Act 1:
Familiar Friends in an Unfamiliar Country
Alice had no idea what was going on.
Maybe it was just that those treacherous, prankster twins had decided to take adult form and were playing around with their axes. Or were just messing around in general.
But the situation was shocking. Had someone told her it was a particularly perverse nightmare, she would’ve believed it.
“Listen, Alice!” Elliot would always rave. “There’s a new shop that opened a little while back. And the Carrot Mont Blanc there kicks ass!” His eyes would sparkle, belying his position as the rough, second-in-command boss of the Mob. The bounce bounce of his ears would punctuate his delight.
Alice couldn’t count the number of times she’d seen him like that. The only time he’d ever threatened her with a gun was when they’d first met. When they didn’t know each other yet.
Yet here she stood, her breath caught in her throat, the sun glinting off the dull metal pointing in her direction. The adult twins stood behind him, their axes ready in their clenched fists.
She made a strangled croak.
Elliot didn’t flinch. “Bye,” he grunted as he flexed his finger over the trigger.
“What’s all this racket? That last job was aggravating enough, thank you.”
Elliot stopped at the familiar voice from behind Alice. He lowered his gun and stared past her.
Dee brightened. “Boss, you’re back! That was quick.”
“Welcome home, Boss!” Dum chirped.
Alice sank to the ground, her mind racing. She twisted her head around.
One look at the man walking through the gate made her think her nightmare might be over.
Faceless mobsters started pouring from the mansion, rushing to greet their returning boss. As they spilled out into the open, they lifted their voices in a chant.
“Welcome back, Boss!”
“Right,” the man replied, only sparing a quick glance at his people. Then his utterly bored eyes met Alice’s.
His clothing was strange: a tailored suit that looked like a cross between formal wear and an equestrian uniform. But there couldn’t be two men in Wonderland with roses and a numbered card sticking out of his top hat. He ignored the loyal mobsters who crowded around the area, his attention locked on Alice.
She swallowed. “Blood…”
He didn’t reply.
Why wouldn’t he…?
“Who are you?”
Alice went rigid. “Huh?!”
His stare wasn’t the flirtatious gaze she was used to. That rude, searching look from those blue-green eyes…
Her memory pulled her back to the Country of Hearts—when she’d first met him. Blood’s gaze had been exactly like this.
The look of someone who doesn’t know me.
It was definitely Blood before her, tapping his cane against the ground as he sidled closer. But he kept a healthy distance from her; his appraising eyes were dark with suspicion.
And that suspicion wasn’t familiar. Blood had never been suspicious of Alice in the past—he’d never had any reason to doubt her.
“What are you saying?” As Alice tried to stand up, she pushed a steadying hand against the ground. “I’m—whoa!”
Every mobster in the area pulled out a gun and aimed at her. Her brow creasing, she slowly lifted her hands into the air.
“This isn’t funny, Blood! Why are you doing this?!”
He hummed. “I couldn’t tell at first glance, but now that I look closer, you’re an Outsider. You seem like someone who would only bore me, and yet I drew to a stand at the sight of you, didn’t I? Hm.”
“Drew to a stand?” Alice furrowed her brow at the unfamiliar phrase. She had no idea what was going on, but at least this was familiar—only Blood used such vague phrases.
“An Outsider who isn’t used to the world yet, I guess. It’s not unheard of…but you’re a strange girl. It’s death to come here. Ignorance is no excuse, even for an Outsider.”
“……”
She waited for him to expand on that, but he said nothing more. Remembering how shaky her legs were, Alice stayed huddled on the ground and held her breath.
“…Have you forgotten me?”
If he had, that would explain the attitude of the people in Hatter Mansion. But the answer to her question didn’t come from Blood—it came from Elliot.
“Don’t be stupid. Blood’s smarter than anyone—he hasn’t forgotten anything in his life!”
Alice unconsciously cringed at the force in Elliot’s voice. She’d been thrown around this world plenty of times, and she was always facing guns and knives pointed at her…but she wasn’t used to the hatred. And considering who was throwing it at her now…
Blood seemed to notice her fear, but he only looked curious. He made no move to restrain Elliot, which confused Alice even more.
Even assuming that Blood had forgotten her, the Blood she knew would never act like this. He’d play coy and tread lightly—like the way he’d acted when she first met him in the Country of Hearts. He wouldn’t be so…defensive.
“Outsiders are rare around here. And even if I don’t know you, you seem to know me…which can’t be a coincidence.” Blood released a breath through his nose. “Fine. Join me for some tea, young lady. I make a rule of inviting people to my tea parties.”
He was clearly pretending not to care. She could tell he was trying to hide how cautious he was being. Blood was the type of guy to act casual so he could lure an unsuspecting enemy into a trap.
Elliot sucked his teeth. “The hell with this! It was bad enough having the Gravekeeper’s men screwing things up. I’d rather just kill you,” he added as he raised his gun again.
“K-kill me?”
Alice glanced around at the twins and the other Hatter mobsters in a plea for help, but they didn’t seem bothered by Elliot’s attitude. If anything, they glared at her, as if half expecting her to attack them.
It was all so wrong. This wasn’t a nightmare—it was worse.
Alice knew how short-tempered Elliot could be—and he seemed worse than usual. If anyone was going to stop him… Her gaze came full circle and landed back on Blood.
Blue-green eyes glittered at her from under that hat brim. He didn’t look completely indifferent, but if he felt an inkling of sympathy, he didn’t act on it. Those eyes said he had no desire to protect her.
She clenched her clammy hands into tight fists.
“Blood!” she pleaded.
“Stop calling the boss by his first name like he’s some kinda friend!”
Blood cocked an eyebrow at Alice’s cry and opened his mouth—but before he could say anything, Elliot advanced on Alice and shoved the muzzle of the gun against her forehead.
“Ah…!”
“I won’t miss this time, girlie.”
Alice couldn’t take the pressure of the metal grinding into her skull. She closed her eyes.