Last Time
"Tell me your name."
"R-Rose. Rose Hargreaves."
"I am Julius Monrey, the owner of this clock tower."
"-G-Grandma told me..."
"-this is the Medicine of Hearts. Whether you drink it or not is up to you?"
Did she really want to risk this game?
Chapter 3: Forest Knights
Rose closed her hand around the potion of hearts. This is what her grandmother wanted. Alice wanted her to play the game. Her grandmother would never put her in a situation that she didn't believe she could handle, right? Trying to rationalize the choice at hand in order to avoid indecision, she pulled the heart topper off the bottle, it giving a whispered "pip" as pressure inside it was released. This small noise caught a bit of the Clock Master's attention. He glanced up at the girl, wondering just what she would do. Alice had been very accurate about one thing and Nightmare had been just as correct. This girl was nothing like Alice. He had to remind himself not to compare the two in order to guess what she would end up choosing. Rose brought the vial to her nose and sniffed it once, finding that it had no smell. She found this to be somewhat relieving, considering she had always been iffy about medication. By the lack of scent, she could assume it was lacking in a thick taste, if it had a taste at all. This is what Grandma wants, she reminded herself, bringing the vial to her lips. After a sharp intake of breath, she down the liquid, flinching and her face scrunching up as bitterness she had not expected coated her tongue. She shook her head in an attempt to dispel the taste.
Julius put down his work once again, putting the now finished clock to the side, its ticking joining the many already present. He took a glance toward the large window. The time had changed once again. The sky was black and dotted with stars. He stood up.
"You are welcome to stay here for as long as you like," he stated, plainly. "I'll show you where you can sleep."
The brunette looked up at the man then nodded herself. "Th-Thank," she whispered, then cleared her throat. "I-I mean, thank you, Julius." She offered him a meek smile.
When Julius's expression remained completely stoic, Rose's smile fell. She recalled that her grandmother had informed her that Julius was a very closed off sort of person. She couldn't expect to breech his shell easily. She stood from the chair she had occupied. This seemed to be the cue for Julius. He began leading her down the halls of the Clock Tower. They finally came to a door, which he opened for her.
"This was the room your grandmother stayed in," he mentioned. "I suppose it's yours now."
"Thank you..a-again," Rose told him.
The Mortician nodded curtly. "Get some rest."
With that, he returned to work, leaving Rose alone in the empty hallway. She looked after the man until his back disappeared around a corner. She almost didn't want to be left alone. Despite how...impassive Julius seemed, she almost would have rather been with him than alone in this strange place. She knew that she had to suck it up, however. No matter how much she would rather act like a five-year-old and refuse. The thirteen-year-old entered the room, closing the door behind her. She looked around the room, scanning it for any trace left from when her grandmother had existed here. There was a disappointing lack-there-of. Rose could have guess that the room had been cleaned out long ago. All that was present in the room was a simply made bed and an empty beside table with two drawers.
Through with her examination, Rose approached the bed and let her small backpack slip off her shoulder onto the mattress. She pulled the letter out of her dress pocket and placed it on the nearby table. Then she opened up her backpack and pulled out her pale pink nightdress. She held it up by the shoulder of its long sleeves, shaking out the wrinkles that had formed. Then she laid it out on the bed, retying the white ribbon that had come undone around the collar. Then, the proceeded to take the three extra outfits out of her backpack. She stowed them away in the bedside table's top drawer. A hair brush and other "bathroom" supplies, including a few hair ties and ribbons were placed in the second drawer along with her now empty backpack was placed in the second drawer. Before putting it away with her clothing, she looked at the potions vial. There was a drop settled at the bottom. She bit her lip then tucked it away under her dresses.
"The game...It's really happening," she whispered to herself.
She disrobed herself of her depressing funeral dress, glad to be rid of the itchy fabric. It was folded small as she possibly could and stuffed it into the back of the top drawer. Then she closed the door and retrieved her night dress. She pulled it over her head, the ruffled hem stopping at her knees. She slipped off her plain black flats and placed herself underneath the blankets. Laying on her, side that faced the door, she stared into the darkness of the room, anxiety twisting her stomach. She was really in the Country of Hearts, the land of her grandmother's adventures. Who knew what would await her. Who knew how she would be received. It took a what seemed like hours, if this world had hours, before her eyes felt heavy and closed.
Rose was surprised to find herself levitating in a void that would have reminded her of of a child's finger painting if it weren't for the way the colors melded together, shifted, and spiraled. Oddly enough, the world did not disturb her the way a voice in the back of her mind barely whispered. She looked around the void, finding a dull sense of nothing within it. There was not a soul or object save for the shifting colors. Strangely, however, she didn't feel alone. Her neck felt warm with the sense that someone else existed in this place.
"Hello...?" she called, her voice retaining a strange echo. "Is anyone else here?" She felt something or someone blow on the back of her neck. She gave a scream of fright, jumping several feet into the air despite the lack of a floor to stand on. In the same motion, she turned a 180, now facing a sliver haired man, who was smiling behind his hand. Rose heaved air back into her lungs, grasping at her heart with one hand.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Rose," the man greeted. "In person, anyway."
"N-Nightmare Gottschalk?" Rose managed to utter her heart slowed.
Nightmare smirked, playfully. "That's right. I'm Nightmare. I'm a dream demon, the embodiment of bad dreams, but you knew that already."
Rose nodded, slowly. "Gr-Grandma said...She t-told me you'd say that..." Her head sunk into her shoulder. "Um, b-but she told me not to...believe it."
"I'm not surprised," the Incubus chuckled.
"I-I," Rose stumbled. "Thank you for bringing me here, l-like Grandma wanted."
Nightmare's smirk turned into a melancholy smile. He floated to the girl and rubbed the top of her head. Rose's freckles were highlighted by the action. "Most of the Role Holder's here would do anything for Alice," he informed her. He put the hand that had felt her hair into one pocket. "That doesn't mean you are safe in this world, however. Though lasting impressions will remain from your grandmother, soon the people here will turn there attention to you and only you."
The brunette looked up into the others brown eyes, disbelief riding on her features. Becoming melancholy herself, she averted her gaze off into the melding colors of the void. The thought of replacing her grandmother weighed heavily upon her but more than that, she just knew that the Wonderlanders would compare her to Alice. They would look for Alice in her and they wouldn't find her.
Nightmare sensed her negative thoughts radiating off her mind. With his index finger, he turned the girl's eyes back to him. "Everyone misses Alice," he told her, "and yes, most will look at you and try to find Alice in your appearance, your actions, but I have no doubt that, once they get to know you, they'll like you just as much." He placed that hand in his other pocket.
Rose smiled meekly. "T-Thank you...for reassuring me."
Nightmare's smile quirked at one corner. "I promised your grandmother that you would be taken care of here and if keeping your spirits up helps in that matter, then I'm keeping my promise," He cocked his head. "but now it's time for you to wake up, Rose."
With those knowing words, Rose gained that odd sense of wakefulness pulling her away from the serenity of closed eyes. Her heart lurched as she found she had one more thing to say. Before her, Nightmare seemed to be blurring and disappearing. "W-Wait! W-Will they forget how they felt about Alice?"
She received no answer. The dreamworld vanished.
Light disturbed the darkness behind Rose's closed eyes. She squeezed her eyes against it, covering the closed orbs with her arms, but it was to late. Wakefulness clouded her ability to sleep longer. She frowned and sat up in bed, rubbing sleep from her eyes. She yawned as she lowered her hands into her lap. Habitually she looked outside, expecting to just barely see dawn peeking over the horizon line. Surprise hit her when she realized the sun was at its high point in the sky.
"W-Wh-Oh!"
She shook her head, reminding herself that she was in the Country of Hearts, where time was disorientingly random. She wondered how long she had really slept as she slipped out from under the covers, her feet finding the cold stone floor. She almost had the urge to retreat back under the covers, but restrained herself. Standing, she opened the top drawer of her nightstand and pulled out the top most dress. She laid it out on the bed. It wasn't an extraordinary thing. It had a knee-length, pleated skirt. The color was a mint green, save for the white ribbons that lined the hem, collar, and short sleeves as well as the one that wrapped around her middle and tied in the back. She removed her night dress and folded it. She placed it on top of her bedside table for the next night. Then, she adorned the fresh dress, horribly glad that she was no trapped in that black dress that represented all that she had lost in her world. She reached behind her and tied the ribbon in the back the best she could. Then she retrieved her brush. She sat down on the bed and ran the brush through her now tangled curls. Once the brown waves were free of tangles, she tied it into a ponytail that came over her left shoulder and also added a white ribbon then deemed herself finished. She slipped on her shoes and picked up the letter from her table. She looked at it for a moment before tucking it into her pocket.
Letting off another yawn, she opened her new bedroom's door and peeked out into the hall. The Clock Tower felt eerily empty. She amended that it would take some getting used to. Inhaling to keep herself from creating an anxiety that was unprecedented, she edge out of the room, closing the door behind her. She followed the halls back to the room where, it seemed, Julius did his work. When she found the room again, she also found that the Clock Master was sleeping at an awkward angle, his head against his desk. Clearly, he had fallen asleep while working. Rose bit her lip, unsure if she should wake him up, considering her grandmother had often stated that she worried for Julius without her there. Apparently he didn't eat or sleep the way he should. She retreated back down the hall, peeking into the different rooms as she past.
"Grandma said that she made sure he ate well and made him coffee so..." she whispered to herself to fill the silence and deafening ticking and ticking, "that must mean there is a kitchen somewhere."
She picked into one room then had to double take. The room was a fairly empty one, all things considered, but it was the room she was looking for, judging by the stove, cabinets, fridge, and other mis. things. She pushed the door open to enter. She decided that she would make something ready for when Julius woke up, as a more sincere thank you for letting her stay. She started out with coffee, glad to find that there was a jar of ground coffee beans and creamer right beside the machine. She started up the machine with the necessary additives before moving to the fridge, which she found was to be quite...lacking. She did find two eggs and some milk, though she checked the milk twice for its expiration date. With that, she managed to assemble toast and jam with scrambled eggs. She even found a plate after climbing onto a chair. As she poured the coffee into a mug,-Oddly he had what seemed to be fifty cups and maybe six plates-she contemplated eating herself. Her stomach knotted at the thought. She supposed she was just to uncomfortable in her environment to eat quite yet. She took a guess about how much coffee and creamer by how much her grandmother liked; Three teaspoons of sugar and a tablespoon of creamer.
She picked up the plate in one hand and the handle of the mug with the other. Biting her lip as the coffee sloshed slightly, she made her way carefully back down the hall. She prided herself on making it all the way to Julius's study without spilling a drop or worse. Julius, it seemed, was still asleep when she arrived. She made her way to his desk, slowly, fearing the floor, despite it being made of stone, would creak and wake him up. Pushing a few things aside, she placed the mug and plate down on a clear space. After she put them down, her eyes trailed the desk for paper and pen. There was a random pad and pencil on the cluttered desk. She wrote a note on it.
Julius,
Thank you for letting me stay at the Clock Tower. I hope that the breakfast is to your liking. Sorry it isn't much. I'm going to explore the Country of Hearts. Grandma said that it would be best if I met everyone as soon as possible so I would be familiar with everyone. I'll be back the next time it is night out.
Rose
She placed the pencil down and put the pad by the mug. She hoped the coffee wouldn't be too cold by the time he woke up but still she could not bring herself to wake him up. Checking for the letter to be sure it was handy in her pocket, she crept out of the Clock Tower. Closing the heavy door behind her gently, despite how far down she was from where the Mortician slept. Now cut off from the tower's safety, being as it was the only place familiar to her at current, she looked out into the woods that expanded before her, reaching out its branches like a welcoming monster. What would be in those woods? Rose couldn't recall if her grandmother had ever told her if there were bears or wolves living in the Country of Hearts. She swallowed, hard, crossing her arms.
"C-Come on, Rosie," she assured herself. "You can do it. Just remember the way back to the Clock Tower and you'll be perfectly fine." She began taking edgy steps forward. "No need to be afraid."
Soon, she had entered the trees, her steps becoming more at ease and rythmatic. As she trekked on, she looked at the mossy floor and green leafed trees. It was quiet, save for birds singing. It was almost relaxing. Rose chastised herself for being fearful. It was the kind of forest that reminded her of a fairytale. Perhaps the kind of place faeries would live, if there had been more flowers rather than mushrooms. She let herself fall at-ease enough to unfold her arms and loosen her muscle, which had been ready to spring into flight at a moments notice. She laughed to herself.
"See, nothing to worry about," she told herself in order to fill the lonely walk. "Grandma walked through these woods so many times before, she would have known if there were dangerous animals lying in wait, right?"
She continued walking. She didn't quite know where she would end up but she was sure she could make it back to the Clock Tower, considering she hadn't made a single turn. looking up into the canopy of trees, she brought to mind what she had seen from the high up, Clock Tower platform. Going straight, she might end up at the Heart Castle. That sounded about right. Suddenly, there was a crack to her left. Rose froze mid-step as another crack sounded. Though she did not turn her head, her eyes darted to the side of her that the found originated. Her muscles tightened as the sound made its presence known once again, much closer this time. Just as Rose turned her head, birds erupted from where they had been singing, giving screeching calls. This shocked Rose into a dead sprint, a scream dying in her wake.
Curls wiping into knots behind her as she ran, the forest blurring past her as she raced through the trees. A quiet rationality told her that it would be wise to take a glance over her shoulder and see if she was even been pursued by the phantom predator but fear screamed that if she looked back she would slow down. Besides, she had to be outside this forest soon. It couldn't go on forever. Once she was beyond the fingers of the trees she'd be much more at ease. She amended that she wouldn't stop until she reached the end of the tree long. But how long would that be?! She could already feel her limit. No one could ever accuse her of being a good runner.
Then, abruptly, a two-legged figure stepped out of the brushes right in Rose's raging path. With a yelp, she attempted to stop but was unable to do so in time. She ran into the stout figure and then found her backside making an unpleasant acquaintanceship with the ground. Rubbing her forehead and panting, the brunette shifted onto her knees. A gloved hand wrapped around her upper arm and pulled her back to her feet.
"Careful there," the figure that had stumbled in her path said. "What's your hurry?"
Rose's eyes widened and her pants died in her throat as she looked up at the man dressed in a red trench coat and a sword on his hip. She, characteristic, found herself at a loss for words as she was met with the new face. She knew, of course, that he was one of the men from her grandmother's stories by his appearance but none-the-less. The man wrinkled his brow at the girl, looking at her curiously at her. This expression only lasted a moment before a broad smile that read "Happy Disposition" overtook his features.
"What? Did I scare you?" he asked, playfully.
"W-Um..." Rose bit the inside of her bottom lip, her hand finding the letter in her dress pocket. She pulled it out of her pocket and held it out to the red-clad man.
The hand looked at the pale blue envelope being held out to him. "Hm?" he questioned. "Why would you have a letter for me?"
Nevertheless, he took the letter from the girl, who retracted her hand and began toying with her side ponytail, pulling it back over her shoulder. He saw the bold words that addressed to whom the letter was meant for. Despite wearing an endless smile, he felt curiosity edging his vision. He opened the envelope and pulled out the paper inside. After unfolding the parchment, his eyes traced over the letter. His smile didn't fade, but he fought to keep the disposition that held from fading. So Alice succumbed, huh? He folded the letter back up, taking in this girl that stood before him like a cornered squirrel. Nothing like Alice at a mere glance.
"So, you're Alice's little girl," he mused. "I'm Ace, the Knight of Hearts." He ignoring a dull sense of jealousy he held toward the deceased Alice. Death would be the ultimate way to remove himself from his role, a death where he would not just be replaced. He handed back the letter and envelope. "What's your name?"
The girl raised her eyes to the Knight. She swallowed, then opened her mouth. "I-I'm...My name is R-Rose."
Ace placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. Rose couldn't help but let her eyes drift to the sword before darting back to the trees to her left. "So, where'ya headed?" he asked.
The freckle face didn't have an answer to give, considering she didn't know herself, but she felt compelled to say something. "I-I think Heart Castle is this way...?" she more questioned than asked.
Ace shook his head. "You're going the wrong way," he claimed. "How about I show you the way?"
Rose blinked. "Um..." She didn't want to be rude, but..."Grandma said that...w-well, you don't have the best sense of...direction," she told him, meekly.
The knight looked at her for a moment before he started to laugh. "Don't worry!" He grabbed her hand without warning. "My directional sense has gotten thousands of times better since Alice was here. I'll get us to the Heart Castle in no time!" He winked at her. "In fact...I know a short cut!"
"B-But-!"
Without a by-your-leave, he pulled Rose along, despite her stumbled, incoherent protests. He lead the girl off the path and into the underbrush. Rose was soon to give up on her attempts to reason, so she fell silent, wondering if he still carried camping equipment with him.
Thank you all once again for favoritism, following, and commenting. ^ - ^ You've all made me quite happy! 3 I hope I'm working with the characters I've mentioned so far well. I welcome your critique on how I'm doing~! I must apologize for this chapter. Building up to meeting with Ace, I felt a little "blocked", if you catch my drift. Forgive me!
