Hey guys! Welcome to the 2nd chapter! This is very exciting, because I posted a new chapter in the same month is was first published in, yaaaay! For those of you that reviewed, favorited, and followed, thank you so very much! Hopefully this second chapter will get things moving. Though I shall admit, this story won't start getting funny until probably the next chapter, when...ahh read the chapter, then I'll explain at the bottom!

As for reviews...PLEASE REVIEW! I can't tell if people like the story or not if they don't reivew! So please do that! And in all honesty, I tend to update faster the more reviews I get, because I know more people will kill me if I don't. So review, review, REVIEW!

I do not own this game series, they belong to Quin Rose! I only own Clara- oh wait wrong story...I'm so used to doing that in chapter stories XD ON WITH THE STORY!

Chapter 2. An Early Encounter

Putting out his fire, Ace's frown deepened, beginning to regret his decision. He would reject her. He wanted to watch her squirm. He didn't want a wife, he just wanted an escape. In reality, the last thing he needed was a whining wife to hold him back.

Once his tent was packed up, the energetic Knight slapped on a grin, and took off. After looking both ways, pondering on his decision, he chose to go left.

And of course, he ended up wandering for hours. His sense of direction never failed him! Ace didn't mind one bit, as he looked at each and every day as a new adventure. But he mentally reminded himself that he had to hurry. It was the third day.

At long last, he finally found a door that looked like it would lead somewhere.

"Ha, found it!" he spoke with glee, pushing open the doors.

He found himself staring at the rose maze. There were two in the entire palace; a small one in the front, and a larger one in the back in front of the garden. If he was correct, this one was the larger one. And he was supposed to be in the tea area part of the garden. But with a shrug, he decided to see if there was a faceless close by to show him the way.

One would think that the Queen would be seeing to each and every thing that happened in her castle. Well not quite. The Country of Heart was a bit different from everything else. If it involved the Queen, or business, then she would deal with it. If it had to do with the Prime Minister, or some other ranked official in the castle, or even Ace himself, it was their business to deal with. Then there was the matter of the faceless in this Country…

He gave his head a slight shake. 'No time for trivial things.' Some guards and maids had been informed of the visit, and were all shocked to hear at the idea that he might be willing to marry. And an Outsider, one might add. If he were to agree, she would have to find out secret of this Country.

'People are strange sometimes.' He smiled, as he turned around a tall tree.

"Gone! Just vanished!" a maid squealed. The Knight was a tad bit startled at the sudden outburst. Two faceless maids were conversing with one another. He crouched down on his hind legs, his goofy grin still plastered on his face. He had a bad habit of ease-dropping on people…

"Buy why? He is very handsome…"

"And crazy! And she's never seen him before."

"Well, what will happen if she's found?"

"If she's found? Well nobody knows where he is either! He hasn't shown up yet!"

"Probably got lost…" the second maid sighed."

"Somebody should have gone and fetched him"

Ace came out from behind the tree, still smiling. "By chance are you talking about me?"

The maids squeaked, and quickly bowed. They mumbled apologies, their blank faces unable to express emotion.

"Well?" He asked, looking down at the maids.

They looked at each other, then back at him. They were debating what to say.

"Well, Sir Ace…" One began.

"Alice Liddell has arrived…" the second trailed off.

His smile vanished, replaced by look of surprise. So she had arrived. He was later than he thought she was.

'Alice…'

A small smirk came to his face, and his eyes narrowed. Time to break some hearts!

"Well, then we should find her. I can't decide if I can't meet her! Tell her parents that I'll return in a few moments."

The maids squealed as he quickly took off. They called after him, claiming that they weren't finished explaining something, he was already gone.

But it was a puzzlement. Ace walked briskly, his torn jacket swishing a bit. He put his hand to his chin, talking to himself.

"Why would she run without meeting me first? Does she want to stay single that badly?" But it wasn't like it mattered anyways. He does not- will not -want to marry this silly little girl. Why those thoughts had invaded him last night, he did not know. Maybe he was just tired. But if he had no real intention, and if she was willing to run away, he was no longer interested.

He touched his chest lightly, wondering why it felt like this odd feeling wasn't going to go away soon.

Annoyed, Ace shook his head. He looked up slightly, seeing another path that turned, and decided to take it. When he looked up again, he found himself in the maze. He spun in a circle, smiled, and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, time for another adventure!"

Ace had only been walking for a few minutes, but had been stopped by a path that split three ways. Debating where to go, he heard a rustle from his left. He leaned slightly, curious. Somebody else was in the maze.

Knowing he could kill anybody that tried anything, he followed the sound, and was around to turn left again…

When a young girl bumped right into his chest.

She gasped, taking a few steps back while tripping over a root. Before she could fall, Ace wrapped his arm around her waist, steadying her.

"Hey! Careful there!" He glanced down, surprised at seeing someone else in the maze. "You okay?"

The girl looked up at him, looking nervous. "I-I'm sorry. I was trying to find my way out of this place." Her voice was sweet, but not stinging to the ears like most girls had. The Knight finally took her in.

Small and thin, she barely reached his shoulder. She had long, light brown hair that was straight, but not flat. It was complete with a blue bow on her head. She wore a blue dress and a white apron, and knee high blue and striped socks. She had a heart shaped face, light pink lips, and two large, blue-green eyes. The hair and the eyes were the same color as Lorina's.

'Alice…'

His smile broadened. So this was the mysterious Alice. He wasn't disappointed. She was certainly pretty, and already he liked the sound of her voice. This was her.

"Um, I'm sorry, but I need to get going." She wriggled herself from his now loosened grip. She shuffled past him, glancing around. He turned his torso, watching her. Confusion crossed his features. What was she doing in the maze?

She had a frown set on her lips, but looked determined in her mission. She placed her index finger on her bottom lip, debating the direction. When she turned to look back at him, her hair seemed to flow around her. She looked at him, and gave a small, hopeful smile.

'Yes, very pretty.'

She spoke again, not as timid as before. "You wouldn't happen to know the way out of here, would you?" Ace took a step forward, placing his hands on his hips.

"Well I am a knight of this castle, so I should know the way."

At the word knight, her lips drew into a frown again, and she slumped her shoulders forward a bit. "Please, don't mention knights to me anymore. That's the whole reason I'm in this mess."

'A mess, huh?' Ace narrowed his eyes, but she didn't notice. "Would you care to share?"

"Can we walk while we talk?"

"Sure."

"Oh!" she took her small hands, fisting on and pounding it in her other. Ace smiled a little, amused. "Did you forget something?"

Possibly without realizing it, she tilted her head slightly, and her eyes grew soft. She placed one foot forward, and laid one of her tiny hands over her chest. Her smile was warm, and her hair danced slightly in the wind. The Knight was speechless for a second, as a sucked in a tiny breath. She almost looked like a china doll.

'Beautiful…'

"My name is Alice, Alice Liddell."

"Really? I've heard so much about you around the castle…" he smiled back, but grinned on the inside, keeping his true answer silent.

'My name is Ace, and you shall be mine…'

So Alice followed him, as he started taking random turns, as if he really did know the way. "So, what about this 'mess' that you're in?" He glanced at her over his shoulder, feigning curiosity.

Alice was quiet for a moment or two, then opened her mouth. "I'm engaged to a knight here."

He quirked his eyebrows, and looked ahead, smirking. "Oh? What's he like?"

"No idea. But the engagement is not even official. I'm just trying to give him a bad impression so he won't consider me anymore."

"And why's that?"

"Because I don't love him!" her voice raised, and she abruptly stopped. No longer hearing her footsteps, Ace glanced over his shoulder. Her expression was mixture of annoyance and sadness. He turned his body towards her. "That shouldn't matter, should it? You'll learn on the way."

Her teal eyes met his red ones, staring at him as if he was stupid. "Yes it does matter! I don't want to be married to a stranger! I want to marry somebody I know, at the very least." She looked weak, helpless, with her light brown bangs covering her eyes.

He folded his long arms over his chest, examining her. "Do you even know his name?"

"Yes. His name is Ace. It's a very…odd name."

The Knight laughed at her honest answer. He reached forward, placing his hand on her head. Boy, was she tiny!

"Well, you could start there, and get to know him little by little before the wedding." His fingers trailed down, trailing through her sun kissed locks. She noticed, and took no time into backing away, laughing uncomfortably.

"Yeah well...you make it sound so simple." She looked in some random direction. She suddenly was someplace else. Not being a big fan of being ignored, Ace reached out slowly so she wouldn't see, and gently rubbed his index finger against her cheek. She froze in place, obviously at a complete lost as to what to do next.

'So she's fun to tease. I wonder what other reactions she'll have.'

When it seemed like she collected her thoughts, she retreated a few steps, her arms raised in front of her. She met his gaze, as he contemplated his next move.

"D-do you need something?"

"I wanted to see your reaction." He spoke honestly. "What would you have done, if this was your suitor?"

"He's not my suitor!" she replied hastily. "And if you were him, I'd have the exact same reaction as I did with you." Her crossed her arms, then looked off to the side, her cheeks turning a shade darker. "But…I will admit, I feel more comfortable around you so…I can forgive you."

Ace began to walks towards her, slowly, as if stalking his prey. She noticed this time, and tried to repeat her earlier move, but ended up backing up into a hedge. When he was in front of her, he had to bend his body just a tiny bit to be closer to her face, looming over her small frame. Ace's normal grin had disappeared, allowing the smirk to take its place. She made it painfully obvious that she was searching for a way out, her darting left to right. A small laugh rumbled in his chest. This girl was so naïve! It was almost pathetic to him.

But at the same time, she sparked his interest yet again. She already felt more comfortable around him, and it had only been about maybe…10 minutes?

He didn't know how many minutes passed here, but a good chunk of time had left, he continued to stare at her, while she stared at the ground.

"Uhh…shouldn't we be getting to exist?"

"Aww, why? Does Alice not trust me?"

She opened her mouth to object, but she snapped it shut when he brought his head closer.

"Does Alice think I'll do something to her?"

Her flushed face got even redder. And in for the kill.

"Haha! Alice is such a pervert!" Ace exclaimed, leaning away from Alice. When he had his laugh, he smiled his regular smile to Alice. He did, however, made a mental note that if one day looks could become a deadly weapon, he may not be dead, but he'd sure as heck have bullets all over him.

"Well…let's head off." She walked past him briskly, quickly turning randomly at the left. She reappeared a few seconds later, laughing and still blushing. "Um, hehe, would you care to lead?"

"Don't mind if I do." He came up to her, and like the gentleman he pretended to be, offered her his hand. "So you don't disappear on me." He claimed, when she gave him a queer look. He waggled his fingers, and laughed. "Come on, you know you want to." 'How comfortable is she with me?'

As if humoring a child, Alice slipped her slim fingers into his hand. Like a venus fly trap, he closed her hand around hers. As they began their voyage continued, Ace gave her hand a squeeze. She tried to take her hand away, but he wouldn't let her, holding on even more. A plan was formulating in his head. For starters, he needed to find his way out of this maze...

Aaaaaaand fin for now! Hmmm...I think he sounded too much like Blood...oh well! I love my guys crazy and dark!

So as I was saying earlier, things won't start getting funny til probably the next chapter, when Alice finally finds out who this mysterious Ace is...and boy does he get it! Haha! For my first AcexAlice story, I think it's coming along nicely.

I will say I am happy that I reread the manga, because now I realize how much it explains the characters...not very well. When I first read it 2 years ago, I was basing all personalities off of the manga personalities, which is why I didn't care too much for Ace. Then I started doing research on the different games, walk throughs, the Clover manga books, the Joker manga book, youtube videos, the movie, etc, and now I love them all! So I'll try to capture the darker side of Ace from the games in this fanfic, but please keep in mind that I didn't (CAN'T! T~T) play the games, and I'm trying my best by going off reviews of his routes.

Happy reading/writing! Don't ever give up!

~serima