Oh my gosh, another chapter within a week!? I must really like writing this one! XD Well here we go.
"*SNORT*, what!?" laughed the man incredulously. He seemed thrilled (if a little confused) at my reaction.
"Well, damn", I flatlined, "I knew that stuff was dangerous, but this is screwed up! That or I totally just got gypped in the afterlife," I blabbered on.
"Can we deal with your stupidity later!? Now is NOT the time!", screamed Cat-Eared Girl as guards came up behind her, forced her arms behind her, and shoved her to her feet. Oh, so this wasn't the time to have a self-denying, freak out session? Whoops, my bad.
Meanwhile, my captor was laughing his head off; one hand clutched his shaking stomach while the other kept his sword steadily at my throat. I tensed at the iron control he kept over his weapon, even through his smile. "Hahaha You guys are great!" My heart gave a little lurch of hope, "but unfortunately, what kind of knight would I be if I let intruders get away?" 'aaannnnddd hopes dashed', I thought grimly.
The man raised his sword high above his head as guards roughly pushed me back to the ground, baring my neck like an animal to the slaughter. "Wait, this is just a misunderstanding! We're not intruders", screamed Cat-Eared Girl (geez! What's her name again? I keep forgetting).
"Oh?", he hummed inquisitively, taking a real good look at her from head to toe. As he had been trying to execute me I had hooked a boot behind one of the guard's legs, ready to throw him in the line of fire for me. "Are you guests of the castle?"
"We don't even know where this is...!"
"So it's safe to say you are in our territory without permission, therefore intruders?" Something was wrong! I couldn't place it, but he was measuring the girl's reactions. Behind the blabbering and the innocent smiles was something scarily analytical about this guy. It put me on edge.
"Well...I mean, yes, but...!" you could hear the desperation in her voice as she tried to think of a way to phrase herself. He looked fairly decided already when she all of the sudden burst out with, "if we represent a threat shouldn't you find out our intentions first before you sentence us?!"
I glanced back towards her, 'good one girl'. I saw his smile stretch into a smirk before he wiped the expression clean off his face, a new one of honest, open-minded consideration taking its place. "You know, I bet your right," he said as he rubbed his chin.
"Sir, should we take them to the Queen?", asked a guard.
"That's probably best. Trials aren't really in my jurisdiction anyway hahaha!" I unhooked my foot from the guard as I was pulled to my feet. 'Ow, I bet I have lines on my cheek from the face plant'. The man sheathed his sword and took over for my guards as he curled his fingers around the back of my throat, the rest of the company focused on the girl (Jessie? No that wasn't it). "Lead the way you guys," came the cheery order of the man. The two of us fell in behind the rest, following the twists and curves of what turned out to be an elaborate hedge maze.
We all walked in relative silence (except that the man was whistling cheerfully) and I took the time to really look at this man for the first time. He was extremely tall, even for a guy. He had chestnut hair that spiraled out from his head at a slightly spiky, manageable length and russet colored eyes that were more red than brown. He wore a type of dark uniform under a red trench coat that looked like it had seen better days, and gloves over the hands he used to handle his heart themed sword?
His grip on my neck left no doubt in my mind about his strength, 'nor room for escape'. "Is there something on my face?" His gaze met mine and the smile never left his lips, but his gaze was far too intense for the cheerfulness he tried to portray. I didn't answer. I stared for a moment longer before looking forward and heading onwards. "Aawwww, that's rude," he pouted childishly.
"It's through this opening sir. The Queen is having her tea in the garden." I heard the girl gasp at the same time that I flinched. It was the first real look we had taken at any of the guards. 'Where is the man's face!?' I tried to see if they were all like that, but the grip on my throat tightened just ever so slightly; a warning.
"Oh that's not good. She isn't gonna be happy at us for interrupting her tea hahaha. I better go in first. Thanks though, I never would have found her this quick on my own hahaha." I kept staring at the guard. It wasn't really his face that was missing, just the eyes. And if you looked up close they were there! You could see the outlining shape of eyes, they were just blurry. Far away you wouldn't be able to tell a thing though!
He led us into a large, spacious, fantastic garden occupied by a long ornate dining table. At this table sat a beautiful woman in a conspicuous, Victorian dress with hearts being the reigning theme. Her hair was the color of rich violet and was pulled into expert curls beside her head to support a miniature crown. Her gaze was steady but cold, her posture amplifying self-importance. "Knight, We are busy. Come back later."
"But your majesty, something urgent has come up." The supposed knight of this Queen moved forward, letting the guards take care of me once again.
"Can you not just deal with them like always?" She seemed almost like it was too much effort to even ask.
"Hahaha I could, but I think you'll want to see them for yourself."
"*SIGH* fine, but later. Right now We are waiting for Alice. Deal with them how you see fit until the later trials." The woman never looked at us once the entire time. She went back to sipping her tea, officially done with the exchange.
"Hold on y...OUCH!" I kicked at the girl's shin, giving my best "shut up" glare. She glared right back, but apparently she got the message as she kept silent. Less attention would actually be better for the both of us.
"Roger!" came the cheerful reply of the knight. He grabbed the girl this time and the ENTIRE group of guards took me. "Ok guys make sure they stay separate until the trials okay?" 'Crap! Their splitting us up!? Now what?'
"Understood sir," replied the faceless guard. "Um sir, are you sure you don't want an escort?"
"What? Oh, no I'm fine. I can at least navigate my own territory hahaha." Funny, the guards all looked a little nervous at that comment. The two groups headed out in opposite directions. I heard the girl struggle a bit against the knight, but I remained perfectly obedient as we lost sight of each other. First things first, I needed to get some distance from that knight.
After a few minutes, and I was sure we had made some progress, I finally went on the offensive. I slowed my pace a bit so that the guard was unconsciously falling behind the group with me for a minute before he took notice. "Hey you, don't fall behi...!" I stomped on his toes and he loosened the grip on my arms in a yelp. I took an elbow and rammed it into his gut, sending the man toppling to the ground. As the others spun around on me I took my guard's fallen spear from the ground. I took on a couple of guys that were fast enough to get at me first.
I used the blunt end of the spear to swipe the feet out from under a few. I then flipped the spear and threw it like a javelin, purposefully missing, but scattering them none the less. I took off running while they tried to reform. I heard them shout commands and boots stomping against the ground.
And yet again I was running for my life, but this time I could go full out since there was no one to drag along. I was faster than the guard group as a whole and I lost sight of them in a series of turns, but I could still hear them as another problem came to mind. "Shit, I'm in a maze."
Yyeeeaahhhhh...that piece of brilliance hit me when I made full on contact with a hedge equivalent of a dead end. I backpedaled out of the blocked path only to dive back in when I saw guards peeking around a corner! I panicked a little, searching for another exit. 'I could jump through the hedge', I thought, but that could still end me up in trouble on the other side. Then, an idea hit me, 'if you don't like the game you're in, then just get out of it'!
I took a few steps, made a running jump and pulled myself on top of the hedge (which was strangely thick enough for me to feasibly walk on). From the vantage I had I could see it was a good thing I was up here, because in the direction I was headed I would have taken a full on circle back to the Queen. The problem with being able to see all this was that I was just as easily seen. "There she is!" 'Oops, better keep running'.
I ran over the hedges as fast as I could, making leaps and bounds in the right direction to help put some distance (and leafy obstacles) between us. I was starting to see the entrance to this maze and was putting all my effort into making it there first. The dodging and leaping was sort of working, but it would have gone a lot better if the guards didn't know the layout so well!
I was actually really worried that I would run into that knight again. That dude could kill me without breaking a sweat (or a smile)! My breathing was more rapid, but I was regulating it at a good tempo. I would have really enjoyed the feeling of my legs pumping and my lungs puffing as I pushed myself harder, if I wasn't running for my life!
I was just a few hedges from the entrance, but with my salvation close at hand a few guards were catching up quickly! 'This is gonna be close'! On the last hedge I jumped the eight feet to the ground (doing a tuck and roll when hitting) and sprinted out of there! I just barely missed being close-lined by one guard.
My feet, now on more solid ground, had more leverage to push me farther, faster. Which was a good thing considering they were STILL CHASING ME! In all that split-moment thinking I don't think it ever occurred to me that they could LEAVE the maze! 'Well, I feel intelligent'.
The path I was in, while becoming well forested on either side, was singular and without turns. There was no way I could lose these guys like this! "Ally-oop!" and with that I was hopping tree roots and avoiding rocks in the forest. I didn't dare slow down as I could still hear the guards behind me.
As I ran I noticed that the forest was starting to look like a kindergarten room threw up on it. There were toys and streamers strewn all over the place, arrows pointing in every which way, doors built into the trees and everything happened to be in colors I would describe as the "bubblegum pop" sensation! I slowed to a light jog, "what, the...!?"
I came through a last line of oddly decorated vegetation into a large clearing even more brightly decorated than the forest itself! 'Is this a circus!? Oh, what the hell is going on!?' I couldn't think of a single place in the world like the areas I had been to. Was this some sort of reality TV crap, or maybe a medieval fair!? (yes I am past the whole "dead" theory, although still not entirely convinced I'm not in an alcohol/drug induced coma). "*SNAP*", I jumped at the sound. Oh crap, the guards must have found me again.
I ran to the only place I could see; a back curtain that led into the main circus tent. Going through a small, open back room I burst into the open arena of the Big Top, only to duck and cover behind some crates. The arena was filled with performers practicing acts from tight rope walking to knife throwing. I could even see animal cages on the other side of the floor (and again I noticed these people were missing part of their faces! Creepy~~).
I took a minute to breathe as I crouched behind the crates, hopefully safe. I watched the performers without really seeing as I finally had a minute to think, except I couldn't. 'We were drowning. I was tipsy and hallucinating and then the girl and I were drowning in water that wouldn't let go. Now she's captured, I'm in a circus and, and I ... I ...' Oh this was too much! I couldn't wrap my head around any of it.
All of a sudden I choked on a half-scream as I felt the barest whisper of lips by my ear as a cool breath was blown on me from behind. I about knocked over the crates I spun around so hard. "I'm sorry, my dear, but the circus is not yet open to the public."
"Hahahaha did you see the way she f****** jumped ahahahaha." With a startled hand over my ear I stared in confusion. It was the man's voice, but it was harsher than a second ago, a little more loud, and I never even saw his lips move. And believe me I was looking pretty hard, you couldn't HELP but stare!
The guy was dressed up in some sort of formal attempt at a jester's outfit. He had the jingling hat, belled, checkered cover around his hips, gold embellishment and everything! His own aesthetics were just as strange. For one, he actually had a face! He had apple red hair that actually looked natural and one eye the color of deep, rich wine. The other eye was covered by a black eye patch with a gold eye symbol decorating it. The funny thing was he wasn't bad looking, with the pleasant smile he kept on his face, just extremely different.
I kind of stammered back to life as his head tilted in the tiniest bit of confusion, his expression still pleasant. "A-ah, I apologize. I wasn't aware. I'll just leave before I cause any more trouble."
I quickly looked around. Should I take the back entrance or walk across the arena to the main opening? "My dear, are you perhaps a little lost?"
I looked back to the smiling man, not sure who I could trust at the moment. A little apprehensively I replied with, "um... actually yeah. Would you mind pointing me in the right direction?"
His smile spread just a little, "what's your name dear? I am Joker."
"Oh! My name is Autumn, pleasure to make your acquaintance." I offered my hand and he took it in a light grip as we shook hands. I was so nervous and on the edge. This guy could be just as much danger as those guards if he turned out to be friends of theirs.
"Likewise," he replied, fairly enthusiastic. "Now where is it you need to go to so badly? You looked fairly out of breath when you got here."
"Well, um I was in a maze-like place, so probably back that direction?" 'Wow, smooth is my middle name today'.
"You must mean the Heart Castle territory! I'm surprised; I didn't realize you had permission to enter. They are very strict about that, you know?"
"You don't say!", (your telling me!), "Well I probably want to go that direction so if you could just..."
"Do you or don't you b****!?"
"Joker that was rude!" exclaimed the man at a mask on his belt that I hadn't noticed before.
"Excuse me!?", I said in a voice that was both peeved and shocked.
"you heard me toots. Can't you even remember where you were f****** twenty minutes ago?" The voice WAS coming from the mask and was actually quite mechanical when you listened to it.
"Are YOU doing this?", I asked Joker as I turned my glare onto him, "because if you are..."
"Ah, no, it's not me it's actually Joker see?"
"That doesn't make any sen...!"
"Damn you're stupid. Does it look like he's talking witch?"
"Joker, please! You'll upset her."
"you know what?" I interrupted, "just give me the directions so I can get out of here!" I was just barely holding back my tongue. I couldn't stand being called derogative names, and the only reason I hadn't punched the guy's face in was, because I needed directions! (also I couldn't figure out if that really was him talking or not.)
"*SIGH*, I apologize for him. It is actually quite easy to get back to the Heart Castle, just be careful. It's quite dangerous over there."
THAT caught my attention for a moment, "wait, why is it dangerous?"
He gave me a peculiar, calculating look for a moment. " Well besides the many soldiers the Queen herself is quite terrifying, what with her sour moods and, uh, violent hobbies."
"Violent, hobbies...?" I felt a feeling of dread start to settle in my stomach.
"No shit Sherlock! That crazy ass b**** is always calling for someone's head!" came the little robotic voice.
I paled at the thought, 'oh crap'! "You mean like..?" and I made the slitting motion over my neck in way of the question.
"I'm afraid so. Quite the gory hobby, I would say. There's also the cold and ruthless Prime Minister and a knight." The way he said the last one made you think there was a heck of a lot he couldn't fit in one conversation about the dangers of Heart Castle."You might want to..!"
"OH MY LORD!", I screamed in absolute horror, causing the man to flinch in surprise. "SHE'S GONNA DIE!." All that talk about "trials" earlier made sense now! They were gonna just throw us in front of the Queen and she would call for our heads without objection! And they still had that girl! If she was executed it would be all my fault! "I'M COMING CAT-EARED GIRL, HOLD ON!" I screamed all the way out the door as I flew out the tent's entrance.
'Hold on,' I skidded to a stop right outside and spun around, running with just as much gusto straight back to the Jester. "B****, what the hell are you going on ab...Ack!"
"Not now pint size!" I ripped the mask off the man's belt and threw it as far as I could across the arena before I slammed my hands on either side of Joker's arms, a look of startled shock wiping his face clean. "Which way is the castle!?", I demanded with utter seriousness.
"Take the main path up to the road and turn left, it will lead you straight there", came the man's VERY quick reply.
"Left then straight, GOTCHA", I hollered back as I was already out the door. 'Girl don't you dare die before I get there!'
Joker picked up his mask from the sandy arena floor, gently brushing away the debris. "What. The F***! Was that about?", came the small, enraged, mechanical voice of his Warden.
"I have no clue, but she's quite interesting wouldn't you say?", came the Jester's interested reply.
"Tch, more like bat-shit insane" The Warden sounded disinterested, but the Jester knew better than to fall for that. The Warden's interest was also piqued. All of a sudden the Jester noticed he was getting a lot of staring from his clowns. It WAS quite the scene that had just exploded. The Jester chuckled before sending a smile towards his workers, "I believe practice is still at hand, no?" That sent them all quickly back to their duties. No one needed a second warning.
"Hey Joker?", came the Warden.
"Hhmm?"
"How the hell can there be more than one in a game?"
"I don't know Joker, but we have a new player to this April Season. Autumn hmmm", the Jester tasted the name on his tongue, trying it out. "How far can you fall dear, sweet Autumn. Shall we find out Joker?"
A sinister smirk curled at the Warden's lips as the two came to the same conclusion. "You bet your ass." The two separated to their own individual duties, but to both the terror of clowns and prisoners alike, the smile never fell from either's lips.
Can Autumn rescue Jennafer? What does Joker have in store for our heroes? Will Autumn ever remember Jennafer's NAME?! Dun dun duuuuunnnnn! ...ok anyways tell me what you think. =D I have the next chapter all planned out. Also I want to say thanks to Kiki's-stories-of-awesomeness for creating the character of "Jennafer Kelly Lenning". She's awsome and you should definitely check out the other stories she's apart of. Rate and Review! -JMichelleW
