Author's Note: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: HnKnA- not mine. Martella, Iris, and plot- mine.

Chapter Nine- Tea Time

Martella- Walking with Iris and Boris

I'm looking forward to the sleepover, Vivaldi said that something major was planned. I do enjoy surprises and I haven't been to a sleepover before.

Apparently Iris hasn't either. I'm going to miss Julius even though its for a night.

I've really come to like him in the short time I've known him. I just feel like I really was supposed to come here, like there is a reason that Peter found me.

When we reach the clock tower Boris leaves us. Iris and I head upstairs. I stop in the kitchen and make a cup of tea for Julius. I figure he's probably been working all day and would want something to drink. I ask Iris if she wants one but she says that she had enough at the castle and retires to bed.

On the way up the stairs to the workroom I fail to notice the folded bit of carpet my foot is about to hit and I trip. I fall flat on my face since my hands are busy carrying the cup of tea, which I might add is still quite hot. So the cup shatters and small pieces of porcelain splinter my hand. I hear a chair pushed back and footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Martella! Are you alright?" Julius asks hurriedly.

The hot tea starts stinging my hands. I shake my head in reply. He helps me up and let's me use him as a support because I think I sprained my left foot too, but after the first step the pain is so bad that he simply picks me up and carries me to my bedroom.

He sets me down on the side of the bed so that my legs hang over but they aren't in an uncomfortable position, then he leaves to get a bucket of cool water, materials for wrapping my foot, and some tweezers.

Burns, if you've ever felt them, are excruciatingly painful. The thing is they don't stop hurting until about half an hour later. I must look so frail to Julius. He takes my hands and places them in the cold water until the burning stops. Meanwhile wrapping my foot to keep it more in place.

"You probably shouldn't put any weight on that foot for a while." Then he gently lifts my right hand out and places it on a small cloth laying on the table by my bed.

"Since your hands are burnt this might hurt a lot but I don't want the pieces of porcelain to go deeper into your hands. There aren't that many in this one thankfully. What were you doing anyways?" he asks, trying to take my focus away from my hand.

"I was going to bring you a cup of coffee, but I accidentally tripped on the carpet." He takes the first piece out, it stings but only for a short moment.

"Thank you, but you didn't have to do that."

"I know, I wanted to though," he takes another piece out. I inhale sharply.

"Sorry, did that hurt?"

"Just a little."

"Okay, I'll try to be more careful. So how was your visit with the Queen? Ace came by again."

"It was nice. We're actually going to have a sleepover with Iris at the castle tomorrow."

"Just call for me when you wake up or want to go down. I'll help you with the stairs and getting to the castle. I don't mind being interrupted if its by you," he turns slightly pink, as do I.

"Thank you Julius. You're so kind," I say gratefully, he just smiles. He puts my hand back in the water and lifts the other one out.

"What is your world like? Aside from the mean people," he adds.

"It's very large and has tons of different ecosystems. We have cars instead of walking, but we do have roller coasters. Our world sort of looked liked yours around two hundred or so years ago. Lately humans have been polluting the Earth so much that a lot of nature is being destroyed," I grimace at the fact.

"What do you do in your free time?" He changes the subject.

"Write, draw, and play viola. I really didn't have any friends there so I had plenty of time to myself. You were really my first friend. I hadn't even met Iris until today too," I confess.

"I haven't had many friends here either. Alice, when she was here. Nightmare and Gray, but due to my job most people tend to stay away from me."

"Why is being a clockmaker frowned upon?"

"My other title is also the Mortician. Unlike your world, the inhabitants of Wonderland have clocks as hearts. So when someone dies they really don't die but simply stop. It's my job to fix them and a lot of people don't want to be fixed."

"That's no reason not to like you. At least you know that your greatest friends are the ones who stay by you even if they know what you do," I try to keep a positive outlook.

"Thanks Martella," he smiles so beautifully. I haven't even noticed that he finished working on my hands. He puts some cold water on a soft towel then lays it on the burn.

"For what? And thank you for doing this."

"For not being repelled by my job. Here let me help you lie down," he takes my legs and lifts them onto the bed.

"Do you need anything else?"

I look over and see my journal and pen within arms reach.

"No thank you. You've done so much already."

"Okay then. I'm going to return to my work. If you need anything please call," he tells me. He closes the door when he leaves.

I try to write in my journal but my hands are to sore to do anything. Instead I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.