While everyone was talking and murmuring we managed to slip into the dense maze. Greer pulled the vile of blood from her inner coat pocket, before she could take off the lid though, "Well if it isn't my favorite champion and twins!" I gasped, Greer nearly dropped the vile, and Tarrant growled deep in his throat. Stayne stepped from behind another corner, all seven feet of him. Neither of us dared move, but Tarrant and Greer on either side of me tensed. "Now then The Alice. What are we to do with you?" Tarrant and Greer spontaneously grabbed my wrists preventing and possible escape.
You see? I told you something was off here!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Greer, unknown location one hour earlier.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After Tarrant and I arrived in the gardens we were ambushed. Tarrant and I were forced to the ground, out of the corner of my eye I saw at least six on Tarrant, I could feel three or four on top of me. I struggled as hard as I could even when Tarrant stopped. They had enough of my fighting and hit me on the head. HARD! At least an hour later a cold liquid substance covered my face, it wet my hair, went up my nose and down my throat. I coughed and sputtered trying to get rid of the offensive liquid.
"When I find out what's going on," I thought, "And who's done this, I'll kill them!" I know that seems a little harsh but I don't care! I opened my eyes and shut them in the same second. Not only did the light hurt my eyes but there was something else, something much worse.
"Having trouble?" It was Stayne. The Knave of Hearts to the Bloody Bead Head was back!
"No," I replied. "I was just enjoying my wonderful and peaceful nap thank you. You know the ground is so soft! Maybe I could make a bed out of him, but then he and Earth won't like that I'm sure. Why is that? They never minded me before, not even Time until Tarrant tried to kill him that is. But the tricky fellow Time, he's very hard to kill. Like a cockroach-"
I felt a hard blow to my cheek.
I can honestly say that stopped my ramble.
"Shut Up! You stupid, worthless Hightopp whore! I've had enough of you and your kind! But just for my own amusement, I'm keeping you and your aberrant, absurd, daft, delirious, deranged, frenetic, imprudent, ludicrous, mental, preposterous, physhotic, raving, senseless, unsound brother alive!" I growled, no one was allowed to call my brother all those big worded things that were obviously negative while I'm around!
"Feis ort, ort Bastn!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, I began to feel control slipping from me again as I slipped into my brogue, not a common habit mind you. "Ort Bastn, bhad, coch, b ita, damn ort, Gabh suas ort fhéin, ort striapach-!"
A hard slap to my check and a kick to my gut cut me short. I winced and began to gasp for breath. Damn! Why did that have to hurt so badly? Stayne without and consideration knelt down and took a white cloth he had gotten out of his back pocket and tried gagging me. I bit his finger hard. He growled and slapped me again.
"It tastes like yer arse!" I spat at him.
He smirked, "I knew you'd enjoy it!" I spat blood from my cut tongue and saliva in his face. He whipped it away and took the cloth and gagged me with it. I screamed into the cotton cloth and tried tearing it with my teeth. He slapped me again, "You best not do that. I would hate to have to hurt you worse. It's bad enough that your brother has watched the whole thing," he extended his hand and pointed at my brother. He was tied to a tree trying to break the chains that bound him there.
"Marbhphaisg ort, ort Bastn!" He yelled before he himself was gagged. On my right I heard a small whine, to my mortification; Alice was the one next to me. Lying on the ground in the same manner as when I woke up, lying flat on her back, but unlike me her hands were tied behind her. Two guards picked me up by my arms and tied me to a tree with iron chains, I struggled against them the whole time. Wait, my hands were in front of me! If, No! When, they untied me I can fight them off! I gulped, I hope.