In Wonderland a group of five townsfolk sat together at a table in one of the many restaurants there in the Kingdom of Hearts. The waitress place five glasses down on the table, gave a slight bow, and walked over to another table were the a young girl by the name Alice Liddell sat with another man, the roleholder of the Knight of Hearts, Ace. The men all had their eyes pinned to the unaware girl.

"She's the foreigner I hear," said one of them.

"I heard that she's doing weird things to the other roleholders. They're all acting different, or so I've heard," another one said.

"But aren't you jealous? I mean, they have a role," the third said.

"Role? It really doesn't matter does it? I mean—"

Alice shivered and rubbed her arms. She glanced over at the group of five men who were now plainly starting at her, all with looks of discontent, disapproval, and disgust plastered onto each one of their faces as though she was some bug that needed to be exterminated.

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"—she's really not worth any of this trouble."

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The men snickered. "Or anything, for that matter," the fifth commented.

The freshly steamed and baked bun that Alice had been holding in her hands fell onto her plate with a soft thumping sound, tumbling off the plate and onto the table, catching the knight's attention from his cup of tea.

"Alice?" he asked, looking at the girl's wide-eyed expression. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing," she mumbled before picking up her bun and resuming to dunk it into the small platter of soup before her.

Ace chuckled to himself, covering his smile with his hand as he continued to stare at the girl as she carefully ripped small pieces off of her bread bun and dunked it into her soup. He had asked the question, but his keen sense of hearing had already let him hear the conversation at hand by the table of men. His smile quickly turned into a deep frown. He would have to deal with them later, now wouldn't he? It wasn't any fun unless he was the only one who could manipulate her emotions like that.

Once finished, they both proceeded to walk outside and continue on the day together. The chilly air of the early morning, when the sun was only a couple of hours into the sky and the grass still wet from the late hour dew that sparkled in the light, made the girl shiver, sending goosebumps up and down her petite body. There, on the cobbled red brick roads of Wonderland, Vivaldi walked through the crowded streets with much ease and delicacy. Her back stood up straight, her eyes looking forward at all times, her head stood tall and proud as she walked toward the two. She walked straight up to the foreigner and smiled sweetly at her. Her voice was hushed as she spoke to the girl:

"We were looking for you, Alice. We wanted to have a chat with you today since it's a very lovely day outside today."

"But doesn't Your Magesty always send Sir Peter to fetch Alice? It's rare for you to come out of the place if it isn't for an event. Isn't there more things to do inside?"

Vivaldi flushed a soft shade of pink. Did he perhaps know about her collection that only a handful of people know about? Then how? "Silence!" she ordered, regaining her composure once more. "We are taking Alice for the day." She grabbed the foreigner by the hand and swiftly turned around and walked off with her, dragging Alice behind like a child would her favorite stuffed doll.

Ace smiled and waved, but inside he was congratulating himself at the ease at which he was able to rid himself of the girl. If Vivaldi had ever had perfect timing, it would be now. He'd have to remember to thank her for her kind deed later when he'd see her again to pick up the girl. But first, he though, he needed to have a friendly chat with the men from earlier.

It wasn't until the later hours of the afternoon, when the sun was high in the sky and roads baked the in the heat radiated from the burning mass in the sky, did the group of five men walk out. They took their steps with caution, careful of every movement being made; looked at every face that walked past them, never leaving their backs unguarded; and their backs were straight logs, moving only for the slightest inhale that were barely noticeable as if they were dead. They quickly shuffled pass the mass of people and into a dark alley way were no one was sure to pass through, turning around one last time to make sure, in fact, that no one really was coming.

"Looking for someone?"

The group of men, as one, rapidly turned to the far wall. A man in a brown cloak leaned against the damp wall with a sunshine smile. He flicked back and forth a small, white mask in his large, bear-like hands. He spoke calmly and slow towards the men:

"I believe you said something that offend someone today, sirs. I'll ask you take that back and nothing will happen to you."

They took a step back, but were hastily halted at the sound of the bustling city they were too scared to enter into in case of being spotted. Finding they were trapped, the third man asked, "What does a roleholder like you want with citizens like us?"

"Citizens?" Ace raised his eyebrows and shrugged as if asking what that had to do with anything. "I'll ask you once more, would you kindly apologize about what you said earlier." This time his voice was much darker and deeper then the previous light-heared tone of voice he had used to greet the men, and contrary to the first time as well, he gripped his mask tightly in his right hand as his left hand shifted for his sword, partially unsheathing it to reveal the glint of the metal blade.

"So," he continued, "apologize to me for your rude comment already."

Gulping, the men looked to each other in a cold sweat. Silently, they had all agreed that he was in fact someone very dangerous and to take the best course of action: apologizing to the man. They all bowed to a ninety degree angle and together chimed their apology in their most apologetic voice.

Ace laughed at the action of the men. When he had said that, he had expected them to run or refuse, not comply to his demands. But his smile widened as his face grew darker.

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"Too bad I lied."

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By the time that he had pulled out his sword from its sheath, his mask was already perfectly placed on his face. His first step was a forward charge as his feet rhythmically ran toward the men, his arm gearing and ready for the fatal strike that would undoubtedly end their lives. Unable to react in time to run with the man's immense and calculating speed, only one could manage to pull out a gun for protection. He fired one shot. The knight's feet slid to a stop, his sword drawn to deflect the bullet. Bouncing off his sword, it left a small indent.

"Aww, I liked this sword too," he pouted. His death glare turned back to the men.

Again picking up speed, his feet were able to catch the men who still were unable to escape into the city—a place the knight still would have chased them uncaring of who would see him or the possible consequences he could have faced—trapping them with nowhere to run and no time to plan anything, their only weapon unusable as the knight was more than skilled enough the counter the barrage of bullets without getting critically wounded. He lifted his sword with a small laugh that barely escaped his lips as his last goodbye. The sword slashed though the man nearest to him, digging deep into his shoulder and down to his chest. He fell. Next, the two men standing next to each other: his sword swung back and around, slashing completely through one man's stomach and halfway into the other man's middle to upper chest before the knight dislodged it from the bleeding flesh as the man also fell.

There were only two left, who, in their horrified states, were unable to move. Simple, Ace thought to himself as he moved in on the last two. They were gone in a matter of seconds, one stabbed in the heart, the other being slashed in the throat—he stepped back just enough for his head not to get sliced off, but he wasn't quick enough for the blade to miss with it deathly accuracy.

Ace dropped his sword to the ground, clanking a few times before settling down around the lingering dead bodies scattered around it. He grabbed his left arm which had taken the recoil of the bullet which was much stronger then he had anticipated, causing casualties to his arm. The knight tried to flex it, but the pain stopped him halfway. He sighed and looked to the city, sheathing his sword and removing his mask. A sneaky fox, he snuck into the crowd and made his way out before the screams could be heard when they found the dead bodies.

Alice, after being separated from him couldn't get her mind off of him and the ominous feeling that she had. In this world, she had learned and come accustomed to trust her gust instinct, especially when it came to the Knight of Hearts, since she was always around him, or so it seemed anymore. It wasn't until late afternoon that she was able to escape Vivaldi and her rose garden, to which the two were visited by Blood, making her even more uncomfortable and squirmish. And by then, the sky was already dyed a deep blood red.

She wasn't sure where she was head off to, but she just continued to walk, figuring she would find Ace soon enough with his horrible sense of direction and perfect timing. Find him she did, but not how she expected him. He was lying against an old tree, holding his arm, his eyes closed shut, along one of the less commonly used forest paths, a route almost no one knew that also lead to the city they both were at. Alice couldn't help but let out a small giggle at the sight of the man.

"It isn't how I expected to find you," she said, looking at him. But, the way the wind blew his hair and the radiating sunlight on his skin made her heart skip a few beats as she starred at him, coping the image into her mind.

The foreigner walked over the knight and bent down, placing her hand on his cheek.

His hand jolted up and grabbed the foreigner's. She pulled back and let out a shriek, cut off when she was pulled back toward the man with great force. His hand moved to her back, still pressing her forward to him until their lips locked. He let himself embrace in the soft feeling of her small lips that tried to resist his lust and the tangy flavor of them. A smack from Alice's hand tore him away from the kiss between them.

Ace rubbed the spot the girl's hand had struck him, feeling the large red hand print she had left. He looked to her. "Alice," he lightheartedly laughed, "you're really not with this."

-The End-