Hey guys, here's the new chapter of Wonderland. Also, the poll closes today, and the decided pairing is Sly/You. It would've been different if more than three people had actually voted. But oh well. Too late now. On with the chapter!

Your POV:

After leaving Monaco and going to India, you uncovered some information about your next target-Rajan. Getting info on him wasn't as simple as just looking it up on the Internet; apparently, some criminals around here owed the Cooper gang a favor from a heist. They had been after a Fire Stone of India or something and Sly had helped them out. Rajan is a "spice lord" who started his life of crime by selling illegal spices on the black market, and eventually, his business started booming. Now he's crowned himself "Lord of the Hills" and to prove his prestige, he's throwing a lavish ball in his newly purchased "ancestral palace". He's going to great lengths to convince others of his royalty, but really, it's mostly to convince himself. Inferiority complex much?

From Sly's recon in the ballroom, you learned that the party Rajan is having is crawling with Klaww gang members and cops-Carmelita, some spider lady named the Contessa, and Neyla. Even if Neyla's on your side, she'll have to arrest you if Carmelita and the Contessa are there, or she goes to jail with you for assisting criminals. Neyla's your friend, you don't want her behind bars any more than you want Murray to be.

Now that Sly's lowered the drawbridge, you've got access to the palace grounds. Right now, Sly's busy ransacking the guest house to find a tuxedo. Seriously, what the hell was he thinking, going in a ballroom filled with cops and not wearing a disguise? Obviously, he wants to be arrested. "Alright, I'm set." And the smashing is over.

You're waiting for Bentley to give you an assignment-and he might now, seeing as how he's looking for any excuses to get rid of you-and you're just doing some target practice at the wall. You sigh. "I'm bored." You whine.

"You're always bored." Bentley pointed out, typing away on his laptop.

"That's so true." You said. You let out a groan. You need something to do!

The door opens up, and it's…Sly? What's he doing back here? Oh, he must need to change-no, he's already wearing the penguin suit. So what's he here for? He's holding a really big white box. "Hey Cinderella, come get changed for the ball."

…Oh no.

"Bentley…?" You start.

He smirks at you. "Well, here's your assignment. Sly needs to dance with Carmelita and someone needs to dance with Rajan to keep them busy and distracted the crowd during the heist. Sly dances with you first, then you ask Neyla to dance with him to get Carmelita's attention. If she asks, you and Neyla are old friends. Rajan's sure to be impressed, and he'll ask you to dance."

"You sneaky little bastard."

That's why he wasn't giving you anything to do-he needed you free for this assignment-and knowing Sly, the dress you have to wear is big and frilly. And Bentley is purposely using your friendship with Neyla to his advantage. You groan. "Ugh, fine. Let me see the dress." Sly opens the box and-

…

"I will fucking get you for this." You growl.

(Fast Forward)

You come to the door of the ball (at least with these outfits on, the guards didn't attack you and merely said hello and to enjoy the party), and the man at the door opens up and lets you. You're holding onto Sly's arm-good thing too, because these heels are painful and a bit high-four inches. It's supposed to help with your "disguise".

The dress he got you looks like just Cinderella's ball gown from the Disney movie. Again, you will get him for this. It's big, poofy, and blue, and goes past your feet. At least you know how to dance from a class you had to take in school, but never before have you ever missed your skinny jeans and Converse more than you do now.

Everyone is looking at you. They must notice you're foreign and obviously not from around here. You see Neyla standing, possibly looking for a dance partner. "Neyla," You start.

She looks at you like she's never seen you before. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"It's me, Cerlie." You explain, still holding onto Sly so you don't lose your balance.

"Cerlie-Sly Cooper! You aren't here to turn yourselves in, are you? Old Ironsides would fall out of her dress." She said with a slight laugh.

You shake your head. "Actually Neyla, I need your help. Sly needs to dance with Carmelita and I need to dance with Rajan during the heist to keep them and the crowd occupied to get the Clockwerk wings out of here. In order to get to Carmelita, Sly needs to dance with me first and then with you. If Carmelita asks, we're old friends."

She nods. "Understood. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help you…old friend." She says with a smile. You smile back. "And by the way, you look lovely, but dresses just don't suit your character."

You laugh. "And I need think shorts and a whip fit you much better." You wave goodbye to Neyla and join Sly on the dance floor. He takes your hand and keeps one on your waist and you keep yours on his shoulder. "Sly, what do I say if Carmelita asks who are you?"

He smirks. "I'll tell them I'm your husband, and the CEO of a little known but very successful company."

"…You're going to tell Carmelita-and probably Neyla-you're my what? Sly, do you have any idea how young I am?"

"I'm going to tell them you're my wife, and really, with those heels you don't look as young as you normally do, especially with your hair pinned back."

That's what the gold ring that came with the dress was for. Looking at Sly's hand, you see he has a matching one. "…Again, I'm going to get you for this."

He laughs. "Of course you will." The rest of the dance is silent between you two, and you just force yourself to smile while Sly looks at you with his usual cocky grin.

The music ends and Neyla comes to talk to you. "You were beautiful." She says. "The Belle of the Ball."

You groan. "Oh, please don't encourage him." You say. She laughs a bit. "Anyway, Neyla, can you go ahead and dance with him?" Since you talked to Neyla beforehand, it doesn't look unusual that she's coming up to talk to you after the dance. She nods and Sly takes her hand. You walk very slowly to the sidelines, away from other men to make sure you stay open for Rajan. At least now you don't have to be worried if this lord decides he wants a lady.

As you watch Sly dance with Neyla, out of the corner of your eye, you see Rajan get off from his throne and make his way over to you. "Excuse me ma'am," He starts. You give a smile. "But what is your name?"

Shit, you completely forgot a fake name…um…um… "My name is Arianna." You said with a smile. It was the first thing you could come up with. "Pleased to meet you, my lord." You said with a bow.

He returns the bow. "I saw you dancing with that fellow, and I must say, you were very graceful."

"My lord, you flatter me. That was my husband, Connor. The woman dancing with him is an old friend of mine."

He nods, but you can't help but feel as if he's disappointed. "Perhaps you and I may share a dance later, Miss Arianna."

You smile and nod. "That would be delightful. But I'm rather tired, and once Connor is done with his dance, I think we'll be heading to the guest house for the night."

He nods and you bow to each other before he heads back to his throne. Sly is just finishing up his dance with Neyla. You can walk a bit faster now and return to his side. "Thanks Neyla. And if anyone asks, Sly, your name is Connor and mine is Arianna." You managed to get that out before Carmelita came over. Pfft, skank is in a real skimpy dress.

"Neyla, your friends here are very accomplished dancers." She says, but she's looking at Sly.

You force yourself to smile. "Thank you. My name is Arianna, and this is my husband," You bit just a subtle bit of emphasis on that word. "Connor. I'm Neyla's old friend from high school." You explained.

Sly looks at Carmelita. "Pleased to meet you. Perhaps you and I may share a dance later, Miss…?"

She smiles. "Miss Fox-Carmelita Fox. And…I accept."

You rudely interrupt. "Excuse me Miss Fox, but I'm afraid I'm rather tired. I think we'll head to the guest house for the night."

She gives you a slight glare but then replaces it with a smile. "Of course. I'll see you both tomorrow night."

You nod. "Goodbye Neyla, it's always good to see you."

She smiles back. "And you as well Arianna. See you tomorrow night."

Sly leads you out of there and while on the way back to the safehouse, Sly seems to be in an especially good mood. You, however, are pissed. "Did you see that? You're married, and she was all over you!" You borderline shout.

"Actually, Cinderella, we're not married." He says with a smirk. "And I'm sorry, Cindy. I didn't think you were the jealous type."

"I am not jealous."

"Oh right, the hostility is just you."

You give a huff and turn your head.

There's the end of the chapter! I must say, this is my favorite so far. I enjoyed it. So, without anything else to say, it's time to close this chapter.

Bye for now!

~Mimi