I do NOT own Alice in Wonderland, only this story and my original characters.

This story is rated M, for violence, language and sexual themes.

Chapter 14

How to fight with a Teapot

Tarrant quickly came out of his shock and turned worried eyes to Alice. She was looking at Kyle with something akin to hate. He knew that she disliked the boy immensely and personally he didn't blame her for it one bit, however upon seeing the murderous intent in those chocolate orbs he began to fear for the boy's life.

She couldn't believe it! Didn't anyone know how to fucking knock anymore? But what really had her blood boiling was the fact that it was Kyle who had barged in on them. She never should have brought him with her. Even worse was that he was ranting and raving about how she broke his nose and how much it hurt getting it fixed.

"I should have broken his back instead of his stupid nose." Alice thought darkly. Deciding that she had heard enough she slowly untangled herself from Tarrant, who silently complied. As she started to advance on the stupid Otherworlder with clenched fists she felt her Hatter gently grasp her shoulders.

Tarrant wasn't stupid, he knew Alice was furious and that a serious fight was about to break out. Kyle seemed oblivious to the raging champion and just continued to rant on and on about how sorry Alice was going to be, which just served to anger her further.

"Tarrant, love, please let go so I can kill him." She growled, not taking her eyes off the obnoxious boy.

"Now Alice, dear, you need to calm down. Nothing will come of killing the git. Besides think of his brother. How would he feel knowing you killed his other half?" That Hatter tried to reason.

"I don't care anymore, just get him out of here before I change my mind and do kill him." Alice conceded albeit a bit grumpily. Clearing his throat Tarrant was about to interrupt Kyle when he himself was interrupted by a young woman latching onto Kyle's arm.

"Kyle that is enough! Are you trying to get Aly to kill you? Besides you only got what you deserved!" Mei exclaimed now highly annoyed. Tarrant looked at them and felt it was safe to assume that the girl was Mei-Lin. Seeing her look at him he gave a slight nod of his head in which she returned.

"Me! What did I do? I simply told her the truth, that's all! Then she broke my nose! It's not my fault she's to blind to see that she's being used!" Kyle exclaimed outraged. Why was everyone taking her side? It wasn't fair! Mei tensed, tightening her grip on his arm.

Tarrant quickly grabbed Alice just as she lunged and pulled her to his body but she fought against him hell bent on murdering the bastard across from them. Normally it would be him that needed to be restrained but he simply promised himself that he would get the boy later.

"Let go of me this instant Tarrant! I am going to kill him! I warned him not to insult you again but he clearly didn't listen, that makes him fair game!" Alice roared while doubling her efforts to escape her lover's arms. He just tightened his grip on her instead.

"Love you must calm down. I know you're very upset right now but killing him isn't the answer. You would never forgive yourself afterwards." The struggling man once again tried to reason but it seemed that his words fell on deaf ears. All it did was make her lash out more.

"Oh please you couldn't kill me. The only reason you broke my nose was because I was caught off guard but it won't happen again. I could take you on any day of the week!" Kyle boasted. Just as Alice was about to break free Mirana and Duncan came into the room.

"Don't listen to him Alice, everyone knows you're stronger than him." The younger twin tried to reassure her. Poor Mirana looked around unsure of how to deal with the Otherworlders.

"She's not stronger than me, she's just a little girl!" Came the voice of Kyle, followed by a sigh from Mei. Well it was nice knowing him but he's a dead man now. Stepping away from him Mei slowly went over to Mirana and Duncan.

"That is it! I am seriously going to kill him! So what if I'm a girl and a little on the short side, I've fought in numerous championships and won!" Alice thought fiercely. Forcing herself out of Tarrant's arms with great difficulty she grabbed the first thing her hands touched, which happened to be a teapot.

"I swear Kyle I am going to murder you with this teapot!" She threatened. Duncan stepped in front of her holding his hands up in a sign of surrender.

"Alice put down the teapot. This is ridiculous, think about all the commotion this fight is causing. Mirana looks like she's going to have a heart attack, Mei looks ready to faint and Tarrant is really worried that you're going to hurt yourself." Duncan spoke calmly and slowly continued to approach the seething female. He noted the change in her eyes at the mention of the Hatter and smiled slightly.

Alice felt horrible. Here she was causing problems for her friends and lover because she couldn't control her temper. She felt Duncan take the teapot from her hands and didn't bother to try and take it back. If she was being honest with herself she just wanted to go to her room and hide in shame.

"God could I be any more of a brat?" she thought to herself. Alice literally felt her shoulders sag and her eyes start to sting.

"Oh no, no you are not going to cry in front of him! Stupid traitorous eyes stop misting and listen to me for once. I will not cry in front of that bastard." Alice ordered herself. Swiftly she turned away from the group so they wouldn't notice how glossy her eyes had gotten.

"Awe is the little girl going to cry now?" Kyle teased smugly. Just as she was about to whip around and give him a piece of her mind she heard a smash and a collection of gasps. Slowly she turned and was shocked by the sight that awaited her.

"I have had it Kyle! All you have done since we first followed her down the rabbit hole is insult her and Tarrant, but so help me if you utter one more word against either of them I'll skewer you myself. They have done nothing to warrant this behavior so just grow up!" Duncan exclaimed in rage. His hands were clenched and his body shook from barely restrained anger.

Alice couldn't believe it. Duncan had thrown the teapot and it connected with Kyle's face. She knew that out of the two Duncan was the one you never wanted to piss off. He was pretty tolerant but once you pushed that final straw he was deadly. Then again he had been the captain of the boy's fencing team for a reason.

"Duncan? Just calm down you don't want to do something you'll regret later." Mei spoke softly. She was there when he accidentally blinded one of his opponents and he was never the same after that. He quit fencing and never touched it again. The sad thing was it wasn't even his fault. The guy he was dueling didn't have a level approved face guard and therefore it didn't protect his eye from the finishing blow.

"Mei is right. You're not the kind of person who enjoys causing others pain. So please don't do this to yourself." Mirana spoke gently. She liked Duncan he was a nice guy who was as curious about her world as she was of his. She didn't want to see those bright eyes filled with regret.

Alice remained silent beside Tarrant. She knew that this was hard for him. People who didn't know him like she and Mei did, people who weren't there that day, didn't know of the anger he had for Kyle. It was bottled up for the most part so it wasn't noticeable. She decided that she would intervene if it was necessary but she doubted it would be since Mirana seemed to be calming him down.

"You're right Mirana, I apologize for my behavior but I can't let him get away with this. He needs to learn that were as I do not enjoy mindless violence I will beat him if he continues to act the way he is." Duncan spoke clearly with a low voice, one of the signs that he was close to snapping. Slowly Kyle got to his feet with a groan.

"What the fuck Duncan? Are you trying to kill me? I'm your brother for Christ's sake. This place is making all of you go mad which is why we're leaving and yes Alice you're coming with us and that's final." Kyle stated like he wasn't bleeding from getting a teapot to the face. Alice winced, Duncan was gone and Kaine had taken his place.

Duncan tried to keep calm, he really did. The last thing he wanted was for Mirana to meet Kaine. He was the last thing they needed right now. Hell his split-personality would probably encourage Alice to kill his stupid brother. So he really did try to hold him back but when his idiotic twin just stood up and started yelling and giving orders that last bit of self control snapped. Next thing he knew Kaine was taking the reins.

Kyle swallowed and hard. He saw the look in his brother's eyes. He knew "they" had switched places and it terrified him. It was no big secret that his brother had a split-personality, everyone at the academy had been informed after Kaine put a senior in the emergency room for picking on Duncan. It was also a well known fact that Kaine hated him.

"My, my, it seems that you're causing problems for people again, huh, Kyle? Now what have I told you about doing that? I said that if you weren't going to play nice with others then I would make it so you never play again." Kaine said gleefully while walking towards the terrified male. He hated this kid and even though Duncan usually kept him under lock and key he could still hear and see everything that happened. After all they were sharing the same body.

"Easy there Kaine. Don't you think you should introduce yourself? I'm sure that Tarrant and Mirana are very lost as to what just happened." Alice suggested calmly. She knew that the longer they put off the fighting the sooner Duncan would calm down and take back control.

"Why yes I do believe you're right my little bird. Tarrant, Queen Mirana, my name is Kaine and I am Duncan's other half so to speak. It is a pleasure to meet you both." He announced with a bow and a wickedly charming smile.

"Nice to meet you as well Kaine." Tarrant said politely, easily accepting the oddly mad looking man before him. Where Duncan had happy shining eyes, Kaine's shined with a madness that Tarrant had seen in his reflection more than once. A madness to fight.

"A pleasure I'm sure Kaine but please just call me Mirana." The White Queen said happily. It seemed that the fight had been forgotten and for that she was truly thankful.

"As you wish dove. I must admit that we don't have many beauties like you back in Otherworld, it's wonderful to be in the presence of such a pretty little bird." Kaine all but purred.

"Kaine behave. Sorry about that Mirana, he's a bit of a flirt." Alice explained while going to stand beside the man they were talking about.

"Now Alice don't be so mean, you know I only have the purest intentions with her majesty. I would never disrespect her by openly flirting with her." Kaine said innocently. If she didn't know him so well she might have actually bought the act.

"Yeah, right, hate to break it to you fox but nothing about you is pure. You're going to have to admit it sooner or later so why not do it now? Besides you never nick-name someone unless you're interested in them so you're busted there." She almost laughed at how he pouted at being called out.

"What do you mean by nick-name?" Mirana asked curiously. She almost blushed at the vulpine grin that broke across the man's face.

"Well as I'm sure you've noticed, Kaine is very fox-like in nature and there for likes to play games with people. When someone catches his interest he nick-names them as he sees fit." The champion explained.

"That's right! Alice is my little songbird, where as sweet Mei is my little raven and you my lovely White Queen are my little dove." Kaine answered lovingly. He loved his little birdies and even he would admit that he was incredibly protective of them.

Before it was just his little Alice, when she met him for the first time he had gone a little mad and probably would have stayed that way if not for her song. From then on she was his songbird. After awhile he came across Mei and her beautifully odd hair color. He instantly took a shine to his little raven. She was so shy, not outspoken like his songbird.

And now he had his little dove to add to his collection. The second they saw her he wanted her. She was so pure looking and her voice so gentle. There was no way she could be anything but a dove. Now he had three little birdies and he would help Duncan and Tarrant keep them safe. Though he was worried about his little raven, she needed someone to watch over her.

"I'll have to talk to Duncan tonight about finding a way to keep her safe." He thought to himself.

"I see so my nick-name is dove then? You know what I like it! I've never had a nick-name before so I'm quite happy about it! Thank you Kaine!" Mirana said excitedly. He just smiled at her gently.

"Um Kaine? When is Duncan coming back?" Kyle asked nervously. Slowly the man in question turned back to face the terrified boy, his eyes starting to take on a look of pure glee. It made Alice escort the girls over to Tarrant who looked concerned at the change in the man's behavior.

"Don't worry he's just going to mess with him a little bit. He wouldn't actually kill him in front of Mirana and Mei." Alice told him while taking his hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. Tarrant looked down at her and smiled softly, happy that she wasn't angry anymore.

"I don't know. You see you made the "Big Boss" pretty angry so I don't think he'll be coming back anytime soon. You should be grateful about it too. I have no doubt that he would kick that worthless ass of yours all the way back to the door and up that rabbit hole." Kaine said while getting a look on his face; like he was concentrating on something no one else could see.

"Duncan must be ranting or something." Alice explained. This just got her two confused looks and one of understanding.

"Because Duncan and Kaine share a body they can share their thoughts with each other. However unless they are asleep it's only one way in Kaine's favor. This means he can listen to Duncan's thoughts whenever he wants. Which is probably what he is doing now." She explained to the Underlanders.

"He is most likely trying to gauge how angry Duncan is." Mei spoke softly. The other's eyes lit with understanding.

"That's amazing! So it would be like dating two people instead of one, because even though they share a body they are two separate people right?" Mirana questioned happily. Mei looked like she was thinking it over but Alice already knew the answer.

"That's right. It's why he never dated back in Otherworld. The girls there couldn't accept Kaine and frankly he held no interest in them. He sees Mei and I like sisters but I think you might be something else entirely Mirana." She spoke calmly and smiled when the monarch blushed.

"What do you mean Alice?" The White Queen asked slowly. It was like she was unsure if she actually wanted to know the answer.

"I think she's talking about the way he looked at you. We've known Kaine for awhile now and not once has he ever looked and Aly or myself like that. It was like he had just found some lost treasure." Mei supplied trying to explain it to the best of her abilities. It ended up making Mirana blush more.

"I see. Well I don't mind being treasured. In fact it would be quite nice since everyone in my court doesn't know how to be anything but proper and servant like." Mirana sighed sadly.

It was so lonely to be the Queen sometimes. She could never make mistakes, show weakness or just be herself without the fear of being judged by her court. Nope she had to be perfect and sometimes it was enough to drive her mad. But then Alice came along and changed all that. Suddenly she didn't have to hide. She had someone she could be herself with.

Not only that but Alice brought more people with her. People who like Alice would let her drop her guard and lose her mask. She was already close to Mei. The girl was a medic who was very curious about the making and workings of potions. Mirana was so happy to have someone to finally brew with.

Then there was Duncan and Kaine. She was already so fond of both of them in just the short tie she's known them. For some reason she almost craved their company. They brightened up the day and just made her laugh and smile. However she could do without Kyle. She had never met such a rude man before. It was no surprise that Alice was always so angry around him. Slowly she released another sigh.

"What's wrong dove? You seem sad all of a sudden." Kaine asked startling the young queen at his suddenly close proximity.

"Oh, um, nothing. I was just thinking of how I now understood why Alice was always so angry around Kyle. He is quite rude after all." Mirana quickly explained, only to blush scarlet when she realized what she said. Alice broke out into peals of laughter soon followed but Tarrant and Mei, then Mirana herself.

"Well then I'll just have to teach him some manners, no?" Kaine asked before walking over to a terrified Kyle and dragging him out the door and down the hall.

"Ha! Serves the bastard right! Come on Mei we better go and unpack before something else happens." Alice suggested. With that the girls left the room to settle in laughing the whole time.

~A.N.~

YAY! Another chapter and another character! Lots of love to Kaine! So we get to kind of hear more about Duncan in this chapter and how lonely Mirana feels sometime. Fear not there will be more Duncan, Mirana, and Kaine moments. In the next chapter I plan to let Mei meet Stayne! Won't that be fun! I kinda can't wait to start but since I have a serious crap in my hand right now it will have to wait. As always please leave a review, they make me smile! *Smiles and bows*