Aloha, my dearest friends. Did you know that my one year anniversary of publishing this story is coming up this month? It's kind of rediculous that I've been writing on this for nearly a year. I guess that means I'm either lazy, or dedicated. *shurgs* Probably both. ;) I'll have a new chapter out on the anniversary, okay? :D

Please enjoy, and thanks to Kanae Valentine for beta-ing. ^_^

"Yes, I do fancy the cold, thank you very much," a nasally voice said, laughing. It was a girl's voice, and it had a distinct British twang to it.

"Well, I just wanted to be sure," another voice said, laughing as well. It belonged to a boy, semi high, but gravelly at the same time. Zac. "I mean, you never know. I'm Zeus, but I'm not real big on heights."

The girl and Zac laughed again, a new, laughing voice joined in, sort of high, but belonging to a male. It was more of a delirious laugh, though.

What in the world? I thought. I tried to open my eyes, but found I couldn't open the left. My view out of the right was blocked by something white. My hands immediately went to my face, trying to remove the obstruction. My side flared again, and I put my hands down and mumbled weakly.

"Jemma?" another voice whispered, lower than the others, and a bit gravelly. James. I felt a pair of hands take mine. They were so cold. "Can I take the bandage off her right eye?"

"Just the right," the unknown male voice said. "But not the left. Who knows what might happen then." He laughed.

James let go of my hands and he whispered, "It's James. I'm going to start to take off the bandage slowly, okay? I need you to be still Jemma." His voice had a tenderness I hadn't heard before.

"Mmhmm," I mumbled, unable to move my lips. Why couldn't I move my lips?

James peeled the bandage from my eye slowly, his fingers moving delicately across my face. He was singing a low tune to distract me from the pain. His voice was beautiful, in a haunting, melodic sort of way.

"Your faith was strong but you needed proof. You saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty, in the moonlight, overthrew you. She tied you to a kitchen chair. She broke your throne, she cut your hair. And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah."

Finally, he pulled the gauze from my eye, and I was met by the insanely bright light from the moon. I blinked a few times, and then tried to smile, but my entire face hurt. James was standing over me, his black eyes full of concern.

"James," I whispered, though it came out more like, "Aimuh."

"Oh gods Jemma, you're okay," James whispered, his eyes gathering water. "You're okay."

James was pushed back, and Zac came into view, the skin under his eyes dark. He reached down, his fingers gingerly stroking the area around my exposed eye. "Does it hurt?" he asked.

I thought about his question. Does it hurt? No, nothing hurts right now. But then again, I couldn't feel my face, really. It was numb, I guess. But what was it? What happened to me?

"Moow," I said, though I meant it to be, "No."

"She can't even talk," Zac said. "I'm going to rip the gauze around her lips so she can, okay?" He reached down and touched the area where my mouth was, hidden beneath the cottony material.

A pale hand clamped Zac's wrist. "Don't do that," James said. "Her lips'll be too swollen to be able to talk, anyways. Just leave them bandaged up. We'll have to do the talking."

Zac shot a dirty look to his right, where I assumed James to be, then walked off. James emerged into my sight again.

"How about this," he said, forming his hand into a fist. He shook it up and down. "This means yes." Then, he took his pointer and middle finger and stuck them out, curling his ring and little fingers back. He connected those two with his thumb. "And this means no."

I meagerly curled my hand into a fist and shook it lightly. Moving my arms even hurt. Then I made the no sign, as well.

"Good job, Jemma," he said, a small smile on his face. "You're learning sign language."

Sign language? I wondered. I remembered my granny talk about it. Something about how gramper used it before he died. But I never knew him. He passed away before I was born.

"Alright," James said. "Do you think it'd be okay to sit her up, Tarrant?" He said Tarrant funny, his Irish accent a bit more pronounced at the moment.

The unknown voice laughed again. "Oh, sure. Why not? I'll help you!"

I heard the sound of dishes clanging together, and the same maniac laugh echoing through the night.

James was pushed aside, and my vision was flooded with bright orange hair. I felt my upper body slowly rise, and myself being lifted. Then, I felt the familiar back of a chair, enabling me to sit upright. The orange hair backed away, so that I could properly see again, if only through one eye.

If I could have spoken, I surely would have gasped. The owner of the orange hair was ghostly pale, with the most brilliant lime green eyes. Under his wide eyes were a deep purple, and above, thick, bushy, orange eyebrows. His lips seemed to match the color under his eyes, as did his shirt. His tattered coat seemed to mark him as a once successful person. The hat that sat atop his head was the most noticeable thing about his, aside from his shocking hair. It was elegant, yet timeless, like it had truly stood the test of time.

The man smiled, and I saw a gap in between his teeth, perfectly symmetrical within his mouth. "Hello there," he said. I noticed that he didn't quite open his mouth all the way when he spoke, so his words slurred a bit.

I attempted to nod my head, and continued to examine the unusual man in front of me.

"Would you like some tea?" he asked, picking up a chipped teacup from the table behind him. He held it to his mouth and drank from it. His fingernails were an odd assortment of greens and purples and blues, and several of his fingers were wrapped in bandages. His hands had a dirty tinge to them, like he had never heard of soap. I felt bad after thinking that. I was quite certain mine looked like that, as well.

His face scrunched, and, out of nowhere, he chucked his cup of tea to his left. He leaned forward, and whispered to me, "You don't want this tea. It's dreadful." He promptly turned and leapt on top of the table, various cups and pots clanging against one another. He sauntered back to the other end of the table and sat at the chair opposite mine, at the other head of the table.

I looked to my right, and saw James slide into a chair near mine. He mustered a crooked smile at me. I turned to my left, and saw Zac sitting in the chair opposite James. There was an unknown girl sitting beside him.

She was very pale, nearly as pale as Tarrant. At least, I thought that was his name. That's what James addressed him as.

She had snowy white hair that was sure to reach her waist and eyes nearly the same color. There was very little difference in the iris than the whites of her eyes, and that accentuated the blackness of her pupils. A white masquerade mask sat atop her face, simple and elegant.

She wore a long, light blue coat that was trimmed in gold lacing and adorned in many jewels. She appeared to be ready for battle, as she had on plated armor across her chest. Her hands bore black, fingerless gloves. She daintily took a sip of tea, her eyes darting to me. I quickly looked away.

"I suppose you'd like to know what's going on, am I right?" James asked, placing an elbow on the table to prop his head up.

As I made the yes sign with my fist, the nasally voice, which I found out belonged to the girl, squealed, "No, no! Your elbows cannot be on the table. It's simply not proper!"

James rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut it. My elbows will go where they want to."

Tarrant let out another ecstatic laugh, as high as ever.

James' eyebrow momentarily rose, before saying, "You do remember being attacked by the Bandersnatch, right?"

An involuntary shiver ran through my body as I remembered the Bandersnatch… jumping, pushing, cracking, slashing…

I couldn't respond to his question.

He grimaced and continued. "I saw that beast on top of you, Jemma, and I-" He shook his head. "I couldn't let it hurt you anymore. I snuck up behind it, and I killed it. But not soon enough." James looked away, shaking his head once more.

"I tried to stop it, Jemma, but it swatted me out of the way like I was nothing," Zac muttered, and reached up to my bandaged face. He gently stroked the area where my right eye was buried.

I stole a glance at the white headed girl. She was glaring at me, her eyebrows raised in disgust, as she sipped her tea. Zac saw me watching her and smiled, dropping his hand from my face, and replaced it on her hand. "Jemma, I'd like you to meet Jezabelle. She's Khione, the goddess of snow. Jezzie, this is Jemma, but you already knew that," he explained, practically beaming.

Jezabelle smiled at me, though her smile showed no warmth. She grinned as though she had won some sort of prize.

I turned back to James, who had a small smirk on his face, his black eyes twinkling. He was watching me. I raised my right eyebrow, hoping he would take it as, Who the heck is she and where did she come from?

Apparently he took it exactly as I meant him to, because he said, "After I did away with the Bandersnatch, the two of them appeared in the clearing, sitting at this table, sipping tea. The fellow with the hat is Tarrant Hightopp. He's the one who wrapped you all up."

I turned to face Tarrant. He had his ear up to the pot of tea, a serious look on his face. At the mention of his name, he straightened and focused on me, a crooked grin on his face. "I did a bit more than bandage you up, my dear."

I snapped my head back to James, my eye wide. My side lit up in pain again at the sudden movement, though the pain wasn't as sharp as previously.

James closed his eyes, his face contorted. "This wasn't my idea, Jem," he whispered. He took a moment to compose himself, and then began to tell me what had happened.

"Your poor face took quite the lashing from the Bandersnatch. You have no idea how bad you were bleeding when I picked up your broken little body." I looked closer at James. His black shirt looked stiff in patches, like something had dried on it. His hands bore remnants of a deep crimson color, as did his pale arms.

"Tarrant and Jezabelle poofed into the clearing and Tarrant immediately started to tend to your needs. He set your ribs straight and closed up your face. He also-"James continued, only to be interrupted by Tarrant himself.

"I removed your eye!" he exclaimed, holding up the tea pot he previously had his ear against. My hand immediately reached to the cottony area were my left eye was, or used to be.

I only have one eye? I thought frantically, looking from James to Zac, and finally to Tarrant.

"Oh Jemma, you have no idea how bad of shape you were in," Zac said.

One eye? How will I ever be able to fight… anything, again? I won't be able to see that side. If someone were to attack from that side, I'd be doomed. How will I be able to protect my gang?

"You're lucky to be alive, from what I hear," Jezabelle said snidely. "Very lucky."

"But don't worry," Tarrant said, a grin on his face. "I replaced your eye with a different one!"

My three counterparts snapped their heads at Tarrant. "You did what?"

He nodded his head robustly. "I gave her a very special eye."

Special eye? Maybe I'll be able to see after all!

Zac said, "Oh, that's great! That's wonderful!"

James, however, did not join in on the celebration. "What do you mean by special?" he asked reproachfully.

"Jemma has been given a gift. I suggest you do not question it," Tarrant said in a serious tone, not all like he had previously used. He looked up to the sky. "You should be going. It's nearing sunrise. You've got but twelve days to reach your destination."

"How did you know how long we have?" James asked.

Tarrant smiled. "Memories are the key to everything." At those words, James' eyes widened, and he abruptly stood up from his chair.

"Don't worry young hero, I have chosen my side. I will help with what I can, though it isn't much. Now you must be going. And Jemma dear, you can take off the bandages in, oh, three days. Not a moment sooner, though. Take it easy, your chest may cave in again. You'll probably want an eye patch for your eye once you take off the bandages, aye?" With those words, Tarrant snapped his fingers and he disappeared, taking the table and chairs with him. I felt gravity pulling me towards the ground, only to have James grab me at the last second. I tried to steady myself, but James picked me up… again.

I craned my neck to see Zac rising to his feet. He then walked over to Jezabelle and helped her up. I felt oddly upset by this jester. Was I jealous? I asked myself. No, I couldn't be. Zac was my best friend, nothing more. I still couldn't shake the feeling.

"I think Tarrant wanted you to keep this, Jem," Zac said, reaching down to pick up the tea pot the Mad Hatter had been so fascinated with. He handed it to me.

I looked down at the tea pot. It was white, and painted with minuscule flowers. The lid sat atop it, begging to be lifted. I couldn't bring myself to do just that, though.

James briefly looked down at me, then said, "We should get going. You never know who could show up here next." He started walking towards the wooded border.

Once we had been walking for a while, and I could only vaguely hear Zac and Jezabelle talking behind us, I asked, "Who is she?" though it came out like, "Eww ess see?"

I felt James chuckle. "I don't know a thing about her, love. But neither does she."

I tried to raise my eyebrow hoping he would catch my drift. He did. "She doesn't remember a thing about her past. Says the first thing she remembers is sitting at the table beside Tarrant, watching me run forward with you in my arms."

I asked, "Who's Tarrant?" though it came out as, "Hoo Airant?"

"I have my suspicions, but I won't burden you with them. What you need is sleep," he whispered, and started humming, beckoning me into a dreamless sleep.

Zac or James? Vote on my profile!

Um, anywho, thanks for reading. I do believe reviews are in order. I'm getting awful dang close to 500 reviews. How about, whoever gives me the 505th review, gets a prize. :D You must be logged in, and the review must be for this chapter to count. If not, I'll choose the 506th reviewer, and so forth.

Before I go, anyone else get the insane snow I did? We ended up with almost a foot, I think. It's alot for where we live, though. :D