I AM NOT DEAD! I have been working my ass off trying to finish this story! I am currently writing chapter 14 while I wait for 13 to be edited! I want you all to know, Alyce is officially ending with chapter 14! That is, unfortunately, all I have time for. But it will be one hell of an ending. Wait, why am telling you this? I highly doubt anyone is even reading this. Ah well. ON WITH THE SHOW!
She had been running for hours, too afraid to look back to see if the Mad Hatter was still behind her. The sun had set long before, and all of Wonderland was enveloped in darkness. It had started raining; a massive thunder storm had rolled in and the torrential rains soaked the poor girl to the bone. Despite the protest of her muscles, she refused to stop running. And she didn't, until she tripped on a tree roots and was sent barreling down a hill.
Alyce cried out as she fell, feeling thorns and rocks scrape her skin as she plunged down the hill. A sharp, sickening crack filled the air as she landed with a thud, and Alyce screamed in pain as she felt the bones in her right arm and already broken hand snap.
She lay at the base of the hill for what felt like hours (though it was only a few minutes) writhing in agony as pain washed over her like a tidal wave. The rain pelted down on her as Alyce weakly lifted her head and clutched her broken arm to her chest, looking for the crazed hatter following her. When she saw nothing, Alyce attempted to rise to her feet. She let out a harsh cry as she fell right back down. The adrenaline had worn off and exhaustion kept her from going anywhere. The teen screamed in pain, frustration, and misery as she lay on the ground helpless, unable to protect herself from the torrential rain or crazed hatter who was surely still looking for her. She was amazed she had gotten as far as she had.
"Well, well. What have we here?"
Alyce's head snapped upwards. Through tearful blue eyes she met the mismatched gold and green of the Cheshire Cat. She mustered a weak glare at the troublesome cat-man.
"W-what the hell do you w-want?" Alyce cursed herself for stuttering, but did not look away from Cheshire. He smirked at the helpless teen.
"My, my," he started, "what an attitude for such a tiny little thing. Where was all this spunk when we first met?" Alyce glared harder, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of a response. "What's the matter, cat got your tongue?"
Cheshire jumped down from the yellow tree he was perched in, and landed in a mud puddle a few feet from Alyce with a wet thump. He grabbed the girl by the collar of her nightgown and lifted her from the ground. He heaved the teen up to look her dead in the eye.
"Or maybe," he said, "we're just trying to be a little brave, huh?" Without warning, the Cheshire Cat threw her, catapulting her several feet and into the side of a boulder. She cried out in pain as her back hit the rock, and slumped to the ground like a rag doll. Alyce looked up to see Cheshire stalking towards her, and scrambled to her feet. Unfortunately, the new wave of adrenaline coursing through wasn't enough to make her legs work, and she fell right back to the ground once more. She turned back to face the cat-person, only to find him gone. Alyce yelped when a hand fisted the back of her nightgown, and hoisted her into the air and over the Cheshire Cat's shoulder.
"H-hey! What the hell?! P-put me down you stupid cat!" Alyce thrashed and struggled in the Cheshire Cat's hold, but it was all in vain. Even if she was to get loose, she wouldn't be able to run away. Stupid Hatter, she thought, stupid cat, stupid Wonderland. Stupid stupid stupid! I should have just stayed in that stupid mansion! She continued to fight against Cheshire, unwilling to give in.
"Calm down, sweetheart," Cheshire sneered, "it's not like you're getting loose. Besides, I have to take you back to the damn Hatter."
"What?! Y-you can't take me back there! Are you insane? He'll kill me!"
"He won't kill you," Cheshire explained, somewhat exasperated. "He may rough you up a bit, but he certainly won't kill. Not after all the trouble he went through to get you here."
"Rough me up a bit?! Is that what you think he'll do? He'll beat the crap out of me till I'm practically dead! You can't take me back there! You ca- AACK!"
Fed up with the screaming teen's antics, Cheshire dropped the girl to the muddy ground, causing Alyce to land painfully on her behind and jostling her arm in the process. Alyce looked up, furious, but froze when she saw the expression on the cat man's face. Shit, he looks as terrifying as the Hatter. Rain continued to pelt down on the pair, though Cheshire seemed unfazed by it. He glared harshly at Alyce, who was now shaking on the ground, though she couldn't tell if it was from the cold or fear.
"Listen up, sweetheart," Cheshire sneered, "I don't have time for your God damn nonsense at the moment, and whether you like it or not you're going back, and you wanna know why?" Cheshire pointed at the tattoo on the girls face. "That's why. That damn mark not only means that you belong to Jack, but that anyone who finds you where you aren't supposed to be is obligated to return you to the Mad Hatter. So, by Wonderland Law, I have to return you to the that asshole, whether you want to go or not. So shut up and quit being difficult."
Without giving Alyce a chance for rebuttal, Cheshire lifted the girl from the ground and threw her over his shoulder once more. Alyce started to scream and shout until a growl from Cheshire gave her pause. She remained quiet for the rest of the trip, cradling her broken arm the whole way.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
By the time the two had reached the mansion, it had stopped raining, and only a dull rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance. Alyce tried to look over her shoulder, but winced and stopped when she felt the pain in her new wounds flare up. She whimpered as Cheshire walked up the steps of the mansion and banged on the front door.
Alyce held her breath as the door was pulled open, revealing a very angry Mad Hatter. Of course, this didn't stop Cheshire from antagonizing him.
"Lose something, Jack?"
"Cheshire," the Hatter said, "how...kind of you to return her to me." Alyce winced at his tone of voice, and forced down a whimper. "Now if you don't mind, I think I'll just take her and you can be on your way." Jack reached to take Alyce from Cheshire, but the cat-man backed away, a mischievous smile on his face.
"Now just hold on a moment, Mr. Hatter. Don't you think deserve some kind of reward for bringing her back? After all, the poor thing was just covered in cuts and scrapes when I found her, and I do believe she broke something." Alyce didn't have to turn around to see the seething rage on the Hatter's face. He was practically projecting it.
"Listen here, you stupid cat. You have exactly five seconds to hand Alyce over or I swear I will skin you alive and use your sorry pelt as a rug. Hand. Her. Over." Immediately Alyce was dumped onto the ground once more, letting out a pained shriek as she landed on her broken arm and hand. She looked up at Cheshire, but the purple-haired man was already gone.
Slowly, Alyce turned towards the Hatter, secretly hoping that he had pulled the same disappearing act as Cheshire. She wasn't surprised that he hadn't. She shrank away as her pain filled eyes met the all too familiar rage filled ones of the Hatter.
"Now," he said, barely hiding his anger, "what do we do with you?" Alyce gulped. There was no smile on his face this time, no maniacal laughter. Just pure fury. The Mad Hatter grabbed Alyce by the back of her night dress, and scooped her into his arms, bridal style. Without another word, he brought the shivering and wounded girl into the mansion, kicking the heavy wooden doors shut with his foot. He carried the girl all the way back to her room, his footsteps echoing throughout the building.
The door to her room was still wide open, and Jack walked into the room without pause and placed Alyce on the bed. He glared down at the teen for a moment, before turning on his heel and striding out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Alyce lay on the bed, propped up on her elbow and still holding her arm, staring at the door in shock. She thought for sure he would at least pull her hair again. He didn't even shout, she thought. She lay there for another moment, before the door opened once more. She prepared herself for a confrontation with Jack, but was surprised to see Kaleb, Delilah, and Sophia.
One look at the girl and the three rushed over to her, eager to help in anyway possible. Kaleb quickly scooped Alyce up and carried her to the bathroom, where Sophia quickly took over, shooing the March Hare out of the bathroom. Once they were alone she turned to Alyce with worried eyes and proceeded to examine her. In the span of half an hour, Alyce had taken a bath, had her wounds cleaned and bandaged, had been dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants, and was placed back in bed while they waited for the doctor, who Kaleb said was on his way. They all sat there, waiting in an awkward and tense silence.
"Just out of curiosity, what the hell were you thinking?" Okay, less silent.
Alyce looked over to Kaleb, whose floppy ears were twitching as he trained his eyes on her. She shifted into a slightly more comfortable position and looked Kaleb in the eye.
"The door was open," she explained. During their talks Alyce had gotten very comfortable with Kaleb, and soon stopped stuttering when she talked to him. "Wide open. No one was around, so I thought I'd just look around. Then I came across that big staircase, and saw the front door. I didn't think it would be unlocked, and even then I thought for sure someone would stop me. But it was, and no one did. So I ran. Right into Jack. And then Cheshire, and now I'm here." She lay there quietly, waiting for a response.
"Are you an idiot? What in God's name possessed you to believe that was a good idea. And running from Jack? Haven't you ever heard of the saying 'don't poke the bear,'? In all the time you've spent here, that was by far the stupidest thing you could have ever done!"
Before Alyce could respond, Shayde walked in, a serious look on his face. He looked at Kaleb, then Alyce, noticing the agitated looks on both their faces.
"Am I interrupting something?"
"No," the March Hare responded, "not at all. We need you to patch her up again."
"I know," Shayde said, "the Hatter explained everything when I arrived. He seemed quite angry." Alyce looked down, feeling singled out by the monotone comment. She grimaced as the pain in her arm flared. Kaleb and Shayde continued talking.
"No shit, Shayde. Of course he's mad. You know how he get's when things don't go his way."
"True."
Alyce sat quietly, forcing whimpers down as the pain in her arm grew. My God, she thought, are they ever gonna shut up?I guess my arm is doomed to remain broken. Alyce continued to think to herself, until Shayde cleared his throat and brought her back to reality.
"Now, let's see what I can do for your arm."
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