Vivaldi's Curiosity Annoys Peter

"We want to know who that girl is."

Vivaldi sat at a café table, Ace standing guard across from her, a servant holding an umbrella to block the sun and Peter standing, annoyed, besides her. The town of Clover was busy, shops were coming to life again, and families were wandering about enjoying the warm day. Vivaldi sipped at her tea and found it overly bitter. Oh if this was her domain whoever prepared this would lose their head.

"White!" she snapped pulling his attention, "Who is that girl? What do you know of her?"

Peter slicked his ears back and down in annoyance, "That girl is not Alice."

"Still lovesick prime minister?" Ace snickered.

Peter glared at the insane knight but his glare didn't stop the man's laughter.

Vivaldi sipped at her tea again, "We do not think Alice will return." She set her cup down with a soft clink on its little saucer, "Accept it."

Peter snorted and looked aside down the main street of Clover, "I shall not. My heart will wait forever for Alice."

"Indeed you will, White." Vivaldi smiled with venom.

As Peter gazed down the main street of Clover, a place so different from the Country of Hearts, he could nearly see Alice coming towards him through the crowds. How her black shoes and striped tights would stand out against the emerald cobble stone walk, her blue and white dress would be like the sun against the dark wood and thatch roof buildings…..her bright smile and green eyes….

"WHITE!"

Peter was pulled from his vision of perfection. He looked down at the queen.

"We would like to know more about this Outsider. Go. Find out what you can and tell us what you find."

"I refuse!" he barked, "She is not Alice! I do not care-"

Vivaldi gave him a sharp look, "Was it not Alice who sent you that message in the bottle?"

Peter felt himself pale at the queens knowledge of such intimate details. How had she found out?

"That she was sending you something special? Something that she entrusted you with?"

Peter felt himself beginning to sweat.

Vivaldi raised a brow at the prime minister, "We think that would be the best way to honor Alice in her absence."

Peter glared at the queen still trying his hardest to figure out how she'd known about the message in the bottle all those time periods ago. But for the time being it was irrelevant. It would seem that he was cornered and would have no choice but to play the spy.

"Do not speak of Alice as if she is dead." He growled at the queen.

Ace raised a brow watching the exchange his sword out of its scabbard, point resting on the ground, as he leaned on it. Vivaldi laughed down in her throat and sipped at her tea.

Peter sighed, "Very well. For Alice I will do it."

With a victory won Vivaldi chuckled and stood up, "Come Ace we tire of the noise here."

A Faceless abruptly rushed by followed by several others gaining the attention of the other denizens of Clover. Their presence seemed to rile everyone up.

"Oui!" a man called from an ice cream shop, "What's going on?"

The boy called, "The Outsider is fighting the Bloody Twins!"

Instantly everyone's voice rose, like fire to tender, filling the small space with obnoxious noise. Faceless began to abandon their shops as the boys hollered and called to follow them. Like moths to flame they crowded the street and hurried towards the Clover square.

"We wish you good luck, White." Vivaldi laughed and sauntered away.

"THERE IS NO FIGHTING DURING ASSEMBLY!"

A crowd had gathered, and quickly, massing the small square of Clover. Of course Grey and Nightmare stood at the edge of the cheering crowds barking like angry nanny's at their charges.

"Looks like we gotten their attention brother!" Dee laughed as he swung his tall battle ax downwards.

I side stepped the glimmering blade and it nearly caught Dum on the foot.

Dum laughed back, "This place was boring anyways!"

As I danced between the brothers twisting, shifting, side stepping and ducking their swinging blades I tried to remember just how we'd managed to get into a spar. Sadly my mind was blank but I was having fun with them and they seemed to be enjoying it too. Dee suddenly swung high and Dum swung low leaving little space in-between.

"ARI!" Nightmare yelled.

The Bloody Twins ax blades glimmered in the brilliant suns light, they whistled as they sliced the air, heading straight for the girl. She held to Dupre's top hat as she crouched down then launched herself backwards and up. The blades sliced over top of her and beneath her but missed her as she filled the horizontal space between….the blades completed their path and she landed on her feet. Steady and unshaken. Grey suddenly felt sick to his stomach and as much as he wanted to put a stop to this he was also afraid that if he stepped in he'd break one of their concentrations.

"Ariiiiiiiii!" Dee whined.

I grabbed Blood's top hat from my head and tossed it to him casually.

"That's cheating!" Dum yelled.

"Oh come on boys." I smiled grabbing at the air, "Don't complain because you got beat." and willed one of my familiar weapons into my hand.

"Outsider! Outsider! Outsider! Outsider!" the Faceless chanted.

"You wanted to spar." I smiled at the brothers, "So give me a challenge."

Dee charged at me bringing his ax up in a high arc as if to come down on top of me with the blade. Instantly I lifted the tall staff, a weapon I'd used in my old world, up above my head. His blade struck the silvery metal making the weapon sing out a low, aggressive bellow so I pushed back and the energy from his attack was pushed back onto him. Dee soared back through the air, tumbling across the cobble stone, and popped up onto his feet.

Dum smiled at me, "Where'd you get that?"

"My old world." I gave the tall staff a swing and spun around myself then slammed the bottom on the cobble stone making it sing again, "Come on then!"

Nightmare watched as Dee and Dum, in their stronger adult forms, really went after Ari with everything they had. His throat was beginning to tighten and breathing seemed to be getting harder; the copper taste of blood filled his mouth. Ari was undoubtedly skilled. Her stance, steps, posture and ease of using the towering staff against the Twins slamming blows seemed to come to her naturally and she was even laughing at their frustration. Dee's ax came down and sliced to the left, Ari dodged foreword, but the tip of the blade caught her hair tearing the ribbon that had been holding it up. Suddenly a waterfall of golden hair, a color unlike any he'd seen, came falling down her back.

Nightmare grabbed Grey, "Grey we need to stop this. If this girl gets hurt or dies it would seal our fates."

Grey looked over at Nightmare with a questioning expression. However he simply waved his hand dismissing Grey's question entirely. It wasn't something he liked much, Nightmare keeping things from him, but he could drill him later about it. Grey looked back to the spar that was getting more intense by the second trying to figure how to intervene and save Ari.

"Hold still!" Dee barked madly as he heaved his ax sideways.

I brought my staff up, the blade struck its body, and it chipped away the metal.

Dee lifted his weapon up to his face for inspection, "HEEEEYYYYYY! NO FAIR!"

Behind me I caught sight of Dum sneaking up. He brought his blade down and swiped to the right so I ducked, rolled forward, and swung my staff backwards tripping up Dum and sending him flat onto his ass.

"OW!" he gave out a yowl.

To my right I heard Elliot laughing.

"That's it!" Grey yelled angrily, "STOP THIS NOW!"

I stood up, stretching my sore back, and glanced back at him, "Fine then." I sighed.

Dum quickly stood, Dee readied his chipped weapon, and I brought my staff up level to my chest and held it on a horizon line.

"DID YOU NOT JUST HEAR ME?!" Grey yelled, "ALL OF YOU!"

I looked over my shoulder, beyond Dee, to Grey, "At least let me disarm them honorably." I gave him a wink.

"Yea right!" the twins yelled together as they launched towards me.

With them only standing twenty feet or so away I didn't have much room for error. "You know that if you get hurt or die you can't come back, right?" Elliot's words came flooding back to me. How silly! Grey, Nightmare and Elliot yelled loudly as the Twins ax's came down in unison from behind and ahead, the crowd that had gathered gasped, and I remained still on the spot. The air split seconds before their axes were going to make contact and that's when I dropped down onto one knee, swung my staff in a full circle, and hooked the curve of their ax's locking them in place overhead.

"Give-"Dee started.

With all the energy coiled in my legs I shot upwards then let that force travel up from the bottoms of my feet into the staff. The Twins were forced onto their tip-toes. With an easy flick I twisted the staff dragging the ax's from their wielders all at once and sent them sailing off down the cobble stone street. It sent up sparks and loud screeching. With Dee and Dum distracted I kicked out their feet from the back and smacked their stomachs with my staff giving them a sting.

"Your disarmed." I told them both as they stared up at me disoriented, "Do you surrender or do you want me to smack you around the street like a ball?"

Dee and Dum looked at each other then back up at me, "THAT WAS AWESOME!" they cheered.

I couldn't help but laugh, giving the staff another smack against the ground it quickly dissolved out of sight as I thought it should, and offered my hands to help them up. Grabbing hold them came up onto their feet as they turned their clocks backwards and were children once again.

I laughed, "I liked it too!"

"Alright! Alright! Break it up! Everyone get moving!" Grey ordered.

Some Faceless lingered but most of them quickly hurried off at the yell of Grey.

Dee clung to my arm, "It would've been better if The Lizard had kept his nose on his face."

"Dee stop being rude." Blood spoke calmly as he approached us, "We are at assembly after all."

Grey and Nightmare joined Dee, Dum and I just as Blood and Elliot did. Being stuck in the middle I had a feeling there was about to be a pissing contest.

Grey glared at Blood, "Learn to control your minions, Dupre."

"We are not minions!" Dum yelled.

I shushed him and gave both of them a push sending them outside of this strange gathering. They hurried down the street to retrieve their battle axes that I had thrown.

"You should keep more civil control in your domain. As second in command I would assume that would come easily to you, Lizard." Dupre shot back with a superior, smug look.

Nightmare grabbed Ari by the shoulder as Blood and Grey exchanged quips. Elliot quickly scrambled after the Twins, who were starting to fight one another, cursing and yelling.

"Have you lost your mind?!" Nightmare snapped own at the girl.

She shrugged and smiled, "If I have then I'll fit right in!"

Nightmare gave the girl a shake, "This isn't a game!"

She flinched but quickly straightened up, "Of course it is! Everything in Wonderland is a game, isn't it?"

At those hollow words Nightmare stood erect and Ari smacked his hands off her shoulders.

"For us but NOT for you. Do you hear me?" Nightmare dead-panned.

Ari tilted her head to the side, fiery eyes lighting up with suspicion, "Nightmare you're acting strange."

Blood and Grey stopped squabbling and looked at us. I was very aware of Blood's observing gaze and Grey's piercing one. I lifted my hand up to my shoulder which was aching painfully sharp.

"What are you up to?" I asked stepping closer to Nightmare trying to keep eye contact with him.

Nightmare looked aside, gray eyes looking panicked, "Nightmare-"

"You are the granddaughter of Alice!" he quickly blurt, "I want you to stay safe for her."

For some reason, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it, his response twisted my stomach for many reasons.

"Stay safe for her?" I asked, "You mean Alice?"

Nightmare's eyes went wide as I repeated those words. It was frustrating, down to my core, that it seemed that I would never move out of the shadow of my grandmother.

"Alice-I mean Ari! I-"

I smiled up at him but didn't say anything.

"Young lady-"Blood interrupted.

I turned my attention on the mobster godfather, "What'd I say, Blood?"

He smirked as he approached, "Ari. I do believe your wound has reopened."

"Huh?" I looked down at my shoulder to see the sleeve soaked by crimson, "Shit!"

It surely had opened up when the Twins and I had been sparring but how had I not felt it? Elliot and the Twins rejoined us.

"Come. We can fix you up right, Ari." Blood gently gave me a nudge towards Elliot.

Grey stepped forward, "Ari I don't think it's wise for you to be around his…..kind."

I smiled warmly at Grey, "It's okay Grey. Everyone here is family to me and family doesn't hurt one another."

"That's right!" Elliot cheered.

"I'll see you at the next assembly, okay."

Grey watched as Ari turned around and walked side by side with Dupre; his gut was unsettled.