Welcome to the third chapter of Heart no Kuni no Rika. Writing this chapter was an interesting experience for me. Just to forewarn readers, this chapter contains mentions of bullying, blood, and violence as well as the mention of traumatic flashbacks. I hope I wrote the Twins' cruel personalities well enough here. I did my best. I once again apologize for characters seeming slightly out of character. That is not my intention and am doing my best to keep all the characters presented in this story as close to their original personalities as possible.
Chapter Three: Voices of the Chord ~III~
"I could read the bible to drown out the hum, to avoid the voices of the chord."
There was a long table or rather tables set up in a rectangle like fashion. On these tables sat many dishes, cups, silverware of many different colors. Off in the distance, a few fountains with tea pot like decorations "poured" water into the pools below. Somebody really liked tea parties judging by all the tea related things that could be seen. Surrounding the long tables were well manicured bushes and flowers surrounding the vastness of the perimeter. It was a large section of garden and yard. If I had to guess, there was probably more to this garden that just want could be seen here.
My father sat down at the head of the table with Alice, my mother to his right and I sat to his left. The sky was dark as the stars blazed high above my head. They seemed brighter here than back home in Hinamizawa. Everything seemed more vibrant here when it came to the nature. No doubt the inhabitants of this world were just as colorful as the flowers surrounding us. I was too busy looking around at everything to notice three newcomers joining us.
A tall man with wavy orangey blonde hair sat down next to me on my left. He had two long light brown hare ears that stuck out of his head. I stared up at him wide eyed, not having seen a person with animal ears before. He had light lavender eyes, wore a black long sleeve coat that seemed to have bandages wrapped around his right sleeve, as well as a purple plaid scarf adorning his neck with wheat leaf clips that shone dimly under the lights of the garden.
I glanced across the way to notice two boys that looked a few years older than myself. Each of them wearing an identical uniform of either red or blue stripes with matching hats with the suits of the cards printed on front. They had identical short black hair that stuck out from under their caps. Something about the red eyed twin made me blush a little as I observed him. Both had very vivid eyes, the blue twin had bright cerulean eyes. They narrowed their eyes slightly with a frown when they caught me starring. I quickly glanced away, looking down.
"Pay them no mind, they're just pissed that I caught them slacking off again from their gate keeping duties," whispered the curly rabbit man beside me. I turned quickly in his direction. He seemed relatively friendly enough and I smiled as I turned in his direction. I had to look up to meet his eyes because he was so tall. He had a bright wide smile adorning his features as he helped himself to some carrot cake. "Name's Elliot, Blood's second in command of the Hatter Mafia. Who might you be, little one?" he asked, addressing me.
"Rika. Rika Furude sir," I politely replied. He nodded once before taking a bite of his cake. "Help yourself to some tea, Rika. What kind do you like?" he added.
"Black tea," I answered simply. He helped me find the black tea and he poured me a cup.
"Thank you, Elliot," I added, appreciating his help. I glanced over at the twins again and they were now shooting me death glares. Seriously? You don't even know me. If I had to, I'd set them straight. I've dealt with people a lot scarier than them before.
My father glanced my way, drinking his own cup of tea. "Help yourself to any of the food before you, Rika," he said as he noticed I have not picked anything out to eat yet. I sheepishly helped myself to a piece of carrot cake as well. It had been a while since I have eaten such delicacies. I smiled wide as the bite of cake hit my tastebuds, lighting them up with the flavorful carrot taste. No wonder Mr. Elliot liked it so much.
"Good right? If we ever end up in Clover Country, I'll have to treat you to this café that has the best carrot flavored pastries. I promise you will enjoy it," he said, still grinning while taking another bite.
"I'd like that, sir," I replied politely. While we ate our respective food, drank our different flavored teas, I conversed with Elliot further. I liked him a lot, he reminded me of a friendly uncle. My father and mother smiled at me as they noticed me talking to Elliot enthusiastically. The twins still glared at me with hatred in their respective cerulean and crimson-colored orbs. I did my best to pay them no mind like Elliot suggested. Ignoring them worked for the most part until…
"In case you haven't met her, this is Rika Dupre, Alice and my adopted daughter. Alice found her several time changes ago and we decided to take her in since she did not have any family," said Blood, my father announcing my presence. This really earned me deadly glares from the twins. I did not ask for them to adopt me. Although, I was thankful for them doing so. I blushed a little out of embarrassment.
"Well, I'll be damned, well Rika you can think of me as your Uncle Elliot if you want," said the gingered haired hare man. He smiled warmly at me once more. I returned it sheepishly. However, the twins decided they had enough.
"SHUT UP CHICKEN ASS RABBIT! YOU TOO BITCH, STEALING OUR BIG SISTER'S ATTENTION AWAY FROM US!" the boys yelled at Elliot and I. What the actual fuck!? My head jerked in their direction, glaring dangerously at them. I was ready to go off on them, however Elliot put a hand on my shoulder, silently urging me to sit back down which I did for the time being.
"What the hell has gotten into you two little brats!? Geez, if I hadn't known better, I guess as if being docked in pay was not enough, you decided to be little fuckers too. Consider a week without pay if you keep it up. Especially if you do ANYTHING to Rika here! If I catch you hurting this girl, you WILL BE SORRY!" Elliot said to the twins in dangerous tone. Blood agreed, backing up his second in command.
"I suggest you two simmer down and get back to work if you do not wish to further incur our wrath," said my father in just as dangerous of a tone. They quickly backed down for the time being, not even bothering to argue further as they realized it would be to their detriment. They got up, rudely pushing in their chairs and left, but not without a backwards glare at me. I gave it right back, not backing down, narrowing my own purple eyes.
"I promise you they aren't always like that. Normally they're friendly boys. I'm sorry you caught them on a bad day, Rika," said my mother Alice, trying to smooth things over to little effect. I nodded, taking her word for it. Why they hell would I steal their "big sis?" She's my mother, not my sister! I sighed pointedly, finishing my current food in front of me. The air was slightly tense after the twins stormed off, we made light conversation, but I could not help but have a bad feeling they were going to try to do something to me. I would have to be on my guard. I had a feeling they could be very cruel if they wanted to be. Little did I know, how cruel they could be, and I would soon find out…whether I wanted to or not.
…
After breakfast and the tea party in the garden, my mother Alice decided to take me shopping. Of course, that meant going past THEM which I did my best to ignore as we passed them outside the vast gates that guarded the vast Hatter Estate from the outside world. Our path lead us through the forest through a small trail. Staying on the trail, we soon came upon a small town where citizens rushed about. While they all had distinct styles of clothing, they all had one thing in common, they had no eyes! I was shocked to say the least when I first gazed upon them. Other than that, they seemed like the people back home.
My mother looked and noticed my temporary surprise. "Yes, those are faceless. They are often looked down upon by the Role Holders for lacking eyes. I assure you they are quite friendly, most of them that I have met have been anyway. I promise they won't hurt you," she assured me. I nodded, absorbing her words as I looked back at the faceless citizens, they did have noses and mouths. Upon further inspection, I could see the ghosts of eyes, maybe it was my imagination filling in details. Before I had time to ponder further, my mother guided me into a nearby shop that sold clothes, a small boutique shop specializing in dresses of different sizes, colors, and lengths.
The inside of the shop seemed to sparkle a little more than usual. The interior was decorated with pastel blues and pinks with a glittery accented purple tile floor that reflected the lights above. The dresses were arranged from kids to adult women, ranging in different colors, styles, and lengths. Alice giggled when she noticed my expression. "Like this shop, Rika? It is one of my favorites as well," she said. I nodded and said I liked it. I have not seen this many dresses in one place. What will I pick out?
Meanwhile mom made her way to the dresses made for young adult women and picked out a few different colored dresses, primarily in different shades of blues or greens. I found dresses that were made for kids my size, taking an immediate liking to a pink dress that had red flowers adorning the outside with a white ribbon that tied in the back. My mother came over when she noticed my interest in the dress. "Do you like this one?" she asked me.
"Yes, I do. I also like the blue dress right next to it as well," I replied, pointing at a light blue dress with stars printed on the tulle like skirt. She told me I could get them, and I took them off their hanging spots, selecting a few more plain dresses as well that were still pretty to wear casually. My mother seemed pleased with my choices, and we made our way to the cashier to pay for them.
The cashier appeared to be a young woman in her early twenties with brown, wavy hair that cascaded midway down her back. She greeted us warmly with a smile and pleasant hello. She apparently knew my mother as she appeared to be a frequent customer of this shop. "Oh, is this your daughter as well? She's very adorable," she said, politely making conversation. I glanced up at her and smiled. She returned it as she rang up our purchases, bagged everything neatly and nicely and then gave us the bags. "Come back soon," she called after us as we left, walking back onto the cobblestone streets and headed back toward the mansion.
"Sometime soon, you'll have to meet the Queen of Hearts. Despite her cold exterior, she is quite kind, I assure you. Like your father, she also enjoys tea," she commented absentmindedly to me as we journeyed back. On the way back through the woods, we encountered Ace who appeared to be lost again. I chuckled despite myself. My mom noticed him as well, rolling her aquamarine eyes and then approached him.
"Alright Ace, where are you trying to go?" she asked the wayward knight. He stopped walking and glanced at us.
"Actually, I was looking for Rika, she disappeared from my tent when I came back," he replied. I looked up into his crimson eyes, meeting them with my own.
"Well, you took along time coming back bub. I ended up falling asleep waiting for you and my mother found me," I said smoothly. He then did a double take looking from me to Alice and back again.
"You adopted this young girl as yours!? What does the Hatter have to say about it?" he asked, slightly shocked by this news.
"He adopted her as well believe it or not. She came to this world having no family. We aren't letting her go back to her own world," said my mother, Alice cooly, not missing a beat.
"Well, I'll be damned. You still have a friend in me, Rika. Come by and camp with me again sometime," he said, giving us his signature grin. I shook my head as my mother, and I departed from his company. She then guided him in the direction of the Clock Tower before we left. Soon after, we continued our way back home. I followed close behind her as I did not want to get lost.
When we approached the massive gates, luckily a certain set of twins weren't there. "Dee and Dum must be slacking off again, "playing tag" with some unfortunately victim, sleeping, or a mixture of the two," said Alice, noticing the lack of said gatekeepers. I nodded absentmindedly. Her causal description of their "activities" chilled me. I had incurred their wrath just by being adopted into the Hatter family by Blood, Alice, and Elliot. I hated to be the unfortunate victim of one of their pranks or…. worse. Would it be appropriate to nickname them, the "Bloody Twins?" It seemed appropriate based on my mother's depiction of them.
We entered through the gates, walking up the massive cobblestone path that led up to the mansion. When we arrived inside, we were greeted by two faceless servants. I politely curtsied and greeted them back. They did not scare me as much as I thought they would. They seemed friendly enough. They seemed genuinely shocked by this but nevertheless returned my greeting. "Greetings young Miss Rika," they chorused in reply. I smiled at them before returning to following my mother back to her and my father's room. I suppose it was my room for the time being as well.
Upon entering the vast library, office, bedroom like room we soon discovered father was not there. I asked mom where he went. She told me that sometimes he had some "business" he often dealt with as being the leader of a mafia. That would explain why those Bloody Twins weren't at their post. "More than likely, he's terrorizing Gowland again at the Amusement Park," she said after a few as she made her way to the vast closet, hanging up our dresses on her side. "I suppose we will have to ask your father about your own room whenever he comes back," she comments as she came out. I asked her what she meant by terrorizing the guy that ran the Amusement Park, but she didn't elaborate further. I shrugged, sitting on the couch and picking up the book, "When the Seagulls Cry" and reading where I have left off….
I woke up a few hours later, finding myself leaning up against my mother who had sat down next to me, reading her own book. I snuggled up against her, not wanting to leave her side. Suddenly the double doors opened to reveal my father, dressed in a black suit, red undershirt and a green tie with a similar pattern of that of his giant neck bow. He looked better in this outfit in my opinion. But who was I to question my father's taste in clothing? Shrugging, I returned my attention to my book which had fallen beside me on the red couch. He throws his black suit coat aside and then sits down on my right. My mom was still sleeping on my left.
"Enjoying your book?" he asked me. I looked up and nodded. I wanted to question him on his whereabouts but decided against it. I'm sure he would talk about it if he wanted to. I let the matter drop for now. I may be stuck in a young body, but my mind was older than it appeared. That's what them Bloody Twins will find out if they decide to mess with me.
"I'm now at the part where Battler is debating with Beatrice that the murders on Rokkenjima couldn't have been committed with magic," I said absentmindedly for something to talk about. He raised an eyebrow with a small smirk adorning his face with a twinkle of merriment dancing slightly in his green eyes.
"Oh? How very interesting. Keep reading, it gets better," he replied, and I returned to my book while he read over my shoulder, just keeping my mother and I company for the time being. I smiled slightly despite the part of the book I was currently on. I was happy to have parents to spend time with, I didn't care if we weren't related by blood. They wanted me around and that was enough for me. After a while of companiable silence, father asked me if I wanted some tea to which I accepted his offer.
"I heard you like black tea. However, you haven't lived until you've drank orange pekoe tea. It's simply my favorite," he said as he prepared a pot off somewhere out of my line of site. After roughly twenty minutes, he came back with two comes containing said orange pekoe tea. He handed me a saucer which I took with both hands carefully. I could see the fresh steam coming out of the fine China teacup. I accepted it with a thanks. He took his seat beside me once more, blowing on the tea to cool it down. I did the same and tentatively took a sip. Something about it seemed to taste a bit off.
Besides the strong orange taste, I tasted something bitter that tasted like flat cherry soda. It was not enough to ruin the tea. However, I inquired why the tea tasted off. He sat his cup down on the coffee table in front of us and I did the same. He turned in my direction slightly.
"I gave you a potion to make it so you could not leave Wonderland. Unlike the medicine of hearts. This will keep you in Wonderland indefinitely. I do not want you going back to the world that have left you with so much trauma," he explained simply. My purple eyes widened in surprise. He did not want me to go back to Hinamizawa. Secretly, I did not really want to go back either, despite leaving my good friends behind. I could not really be angry as his feelings seem to come from a caring place.
"I hope you aren't angry with your father Rika. I just…. don't want to lose you," he added with a bit of emotion behind his words. I understood his feelings. I did not want to leave the only place I felt somewhat at peace.
"I understand father," I began. "I can't really be angry with you. To tell you the truth…. I did not really want to go back home. Too many….," I paused before choosing my words carefully, "Painful memories.," I finished. He nodded, seeming to understand where I was coming from. Without another word, he wrapped his arm around me, and I dozed off as my head fell into his lap as the potion had made me somewhat drowsy. I felt him running his gloved fingers through the long strands of my hair as I slept…
Several time periods later, I awoke with a start. My father and mother surprisingly were still by my side. My father had also just woken up as well, opening his green eyes as he stretched out his long arms and legs with a yawn. My mother did the same, stretching out her stiff limbs as well. I mirrored them, stretching myself out as well, feeling less groggy as reality had begun to set in once more. My stomach grumbled which caught my parents' attention and we decided that it was best to go down to dinner…
After eating one of the best meals in my life, I happily smiled. Even the Bloody Twins could not get me down this time change. They surprisingly weren't grumpy this time as they kept trying to cling to my mother much to her annoyance. She faked a smile, patting them on the head. "Go play with Rika for a while," she said absentmindedly. This caused my smile to immediately fade. Wait, what? No, please don't play with me! They turned to me, glaring at me coldly with matching evil smirks. They came over to my side, causing my insides to freeze as they grabbed me, kidnapping me. What the hell!?
"Don't worry, Big Sis, we'll take extra special care of her," said the Blue Twin. The double meaning behind his words chilled me. I don't want to play at all, especially the games they seemed to like. Before I could protest, they dragged me outside the gates, found a tree to tie me up against and unpacked some throwing knives. What the fuck?!
They glared at me with their cold eyes, matching smirks, each of them mirroring the other with their knives held aloft in each hand. "This is for stealing Big Sister from us!" yelled the one in red, throwing a knife that struck me in my arm. I cried out in pain as it pierced my skin, blood trickling down. They laughed gleefully as they heard my cry, satisfied with my pain as the Blue Twin took a turn and thew a knife at me. Luckily it missed, striking another nearby tree instead. However, the Red Twin didn't miss…. his knife striking me right in the stomach, causing me to howl in pain, tears streaming down my face.
Traumatic flashbacks entered my mind of Satoko torturing me with the rake, raking out my insides with the sick Wataganashi ritual, slowly torturing me until I bled to death. They kept at it, seemingly oblivious to my traumatic breakdown. I struggled weakly against my binds, trying desperately to get free to no avail. They were tied too tightly, and another knife struck my leg. My anger became evident at that point, my true personality coming out at that moment.
"JUST FUCKING KILL, ME ALREADY! I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ANYMORE!" I demanded, my voice gruff, sounding too deep for that of a simple eleven-year-old girl. Adrenaline coursed through my body then, making me temporarily numb to the pain. They stopped dead in their tracks, shocked. Apparently, the twins did not expect me to talk back to them. They at least stopped throwing knives at me, as they seemed too surprised to continue.
Elliot arrived on the scene, being the angriest I had ever seen him in my short time of knowing him. His eyebrows were furrowed as he came up behind the twins, effortlessly knocking their heads together as he cussed them out. "The FUCKING HELL YOU DOING YOU FUCKING LITTLE DIPSHITS! I TOLD YOU IF YOU HURT HER THAT YOU'D FEEL MY WRATH! WHAT THE HELL DID RIKA EVER DO TO YOU FUCKS!?" he bellowed, his loud voice echoing off the surrounding trees. I was barely staying conscious as I lost blood, the knives acting somewhat as a tourniquet to keep me from loosing more blood. I glared at the twins with the angriest look. They still have not recovered from their initial shock to do much. They merely rubbed the sides of their heads where Elliot had knocked them together harshly.
My mother and father ran outside, also shocked to discover me tied to a tree with knives sticking out of various limbs, my green dress matted with blood, and tied to this damned tree. My mother wasted no time running forward to untie me. It took her a bit of struggling until my father took a knife that he had and cut me free, they did not take the knives out for fear that anything vital may have been damaged. Without another word, they rushed me inside. I passed out before I could notice anything else.