Sorry that this chapter is sort of late, and it's the shortest chapter so far DX My brain sort of died half way through this nonsense. I tried to make it as interesting as possible, but I don't know if I succeeded. More characters entering this chapter, so I've introduced everyone in the Country of Hearts (Might bring in Nightmare in the next chapter)
This story will be ending soon, within the next few chapters. I wanna thank all of you who have reviewed this story, you guys are awesome!
Chapter 5: A new game
"We're going to the castle?" Boris pulled his boa over his shoulders before heading out of his room, following the duke. "Why? What's going on?"
"There's an event of course!"
"An Event..." He briefly remembered something along these lines at the clock tower a while back. That was a fun day, well, it depended on who you asked. "Why is it at the castle?"
"The territories take turns holding events kid." Gowland explained as they made it outside. He waited for his group of workers to gather around, looking over at Boris. "It's the queen's turn this time. She decided to hold a croquet game, it sounds interesting enough."
"Croquet?"
Gowland laughed. "I'll tell you the rules on the way." Boris sighed and rolled his eyes. This sounded like it was going to be boring. But since it was an event, he would get to see the twins again. They hadn't had a chance to hang out in awhile. Boris followed, but his now 15 year old mind did not want to listen to Gowland talk about the game they would be playing. From the first few words out of the duke's mouth, the cat knew this was going to be a boring event. However, he didn't really have a choice as he learned during his last event.
Boris looked up at the maze before at the guards who were supposed to lead them in. "Hey guys~ Long time no see!" Gowland was about to ask, however he just shook his head. He didn't want to know how Boris knew the guards of the castle. The guards lead Gowland, Boris, and some of the amusement park workers through the maze to the huge cleaning that Boris was familiar with by now. His eyes lit up as he saw the hatters on the other end of the clearing.
"Alright, go talk to them if you must." Gowland waved the Cheshire off. "But come back over before the game starts."
"Alright!" Boris said jumping over the table that was set out with small snacks on it. One of the guards yelled at him, but he just laughed and ran over to the hatters, not like they could start a fight at an event. "Hey Dee, Dum!"
"Boris!" The twins ran up to him, wearing their new matching uniforms.
"Hey Boris!" Dee said with a grin.
"This isn't as fun without the guards chasing us." Dum said laughing.
"Yeah! I'm with you there!" Boris grinned. "But hey, we get free food."
"And no work!" Dee said grinning just as much as the Cheshire.
"That's always a plus!" Boris said before looking towards the hatter and hare. "Hey Elliot!" The blond smiled at him, he was looking healthier after staying at the Hatter's for almost a year now. However he still had a hard time leaving the mansion, not to mention Blood's side.
"Hey kid." Eliot said, before shoving his mouth full of a small carrot cake. Boris rolled his eyes, he wasn't about to bring up the subject of Elliot and carrots - he didn't want the blond spazzing about how he 'wasn't a rabbit' again. Bringing his eyes down, the pink haired teen saw someone hiding behind Elliot. Boris walked closer, and the other seemed to completely hide himself.
"Who's that?" Elliot looked down at the red-organe haired boy behind him.
"Oh, this is Pierce."
"Pierce is our new dormouse, just joined us last week. It's his first time out with us." Blood chimed in, reaching behind Elliot to pull the boy out. Pierce let out a squeak, holing onto his hat with his free hand. Boris looked the mouse over; He wore an oversized cream button up shirt with black pants, and green boots. He wore a small black hat over one of his ears, and his hair was an odd red-orange color. Boris raised an eyebrow at the shy teen 'he can't be that much younger than me' he thought.
"N-Nice to meet you.." The boy stuttered out. "I-I'm Pierce V-Villiers..." the dormouse grew more and more nervous as the cat stared at him. A shudder went through his body as he saw Boris lick his lips.
"You smell tasty~" Pierce squeaked and went to hiding behind Elliot again. The twins and cat laughed as Blood seemed to sigh.
The cat's ears twitched as trumpets were blown. The people in the clearing turned towards the large opening in the hedges. Boris recognized the woman who walked into the clearing to be the Queen of Hearts. The teenager to her right was Peter, now sporting a new pair of glasses. However Boris didn't recognize the brunette to her left. He was dressed completely in red and black, and his eyes were red aswell, freaking out the cat just slightly.
"Shall we begin our game?" The Queen asked, though it's not like any of them had a choice. "Who here has not played before?" Boris instantly raised his hand. The twins followed, then Elliot, and a few faceless people from each group. The brunette also raised his hand. "Alright then. We have set up a workshop for beginners, please allow the maids and our prime minister to teach you." Boris rolled his eyes, atleast he would be with the twins and Elliot. However the blond seemed uncomfortable leaving Blood's side.
"Go on Elliot, have fun for once." Blood said before moving over to the other side of the area. Boris noticed the hare's eyes follow him and the cat decided to distract him.
"Come on Marchy~" Boris teased, grabbing the taller man's sleeve. "You got us~"
So the group that didn't know the rules were separated from the serious players so they could learn the rules. Pierce didn't want to let go of Elliot, but he didn't want to be near Boris and the twins more, so he went with the others. The ones who knew the rules gathered around the table that had snacks on them and tried to have a decent conversation with one another. "Hey, Vivaldi." The Queen looked up from her tea, Gowland smiling at her."Did you ever figure out that riddle?" The other roleholders seemed interested at the Queen and Duke's conversation now.
"Ah, it has been so long." The Queen commented, setting her tea cup down. "We have forgotten if we ever found the answer."
"Would hearing the riddle again help you remember?" The Queen gave a look. "Oh come on, I'm bored and it doesn't look like the kids are gonna be done anytime soon." Gowland looked over at beginners group. The white rabbit was yelling at the cat and twins to pay attention, and Gowland couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt."
"Alright!" Gowland grinned, finishing up his own tea before putting the cup down. "Okay. I'm a flower, and put the two of me together and I shoot up in the air, what flower am I?" The other role holders at the table listened to the riddle,the three of them having a confused look on their face (which was rare for all of them). Gowland just smiled. "Come one Vivialdi~ He made this riddle just for you."
"Who did?" Gowland looked over to see Boris leaning against the table.
"I thought you were with Peter."
"We're done, he went off to finish setting up the course thing." Boris said, tail swaying. "So who made up that lame riddle?"
"The previous Cheshire cat." Their heads turned to the Queen."He told us this riddle years ago, we were never able to figure out the answer." Boris stared for a moment, his ears pinning down against his head. He jumped onto the table, sitting on it cross legged. The Queen seemed annoyed at this, but didn't say anything as she looked at the happy, yet sad, expression on the Cheshire's face. 'So cute...' she thought.
"Can I tell you the answer then Queeny?" She seemed abit annoyed at the nickname but gave a nod.
"We would like to hear the answer."
Boris gave a chuckle, putting his hand behind his back before pulling out a rose from what seemed like no where.
"A rose?" Blood asked as the queen stared at the flower.
"Yeah!" Boris handed the Queen the rose. "A. Rose. Put the two together, arose!" He gave a small laugh. "How could you didn't figure this out sooner Queeny? The answers all around you." He looked out at the rose garden they were in. "It's kinda hard to miss."
The Queen stayed silent for a moment before giving a small laugh. "Yes, I suppose it is." She stared at the cat, who stared back with his ears twitching. "What is your name new Cheshire?"
"Boris Airay." He grinned. "And what do ya mean 'New'? I am the only Cheshire!"
The Croquet game lasted far longer than the cat would have liked. In the end, the clockmaker won - Boris wondered how good the blue haired man could be at an outdoor sport if he was such a shut in. The guests were welcome to stay until all the food was gone, but the Queen had already headed back up to the castle. "You stayin' Boris?" The duke asked as Boris shoved a cake into his mouth.
"Yeah. It's not often I get to stay here without a guard chasing me!" Boris grinned, chocolate decorating the sides of his mouth. Gowland chuckled, handing the cat a napkin.
"Show some class, you stray." Boris took the napkin, sticking his tongue out at the back of the duke's head as he started to walk off. Two male workers stayed with him as most of the Queen's maids and guards left for their posts, and all of the Hatter's left. Julius stayed behind to finish his tea, but soon he was gone aswell. Soon the sky went from high noon to twlight. Boris noticed it was just him, the workers, Peter White, and the brunette from eariler (Which he had learned was the Knight of Hearts).
"Shall we get going lord Boris?" Boris snapped out of his thoughts when one of the workers spoke to him. He gave a nod, standing up.
"Hey, wait kitty cat~" Boris' tail twitched with annoyance at the name. Only the twins were allowed to call him a kitty! He let it slide this time, seeing as it was the Knight who was speaking to him. "We didn't get a chance to talk eariler, mind if I walk you out?" Boris raised an eyebrow at the overly kind kind but shook it off.
"Sure! Me and the guys don't mind, right?" He looked back at the workers, who shook their heads. Boris noticed Peter shaking his head at the end of the table, but ignored it as the Knight started to walk out of the clearing. "Hey! Wait up!" The group then ran after the knight. However the group soon fell silent, and it was alittle more that the Cheshire could bare. "So what's your name Mister Knight?"
The brunette walked slower so he would be walking right next to the cat. "I'm Ace." He smiled. A shiver went through the cat's spine. Something was off about this guy...he couldn't put his finger on it though. "What about you Kitty?"
"Please don't call me that." Boris grumbled as the workers behind him held back a laugh. "It's Boris."
"Ha~ That's a funny name~" The older teen grinned.
"Like Ace is any better!" The brunette shrugged that off and seemed to go down a different path than Boris had remembered. "Um, Ace, That's the wrong way."
"No it isn't." Ace kept walking.
"I've snuck in here enough times to know! We go straight, take the next right, right, left, left then the enterance is right there." Ace stopped and looked back at Boris, blinking with confusion before a smirk appeared on his face. Boris took a step back, something was really off about this guy...
"So it's you that makes my job harder~ I'm suppose to be helping out the guards, but you and the twins just seem to knock them down one by one~" The cat didn't like where this was going. Apparently neither did his 'bodyguards', because the two workers pushed him back. The Knight pulled out a sword that was almost as tall as him from his coat. 'Where did he hid that thing?' "We're far enough away from the other's now, wanna fight?"
"Su-" The worker pushed him back even farther. "Hey! I want to fight him."
"Trust me Lord Boris, you don't want to go against this guy." The worker said, and the knight smirked. Without warning he charged, cutting down one of the workers. Boris stared wide eyed as blood splattered on his face, horrible flahbacks going through his mind made him freeze. The unharmed worker grabbed Boris' hand and started to book it to the exit path the cat had explained eariler.
The bleeding worker on the ground tried to get up, but Ace brought his sword up, then down into the adult's body. More blood spattered as the knight sighed. "To bad..." He thought as he watched the others leave. Normally, he would've chased after him, but he couldn't be bothered now.
"You're making my job rather difficult." Ace turned around to see the blue haired clock maker standing behind him, arms crossed. "Not only do you kill off your own guards, but people from other territories? No wonder I've been busy."
"Ah~ Mister Clockmaker! Just the man I wanted to see! I'm glad you thought about my offer to meet." The Knight grinned.
"What do you want Ace?" Julius glared.
"I was wondering~ Do you have any jobs available?"