2AN: The SnKnA news brought Reese back from the Alice afterlife. Please read the first chapter's character sheet, especially if you're new here or want a quick recap.
God help me, I have a splitting headache. I thought some rest would make me feel better, but all I've accomplished is wasting my only day off and potentially making myself Vivaldi's next target for beheading. I just hope she still loves me enough to brush it off. Not that my coworkers will forgive me. Sometimes the other servants will mock me for my mistakes now that I don't have the excuse of being a foreigner. Sometimes I threaten them with a good beheading from Vivaldi, and even though I never mean it, it gets them to leave me alone for a few time turns.
I've been working in castle for about a billion years now. I lost count once Ace began abducting me from my shifts, forcing me to drag him around the land in a desperate attempt to get back home. I don't even know how he finds me half the time. I'll try and work in a secluded part of the castle and he'll just stroll in like he has a GPS tracker on me.
Other than the grueling work of being a full time faceless Wonderlandian, things have been great. Over time, everyone began to accept Alice's departure and I've had a lot of help getting used to the rules and what my role entails.
I've been trying to keep up with everyone. It's hard to socialize when the people you considered friends are now enemies, ready to kill you at any second. Not that they couldn't do that before- I'm just really missing the few foreigner benefits I had. The only time I get to visit my friends is when I'm escorting someone to another territory or when Boris and the twins sneak by to kidnap me for a while.
Speaking of which, they must have tried to get into my room last night. I recall faintly hearing scratching noises outside, along with a low rumbling that kept waking me up throughout the night.
Forcing my eyes open, I stall in my sheets for a few seconds before slinking out of bed and opening my closet to get my work uniform ready... even though it's not there? I must have misplaced it. As I force myself to wash up and get ready to go back to the castle, I notice the air feels weirdly clean and still. Some of my knick-knacks are moved and fallen over, and the shadows cast over my window looks, uh, odd.
With my uneasiness growing, I exit the building and find the village has been completely remodeled overnight. There's more buildings, more people running around, and everyone's in weird clothes. They're all in their nicest dresses and suits, and I'm just standing in the doorway with my casual jeans.
"Good morning!" One of my neighbors shouts. I don't really recognize them but I nod and pretend to go along with it, greeting more people as I scurry off towards the castle.
And I keep walking.
And walking...
And walking- where's the castle?! I don't even see the towers from where I'm standing, I just see trees and the sky and the newly built buildings. Stopping in the small crowd, I begin to panic and consider stopping someone for directions. My sickness must've really gotten to me.
Instead, as I reach a hand out towards someone's shoulder, it's taken by a familiar grasp that could only belong to the Cheshire Cat.
Exhaling loudly, I whirl around and bury my head into his boa as we pull each other into a friendly embrace.
"Boris! Thank God. Where are we? What's going on?" I ask hastily, pulling away from his chest. He purrs and laughs at my panicked greeting.
"Man, you musta been really sick to be this affectionate. I didn't know you could miss me so much!" He teases, grinning widely. When he starts talking again, he opens his eyes and pokes a finger to his head. "I thought I'd beat everyone to the punch and explain the- whoa. Uh."
I wait for him to continue. "What?"
"Nothing. I just, uh, wasn't expecting that?"
"Expecting what?"
Instead of answering, he pulls out his gun and awkwardly dangles in my front of my face. I'm about to hiss at him for ignoring my question when I see something very strange. Impeccably strange. Impossibly strange, even.
Staring at my reflection in the barrel are a pair of tired brown eyes. They... look like my old eyes. They are my eyes. I have eyes. Again.
I watch as my jaw slacks to leave my mouth open like a dark cave, and Boris attempts to hide his amusement.
"You never fail to keep things interesting, Reese. Welcome to the country of Spade!"
/
As Blood graciously gave me a tour of his slightly remodeled mansion, Elliot tried to explain the concept of moving countries to me. Boris was doing a poor job of catching me up, so I told him to escort me to the mansion, and then he got kinda pouty and left. Joker had already told me a bit about moving during the start of April Season, but I didn't know it could happen so suddenly.
Never mind that, I'm just shocked they leave behind territories. Usually people move, not the entire land. Does it have legs? Is Wonderland a living being? It doesn't make sense to me, and the more I listen to his speech, the sadder I become. From what Elliot is saying, Julius, Pierce, Vivaldi, Peter, Ace, Gowland... even Five and Victoria- they're all just gone now. They were left behind in the other country. They were my close friends and now I can't see them anymore. I don't even know if Joker tagged along.
My job at the castle... my old room at the amusement park... so many things were taken away from me in one night. Everything was lost, and I only regained my eyes. I'd gladly gouge them out if it meant I could go back. Er, maybe that's a bit much?
"But you're not a role holder," Elliot muses, cancelling out my stupid thoughts. "I don't get it. You have a heart again, right?"
I nod solemnly, feeling the fabric covering my heart's cavity. The twins made sure to fight over who got to listen to it first the second they heard the "good" news.
We shuffle back to Blood's library and the kids, or I guess adults since they're in some weird adult form, run off to go mess up the shelves. Stopping his sentence mid-explanation, Elliot's ears shoot up in surprise and he shouts after them.
"Wah, stop running off! Sorry Reese, I gotta get these brats. Get back here!" He shouts, causing some of the books around him to rumble. Blood closes his eyes in irritation and then sighs, setting his papers down on the dimly lit desk ahead.
Unsure of what to do now, I linger at one of the lounge chairs and pretend to look around. Within seconds, he's quick to notice my boredom.
"Is there something I can help you with, miss?" He asks simply. If we had just met, I would have assumed he was being rude. Now that we've interacted a bit more, I've come to realize he's not as cold as his words come off. I guess Alice gushing about how kind his is helped my opinion of him too.
"I just don't know what to do now that the castle is gone. All of my friends are gone, too." I feel my face fall a little bit. "I just feel like this will be overwhelming. I didn't ask to move countries and have my heart and face back."
I keep my eyes facing the carpet even when I hear his book clamp shut. With the sound of his boots stamping across the room, I anticipate his appearance before me and wait for his shadow to cast over my still figure.
"Hm. I'd be a bad host if I let you wallow in your misery like this." Before I can retort, I feel his large hand cover the top of my head and bring my eyes to his. I almost gasp at the warm look pooling in his eyes. I wouldn't say it's heart throbbing. It's more like a fatherly gaze. "Perhaps I can assist you. Once I'm finished with my work, I'll have someone take you to the White Knight."
"Um, thanks... who's that?"
"He's a role holder in this country that may be able to help you with your problems," he says as he retracts his hand. He isn't moving away, so I guess this is my best chance to talk to him some more.
"Cool." I dumbly pause to think of something else to add. "I guess moving countries is just part of the job."
"Yes, it comes with the territory."
We both look at each other and I'm the first to crack a smile. Did he just make a pun? Laughing a little, I scratch my head and look away. "Good one. But don't you miss the people you've left behind? Like, is there anyone you wish you could see again?"
For a split second, his eyes become a little foggy and distant, and he moves back to straighten his posture. I think I hit a nerve.
He turns back to his desk and slowly walks towards it, acting as though he didn't just lose his cool. It's a depth to him I haven't seen before. "I wonder. I suppose I will miss Mary."
Never mind. He's as sarcastic as ever. At least Mr. Gowland can rest easy without Blood's constant teasing. Probably. Maybe there's a Blood equivalent in the old country. Eugh.
I don't know when Elliot came back, but we both turn to him standing by a shelf as he coughs into his hand. It looks like he was unsuccessful in capturing the twins, judging by their disappearance and his frazzled, scrunched up expression.
"I can take her to Lewis," he offers, walking up to his boss like a dog waiting for some carrot treats. Blood doesn't look up again from whatever he's doing, instead opting to hum and keep himself busy.
"I need you to meet with 'the shopkeeper' on the way."
I look to the hare, confused on what Blood means. There's probably thousands of "shopkeepers" from the mansion to the rest of the country. Elliot seems to understand what he means though, because he just nods and doesn't look back at me. I feel a bit invisible to them but maybe that's not a bad thing right now. They could be talking about dirty mafia related things.
I walk a few feet away and browse the books while they continue to talk in low voices by the desk. There are a few faceless moving in and out of the room, though I don't really recognize any of them. I'd be lucky to see Joey around, assuming he moved with the rest of the family. Though again, his absence could be a blessing in disguise with how scary the Hatters are. I already almost killed him once, no need to be in that situation a second time.
When he's finished giving instructions, Blood shoos Elliot to my side and wishes us a safe journey. Just as we pass the threshold, he suddenly makes a noise and we both stop in our tracks to look at him.
"What is it?" Elliot asks, his ears curling in worry. Blood chooses to look at me while he answers.
"Don't mind me, I was just thinking about wishes."
Even though he said to brush him off, he's looking at me with such intent and curiosity that I feel like I have to continue the conversation. After all, he isn't the kind of person to just speak up out of nowhere. At least, not with me around. "What about wishes?"
"Is it not normal to think about your deepest wishes?" He mocks with a slight smile. "Do you have anything you wish for?"
The question throws me off guard, mostly because I haven't had anything I've wanted since living in Wonderland. I have friends here, I had a steady job and a place to live, and even though I was terrified of having to fight, I cherished the moments I spent with my friends every second more because of the fear of my clock being replaced. I don't think there was much room to wish for anything by this point, so I answer. "Uhh, not really. What about you?"
He cocks his head and deepens his smile a bit more, though it doesn't seem happy. With a moment of bizarre silence, he shifts his head back to his book and Elliot makes the first move by gently shoving my shoulder towards the door.
"We should go," he whispers down to me. I guess he's right, I'm just frustrated that the conversation wound up going nowhere. With no sign of Blood wanting to talk again, we leave the room and start making our way to the entrance. Something about the way he asked me felt so penetrative and harsh, like the time the circus children asked me about my family. It's really bothering me now. Is there something I wished for?
AN: I'm so sorry, it's been so long since I've read up on nKnA lore. I did my best to brush up on some things. Please leave a review or send a message if I messed something up, and I'll fix it! Thank you in advance!
