Hello everyone! Hasn't been very long, has it? (Pfft, more like a few hours! I work fast, don't I?) And you thought I would disappear! MWAHAHA! *insert evil laughter here* No. No I haven't. I have a bad habit of posting around a chapter a day or so. Of course, this weekend will be hard to do it since I won't be near the internet, but when I get back I'll make sure I have a lovely chapter for you all!

Anyways, let me explain this story: It's been about a month or so since The Game of All Hallow's Eve, and the Christmas season has started to take a small toll on Clover Tower. Alice is excited, but that excitement is soon to turn into another game for the role holders amusement. Let's see how this goes! *cracks knuckles*

The Game of Mistletoe

Alice once again finds herself uncovering a key- this time, a key of clover- and just when she thinks she can avoid another adventure like last Halloween, she's soon mistaken when Julius gets a hold of it by mistake. Now she's once again forced to team up with the Jokers to find and unlock the Box of Clovers, but can she do it before Christmas morning?

1. Merry Christmas To All, And To All A Good Fright

Crunch. Crunch.

Crunch. Crunch.

Alice Liddell walked through the large piles of snow outside Clover Tower, her mitten-covered hands piling up large balls of snow and constructing one on top of the other, assuring they were secure.

"What are you doing?" she heard a voice ask from her side, and Alice turned around, smiling up at Julius.

"I'm making a snowman." she explained, reaching down to begin on the middle circle. "I figured since Christmas is coming, we might as well decorate." She grinned at the tower now, admiring her work of colorful blinking lights strung around windows and pillars.

"Hmph. We don't necessarily celebrate it with anything." The mortician mumbled. "Nightmare is normally the most excited about the holiday, but last year he requested an ice sculpture of himself, so we stopped. Christmas the only thing he looks forward to during the winter. Otherwise he can't stand it."

"Then all the more to celebrate." Alice insisted, struggling to lift the heavy pile of snow. Sighing, Julius reached down and helped, securing it onto the large snowball beneath it. Alice smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem." he mumbled, looking away. The brunette bent down once again, forming its head. Julius dug inside the cardboard box beside the girl, pulling out pieces of coal Alice had collected and helping her place them into the head; its face smiling happily at them. Alice easily placed the head on top of its body; pulling out some twigs she'd collected from Joker forest earlier that morning to stuff arms into the sides. Julius wrapped a knitted scarf around the snowman's neck, and Alice stuffed a small top hat at its head.

Pulling away from their work, Alice grinned, satisfied. "Perfect."

"It's… nice." Julius struggled for a compliment, but Alice smiled nonetheless and picked up the box, carrying it back to the tower. Julius followed behind, trying to not grimace at how the bright lights Alice had surrounded the tower with nearly made him blind.

The friends made their way inside the tower; a swift wave of warmth and the thick scent of peppermint and hot cocoa welcoming them. They kicked off their snow boots and shrugged out of their jackets, tossing them on the floor to dry. Gray came in with a few folded blankets- giving Julius a slight glare as he did so- and handed them to the two, hoping to warm them.

"Thanks, Gray." Alice said kindly, tightening the blue wool around her as Julius did the same; both slipping their feet into nearby slippers so Julius could go back to work and Alice took a hold of her cardboard box again.

"It's no problem." the older man said, smiling at the girl before returning to Nightmare's side; assuring the incubus was doing his work. He actually looked like a caterpillar in its cocoon in all those blankets; he was quite literally surrounded by them. Alice almost couldn't make out his head until the glimpse of an eye patch made itself known.

"Gray~!" Nightmare whined, slamming a pen down on his desk and pouting up at his nanny- erm, assistant. He looked like a little child. "I already did five pages. Can't you let me go now?"

"You did five out of fifty, my lord." Gray reminded him. "You still have forty-five more to go."

Nightmare grinded his teeth, pointing a pen at him as if it were a sword. "Let me rest or I'll fire you!" Gray sighed.

"In case it's slipped your mind, you can't fire me." the ex-assassin said, patting the thick rounds of blankets on Nightmare's back. "My role is my role, and it can't be changed." The crybaby hissed.

"Who came up with this stupid game, anyways? ! I'm going to bed!" Nightmare shouted, fed up as he attempted to stand up. However, the weight of the blankets over him took control, and he fell face first onto the floor. A moan came muffled against the floor.

"I think that's a sign, Nightmare. Just finish your work and get it done with." Alice said softly. "You can sleep afterwards." Nightmare pouted, but reluctantly returned his attention to work.

"I honestly don't see how you can do that." Gray whispered truthfully as he made his way to the maiden.

"I'm right here, Gray!" the incubus reminded him, and the assistant sighed, shaking his head.

"Sometimes I wonder myself." Alice murmured, shrugging once before carrying her empty box upstairs. As she followed the winding staircase, it wasn't long before a small tapping in the box caught her attention.

Did I leave some coal in here? she thought to herself. She was almost certain the box was empty when she'd brought it in. Curious, the outsider glanced inside the box, immediately wishing she hadn't.

How was this possible? Sure, it looked different from the last one, but how could this be? Why was there another one? It just didn't make sense!

The brunette stared in horror at a long metal key inside the box. This time it was green, with a hollow clover at the top. If it wasn't for its color and shape, it could have very well been the Spade key.

Hadn't all that nonsense ended at Halloween? Wasn't she finally free from that stupid spell? Why was this happening to her? !

Wait. she reminded herself calmly, taking a deep breath. Last time, White-san had said to just lock it up and forget about it. Make sure no one else can get it. If they can't get, then no spell. No spell means no trouble for me.

Smiling confidently, Alice walked up the stairs, quickly searching for a safe place to hide her key. It had to be somewhere that nobody would touch or even think about. Maybe…

"Alice, can you come here for a moment?" Gray's voice called from downstairs, and the foreigner carelessly placed the key on her dresser, swearing to get to it later as she rushed to the hall.

"Yeah?" she asked curiously.

"Nightmare's hiding somewhere. Can you help me find him?" The lizard didn't seem very pleased about this. Alice sighed.

"Sure."

Hours passed quickly, and Nightmare was already curled up in his bedroom, fast asleep. Gray had finished any work his lord left behind and also called it a night. All that was left were Julius and Alice downstairs; Julius's slender fingers proving the instruments much to the foreigner's admiration and awe. She was still taken aback by such wondrous movements.

Silence seemed to echo around the room, but it wasn't one of those tense or awkward silences you wanted to escape. This was comfortable; very usual for the cynical mortician, and something that had grown onto the foreigner at his right. Though, it wasn't long before one of them spoke up.

"Alice." The mention of her name caught the outsider's attention, and her blue eyes were locked with his navy pair. "Do you recall borrowing any of my tools?"

Alice thought for a moment, then sheepishly nodded. She'd secretly been trying to fix clocks as well to help her friend out, but it honestly wasn't going so well. She hoped he didn't notice her studying, but it was now apparent he did.

"Yeah." she answered. "I think I left a few upstairs in my room. Do you want me to get them?"

"No, it's alright. I will." Julius replied, carefully climbing out of his chair as if it would disturb the clock on his desk and made his way to the staircase. "I needed to change into my sleepwear anyways. Where did you leave them?"

"On my dresser." the brunette replied, waving him off. Once he disappeared, she analyzed the clock carefully, hoping she could figure out its mechanism.

"Silly girl." Julius muttered as he entered her bedroom,- now in black and red checkered pajamas- careful to keep his eyes from straying any of her personal belongings. Sure enough, several of his tools and clock books laid on her dresser. As he collected them with the shake of the head, he caught sight of something shining under the dim lamp that sat nearby.

Normally it was in his nature to turn away and walk off, but this item seemed to be calling to him; mesmerizing him. He barely knew what had come over himself before he picked up the green key, staring intently at it.

After a few brief moments, he dropped the item back onto the dresser; taking his belongings and quickly scurrying downstairs, wishing he hadn't intruded in her room. Not that he had any idea of what that key was for, but he was certain he didn't want to find out. It just seemed to hold a dark, mysterious aura around it; one he didn't want to get involved with.

As he placed his items on the desk, Alice caught sight of a faint blush on his cheeks, and tilted her head to the side.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." the mortician replied, but Alice pouted.

"You look worn out." she noted, and Julius sighed. "Do you need some sleep?"

"No, I'm quite fine. I want to finish this. It's my last one." the navy-haired man replied, gesturing to the broken clock as he picked at his tools, preparing to use them.

"Are you sure? I can try to handle it." Alice suggested, and Julius abruptly shook his head.

"No thank you. If you're so tired, why don't you go to sleep?" he suggested, slightly annoyed.

"I'd much rather watch you fix clocks." the girl murmured, and Julius shook his head.

"Just go to bed. I'll see you in the morning." Monrey insisted, and Alice sighed, climbing from her hair.

"Whatever you say…" she muttered, almost like a warning as she headed upstairs to her room. When she entered her bedroom, Alice turned to flick the light off, only for her eyes to trail to the key on the table.

She felt herself paling, and a nauseas feeling grow in the pit of her stomach. No. There's no way Julius would have…

To confirm it, Alice dashed downstairs, panting at the end of the staircase and earning the raised an eyebrow from Julius.

"Are you alri-?" Before he could finish his question, Alice interrupted.

"Did you find a key in my bedroom?" she asked. The words were so rushed from her mouth that her question came out slightly slurred and almost inaudible, but Julius understood clearly; a pink tint rushing to his face.

"I can assure you I didn't mean to." the mortician tried to reason, regretting his decision to go to her bedroom. "It was an accident."

He continued to babble on, but the rest of his words went ignored to the girl at the staircase. Her face had to have gone at least ten shades whiter, and a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the winter winds ran down her spine.

Yeah. He did. Crap. Here we go again.

Chapter one is out~! Chapter 2 probably won't be up until Sunday or Monday. Tuesday at the latest. Depends, really. Whatever- I hope you guys are liking it so far! :3

Don't worry, the Jokers come in chapter 2. ;D Oh, how I wonder what'll happen this time. Kuh kuh kuh… XD