Illuminate

"Peter, where are you going now?" I whined in a small voice.

He paused on his way towards the main entrance doors. Another knock sounded loudly, causing me to jump in surprise. He smiled softly, though it did not reach his eyes.

"I am just answering the door, sweet. Please go and wait for me in the tea room, and I shall join you in a moment," he said reassuringly.

I gave a pout and turned to head back to the tea room as he had requested. However, as soon as I rounded the corner I stopped and peered around quietly to watch him.

He opened the door a fraction and I leaned about to try and get a better look of who he was speaking to. I saw a glimpse of black and white when I noticed Peter was rather agitated. He said something quickly and tried to close the door, but the stranger stuck a shiny black shoe in the way and forced it open wider. The man who stood there was tall and menacing with black hair with a sharp piercing gaze. He was beautiful.

"Alice, come now. Do you plan on sleeping the day away?"

The vision faded out like smoke as I steadily returned to the present. Opening my eyes, I saw Julius standing there gazing down at me with a raised brow. He held a stern expression, though his eyes carried a sign of concern over my fretful rests. I managed a smile as I closed the book I had been reading and straightened.

"My apologies, Julius. I seem to have a habit of falling asleep while reading," I said sincerely, thinking back on my newest vision. I realized that the conversation Peter had been having, was none other than the Hatter. He looked slightly younger back then, and yet remained the same. I couldn't help but smile as I lifted my arms above my head to stretch.

Julius snatched the book from my lap and tucked it under his arm, regarding me carefully as I rose to my feet. Remembering Cheshire, I stole a glance around the wide study but didn't see him.

"He is not here," Julius said quietly, returning the book to its rightful place on the third shelf and I sighed with worry.

"Of course he's not..." I mumbled and wrapped my arms around my waist, feeling sick at the thought of him wandering out there with that insane rabbit named Peter White.

I reached up and gently touched the hard crystals near my eyes and frowned. When I returned home, would these follow? I had no many questions and yet no one knew the answers. Julius had returned to his desk and was working on some clock repairs. I inched closer and gazed down at them curiously. His large hands handled each clock and piece with exquisite care. I smiled while watching him gently assemble the face of a new clock. A tender softness always filled his expression and lingered in his eyes when one began to resume its ticking.

I sat down across from him and sighed. "I always wanted to ask, but what kind of role do you have the requires the repairs of clocks?"

He paused, his expression freezing momentarily before it closed down. The tenderness disappeared and seemed into one of restlessness and exhaustion.

"You need not know," he said simply, reaching for another clock and began tinkering away while effectively ending the conversation.

I frowned, unwilling to let it go. "Why is it something you can't talk about? I'm only curious," I said quietly, resting my head on my hands.

His fist slammed down onto his desk, startling me. His eyes were hard, cold and held a shadow of fear.

"You need not know!" he shouted in anguish, his expression filled with pain. "Please stop asking me, Alice."

The blood had drained my face at his outburst and my heart raced with surprise and a touch of fright. His expression was filled with a madness that only later I would come to understand. I rose to my feet in a rush and darted from the room, fleeing from the tense atmosphere. Madness lingered in Wonderland and it left the flesh crawling when encountered. It was more than I could bare.

I hurried down the stairs towards the entrance. I grabbed the tall wooden door, just needing to get outside and breathe in fresh air. I swung it open and stopped dead when I came face to face with a frightening looking man with eyes as cold as steel. A memory flickered in my mind's eye of the small stoic boy with steel grey eyes and luminous white hair.

"Ace," I breathed in horror, frightened by the size of the man before me.

Those eyes sharpened at the sound of his name and his stare intensified, making me take a step backwards. He advanced forward, following me back inside of the tower while leaving trail marks of blood with each step. I tore my eyes away from his own and gazed over him in shock. His long grey cape was stained red with blood as were his gloves and clothing. Some had even splattered up alongside his face, and I had to cover my mouth.

His eyes raked me over my head to toe, his expression unchanging. "You are an outsider."

His voice was deep and commanding, a tone that made my body stiffen in response. A chill swept up my spine, causing goosebumps to break out along my skin. I wanted nothing more then to get away from him, for he was terrifying. He continued to stare at me as Julius appeared and began to curse.

"How many times have I told you not to come in here looking like that?" he growled, waving at his appearance and the mess he was making. He hadn't noticed that I was still standing there as he accepted the bloody bag from the assassin. I watched as he opened the bag, revealing its contents and I almost fainted when I saw that they were clocks.

"Oh my god," I choked, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach. Both men turned to me and Julius gaped at my presence.

"Alice? What are you doing here?" he asked, his eyes wide as saucers as his face went pale.

I couldn't stay there anymore. I brushed past the stranger and out into the sudden night, not caring where I was going. All I could see was those clocks, the same ones that Julius repairs with such tender love and care, and the stained bloody appearance of the assassin. I couldn't bring myself to ask the question as to where or how he had gotten those clocks. I ran into the forest of tall mushrooms, pushing myself faster so I would not think.

"Stop!"

I cried out in alarm, my body stiffening in fright and caused me to lose my balance. I catapulted forwards into nothing but air and my heart clenched with fear. As my eyes finally began to take in my surroundings, I screamed when I realized I had run straight off of a cliff. Before I could even feel the sensation of falling, a strong arm snaked around my waist with lightning speed. I was pulled back with such force that I toppled right on top of the stranger, knocking us both onto the ground.

Feeling shaken and filled with adrenaline, I hurriedly tried to scramble to my feet. Strange hands kept trying to grasp me and I struggled to bat them away and keep myself from being caught. I cried out when a hand grasped my bicep in an iron grip and struggled to break free.

"Let me go!" I cried, lashing out in fear. "Don't touch me!"

"Stop resisting," the stranger said sharply and immediately my muscles went lax, that familiar chill creeping down my spine.

I turned and saw Ace staring me down, those eyes sharp like razors. My heart sped up with fear as I regarded him carefully, knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to escape. I had no idea what he wanted with me, and I was too scared to ask.

"You should be grateful," he said calmly without easing up his gripe on my bruising flesh, "I just saved your life."

I winced when he squeezed tighter and pushed back against him. "Thank you," I breathed, giving him a jab in the stomach, "Now let me go! You're hurting me!"

He seemed to frown as he slowly released my arm and I skittered away from him, cradling my aching arm, and tried to catch my breath as he turned away. His head tilted slightly, catching my gaze.

"The Clock Master is worried."

I stared after him in surprise as he looked away and disappeared into the shadows like smoke. I hesitated before following after him, realizing that he had actually disappeared without a sound or a trace. Bewildered and suddenly feeling exhausted beyond belief, I turned and reluctantly went back to the Clock Tower where Julius stood, speaking animatedly with Hatter.

"I don't know where she went! It's night time, she could be lost in the woods somewhere for all we know!" he cried in distress, leaving Hatter to sigh.

"Julius, calm down," he said softly, resting a hand on his friend's shoulder, "I'm sure she's fine. It's Alice we're talking about. She always finds a way."

I watched Julius's shoulders slump in defeat and was surprised when his usual stoic expression melted into one of shame and sorrow.

"You weren't here to see her face," he murmured, gazing down at the bag of clocks he cradled in his arms protectively.

Hatter patted his back gently before realizing that I was standing off in the shadows, watching them. His lips lifted in the corner with an expression of understanding, and held open wide his free arm to me. Feeling frightened, exhausted and confused, my eyes brimmed with tears and I found myself running straight into his arms and clinging to him with all my might. Everything just overflowed in that moment and all he did was pat my hand and trace his hand soothingly up and down my back.

Wonderland was becoming a frightening place, and suddenly I wanted nothing more then to go home.