2A/N: Second chapter ahead. Please enjoy. 😊
Disclaimer: I don't own anything!
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Chapter 2: I'll be his minder
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"Excuse me, stupid clown? What the f*** did you just say?"
Black's angried cry echoed through the corridors of the prison, causing Alice to wince in fear. She held her breath for a few seconds, not even allowing herself to move an inch from where she was standing as her eyes wandered to the ringmaster.
She stared at him, eyes as round as plates, while her mouth opened and closed continuously without forming words.
She knew that almost every hasty action, every single word or sentence could mean trouble in Wonderland; she had learned that much over the time she lived in this strange world full of weapons, dangers and death. However, being met with such a situation was a new kind of surprise, and actually not a welcome one.
Alice would rather choose any other kind of surreal situation she could end up in than playing the warden's nurse; being forced on a date with the heart castle's prime minister, having to test dishes completely made of carrots or trying out the newest and craziest rides at the amusement park. All of these seemed normal compared to Joker's request.
Alice slowly lowered her gaze, pressing her lips together as she heard a low growl coming from the prison's Joker.
"What the f*** are you saying, Joker?" he barked, glaring angrily at his counterpart as he clicked his tongue.
"Stop screwing around with me!"
White giggled lightly in return, holding his hands up protectively. He took a few steps towards the brunette girl, wrapping one arm around her shoulders as he leaned down to the level of her left ear.
His breath tickled her skin as he innocently declared, "Well, Joker, who else could treat you but our lovely foreigner? You can't run the prison in your current state and I have to run the circus and prepare the next show… You are the one in need for help, aren't you? That's why you shouldn't reject my generosity, Joker."
"Are you stupid?" the foul-mouthed Joker snapped once again, gritting his teeth.
"Who said that I need a damn babysitter? I'm pretty much able to take care of myself!"
The jester straightened himself, leaving a tensed up Alice in his arms.
A sarcastic undertone lingered in his voice as he reminded his counterpart of the situation he was in once again, "But even the prisoners make a fool out of you. Let me take a guess, will you? Another prisoner escaped and that's why I had to come here?"
The warden narrowed his eye at the jester. He clicked his tongue, folding his arms across his chest.
"Tch! I already caught this damn a******! I'm just not planning on running around the prison the whole day, trying to catch some faceless bastards. This damn headache is making me go crazy and I'm oh so sorry but I just don't feel like playing tag today! That's more like one of your stupid games. "
Alice listened to the two redheads' dispute for some time, her eyes darting back and forth according to the one who was talking. Her thoughts spun around while she tried to progress all the information being thrown into the conversation but in the end it was just too much for her to handle. On the one hand, she could understand White's point of him being in charge of the circus, therefore not having the time to additionally keep an eye on every single prisoner. On the other hand though, Alice knew Black well enough to know that he would never admit defeat to the jester, let alone appear unable to fulfil his duty and make himself seem weak.
Nevertheless, enough was enough. Provoking each other wouldn't solve the problem and it definitely did not make it reasonable for her to be a part of the whole issue.
Having reached her limit of self-effacement, the young brunette put her hands on her hips and frowned in irritation before she loudly stomped her foot like a little child.
"Joker!" she exclaimed.
The redheads turned their heads to the foreigner.
"Yes, Alice?" White asked nicely.
"What do you want, girlie?" Black snorted.
The brunette girl glanced to the latter for a short moment, her eyes narrowing at the "nickname" he had given her.
"My name is Alice," she hissed, emphasizing every single letter of her name before she cleared her throat and finally slipped away from White's hug, keeping her distance to both Jokers.
"White," she started off, giving a small but apologetic smile, "I can't play Black's watchdog. It wasn't my intention to lead you on when I asked you if you were in need of help. I mean… I know I asked you in the first place but I never thought you had such a request in mind. Also, it doesn't seem like Black would like to accept my help, therefore I think we should forget the idea of me keeping an eye on him."
The circus master tilted his head to the side. His single red eye focused on the girl, causing Alice to gulp. She wasn't sure why but she felt uncomfortable under his gaze, especially because she wasn't able to tell what he was thinking as he continued looking at her silently.
The brunette tried to avert her eyes, nervously shifting from one foot to the other as she stuttered, "You see, White… It's not that I don't want to help… but… I think Black will be fine without me."
White stayed silent for a moment before he eventually smiled at her. He offered her a hand, intending to lead her away as he said, "I think that's all there is to it then. I'm not going to force a task on you, my dear. Joker and I will be able to take care of the situation ourselves if that's the only option left. Well then, shall we take our leave and let Joker take a rest?"
Alice sighed at the jester's words. She was about to grab the hand offered to her when she felt a sudden pang of guilt in her chest, making her lower her gaze to the floor and biting her lower lip.
Maybe I shouldn't leave like this? She wondered, tightening her hands into fists.
It's not that I think Black wouldn't be able to take care of himself but… It must be tough to watch the prison while he's not feeling well. Also, White's work will increase if I don't help out, wouldn't it?
Feeling like she couldn't help pitying the two Jokers, the brunette eventually refused to take the ringmaster's hand with a light shake of her head and turned to the prison warden.
If he says he's fine without me, I'll go back to the Clover Tower, she decided before she called out the nickname she had given him.
"Are you sure you will be fine without anyone to help you, Black?" she asked, frowning a little as she didn't get an answer from the foul-mouthed Joker who was leaning against the nearest wall, his eye closed.
Alice tilted her head at the sight, wondering whether the redhead had heard her question, but when she finally heard strained huffs escaping his lips, she hastily walked up to the warden, calling his name with a slight hint of panic in her voice, "Black, are you alright?!"
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The warden opened his eye slowly once he felt the young girl tugging at his jacket. He glared down at her, wriggling away from her touch.
"I'm perfectly fine", he hissed, "Leave me alone!"
The girl frowned, shaking her head as she quickly reached out and placed her hand on the warden's forehead, earning a low and annoyed growl from the said one.
It only took a few seconds for her to withdraw her hand, a surprised gasp leaving her lips.
"You are burning up, Black! My gosh… Why haven't you said anything? You definitely have to rest!"
A hand was placed on the girl's shoulder and Alice tensed up a little as she felt White leaning down to her level once again, the small bells on his head jingling quietly next to her ear.
"Huh~ It seems like you are a little worried about Joker, miss. Did you change your mind?" he asked, his voice low, just a faint whisper in the air.
Alice shivered, squirming away from the jester's touch. Her cheeks were colored in a faint pink and she felt embarrassed over the fact how easily she could be manipulated by the Jokers.
The young girl eventually nodded, glancing up to the foul-mouthed Joker in front of her.
"There is no choice when he's already like this. I can't risk having him faint when no one's around."
The jester smiled at Alice, giving her a nod as he turned on his heel and started walking off, waving goodbye.
"Thank you very much, my dear. I'll leave him in your care for the time being."
Alice sighed as she watched White disappear from her sight, then she smiled uncertainly at the prison warden who looked rather unpleased about the development of the situation, his brow furrowed.
"Don't look at me like that, Black. Come on, I'm sure we can pull this off together, don't you think? We will just make sure to get you back on your feet and everything will be back to normal in a blink. For now, go get a good rest."
The foul-mouthed Joker snorted, sarcastically asking the girl, "So in the end, you still want to play my nurse, girlie? I didn't know you had such a fetish for roleplaying. But if you're alright with it, I'll gladly play along with your little doctor game. "
The brunette shook her head in disbelief. She was almost certain that he would never change that colorful language of his, let alone stop calling her names or making sexually suggestive comments. She was used to his behavior by now but it still bugged her to know that he didn't even shut his mouth when it came to situations like this. Just once she wished for him to say his thanks and accept an offer without acting like a pubescent young.
Alice hissed, repeating herself once again, "Firstly, my name is Alice. Secondly, I'm not going to play anyone's nurse, let alone yours of all people! And lastly, sick people should just behave and listen to others instead of playing all tough and trying to annoy the person who offered help!"
Black laughed lightly at the girl's sudden outburst of anger. He pushed himself away from the wall, flicking a finger against her forehead as he stared down at her, grinning arrogantly.
"It doesn't matter how you try to phrase it, young miss, you fell for the clown's trick and are now playing the role of my personal nurse. But just let me tell you this; regardless of whether I'm taking the role of the doctor or patient, you'll have less fun doing this whole s*** than me."
Alice rolled her eyes, her hands covering the spot on her forehead as she stuck her tongue out childishly, indicating that she didn't care about his way of thinking. Then she eventually grabbed the warden's hand and started to pull him in his room's direction.
Joker, having been caught off guard, hastily slapped her hand away, growling at the unwanted touch.
"Don't f****** touch me! I can walk by myself!" he complained angrily.
Alice did as she was told, shrugging her shoulders.
When they arrived at his room, Alice pushed the door open, showing him to get inside. The warden took a deep breath, clearly unhappy about the way he was ordered around by the foreigner, before he made his way past her into his room and started taking off his jacket.
Alice watched him, cheeks becoming slightly pink at the sight of his muscles flexing under his shirt. Leaning against the door's frame for a second while Black threw his hat and keys on the nightstand, she said, "For now, try getting some sleep. We should ensure that your fever doesn't get worse, so I'll fetch some water and a towel for you to cool down if needed."
The warden glanced at her, growling with gritted teeth instead of giving her a response.
Oh well, Alice though, I'll take this as an alright for now.
Pushing herself away from the door frame, she made her way to the kitchen to get Black the water and the towel.
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When Alice returned back to the warden's room, a heavy bowl filled with water in her arms and a towel thrown over her shoulder, she forcefully kicked the ajar door open, entering the dimmed room. Having heaved the bowl on the nightstand, the brunette took a deep breath and turned towards the bed on which the foul-mouthed Joker had curled himself up.
A smile spread on the girl's face as she slightly leaned forward, listening to the steady inhales and exhales of the redhead. She hadn't expected to ever see this side of the warden; Black didn't seem like the person who could sleep soundly, appearing like he was the most innocent person living on earth.
A giggle left Alice's lips as she gently placed her hand on the foul-mouthed Joker's forehead once again, whispering more to herself than to him, "You really must be exhausted, Black. Falling asleep right after I left… how long did you have to endure this high fever until now? And it hasn't lowered yet as well."
Alice was just about to withdraw her hand from the warden's forehead when the said one quickly grabbed it, holding it in place. The brunette winced at the sudden movement, a perplexed look on her face as she looked down at Black.
Before she could ask whether he had been awake all along, she heard him mutter, "Don't say anything for the moment! My head hurts and you're way too loud."
Alice sighed, a mixture of annoyance and relief.
"I'm sorry", she whispered, "I didn't mean to wake you."
The redhead grunted as a response before he let go of her hand and rolled over to his other side.
After some minutes Alice heard quiet snores coming from Black. The young brunette couldn't prevent another faint smile from creeping onto her face as she gently started dabbing the wet towel on the foul-mouthed Joker's forehead, watching the way he slightly frowned in his sleep whenever she did so.
Alice was sure that taking care of Black would be no bed of roses but a small voice in her head kept telling her that everything would be alright; that the possibility of the warden treating her with more respect afterwards existed.
And Alice wanted to believe that small voice.
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A/N: I hope you liked it!
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