Chapter 1

Life in Wonderland was almost analogous to the clock. Everything worked in a predictable precision, ticking at a predictable, stable pace. Rules were followed without question, and all were forced to obey them.

Yes, life worked in this precise synchronization, thrumming along in a slow, stable rhythm.

Ace simply hated it. Ace hated these constrictions, this monotonous tempo he's forced to follow, especially since he was a role holder. That simple title of knight had to be greatest and most binding imprisonment of all.

What he wouldn't give to be free of it all and live things the way he wanted to. Not because his role demands it.

That's probably why he worked for Julius. It was the only thing that he controlled, and the only thing that he hoped would grant him his freedom. He never stopped working there, despite the futility of it all. He probably would never be free.

So far, it seemed Ace was to remain condemned to this life, remaining prisoner to the monotonous ticking of his own clock.

"Looks like I finally made it!" Ace noted rather cheerfully, exiting the forest depths. The afternoon sun was still a warm, golden ball, slowly deepening into dark orange as it dipped off over the horizon.

At this time, he expected the Queen of Hearts to be enjoying her customary afternoon tea.

Like always.

Ace released a low sigh, scarlet orbs fixated on the floor as he walked into the castle courtyard. It's always the same old thing. Sure, it wasn't all that bad lately. Alice's appearance had made life in the Castle a little more interesting. He had never seen the stoical White Rabbit so cheerful and happy before, and he was entertaining to watch at times.

But Ace had quickly grown used to this new Peter, tolerating his overly jubilant demeanor with, perhaps, even more patience than he expected necessary. Castle-life had eventually melted into the monotony of this existence, continuing on like unperturbed clockwork despite the tiny disruption of an outsider's presence.

'What I wouldn't give for something different for a change...'

"Master Ace?"

Ace perked up, lazily raising his gaze to a faceless servant. She was no one of interest, just another average looking female. Then again, he supposed all the maids were average looking. They all looked the same to him after all.

He arched a brow in question. "What's up?"

"Her majesty has been looking all over for you! She requests your presence in the throne room. There's a meeting going on amongst Heart role holders."

Such a statement caught him by surprise. "Really? Now?"

The young maid nodded her head. "Yes. Now, Master Ace. The queen doesn't like waiting."

'Because if she has to wait, heads will roll...' But Ace decided to humor the old bat, considering she offered him something so astounding. What was this meeting about? What in the world could be more important than Vivaldi's cup of tea? The knight was dying to know.

Ace curved his lips into his customary grin and nodded his head.

"Alright. Please follow me then."

The Knight of Hearts then obediently followed the maid towards the Castle.

~(o)~

The moment Ace entered the throne room, he was greeted with the strident screeches of this territory's most esteemed leader.

"You are mad!" The regal Queen of Hearts, Vivaldi, shouted from her seat, violet irises narrowed into a sneer at the King of Hearts.

"I don't see what's so wrong with it, Vivaldi," calmly refuted the king, his expression placid and serene, a stark contrast to Vivaldi's expression of unadulterated exasperation.

"Are you listening to yourself? You are simply bonkers." Vivaldi turned towards the castle's Prime Minister, Peter White, who stood off to the side of the whole argument with minimal interest. "Peter, tell his majesty he is insane."

Peter scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "My stance remains the same, Vivaldi - I don't care. Even if I did, I honestly don't see much of a problem with this."

Vivaldi barely repressed a disgruntled groan, lazily running a tired hand through her dark curls. "You both must have lost your minds..."

Ace finally decided to speak up. "Hey, what's up with you guys? What's going on here?"

At the sound of the knight's voice, the congregation of three slowly turned their heads towards him, watching as he advanced forward with a light, relaxed stride.

Vivaldi stated without any embellishment, "Ace, you're late. We thought We requested your presence earlier."

The brown-haired male nervously rubbed the back of his head and said with an apologetic smile, "Ha ha... What can I say? I got lost?"

Vivaldi straightened her posture, radiating with silent disapproval. "Well, now that you are here, perhaps you could help resolve a problem We are having."

"But we are not-"

"Silence!" Seeing the king placated himself and was not planning on muttering another word anytime soon, Vivaldi continued. "Ace, please tell the king he is a complete and utter lunatic."

"Whoa, he was bonkers and now a lunatic? What's wrong? Did you finally make him lose his sanity?" teased the Knight with silly grin on his face.

"No, We did not," she sternly chastised him, shards of amethyst ready to puncture through him. "Please explain the situation, your majesty."

"But it's not..." The king sighed in defeat. "I was just telling Vivaldi it would be nice to have an extra hand around here in the castle."

"So he plucked some random faceless urchin off the streets and brought her here to the castle! How insane is this man? Tell him, Ace!"

The king shrugged his tired shoulders while Peter rolled his eyes. Though the epitome of elegance and grace, those who were closer to the young woman could agree on one thing: she could be such a drama queen.

"I actually don't think it's all that bad! The only one who seems crazy here is you, Vivaldi," Ace stated cheerfully. Vivaldi responded with a withering glare.

"Perhaps I can introduce the girl right now? She's such a sweet little thing and promises to work very hard." Once Vivaldi bobbed her head in a submissive nod, the King went to his feet and off towards the door. "My dear, can you please come out? Everyone would like to meet you!"

Ace waited with patient impassivity, staring idly at the ceiling. This had to be the most boring assembly they ever had. Vivaldi's histrionics were amusing and all, but really? In his eyes, this was completely not worth missing her necessary tea for or wasting their time. 'No one wants to deal with cranky Vivaldi when she doesn't get her tea...'

"Well. Here she is."

Then everything fell completely silent. There was not a single breath, any denotations of repulse, apathy, approval... or life even.

Ace's ruby eyes descended and refocused on the group before him. He felt his curiosity pique. She was just a girl, faceless as all those without a role are.

Perhaps it was his colleagues' reactions that caught his attention.

King remained cheerfully calm while Peter regarded the girl with mild interest, white brow raised when he glanced over to their queen.

Vivaldi's orbs were large and wide, swirling with so much emotion - shock, surprise... familiarity? No, that last one was just Ace's imagination. Her eyes then narrowed, her veneer as a blank as a slate, but orbs alight with some sort of burning irritation.

Ace turned his head and took the time to really look at the girl.

He felt himself fall completely still.

'She's just an average girl. Faceless like all the rest of them...'

Still Ace could not help, but stare. What was there to stare at? She was probably average in his eyes. Average, slender body shape, average, long, dark hair... Then again, if she was so average, why was he still staring at her?

'There's actually something... Familiar about her.' That was the issue that truly garnered his undivided attention. For some unfathomable reason, the girl struck a cord of familiarity. How could that be? All faceless people looked the same. All were equally forgettable in his mind.

Why did this one still look like he had seen her before?

"No. Absolutely not." The strident, feminine voice was enough to snap himself out of his reverie. Ace glanced back over to Vivaldi, her expression hard and unmoving like pristine marble. "We don't need another faceless maid here."

"She's not just another faceless worker," insisted the king, gesturing to the young girl. Her eyes - or at least where her eyes should have been - were transfixed on the smooth, cold floorings. Her expression remained perfectly blank, betraying not even an iota of emotion. "She promises to be a hard worker and to be an excellent addition to us."

"Since when do you decide who should work for us? We declare a vote! We vote against hiring her," she primly stated, frilly arms adamantly intertwining over her chest.

"Well, I vote otherwise and say she does join us," refuted the king. The two Heart nobles turned towards the Prime Minister, awaiting his response.

"You two decide what you want and leave me out of it. I already told you that I don't care," replied Peter, waltzing towards the door. "If you excuse me, I have work to do."

"Oh, does your work involve stalking Alice?" Ace called out cheerfully.

Peter tensed for a millisecond and toyed with the large pocket watch slung over his body before storming out. Ace repressed a low laugh, amused by such a simple reaction. Peter's buttons were so easy to push. He then glanced over to his two superiors.

Both of them were eying him with a glimmer of expectation, though one pair sparkled more fiercely than the other.

"What? Is there something on my face?" wondered Ace aloud, running his gloved hand over his chin and the corners of his mouth.

"No, you buffoon," Vivaldi said with a scowl over her lips. "You must answer and decide this trivial argument. Should we keep the girl or not?"

Ace studied Vivaldi's stern features with his usual cheer, finding himself pleasantly amused by the impatience in her face. Oh, how mad would she be if he sided against her! Her expression would be priceless!

He then casted his red orbs to the king. Unlike his female partner, he remained completely relaxed... so unperturbed that Ace would have almost thought he already knew the outcome. That he was confident he'd win this.

'So he really wants her working here?' There had to be a reason why the king would risk an arm and a leg to try to get Vivaldi to agree. 'To think, I once thought this day was going to be dull...'

If one girl could make such a splash on one day, how interesting would the castle be if she honestly did work here? He doubted the novelty of her presence would last very long, but hey. It would help release them from the tedium, even if it was only temporary.

With a wide smile on his face, Ace said, "I don't see a problem with her staying and working here!"

The king's lips quirked to a tiny, victorious grin, his frame relaxing. Vivaldi remained perfectly still, cheeks slightly puffed in silent outrage.

She curtly released a breath of air. "Fine. We see how it is. The girl's hired then. She better be worth it though."

"Oh, I believe it will all be worth it in the end," beamed the king.

"Then go on! Get the girl dressed! She's starting immediately." The Heart Queen swiftly rose to her feet and smoothed down her skirt with a curt, irritated pat. "Now, if you'll excuse Us, We'll be having Our tea now before it gets too dark."

Then with such a gracile speed belonging only to her, Queen Vivaldi stormed out of the premises, her lips containing a ghost of a pout. Ace smirked in amusement and turned to face the remaining congregation. To his surprise, the girl had disappeared from sight.

"Hey, king, where-"

"I directed her off to be fitted for her uniform," replied the king, his mouth curved into a relaxed and gentle smile. "Rather surprising that Vivaldi conceded, no? Our queen was never one to be so submissive."

"Yeah! I was expecting to hear her rave, rant, and chop someone's head off!" The king chuckled at Ace's comment. "So if you don't mind me asking, your majesty. I've got to ask. Why did you bring her along?"

"Isn't obvious? We need more dedicated workers! She looked like she needed a job, so I wanted to hire her."

"But there's more to it, isn't there?" pressed Ace, his arms intertwining over his broad chest. "There has to be another reason why you brought her here."

The king remained perfectly silent, the smooth, aged planes of his face unmoving and calm. His lips were etched into a tiny, customary grin.

"So? Do you plan on telling me?"

All there was complete silence. Ace awaited rather patiently as the noble considered his inquiry, pondering answer after answer in his mind, testing each with unusual scrupulousness. He then shrugged and patted Ace's shoulder as he began heading out the door. "I suppose it's better if you found out yourself, Ace. Everything then will make a little more sense to you."

Ace was rendered speechless, watching in fascination as the king walked away, his royal cape whipping behind him.

He had never knew the king was capable of something like this. Since when was he so cryptic and able to puzzle him so? Since when did the King of Hearts blatantly avoid answering a question? He was always the wallflower in the throne room, quiet and invisible to most. Perhaps there was even more to him than meets the eye...

'Well, my questions aren't going to get answered if I just stand in here.' Ace then strode out the empty throne room, collecting his erratic thoughts. If he was to calm this mystified storm in his mind, he needed to address the problem by its source.

He had to talk to the girl himself.

A/N Notes: Eh, nothing really to say. At the moment. The girl will be introduced in the next chapter though. :]

Thanks for reading~