Chapter 6: Lost, Hurt, and Hungry
Happy New Year! :D
Though it's a bit late for that XD /stabbed
I humbly apologize for the late update. But hey! To make up to you guys, I decided to upload two chapters! :D
I'm also thinking of adding a new story. This story's side story, not connected to the plot. But I haven't got any ideas of it yet. So if any of you have any ideas or maybe requests, please message me and share your ideas! :D
For those who follows and favorites my story, thank you very much! I'm encourge to write more because of you readers and update immediately!
However, I'm now in the mid semester of my study and things will get pretty hectic. But still, I will try to update every two weeks. :3
And for the new readers, Hello! :D
Disclaimer: I don't own HNKNA or any characters in it, they belong to Quinrose. I only own my characters and this story.
"Are you ready, Lemy chu~?" asked Pierce.
"Ready!" she answered.
"Alright. Hold on tight chu!"
They held on each other tight and Pierce jumped from the tree trunk.
"Weeeee~!" he squealed excitedly, earning a laughter from Remy as they descend to the ground in a fast speed. The wind blowing at their face.
He reached the ground with a 'humph!' and stood slowly.
"Okay chu~?" Pierce asked while looking at her and hoisting her up in his arms.
Remy looked at him, bright smile on her face, "Okay!"
Pierce then took out a bottle and sprinkled the content on her and him. She wanted to ask what it was but then the trees that once seemed so big and huge turned smaller and more like how she remembered it used to be. The normal size. They've grown back.
Pierce returned her smile, "Then let's go chu!"
"Um!" Remy nodded. Still believing that just now was Pierce's 'magic' and shrugged it off.
And away they went. They're going back to Clover. To Nightmare.
Remy was excited when the kind man had mentioned Nightmare's name and she was extremely happy to know that they're going back to see Nightmare. She didn't dream last night, she thought it was because she was too tired. And she was disappointed when she woke up, because she wanted to see him again. But that disappointment had gone now. She's so excited to see Nightmare again.
Pierce planned to ask about her when they reached Nightmare's quarters. Surely Nightmare would know something. It was the thing Pierce noticed since long ago. That if something happened and it wasn't according to the rules, then ask Nightmare. The little mouse believed that Nightmare had the answer to everything, and always asks him about something aside from asking help. But Nightmare, for fact, didn't have the answer to everything that happened in the Wonderland. The ruler of Clover, of course, has his own share of knowledge and his own way of obtaining it, and he's also a powerful ruler, but even all that he has, he's still a pretty simple man. But the mouse believed what he wanted to believe, and he believed Nightmare knows everything.
"Piws(Pierce), are we there yet?" Remy asked suddenly.
They've been walking for a while now, and Remy felt the need to ask. She's just too excited.
"No Lemy chu~" answered Pierce.
Remy hummed.
They had brief introduction back at the bark. The kind man's name was Pierce, something something, and...he's a mouse. He said it's normal in Wonderland that some people looked like animals and he's one of them. She felt it's so strange but decided to not ask anything and just bobbed her head to respond.
Nightmare could fly, this man is a mouse and could shrink them, it was not normal. And they're in Wonderland. She could feel the familiarity in the word 'Wonderland', but couldn't remember where she ever heard it. Remy tried to just get along with it for now and decided to ask Nightmare later. She trusted Pierce, but she trusted Nightmare more because she met him first. And she also introduced herself to Pierce. But due to her lack of pronunciation skill, her name is now Lemy to Pierce. She didn't know how he assumed it was Lemy. At least he knew that she can't pronounce some words well.
There were rustlings and Pierce stopped walking. A man appeared from behind the bushes in their right. He was tall, had brown hair, and wore a white long cape with red spots and markings. He also had a sword in his hands.
"Where am I now?" said the man while looking around. Then the man's eyes locked onto Pierce's.
Pierce's eyes widened.
'It's the knight!' he thought.
Pierce hurriedly took off his hat and put it over Lemy's face. He remembered how they first met, she covered her face because she thought someone would worry over her injury. And Pierce feared that if she saw someone looking at her, she would think that they're looking at her bandage and they'll worry. This means she would start thinking something and that's not good for her head. It could start hurting again and he didn't want that. But what Pierce wanted the most at the meantime was that he won't see her eyes. It'd be bad if the knight noticed she's a foreigner. He would take her all to himself. Especially with the rumors of Alice choosing Blood, other role holders would want this other foreigner for themselves once they set their eyes on her. And with the Knight of Heart's worst sense of direction, Pierce couldn't imagine how she would manage to stay alive if he were to get his hands on her. He simply couldn't let anything happen to her at this moment.
He whispered to her, "Don't let him see your face chu."
Remy complied immediately and pulled his hat close to her face. She could smell cinnamon in it. His hat maybe small and couldn't cover her face entirely, but at least it could hide what needed to be hidden. But that made her can't see the man in the white cape anymore. No worries, she thought, she trusts Pierce.
"Hey mousey! Do you know the direction to the Clock Tower?" Remy heard the man said.
"It's that way chu~" Pierce pointed to his left. He tried his best to stay normal despite his nervous feeling of getting caught.
The man smiled. "Thanks. Oh? What is that in your hands?"
Pierce tried to cover her with his hand, "N-Nothing chu! She's my mission today!"
"Oh?" the knight raised his eyebrows. "What, did she steal a pack of tea or something?" He laughed slightly.
Pierce laughed too, though a bit awkwardly, "Eheheh... W-well I must go now chu. S-See you chu!"
Pierce started walking to another direction in a hurried pace. His ears opened to make sure the knight wasn't following them. He sighed after walking some meters away.
"Is he gone?" He heard Lemy whispered.
Pierce looked down at her, watching her looking at him wide-eyed. "Yes."
She sighed and put his hat on her chest. That was close.
"I've never seen you anywhere, li'l missy."
"EEEKK!" Pierce and Remy both squeaked at the sudden voice.
The man laughed at their reactions right next to them while they looked at him. Pierce backed away immediately and Remy tried to cover her face again.
"Why are you hiding? I don't bite." He said after laughing.
But she didn't answer. She looked up at Pierce instead.
Pierce looked at her then at the knight. "We really need to go chu..."
"I'm not letting you through if you don't tell me what's going on. What's your role little missy? I'm sure I never saw you anywhere before." The knight walked closer.
But before the knight get even more closer, Pierce ran away. Carrying her with him.
The knight watched them running away and grinned. "Why are you running? You're acting suspicious now." And then chased after them.
Pierce could hear his footsteps following them and started to run faster. "Hold on to me chu!"
She put his hat on her head and held onto him with both of her hands. She tried to look past Pierce shoulder and saw the man catching up on them with a smile on his face.
"He's catching up Piws!" she said.
Pierce made a turn on one of the trees and kept running.
"If you're trying anything bad, mousey, I'll have you meet my sword!" the knight said from behind them.
"I'm not doing anything bad chu!" Pierce replied, making sure to dodge the big rock in front of him.
"Then why are you so nervous?" the knight picked up speed and jumped over the rock.
"Stop following us!" Pierce said.
"Then stop running." The knight raised his eyebrow and grinned. "But this is fun. Keep running!" the knight took out his sword and swings it in front of him.
Remy screamed, "Piws! Sword!"
"Wha-" Pierce looked behind him and screamed, "EEEEEEEEEKKK!"
Swing! Swoosh!
Pierce held on her tightly while he dodged the knight's attack. Why is he attacking us?!
"Ahahaha! This is fun!" exclaimed the knight.
"Stop chu! You're going to hurt her!" Pierce dodged to the left.
The knight kept slashing his sword and Pierce had to jump and run again. The knight laughed again and decided to give him a headstart in the second race.
Pierce made some turns and hid in a bush. He put her down.
"I need to lose him chu. Stay here chu." Pierce said in a hurry and he hurriedly ran.
"Piws?" Remy called.
Is Pierce trying to lose him? Then she didn't need to make him get to her and ruin Pierce's plans.
She sunk to the ground and hugged Pierce's hat close to her chest. She heard some rustlings near her and caught her breath midway. Is it Pierce?
"Hey mousey mousey~ Where did you go~?" Remy heard the man singing.
She heard his heavy footsteps and she glanced to her left to see the man's boots beside the bush she's currently at. Oh no don't find her...
Then a cracking sound and a squeak appeared elsewhere in the forest.
"Ahh~" The man said and ran. Away from her.
She counted from one to sixty in her mind while holding onto Pierce's hat. She hoped Pierce could lose the man and came back. She trusted Pierce to come back. So she waited.
Nightmare wailed in his office. His work abandoned. And Gray stood beside him with a somehow troubled face.
"I can't get into her dream! Why?!"
Gray sighed. "Master..."
"No Gray! I can't get into her dream! It's like—I don't know! We need to find her! She's out there and scared and hurt and terrified! She's probably hungry too and you know what else is hungry in the night? The jub-jub! What if she was seen by a jub-jub and taken away?! What is she's eaten by that damn screeching bird?!" Nightmare wailed again.
Gray knew his master could really be childish at times, but he didn't expect him to be this extent. He even didn't know whether his master heard his own words and realized that he used the words scared and terrified in a single sentence. Both of them have the same meaning.
"Master. Please ease your worry for a bit. I'm sure she's fine." Gray assured, though he wasn't really sure.
"How could you be sure she's fine?!" Nightmare looked at him.
"Some guards saw the mouse carrying a little girl yesterday. And it was confirmed when I saw Alice and the Hatters away this morning." Gray cleaned up Nightmare's desk and put the paper into a pile.
Nightmare blinked, "They what?"
Gray looked at him and sighed, "Alice met her yesterday. Along with Blood and the cat. Pierce was taking her to see you because she seemed to be in pain, I think it was because of her injury. But he ran when the cat jumped at him. Carrying her along out of reflex."
Nightmare thought about that. Then she's now with Pierce. The mouse wasn't a threat and he was sure he could be trusted. He would come back eventually to ask for help about his sleeping problems and he could meet Remy again. And the mouse was a nice person to talk to and very friendly, so she should be okay.
Nightmare exhaled. Gray put on a relaxed face at that.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Nightmare pouted.
"I apologize. I thought you already knew." Gray said.
Nightmare frowned, "I didn't. Not until you tell me."
"That's why I apologize. I wasn't about to tell you if not for your protest."
Nightmare reached for his cigar, "Ah yes. Even though I'm not as worried as I was before, I'm still worried. And I think he wanted to make sure the cat isn't around before coming back." He blowed.
"Yes. Until then, I suggest you finish your work if you want to play with her again." Gray stocked up the piles on his desk and started to walk away.
Nightmare looked at the piles on his desk with disdain. But he put his cigar down and reached for those white sheets of doom. At least this could get his mind off things for a while.
57...
58...
59...
60...
She had counted to sixty. Even repeating it over and over about four or more times. But Pierce did not come back. Where's Pierce? Did the man with the sword catch him? Remy's worried about her new friend. She wanted to look after, but Pierce said to stay here. What should she do now?
She felt a pulse in her head. Ah she's thinking a bit too hard. Her head didn't hurt but the pulse was like an indication. She stopped thinking and stood up. Putting Pierce's hat on her head, she walked out of the bush and walked to the direction she remembered Pierce went. At least she could follow where he was running off to. She hoped she could meet him again soon.
She kept on walking while looking around, all the while trying to not think of something. She was doing a fair attempt on it, because she didn't feel her head hurt or another pulse. But she couldn't help but feel that Pierce ran too far away for her to catch up. Her feet started to ache as she had no shoes on. She walked her path carefully, trying to walk on the grass while avoiding branches and stones. She sighed. Where could he be?
She walked by some trees and bushes and noticed some of the trees had arrows on it, pointing at something or somewhere but their direction were random, so she didn't follow. Then she found a door beside a tree. It was like it was made from wood, and the doorknob was silver. She wondered why would there be a door in a forest, but she shook her head and left from that area. Still keeping the direction she saw Pierce ran off to. If she wasn't trying to catch up to Pierce, she would go to that door to take a look at it.
It felt like ages and she felt she's getting tired. Where's Pierce?
She shook her head from the dizziness and kept on walking.
A sound caught her attention. It was the sound of music and something like a celebration or something. She walked to the direction of the sound and soon found herself in place with many colors and many people. She blinked her eyes several times to make herself sure she's not imagining things. Her eyes widened as she finally registered what kind of place it is.
It's an amusement park!
She smiled brightly. She was about to step out but remember about her wound. Would they see? But they didn't seem to notice her in this crowded place. There were just too many people for them to notice her. And...she could use Pierce's hat to cover her head! Sorry Pierce, Remy would be borrowing your hat for a while.
She adjusted Pierce's hat on her head and walked to the amusement park.
She watched everything in awe. The rides, the stalls, the costumers, everything. She remembered her siblings ever took her to an amusement park once. She was still three that time, they went to some rides and had fun. It was only two years ago and she could still remember the fun she had. Even though they could only ride the rides that were for kids because of her. She smiled, but it faltered when she felt a pulse. She stopped walking and rubbed her head, the pulse was stronger just now. So it would also hurt if she tried to remember something? This is sooo not fun.
"Are you alright, sweety?" asked someone beside her.
She looked up and saw a lady in yellow costume and yellow hat. She was about to say something but stopped when she looked at her face. She saw that the lady had no eyes. Remy's eyes widened and she fainted.
Remy fluttered her eyes open and saw a soft orange-colored ceiling. What happened?
"Ah.. You're awake."
She looked at her left and saw a man….monkey? It looked like a man, with light brown fur on his face. Who is this man err... Monkey? Or...Man. Whatever this person is. Why did he look like a monkey? Sting.
"Oww..." Remy muttered. Closing her eyes again, she reached for her head.
"You had a slight concussion. Don't think anything too much." The monkey man said. His voice was cheerful somehow, but not as soft as Pierce's.
She felt a hand rubbing her head softly. It felt nice. She opened her eyes a bit and saw the man had reached out his right hand to rub her head while smiling. She closed her eyes again and let him gave her a rub. She hummed to respond and enjoy the sensation.
The man chuckled, "Relax now girly. Gowly will be here soon."
Gowly? Who's Gowly? But she stopped asking questions in her head because his rubbing on her head was good. So she just listened to him and tried to relax.
The rubbing stopped when a sound was heard inside the room. She opened her eyes. It was a low grumbling sound and she felt it coming from her tummy. She felt her cheeks flush.
The man laughed, "It's time for lunch isn't it? I'll get something for us to eat then. Wait here a'right?" the man walked to the door without hearing her reply.
She was about to say something but he already closed the door. Oh well... She admitted she's hungry. She hadn't been eating anything since yesterday.
Another sound of door opening could be heard outside of her room and she suspected that there's another room beside this one. The monkey man must've left by now. She looked around the room and noticed she's in an infirmary. Another bed beside her but empty, some cabinets across her bed with medical necessities above it, a poster of human anatomy on the wall, and a window.
The lady must've taken her to the monkey man after she passed out. She must've been too tired and seeing things. It's impossible for people to have no eyes right? They would not be able to walk or do things very well.
Yeah... And that fainting thingy she did was a good way to make more people worry. Nope, it wasn't good. It's bad. She thought that she should stop worrying over her bandaged head now that more and more people already saw it. But come to think of it, she didn't even know why her head was wounded in the first place.
She tried to remember what was she doing before she met Nightmare. She was waking up at night in her room and noticed that—Pulse.
She scrunched up her face and groaned. It hurts! She forgot that remembering could hurt her head again. She stopped remembering and breathed in and out slowly. No more thinking, no more remembering. But she want to remember...
She heard door opening and closing and instantly opened her eyes. That was fast. She looked at the door and waited for the monkey man to open it. She could hear footsteps in front of her door and she sat up.
The door opened but it wasn't the monkey man. Instead, it was a man with yellow jacket and red hair in a braid and the eyeless lady. What? She rubbed her eyes and looked at the lady again. Is she still that tired?! That lady still has no eyes!
They came over to her bed and the man said, "Is this the girl?"
"Yes, sir." The lady answered.
"Hmm... You can go back to work." The man smiled at the lady.
The lady nodded and smiled at her before she left.
Remy looked at the lady and touched her head to remind her to not think of anything. No thinking anything. She's probably still tired. So very tired, and hungry. Yes.
"Hello there little girl." The man gave a friendly smile.
She smiled back albeit awkwardly. "Hello."
"How are you feeling?" asked the man as he took a seat on the left side of her bed.
She lowered her hand, "Head hurts a little. But okay."
"That's good. I was surprised when my workers said that a little girl with eyes passed out at my amusement park. So I hurriedly come over." The red-haired man said.
Little girl with eyes? That part was so confusing. Everybody has eyes, don't they? She didn't know why this attracted her attention so much, but she wanted to make sure if she's still very tired and the lady wasn't just her imagination. She ignored the pulse in her head and decided to ask.
"Um.. Sir?" she spoke.
"Hmm?" he smiled.
"What do you mean by little girl with eyes? Don't everybody have eyes?" she asked.
The man was silent for a while and only looked at her. Remy could not guess why the man was silent. But she needed to make sure, she wanted to know. Having shrunk was already something that she could only see in TV. She was already told that nobody can do real magic like in the movies. That's the question with Pierce, and then other questions started popping up inside her head. Why is he silent? Does that mean that not everybody here has eyes? Then how could they still walk and not fall? What is this world exactly? How could everything in here seemed so strange and not like it was back home? One question after another kept popping up and now her head was throbbing like crazy.
She groaned loudly. She clutched her head and started to cry. She hates this! She was just thinking! Why must thinking hurt so much?!
The man looked at her with a slightly surprised expression and reached out his hand to sooth her. "Li'l girl? Hey it's—"
"Girly?! Gowly! What did you do?!" Remy didn't notice the monkey man's arrival. The monkey man was instantly by her side and helped her to lie down.
"Nothing! She asked me something and I haven't even answered yet!" the red haired man defended himself.
Remy felt something rubbing her head but she continued to cry. It hurts so much! She wants her sister! She wants her brother! She wants to go home! She wants to hide in their arms where it's always safe and she wants this wound would go away! She knew she shouldn't be thinking too much but all of these that had happened were even too much to begin with. She then cried harder as the pain intensified.
Seeing as his hand rub didn't work, the monkey man shot his friend a look that's like saying 'Look what you did'. The red-haired man frowned his brows, pouted, and shot back a look that said 'I didn't do anything!'
But the monkey man ignored it and went to one of the cabinets. He pulled out a syringe from the third drawer and took a small bottle with deep blue liquid inside it. He then came back to her right side.
"I need her wrist." The monkey man said as he extracted the liquid to the syringe.
The red-haired man turned to the crying girl, "H-Hey little girl... Patty-Pat-Pat is going to make you feel better. So don't cry okay? Here, I need your hand."
He tried to pull her hands away but she moved them to her face and held them closely as she cried. The man swallowed in his throat. Crying children were always a bit hard to deal with. Unless you have a bargaining chip. He would always meet some kids crying to their parents in his amusement park, but he could always handle that with ease. As I said, bargaining chip. Free ice cream and drinks, and they're good to go. And to add that he had what most kids want, fun. And by fun, he meant the amusement park and everything inside it. He could persuade her to play in the amusement park if she complied. Some free rides won't hurt his business. She's the only crying child today.
"Hurry Gowly! She's in pain!" the monkey man exclaimed, aware not to yell too loud fearing the girl would cry harder.
The red-haired man touched her hands, "Now now... It's not going to hurt at all. And we'll go a few rides after you feel better. We can have some ice cream too!" he said excitedly.
"Yesh yesh. Gowly can buy you lots and lots of ice cream! And you will have fun in the park for free!" the monkey man added.
The red-haired man gave his monkey friend a look but decided not to protest. "Y-Yes. So please let us make the pain go away." He rubbed her head this time.
Remy didn't actually hear everything they said. She was too busy crying. All she could make out were the last sentence. She didn't know if she could trust them, but she wanted to go back home and meet her siblings, and she also wanted to pain to go away. She had to try finding her way back home, but she didn't know how. She didn't know what to do, but she had no energy left to do anything else either. Let alone trying to go home. When she realized that, she let her hands ease up for the man to pull. She'll trust them, for now.
The red-haired man took her right hand and held it out for his monkey friend to inject. He set her hands down beside her after the shot was done and rubbed her head to make her calm down more.
The monkey man put a small band-aid on her hand and rubbed it softly.
"ThErE tHeRe~ It'S okaY~ YoU wilL bE aLRigHt~" sang the monkey man with his off tune voice.
"Ugh stop singing, Pat. Your voice is terrible." Said the red-haired man.
"Like your musical skills got any better." The monkey man replied.
The red haired man opened his mouth again to protest but his monkey friend silence him with a 'Shh!' and pointed to the girl. He looked to the girl to find her sniffling with her eyes closed. He closed his mouth after that and continued rubbing her head. He felt sorry for this girl. Whoever she is, she's getting his attention. And no role holders had gotten that kind of attention, save for his monkey friend Pat that was standing across from him on the right side of the girl's bed. He couldn't believe there's a role holder this...weak. Role holders usually protect themselves and if injured, they didn't really care. Like the Chesire cat. He sometimes spotted the cat came back bloodied and yelled at him because he didn't want blood smeared over his pavement. That was a normal thing. But this girl...
Gowland didn't know what to say about this girl. He already felt weird when he saw Pat gave her pain killers. Why would he do something like that? He could've just let her be. She's not even a customer. But he remembered that his monkey friend there has a spot for injured people. Hence, he would be doing something else right now instead of choosing to be a doctor at his amusement park.
And even though she's a kid, she's just another role holder. A new one probably, judging by how weak she was. But what role was it? She has no animal ears too to associate her with any other roles that have animal-like appearance.
She looked like she was unconscious already, so he stopped his rubs. He then turned to Pat.
"What did you give her?" he asked.
"Anesthetic. To make her sleep. I can't help it, she's in pain." Pat wore a troubled expression on his face as if he was being scolded.
"I understand you're always like this. But she's just another role holder so-"
"Role holder?" Pat looked back at Gowland and frowned, "No she's not."
Gowland blink, "What do you mean she's not?"
"She has a heart. So she can't be a role holder, Gowly." Answered Pat like that was very obvious.
Gowland didn't reply. He only looked at the girl, and then to Pat, and then the girl again, and then to Pat.
The monkey man sighed. He pointed at a spot over her chest, "This is where her heart is. Listen for yourself."
Gowland laid his head down to her chest slowly, on the spot Pat had pointed, and he could hear it.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Gowland retreated immediately. She's an outsider! How could another outsider be here? He looked back at Pat and opened his mouth.
"How could she be here?" Gowland asked in a low voice, close to a whisper.
Pat shook his head.
Gowland looked at her now sleeping form again. There are two outsiders now in the game. This never happened before. One outsider was already a rare phenomenon, let alone two. What's happening? Or more accurately, what will happen?
"I was surprised too you know. I didn't know she was one until I feel her neck." Pat threw the used syringe into the trash bin.
Gowland glanced at him, "Her neck?"
Pat opened the door, "Yes. Let's talk outside. She needs lots of rest."
Gowland stood and walked out of the room. Pat looked at the girl once again before shutting the door. They walked to Pat's desk, to the left of the infirmary, right across the couch in the waiting area. Gowland pulled a chair as Pat sat on his armchair behind his desk.
"So how do you know?" Gowland asked.
"Regular check up."
Gowland rolled his eyes, "Rrriiiight..."
"I'm serious! I won't just randomly listen to anyone's chest!" Pat yelled.
"Yeah that would be creepy. Sorry." Gowland gave an apologetic look.
Pat huffed.
"So now what do we do?" Pat asked.
Gowland leaned over. "I'm thinking of asking Alice."
Pat raised his eyebrow, "Alice?"
"Yep. She's an outsider too right?" Gowland gave a smile.
Pat frowned. He never met Alice before, he just heard about her from the others but never met her in person. Even though she often come to the amusement park to visit Gowland and Boris. That time when she fainted because of the coffee cup test ride, he was in his lab, doing some experiments. A faceless replaced him for the day, so they've never met. He didn't know what he should do if she's really coming over to visit.
"Are you sure?" asked Pat.
Gowland stood and walked to the door that leads outside. "Yep. I'll invite her to come over."
"Mm... Okay.." Pat responded as Gowland took his leave.
It's settled then. Alice's coming over soon. He looked around the infirmary and scratched his fur. If the first foreigner is going to come over, this place needs to be tidied up. It's not very messy, just dusty. It's been two weeks from his last customer and he hadn't swept the floor since. He didn't want Gowland's guest to comment about a messy infirmary. So the monkey man stood up.
"Now where did I put that broom?" he mumbled.