Mad Midnight Masquerade

I sat in awkward silence at the long dining table that sat in the courtyard of the Hatter's mansion. Honestly, I didn't want to come at all, but part of me was afraid Blood might shoot me if I hadn't. I guess I totally forgot the fact that I'm Peter's daughter and most people wouldn't dare even try. At least Elliot and the twins were here to keep me company. Luckily they're a little too dense to notice the awkward atmosphere.

"Onee-chan! We're happy Ameena onee-chan came! Now we can finally play with you!"

"She didn't come here to play with you, dumb brats!" Elliot said between mouthfuls of carrot cake.

"Oh, butt out, dumb old hare!" Dum said and knocked his plate of carrot cake on the ground. Elliot dove for it, barely catching it in time.

"Not the carrot cake! I was eating that!" I giggled a little and the twins smiled proudly. Maybe they had noticed how uncomfortable I was.

Blood sighed. "Will you idiots try and control yourselves?"

"Party pooper..." I mumbled under my breath.

"What was that?" Blood asked, looking angry, which made me wonder if he had heard me.

"Nothing..." I said and took a sip of my tea for an excuse not to say anymore.

Without the twins and Elliot's antics, things went back to being awkward. I was never one for fancy parties like these. Part of me wished I had stayed at the castle last night. At least I'd be doing something fun right now with Ace or sleeping, which sounds better than being here right now. I tried to ignore it and gazed up at the night sky. The stars were glowing beautifully and I felt a sense of nostalgia, a faint memory that I was so close to remembering...

Suddenly, there was a loud crash coming from inside the mansion. It jolted me out of my dazed state and made me stand up in surprise. We all left the table to investigate, except the twins who were less than happy to have been ordered to stay there. I walked into the well-decorated mansion hallway. I had split up from Blood and Elliot, happy to have some time away from them. Well, at least Blood anyway, Elliot is actually really nice to be around. I was starting to examine the books on the shelves in the hall, my mission forgotten, when I heard someone call out to me.

"Hey, Ameena!" I whipped my head around to see Ace sitting in the window. Speak of the Devil...

"Ace? What are you doing here?" I whispered, hoping Blood hadn't heard him. Blood would have no problem with 'taking care' of this uninvited guest and I couldn't stand to see that. I still hadn't figured out why my chest hurt when I saw Ace fighting, whether he was winning or not.

"I heard about this little party from the cat and thought you might need some rescuing by now." Ace said.

I was about to call him crazy and turn him down, but then I found myself actually thinking about it. I looked down the hallway to check if anyone was around to see me and then answered, "My hero," as Ace lifted me up to help me out of the window.

"Hey, Ameena did- Where are you going?" Elliot asked, having just walked up as Ace was helping me out. Whoops... Caught red handed.

"Uh..." My mind scraped for an excuse to tell Elliot, but nothing came. Luckily for me, Elliot came up with his own answer.

"Where are you taking her, knight?" Elliot asked, gun already out and aimed directly at Ace. I prayed that Ace would just leave and not egg him on, but of course, that's just what he did.

"Just kidnapping her for a while. Don't worry, I'll take good care of her." Ace said and hugged me closer. What the hell was he thinking? It took Elliot only seconds to process what he was saying and see how close he was holding me before he snapped. Luckily, Ace pulled out before the bullets started flying everywhere.

I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding in and my grip on Ace's shoulders loosens. It was then that I realized that he was still holding me and was glad it was too dark for him to see my reddening face.

"Um... You can put me down now..." I said, feeling awkward.

"Hmm... I'll think about it." Ace said, teasingly. He was obviously messing with me.

"Ace!" I shouted.

"Alright, alright. I was only kidding." Ace said as he finally set me down on the ground.

The walk back to the castle was a hard one. It was dark and I walked ahead of Ace to avoid anymore awkward situations or getting lost. I was too tired for them right now. Tired? I hadn't felt that way back at the mansion... How long have we been walking anyway? I can see the castle, but I...

I found myself swaying and leaned against a tree for support, grabbing my head. Why did my head hurt now?

"Ameena? What's wrong?" Ace asked, concerned.

"I-I'm okay..." I said and pushed away from the tree to keep walking forward. Bad idea. I felt a huge rush come at me all at once and felt myself start falling, but didn't remember hearing me hit the ground.