“Big Sis, Big Sis! Wanna come gamblin’ with us? This time we’re sure to win a jackpot!”
“Last time, we couldn’t make any money ’cause we got burned by the fees. So this time, we’d better cash in!”
Alice flashed a sardonic grin at the twins crowding around her. They’d waited until the group had entered Diamond Castle for the Survey Meeting, but literally not a second longer.
In the other countries, she would’ve lectured them for gambling while underage. But they only took adult form here, so she knew they wouldn’t listen. While formulating a new argument against them betting all their hard-earned pay, she felt a sharp look burning into her side.
“……”
She sighed. “Elliot,” she muttered, “I’m not planning to run off. I hear anyone can bet on the Survey Meeting, but if you hate it that much, I won’t even try.”
“Like I’d believe anything coming out of your mouth when you hang out with the Gravekeeper,” Elliot spat. “Right, Blood?”
“I wonder,” Blood said sharply, cutting off Elliot’s words.
Alice fiddled with her bandage. Blood’s timely treatments had helped, and she was definitely on the mend…but the closeness between them had vanished, and he was in a rotten mood. She’d never seen him so obvious about it.
What got him so upset? she thought tiredly. She wanted to ask, but Blood always seemed to have Elliot by his side; she couldn’t find any decent openings to cut in.
She felt like she was back at square one with Blood—not even close enough to be friends. Had she imagined that intimacy when she’d been hurt? He’d definitely acted like more than a landlord.
“Thank you, Alice.”
He’d kissed her wound. And that, along with his heartfelt, respectful words had crossed some sort of border. Now that felt like a new wound. A sigh leaked through her lips.
“…I feel a little lonely.”
Alice didn’t realize she’d said it out loud until the twins jumped on her.
“What’d you say?” Dee chirped. “Your wallet’s lonely for some money?”
Dum beamed. “Then let’s all fill the voids together!”
She tried to brush off the slip. “It’s not that,” she said quickly. “Just talking to myself.” She let her eyes wander to the gambling ticket windows.
Once she’d started worrying about Blood, she’d begun to expect things from him. The closer she got to him, the more she wanted to understand him. But she knew that things couldn’t happen too fast or one of them would be left scrambling.
She frowned. Jericho had been kind and respectful from the second she’d met him. What would her life be like if he’d been the first person she ran into in Diamonds…?
She mulled over the thought as she placed a paltry bet at the window. When she returned to the group, only Elliot stood there. The twins were grilling a tipster at another window, and Blood had vanished.
“Oh.” She looked around. “Elliot, where’s Blood?”
“He had business,” he muttered. “He’s a busy guy.”
Unlike me? Alice thought as Elliot glowered.
“I know that,” she answered sourly. “Thanks.”
Elliot turned from her to fly off the handle at the twins. “Will you two just make up your minds?!” he yelled. “If you’re not here when we need to go, we’re leaving your asses behind!”
Dee flicked his head from the ticket window to make a face. “Shut up, ya dumb rabbit! We’re tryin’ to concentrate.”
“The meetin’ can go a bunch of different ways,” Dum added. “It’s not easy to pick! If you screw up our thinkin’, you gotta pay for our losses!”
Elliot growled. “You little…! You two need to be taken down a peg!” He stormed toward them, but not before glancing back at Alice.
“Listen!” he barked. “You take one step from this area while I’m not here, and you’re gonna get it!”
Alice jumped a little at the intensity. “R-right,” she blurted.
She wiped her sweaty palms on her dress and tried to entertain herself. The people-watching was pretty good—the Survey Meeting, its gambling ring, and the Garden Party were a country-wide event. Most of the Diamonds citizens had focused around the ticket windows, crowding around to place their bets. As she watched the eager crowds, a finger tapped her shoulder.
“Yo. It’s been a while, Alice.”
She turned to the familiar voice. Jericho, back in his glasses and black suit, grinned down at her.
“Jericho.” She smiled. “Thank you so much for before.”
Alice paused to check that Elliot wasn’t watching. Sure enough, he was still arguing with the twins—which was probably why Jericho had popped over.
Jericho followed her gaze and flashed a sarcastic smile. “As always, you’re right in the middle of the loudest screams.” His eyes dropped to her bandage. “Hm? What happened to your arm?”
“Oh, this? It’s almost completely healed now. It still looks pretty gross, but it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
His face softened in sympathy. “Did someone in the Hatter clan do that?”
“Nah. Just got hit by a stray bullet.”
“I guess a Mafia turf war is tough for an amateur.”
She shrugged. “True. And this is definitely not an easy world for an Outsider like me.”
She’d seen bullets and blood plenty of times in Wonderland. But she hadn’t gotten used to it. She didn’t want to.
Her face fell as her mind wandered back to her injury. She was still confused about Blood treating her…and the kiss. The kiss. She couldn’t figure out the meaning behind his touch. She felt emotions she wanted to pursue tangled up with feelings she’d rather leave alone.
She still had no answer. She sighed and waved a hand, eager to focus on anything else.
“You came all the way to my territory for my advice before,” Jericho mumbled, “but it seems to have backfired, hm? You tried to turn the tables, and this was the result.”
Alice blinked. “What? No, not at all! Don’t worry about it. Besides.” She chuckled weakly. “That wasn’t really what I would call ‘advice.’”
Jericho smiled at that.
He seems like such a stable guy, she thought.
“At the very least,” he offered, “you’ve made a place for yourself at the Hatters’. You should take pride in that.”
He suddenly slapped her on the shoulder with strength she didn’t expect. She cried out and stumbled, and in a rush, Jericho held out a steadying hand.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to do that so hard… Are you suffering from something other than the gunshot?”
Alice swallowed. “No, I’m fine. But I guess I’ve had a few dizzy spells lately. I’ll have to be careful about that…”
The dizziness that crept up on Alice unawares. She’d started to worry about it, even if she had no other symptoms. She wondered if it was time for her to go to a hospital… A vague dread settled in her stomach.
I always give Nightmare a hard time when he doesn’t go, she thought. It felt weird to be on the other side of that advice for once.
Jericho’s features abruptly drew together in concern. “Dizziness?” he repeated.
“Yeah,” she answered with a light laugh. “It happens all of a sudden, and it’s hard to breathe. I don’t know the reason, but—huh?”
Jericho suddenly reached out and touched the muscles of her neck. The hard tips of his fingers twitched over her skin.