Act 7:
What I Would Exchange Here and Now
Alice didn’t know how they got out. And it felt like a long distance between the graveyard and Hatter territory…but Blood ran the entire way, holding Alice tightly against his chest.
He obviously hadn’t invaded Jericho’s territory alone; as they made the trip back, Hatter mobsters ran out of the woodwork to join them, shouting and reinforcing the lone Blood in his escape. Alice was relieved to see friendly faces, but at the same time, questions bubbled up in her throat.
Once they arrived back home, Blood carried her to his room and kicked the door in. He finally put her down to sink into one of his sofas.
Alice sat up nervously and looked up at him. His hair and clothes were disheveled and dirty, but he didn’t even look winded.
She swallowed.
“Blood…why did you come?” she asked quietly. “That was Jericho’s fight. With his enemies.”
“You catch on fast, young lady. I should’ve made you my chief of staff instead of my librarian.”
Alice’s shoulders drooped in dismay; she didn’t want him to make fun of her. As Blood made a theatrical gesture, she let out a frustrated breath.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Blood. Jericho had come to save me when you—huh?!”
Her words devolved into a yelp as he suddenly pushed her back into the sofa. He crawled on top of her, the couch creaking slightly beneath them.
“Alice,” he murmured. “I agree that we should get something straight.”
Frustration snaked through her veins, driving her hands up to ball against his looming chest. “Blood!”
He’d snatched her away from Jericho, the man who’d actually saved her, and kissed her right in front of him. She was humiliated.
“I don’t get you!” Alice cried. “Are you just making fun of me again?!”
“No. I just decided to make you give up on all the others, no matter who they are or how you feel about them.”
“What does that even mean?!” She glared as hard as she could, but it didn’t faze those blue-green eyes.
“Let me make this very clear,” he said evenly, his voice a low rumble. “I don’t care if it’s some other Mafia boss or even another version of myself—I don’t have it in me to hand you over to anybody. I’ll never, ever give away the woman I love.”
Alice froze. Her mouth fell open in shock.
“Love?” she whispered without thinking.
“You may be in love with the other Blood Dupre, but I’m keeping you here with me. For good.”
“……”
Alice could only stare at him for a long moment, stupefied. Blood stared into her eyes, his ruffled hair brushing his face like tousled midnight.
She tried to organize the spinning thoughts in her head.
“Blood… You don’t understand.”
“I understand fine. You have stronger feelings for that Blood than you do for me.” He smiled darkly, like he’d never doubted his guess. “And those intense, lingering feelings are why you always argue with me. My similarity to him repulses you. And I get that, but I’m disappointed.”
“Like I said—you don’t understand! I like that Blood, but not as a lover!”
She and the old Blood had never crossed the line of friendship. She didn’t know how many different ways she could say it.
Blood’s brow furrowed. “So you admit that you like him.”
“What do you want from me, Blood?! I’d be lying if I said I hated him!”
“You had to be in love with him,” Blood insisted. “You’re an elegant girl and he was an underworld Mob boss. A fiend.”
Alice doubted he would believe her if she told him because I thought I was in a dream. That that had made her brave and reckless in the Country of Hearts…and had led to everything she valued by the time she stopped thinking she was asleep.
But since this Blood didn’t know how her life in Wonderland had started, his mouth tightened in dissatisfaction.
“If you were in love,” he said, “I could understand it. Even a bright woman like you can make a mistake of the heart. But I don’t believe it was just friendship.”
“But it was!”
“When I kissed you, you didn’t resist. You let your guard down because you had feelings for that Blood…and I share his body.” He clenched his teeth. “If you’re not even doing it consciously…that’s even worse.”
“Blood…!”
Why wouldn’t he understand? Why wouldn’t he believe her?!
She felt borderline rage radiating from her face. He just barked a wicked laugh.
“Did you show that expression to the man you love? I hope so—that’s exactly what I want.”
“ARGH!” she roared. If he hadn’t been crushing her arms into the sofa with his weight, she would’ve torn out her hair.
“What are you so upset for?”
She was about to screech a rebuttal, but then stopped. She felt the anger drain out of her as doubt crept up in its place.
Why am I so upset?
Why did she care that this Blood misunderstood her relationship with the old Blood? This was Blood’s M.O. Even in Hearts and Clover, he’d constantly teased her about being in love with Peter in Heart Castle, even though he was dead wrong.
And the old Blood hadn’t just teased her about Peter—he’d teased her about practically every man in Wonderland. She’d always told him to shut up before moving on. It didn’t frustrate her like this. It didn’t fill her chest with the tension she now felt tightening around her heart.
She stared up at him. Blood stared back.
And this Blood, with the face she knew, with the intimidation and sharp wit she’d known in other countries…he stared at her now with different eyes. And with an expression she didn’t know well.
Those eyes searched hers, exposing her doubts and trapping her in a blue-green prison. She saw a hint of helplessness behind his gaze—like he was frustrated at not getting what he wanted.
She saw the true feelings that he always hid behind biting sarcasm and an unruffled countenance. His real intentions were here. And that was why she’d recognized him in her dream in the rose garden…only the Blood of Diamonds had these eyes.
And…they were the eyes she wanted.
Oh my God.