Also, in regards to several reviews, I would like to address my editing. I do realize that I have many typos and grammar issues, but I am currently unable to use spell check because it doesn't work on my computer. I've been getting better with doing it myself, but their are some things that I will still miss. I've also been going over past chapters and re-reading them several times and fixing any mistakes I see. All I ask is that you please bear with me. My editor that normal helps me with this has decided to stay out of this story, so I'm on my own. Thank you for understanding.

Now, without further adieu, Chapter Fourteen.

Life After Everything Else

Chapter Fourteen: The New Arrival

"I'm so glad that Lady Mirana allowed us to go out like this," Alice whispered in a conspirital tone as her and Tarrant sat beside each other in the carriage. The reason her voice was kept so low was because of the sitting across from them and glaring out the window: Sapphira.

"As am I, but I don't quite agree with her choice in our escort," he replied in the same low tone as he glanced at the woman. Alice couldn't help but giggle as she reached out and took his hand in hers.

"At least we're together," she muttered with a delighted smile as she pressed her forehead against his, staring into his bright emerald eyes. He nodded his silent agreement before Alice pulled away and decided to look out the passing scenery with wonder.

It was nearly two weeks ago when Tarrant had asked her while out on a picnic by the lake to openly court her. And it was a mere few hours afterward that Sapphira was informed and immediately sent into a rage. Though Alice knew not why, Sapphira made it more than clear that she was incredibly unhappy with the turn of events. As far as the blonde knew, her escort had talked to Mirana about it at one point and, instead of getting the reaction she wanted, Mirana approved of the relationship with joy and well-wishes to both of them. Alice remembered how nervous she felt, walking with Sapphira all the way down to Mirana's bedroom two days after the incident and standing before her as she looked at her with a dead-serious look about her delicate features.

However, instead of getting a lecture similar to that of Sapphira's, she broke into a wide smile and embraced Alice like one would a sister. She told her that she knew it was bound to happen and that she couldn't help but laugh at how nervous she could imagine Tarrant when he asked. After a short conversation, the Queen told Alice that she wished nothing but the best for both of them and that Alice simply had to come over for Afternoon Tea sometime soon. It was with that surprising conversation that Tarrant and Alice found themselves in the current situation.

One day, when Alice was having tea with Mirana, she brought up how she wished that she could go with him somewhere, possibly go on a tour of Queensland. After all, there was so much for Alice to still see of the large area and she imagined with Mirana's reaction to the news it would be surprising if she denied the request. And, just as she had expected, Mirana thought it a wonderful idea, but that she needed an escort so that rumors wouldn't start up. Thinking that the Queen herself would be that person, Alice readily agreed and left to set things up.

When the date arrived, to say that the couple was horrified to see that Sapphira would be playing to role of escort was putting things simply.

"It won't be long until we get there," Sapphira noted as she continued watching the trees pass by her. Nodding in agreement, Tarrant smiled at Alice as she began to idly play with her hair. After they had been given permission to go, Alice and Tarrant spent hours looking over different maps of Queensland and both of them agreed that they would stop at a place that appeared on the map like a untouched field before going back to the castle for supper.

"Are you excited?" Tarrant asked her when she finally turned to face him.

"Very," she admitted as the carriage came to a stop. Tarrant was the first to step out, helping Sapphira out of the carriage before doing the same with Alice. Linking arms with her, they both followed after Sapphira as she led them further into the woods. "Have you ever been here before, Tarrant?"

"No, I haven't, so I'm really looking forward to seeing it with you," he whispered, too low for Sapphira to hear as they followed behind her.

Smiling her agreement, the couple continued to walk until a clearing opened up through the dense trees. Sapphira was the first to step into it, and stood aside as Alice and Tarrant soon joined her. It seemed the Alice could feel her breath leaving her body as she stared at the beautiful picture placed before her.

The entire field was huge, about half the size of Marmoreal's gardens, and was completely filled with the most peculiar looking flowers. Though they didn't have any faces like the ones Alice was accustomed by now to seeing, she could tell that these flowers could only be found in Underland. Along with the flowers was the small creek winding it's way through the grass, and it glistened as the sun shone brightly down upon it. Despite the fact that the Outlands was a ten minutes walk away from the place, the field was so breathtaking that Alice could hardly believe that it was able to grow next to such a barren wasteland.

Turning to face Tarrant, Alice was about to ask him what he thought of the place but was stopped as he seemed to be staring at something. "Tarrant...?" she asked, confused, as he squinted off into the distance. Following his gaze, she looked out onto the field as well and soon noticed what appeared like a large mound resting near the river. Turning to look at her escort, she quickly realized that Sapphira noticed it too.

Before either women could comment on the mysterious object, Tarrant left Alice's side and began walking towards it. "Tarrant, wait!" she called out, but it seemed useless. Not even bothering for Sapphira's advice, she picked up the folds of her dress and began running after him just as he was a few feet from the bundle. From where she was, Alice could see that it was breathing.

Watching as Tarrant approached the living thing, Alice stopped in her tracks and held her breath. Whatever the thing was, it was obviously injured. It's breathing was fast and shallow, clearly that of someone in pain. Falling silent, she kept her distance as Tarrant went to his knees and lifted the end of the cloth covering it. Though it seemed like hours, a few minutes passed before Tarrant pushed the cloth aside and stood. "Take care of him, Alice," he ordered, his voice harsh and deep as he walked past her towards the direction of the carriage. "I'm going to go back to Marmoreal and get someone to help us. Be on your guard." Nodding in understanding, Alice wondered why Tarrant had so suddenly changed as she walked over to the fall man.

However, she wasn't prepared to see what exactly had happened to him.

"Oh, my God," she whispered, covering her mouth as she stared at him. The cloth that had been providing him little warmth and shelter had been pulled away and showed the horror of what happened to him.

Just on his head alone, Alice could clearly see the dried blood that had caked onto his black hair and pale skin along with the fresh blood falling in a thick river from somewhere on his head down across his whole face. Purple bruises blossomed everywhere that she could see and various cuts were also evident. A large lump was also visible high on his forehead and both his eyes were blackened. His lips were cut as well.

Terrified at what she saw, Alice could feel tears forming in her eyes as she tried not to gag. The man's blue eyes slowly lifted up towards her and locked with her brown ones. "H-Help..." his voice managed to sputter. The two orbs closed and Alice could clearly see a stab wound right above his left eye. He probably couldn't see out of that one...

Reaching out a trembling hand, Alice assured herself that she needed to see his other wounds to see what his condition was and quickly pulled away the rest of the blanket. If anything, it was worse, and Alice had to turn away. But it was still too late; she had seen everything.

His body was no better than his face. If possible, it was worse. His right arm was clearly broken and his legs, though not in the same condition as the arm, were more than likely fractured. More bloody wounds and bruises covered his body, easily visible through the rags he wore. Alice supposed that his ribs were probably broken as well, and prayed that they hadn't punctured a lung. Suddenly, his breathing worried her as she forced herself to look back at him.

Staring at his horribly wounded form, she stretched her hand out until it was gently touching his skin, trying to somehow comfort him. "Don't worry," she whispered. "Someone will be here soon and you'll come back with us and get help, okay? Can you talk any more?" He nodded his head weakly. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Cecil..."

Watching as Cecil's body was gently placed onto a soft bed, Alice stood off to the side of the room as everyone else crowded around him. Though she wanted to help, wanted to be there in the crowd to see what she could possibly do, she found herself holding back ever since she had seen what happened to him.

After learning of his name, Sapphira had approached her and began to tend to the wounds that they could while in the empty woods. It was nearly an hour later, with much checking from the small pocketwatch that Sapphira always carried, until Tarrant arrived with some soldiers to carry away the poor man. Both women followed after, entering the carriage and sitting in the seat opposite from where he laid, as the guards surrounded the vehicle and walked with it until they arrived back to Marmoreal.

The entire time, Tarrant had remained silent as he quietly asked the man questions. Alice believed that it was to learn of his identity, but something was just too familiar with the two of them that the thought was quickly dismissed. The idea of them having already met was further proven when Cecil was carried into the castle and the small group immediately went to Mirana's room. Her door was already opened, and she was in another room, preparing it to be comforting when they arrived. Mirana's shocked expression made Alice feel uneasy as he was hurried into a bed and a maid was sent on to retrieve the doctor.

During this whole time that Cecil was looked after, Tarrant had mysteriously disappeared after Mirana began trying to make the injured man comfortable. Though she wondered where he had gone off to, she pushed the thought into the back of her head as she was forced back into the present. "How is he?" she asked timidly, quietly walking up to Mirana.

"He's horrible. I don't know who possibly did this to him, but they surely hoped he wouldn't pull through. Or they imagine no one would be around to help him. Either way, he should be fine now that he's in our care. He'll need strict bed rest, of course, and possibly some stitches."

"It's that bad...?" Mirana simply nodded her head, standing aside as the doctor finally arrived and took her place beside him.

"Ladies... If you may...?"

"Oh! Yes, of course!" Mirana said hurriedly, her cheeks a delicate shade of pink as she took hold of Alice's arm and dragged her into the adjoining room. Alice could hear a sharp gasp followed after by a pain-filled moan before Mirana closed the door tightly behind her. "I do hope Cecil will be okay..." she whispered with much sorrow as she walked past Alice and collapsed onto a decorative chair.

"How... How do you know his name is Cecil...?" Alice asked suddenly, still standing near the door. "He never once talked since Tarrant brought him into the room, and I never told you that."

"Tarrant told me when he came here," she sighed, reaching for a empty cup to pour herself something soothing.

"Tarrant left before he told me his name."

"Did I say Tarrant?" Mirana replied casually, trying to force a small smile as she took a sip. "I meant Sapphira. She pulled me aside and told me what his name was while I was looking after him."

"Sapphira came after he told me, and I never told her of the information," Alice replied calmly. Studying the nervous woman's face, she quickly strode over to the seat beside the one she sat in and reached out for Mirana's hand to hold in hers. "Mirana, you said that you wanted to be friends with me, correct?"

Mirana nodded her head furiously. "Yes, of course! There is nothing I could imagine that I would want more."

"Then you need to tell me," Alice whispered. "I want to help; believe me, I do. But I can't help in any way if everyone is keeping things hidden away." A pause filled the air between the two women as Mirana mused the thought, obviously arguing with herself whether it would be wise or not to tell Alice.

"Okay..." she whispered, consenting as she replaced the cup on the table. "I will tell you about Cecil, and how he came to be here..."

"I hate you, Maxi!" Vondrea shrieked as she buried herself deep within the comforts of her silk bed sheets, crying helplessly into them. "I hope you burn in hell for what you did! I can't believe you!" she screamed between her sobs, causing her throat to pulse in pain. But she ignored it as she continued to mourn over the man she had lost.

Maxi stood in the bedroom with her, studying his nails in a bored fashion as he continued to listen to the younger woman's screeching and howling. Letting out an irritated sighed, he pulled his gaze away from his hand before walking over to the heap of blankets hiding her and pulling them forcefully away, exposing the woman to his sight. "Get over it," he hissed before reaching down and grabbing a handful of red hair, pulling harshly so that she was looking up at him. Her black eyes were shining brightly from all the tears and her normally pale face was red and stained with the falling water. "I did what I had to do."

"You didn't have to beat him within an inch of his life!" she retorted, launching herself off the bed in an attempt to attack him, but was once again stopped as he grabbed both her wrists and threw her against the ground.

"He will live, woman, now calm the hell down!" he yelled, his once calm face now contorted in blind fury as he glared down at her trembling figure. Vondrea stared back up at him, completely fearful of what he would do to her, before watching as he cleared his throat and ran a hand through his fine hair. "Believe me, little sister, Cecil will be just fine. If anything, he will be better of there than he was here."

"How could you possibly say such a thing?" she demanded in a hushed whisper. "First you stab him, cut him, beat him till he can barely walk, then leave him in the middle of nowhere and say that he'll be alright?"

"Yes," he snapped, his eyes sending her such a menacing look that she instant fell silent. "They will find him. And when they do, they will take him back to Marmoreal with them and take care of him. It will be like nothing had ever happened to him. And then..." A crazed smile broke out across Maxi's face as he walked away from Vondrea and turned to look out a small window she had near the back wall. Vondrea watched as he stared out the glass, studying the many people and creatures as they roamed about the city's streets.

"Then what?"

"Then he will kill Mirana and we will take over, just like we should have done in the beginning."

A/N: Okay, I had way too much fun with that chapter. I wanna keep this author's notes short, so I'm just going to say the usual, if you don't mind. Thank you everyone for reading all the chapters and this one as well. Please review, whether it be good or bad. I find that you guys only do it just to help me out, and I am grateful for it, truly. And lastly, I hope to see everyone next chapter as well. Goodbye for now.