Clocks and Julius

~…X…~

Upon getting to the Clock Tower, Lucian couldn't help but gape at the huge tower in front of her. It was an amazing sight to see and to her eyes, the Clock Tower is like a castle with its own unique style.

"Wow." Lucian said as the smile on her face grew. She had been saying the same word since she and the others got to the Clock Tower to the point that it annoyed Black, who was standing beside her with his arms crossed and glaring at the stupid tower before him.

"Hey, how many time are you going to say that?" Black asked, looking at Lucian from the corner of his eye.

"Wow." Lucian repeated herself as she stepped forward to the entrance only to be pulled back by Black. "This place is huge! I bet you can see far if you stand all the way to the top. Let's go there!"

"We can go to the very top later." White spoke with a smile on his face. "But first, we need to introduce you to the mortician, the one who reside in this place. His name is Julius Monrey and he fixes the clock of this world."

Lucian turned around to White with amusement in her face. "Really? That's amazing. Let's go meet him."

"That hermit will only bored us to death." Black sighed loudly and he wrapped his arm around Lucian's shoulder. "Let's just go somewhere else. I'm not fond of seeing him."

Lucian turned to Black and lightly smack him on the chest. "That's not nice to say, Black."

"It's the truth." Black mumbled, looking away with an annoyed expression. "That hermit barely leaves this damn place. The only time he did go out was when Al-"

"Let's not talk about that." White cut Black off before he could finish the rest of his sentence. "We don't have all day, so the sooner we finish this, the better." He reached out and grabbed Lucian's right hand, pulling her away from Black. "Come, my dear." He turned to his heels and started walking off to the direction of the entrance.

Lucian quickly grabbed Black by the shirt and pulled him. "Let's go, Black and Rein." She smiled and turned her head back forward.

"I can walk on my own. Don't pull on my shirt, idiot." Black grumbled but he didn't bother pulling Lucian's hand away from his shirt. He doesn't mind being dragged by his lover, though, anyone else will meet their death.

"Aha." Rein laughed softly as he followed the three from behind.

~…X…~

Several stairs later, Lucian was sighing and grumbling quietly. This place might be amazing, but the long walk up is one pain in the ass.

"Are…we there yet?" Lucian asked, falling behind the three, who seems to be doing fine. None of them were even sweating from this damn long walk up the freaking stairs.

"Almost." White answered and he stopped before looking back at Lucian. "Do you want to take a break, my dear?" He asked.

"No." Lucian shook her head, though her face clearly shows that she needed to rest. "Let's keep going. We're almost there, anyway."

Rein also stopped and a water bottle appeared in his hand. He walked down the stairs to Lucian and offered her the bottle. "Here you go, Lady Lucian. Please drink this." He smiled as he took the cap off the bottle.

"Thank you, Rein." Lucian smiled a little as she grabbed the bottle from Rein. In one gulp, she manage to drink halfway down the water bottle. "Thank you again, Rein."

"You are very welcome, Lady Lucian." Rein smiled and nodded his head.

"Come on!" Black shouted irritatingly and looks down at Rein and Lucian. "Hurry up, so we can leave this boring place!"

"Calm down, Black." White sighed. "Let our dear take a little break. It won't kill you."

"It's killing me!"

"Why of all role holders do I have to see you in my territory, Joker?" An annoyed voice said. All four turned their heads to the direction of the voice.

Lucian blinked as she stared at the beautiful man standing in front of White, his arms crossed and holding a wench in his right hand, looking very annoyed. This is Julius? Wow…he's beautiful. His hair is long, Lucian thought, gazing up at the dark-blue haired man.

Julius glanced at Lucian before glaring at both White and Black. "Coming to my territory without sending any notice is trespassing. What do you want?" His voice was cold, never taking his eyes of White, who in return was smiling at him. He hated that smile on White's face.

"Good day, Mr. Monrey~!" White's single eye narrowed softly and the smile on his face grew. "Forgive me for not sending you any notice. I've been busy with my circus, though that is not an excuse for entering your territory."

Lucian looked at Rein and handed the water bottle to him before quietly walking up the stairs next to Black. She looked at Black, who was glaring dangerously at Julius. Without saying anything, she grabbed Black's right hand and slipped her fingers in between his. "Please don't do anything stupid." She whispered quietly as she turns her head toward Julius.

Black looked down at Lucian and seeing her serious expression, he knew that he had to listen to her or else he'll get his ass kick. He sighed loudly, "Fine." He then pulled Lucian closer to his side and his grip on her hand tightened a bit.

"…." Julius' eyes narrowed for a moment before returning back to normal. He just saw Joker listen to a foreigner without fighting back. Never in his life had he ever seen Joker listen to anyone. He looked back at Lucian who had smiled at him. "….I assume that you're the foreigner that Ace had told me about. Lucian Caelum, right?"

"Yes. You know Ace?" Lucian asked. The last time she'd seen the knight was in Joker's forest. Seeing that Julius knows Ace is very interesting to her. An odd role holder being acquaintance with the opposite of his personality is something to be amazed about.

"Yes." Julius answered. "He visits my territory most of the time. Anyway, this is not the place to talk." He turned around and started walking up the stairs. "Come. We can all talk in my office, though, let me apologize ahead. My office is mess with all the work I've been doing."

With this, Lucian was the first one to follow Julius up the stairs, only to be pulled back by Black. "What?" She asked, turning her head back. "Come on, we don't want Mr. Monrey to wait for us."

"Don't be too fond of him, Lucian." Black whispered in her ear. "His not the man you think he is. He's dangerous, just like me."

"You told me that before." Lucian smiled, raised her right hand up to Black's cheek, and softly pinched him. "Everyone in Wonderland are dangerous. I got it."

"Let's go, my dear." White said, reaching his left hand out to Lucian. "Mr. Monrey is going to serve us coffee!"

"I never said that." Julius looked back over his shoulder. "I do have coffee beans. If you want coffee, please make your own. I'll even show you to the kitchen."

"Thank you!" Lucian happily said. "I'll go make some for us! I'll make one for you too, Mr. Monrey!

"Julius."

"Huh?" Lucian slightly tilted her head as she looked at Julius.

"Julius is fine. You don't have to call me by my last name."

"Oh. Okay then, Julius." Lucian's lips curled up, forming a tiny smile.

Julius looked away. Her smile reminds him of someone dear to him, someone who he couldn't show his love for until it was too late. Well that was the past and there's nothing he could do about it. Alice chose to return to her own world, not wanting to live a life of seeing faceless dying and being lied to.

~…X…~

The atmosphere in the room was tense as no one said a single word after Lucian returned, carrying a tray of freshly made hot cup of coffee. Lucian was sitting in between Black and White around a wooden, rectangle table, hoping that someone would break the silence. She picked up her cup of coffee from the table, took a sip as her eyes scans the room.

Now she understand why Black calls Julius a hermit. With all the clocks he needs to fix, there aren't enough time for him to relax and socialize.

Lucian looked to the side, seeing White happily drinking his coffee. As for Black…he hadn't touch the cup in front of him. He was staring at Julius, sitting behind his desk fixing the clocks in front of him. Seeing as no one would talk, she turned to Rein, sitting behind her and looking out the window with his empty cup in his hands, resting comfortably on his lap.

I can't take this anymore, Lucian bit her lower lip as she turned her head back to Julius, who seemed to have sensed that another person is watching him. He knew Black was glaring at him, but he chose to ignore the warden.

Julius suddenly stopped with his work and moved his eyes up toward Lucian without moving his head. "You seem to have some questions for me." He said, placing down his wench and the broken clock on the table. He leaned back against his chair and reached out for his cup of coffee, taking a sip from it. "Go ahead and ask, and I'll try my best to answer them."

"Oh." Lucian quickly placed her cup of coffee down on the table and started scratching the back of her neck. She didn't think that Julius would notice her gaze on him since he seems to be focusing his attention at the single clock he had in his hands a moment ago.

"I don't really have a lot of questions for you. I'm just curious about the clocks here in this room." Lucian said. "So the clocks in your desk are the hearts of the people of Wonderland, right?"

"Correct." Julius nodded his head.

Lucian smiled, "That's amazing. No matter how much you die, you'll just come back to life again." As she says this, she didn't notice the frown forming from the four men. "That's really cool."

"Ah…my dear…" White smiled weakly as he turned to Lucian. "That's not how it works. I know I told you about the faceless coming to life, but…"

"You're not completely wrong." Julius said and he placed his cup back down on the desk. "Yes, by fixing these clocks, a life will come back. However, it won't be the same person."

"Huh…?" Lucian raised her eyebrows up. "What…do you mean? Isn't that the whole point of the clock? To bring back the person?" That's what she thought in the beginning that no one dies in Wonderland.

"It's quite simple to understand. Once I finished fixing this clock," Julius picked up one of the clock in front of him and spins it around his fingers. "A new person will come to life. The previous owner of this clock will never come back. Death in Wonderland isn't uncommon, it happens every time. Faceless are like deck of cards, they die and they get replaced. It's simple as that. Though it's not simple for me…with all these clocks coming to me every time change is a bit of a pain….but, it's my job."

"Wait…what happens to the owner of clock after they die then?" Lucian asked with a frown in her face.

"They disappear." Julius said without a hint of hesitation in his voice. "That's why you're a very important person in this world, Lucian. You have a heart that's not like anyone. A one of a kind, I guess."

"Hey." Black spoke. "You're not flirting with Lucian, are you?" He asked. "You better not. She's mine."

"!" Lucian's face flushed red, feeling embarrassed for Black's straightforwardness. "B-Black…why do you have to say that?"

"Because it's the truth!" Black shouted out loud.

"I guess I wasn't wrong when I saw you two being too close in the stairs and holding hands." Julius said in a monotone voice. "So." He moved his eyes toward Lucian. "You already chose the role holder you wish to spend with while you're here in Wonderland without even meeting the other role holders yet. I don't really care, though, I will tell you this, even if you chose Joker, the others will still love you. It's how the game works."

"Wait, I wasn't told about that." Lucian said and she looked at both Black and White.

"There's no point in telling you since you won't fall in love with anyone else but me and clown." Black said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Black is right, my dear." White smiled and leaned down to Lucian, kissing her on the cheek. "If you do fall for someone else, I'll kill him~"

"Wha…!"

While the three are talking to one another, Julius kept his eyes on the three, thinking about who fell in love first. He doubt that it would be Joker, so it's Lucian first. But something was not right about this whole falling in love thing between Joker and Lucian. Joker isn't the type to fall immediately to a foreigner. He's cruel and dangerous, though, he could say that to every role holders. He wonders if Joker is just toying with Lucian's feelings, and then throw her away later once he gets bored of her.

Thinking about this made Julius angry, but he kept his calm expression. He's not going to let that happen to Lucian. He doesn't want her to experience what Alice experienced during her stay in Wonderland. Maybe that was one reason why Alice left, her feelings were toyed by them, all because of a stupid game.

Julius sighed inwardly as he got up on his feet, grabbing his coffee. He ignored the four as he made his way to the door. But he stopped when Lucian called out to him.

"Wait." Lucian said. "Where are you going?"

Julius turned his head back and spoke, "Getting more coffee." He said and he walked off.

"Oh! Then I'll come with you! I need to wash these cups." She quickly grabbed White, Rein and her coffee cup, pushed her chair back, and ran out of the room. "Black, I expect you to finish that coffee when I get back!" She shouted.

Black clicked his tongue in annoyance but did what Lucian told him. He picked up his cold coffee and drank it all in one shot. "There! I drank it!" He shouted and slammed the cup down the table.

"She's gone." White said.

"I know! She could have at least put more sugar in my coffee. It's was too bitter, damn it."

~…X…~

In the kitchen, Julius was leaning against the wall, watching Lucian wash the cups in the sink while drinking his coffee that she made for him.

"Thank you again for allowing me to use your kitchen." Lucian said, turning the sink faucets off. She turned around and bowed her head as she wipe her hands with a dry, white towel.

"88." Julius said.

"…hm?" Lucian tilted her head. "88…?"

"Your coffee. It's 88 points."

Realizing what Julius meant, she grinned. "Ohh! You grade people who makes you coffee! Wow, this is the first time I've been grade in making coffee. Thank you. I'll try to make it better the next time I visit you."

"….Lucian." Julius spoke in a serious tone. "I don't mean to pry in your relationship with Joker, but…why did you choose him? He's one of the most dangerous role holders in Wonderland. It just seems odd for him to fall in love with you so quickly, considering that you've only been here for a short amount of time."

"….Well. Black and White are nice to me." Lucian said with a sincere smile.

Julius almost drop his coffee mug from hearing the word nice. The world nice and Joker don't work together at all. "W-what?"

"They're the first ones who I met in this world. I was falling in the sky and when I thought that I was going to die, I landed on White's circus tent, but it ripped. The good thing was Black caught me while he was standing in a tight rope. Crazy story, right?" She laughed awkwardly.

Yes, what she said is really crazy. But the thing that got Julius' attention the most from her story is, "You fell out of the sky?" He asked. "No one brought you here?"

"Was I supposed to be brought here by someone?"

"…well…kind of." The game goes is by the player chasing after a rabbit (Peter) and she falls down a hole. "You didn't see a white rabbit in your world before coming here, did you?"

"No." Lucian shook her head. "If I did, then that would be like 'Alice in Wonderland' where she falls down a hole because she was chasing after a rabbit."

"You know Alice?" Julius suddenly asked.

"Well, the character in a book. She meets all these strange people and animals in Wonderland. In the end of the story, she wakes up."

That story is just like Alice, Julius thought.

"You know, I find it funny how a story book is sort of like this world." Lucian said. "Except the people here are being called faceless. But, you know, faceless without a role do have eyes."

Julius looked at Lucian as if she was crazy. "I'm sorry, but that's not possible. Faceless cannot have eyes without a role in this world."

"Black and White told me that, too. But faceless really do have eyes. And don't go telling me that they don't have roles in this world." Lucian smiled. "Everyone has a role to play in life, no matter how small it is. When I think about it, role holders are just titles, nothing more. So maybe…"

"Okay. Maybe I do believe what you're saying, but how can you prove that?" Julius asked, walking towards Lucian. He never really thought about the idea of everyone having a role to play in Wonderland.

"I can't prove it, but you just have to believe me."

"You're a strange one." Julius said once he got in front of Lucian. "Fine, I'll believe you. Anyway, I need to warn you about something. I know you love Joker, but don't get fooled by him easily. Don't let him toy with your feelings." He lifted his right hand up and gently placed it right on Lucian's heart, but the moment he did this, his eyes grew wide open. "….what..." His shock expression soon turned into a serious one.

"W-what are you doing?" Lucian asked, her cheeks turning red. She wanted to smack Julius' hand away from her heart, but the look on his face tells her not to.

Her heart… Julius ignore the beating of Lucian's heart pounding in her chest as he concentrated in hearing another sound within her. It was faint but it sounded like the ticking of a clock.

Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock

Julius' eyes narrowed and he looked down at Lucian. "You…." He pressed his hand deeper in Lucian's chest, wanting to feel the other sound.

"Please remove your hand off my chest!" Lucian shouted, her face burning red.

"Ah!" Julius blinked and immediately pulled his hand back. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"Lady Lucian!" At that moment, Rein burst into the room. "What happened?!" Apparently, Rein had been standing outside the kitchen. He was ordered by White to stay with Lucian since he doesn't trust Julius. When he heard her shout, he quickly ran inside.

"N-nothing!" Lucian said, her left arm covering her chest.

"I heard you outside, Lady Lucian." Rein quickly made his way over to Lucian. "I'm sorry, I should have stayed by your side instead of waiting outside."

"You don't have to apologize, Rein." Lucian looked down, not wanting to look at Julius. Her right hand grabbed onto Rein's shirt as she tried to calm her beating heart. Why did he do that?!

"Lucian, I'm sorry." Julius said apologetically. "I…." He still couldn't get the sound of the clock out of his head. Was that just his imagination or...does she have…

"I-it's okay." Lucian said underneath her breath. "Thank you again. I'll be going now." She let go of Rein and walked passed the two, quickly heading to the door. When she pulled the door back, she jumped from seeing both Black and White standing in the hallway.

Black had his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at Julius, while White had a tiny smile on his face, but his eye was cold.

"We're going." Black reached out and grabbed Lucian by her shoulder. "Let's go, Lucian. You too, Rein." He pulled Lucian by his side and walked off.

"Ah, wait!" Lucian stopped and turned back to Julius. "T-thank you again!" She bowed her head and walked off with Black. Rein followed soon.

As for White, he stayed behind. "This is a warning, Julius." He said coldly. "Touch her that way again, and I won't hesitate to cut your arms off."

Julius returned the cold gaze back to White. "You know something about Lucian that she doesn't know herself, don't you? I heard a sound of a clock ticking within her. What is she? A foreigner cannot have a clock like ours, unless she's-"

"I don't know what you're talking about." White cut Julius off. "Oh, and one more thing. I won't fool Lucian, like what the others did to your precious little Alice. Lucian is far too important to me than anything else in this damn world. So you don't have to worry about her getting hurt, Mr. Monrey, because I'll protect her even if it costs me my life. Good day." He smiled kindly, bowed his head once and walked off.

Julius stared at the empty hallway, dumbfounded from what White had just said. What in the world made Joker turn into a protective man over a single woman? Is Lucian really that important to him, or was he was just lying?

"I can't trust that man." Julius whispered quietly as he shook his head. "Something is going on and I have a feeling this game is not going to be anything like Alice's."

~…X…~