The territory leaders were supposed to gather in some waiting room. When Alice asked about the Survey Meeting itself, Blood told her it would take place “close by.”
By the time Blood and Elliot brought her to a massive building, the twins had disappeared from their waiting spot. Blood didn’t seem surprised.
“I’m sure they’ll show up again when they feel like it,” he hummed. He gestured to the door. “Ladies first.”
Alice paused, then walked through the huge doorway.
The waiting room beyond was already milling with people. Were they all Role-Holders here?
“An Outsider!” a youngish voice called. “That’s pretty rare! But still, you don’t act like a stranger…”
Alice turned to the young man who bounded to her side. Based on the clarity of his facial features, he had to be a Role-Holder…even though she didn’t know him.
Wait. She felt a strange sense of déjà vu as she stared at him. He wore an eye patch over his right eye, his feminine face strangely pale. It was his purple lips that made her think of someone she did know.
“What?” she breathed. “You can’t be…”
“Hm?” He blinked his one visible gray eye at her. “Do you and I know each other?” He suddenly beamed. “Wait, of course you know me. I’m the great and powerful Stationmaster, Nightmare Gottschalk! In the flesh, ha ha ha!”
He puffed out his chest, belying the thinness of his body. But half a moment later, a large shadow descended from behind.
“Big words for someone who always folds right after starting,” a familiar voice grunted. “Don’t act stupid, or killing you will seem too easy. If you have time to preen, then you have time to go to the hospital.”
Alice’s eyes widened at the tall, dark-haired man she knew well. He’d lost his familiar suit and tie, and instead wore a rougher ensemble, including a black coat accented with a purple scarf.
The boy—Nightmare?!—scowled. “Don’t you dare be so rude to me, Gray! I don’t need the stinking hospi—HRRK!”
Gray narrowed his eyes as the boy hacked out a few watery coughs. “You’re proving my point,” he said thinly. “Go to the hospital, heal up, and then come back to get slaughtered.”
“I-I’m not going to go through that just to get killed! I might as well stay sick! I’m not going to the hospital, got it?!”
“You don’t care about being killed—you just hate doctors. This isn’t on me.”
It wasn’t just Nightmare’s boyish form that surprised Alice—it was Gray’s attitude toward him. Back in the Tower of Clover, Gray had gallantly protected Nightmare, even going to unwanted lengths to take care of his boss. He’d practically been Nightmare’s mother.
She’d heard the rumor that once, long ago, Gray had been a hitman gunning to kill Nightmare. Was this what he had been like?
As the implications dizzied her, something soft touched her back. She jumped in surprise.
“Eek! Wh-who’s that?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
A young man with fluffy pink cat ears and a striped fur wrapped around his shoulders slid in front of her. He flashed an achingly familiar smile.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Outsider.”
Alice’s chest tightened. “Boris,” she whispered.
He pushed long bangs from one curious golden eye, eliciting a slight jingle of his many earrings. “You know me? Did the Stationmaster point me out or something? Man, I hate when people talk about me before I get here.”
He seemed depressed for a second, but then he suddenly laughed. The fangs protruding slightly from the corners of his mouth were rather cute, but his most identifying features were the mercurial, ever-changing expressions on his face.
She could see in his eyes that he didn’t recognize her—like everyone in Hatter Mansion. Frustration welled up in her chest at the thought that she was at square one with him, too.
With everyone, maybe.
But there was nothing she could do about it. She smiled at him, and it wasn’t entirely forced.
“Nice to…meet you. I’m Alice Liddell. I hope we can be friends.”
He saluted her. “Alice. Cool.”
Something caught his eye; Nightmare and Gray behind her, apparently. He stepped past her to head for them. Her eyes followed his swishing pink tail.
“I must warn you,” lectured another voice. “We have to move forward on the preparations! It’s almost time to start…”
“Sidney, you’re always bullying me! It isn’t right to torture little kids!”
Those voices weren’t familiar. Alice looked up as a small entourage approached.
They were all wearing black suits, like the mobsters in Hatter Mansion—but Alice was starting to think there was a rule that all crews coming to the meeting had to wear black suits. One of the figures in the front—a young girl with a clearly defined face, which meant she had a role—had impressive-looking gold trim on her black dress. She flicked yellow-green eyes at a man lurking in her shadow.
“I’m doing my best,” she complained. “The least you could do is praise me a little!”
“You’re the host here, Your Majesty. Please act accordingly. I find it very uncomfortable to have my queen made a laughingstock.”
As they neared, Alice saw that he wasn’t just a man. He was a…rabbit.
The man had floppy black ears to match his dark hair. His eyes were two different colors—one gray, one red—and a monocle rested delicately over the ruby eye.
The girl suddenly met Alice’s startled gaze. She instantly lit up and ran toward Alice.
“An Outsider!” she cooed. “What a treat! And the fact that you’re here means that you’re doing us the honor of attending our Survey Meeting? As a rule, you’d be ordered to attend an audience at the castle, but I think I’ll make an exception in your case. Welcome!”
Alice straightened. “Um, thank you!” she blurted in response.
Based on the girl’s words and the fact that the rabbit had called her “Your Majesty,” Alice could guess who this was. “You must be the…Queen of Diamonds, right? Your Majesty?”
The girl beamed. “Yes, I rule the Country of Diamonds. My name is Crysta Snowpigeon. Welcome, Miss Outsider.”
Alice felt put on the spot as she didn’t know anything about the girl, so she opted for overly formal. “My name is Alice Liddell. Please accept my apologies for not presenting myself to Your Majesty before this…”
“Please! Don’t be so formal.” Crysta grinned. “I won’t tolerate rudeness from anyone else here, but you’re an Outsider. You don’t know the rules of this world.”
“You’re so gracious, I don’t deserve it.”
For whatever reason, the conversation seemed to irk the rabbit man; his black ears twitched and trembled.
“Your Majesty,” he cut in. “We’re about to begin. You must play your part as host!
“For goodness’ sake, Sidney, stop repeating yourself! We just got here.” She sighed. “I’ll go if I must. Let’s chat afterward, Alice.”
At the urging of her retainer, the Queen of Diamonds jauntily turned. She strode off, the black rabbit named Sidney scuttling after her.
The Black Rabbit, Alice thought. The opposite of the White Rabbit, I guess. He looked nothing like Peter.
“……”
But even so, just for a second, the two converged in Alice’s mind. She wiped the overlapping images away.
Thinking of Peter made Alice feel worse. Gloom settled on her shoulders in bitter reality.
She’d met the Black Rabbit’s eyes for a second, but he hadn’t talked to her directly. She’d sensed cold indifference from him…even a little hostility.
The chorus of voices around her sounded like other territory leaders and their subordinates talking in bored voices. She heard no room for her to join in, so Alice just let out a breath.
I really am in a country where nobody knows me.
She almost wished she were as ignorant of them as they were of her. Seeing all those familiar faces was a double-edged sword: she was glad so many of her friends were here, but she was depressed they didn’t remember her. She wasn’t sure which feeling was stronger.
She didn’t have long to ponder it, because Blood practically materialized beside her. “You managed to get close to the queen,” he drawled. “Not bad.”
“She’s only interested because I’m an Outsider,” Alice replied. Her voice sounded weak in her ears.
In a country where no one knew her, her position as an Outsider was the only card in her hand. People wanted to indulge an Outsider. It was probably the only thing keeping her from getting shot, intentionally or otherwise. At least Blood was sorta her guide now.