Note: The x thing means perspective change.

More Notes: This contains mild course language, you've been warned kiddies, so no lawyers please.

Chapter 5

Marianne looked up at the doors of clock tower, steeling herself to enter. Even though it was neutral territory, if there was one thing she knew it was to never trust a roll holder. The trip there had been blissfully uneventful, and she had encountered no one, but had passed dangerously close to hatter territory. Flinching as the door emitted a loud creak, and she quickly darted inside.

In the foyer all was quiet, although she could hear the faint and rather eerie sound of a ticking clock. Trying to make as little noise as possible, she ascended the staircase. Taking the first door she came to, she raised her fist and timidly knocked. There was a crash from inside, and the door flew open to reveal a young man with an eye patch, looking rather distressed.

Gazing further into the room, she noticed a blue haired man trying to escape from behind a chair that appeared to have been thrown in front of him. "Please Nightmare-sama, the paper work has been piled up for weeks now, just do a little bit". Ignoring the words of his assistant, Nightmare grasped at Marianne's blouse.

"Please, you have to help me"! He looked up with wide eyes.

"Umm s-sure mister" the young girl stammered. With a devious look in his eye, he smiled. "Why thank you miss" and with that, he proceeded to half push, half throw her at the unsuspecting lizard who was attempting to get past the desk. The push had been weak, but still affective on the off balance maid.

The two collided and landed in an ungraceful heap on the floor. A second later the door slammed, and pounding footsteps disappeared down the hallway. Spitting out a mouthful of hair Marianne untangled her limbs and stood shakily. With a sigh, the man at her feet did the same, straightening up his coat.

"My apologies miss, my master is being particularly…rebellious today"

"Oh, that's ok, I'm sorry for, well being thrown at you" Her gaze was fixed sheepishly on the ground.

"By the way, what business brings you here today"? The lizard questioned.

"I'm here from the Heart castle, to see Master Julius, if you please could you tell me where he is"?

"Three doors down on the right" he turned to start reorganising the chaotic room

"Thank you Master…"?

"Gray, Gray Ringmarc"

"Well thank you Master Ringmarc"

She headed off down the hall, mentally chastising herself for not recognising him. While she knew of all the role holders, she rarely left the castle and had never met anyone outside of it personally. That probably meant the other man was Nightmare Gotschalk, the famous sickly incubus.

X

I reached my destination and knocked, hoping that this time the encounter would be more successful. "Come in" said the voice from inside. I looked around this time before entering, but all appeared normal. Stepping inside I bowed to the man seated at the desk in the centre of the room, quietly sipping his coffee. He looked up quickly, immediately returning to his drink.

"What business does the Heart palace have with me" his tone was not even questioning, and I was unsure whether or not to reply.

"I have been sent by Master White, with a request for more staff" I kept my tone formal and my gaze respectfully on the ground, everyone always said that the castle staff were trained the strictest in all Wonderland.

"Finally, I was surprised at the decrease in requests by the Queen, usually she keeps us flat out providing staff for that deranged rabbit to kill" he said this more to himself, something I should have realised.

"Yes, well there have been some…changes at the castle recently" I said with a small smirk. The clock master looked up at this, obviously not having expected a reply. I mentally cursed; I had to remember not to act so casual around roll holders, all this work with White was starting to show some bad side effects.

Continuing smoothly through the awkwardness, Julius waved me out. "Come back in a few hours and I shall arrange a time and place for a meeting between myself and your Master". Another meeting, he was going to love this. Oh well, this is the price you pay for trying to get rid of me.

I was on the way back to the palace, somewhere in the middle of the forest, when darkness fell. With an annoyed sound I sat myself down against a tree, my only option to wait out the night. No use going anywhere when I couldn't see a metre in front of me. I rested my head on my knees, and quickly dozed off.

XxX

I was woken by rustling in the bushes, somewhere over to my right. It didn't sound like a possum or any other night time creature, and I swiftly drew the small stiletto blade that was standard for all castle maids. I waited as the sounds grew closer, legs tensed and ready to spring. Whatever was making those noises should be upon me in five, four, three, two, one…

I leapt through the air, gathering enough force to send whoever it was (I knew now that it was a person) crashing to the ground. However I simply felt myself falling through nothingness, whoever it was had dodged, fast. A pair of hands shot out and captured my wrists, spinning me around to face them. I made sure I was on firm footing, preparing to fight for my life, when I felt the hands dropped back with a surprised sound. Squinting up into the darkness I could just make out the features of the knight of hearts.

"Oh, it's you again" he tilted his head to the side in confusion. "What are you doing out here in the middle of the night"?

"Well it wasn't exactly night when I left" I snapped, still edgy from the adrenaline pumping through my body. "But wait, what do you mean by 'again'"?

"Don't tell me you've forgotten, I did save you back in the hedge maze".

This was bad, if people started to recognise me then…well any offences I made would be more easily punishable

"I'm sorry master but I have no idea what you mean, I have never even talked personally with you" I did my best to play the dull and mindless maid, but I had the feeling that my irritability had already made him suspicious.

"Oh well then, my mistake" he still eyed me with scrutiny though "but it's good that I ran into you, you have to know the way back to the castle"

"Not in the dark you…no sorry master, I don't" I had to stop with the attitude, really I did.

"Hmmm" his brow creased as he paced in a circle.

Then I was struck by an idea. "Well master, which way were you heading before" he pointed off into the darkness.

"Then let's go this way" I started off in the opposite direction.

XxX

We walked for half an hour, all our attention on not face planting into one of the bushes. I was fast regretting my choice of direction, as it seemed to be the most prickle plant, hidden rock and ditch filled way in the entire forest. Ace was ok in his long coat, but these stupid maid outfits weren't exactly made for bush-bashing.

Eventually we made it out onto even ground, and the knight spoke.

"So miss, what were you doing outside the castle anyway, or were you trying to run away"?

"That stupid rabbit sent me out on a pointless errand, just so he could have a few hours of trigger-happy fun" the words had left my mouth before my brain had double checked them, and I immediately regretted it.

"Oh, so that was you back in the maze". We'd stopped just outside the tree line, and I couldn't bring myself to turn and look at him.

"Tsk tsk, still haven't kicked that nasty habit of lying have we"? He rested one arm against a tree, looking down at me. His hand moved out to grab my chin. "You know, Julius could always do with a few more clocks" he mused, the other hand moving down to rest on the hilt of his sword. No way. If I survived this White had hell to pay. But right now, survival was my main concern, what with that dangerous look the knight had in his eyes.

My mind registered that dawn was breaking, a small mercy to not be left helpless in the dark at least. Then from nearby came voices. The knight dropped his hand and we both spun to look for the new threat.

Two boys, lounging against a metal gate which stood in front of a large house. With a gulp I realized where we were. The Hatter mansion. Crap.

I wasn't sure when, but Ace had somehow faded off back into the trees, leaving me alone. I spun about looking for him, before turning back to find two large axes millimeters from my face.

"Who are you Lady"? Asked one of the boys, dressed in red.

"Yeah, we're the gate keepers, here to get rid of trespassers" said his twin, dressed identically in blue

"Trespassers like you"

"So hold still, we promise to make it nice and quick"

What is it they say? Something about a frying pan and the fire?

As the twins drew back their blades, preparing for the kill, another voice shouted out from back at the gate.

"Hey, what are you slackers doing over here"?

Now this one I recognized, I had seen him once at negotiations between the heart and hatter territories. Well, and it was hard not to remember those ears.

"We were doing our jobs newbie hare, and getting rid of this trespasser"

"Trespasser, hey"? For the first time he noticed me.

"Let me take care of this one boys, I haven't had some fun in ages" he said with a smirk.

Oh come on, three times in one day?

"No stupid rabbit, she's ours"

"How many times do I have to say it, I. Am. Not. A-"!

"Rabbi~t" the boys taunted, sticking out their tongues.

While they were distracted, I attempted to creep away into the trees, only to be stopped by three weapons in my face, and a simultaneous cry of "Hey, where do you think you're going"

It seemed that they had come to the agreement that I was fair game, first in best dressed.

I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and waited for the light.

"Didn't I tell all of you not to kill things here without my permission"?

I felt a pair of hands come to rest on my shoulders, and cracked open an (invisible) eye.

"But bo~ss we were just doing our job, until he got in the way"

"Did not"!

"Did too"!

With a sigh, the man took this break to examine me, and his charming smile immediately turned to one of annoyed disappointment.

"Oh it's just a faceless, I thought you might be someone interesting, what with the rush of people who always seem to find themselves in exactly the same situation at our gates…but I guess not this time, go ahead boys"

Elliot and the twins immediately turned at this, happy for a chance at blood. And so in the time it took them to re-draw their weapons, I did the only thing I could. Ran like buggery. Usually, I would have no chance, but at least in the forest my agility and dodging skills would help.

I sprinted between trees, keeping my movements zig-zagy and irregular, but I was tiring fast. I had to find some other way of survival. With a sudden light bulb, I caught hold of one of the lower limbs of a tree, and swung myself up into its branches. I lay perfectly still as Elliot ran by underneath.

As the sounds of footsteps disappeared into the distance, I let go of the breath I had been holding, and allowed my muscles to relax.

I nearly gave myself away again as something lightly brushed the back of my leg and a voice asked "So, who are we hiding from"?

Trying to turn around, I lost my balance completely and went crashing to the ground. The drop was relatively short, but still painful. Wincing as I rubbed the developing lump on the back of my head, I looked up at whoever had scared me off my perch. From my vantage point all I could make out was a pair of topaz eyes, and the glint of something metallic. Metallic like, weapon metallic?

Scooting backwards until I hit resistance, I sprang to my feet. The person in the tree leapt off the branch and landed lightly in front of me.

"Hmm, you're from the castle, but I don't think you're a guard, a maid then"? I nodded dumbly, surprised by the bright pink colored hair, complete with cat ears and piercings.

"Ohhh, I thought you'd be fun to play with, but still, how did you get all the way out here"?

Grrr, why the hell did everyone want to know that!

"Because my stupid boss is lazy and doesn't want to do work, so he sent me off on some stupid task so he use his stupid gun to cause stupid chaos and death, and I would really appreciate it if you didn't try to kill me"! I shouted, a crazed look in my (again, invisible) eyes.

"Well if you ask me, you're the stupid one for going so close to hatter territory".

Twitch twitch. These roll holders were really asking for it today. I stamped my foot in frustration, unfortunately bringing it down on a stick with a sharp crack.

"What was that from over there"? Damn, rabbit boy.

I made violent shushing motions at the youth across from me. He just picked up a stick, holding it between two fingers and smiling. Curse these animal eared fiends.

"Listen, if I help you, you have to do me a favor" he spun the twig threateningly between his fingers.

"What, what"! I pleaded, the crunching noises growing closer.

"When I contact you, arrange a time that I'll be able to slip into the castle without being stopped".

For me there was no toss up of loyalty or life, as faceless we did our jobs, nothing more, and I held no honor bound ties to the Queen.

"Fine, I will"

With a satisfied smile, he grabbed my hand and took off through the trees, dragging me along behind. Within a few minutes we stood in front of the Amusement park. His ears perked up at the crashing sounds still coming from behind us, and he quickly dragged me through the gates.

"Don't worry, the Hatters lackeys aren't game to come in here without their boss".

Recovering my breath I managed to choke out a thank you.

"And by the way, the names-" "Boris"! I looked over to see a man approaching us. He had plaited red brown hair and a violin slung over one shoulder.

"What have you dragged in this time"? At least with all this ripping and mud he couldn't see my uniform.

"Just a friend" the cat boy said with a smile.

"Oh well, you two are the perfect audience for my new composition, it goes like this" I saw the color immediately drain from Boris's face, and he shot off like a cat threatened with a bath. I however, was not so lucky.

The noise hit my ears with the sound of a thousand chainsaws being put through a thousand giant paper shredders, utterly indescribable. At that moment, all of the days stress and annoyance came bursting out, and I snapped.

"OH DEAR LORD WOULD SOMONE PLEASE STOP THAT GOD AWFUL RACKET"! I cried, attempting to block it out with my hands. "These roll holders, their out to kill me, first the incubus, then that bloody knight, and especially the Hatter-"

"BLOOD DUPRE"!

Eep. The playing had stopped, but eep.

"Staff, get her, she's a spy for Blood Dupre"! His finger pointed accusingly at me. I backed away as the other faceless converged on me.

"No, really, you've got this all wrong, I work for" BANG!

Oh well, what was I going to say anyway? "Oh yes, I just work for the Heart Castle, your other enemy"! I bolted around the corner, and dived underneath a tent. The place was absolutely crawling with workers, and I had no way of escape. Eventually, they were going to find me.

"Chu"

I glanced behind me, and saw that I wasn't alone. And small boy with mouse ears was sharing my hiding spot. I braced myself and waited for him to shout for help. But, to my surprise, he simply brought a finger to his lips and shushed me.

"Don't tell Boris I'm here, please I don't want to be eaten".

His large green eyes pleaded silently with me, but I was just happy to be safe. I nearly had a heart attack when a pair of purple pink ears appeared suddenly in my vision.

"There you are" grinning down at me, he'd obviously not seen the mouse, who had shuffled behind me. "Hey" he said, sniffing the air "you smell funny, kind of like…rat". I gulped, but put up a gallant act.

"Oh, that uh, must have been those, rats that I chased out of the basement this morning, you know how it is" I laughed nervously.

Although obviously not convinced, a booming shout of his name called him away. I let out a sigh of relief and turned back to the figure behind me.

"It's ok, he's gone now" I said with a smile.

"Thank you" he muttered, obviously still shaken from the sudden shock.

"Now to just make it out of here intact" I whispered to myself.

"Um, I can get you out, in return for helping me".

I nodded vigorously in agreement and scrambled out from under the house. Grabbing my hand he pulled me silently through the park, creeping past the workers like, well like a mouse. We reached a small side gate set behind one of the rides.

"Thank you so much" I turned back around. I nearly fell over backwards when he leant forward and kissed me on the cheek.

"No thank you" he shouted over his shoulder as he ran back towards the park. I slipped outside, and headed back to the clock tower to settle things with Julius. Oh well, at least it can't get any worse. Right on cue, it started raining.

XxX

Peter let out a contented sigh as he leaned back in his chair. He was de-stressed, and the castle was once again understaffed. He listened to the storm raging just outside when CRASH! Lightening struck and the lights went out.

With a sound of annoyance, he reached into a draw and pulled out a small candle, lighting it. A strange creaking sound rang out from over by the door.

Strange, I thought I locked that. He spun around as a flash of light cast the shadow of a person against the wall. Its clothing ripped and torn, bloodied in some places, masses of tangled hair sticking out to frame a pale as death face.

"Demon" he whispered.

"Oh you had better believe it rabbit"! Her eyes glinted with murder. No, not a demon, something much worse. She stepped closer, hands held behind her back, concealing some unknown weapon of torture. Slowly, she brought her hands around to the front revealing…the largest stack of paper work he had ever seen.

He tilted his head in confusion, before the pile was slammed down onto his desk, and he was slammed back into his chair. Quick as a flash she pulled something out of her pocket and before he knew it she had him handcuffed to the seat. Turning away, she twirled the keys on one finger as she spoke.

"I told your dear friend Nightmare that as a favor in return to the clock tower for all the staff you've been killing, you would help out and finish the last three months worth of paper work".

Oh dear god, no! Calm down White, when in doubt, take refuge in logic.

"Stupid girl, I can't do paper work for the clock tower, I know nothing of the affairs going on there".

"Oh don't worry, its only things like sums, alphabetizing, spell-check"!

"No, I refuse, and as you're superior I command you to unchain me this instant" he was really starting to panic now.

SLAM! He looked at the stiletto blade, still quivering from where it had been driven into his desk.

"Do you know, master, how many people tried to kill, throw, or otherwise harm me today"? Gulp. She took his silence as agreement.

As she stood in the door frame she called back with a cheery smile "oh, and have it done soon, I promised the clock master that you'd meet with him at dawn, he says it's the only time he's not working"

"Why you-" but the door was already slammed, locked and bolted. He wasn't leaving until the paperwork was done.

XxX

Outside the door, Marianne smiled deviously. There you go master, one shitload of karma, from me with love.

She tried to waltz away down the hall dramatically, but a violent sneeze caused her to fall flat on her face. Oh well, I should just be thankful I'm still here.

I'm a heartless bitch aint I? Being mean is just so fun. Also I'm sorry if I have offended anyone with my jab at unoriginal plot templates, I really have nothing against them. Reason I haven't updated in forever? I kept putting off doing dialog for Pierce. Damn character writing skills *shakes fist* And yes, before people say it I've already been told that I'm the big bad OOC monster, out to ruin all your favorite characters, so don't worry bout alerting me of the fact, it's a disease that I'm slowly getting over :'( Fun Fact: That is the longest chapter word wise I have ever written. I'm so proud.