up uncomfortable in a fetal position under the small crawlspace beneath the staircase; her head resting against the cold walls around her, the autumn chill making itself known. Gradually, the cold began to feel stronger and soon awoke the young miss from her slumber.
"Ugh." Alice groaned, her muscles aching from the tight position. She carefully rose a hand to her head, attempting to rid herself of a headache threatening to form. She was cautious when spreading her legs out so as not to kick and awake Black, but it wasn't long until she felt space in the area she was in. "Black? You there?"
No reply came, and Alice leaned over, feeling the ground where her partner had previously been sleeping away. To her suspicions and worry, he was gone.
"Crap!" she cried in a hushed whisper, blindly feeling around the space as if he was hiding, only to have her hand slap roughly against the tiled floor. "Where'd he go now? !"
Cautiously, Alice peeked out from the shadows, glancing around the darkened hallway. It was empty- much to her luck- and the brunette cautiously crawled out, her eyes scanning the area for the Joker.
Standing up, she brushed invisible specs of dust from her black gown and glared ahead; her footsteps silent against the floor as she searched for her partner.
I could kill him. she thought seriously. I could strangle him. Drown him, hang him, anything! Why does he always do this to me? He could at least wake me up and told me he was leaving! He's such a pain to keep up with!
As she walked blindly through the castle, Alice couldn't help but feel as if she was being watched. Every few minutes she would throw her head over her shoulder, looking around for the source, but finding no one.
I'm probably being paranoid. she thought, sighing once as she found herself in front of the kitchen. Quietly, she peeked in the darkened room and her stomach growled. She moaned.
"That's right." she reminded herself softly, carelessly walking into the kitchen and making her way to the fridge. "I haven't eaten in so long…" Her stomach growled again, suddenly reminding her of one of the few necessities of life; food. She patted her belly as if to comfort it, and opened the fridge door. Normally she wouldn't be so rude to go through another person's fridge, but if she didn't get food soon, Alice was sure she wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it.
I'll just make a sandwich. I wouldn't want to make anything major. she decided, carefully pulling out some cheese and lettuce before shutting the appliance door softly and grabbing some bread on the island in the middle of the room. Once her meal was made, she took a bite, savoring the sweet taste.
As she continued to eat, Alice felt that strange sense she was being watched once again. She tried to ignore it, hoping to finish her sandwich already and leave the castle- with or without Black. Though, she couldn't control the way her nerves hitched as she sense became stronger, and she was almost sweating with fear.
Once the food was gone, Alice froze, afraid if she made any sudden movements the thing watching her would attack.
You're being stupid! she thought to herself, taking in a deep breath and preparing to leave. There's nothing there!
Without so much as a warning, she felt a hand roughly grasp around her chest while another clamped over her mouth; squeals and cries muffled from her mouth. A dark chuckle arose from behind her, and Alice halted her squeals. Instead, her face flushed red and her hands balled into tight fists at her side as the hand on her mouth dropped and a face appeared over her shoulder.
"Scared, slut? I thought you liked guys messing with you." The Joker taunted, and Alice roughly removed his hand from her chest; crossing her arms firmly in front of herself as she took several steps back, glaring into him.
"You're such a jerk!" she seethed, her blue eyes darting around for something to hit him with. That butcher knife left on the island was looking pretty fun to use right now…
"And you're a f****** slut. We've covered that." Black shot back, and Alice huffed, her fist twitching and her eyes locked on the butcher knife. If only she could slip past him to grab it…
"Today's the last day." Black stated, his expression suddenly serious and catching her attention.
"I know." the brunette murmured, frowning. She had to get that key. She had no other choice. As she contemplated this, Black Joker neared her, a smirk on his face.
"You know," he suggested with a demonic glint in his eye, reaching for the hem of her dress. "We could end this game the other way…"
Without hesitation, Alice socked him violently in the gut, causing the man to stumble backwards in surprise. He bent over quickly, his arms wrapped around his stomach as if to heal it. She stared at him blankly before swiftly walking away, making sure she was close enough to the butcher knife if she needed it.
"Or not." she deadpanned, and Black-san glared at her; his ruby eye furious.
"I was f****** kidding, you f****** bitchy ass w****." he spat, and Alice sighed in annoyance. "Are you on your f****** period or something?" She glared.
"I'm pretty sure I know where the key is." she said, changing the subject.
"Why didn't you f****** say that earlier?" he growled, standing up now but one hand still at his stomach as if to prepare for another punch. "Damn f*** up."
"Look, are we going to get the key or what?" Alice finally demanded, fed up. She just wanted this to end already!
Black Joker huffed. "Tch. Fine. Let's go."
The Hatter Mansion looked dark and gloomy under the thin strip of moonlight; the poles where the scarecrows for gatekeepers left alone and eerie, while lights remained off in the midst of the night. A chill ran up the foreigner's spine, and she shuddered, making her way to the hole under the gate. She and Black took their time now that the scarecrows were gone, and searched for an open window.
"Do you think they might have left the front door unlocked?" Alice suggested in a soft whisper, and Black shook his head.
"Of course not, stupid." he replied, his wine red eye catching sight of a crack in one of the many glass structures. He waved her over, already wedging it open and diving inside. The foreigner struggled, but also fell into the room.
Of course, she wished she hadn't.
Alice had to clamp a tight hand over her mouth so she wouldn't scream, talk, or even breathe. Any sudden movement was sure to awake the scarecrows lying in the large red and blue bed before them. She glanced over at Black-san who was carefully shutting the window so the breeze wouldn't awake them, and tiptoeing towards the door. Alice followed behind, praying she didn't knock on any stray weapons lying around.
The twins looked so odd in bed; their button eyes staring lifelessly at the two, but their straw-filled bodies heaving slowly up and down like sleeping children. Their mouths were sewn on with yarn, so they could not speak or breath. The several weapons and darkened scenery seemed to only frighten Alice more.
Black Joker gently pushed the door open, a loud squeak echoing around them. The scarecrows shot up, and Joker took the outsider's wrist tightly in his grasp; yanking her away from the room and across the hall, both hiding once again in a crawlspace in the corner of the room. A small hole provided enough sight to see the scarecrows wobble in with weapons at their sides; their legs barely able to carry them.
The Dee scarecrow pointed to the closet, and the Dum scarecrow nodded, moving his attention to a nearby desk. Both pranced about the room- their movements so unnatural that it frightened the foreigner to a point of nausea- and searched under couches and behind bookcases for tight squeezes. Eventually giving up, the twins shrugged, wobbling back to their room and shutting the door slowly behind; their button eyes staring blankly at the crawlspace as if they knew where the two were hiding before the door finally shut and they returned to their sleep.
Alice sighed in relief, and Black did as well; shoving the small door open and crawling out with the foreigner. They both tiptoed back to the hallway, their eyes locked on the floors the entire time in case they saw the key, which unfortunately, they didn't.
"You're sure you dropped it here?" Black Joker assured, eyeing the foreigner suspiciously. She nodded.
"It's the only place I can think of." she answered honestly, trying to think of what had happened there. They'd already passed where Elliot had assaulted her, so the only place left was… She gulped. Blood's room. She really wasn't looking forward to going there.
"Y-you know, maybe I could go to the box and you can get the key." Alice suggested warily, and Joker glared. "I'm pretty sure it's in Blood's room, so if you'll excuse me-"
"Hell no." Joker interrupted, roughly grabbing her arm and literally dragging her upstairs toward the older members' bedrooms and the guest rooms. "You dropped it here so you're going to find it."
Alice whimpered a little, shaking her head. "N-no, really, I can go to the box!"
Black Joker ignored her, roughly shoving her in front of the vampire's bedroom. Alice shuddered, hesitating for the knob. She didn't want to go in. Not at all.
Taking in a deep breath- and saying her last prayers- Alice shoved open the door.
Okay, before you complain that the kitchen scene is a Joker x Alice moment, I'd like to object to that notion. I think Black-san is just being an ass. XD I didn't mean for it to be an "aww" moment or anything; I didn't even realize it could be interpreted like that until I reread it. DX I didn't wanna take it out, because it took a while to write, so oh well~!
Only two more chapters left! *le gasp!* Can you believe it? I can't! So much to take care of, so little time~!
Unfortunately, I might not be able to put chapters up as fast as I have been since school is finally deciding to be a bitch and drag me down to the very depths of hell with homework and assignments. DX Well I'm not goin'! *pulls out magic word processor/wand* BRING IT! XD
Well, see you later~!