"An afterimage, you say?"
"Yes." Alice bent down to take the muffins out of the oven. "That's weird, isn't it?"
"Very." Blood was just putting the finishing touches to their breakfast tray, rifling around in the cupboards for jam. "Raspberry or apricot?"
"Raspberry," said Alice. She stacked the hot muffins in the middle of the tray, completing their little ensemble. Then she picked it up and started towards the door. "Do you want to sit inside or outside?"
Picking up the teapot he'd been preparing in one hand and the cups in the other, Blood said, "Let's go outside."
They walked together to the garden, which was empty except for a single faceless clipping the hedges. He waved at the pair of them. Alice couldn't help but flash a smile back as she placed the tray on the table.
"Don't," Blood muttered, eyeing him.
Alice was about to protest, but decided against it. Ever since the attack, Blood hadn't let her out of his sights. He'd spent the rest of the night clutching her to his chest, as if he were afraid she'd be attacked again if he didn't keep her as physically close to him as possible. Just as well, because Alice had barely been able to sleep. Even now, her mind was racing with the attack and the thought of what would happen to the woman if, after the next time period, she decided not to talk.
"So," said Blood, sitting down next to her and pouring the two of them some tea, "what do you think it all means?"
"I was hoping you'd be able to help me out with that." Alice thanked him as he passed her a cup and took a sip, careful not to burn her tongue. "Julius told me once that the afterimages don't act on their own. They have to be directed by someone else."
Blood leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. "Personally, I've never become too involved in that area of this world, but I remember hearing the same."
"It's just too strange, though. A group of faceless and afterimages attack you, then burn down the Clock Tower and try to kidnap Julius..." Alice shook her head. "Do you think a role-holder's behind it all?"
"If I say 'yes', will you try to blame it all on me again?"
Alice's cheeks reddened. "Of course not."
"Sorry," Blood mumbled. "That was wrong of me to joke about. But to answer your question, I wouldn't take it off the table. It could be that one of the role-holders is orchestrating these attacks."
Ace's betrayal had taught Alice that even those closest to her could turn out to have sinister intentions. Her thoughts immediately went to Boris, though she quickly pulled them away again. Just because they'd had a fight didn't mean he had anything to do with this.
She sighed to herself. She was fed up of feeling so guilty whenever she thought Boris. Later today, she'd head to the Amusement Park and try to find him. Even if he wouldn't accept her apology, at least she'd feel better knowing she'd tried to make things up between them.
The clink of Blood's teacup as he placed it back on his saucer brought her attention back to him. "Well, it could be that we have our answers soon. That is, assuming that the maid's attack on you is linked to all this business with afterimages."
Alice watched him take one of the muffins, slice it in half and slather it with jam. The sticky pink colour left her with a lump in her throat.
I shouldn't have chosen raspberry.
"How will you do it?" she mumbled.
"Hm?" Blood paused as he realised what she meant. "Is that really something you want to know?"
Of course, she didn't want to know, but rather she felt like she had to. The idea of the man she loved inflicting violence on anyone was awful at the best of times, but there was something about torture that particularly unsettled her, even if the woman had tried to kill her.
Seeing her expression, Blood raised an eyebrow. "If you really want to know... I haven't thought about it."
"Can't you get Elliot to do it instead?"
"Elliot will be in the room when it happens."
"But—"
"She tried to kill you, Alice," Blood snapped. "Quite frankly, whatever happens from now on, she's made her choice." He placed his hand on her thigh, his voice softening. "I'm not going to lose you again, especially not after I just got you back. Frankly, the blood of one faceless is nothing if it means taking you out of danger."
Alice placed her hand over his hand squeezed his fingers through the gloves, though she still couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. "All right. Do what you need to do."
Despite the effort they'd put into preparing breakfast, Alice only managed to eat a couple of bites in the end. Once they were finished and cleared up, Alice turned to Blood and asked, "Can I go down to the basement quickly?"
He pulled his lips into a tight, disapproving line, but led her there anyway.
"Call up to me the moment anything happens," he mumbled.
The woman was sitting in the same corner of the room as Alice descended the stairs to the cells, though she'd turned around so that she was facing the wall. Alice wondered whether she'd stayed like that the entire time she'd been away.
She paused outside the cell. Her heartbeat had started to flutter again, not because she thought she was in danger, but from the strangely awkward feeling she got standing before the person who just a few hours ago had tried to end her life.
"Can you hear me?" she asked, wrapping a hand around one of the bars.
No reply.
Alice closed her eyes and sighed. "You know what's going on, don't you? With the afterimages and the Clock Tower. You have to tell me."
Still, the woman didn't answer. Alice felt desperation leak into her voice. "Nobody's sent me here. I'm trying to help you before it's too late." She paused, trying to think of anything that would work. "You weren't trying to kill me, were you? Even though you had the knife... You were getting me to walk back. Do you need me for something?"
At last, the woman stirred. She turned her head slowly, staring out of the cell at Alice with her blank eye sockets. "Don't talk about things you don't understand, Outsider."
Alice gripped the bars harder in frustration. "You know what's going to happen next, don't you? I can't stop him."
"Then don't," said the woman with alarming indifference. "It can't be worse than living in this hell."
She turned back to the corner, bringing the conversation to an abrupt close. Alice sensed that even if she were to press her more, she'd heard all this woman had to say for today. She clenched her jaw.
Fine. If that's how you want to act, then so be it, she thought, heading back up the stairs to where Blood was waiting for her.
An uneasiness followed Alice as she travelled the now-familiar path through the forest back to the Amusement Park. How strange that in just a matter of days, the world she'd grown to love had become a dark and strange place to her, almost like it had been those first few weeks she'd been here. Just walking along this path, she thought she felt eyes staring at her from the trees, though when she looked, nobody was there.
No matter what she tried to think about, her thoughts always returned to the woman. Blood and Elliot were probably with her right now. Instead of letting her mind linger on the details of what they were doing, she remembered, for what must have been the hundredth time now, the woman's last words to her.
Had the 'hell' she'd talked about referred to the Hatter Mansion or this world itself? Alice had wondered about the faceless before. All of them seemed so content with going about their own business, whether that was working for the role-holders like the guards at the castle or the staff at the park, or just living their own lives in a town or village. In many ways, they were the silent background players of this world; and yet, it was hard to imagine Wonderland without them. Could something like that really be described as 'hell'?
Alice shook her head. The more she thought about this situation, the closer she grew to madness. It was eating her alive. Soon, she'd be at the Amusement Park. She'd check in with Julius and Gowland, then go out to find Boris. He couldn't avoid her forever, after all.
She was just nearing the end of the path when the feeling of being watched suddenly hit her again hard. Then something shuffled behind her. Before she could turn, a hand clamped down over her mouth from behind. Instead of fingers, it was a handkerchief that covered her face. She tried to strike out at her captor, but with each passing second, she felt her mind grow fuzzier. Her movements slowed, as if she were trying to wade through water. Before she knew it, she'd lost all feelings in her arms completely. Her legs slumped. Then the world turned black.
A/N: This fic is not dead! I'm taking a short break and will update within the next few weeks. Thank you to everyone who has been following so far.