Chapter 3
"So bored," Scarlet groaned while she sat herself against the castle wall, head resting against the hard surface.
How long had she been sitting there anyway? It felt like ages. She lazily rotated her head around the hallway. To her chagrin, everything was disconcertingly still, devoid of any signs of life. Such a sight caused the faceless maid to sink lower into the cold floor, allowing everything in her line of vision to melt into darkness.
Why was she sitting there like some bum in the first place? She had many other maid-related duties to attend to. She had very little patience to listen to Vivaldi's reprimand if the raven monarch saw her lazing about.
Then came a sense of clarity.
Everything came back to her. It all started because of the king.
~{o}~
Scarlet was in the middle of one of her maidly duties – cleaning up the guest rooms. The essence of the task didn't really bother her. She didn't mind cleaning by herself.
She just couldn't comprehend why she had to do it so many times.
'To think, I'm not even a third of the way done.' Scarlet resisted the intrinsic need to groan as she stared at the nearly endless lines of rooms she was supposed to clean. She was never one to complain, but the tedium was seriously starting to get to her. 'Why do I even have to do this all by myself? Curse Vivaldi for bestowing such an unnecessary punishment…'
But what could she do? She was only a mere servant. She couldn't complain unless she had a desire for her head to be chopped off. She's not that foolish. Besides, there wasn't anyone around with enough time on their hands to even help or dump the rest of the work on. Scarlet just had to suck it up and just do it. All Scarlet could hope for, as she carted the cleaning equipment off towards the next room and released a deep, soul felt sigh, was a miracle.
"Hello there!" Scarlet paused in surprise, whipping her head towards the source of the voice.
"Oh, your majesty! I didn't see you there," said Scarlet politely, lowering her upper body into a bow in reverence to the Heart King. "Is there something you need?"
"Actually, yes. I was just looking for you." The king watched as a wave of confusion swept over her faceless countenance, and then added, "I have a job for you."
The young maid contritely said, "I humbly would accept the duty, but I still have to…"
The king promptly interrupted her. "I already spoke with Vivaldi. She agreed this task was far more important than your current one. You can spare a few moments to hear me out."
Scarlet was unsure how exactly she should feel – whether to sigh in ephemeral relief or inwardly cringe in fright. Anything Vivaldi would agree to must be horrendous.
Despite her uncertainty in her emotions, Scarlet willingly released the cart from her hands and said, "Alright, sir. What would you like me to do?"
The king's face retained its smile and general joviality as he informed her, "Well, I'd like you to run a delivery for me."
Scarlet perked up in interest. "A delivery run?"
The kind nodded his head. "Tomorrow morning, I would like you to bring a package over to the Mad Hatter."
"Deliver something to the Hatter Estate!" gasped Scarlet in surprise.
"Yes, it won't be a bother, will it? I could always assign this task to another…"
"No, no! It's not a problem! I can do it!" the dark-haired maid cried vehemently, partially fearing she would have to return to her cleaning task. "I just… have never been there personally before. The thought is just a little intimidating. That's all."
'After all, it is the bloody mafia…'
Scarlet watched the king in curiosity, seeing the planes of his face soften ever so slightly, the grin on his lips widen. "Well, if it's any consolation, you won't be going there alone. I actually assigned this errand to another, but I thought it would be a good idea to have another person accompanying him."
Scarlet processed the information in her mind and nodded her head. "That sounds perfect. I happily accept the task."
"Are you positive?" The maid's stance remained unwavering, firm as she nodded her head. Such a response seemed to have suddenly placed a weight on the king's lips, dark brows to knit together. "I must warn you. Your companion is a man. It's still unsafe for a woman, faceless or not, to be alone with one."
"I appreciate your concern, my king, but I believe I can handle myself just fine."
Still, the King of Hearts continued to frown, examining the young maid in contemplative silence. He took a single step forward. His hand twitched up, but fell lifelessly to his side. All he did was stare.
The maid dared not move, no matter how uncomfortable the current circumstance was. As she looked at the softness of the king's aged face, so gentle and kind, she found enough patience to endure it.
Scarlet jumped when she felt a weight descend onto her shoulder.
"I know you will be," he said in a voice so soft and encouraging, she couldn't help, but feel her clock heart warmed and touched by the sincerity in his words. It was strange for her to feel such a thing. Why would she feel pleased she had his support or encouragement? It didn't truly mean anything. Still, she couldn't help this strange sensation unfurling in her heart...
"Your majesty?" Scarlet took a quick step back, watching as the young Queen of Hearts waltzed towards them, her face cool, collected, and severe. Scarlet lowered her head, allowing her long locks to conceal a fleeting warmth in her face
Why in the world did she feel so embarrassed? She was doing absolutely nothing wrong. They were merely talking, and she honestly lost her will to care how Vivaldi perceived her ages ago. Why did the queen's sudden appearance seem to make her feel so conscious and nervous?
"Your majesty, we still have a meeting you attend. There's much We still need to speak to you about," Vivaldi said, her voice resembling much like honey spilling over jagged ice.
"Yes, I was finishing briefing her about the mission," replied the king, turning his head to face Scarlet once again. "Now tomorrow morning, meet your partner near the entrance of the castle, alright?"
Scarlet nodded her head in affirmation, willing the heat to vanish from her face. The king waved her adieu and began walking off.
Vivaldi didn't follow; the maid sensed her stand firmly in her place, her posture elegant and unmoving. With a nervous swallow, Scarlet slowly turned her head to face her. Their gazes locked, her amethysts so sharp and luminous that they nearly stabbed into her nonexistent ones.
There was only a tense silence, the air charged. Scarlet was half expecting the queen to sentence her to decapitation, not that she knowingly did anything wrong.
Finally, the queen turned around and walked away, leaving behind only one sentence, "Shouldn't you be busy cleaning now?"
At first, this baffled the young maid, wondering whatever the Queen of Hearts meant. Looking down at the cart beside her, everything became clear.
She inwardly groaned. 'Come on! I still have to clean?'
Without any outward gripes and whines, Scarlet slowly went back to work…
~{o}~
'Why the heck does Vivaldi hate me so much anyway? I still can't figure it out.' Scarlet mused absently, slowly surfacing from that memory. 'It just doesn't make any sense...'
Vivaldi's silent animosity was something she grew accustomed to while working there... but it always seemed even more pronounced whenever Scarlet was speaking to the king.
'That's it. The other maids and soldiers were right. The woman's just insane,' she deigned with a lazy bob of her head. The young maid casted a brief glance to hallways before allowing everything to fall back into darkness once more.
Just who was her delivery companion going to be? Perhaps one of the card soldiers, Peter? Or was it someone like...
Scarlet shook her head. No, she refused to think it! Think of that abominable name and even of that more abominable person!
'I'll just continue sitting here patiently... waiting for someone to come...'
With that last thought, Scarlet felt herself pulled back into a realm of darkness, drowning in her past memories...
~{o}~
"I've done it!"
A young child Scarlet slowly lifted her gaze, seeing an older woman rush into the room, her faceless countenance bright and smiling.
The faceless child tilted her head in curiosity. "What did you do, Myrina?" The woman didn't respond immediately, her eyeless face holding her gaze for a long moment. Scarlet's mouth swung ajar and released a small gasp. "No... you really are going to try and do it?"
Myrina cheerfully nodded her head. "I'm pretty much all set, little sister! I've got enough money, a home already found and picked out." The dark-haired female excitedly took the young girl's hands and began jumping in delight. "Oh you have no idea how long I've waited for this day to come! I promise, Scar, to visit when I can... with my new husband of course."
Scarlet's expression scrunched up, surprised by such a pronouncement. "Oh... so you really are marrying that sickly guy? I thought you were kidding and taking pity on him or something."
"Darian is not that sickly! He's getting a lot better now, and his immune system will be even stronger when we finally leave this place," her elder sister fervently rebuked, arms crossing over her chest.
Scarlet imagined her eyes whirling in a wide, dramatic circle. "Whatever..."
The young woman didn't seem to pay any heed to her younger sister's sarcasm. In fact, Scarlet had never seen her, or any faceless person for that matter, so happy before. Myrina seemed to radiate a certain euphoric light, brightening her face and spreading such a glorious smile on her lips.
Pangs of jealousy clanked against the gears in her own heart. Was anything like that was possible for her? Could she be so genuinely happy, to be with someone she loved with all her heart? Scarlet surely hoped so, but there were always those nagging doubts.
Myrina lifted herself from her joyful daze and looked down at her little sister's face, seeing her elation blend with her depression, excitement mix with envy. Myrina wrapped her arms around her and gently crooned in her ear, "You can do it too, you know. Get out of here. You just need a little patience and an open-mind. Most of all? You have to listen to that heart of yours. Got it memorized?"
Scarlet nodded her head, feeling a warmth blossom in her clock heart when she felt her elder sister press her lips onto her cheek.
"Now, we have to get going, Scar. Mother had just finished dinner, and I'm starving!"
Scarlet nodded her head, taking her sister's hand into hers. The little girl savored the warmth, the gentleness of her sister's touch, relished every second they still had together. Everything felt as if this would be the last time they would be this close, the last time she would ever see her like this. Scarlet would miss her.
And so started the dream, the dream of better things, of places outside of this country they lived in.
...and also the beginning of a nightmare.
~{o}~
"Hello?" A voice attempted to lift her of her sleeping daze, its tone tentative and soft. "Hello?"
Scarlet only rustled once, refusing to escape the comforting darkness. She was still too comfortable in her dreamy state and didn't want to wake from it just yet.
"Hey, hello there! Are you deaf?"
Scarlet jumped, her clock heart ticking in an unnatural pace. Her vision was filled with swirling colors, blotting out the inky darkness. Her eyes then focused on a pair of bright crimson, regarding her form in curiosity.
Anger surged through her veins as she shouted, "What is your problem, knight? I was trying to take a nap!"
"Eh? Why are you yelling at me? How am I supposed to know you were sleeping? I can't tell even if you're awake!" defended Ace, his face even brighter and more cheerful than she last remembered.
A scowl formed over her lips as the young maid mumbled through a yawn, "Ugh, don't remind me..."
Ace knelt down right before her, a teasing grin dancing over his already smiling mouth. "So why's the little maid sleeping in the middle of the hall? Ooh, you're not slacking off are you?"
Irritation simmered her blood, balling the hem of her skirt into her fists. "I was not slacking off, knight. I was just waiting for my partner to come here so we could go on our mission!" Scarlet suddenly relaxed her tense muscles, settling herself against the hard wall. Anger was too tiring an emotion to maintain, especially in her current, lackadaisical state. She groaned, "The guy is taking too long! What he do? Get lost in the castle?"
Ace suddenly laughed and cheerfully said, "Well, what can I say? This castle is pretty big! It's easy to lose one's way."
"Well, that's just you, Ace. No other idiot could possibly..." She then fell completely still, her mind reeling as it evoked a new thought. Her heart suddenly fell deep into her abdomen, slowly dissolving amongst the surrounding acid. "No. You... You're not the one I...?"
His smile seemed to widen considerably as he said with enthusiasm, "Hi, partner!"
Scarlet sunk even lower towards the depths of despair. She inwardly groaned at such an abominable notion, gently knocking her own head against the wall at her own stupidity. How could she not realize it earlier? There were so many hints suggesting the Knight of Hearts. The fact the king wanted an extra person to accompany him should have been a huge indicator. It wasn't for more practical reasons like she thought. He was just worried that the deliverer would get horribly lost.
"Why me?" She grumbled crossly, continuing to punish herself for her ignorance.
There was a loud burst of laughter, stopping her in her self-infliction and escalating her annoyance levels. "Aw, the king never told you? It's because you're my new attendant!"
This had caused every muscle in her body to grow taut. Her mouth fell open. She stammered, "N... new... attendant?"
Once this deadly verbal bomb was dropped, she thought she felt herself die a little inside. It was as if her entire was shattered into a hundred thousand pieces, destroying her from the inside out. She forced herself to stare at him, at that annoying, smiling face.
This Heart maid was to attend him, a complete and utter waste of role holding flesh and bones? Was this some sort punishment made by the queen? She would have felt insulted if the situation didn't distress her so much.
But Scarlet was not a whiner. The circumstances annoyed her, but she would not whimper or moan. She was a maid of Hearts. Whether she liked it or not, this was now a part of her job… and she certainly detested it at the moment.
Brusquely rising to her feet, Scarlet spoke tersely, "Okay. Fine then, master. We should get started then. God, I don't want your stup... eccentricity rubbing off on me."
Ace blinked several times, crimson orbs staring at her. He shrugged his shoulders, rose to his feet, and waltzed towards the door.
'You can do this, Scar.' The maid took a deep breath. 'You have to try to be–" Scarlet shuddered "–Nice to him.' If she wanted to keep her job, as well as a steady income, she needed to be courteous... well, that was easier said than done.
Her hand instinctively flew to her mouth. A low cough sounded, ripping through her throat in an aching muffled burst.
"Hey, you're not sick are you?" asked Ace, leaning against the doorway.
Scarlet shook her head, tightly clenching her hand into a fist and dropping it to her side. "Yeah... I, uh, just need a drink. You go on ahead. I'll be right behind you."
With a nod of his head, Ace headed out through the door and said, "Good! I wouldn't want to catch whatever contagion you're ailed with!"
Normally, Scarlet would have glared at him, imagining a thousand daggers plunging deep into that irritating back. She had more important things to worry about. She quickly glanced down at her hand... and sighed in relief. Her palm was still a pristine milky white, still pure and clean.
For now.
Scarlet hurriedly rummaged through her knapsack, desperately digging underneath the package and retrieving a tiny bottle, contents clinking as she scrambled to open it. Once its top was untwisted and a large pill fallen into her hand, she quickly popped it into her mouth and forced it down her throat. She gagged once. The sting in her throat was still there, but it bothered her far less than it had before.
'Alright. Time to get this show on the road.'
With her condition momentarily soothed, knapsack firmly slung over her uniform, Scarlet stepped out of the castle doors and out into the world before her.
~{o}~
The forest that morning seemed so fresh, beautiful, and alive. The overhead foliage was painted with emerald gold, pigments of sea blue rippling in out and out of her vision. Scarlet felt almost enchanted by such divine stillness, the ethereal serenity. Her lungs were filled with the sweet, natural air. It felt like such a long time since she simply walked through this forest. She missed those extraordinary moments of tranquility, savor its exquisite, natural beauty.
She would have enjoyed such rare splendor even more if it wasn't for the man walking beside her.
"Wow, we're here already?" Scarlet cringed at the sound of his voice, his overly cheerful tone that disrupted such perfect placidity. She turned her head towards him, seeing his bright garnet orbs gaping in amazement at the gated structure before him.
She mentally rolled her eyes. "What do you expect? I was the one leading. I certainly would not let you and your directionally challenged mind get us lost." Her tone was indifferent, colder than she intended.
The young man dramatically shivered. "Jeez, you're so mean, Scarlet-chan!"
"If you insist on using my name, please don't use such cutesy honorifics. Better yet, why don't you just not say my name at all!"
"But that's just silly, Scarlet-chan! Why wouldn't I address my attendant by her name?"
Two nerves were struck. A curtain of raven hair draped over her face in order to conceal the tightness in her lips, the nerves rising and thrumming against her temples. Why must this task be so degrading?
'He's only trying to push my buttons.' Ace was just trying to get a reaction, see how far he could push until he threw her right over the edge. At first, she easily ignored such needling, concentrating on the task at hand. The longer she spent with him made it all progressively more difficult. The impulse to lash out at him grew greater.
'I need this job,' she began telling herself, taking in a deep breath. 'I need to be nice to him…'
Scarlet retrieved the package out of her knapsack, took a single step towards him, and shoved the bag right into his hands.
Ace merely blinked, staring first at the bag then at Scarlet. "What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Hold it for me. Duh," she answered in a matter-of-factly tone, turning and beginning to walk towards the Hatter gates.
"But why do I have to hold it? You're the maid!"
Scarlet paused for a moment, considering his query in her mind, and turned to answer him, "You're right. I'm just a weak, faceless maid. You, on the other hand, are a big strong, role holding man! You couldn't possibly mind holding that bag for a little while I go make the delivery."
Ace didn't respond, studying that grin on her faceless countenance. He didn't know why it looked so strange, especially with that sweetness in her voice. Then he snapped his fingers in realization. "Ah-hah! That's a smile of malice!"
The maid didn't answer and walked towards the mansion.
She couldn't deny the fact it was an incredible structure. The gates' dark metal bars reflected back the overhead sun, glistening an almost silvery, white light. The walls towered her head, imposing her with its white marble stone. Nothing could make her forget about the chills racing down her spine, her mind reminding her of the horrors that lay within these walls.
'Now's not good time to be scared.' She swallowed a large lump in her throat, staring at the gates. She turned her head and looked at her surroundings. There wasn't anyone in sight that could let her in. 'And where the heck is Ace?' No matter where she looked, there wasn't even iota of the red knight. 'Tch. Abandoning me and letting me do all the hard work.'
She harrumphed at the thought and deliberated to find some Hatter servant or something… just as she turned around, two children garbed in red and blue stopped in her tracks.
"Aw… you're not onee-san," the blue one pouted, tapping the metal bar of his axe against his arm.
"We thought onee-san came to visit up," the red one grimaced, sighing in pure disappointment.
'Onee-san? Who the heck is that?' But that thought left as quickly as it came, replaced with a new that thought registered in her mind. She recognized those two identical figures instantly.
They were Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.
'The Bloody Twins…'
Tweedle Dee spoke aloud, "What's a maid from Hearts doing here?"
Scarlet swallowed, keeping her voice firm and strong as she spoke, "I came here on behalf of their majesties to deliver a package to sir Blood Dupre. If you two could be so kind as to show me were he is then…"
The glint in their eyes caused her to fall totally still, reminding vaguely of the glimmer of the axes.
"Oh, we promise to give Boss that," Tweedle Dum said, a smile curling on his lips.
Dee had a similar look on his own countenance. "But, we'd like to send the queen a present of our own! Brother, how do you think the royal witch would like a nice corpse on her front door?"
"Oh, I think she would like it very much so! We could even rip out her veins and make it a pretty, red bow!"
"Excellent idea!"
"No, that is not an excellent idea!" The ticking in her chest began to increase rapidly, pounding against her ribcage. Before she could react, long rods of steels appeared from either side of her and prevented her escape, ensnaring her between sharp blades. "U… uh, you two! You don't really want to kill me. I'm just the maid. It's not like my death would accomplish anything."
The metal teeth did not recede. The twins seemed to have an entirely different opinion. They simply laughed. "What are you talking about? You would accomplish a lot of things!"
"Like getting rid of our boredom! We have nothing to do since onee-san isn't here, and nobody came here all day! We have no one to play with."
"So… bye bye!"
Scarlet was nearly frantic. "No! No, bye bye! Come on! Let's play a different game instead, like a card game! I know a few, like Old Maid, Go Fish…"
"Oh, Go Fish! Brother, why not we go fish from some eyeballs? I've always wondered if these faceless people had any."
His twin counterpart fervently nodded his head in agreement.
Scarlet suddenly felt lightheaded, feeling a lack of oxygen affecting her mind and her lungs. Of course she heard rumors of what happened to several those faceless people that so much as stumbled passed the mafia.
Most of them ended up dead.
She allowed her vision to fade away, melt into complete darkness as she waited for the axes to chop her up into a thousand pieces.
Instead of feeling flesh break apart at their hungry blades, she only hear metal clank together.
What in the world…?
"Ah, it's nice to see you're making new friends! People here were always friendly!" Disconcerting chills raced down her spine, her muscles tensing at such a voice. She could recognize it anywhere.
The darkness disappeared from her vision. The blades were only a few inches away from her head. The only thing that stopped them was a long, metal sword.
"A… Ace! W… what are you doing here?" The twins spoke in unison, struggling to keep their voices strong and firm… but evidently failing.
The axes promptly receded. The red knight smiled at the two twins, causing ripples of fear to race down their spine. The twins took a tentative step back. "Ah, I actually got a little lost trying to follow my little attendant here to the mansion. Jeez! You move fast for a scrawny thing!"
Scarlet glared at the young knight, barely restraining herself to smack him right in the head. "You idiot knight, how could you get lost? The gate was right there!"
Ace shrugged his shoulders and released a light laughter, obviously unsure of such a thing himself.
'I guess it's simply because he's Ace. Ace can get lost no matter the circumstance.'
She snapped herself out of her bubble, finding her gaze attracted to the twins before her. She had heard many stories about the Hatter's subordinates, especially those concerning the Bloody Twins.
Not in any accounts had she ever heard of them looking as scared as they were right now. Such fear was almost uncharacteristic of those ruthless children. They couldn't be possibly scared of the goofy guy near her. In all the time she was forced near his presence, there was nothing that she found terrifying; annoying, yes, but certainly nothing that proved daunting. Was there really more to Ace than what met the eye?
'…Nah!'
"Now, maybe you could take this pretty little package, and then we could get back! I'm hungry right now!" Ace said cheerfully and then turning his gaze to the young maid.
He tilted his head in curiosity. It was difficult to ascertain much of her current state, what was going on underneath that dark mop of hers. He did have a very vague idea how she was feeling when he saw the tightness of her lips. "Hey, what's with that face? You know it might stay like that if you keep it up!"
Her tight lips twisted into a scowl. "Idiot, stop goofing around! This is a life or death situation. You should be serious when our lives are in danger, or more so mine!"
Much to her irritation, the knight only laughed. "Ah, you're being so overdramatic! These kids are nothing to be afraid of!" He unconsciously casted his long sword over to the Bloody Twins, both freezing at the pointed edge of the blade. "Everyone's nice here! I guess the only time you need to worry if that March guy comes along, and he's in a pretty bad mood..."
As if on cue, a gunshot exploded into the air, crashing down into the dirt floor.
"Oh... I was wondering why are you brats slacking off and I see that knight here again. How irritating."
Scarlet felt her heart rocket to her throat, body becoming rigid when the shooter came into view. That orange locks and those brown rabbit ears... It was impossible for her not to be able to recognize the Hatter's right hand man, one that struck equal fear into her heart.
'Elliot March...'
With his violet semi-automatic pistol in hand, Elliot said, "Why don't you get lost, Ace? You have no business over here!"
"Too late! I already did!" The brown-haired knight released a jovial laugh. "Hey, this is the rabbit I was telling you about! Such a nice bunny. He always tries helping me how to get back to the castle whenever I get lost here."
Another shot was fired directly at their feet.
"How many times must I tell people that I'm not a rabbit!" Elliot spat out, nerves bursting out from his temples. "I don't care why you're here, all I want you guys to do is leave!"
"Aw, the rabbit is getting upset! Want a carrot for your thoughts?" Ace taunted, nonchalantly settling himself behind the young Heart maid, adding another obstacle between him and the livid hare.
"Ace, why not you shut up and leave or else I'll make you," threatened Elliot, gun raised and ready to shoot.
Ace placed a hand on Scarlet's shoulder and said lightly, "Ah, you wouldn't shoot at a young lady! That would be rude."
Scarlet suddenly broke out of her terrified daze when another shot was fired, piercing through the thin fabric of her headdress.
"That's stupid of you to use that maid as your shield," Elliot said. His gun click and ready to fire another round. "I'd just pray that you both die by using one shot."
The young girl gasped in fright, her clock ticking at an even faster pace. Ace merely took on a pensive veneer, considering something in his mind.
He finally spoke up in realization, "Oh, wait... This won't work that well. You're not like Alice. Even if you were dead, he'd still keep trying to shoot me..."
"Idiot, don't even think about using me as a sacrifice!" Scarlet shouted at him in outrage. "Now what do we do?"
Ace was quiet for a moment. "Got a weapon?"
"No," was Scarlet's answer.
"Why not?"
"I believe in nonviolence and chose not to carry around any weapons."
"...Well that's just naïve and stupid. I thought you had more sense than that."
"Why all the ner-" Her words were clipped at her throat when Ace pushed her out of the way of the bullet. With package firmly pressed against her chest, Scarlet raced behind the knight and dodged the incoming rain of bullets.
"Hey, we can leave the territory just yet!" she shouted at him, struggling to keep pace with his brisk speed.
"Why not? You want to be a martyr?" he asked.
"No, but I do have a mission to complete! I need to give this package!" Scarlet ducked, feeling another bullet fly directly over her head.
"Oh, you're worried about that? Ha ha, you're so silly! We'll get it there eventually!"
"Well I don't want to wait for 'eventually'. I want to give it n...!"
A stray root captured Scarlet's foot, dragging her down to the ground. She suddenly found herself falling down a slope, rolling, tumbling down to the unknown. She lost all control, all perception, everything blending together in a dizzying patchwork of leaves and dirt. A pain suddenly registered in her mind when she crashed into a tree, stopping her from rolling any further. She slumped down to the sylvan floor in relief.
Before she could recollect her dizzy mindset, Scarlet heard a subtle crunch of footsteps.
Her luck surely was awful... What would happen to her? Would this be the end?
She curled up into a ball, using what little strength she was able to recover to protect the package.
The steps ceased. Scarlet waited.
Instead of the fire of a gun, the sound of axes slicing through the air, all she heard was a gentle voice. "Hey, are you alright?"
She slowly raised her head to face the owner of the voice. Her body intrinsically relaxed, her eyeless gaze meeting with an equally blank countenance. At that moment, she wasn't sure if she should be relieved or continue being frightened.
"It's alright," the male Hatter servant said, slowly stretching a gloved hand towards her. "I promise not to harm you." The young maid was in total disbelief, staring at the outstretched hand dubiously, waiting for a moment for a gun to be pressed to her temples. Deeming the situation as safe, Scarlet slowly unfurled herself and sat up, accepting his hand.
"Thank you so much! I never expected for a servant from an opposing territory to still be so kind," she said cheerfully, wiping all errant, forest debris from her uniform with her one free hand.
He grinned shyly and replied, "Well we faceless need to look out for each other, no matter where we come form and what the circumstances."
The young maid smiled at such a thought, touched by his kindness. She said happily, "Well, that's great to know! My name's Scarlet."
The young butler remained impeccably still, processing such information in his mind. If he had eyelids, he certainly would have blinked them. He then released a low chuckle, sweeping his body down to a bow. "Its a pleasure to meet you, Scarlet. Butler, at your service."
Scarlet crossed her arms over her chest, hugging the package tightly against her chest. "Hey, that can't be your name. You do have one, don't you?"
He gazed at her for a single moment and chuckled once again. "That name shall suffice for now. I don't mind actually."
The young maid merely nodded her head in acceptance, suddenly finding the young man very strange. What person wouldn't want to be called their name? She understood how the faceless population were usually overlooked and their names were almost considered superfluous. This guy was just plain weird.
"Alright then, Butler. Maybe then you can explain to me what's so funny? I don't remember saying anything that's humorous."
"Oh, I didn't mean to laugh! My apologizes," Butler said contritely. "I just found the gesture refreshing. It's nice to hear a faceless's name and to be asked for my own. No one usually cares."
Scarlet merely nodded her head in understanding, inwardly cursing this horrible, corrupt society they were in. Why must they be subjected to such treatment? They were people just like the role holders and should be treated as such.
Butler soon inquired, "If you don't mind me asking, what is a maid of Hearts doing here in Hatter territory? Are you here with the queen or Prime Minister for business with my master?"
"I came here to deliver a package to your boss... but then I ran into a few complications along the way."
Butler nodded his head, understanding her completely. "Well I am sorry to say that Master Dupre is absent at the moment, but I'd be more than happy to take it and hand it to him when he returns."
The young man watched in surprise as her face suddenly lit up, ecstatic by such a suggestion. "Really?" Butler answered with a slow nod of his head. "Oh my god! Thank you! I was afraid I would have to go back there and everything! You're a lifesaver!"
As Scarlet handed over the package into his gloved hands, her face wide and bright with a jubilant smile, the butler's face colored slightly, dropping his eyeless face down to the package to help conceal the pink of his cheeks.
"N... No problem," he stuttered, hiding it with a quick cough. "But are you sure you're alright? You didn't get hurt in anyway?"
Scarlet shook her head. "Well, I better get going. I still have so much to do at the castle."
"And I have so much to do at the mansion." Butler lowered his body into a graceful bow. "I hope to see you again, Miss Scarlet."
The Heart maid giggled and responded with a polite curtsy. "Yeah… that'd be nice."
She then ran off and disappeared off into the forest, not at all suspecting that certain man was still watching her walk away, unaware of that warmth that crept up his faceless cheeks or that slowly touched the gears of his heart…
Then again, she had bigger problems that required her undivided attention.
"Hey, there you are!" After a few long moments of trudging through thick underbrush and hiking over long tree roots, the red knight suddenly appeared before her, lips curved in a wide smile. "I was wondering where you ran off to!"
Scarlet replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Oh, nowhere really. I just tripped, rolled, and almost broke my neck. No big deal at all. Who cares that the Hatter subordinates could have found and killed me? I was still able to deliver the package like I wanted so everything's just hunky-dory!"
"Oh… okay. That's good then! This mission was completed a lot faster than I thought it would!" Ace noted positively, seemingly oblivious to the sarcasm in her voice. "But, wasn't that fun? Elliot was always so easy to rile up!"
Scarlet bit her tongue, refusing to add how the March Hare was not the only one riled up at the moment. "Come on. We're leaving."
The young maid was already walking forward before the knight could reply. She was just too distracted to hear him even say anything. If she had a little more perception and wasn't clouded by irritation, she may have noticed the bag still slung over his shoulder.
But Scarlet did not. She was far more occupied by the annoyance in her mind, the ache slowly creeping through her chest…
A/N Notes: haha, I couldn't help, but put Kingdom Heart's Axel's phrase in there. It was just too good to resist. Got it memorized? xD
Originally, I was going to alternate pov's with Scarlet and Ace... but it seemed better to me to keep Scarlet's pov for this chapter. Oh well. More of Ace's general awesomeness would be more present in the next chappie though.
But a lot is going on in this chapter, like the memory of Scarlet's sister, Myrina, a scene hinting Scarlet's condition… Yep. The gears are turning in ways you guys don't know yet. haha~ :p
Thanks for reading~