
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/10587087.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Choose_Not_To_Use_Archive_Warnings, Underage
  Category:
      F/F, F/M, M/M
  Fandom:
      Hetalia:_Axis_Powers, Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland_&_Related_Fandoms
  Relationship:
      Canada/Prussia_(Hetalia), Finland/Sweden_(Hetalia), America/Ukraine_
      (Hetalia), Belarus/Russia_(Hetalia), Belarus/Liechtenstein_(Hetalia),
      South_Italy/Spain_(Hetalia), Austria/Hungary_(Hetalia), China/Russia_
      (Hetalia)
  Character:
      America_(Hetalia), Canada_(Hetalia), Prussia_(Hetalia), France_(Hetalia),
      England_(Hetalia), Ukraine_(Hetalia), Cuba_(Hetalia), Poland_(Hetalia),
      North_Italy_(Hetalia), South_Italy_(Hetalia), Belarus_(Hetalia), China_
      (Hetalia), Japan_(Hetalia), Russia_(Hetalia), Hong_Kong_(Hetalia), South
      Korea_(Hetalia), Taiwan_(Hetalia), Vietnam_(Hetalia), Spain_(Hetalia),
      Netherlands_(Hetalia), Denmark_(Hetalia), Iceland_(Hetalia), Norway_
      (Hetalia), Lithuania_(Hetalia), Hungary_(Hetalia), Female_North_Italy_
      (Hetalia), Austria_(Hetalia), Switzerland_(Hetalia), Liechtenstein_
      (Hetalia), Estonia_(Hetalia)
  Additional Tags:
      Alice_In_Wonderland_AU, Slash, Fluff_and_Smut, Slow_Burn, Politics,
      Magic, Torture, Infidelity, Sibling_Incest, Implied/Referenced_Rape/Non-
      con, Abuse_of_Authority, Mental_Instability, Flashbacks, Angst_and_Hurt/
      Comfort, Slavery, Mutation, Human_Experimentation, Implied_Mpreg,
      referenced_sexual_servitude, Recovered_Memories, Attempted_Murder, Non-
      Graphic_Violence, Secret_Relationship
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-04-10 Updated: 2017-09-15 Chapters: 8/? Words: 25584
****** Matthew in Wonderland ******
by killerkitty15
Summary
     Lured to Wonderland by a White Rabbit, Matthew tries to find his way
     out and unwittingly finds himself in the middle of a struggle for
     political power between the Heartless Red Queen (the Queen of Hearts)
     and those that are still loyal to the previous monarchy.
     Unfortunately, this tug of war involves Matthew much more than you
     think as he struggles to exit Wonderland and find who he truly is.
Notes
     This story is being transfered over from FF.net and editted
     Main Pairing: Prussia x Canada
     Hetalia characters and their relation to Alice in Wonderland
     characters will be placed at the end of each chapter.
***** Down the Rabbit Hole *****
Chapter Summary
     Alice meets the White Rabbit, an event that is oddly written by the
     author.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
I don't know why Father decided it would be a brilliant idea for me to study
with Alfred. I love my twin brother, don't get me wrong, he absolutely has his
good points, but he is, at the end of the day, a total idiot. 
We're in the garden, surrounded by pretty flowers and the multicolored
butterflies and all I wanted to do was pick flowers and, yeah, I know, I know, 
it's “unmanly” but, give me a break, I'm fifteen!
Our empty tea cups sat at the base of the tree and an unopened copy of Romeo
and Juliet sat in my lap. I had read it on my own and had been excited to
discuss the common themes throughout the play and how it connected to modern
life with my normal tutor, a lovely young woman who had a romantic soul that
rivaled my own. Unfortunately, she had gotten sick and I was stuck with Alfred.
Alfred, who was sitting up in the tree and not even talking about Shakespeare.
"--yeah and, bro, I want to be totally real with you right now. This chick was
so fucking -I don't even know!" he gushed, laying on his back and swinging his
legs in the air, barely missing my head, "She had this fucking amazing Russian
accent and, dude, you should have seenher cleavage."
"That's lovely, Alfred," I sighed, caressing the front of my book; I lifted it
and looked at it sadly before hugging it to my chest. "I'm sorry Romeo," I
whispered to the book, "I promise I will know your easily applicable themes
soon. I will come for you Romeo, your true feelings will be revealed to me."
"Mattie, you say somethin'?"
I sighed, "No, Al, I didn't."
"Hm, that's what I thought!" Alfred cackled obnoxiously.
I leaned back against the trunk of the tree, turning my face up to let the sun
rays that were being filtered through the canopy of leaves caress my face. I
really want to do something fun, I thought, Al isn't really fun. I mean, he’s
fun, but not really my type of fun.
Tilting my face back down, something on the edge of the forest caught my eye.
It was a tall, pale, well dressed man. An attractiveman!
He had pale, almost translucent skin, broad muscles and messy white hair, a
strong jawline, thin, pink lips and an aristocratic nose that looked like it
had been broken a few too many times and never healed properly. This man was
wearing a Prussian blue coat that ended just above his knees with a flipped up
collar and wide sleeves, grey trousers tucked into knee high black leather
boots, a black waistcoat with a blue heart pattern, a pressed, bright white
shirt and a black cravat. This finely -richly -dressed man made me feel
inadequate as I had decided to wear my worn gardening clothes for my time with
Alfred, which consisted of brown trousers, calf length black and white striped
socks, a periwinkle ribbon holding my wavy hair into a ponytail and a loose
white blouse with too long sleeves and a hemline that ended at the bottom of my
thighs.
What reallygot my attention, though, was the tall, white rabbit ears sticking
up from his white hair.
He pulled out a pocket watch, flipped it open and looked at the time. The man
scowled slightly before flipping it closed and placing it back in his coat
pocket; suddenly, he looked up and his eyes fell on me.
His eyes were crimson red and I couldn’t stop the quiet gasp that pressed
passed my lips, the beauty and rarity of such a color rendering me almost
incoherent. I was caught in his gaze and, when he smirked, I blushed. It felt
like I was being cut open and looked at, my insides twisted outside my skin and
placed erotically on display for this strange, wonderfully compelling,
appealing man that had appeared like an angel.
Come on, Birdie, he mouthed, lifting his finger and motioning me towards him,
Come with me.
I wanted to ask where we were going but I couldn't open my mouth, still
rendered dumb by the sight of him and the emotion that pressed and clawed
unexplainably beneath my breast. I found myself rising to my feet and walking
steadily towards him, my stocking feet made no noise as I walked through the
garden and in his direction.
Alfred continued to talk, not noticing my departure.
"Who...who ar-are you?" I breathed, looking up awed and breathless.
He graciously bowed. "Hallo, Birdie, I am known as the White Rabbit," the
albino said with a slow spreading smirk, one that sent a delicious shiver down
my spine, "but you can call me Gilbert."
"Gilbert," I said, liking the way his name tasted, "Gilbert, where are you
taking me? Where are you going?"
"On an adventure," Gilbert said, taking my hand and leading me into the forest,
his expression soft, "It's actually more like a journey. To find your true
self."
"Why? Why are you here?"
"You...You really don't remember."
I was caught off guard by his heartbroken expression -and the strong reaction
it pulled from me, my heart screaming in reply, begging me to reach out to him
and wipe that look from his face with all the tenderness I had to offer -and I
pulled on his hand to stop him. Reaching up to cup his cheek, feeling the
rough, scratchy skin beneath my fingers, I gave him a regretful look, "Non. I'm
sorry."
Yet, this all felt oddly familiar. Like...we had done this before, like we had
met before.
"It...It is alright, Birdie," the white rabbit said, placing his hand over the
one I had on his cheek, "You will remember eventually."
"...if you say so."
We began walking for a second time, comfortable silence enveloping us, holding
hands as if that was what our hands were made to do. Gilbert and I came to a
stop in front of a snarled, twisted, old tree, at the base of which, covered
over and partially hidden with roots, was a giant hole that seemed big enough
for a grown lumberjack to fall through, dark with no ending in sight.
"This is the rabbit hole I came from," Gilbert explained, looking at it with
obvious distaste, "You will have to go down there. I won't be able to go with
you, the...the Queen won't allow it. I will try to help you out as much as I
can, but...we won't meet face to face for a while. I'm sorry."
"It's...ok?" I responded hesitantly, "So I just...drop down?"
"Ja."
"Alright. I'll...see you around?"
"Hopefully," Gilbert said with a small smile, gripping my shoulders gently
before bringing our lips together. I gasped but my hands on his shoulder blades
despite my shock and pressed harder against him. It felt so...so right. As if
we were meant for each other. There was no tongue, just our lips melding
together gently, slowly, tenderly. "I'm sorry but you'll be late otherwise," he
said against my lips, giving me one last, drawn out kiss, "Ich liebe dich, mein
Birdie."
That's when he pushed me.
I fell, breaking through the roots and falling into the rabbit hole. I
screamed, falling into pitch blackness, clawing at the dirt around me and
trying to find something to hang onto but finding nothing but dirty, rocks and
fragile roots.
Almost crying with relief when I saw light at the end of the tunnel, I tried to
slow myself down, but failed, and I started tumbling faster, falling out of the
tunnel and slamming onto the floor. My body slammed against the floor, a scream
escaping my lips as the pain rattled my teeth. I curled up on my side,
whimpering, but I somehow managed to struggle to my hands and knees. I looked
around at the room I had fallen into, breathing heavily. It was a circular room
with black, cracked walls with white doors of all different sizes, the floors
were black and red tile, there was a small, square glass table with an amber
jug and a small key on it.
"Merde..." I mumbled getting to my feet, dusting myself off and spinning
around, absorbing my surroundings, "Where am I? What am I supposed to do?!"
Take the key on the table and find thee door it unlocks.
It sounded like Gilbert's voice and I was compelled to obey by a bone deep need
to please him. I approached the table and grabbed the key that was no bigger
than my pinky finger before looking around once again. There were ten doors in
the room and I went from door to door, testing the key. None of them opened.
"Goddamn it!" I yelled in frustration, looking around the room, trying to find
a door I had missed; that's when I saw the thick, red velvet curtain. I
approached it and shoved it aside, seeing a door that was as big as the calf on
my leg. I kneeled down and unlocked the tiny door with the tiny key, it worked
and I pulled it open, pressing my face closer to the small doorway as I
breathed a sigh of relief.
What I saw amazed me.
On the other side of the doorway was a remarkable garden. There was grass so
green that I wasn't sure if it was grass at all, florescent blue, pulsating
mushrooms the size of houses, thin, twisting trees with black bark and pink
spotted leaves; there were giant butterflies landing on equally giant flowers
and strange, mutant animals as well as a black and white tiled road leading
through this strange garden from the small door.
"This...it's..."
Awesome?
"Oui," I breathed with a small smile, "Absolutely awesome."
Go through the door, Matthew.
A pull in my gut warned me that trying was useless and considering otherwise
made me a moron. Despite this nagging feeling, which was probably correct, I
tried to squeeze my way through but my head was too big and the door was too
narrow. "I-I can't fit!"
Shit...forgot about that...on the table is a jug. You see that? Drink it.
"Why? What does it do?"
Just trust me, liebling.
With a sigh, I stood up, taking the key with me; I walked to the table and
picked up the jug, reading the label. "Maple syrup," I read, then flipped the
label tied to the neck of the jug, "Drink me." I stared at it for a minute,
weighing my options. A man I had just met was telling me to drink some strange
liquid, a liquid that I had no clue as to what it was, what was in it, or what
it tasted like. To hell with it, I decided, pulling the cork loose and bringing
it to my lips. I gulped down some of it, finding that it tasted really sweet
but not unpleasantly so; I took another gulp, some of it leaking from my mouth
and dribbling in a sticky mess from the corner of my lips and down my chin.
Fuck, how the hell did you make drinking that look erotic?!
I blushed, choking a little and slamming down the jug, wiping the syrup off my
face before glaring at the ceiling where I thought, maybe, Gilbert’s voice was
coming from.
Oops, did I say that out loud?
"Oui!"
...Sorry...
I huffed, my face still red in embarrassment as my stomach flip flopped,
feeling itchy and anxious beneath my own skin for something I couldn’t quite
name. That was until I felt my bones breaking. I screamed, waves and waves of
pain crashing and rising and undulating through my body; I felt my skin being
yanked and manipulated, giving me the distinct feeling of being torn asunder,
and I couldn’t stop two stray tears from falling from my eyes onto the ground
that was rushing up to meet me.
And then, just like that, it was gone.
I peeled open my heavy eyelids -when had I closed them? -and looked around;
everything seemed...bigger. Or was I smaller? Yeah, I was definitely smaller.
I'm sorry I forgot how painful people said it was. I'm a hybrid so I never have
to take it.
"A...A hybrid...?" I croaked, my throat dry from screaming.
Ja, me und mein bruder. The queen had us as servants but...Ludwig fell in love
so he was kicked out of the castle.
"You've never been in love?" For some reason, I felt my heart starting to hurt,
tears making my throat thick. The thought of this man not loving made my heart
ache and break a thousand times over.
...I have...but...the queen needed a servant so she took mein love away from
me. She wanted to break mein spirit.
"And...d-did she?"
Did she...? Nein, she didn't. She just pissed. Me. Off.
"Oh..." I looked around, then looked down when I felt a breeze on my legs,
"Where are my pants?!"
You must be too small for them...Kesesesese~!
"What are you chuckling about?!"
...Nothing...
"Yeah, that's what I thought," I mumbled, "And where's the key?"
FUCK! You left it on the table!
"...God damn it...!"
Wait, well, fuck, here eat this.
Suddenly, in a poof of violet smoke a stack of...something appeared. "What are
those?"
Pancakes...
He sounded sad and I bit my lip, feeling guilty, but trying to fight the
feeling back to where it came from.  "What...What do these do?"
They should make you bigger, that way you can grab the key then shrink down
again.
Looking at these pancakes, I got the feeling that this probably wasn't the best
idea.
Trust me.
I bit my lip, finding myself unable to say no to him, especially with the
knowledge that I had made him so sad earlier. I picked up the fork that was
laying beside these... "pancakes" and took a bite.
Chapter End Notes
     Alfred/America as The Sibling of Alice (for now, hint, hint)
     Matthew/Canada as Alice
     Gilbert/Prussia as The White Rabbit
***** The Pool of Tears *****
Chapter Summary
     Alice almost drowns and experiences some sort of memory/dream that
     the author reassures is important to the plot.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
I felt my bones breaking and shifting, I could hear them creaking as my skin
loosened and sagged. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to risk seeing what
was happening to my body, gritting my teeth against the pain.
When it all stopped I opened my eyes and straightened my spine- only to hit my
head against the ceiling. Wait... ceiling?! What?!

 "Gilbert?!" He didn't answer and I was starting to panic. "Gilbert, answer me
please!"
He still didn't answer me and I began to bang on the walls and ceiling. "G-
Gilbert?!" I screamed, pushing with all my might at the area around me,
frustrated and scared, tears spilled down my cheeks. They ran in streams down
my face and landed in fat drops on the floor. "Gilbert! Help me! Please!" 

Why wasn't he answering?! Why?!  What did I do?! Is it because of what I said?!
All the little things that held no meaning to me but everything to Gilbert?!
"Gil..." I whimpered, tears falling and, strangely enough, they began to pool
around my ankles, soaking my socks.

You have to find your true self, darling.

"B-But I don't know who I am!" I cried, banging on the walls, "I want to get
out! I-I want...I want you to answer me!"
 Why?

"I've always been alone!" I sobbed, my tears up to my knees, "No one notices
me! Alfred's the special son even though I'm way smarter! All they think about
is finding a nice girl for Alfred, they never think about me! No one does! And
the few friends I have...th-they think I'm him most of the time!" My tears were
up to my waist. "I just want someone to notice me! To care! Y-You're the first
person in so-so long that has...that ever noticed me first and remembered me!"
The tears were up to my shoulders and I was gasping for air. "Th-That was my
first ki-kiss, you bastard!"

...you're almost there mein liebe.

Suddenly, I found myself shrinking and I fell into the water. The cold, salt
water of my tears filling my lungs as I gasped and clawed at the surface,
trying to get above the water. But I couldn't. I couldn't get air and I
couldn't breathe, my vision and brain going fuzzy as I got dragged further into
my ocean of tears.

It's ok, Birdie, I got you.

 Despite everything, I gave in and my vision went black.
===============================================================================
Flashback
     We met at a party, as cliché as that is. Our whole meeting was
     cliché, I guess.

     We were dressed in our finest, the best money had to offer.

     I was wearing and ivory dress with sheer sleeves starting from my
     shoulders and going to the first knuckle of my fingers, the sleeves
     had white embroidery on the sides facing outward -the pattern
     resembled chess pieces. The bodice wasn't sheer, instead it was solid
     ivory silk with more white embroidered chess pieces at the hem line,
     giving way to an ivory colored, full, tulle skirt that lightly
     dragged across the floor. I also wore clear, glass heals that I
     walked gracefully in, managing them like a professional. It was not
     uncommon, here, in the society and world I had existed in for my
     entire life, for young men and boys to dress like women or girls.
     Older men, in their thirties onward, tended to wear more manly
     clothing like trousers and jackets. I had just turned sixteen,
     actually this party was for my sixteenth birthday, so it wasn't odd
     that I was wearing a dress, heels and wearing a diamond encrusted
     choker and diamond studs in the cartilage of my ears.

     The King and Queen -Mama and Father -had finally let me try alcohol,
     to which I was excited. I made sure not to drink too much of the icy,
     blue liquid that was of a low alcohol content.

     A chute of the liquid, known as Piquant, was clutched loosely in my
     hand when I saw him. I had been listening to a rather interesting
     gentleman that made hats, I do have to say he was rather quite mad,
     and he -Gilbert -was behind him and talking to someone else.

     Gilbert was dressed just as nicely as everyone else at the party. He
     was wearing a black leather coat that ended just below his hips with
     numerous buckles and wide sleeves, black trousers tucked into black
     knee high boots, a red waist coat with black, heart shaped buttons, a
     crisp, black shirt, a black cravat with a heart shaped, red ruby
     pinned in the center. He looked absolutely roguish, even with his
     rabbit ears and fluffy rabbit tail. He was handsome and eye catching,
     although, Gilbert was always eye catching, no mater what.

     You could never ignore the White Rabbit, at least not for long.

     He looked away from the man, with brunette hair and a small mole, he
     was talking to and his eyes met mine.

     A blush bloomed on my cheeks, how could I not? How could I not blush
     when his crimson eyes, like something out of a dream, were looking at
     me intently? How could I not blush when I felt like he was trying to
     look into my soul, and I was all too willing to let him?

     He smirked, slowly and gradually, forcing me to look away and turn my
     attention back to the hatter least I burst into flames. Or my stomach
     explode with butterflies, or my heart clench up into a heart attack.

     Why must someone be blessed with such a sexy, handsome face?!

     "Matthew, my darling, won't you come with me?" Mother said, touching
     my elbow gently. I jumped, startled, and she giggled. "We have royal
     guests. The Queen of Hearts, your Auntie, is here."

     "Yes, royal mother," I said. I smiled apologetically at the hatter,
     curtseying. "I'm terribly sorry, hatter, perhaps we can continue this
     later? I am afraid I must greet my aunt."

     "Of course, of course, time is of no matter! It's always tea time!"

     "Yes, hatter, yes," I said with a small smile as I turned and left
     the madman and made my way to the thrones Mama and Father sat in and,
     hopefully, one day, I would sit in with my king. Or queen. I wasn't
     picky.

     Mama and Father weren't sitting, at least not at the moment. They
     were standing and smiling pleasantly at Auntie Natalya, better known
     as the Queen of Hearts, and Uncle Ivan. They ruled side by side as
     siblings instead of husband and wife.

     Auntie wore a silk gown that clung tightly to her curves with a thick
     strap over her left shoulder and a slit up her left side all the way
     to her thigh, it sparkled with sequence. She also wore extremely tall
     black heels, black silk gloves went all the way to her elbows, red
     ruby rings and bracelets on her left arm. Her hair was curled up in
     an elegant bun, a red ribbon in her hair, her lips were painted
     bright red while her eyes were rimmed with thick, black eyeliner and
     a heart shaped ruby the size of the palm of my hand was hanging on a
     gold chain above her breasts.

     Ivan wore something simpler. A red military coat buttoned up to his
     neck with his military badges on the left side of his chest, red
     trousers, black leather gloves, oily black shoes -not boots- and a
     back cape draped over the right side of his body.

     "Ah, Matthew!" Mother said pulling me to her side, "Matthew, my
     dearest, this is your Aunt Natalya and Uncle Ivan. Brother, sister,
     this is your nephew."

     "Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you," I said, curtseying
     immediately, "Thank you for coming to my birthday party, your
     majesties."

     "He is so polite, big sister," Ivan said with a gentle, childish
     smile on his face directed at me. I blushed and tentatively smiled
     back, making him laugh. "And so cute, big sister~!"

     "Precious," Natalya said bitterly, raising her chute of black,
     hissing liquor -known as Indulgence -to her lips.

     "We have brought our servant," Ivan said, detecting his little
     sister's pissy attitude, "Would you like to meet him, Matevy? He's
     really quite something."

     "Matthew would love to meet him," Father said with a chuckle, sipping
     on his chute of Piquant.

     "Very well," Natalya said with a sigh that made it seem like what she
     was doing was a great task, as well as, a great inconvenience to her,
     "Rabbit, get over here!"

     The White Rabbit, the albino from earlier, was at her side within
     seconds.

     "You called, my queen?" he said, bowing low to her.

     His voice is so intoxicating! 

     "Da," she huffed, "Your king wanted to show you off to our relatives.
     And...the birthday boy."

     I almost flinched on the harsh tone of her voice, but I didn't;
     instead, I smiled at the White Rabbit and curtseyed. "Bonjour, I am
     Matthew, prince of the Queen and King of White. It is a pleasure to
     make your aquantance."

     Gilbert smirked, turning my insides into a chaotic mess. As I stood
     up straight, he bowed, deeply. "Hallo, I am known as the White
     Rabbit," he said, taking my hand between his, he brought it to his
     lips and kissed my ring, the one with the family crest of the lion
     and the unicorn. I blushed bright red, his breath ghosting over my
     skin and his lips so, so close to actually touching my hand. "But
     you, your highness, can call me Gilbert."

     I smiled, feeling my insides quiver in desire.
===============================================================================
 
 I suddenly broke through the surface of my ocean of tears, coughing and
sputtering the water from my lungs as my dream -or would it be memory of some
kind? -ended. I flailed, only to find a pair of arms wrapped around my chest
and legs that were kicking on either side of me. Relaxing some, I let whoever
this was paddle through the water, until I was harshly shoved up onto the
shore. The shore felt soft and, when I looked down, I realized the shore was
made from shredded paper.

"You should be more careful~!" a voice scolded, although it sounded like
whoever this person was was scolding a child, "You almost drowned!"

"Not...not my fault..." I croaked, looking up at my savior, "But...B-But tha-
thank you for saving me."

"No! I couldn't just let you drown, bambino!" the girl said, "Nonononono! That
wouldn't be nice at all!" The girl had curly, red tinted brown hair in a
ponytail, a red ribbon holding it up, big amber eyes and a petite, curvy
figure. She wore short overalls and black thigh high socks, dripping wet from
the ocean of tears; she had on no shirt beneath the overalls and I could see
her black and red lace bra.

Oh, did I forget to mention, she had big mouse ears on top of her head and a
slim, skinny tail? Because she had those, too. 

"U-Um, I'm Matthew," I said with a shy smile and a blush -the girl was half
naked. Was I not supposed to blush? -as I stood shakily onto my feet, "Who-Who
are you?"

"Who am I...? Who am I...? Oh! I'm Daisy! Oops, I mean, I am known as The
Mouse but you can call me Daisy, bambino!" she giggled, grabbing my hands
between hers and holding them between us, dangerously close to her breasts
might I add, "Oh your so adorable~ I could just eat you! But, I'm a vegetarian
and I have my own amour to eat~! Come on, come on, I'll bring you to the Dodo
and the Lory, that way we can get dry!"

"O-Oh..." I said, my head suddenly hurting with how excited and cheery she was,
"Me-Merci."

"Eep~! You sound like Chesh! I can't wait to show Lory, I bet she'll think you
make the Chess Language sound cuter than he does! You definitely sound cuter,
but I still love big brother! He's not that bad when he's not being a total
pervert!"

"That sounds...lovely..."
  What the hell did I get myself into?!
Chapter End Notes
     Matthew/Canada as Alice
     Gilbert/Prussia as The White Rabbit
     Natalya/Belarus as The Red Queen/The Queen of Hearts
     Ivan/Russia as The Red King/The King of Hearts
     Daisy/Nyo Italy as The Mouse
***** The Caucus Race and a Long Tale *****
Chapter Summary
     Alice dries off in a way that probably doesn't help much. The Queen
     of Hearts also gets a chance to step into the spot light for a moment
     and, let the author tell you, it is not pretty.
Chapter Notes
     ALSO!
     I'm using characters and inspiration from Alice In Wonderland the
     novel, not the movies (Disney, Tim Burton or otherwise).
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Daisy grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the shore with a strength that
was incredible considering her gender. The shredded paper ground turned into
hard leather, like a hard covered book. She pulled me along, up an incline
until we came upon a rather strange area. It was a platform surrounded by hard
covered books -laying vertically and horizontally -larger then two people
standing on each other's shoulders. There was already a boy there, sitting on
large books turned on their sides.

The boy had long, white hair in two braids and grey feathers braided into them,
long black nails that looked like talons, violet eyes -a small mole under his
right eye -and an ahoge sticking up beneath the red beret he wore. He wore a
blue pinstripe shirt, a black bow tie, a white vest made out of feathers, dark
grey shorts, tan leggings and white feathered boots that looked like eagle
feet. He sat with his legs pulled close to his chest, his chin resting on his
knees.

"Eaglet!" Daisy called, running up to him and dragging me along, "Look who I
found! It's the Ali-."

"Prince Matthew of the White Kingdom," I said without thinking. When the words
left my lips, I blinked, confused. Where did that come from? 

Well, I fell in a rabbit hole...got kissed by the albino rabbit that the hole
belonged to...almost drowned...yeah, that could have something to do with it...

The Eaglet looked at me with an unreadable expression. "That's not something
you want to brag about," he said, straightening his legs, "I prefer to be
called Aden, by the way, not Eaglet. Do you want to see the Dodo and the Lory?"

"Oh si!" Daisy said, clapping her hands. She grabbed by hand again and dragged
me with her, following Aden the Eaglet. I noticed he had two, tiny wings on his
back.

"Oh, the Duck is here so...he and Dodo will be fighting. Most likely. Surely."

"They always fight~."

Aden nodded and, sure enough, the sound of fighting could be heard. The voices
belonged to two men, and as we rounded a corner, I could see the two men
standing -face to face -and yelling at each other.

One had brunette hair with violet eyes and a small mole beneath his eye,
looking remarkably like Aden. He wore a jacket made out of blue and purple
feathers, matching trousers, black dress shoes, a crisp white shirt and a white
cravat with a small, black onyx pinned in the center. A cane was gripped in his
purple gloved hand and he looked exceedingly aristocratic.

The other male was blonde with green eyes and was extremely pissed. He wore a
small, green top hat with a beige feather sticking out of it, a cream colored
jacket, a brown, feathered cape draped over his left shoulder, tan trousers
tucked into brown calf high boots, a bright blue waistcoat, a crisp, white
shirt, a green and brown checkered cravat and brown leather gloves. He and the
brunette were snapping angrily at each other.

"Dodo, Duck, I've brought the Alice!" Daisy called, waving excitedly.
"A-Actually, I'm not -my name's not Alice," I tentatively butted in, though I'm
sure no one heard me, as I lifted my hand in an awkward wave. 

They both stopped mid argument, turning to look at the three of us. "Ah, Aden,
you came as well?" the brunette said, raising an eyebrow.

The Eaglet shrugged, "I was waiting where we were supposed to be waiting."

"Ah," he said uneasily, "Good boy."

"Thank you."

"You are the Alice?" the Dodo asked, turning his attention to me.

"Uhmmm...?"

"He is!" Daisy exclaimed, "Introduce yourselves guys!"

The Dodo sighed, "If you insist." He bowed to me before saying, "Hello, I am
the Dodo otherwise known as Roderich. It's a pleasure to meet you, Alice. Or do
you prefer Matthew?"

"Matthew is fine," I blushed, waving my hands frantically in the air. Wait...I
don't think I told this guy my name...did I?

"Very well and this is-."

"I can introduce myself, you cheap son of a bitch!" the blonde snapped, fists
clenching and stomping his foot. He turned to me, much calmer with an
emotionless, polite, look on his face. "Hello, I'm sorry you had to witness
that. I'm Vash. The Duck. And much more well mannered than this fool over
here." Vash punctuated his statement by jabbing his finger at Roderich.

The Dodo tsked, hand tightening around his cane. "Never mind you, stupid Duck,"
he hissed, suddenly looking at me and Daisy with concern, "Look at you two.
Dripping wet all over my books, you'll ruin the leazher! I make these book
covers by hand, you know, sell them throughout Wonderland. I am the best book
seller and leather maker in-."

"You're the only bookseller and leather maker around, twit."

A muscle jumped in Roderich's forehead and he glared.

"Darling, a caucus race might be just the thing to save your dear leather
books."

I jumped at the new voice added amongst these. I turned, finding a beautiful
woman emerging from a book. She had long brown hair with a red flower resting
in it and green eyes framed by thick eye lashes, she wore a red dress cut low
to reveal her cleavage and the yellow lace of a corset underneath, the sleeves
went to mid-thigh and gradually faded to green with feathers at the hem of the
sleeves and the skirt of the dress was made out of loose jersey fabric, the red
gradually fading into yellow with feathers at the bottom of the dress along
with yellow heels on her feet.

Beautiful...

Her green eyes, sharp and observant, turned to me, catching me staring. I
blushed bright red, looking down at my wet sock covered toes and shirt, the
left side of my collar sagging from the water and revealing my freckled
shoulder. I was wet and my shirt was see through, revealing my blue underwear
and my nipples that were hard from the cold. I was sure that I must look like a
drowning, sopping rat in her eyes, a spec of dirt on her gleaming shoes-.

"You are the Alice?" her voice was soft, accented.

I nodded shyly, shrinking back a little and gripping the bottom of my shirt
that was at the bottom of my thighs now, because of the water.

"Matthew..." she hummed softly, causing me to look up at her. A motherly smile
was on her face, reassuring, and her eyes sparkled with recognition. "You have
finally come to save the Queen...Ó, édes Istenem, köszönöm," (Oh, dear God,
thank you) she gasped, hand over her mouth and she shook her head, strands of
hair whipping and curling around her face, "Matthew..."

"O-O-O-Oui, Miss Lory?" I said, guessing this was the other person Aden
mentioned.

"Have you regained them?" Lory asked, taking a step towards me, "Your memories,
you-."

"I told him you're the Lory. He doesn't remember. Yet," Aden said quickly and
sympathetically.

She stepped back, hand on her chest, blushing and looking embarrassed.
"Igen...Igen, I should have..." she looked up at me, smiling self consciously
and gently as she curtseyed, "Helló, my name is Elizabeta. Please, all my
friends call me that, not Lory." Elizabeta turned, looking at the Dodo, "Férj,
shouldn't you start the caucus race? I have prizes in my pocket~."

"Very well, everyone line up!" Roderich ordered, pointing to a random spot on
the floor. I fell in line with the Dodo, an indifferent Aden, an excited Daisy
and an irritated Vash, still slightly confused on what Elizabeta had been
saying. "Frau? Will you be joining us?"

"No, I think I will sit here...read to you as you race," the Lory said, taking
a small, black book from a pocket in the skirt of her dress.

"If you insist, Engel."

My heart violently jumped into my throat, choking me and bringing my breathing
to a halt before my heart beat stopped completely, becoming a dead, black
weight in my esophagus. That name... that name ... that name.
===============================================================================
 
 
     Flashback
     A hand, pale and rough from a life that was unkind, ran up my leg.
     The owner of the hand, face hidden in the darkness of the room,
     seemed to be mesmerized, feeling and taking inventory of every inch
     of my skin, of my body, so laid bare and naked and displayed. The
     room was dark but beams of moonlight fought through the sheer lace of
     the curtains that were blowing gently with the breeze, giving me a
     pleasant view of his well muscled arm, long fingered hand and the
     middle of his chest to his abdomen. A scarred chest, old wounds from
     battle and conflict criss-crossing over his chest -some dangerously
     close to his heart and on top of his lungs -jagged and painful near
     his toned abdomen, the evidence of someone having attempted to slice
     open his gullet.

     The hand traveled, slow and gentle, starting from the bottom of my
     foot. The hand -male, so very, very male -traced the arch of the sole
     of my foot, his fingertips followed by his entire hand, gently
     pressing down and gliding up. My toes twitched, it tickled slightly,
     but I didn't want to ruin the moment so I held still, my fingers
     curling and uncurling in the white cotton of the sheets beneath me.
     Beneath us.

     His hand traveled up from my foot to my ankle, caressing the fragile,
     poking out joints, and up the curve of my calf. Lips began to follow,
     brushing my skin gently over my ankle, making me arch my back
     slightly and my breath catch. He gently caressed the soft inside of
     my knee, giving it a gentle kiss on the side as his hand got to the
     back of my thigh.

     "Beautiful..."

     His voice was heavily accented, familiar and warm like liquid fire,
     seeping into my veins and into my heart. The red organ in my chest
     stopped, soon restarting with renewed vigor.

     "N-Not as beautiful as you," I retorted, my voice trembling and
     stuttering as his face was level with my inner thigh. I was naked,
     chest rising and falling in quick succession, with nothing but a
     thin, white sheet covering my left leg, my vital regions and part of
     my right hip. The duvet cover was somewhere at the end of the bed or,
     more likely, on the floor, long since cast aside since it would only
     impede our purposes. Purposes and plans that had been planned out in
     whispered tones and only in the safety of the other's presence, plans
     and purposes only remembered alone in the cover of night.

     "Now you're being ridiculous," he breathed, pressing feather light
     kisses to the soft, fleshy, untouched skin of my inner thighs, "No
     one can compare to you."

     I spread my legs wider, welcoming him with fervor. My back arched in
     desperation, skin looking paler than it usually did in the moon beams
     and my freckles an almost harsh contrast.

     His cheek nuzzled against the skin he had just kissed, like a
     domesticated feline, loyal to their owner and master. "You're
     beautiful, gorgeous, celestial in the moonlight. As if you were made
     to be part of the moonbeams and the stars," he said, raising his body
     slowly so we could be perfectly aligned; he cupped my cheek -face
     still in shadow -as I shifted so his hips were comfortably resting
     between my legs with my fingers dancing along his shoulder blades.
     "You are prefect..."

     I tilted my head, brushing my nose against his and our breaths
     mingling.

     "...An Angel..."

     His right arm slipped beneath my back, raising my torso up so that we
     pressed more firmly against each other, and his left hand sliding
     down my neck than back up into the back of my hair. He gripped it
     tightly, tugging it back so my throat, alabaster in all its virgin
     glory, was exposed for him.

     Hot, wet breath caressed my pulse point and I gasped. His breath
     seeped into my pores, stretching them as his breath dug into my bone
     marrow, awakening my skin. Lips, thin and wet with saliva, planted
     themselves on my neck. They caressed and worshipped in a manner so
     desperate and seeking it bordered on heretical levels.

     "Mein."

     I felt the scrape of teeth, a shiver going up my spine in pleasure as
     it was stalked by the hot trail of a tongue, wet on my neck and
     soothing.

     "Mein Engel."
===============================================================================
 
My body jerked, as if awakening from a dream. I looked around to see I was
still surrounded by books and strange, beautiful people that knew me without
introduction and knew what was safe and what was not.

I looked over at Elizabeta, finding her staring at me with focused, demanding
eyes. I looked away.

"The finish line will be over there," Roderich said, pointing to a book with
"The Scientific Theorem of Hattery and How It Affects the Stability of the
Royal Houses in the First to Tenth Century -First Edition" written in green
letters on the cover, "Liebe, give us a count down, will you?"

"Egy..." Elizabeta began flipping open her black book, "Két..." -everyone got
into a running position -"Három!"

Everyone began running in different directions. Daisy scurried beneath books
and papers and leather, Roderich kicked off a book, seeming to float in the air
before approaching another book and kicking off that and Vash was doing the
same thing only he was trying to hit Dodo every time. I ran in between them,
weaving through books and pages and making zig zags as I ran.

"Lo! Death has reared himself a throne

In a strange city lying alone
Far down within the dim West,
Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best
Have gone to their eternal rest.
There shrines and palaces and towers
(Time-eaten towers that tremble not!)
Resemble nothing that is ours.
Around, by lifting winds forgot,
Resignedly beneath the sky
The melancholy waters lie."*

My steps faltered, tripping and almost falling to my hands and knees. I looked
around, brushing my hair from my eyes. Elizabeta was sitting on a stack of
books, the book she had pulled out from her pocket in her lap. Her brown hair
was falling over her shoulder, her voice clear as she read the poem from her
book.

"No rays from the holy heaven come down
On the long night-time of that town;
But light from out the lurid sea
Streams up the turrets silently-
Gleams up the pinnacles far and free-
Up domes- up spires- up kingly halls-
Up fanes- up Babylon-like walls-
Up shadowy long-forgotten bowers
Of sculptured ivy and stone flowers-
Up many and many a marvelous shrine
Whose wreathed friezes intertwine
The viol, the violet and the vine.
Resignedly beneath the sky
The melancholy waters lie.
So blend the turrets and shadows there
That all seem pendulous in air,
While from a proud tower in the town
Death looks gigantically down."*

My heart thrummed in my ears as I turned, seeing Gilbert, the White Rabbit,
waiting for me at the finish line. A smirk was on his face as he leaned against
the Hattery book, red eyes dark with something that I couldn't even begin to
describe or imagine.

Come on, Birdie, my Birdie, Gilbert mouthed, hand stretched out and beckoning,
Come with me. You know you want to.

I did. So badly, my heart and my veins were singing with it. Not singing,
exactly, screaming. They were screaming and creaking and my bones, legs that
had once been so loyal to me, betrayed me now. Or perhaps they helped me. They
launched my body in his direction, my path straight and sure with a purpose.

"There open fanes and gaping graves
Yawn level with the luminous waves;
But not the riches there that lie
In each idol's diamond eye-
Not the gaily-jeweled dead
Tempt the waters from their bed;
For no ripples curl, alas!
Along that wilderness of glass-
No swellings tell that winds may be
Upon some far-off happier sea-
No heavings hint that winds have been
On seas less hideously serene."*

My lungs expanded, pressing against ribs, arms pumping at my sides. "G-Gil!" I
managed to pant out, getting closer and closer to my goal. Tears started to
burn the back of my eyes. "You're ok! You haven't left me!"

"Nein, of course not," the albino said easily, he opened his arms, folding me
against him. His heart thrummed beneath my ear, calming me as our heart beats
synced up and beat as one. "I will never leave you." He ran his hands through
my hair and I melted, fisting my hands in his jacket. "I will protect you." I
felt my eyelids droop as his arms surrounded me, lifting me off the ground and
holding me tightly.

Never let me go. Never let me go...

"You're mine to protect, Birdie."

And you're mine, I thought before my eyelids closed and darkness took over,
white rabbit ears and glittering red eyes visible in the black.
===============================================================================
She tapped her nail against the cold gold of her throne, the black padding with
red hearts matched the color scheme of the room. Black and red tiled floors,
red rug leading from the two thrones high up on a platform to the doors of the
throne room, red velvet drapes on the long windows (they had a pretty red and
gold stained glass pattern), the black walls, the gold tiled high ceilings and
the couches and chairs with frames made of gold and padding that was either
solid black or red. Her throne, like her king's, was gold framed with the heart
pattern, only the hearts on his throne were black with a red background.

Her king...

She looked over at Ivan, her brother that she wished so desperately wasn't. It
wasn't that she hated him, far from that and exactly the opposite. She loved
him so much, it was a burning in between her breasts and in her abdomen. All
Natalia wanted was for her big brother not to be her big brother, so he could
embrace her at night, lay her down on warm sheets, spread her legs and...
well... you get the picture.

At the moment, Ivan was not in the throne beside hers where he was supposed to
be. Instead, he was sitting at a set of table and chairs for two, talking to
one of the courtiers of their court. He was in a heated, but seemingly
pleasant, discussion with an Oriental man in a red silk robe, decorated with a
golden dragon, an emerald as its eye and red rubies and orange garnets as the
fire blowing from its mouth. Slippers had been daintily placed on his feet, his
long hair braided over his shoulder, his feminine hands holding his black
cigarette holder (which contained a cigarette) and his feminine, alluring,
exotic, Oriental eyes half lidded as he gazed and smiled, twinkling laughter
falling from his cupid's bow lips. Ivan seemed to be having a good time with
the courtier -Yao -with his face changing expression every few minutes. At one
moment he would be smiling and booming laughter would erupt from his chest,
then the next moment his brow would be scrunched up, mouth twisted in anger,
then his eyes would be cast down, shoulders hunched, hands clenched together
and adam's apple bobbing as he fought down tears (Natalya had entertained the
thought of beheading Yao for making her darling brother cry, but she had to
keep reminding herself that Ivan was capable of doing that himself... and Yao's
family had always been loyal to the crown) and, then, the next moment, he would
be smiling and laughing again.

It confused Natalya at great lengths but she tried to control her jealousy. She
did have actual business to take care of... not that she wanted to. Natalya
really didn't want to do this, not again, when she thought this was already
over and done with.

Why can't these two idiots give up?! What the hell is wrong with them?!

"M-Milady?"

She was snapped out of her bitter thoughts by one of her servants, Toris the
Frog. He was dressed all in green with green eyes just as a frog should be.

She smiled, cold and threatening, "Da, Toris? What the fuck do you want?"

Toris winced -like he should. "The Alice...Matthew was seen by the Pool of
Tears... he was running a caucus race with the Dodo, the Eaglet, the Duck
and... the L-Lory," he said meekly, shrinking back as Natalia heard the name of
her sister's most loyal servant and growled. No, friend. Sister calls them
friends. "Then... he disappeared. B-B-B-But! But, we think either head to the
Rabbit's house" -the queen snarled, banging her fist against the arm of her
throne, which hardly got a glance from the courtiers gathered in the room -"the
Duchess' mansion or the Hatter's... whatever."

She relaxed her shoulders, growling to herself and tapping her nails irritably
on the arm of her throne. "Alright...Yes, thank you Toris. Go away."

Toris bowed before walking as quickly as he could out of the throne room.

I'll handle this... this time, I'll kill Matthew. I don't care if he's my
sister's child, he trying to take away my most faithful servant! My only
hybrid! He will die!

A smile slowly spread across her face and she began to giggle, laughing
hysterically.

"Sister?" Ivan questioned, brows furrowing in confusion, he didn't move away
from Yao or even get up out of his seat, "What's the matter? You're acting
unstable, da?" Yao smiled at this, smothering his giggle by taking a drag from
his cigarette.

"But lo, a stir is in the air!
The wave- there is a movement there!
As if the towers had thrust aside,
In slightly sinking, the dull tide-
As if their tops had feebly given
A void within the filmy Heaven.
The waves have now a redder glow-
The hours are breathing faint and low-
And when, amid no earthly moans,
Down, down that town shall settle hence,
Hell, rising from a thousand thrones,
Shall do it reverence."*

"I will kill him, brother," she clarified, "I will deliver his head to our
sister on a silver platter and I put his heart on display next to the royal
gems! It will be so, so lovely, brother~ especially seeing the White Rabbit
crying like a little bitch when he's made to watch his lover die!"
 
 
Chapter End Notes
     *The poem read by Hungary is not "original". Or, should I say, it's a
     poem called "The City in the Sea" by Edgar Allan Poe
     Natalya/Belarus as The Queen of Hearts
     Daisy/Nyo Italy as The Mouse
     Matthew/Canada as Alice
     Gilbert/Prussia as The White Rabbit
     Aden/Kugelmugel as The Eaglet
     Vash/Switzerland as The Duck
     Elizabeta/Hungary as TheLory
     Roderich/Austria as The Dodo
     Toris/Lithuania as The Frog servant
     Yao/China as a Courtier in the Red Queen's Court
     Ivan/Russia as The King of Hearts
***** Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum *****
Chapter Summary
     Alice meets Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, while the White Rabbit faces
     the wrath of the Queen of Hearts.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
"Wow, look at this bastard."

 "Ve~ fratello, do you think he's alright? Should we call someone?"

 "Who the fuck would we call?! No one's here!"

 "W-W-Well...we could...we could call Lud-?"

 "HELL TO THE FUCK NO, STUPID BASTARD!"

 "Th-Then what about Anto-?"

 "No. Definitely not."

 "Shhhh… keep it down," I mumbled, rubbing my sleepy eyes and tasting morning
in my mouth, "Five… five more minutes..."

 There was a scoff from somewhere above me. "You're lucky we're even here, you
bastard," the gruff voice said, although it was high in pitch and had the
potential to sound very soothing and feminine.
"We’re making sure you don't get raped,” said another voice with a cheery tone
that did  not  fit the seriousness of such a statement.
"What?!"  I yelped, surging into a sitting position. I looked around, seeing I
was sitting up on a patch of soft grass in the middle of a forest.
Before me were two guys, looking almost exactly the same dressed in tight red
shorts that barely covered their asses, brown suspenders, brown boots that came
up to their ankles and yellow shirts with bishop sleeves and a black ribbon
holding the collar shut. They'd even look the same, only the one on my left was
paler, had half lidded amber eyes and reddish hair while the one on my right
had brunette hair, hazel eyes that looked more brown then hazel and his skin
was a healthy olive color. The one on the left also wore an iron cross around
his neck and a red propeller cap made his hair stick up at odd angles beneath
it, while the one on the right wore a small, golden pendent and a giant sun
hat.

 The one on the right definitely scared me.

 "W-Wait, what do you mean  'rape'?!"

 The one on the right rolled his eyes, hands on hips. "There are some perverts
in this world that would just  love  to sink their teeth in a young, pretty boy
in a dress."

 In...a...  I looked down to see my current state. My shirt and stockings were
long gone, as well as my underwear. What replaced them were thigh high, white,
silk stockings with lace at the top, black ankle strap shoes, undergarments
made out of what felt like silk and lace and a lavender dress with puffed
sleeves, a skirt that barely went past my thighs, a white petticoat beneath and
a small apron -with pockets -over the skirt and was actually longer than the
skirt by about half an inch.

 "W-Why am I in a dress?!" I squeaked, jumping to my feet and pulling down the
skirt, trying to cover up my legs.
“What’s so wrong about wearing a dress?” the one in the giant hat asked with a
sniff of derision, “My brother and I wore dresses all the time as children!”
“I-I was just… it's just… I didn't put it on…!” I stammered, nervous around
this guy’s passionate and quick to ignite personality.
"Ve~ it was probably Gilbert."
"Gilbert? You...you call him Gilbert too?" I questioned, for some reason I felt
hurt. I wanted to be the only one that called Gilbert by his name.  Everyone
else should just call him "White Rabbit"...

 "Sì, he's like family so I call him Gilbert."

 "I just call him ‘bastard’."

 "Fratello, that's not very nice."

 "Does it look like I care?"

 "Ve~ well-."

 "U-Um...ex-excuse me, where am I? How did I get here? Who are you?" I said
quickly, not liking the way my jealousy had calmed when the twin in the
propeller hat spoke of Gilbert being like family, not a lover.

 "You're in the Forest of Five and Gilby probably brought you here to see us.
And to take a siesta," Feliciano said with a giggle.

 "As for who we are, I am Tweedle Dee" -the one with a sun hat said pointing to
himself -"but you can call me Lovino or whatever and this idiot is Tweedle Dum,
you can call him Feliciano, I suppose."

 "...Hey, wait, I'm not Tweedle Dum, you are fratello!"

 "Sì, yes you are, idiot."

 "No-."

 "Sì,  you are!"

 "Ve~!"

 "U-Um… how… how do I get out of here?" I asked, interrupting their little
argument.

 "You have to listen to our stories first!" Feliciano exclaimed excitedly,
clapping his hands, "We have two!"

 "Just listen, you bastard, and we'll help you get out of here," Lovino huffed,
hands on his hips.

 "Al-Alright..." I agreed; after all, what is the worst thing that could
happen?

 "Fratello, do you want to tell the story together?" Tweedle Dum, Feliciano,
asked, turning to look at his twin.

 "Sì, but I'll start-."

 "Ve~ but, fratello, you always start!"

 " Silenco!  It's because I am oldest!"

 "By thirty minutes!"

 "Sì, and don't you fucking forget it!"

 "But-!"

 "There once lived two brats- I mean -boys," Lovino began.

 "By a field," Feliciano said, soon after, "Full of mice."

 "One was older and taller."

 "Quite thin with snow for hair."

 "'Albino boy blue'."

 "Who could play the flute."

 "And fucking violin."

 "The other."

 "Was younger."

 "Sky trapped in his eyes."

 "Followed 'Albino' -fucking -'Boy Blue'."

 "Like little sheep and Bo-Peep."

 "As close as two fuckers can be."

 "Strength became weakness."

 "Keys thrown away."

 "As cages were locked."

 "Cut up and diced."

 "Put together again."

 "Chemicals injected."

 "Screaming was heard."

 "From 'Albino boy blue' above all others."

 "Revealed too soon."

 "Reborn anew -like a fucking butterfly."

 "Bones made to shift."

 "And creak."

 "Scars meant to mar."

 "Eternal crappy servitude."

 "Brother led astray."

 "By the amber eyes of a temptress," Lovino shot a dark look at his twin.

 "Eternal loneliness may be a blessing," Feliciano continued, ignoring the
look.

 "Until."

 "One day."

 "A prince he did see... with a fine  boot-tay."

 "All satin and jewels," Tweedle Dum said, slapping his brother's arm.

 "Ow-! No room for a servant."

 "A slave."

 "Who is poorer than he."

 "They smiled and laughed."

 "Fell in love fast."

 "Until the Queen found out."

 "And ripped the motherfucking prince's heart out."

 "The screaming was loud."

 "As was the damn begging."

 "Yet she wrapped up the heart."

 "And sent it fucking flying."

 My head swam with questions, my heart drowning in sympathy and sadness. This
only brought more questions to light. What happened to the White Rabbit's
lover? Why couldn't the White Rabbit stop being the Queen's servant? Why was
this Queen so cruel? Why did this story sound so familiar? Why couldn't I stop
the sadness from forming in my stomach and leaking out in tears down my cheeks?


 "Ve~? Matthew, are you crying? Don't cry, it'll be ok! The Queen of Hearts
can't hurt you!" Feliciano said, flapping his arms desperately. He knelt down
and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into a hug, "We'll protect
you, we're your friends even though Lovi-."

 "Chigi! Don't call me that!"

 "Even though Tweedle Dee swears a whole bunch, he really does like you! You're
his best friend! Antonio doesn't count, since they're fucking~."

 "Felciano!"  Lovino and I yelled at the same time, blushing bright red and
horrified that such a dirty thing came out of such a sweet boy's mouth.

 "VE~! W-W-W-What?! I'm sorry! I SURRENDER!" Feliciano screamed, pulling away
to wave his arms desperately in the air, futilely fighting a non-existent
enemy.

 I sighed. This was so strange. These people were strange, this place was
strange, I didn't know where I was, everyone knew stuff I didn't. It was all
very tiresome and irritating to say the least. "I think I'm going to go to take
another nap..." I mumbled.

 "What? No, you fucking maple bastardo, we have another story to fucking tell
you!" Tweedle Dee shouted, crossing his arms, "You better fucking listen, too,
because this is fucking important!"

 "...really?"

 "Ve~ sì!"

 "...really..."

 "Silencio, bastardo, and let my fratello start the stupid story."

 Feliciano cleared his throat, straightened his spine and his shirt, as he
stretched out his suspenders with a smug look. Taking a deep breath, he began,
"The Queen of Hearts is a tyrant."

 "The worst of the worst," Lovino continued.

 "Steps on our windpipes."

 "If we dare speak against her."

 "Trials are rigged."

 "Even the king lives in fear."

 "She will rip out your heart and eat it at supper."

 "Heads."

 "Centerpieces."

 "In her castle."

 "What the Alice must do."

 "Is really quite simple."

 "He must distinguish the truth."

 "From the lies."

 "From the fiction."

 "Remember the future."

 "His past."

 "What exists in the present."

 "Go back to the beginning."

 "Then into the past."

 "Drink every last drop."

 "From the 'Drink Me' cans."

 "He must remember the story."

 "The how."

 "And the why."

 "End to end."

 "Back to back."

 "Pain to pleasure."

 "Once again."

 "He must take up a sword."

 "Stab his own heart."

 "Cut off his own head."

 "Blood on the floor."

 "The king's chains."

 "He will raise."

 "The Queen will be broken."

 "Her kingdom will fall."

 "And Wonderland will be free for all."

 "Alice will save, it will be the Queen of Heart's fateful day," the twins said
together, bowing at the waist at the same time.

 All was quiet except for the animal noises in the forest. An animal's scream,
an owl's "who, who", the rustling of leaves and bushes, a bird's call. I
couldn't speak, I was so shocked.

 "...who's...who's the Alice?" Who was that speaking? Oh...it was me wasn't it?
My usually quiet voice was like a whisper on the wind, broken and strangled. It
was pathetic, sad, lonely.  Scared. I'm...I'm scared...

 "You," Feliciano said, his voice quiet and gentle.

 "You're the Alice, moron," Lovino huffed, "but try not to worry too much or
whatever. We'll… do something… right, fratello?"

 "Sì~!"

 "...Th...Thank you..." I said, still shocked and confused but feeling oddly
grateful. They were so kind, even if Lovino was a little stand offish. I knew,
deep in my heart and my soul that I could trust them. That I would need them.

 "Nessun problema, amico~!" Feliciano cheered, jumping up and down and
clapping, "Come on now, we have to go!"

 "W-Where?" I asked hesitantly, everywhere I had been in Wonderland  -the Dodo
had called it Wonderland, I think-  had been pretty weird. I looked around me
now, noticing the unrealistic softness of the grass that was a blue-ish green,
the green leaves that were the color of mint with bright blue veins and the
bark of the trees was both dark and light brown, making it look like the tree
trunks had stripes.  Weird… definitely weird...

 "To the White Rabbit's house, of course~!"

 My head jerked up and I blushed.  The White Rabbit… Gilbert… his house…
Gilbert...  Excitement was an embarrassing bumble in my chest and I couldn't
help but to smile.  I'm going to see Gilbert again!

 "Hurry up, we don't have all damn day!" Tweedle Dee snapped as Feliciano began
to skip through the trees. He turned his back to me and began running after his
twin.

 "Wa-Wait!" I squeaked, scrambling to my feet and running after them, "Hold
on!" I ran into the forest, running faster and faster and trying to catch up to
them. I really, really wanted to see Gilbert again, for some reason.

 It was more than how…  attractive  he was, although that was certainly part of
it. Gilbert felt so familiar to me, I felt like he was someone that I needed
and wanted with an immeasurable amount of passion and desire. And I did,
currently, but I felt like it was something I had felt a while ago. Sometime in
the past. Sometime in the past I had wanted him and, maybe… maybe he wanted me,
too. I hoped so. If he didn't return at least some of my feelings then… then I
would curl up in a dark pit and cry in the fetal position!

 ...pretty sad, I know, but that's all I got at the moment.

 Gilbert was kind.
 Gilbert was gentle.
 Gilbert was smart.
 Gilbert was special.
 Gilbert was beautiful.
 Gilbert was strong.
 Gilbert was...a tortured knight, hiding his battle scars beneath his shining
armor. Shining armor that was no longer silver, but stained red from all the
blood he had spilled and drawn in battle.

 Gilbert...Gilbert was mine!

 ...Whoa! Possessive much, self?!

 "Ve~ hurry up, Matthew!"

 "Hurry up, shit head!"

 "Don't you wanna see Gilby~?"

 "We don't got all day, bastard!"

 I stumbled out of the forest, breaking through the line of trees to see I was
alone. The twins were gone. Vanished into thin air. But, what I did see, was a
beautiful, glittering, coral colored pathway leading to a small, cottage like
house. It was built in the traditional English style with a thatched roof,
white walls and everything, the front door a bright red, the windows on both
the top floor and ground floor containing purple and blue cornflowers and a
garden was visible in the back of the house, surrounded and protected by a
white fence. It struck a cord in me, this cottage was so deeply familiar that I
was awestruck by its picturesque beauty and the homey, nostalgic feeling that
accompanied it.

 Slowly, I walked up to the cozy cottage, walking up the two short, stone steps
that led to the front door. I placed my hand on the cold, smooth, brass door
knob.

 ...and it swung open.
===============================================================================
 
Gilbert's hands were chained to the stone wall, spread out at his sides and his
torso bare. Bare except for the blood, bruises, sweat and lacerations littering
his body. His legs had given out a while ago, the only thing keeping him up now
were the chains, and he could barely keep his eyes open as his body shook.
Weakly, Gilbert tilted his head up to get a brief look at his tormentor, his
torturer, his master, his King.

 King Ivan raised his arm, lifting the bloodied pipe over his head.

 It was not his fault,  Gilbert thought, trying to remind himself, convince
himself,  It's hers. That spiteful little bitch.

 The King was not himself, he never was when these things happened, the Queen
of Hearts made sure of it. Ivan's purple-ish eyes were black, blank and manic,
a wide smile permanently on his face, the corners stretching all the way up to
the top of his ears. He wore black denim trousers, brown knee high boots, his
signature scarf and a crimson shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

 Just as he was about to bring down the pipe for… Gilbert had lost count but
you get the picture, a voice spoke out from the darkness. "That's enough, my
love." The Queen of Hearts appeared from the shadows, her heels clicking
against the blood and spit covered stone floor. "White Rabbit," Natalya said
coldly, "Have you learned your lesson?"

 Gilbert spit blood and mucus from his mouth and onto the floor in front of the
Queen. "Ja, your Majesty."

 "Dobra. Now tell me where your lover is."

 A smirk spread across his face.  Ah, so that is why I'm being punished.  "I
don't know."  I can hold out for Matthew. My love, hold on a while longer…
hopefully Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum got to you in time… we will see each
other soon, I know it.

 Natalia scowled. She hated his face, hated his voice. Hated him, hated him,
hated him,  but -sadly -she needed him to take down her sister and gain control
of all of Wonderland. "Wipe that smirk from your face, slave!" she screeched,
"Or off with your head!"

 Abruptly his smile left, amusement still obvious in his voice as he said, "Ja,
meine Königin."

 She made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat as she motioned for two
guards to unlock Gilbert's chains. "Drag your corpse back to your room,"
Natalia ordered, spinning on her heel, "And get the King to his!" She snapped
her fingers and Ivan, along with the pipe, fell to the ground in a heap.

 The spell that controlled Ivan was broken. For now.

 But Gilbert… Gilbert was still a slave, even if his chains had been taken off.
Chapter End Notes
     Matthew/Canada as Alice
     Gilbert/Prussia as The White Rabbit
     Natalya/Belarus as The Red Queen/The Queen of Hearts
     Ivan/Russia as The Red King/The King of Hearts
     Lovino/South Italy as Tweedle Dee
     Felciano/North Italy as Tweedle Dum
***** The Rabbit Sends a Little Bill *****
Chapter Summary
     Alice eats something he shouldn't and there's some badly described
     erotic dancing on the author's part
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
"The Rodent said I should be expecting a guest," a guy -I assumed he was a guy-
said with a bright smile as he opened the door, "I never expected it to be,
like, a cutie, though. BTW, I LOVE that dress! Where'd you get it?!"

"U-Uh… I kinda… woke up with it on?" I said uncertainly, "Erm, who are you?"

"Ah, that does totally seem like the Rodent's style," the blonde muttered,
looking me up and down, "Oh, and I'm Feliks, by the by. I, like, work here. As
a maid and gardener and whatever, but you can totes come in~!"

"Um, th-thank you… Feliks..." I said quietly, and quickly stepping inside.

It was warm and cozy inside and I smiled. The walls and floors were real wood
that had the entire house smelling rich and like a forest. There was a living
room, kitchen and dining room with a staircase on the right wall with a door on
the very back wall that led to the garden. The living room, to the right, held
a black comfortable looking couch, a glass coffee table, a white shag carpet,
two black high backed chairs, a red and brown stone fire place and pictures on
the mantle. To the left was the kitchen with dark oak cabinets, black counter
tops and modern looking appliances and, in the dining room, was a simple
rectangular, dark wood table with matching chairs. Lighting up the three spaces
was a large black chandelier in the middle of the room. It was warm, cozy and
beautiful.

"The Rabbit totally designed this himself. It was, like, meant for him and his
brother but I take it that the twins totally explained their falling out?"

I nodded.

"Good. I can't explain heavy stuff.  Totally  not my forte."

"It-It's ok," I stammered, following him into the kitchen, "Is… Is Gil home?"

A weird, kind of creepy, smile stretched across his face and he opened the door
to the ice box, pulling out some blue whip cream, a mixing bowl and a small
basket of purple berries. "Nie, he isn't," Feliks said, pulling a small,
ceramic bowl from one of the higher cabinets, "He should be back soon, though.
I think. Maybe."

I sighed quietly, leaning against the counter and looking at the guy. In a
dress.  Wait, he was in a dress too?!  He was dressed in what resembled a
uniform, probably a maid uniform of some kind. His dress was a brown dress with
Juliet sleeves that went down to his knees with a swooping neckline and a white
petticoat beneath, black fishnet tights, black shoes with a one inch heel, a
white pinafore over his brown dress and a crochet maid cap. He made it look
good and, despite his lack of breasts, it looked like he was meant to wear a
dress, that it was simply the natural thing to wear.

"N-Nice uniform," I tried to compliment, watching as he scooped what appeared
to be lemon pudding into the two matching, ceramic bowls.

"Thank you~" Feliks giggled, slicing up some purple-berries with a knife, he
cut off the long, spiky steam before cutting the berry in half, "It's not,
like, as cute or awesome as my other dresses but, it'll due. You know, for work
and stuff."

 Other dresses?  I was suddenly reminded of the dream that felt more like a
forgotten memory that I had when I was drowning in my own tears. If it really
was a memory, or some vision of this world I had fallen into, then it really
wasn't so strange to wear dresses. Yeah, from the information the vision had
implanted, it was fine for men to wear dresses, although it was uncommon after
a certain age.  There is more that I know that I have to remember,  I realized,
it’s important. I have to remember it to stay alive. And to fill in all the
empty spaces that had existed in me since god knew when.
 
I nodded, watching silently as he put the purple-berry slices in the bowls with
the pudding. "When did you say Gil will be home?"

Feliks smiled that creepy smile again, using a spoon to scoop the home made
whip cream into the bowls, on top of the pudding and purple-berries.  "Soon~"
he hummed, still smiling. He picked up the two bowls and placed them on the
table, "Come on, we gotta eat!"

I joined him at the table, thinking about how strange it was that I was eating
dessert with a stranger in a house I've never seen, bet felt oddly familiar.
Definitely the weirdest day of my life… wait… have I been here for a day? Or
longer? "How long have I been here...?" I wondered, accidentally speaking out
loud.

"Well...you totally made it through the night, you know,  unraped."

So one night and -basically -a day.  Awesome...just awesome...  I sighed,
grabbing the silver spoon and scoop the dessert into my mouth. The lemon
pudding was super tangy -in a good way- and the purple berries were super sweet
and the whip cream -although it was a weird color -helped to balance the two
extreme flavors out. I liked it, honestly I did, and as soon as I swallowed I
scooped up even more and placed it in my mouth. It was good. Really,  really
good and it made my stomach feel nice and full and fuzzy.

"You like it?" Feliks asked, hopeful and preppy.

"Do I like it? I love it!" I gushed, swallowing what was in my mouth and
licking the leftovers from the corner of my mouth and my bottom lip, "What is
this? It's awesome! Can I have more? Oh… wait… that's rude… How is it so good?
My stomach feels weird!"

"I -wait… what?"

"My. Stomach. Feels. Funny," I said slowly, trying to make him understand me.
Why wasn't he understanding me? I wanted to see Gilbert's bedroom - wait… one
step at a time, me, baby steps… baby steps...

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" he cursed, jumping away from the table, "FUCK! Just…
J-Just stay here! I'll be back!" Feliks ran out the front door, yelling for
someone named Carlos.

"Wait! Feliks, what-?" my words died in my throat as I felt burning pain start
in my stomach, rattling my teeth and making my bones crack. I screamed.  It
hurt! It hurt! It hurt!  I recognized the feeling, I had felt it before. In
that room. But, that time, Gilbert -my White Rabbit -had been there to help me.
His presence had calmed me but he was no longer here; he was off somewhere,
living his life, doing his own thing, he had no time for me. But that really
wasn't fair. He didn't know I was going to come to his house. Or did he? No.
Probably not. Probably. Maybe. Probably. I shut my eyes and gritted my teeth.
Hopefully it'll stop... Please stop. Please stop. Please stop!

Soon enough, it did. After I heard crashing and popping seams, I opened my eyes
and ended up slamming my head against the ceiling and banging my elbow against
the wall. "Ow!" I yelped, trying to straighten my spine but I couldn't. My leg
was through the front door, left arm through a window, my right arm tucked
painfully between me and the wall, my other leg tucked beneath me with my knee
sticking out the back door and the right side of my face pressed up against the
window. "Jesus!"

"S-See! Didn't I, like, tell you?!" I heard Feliks yell and I looked out of the
window using my right eye. Feliks was pulling along a tanned, buff male with
black dreadlocks, the man wore a dirtied orange shirt, brown-black boots and
stained green denim pants. He carried a bucket, a chimney sweep and a mop, a
rag over his shoulder and a confused look on his face.

"What do you- Holy fucking shit!" the tan man yelled, "Feliks, what the hell is
this?!"

"IT WAS A GODDAMN ACCIDENT, CARLOS!" Feliks shouted, stomping his heeled foot
in irritation, "NOW GO GET HIM!"

Carlos...? Carlos...?  Why does that name sound familiar? MAPLE!  Wait, that's
a fucking pussy way to curse...

"M-Matthew?" Carlos spoke, looking up at my giant form in shock, "Ma-Matthew,
what are you...? We thought you were dead!"

  We? Who's "we"? Why do you know me?!  I wondered before everything went
black.
===============================================================================
Flashback: 
     The White Rabbit had shown up at the palace and I felt my heart begin
     to hammer painfully against my ribs.

     This was our second meeting but I considered it our first. We didn't
     really talk at the ball but we… w-we  danced . We danced all night
     long and it felt amazing, perfect,  right.  It was one of my
     servants, so darling and adorable and sweet with blonde hair and
     green eyes, that told me of his arrival.

     "Are… Are you s-sure, Noah?!" I demanded, my voice cracking as I
     turned to face him. I had been sitting at my vanity table, brushing
     my hair, when Noah had told me the news. I wasn't even dressed yet!
     Well, I had a white, silk robe on but that was it.

     "Yes, my lord," Noah said with a mischievous smile as he bowed
     slightly, "He's in the thrown room with your parents, requesting that
     you grace him with your presence."

     "M-M-Me?!" I asked, incredulous.

     "Of course you, my lord!" he exclaimed, grabbing my wrist and gently
     tugging me to my feet, "Hurry! Go get ready, he's so handsome, my
     lord!"

     In ten minutes, I was dressed with Noah and two other servant's
     assistance. I put on a blue dress that went down to my knees and
     hugged my sides, the dress was a pale blue with navy blue embroidery
     on the hem of the skirt with cold shoulder styled sleeves, I had on
     my family ring and a simple, silver, chain charm bracelet with gloss
     on my lips, silver studs in the shells of my ears and white, lace up,
     leather boots that went up to my thigh with a two and a half inch
     heel. After getting a thumbs up from Noah, I sprinted down the
     hallway and slid down the grand staircase's railing, dropping
     gracelessly to my feet and quickly walking to my parents' throne
     room, trying to calm myself and regain my breath. I didn't want him
     to know I had been running. I took a deep, calming breath before
     approaching the guards at the big, double doors and smiling at them,
     "Good afternoon, gentlemen. I believe my presence has been
     requested?"

     The guards smiled, blushing. I always made sure to treat the people
     in the palace with respect, rather they be personal servants, guards,
     gardeners, maids, butlers, cooks or stable boys; they were still
     people and I wanted to make sure they knew that I appreciated all
     they did for my family, their job wasn't easy. Frankly, they did all
     the stuff that my family could do by themselves, but didn't because
     royalty just…  didn't . "Hello, my lord," they said, bowing, "Yes
     they did, would you like to go inside?"

     "Yes, please."

     They smiled again and opened the doors to let me inside. "Merci," I
     hummed and their smiles broadened. I stepped inside, striding forward
     as the guards closed the doors behind me. Inside, just like Noah
     said, were my parents sitting in their respective thrones with
     Gilbert standing in front of them. He wore a different outfit than
     the one he wore at the ball; this time he wore a gold coat with
     wizard sleeves and black on the collar and on the cuffs of the coat,
     brown trousers tucked into the same boots he had worn at the party
     and a crimson shirt that was unbuttoned down to the bottom of his
     ribcage to reveal the strong muscles of his chest and his sternum.

      He. Looked.  Delicious .

     "Hello, Matthew, dear," the Queen said with a kind smile, "We have a
     guest, you remember the White Rabbit, don't you?"

     "O-Oui! I m-mean, of course I do," I stammered, blushing bright red
     and bowing, "It's a pleasure to see you again, White Rabbit."

      "Gilbert,"  he said with his raspy, accented voice, that voice sent
     shivers down my spine and I subconsciously licked my lips. He was
     just so  enticing!  "Please, call me Gilbert."
     "Katyusha, my dear, should we-?" my father began to ask but was cut
     off by a small shake of my mother's head. 
     "Matthew, my child, we must ask you to entertain the White Rabbit for
     a few moments." 

     "Would you mind taking the White Rabbit on a tour?" the King asked,
     sharing a look with his wife, "Your mother and I need to discuss some
     business..."

     "Yes, I'd be honored," I breathed, my heart beating incredibly fast
     as my face turned pink, "J-Just follow me, Whi- um, Gilbert."

     The albino grinned at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he
     followed me out of the throne room. "It was nice of you to give me a
     tour," Gilbert said as I slowed down my stride so we could walk side
     by side… as equals, "But, you don't have to. If you don't want-."

     "N-Non!" I exclaimed, gaping slightly, "Of course I want to, I don't
     mind at all!" We fell silent after that, but it wasn't awkward. "So…
     where would you like to see first? Would you like to see the
     gardens?"

     "I would like that."

     I smiled shyly, stepping closer to the albino. Our hands brushed and
     I blushed, wanting to reach out for his hand but refraining; I didn't
     want to suddenly come on too strong or scare him off.  I really,
     really like Gilbert.

     "My lord prince!"

     Gilbert and I stopped, looking around for the voice.

     "Up here, my lord!"

     I tilted my head, looking up. I smiled when I saw it was Carlos, the
     head of maintenance and a close friend of mine. "Carlos!" I exclaimed
     with a toothy smile, "What are you doing hanging from the ceiling?"
     Although Carlos had a muscular, fleshy lizard tail and tan, olive
     colored scales instead of tan skin, I couldn't figure out why he was
     hanging from the beams on the ceiling by his tail.

     He grinned down at me. "I'm cleaning the chandeliers," Carlos
     explained, "Who is your friend, my lord?"

     I blushed.  Friend!  My   Friend!  "Thi-This is the White Rabbit," I
     stammered, "We met at my birthday party."

     "Did you now?"

     "Ja," Gilbert confirmed with a sharp nod and a weary look up at the
     tanned man hanging from the rafters.

     "We were going to the gardens."

     "Be on your way then, my lord prince," Carlos said with an awkward
     looking bow, "We will talk later." He winked, smirking and gesturing
     suggestively at Gilbert. I blushed bright red, glad that the albino's
     attention was on a painting, and stuck my tongue out at Carlos.

     He laughed, righting himself to stand on a beam and walking out of
     the hall. "Should we get going?" I asked, turning my attention to
     Gilbert again, "It's right here."

     "Ja, that sounds good."

     The sun was shining in the garden as we stepped out onto the glowing,
     rainbow stone path. The flowers surrounded the path, ranging from
     ankle height in muted pastels to eight foot tall flowers that glowed
     beneath black light. We walked along the path for a minute,
     comfortably silent.

     "If you don't mind my asking," I finally said, although my voice
     remained soft and light, "what was your business with my parents?"

     "I was delivering a message from the Queen und King of Hearts," he
     answered simply, stepping closer so our shoulders painlessly bumped
     into each other.

     "Ah." It was quiet for a while long before I hesitantly broke it
     again, blushing as I did, "S-So… why di-did you request me-e?"

     Gilbert smirked at my question, wrapping his hand around my slim
     wrist and pulling me to a stop. "I have to have a reason?" he teased,
     slowly pulling me towards his body. I gasped quietly, feeling his
     body heat, and I wanted to lean into him. He was broad, warm and
     comforting. "Well… if you must know..." he continued, lifting my hand
     to his lips, he turned it over so my palm was facing up, and kissed
     my pulse, "I really wanted to see you again."

      My heart stopped. I swear, at that moment, I died and went to Heaven
     for a moment. "I-I-I," I stammered as he took my arms, picking them
     up and wrapping them around his neck. He pulled our bodies flush
     together, embracing me gently. "I really wanted to see you too, Gil."

===============================================================================
I woke up to pulling on my hair and a stinging pain in my arms and legs.

"MONSTER!"

"GET IT OUT!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

"IS IT GOING TO EAT US?!"

A stinging pain formed in between my eyes and I looked down, seeing rocks lying
on the floor from where they had fallen after being thrown. "C-Carlos?" I
whimpered, struggling to look around for the tan, lizard humanoid man.

"I'm right here, Matthew," he said, appearing on my shoulder. He looked out the
window at the angry mob and frowned. "I didn't want to do this but… drink
this." He handed me a small, amber bottle. "Drink it," Carlos repeated,
uncorking it and placing it on my over sized lips. He poured it on my tongue
and I swallowed.

It hurt, as expected but I grit my teeth and tried not to scream out in pain as
my bones shifted and I shrank, shrank and shrank until I was the size of a
field mouse. The ground was shaking and I nervously looked out of a crack in
the door to see men in blood red armor walking towards us. "Carlos!" I
squeaked, my entire body shaking at the sight of the  giant  -height wise -
army.

"I will handle it, Matthew, just run!" Carlos yelled,  "Run!"

My body twitched, jerking forward as I ran out of a crack in the doorway,
avoiding being stepped on and disappearing in the tall, dark grass.
===============================================================================
The ballroom had red wallpaper with a gold heart pattern, black drapes pulled
away from the high arched windows, showing off the Full orange moon and the
swirling green, orange and white of the cosmos, the floor was solid gold with a
black carpet leading up to the dais in the ballroom that held the King and
Queen's thrones. Pressed up against the right wall was a small stage where the
Mock Turtle and the Gryphon, as well as a number of other creatures, played
instruments for the party goers to dance to and, next to that, was another
stage that was currently empty and, against the left wall, was a buffet table
covered with a red table cloth.

People were dressed in rich fabrics, Natalya dressed the best out of them all
in a glittering gold, strapless dress, five inch black heels, black gloves, her
hair in an intricate bun on the left side of her head and her gold and red ruby
crown heavy on her head, diamonds weighing down her earlobes and rings, and
bracelets, glittering on her fingers and wrists. Ivan was dressed in his
simple, black military uniform, medals over his left lung, a red cape draped
over his right shoulder, black leather gloves, black boots and a more modest
silver and red ruby crown. Natalya looked smug, excited, while Ivan just looked
tired and worn.

Gilbert was sitting next to Natalya's throne, pissed but staying quiet. He was
wearing leather pants made up entirely of buckles and straps, no shoes, a red
ball gag shoved in his mouth with saliva sticking to the corners of his lips, a
black leather vest with only a thick strap around his neck and around his lower
back, showing off his shoulder blades and the middle of his back which was
covered in bleeding lacerations. Oh, yeah, there was also a black, leather
collar around his neck, and the chain attached to the collar was being held
tightly in Natalya's fist.

"How does it feel Rabbit?" she giggled evilly, "Being reduced to a slave? A
pet?"

He remained silent.

"Oh, right, you can't talk~."

He really wanted to kill her but he fisted his hands, stopping himself. Gilbert
was under her control.

The music began to change and the previously empty stage was beginning to fill.
It consisted of Yao and other members of his family dressed in simple black
robes that dragged along the floor. They lined up on the stage, Yao in front
and two of his family members on either side and one step behind him. They
began to sway, pulling at the sash of their robes, rolling their shoulders and
letting the fabric fall around their feet. There were two other men with Yao,
all of them wearing black fabric around their hips with a golden trim and
rubies dangling from the hem, golden body paint made stripes on thighs, arms,
chests, abdomens and shoulders and rubies decorated their bodies, around their
navels and on the top of their hands and feet; there were also two women with
Yao, who wore fabric around their hips that matched the men's but a bra like
top covered their breasts, the top was black with red rubies and gold coins
hanging from the hem, they also had golden body paint and red rubies on their
bodies like the males of the family.

 Yao was the oldest and he had four siblings, only three of which were up on
stage with him. On stage it was Yao, the third oldest named Im Young Soo, the
fourth born named Mei and the youngest of the siblings named Li Xiao. The other
woman, Lein, was a little younger than Yao and was married to Yao's sister,
Mei, but was really close to her wife's family.
 
                             "You were so young
                              And I guess I'm old"

 Yao was the one that opened his mouth and began singing. Yao placed one of his
hands on his stomach, rolling his body forward, while his family began to
erotically move their hips to the beat.
 
                               "Open your eyes
                             I'll keep mine closed"
                                        
Yao placed his hands over his eyes while his family began to temptingly
undulate their entire bodies.
 
                             "I prefer standing
                            And you take your seat"

 Yao's family dropped to the floor and began to twist and contort with
frightening skill and flexibility.

                             "I'll be wide awake
                            And you'll fall asleep"

 Yao raised his arms above his head before falling backwards, his family raised
themselves on one knee just in time to place their hands on his back, easing
him down onto the ground.
                        "And you'll fall down a hole
                      That's the one place we both know
             You take me with you if you could, but I wouldn't go"

 Yao's family kept their hands on his torso as he twisted and writhed in a
suggestive fashion.

               "I guess that sometimes we both lose our minds
                             To find a better road"
 
Yao's family left Yao and slinked to the right of the stage, turning their
backs to him.
                              "I can be pensive
                              You can be so sure"

 Yao got onto his knees and began to rock his hips to the music as his youngest
sibling, Li Xiao, walked over. He stood behind Yao, grabbing the older male's
left arm and twisting it behind his back. A small flinch from Yao was the only
subtle sign that the movement had hurt.
 
                            "You'll be the poison
                              You'll be the cure"

 Im Young Soo walked over, twisting Yao's other arm just as Li Xiao had done.
Yao scowled slightly this time, just as his brothers bent his torso forward,
Yao's pony tail swinging around over his shoulder.
 
                          "I'm alone on the journey
                             I'm alive nonetheless"

 Mei came over this time, fisting her hand in Yao's hair and tugging his head
upwards so his face was level and looking at the awed crowd.
 
                       "And when you do your very worst"
 
Lein came over, grabbing Yao by the throat and helping the others tug the older
male to his feet.
 
                          "Mmmmm it feels the best"

 Yao bit his lip and lowered his eyelids as he rocked his hips forward, as if
he was begging to be fucked, making the crowd -both men and women -cat call.
 
                        "And you'll fall down a hole
                      That's the one place we both know
             You take me with you if you could, but I wouldn't go"

 Yao's siblings let him go, spinning away from him. They stood in the
background, wrapping their arms around each other's waists, swaying their hips
and rocking them into the air.
 
                  "I guess sometimes we both lose our minds
                             To find a better road"

 Yao's eyes glanced to the side before returning to the crowd, bending his
knees and spreading his legs, provocatively rolling his hips and body in the
direction of the crowd. The albino's eyes followed Yao's gaze, finding that
they had gone in the direction of the King of Hearts. He watched as Ivan's
hands clenched the arms of this throne, looking at the dancer with a face that
was light pink and dark, hungry eyes. Hungry eyes that were also sad and
desperate.  They're in love,  Gilbert realized, shocked,  they're in love but
they can't be together because...  His thought trailed off as he glared at
Natalya from the corner of his eyes.
 
                        "And you'll fall down a hole
             That's the one place in this world that we both know"
 
Yao stood up as the others got down on all fours, crawling towards him.
 
                     "You take me with you if you could
                     But if you could I'd lose everything"
 
The others gathered around Yao's legs, hands reaching up and running down his
sides, abdomen and legs, his body paint smearing.
 
      "Can't you see the faces melting as the sun rains from their eyes"
 
Yao's family turned around, backs against Yao's body and slowly dragged
themselves up, standing and backs pressed against Yao's body.
 
     "Who are you to keep your head with the hearts that you hang behind"
                                        
The others scurried, standing in a single file line behind Yao.
 
         "Look at yourself, look in the mirror, don't you see a lie?
                 That you tell yourself again a thousand times"
 
Yao spread his arms out at his sides, the others behind him doing the same and
rocking to the beat, which had gotten faster, louder, more violent.
 
             "And the truth that makes us laugh will make you cry"
                                        
He looked directly at Natalya as he sang, his family -who had lined up in order
of age -placed their hands on the shoulders of whoever was in front of them.
Lein, who was behind Yao, placed her hands on the older male's shoulders and
pushed him down onto his knees.
 
                             "You wanna die? No?"
                                        
Yao's family suddenly dropped, falling onto their sides on the ground. They
clutched their throats, rolling onto their stomachs and trying to crawl towards
the edge of the stage, movements that were made strangely sexual and
provocative, only to fall limp on the ground. Their arms were stretched out,
legs bent, as if they had died in a vain attempt to escape their fate. The
crowd gasped.
 
                          "So you fall down a hole
                    That's the one place where we both know"
 
Yao rose to his feet, hands clenched in front of his heart, his voice heart
breakingly sad.
 
            "You take me with you if you could, but I wouldn't go"
 
He looked back at his family, motioning to their still bodies with his arm and
squeezing his eyes shut, as if in pain.
 
                  "Because sometimes we both lose our minds"
 
Yao turned back to the crowd, hands clutched in front of his stomach, strands
of hair sticking to his forehead, neck and cheeks. It was due to sweat but it
looked like it was due to tears.
 
                            "To find a better road"

His voice faded out as he bowed his head, the crowd waiting until the music
finished. When it finally did, they erupted into manic applause and Yao raised
his head, smiling shyly. The other members of his family followed suit, raising
themselves off the ground -smiling -and lining up, grabbing each other's hands
and bowing to the crowd. Laughing, they wrapped themselves in their robes and
left the stage, leaving out a side door to go to their dressing room.

"Did you enjoy it, big brother?" Natalya asked, her voice slightly accusing.

"It was fantastically performed," he said, voice calm, not hinting at any
emotion what so ever, "If you don't mind, sister, I think it would only be
appropriate if I go offer my compliments to the Wangs."

"Go ahead," she scoffed slightly, put off as she rested her head on her hand,
looking out at the crowd, "Do whatever you wish."

"Thank you," Ivan said with a nod, he stood up and walked out of the side door.
The albino noticed the hunger and sadness that was glowing in the King's eyes,
pitying him. Gilbert knew those feelings well.

"He's sleeping with him," Natalya muttered and the White Rabbit looked up at
her, "but that's ok. He doesn't love that Oriental whore. He loves  me."

Gilbert gave her a doubtful look but didn't comment. After all, he still had a
gag in his mouth.

Matthew… I won't be long. I promise, liebling.

Chapter End Notes
     *The song that Yao and crew danced to was "The Poison" by All
     American Rejects
     Matthew/Canada as Alice
     Carlos/Cuba as Bill the Lizard
     Feliks/Poland as Pat (a random housekeeper in the book)
     Noah/Nyo Liechtenstein as Matthew's servant
     Gilbert/Prussia as The White Rabbit
     Katyusha/Ukraine as the White Queen/Matthew's mother
     Natalya/Belarus as The Red Queen/The Queen of Hearts
     Ivan/Russia as The Red King/The King of Hearts
     Yao/China as a courtier/dancer
     Lien/Vietnam as a courtier/dancer
     Li Xiao/Hong Kong as a courtier/dancer
     Mei/Taiwan as a courtier/dancer
     Im Young Soo/South Korea as a courtier/dancer
***** Advice from a Caterpillar *****
Chapter Summary
     Alice meets the Caterpillar. Oh, and there's some sexy times, too.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
My feet, now small and tiny but proportionate to my body, carried me across
through the grass and over the soil. I felt like a mouse, the kind that could
sometimes be seen scurrying across the floor of my kitchen back home -or was it
really home? Who knows? I was glad I didn't run into a any bugs, though, I
didn't know rather or not they'd kill me or talk to me or… whatever. Grass
slapped against my stocking covered legs and my bare arms, sometimes my face,
but I didn't stop until I pushed past the grass and tripped into a clear patch
of dirt. I whimpered pushing myself up on my hands and knees, looking around to
see a caterpillar smoking a hookah on a giant hot pink and yellow freckled
mushroom. "U-Um, excuse me?" I said, standing up and slowly making my way to
the caterpillar despite my scraped knees, "You wouldn't happen to know where I
am, would you?"

The Caterpillar, who I realized was actually a man with spiky blonde hair, a
scar running diagonally through his right eyebrow, a pair of copper colored,
round glasses and amber-green eyes with six legs and feet. He sat on a tomato
colored mushroom with magenta stripes, a hookah beside him, which he was
smoking from; he pressed the metal end to his lips, inhaling and closing his
eyes slightly at the deep inhale, before blowing it out in a long, thin,
curling stream of neon green smoke. "Who. Are. You?"

I frowned, "I'm sorry, I should've introduced myself, I'm Matthew" -I bowed,
though I couldn’t help but feel like the movement was awkward-"and who might
you be?"

"Who might I be...? That's an adorable question!" the Caterpillar said,
inhaling more opium spoke and letting it out in fat, orange, oval streams;
suddenly, he erupted into a fit of laughter, "Who might I be?! Who might you
be, darlin'?! Who gives a shit?”

"I-I do!" I squeaked, face read in embarrassment, why was he laughing at me?

"No… No you don't..." the Caterpillar said suddenly serious, he stared straight
into my eyes, looking down into my soul -my true self -and judging it, "No you
don't… no you don't… No you don't! NO YOU DON'T , NO YOU DON'T! NO! YOU!
DON'T!"

"O-Oui! I do!" I insisted, my lip quivering as I flinched away from his screams
and his yells, "I care! I swear by the god in this land, I swear it!"

“No, you don’t!”

"I swear it on my life!”

"You don’t even know who you are!" he spat, turning away from me in disgust as
he angrily inhaled more of the opium smoke, "...you don't even care enough to
introduce yourself using your proper name..."

"I… I'm Matthew," I whimpered, curling into myself and staring at my dirt
covered shoes, "Just Matthew-."

"Not just Matthew, you nitwit," the Caterpillar snarled, blowing out his smoke,
which was an angry red, "Just Matthew! -do you even know who Matthew is?!"

"Yes, I'm him!" I insisted, pressing a hand to my chest, feeling my heart beat
erratically, "I'm-."

"You're not Matthew," the drug smoking male snapped, "Matthew is regal, Matthew
is the violent, the merciful, the powerful, the kind, the fair, the beautiful,
the heir. You are not him! You are insignificant, you are impotent, merciless,
weak, cold, inequitable, hideous, nothing. You are the heir to nothing! You
don't even deserve the dirty rabbit you've fuc-!"

"Shut up, now, Caterpillar!" I shouted, hands curling into fists as I marched
towards his mushroom, "Don't you dare speak down to me!"

"What are you going to-?!" He cut himself off as I hauled myself up onto the
top of the mushroom, glaring down at him. I grabbed the front of his jacket,
pulled him off his ass and snarling in his face.

"Just because I'm kind and fair, doesn't mean I will hesitate when I order your
imprisonment for treason," I hissed threateningly, my knuckles white and my
hand quivering. Here it was. The dark, vile side I tried to keep contained but
seemed to come out in bursts despite how hard I tried. "I don't care what you
think of me, but as soon as you bring my Gilbert into this, it becomes my
business. Do we understand each other, Abel? I am your Prince, you are nothing
but my tutor and an opium addicted Caterpillar!"
I didn't know where any of these words were coming from, they were spilling
forth unchecked and unbidden; it was not a false command, I felt the rightness
of it, but I couldn't pin point the truth in it. Couldn't pinpoint where the
truth laid in the statement. Why was this truth? Why did I have the right to
command this of him?

He just blinked at me, openly shocked and -maybe -a little amazed before a wide
grin broke across his face. "Ha, you're remembering who Matthew is!" Abel
cackled, throwing his head back as he broke out in manic laughter, "When you
wake up, just remember: one side makes you shorter, one side makes you taller."


"What-?" I yelped as he wrapped an arm around my waist, tipping me backwards so
my torso was hanging over the edge of the mushroom; leaning close, he blew hot
pink opium smoke in my face. I coughed, scrunching my nose up at the smell, as
my limbs went heavy and the world buzzed and went hazy.

"Goodnight, my Prince..." Abel said as he tucked me against his chest -how did
I know his name? All I knew was he was a Caterpillar… wait… how did I even know
that much? -and kissed my forehead sweetly; I was unable to stop his movements,
"please, remember. Please remember and come back to us… save us."

My head fell against his chest as the lights went out.
===============================================================================
 
Flashback 
 
     Flowers of orange, white, yellow and pastels swayed softly in the
     breeze as butterflies -some looking like pieces of bread flying about
     with butter spread on them, some with wings that glittered and pulsed
     -fluttered and hovered over the intoxicating smell of flora. The
     royal garden was massive and beautiful; currently, I was sitting in a
     white framed gazebo -designed so the top of the gazebo was just the
     wooden skeleton of a roof while white and purple speckled flowers
     climbed up the sides, acting as a curtain around the sides and
     providing shade like a roof -near the large sized pond filled with
     vegetation -like moss, algae, lily pads and cat tails -fish, ducks,
     swans and Canadian geese. I remembered how the White Rabbit and I had
     come almost to this exact same spot last week, knowing it was
     secluded by the sweeping and weeping willow trees, and shared
     scandalous kisses while laying on the grass. It wasn't the first
     time. No, far from it. Ever since he had asked me to give him a tour
     of my home almost two months ago, there had been something that
     bloomed between us. He had come once a week since that first tour
     where we walked so close our sides brushed. How we actually,
     officially, secretly, became a pair was actually rather interesting;
     you see-.

     "Matthew!"

     "Y-Yes?" I squeaked, startled out of thoughts of how good Gilbert
     tasted, how good his hands felt on my hips and my back when he
     embraced me.

     "Are you even paying attention to the lesson?" Abel sighed, knowing
     the answer to that question. Abel was one of the many tutors I had,
     being a prince I couldn't exactly go to school with all the other
     kids my age, and taught me maths and sciences,  had taught me since I
     was five and old enough to be taught. Tutors came and went, but he
     was one of the few that stayed no matter what opportunities were
     thrown his way. He was loyal, kind and strict.

     "Of course I am!"

     "Really?" he asked, voice dripping in skepticism as he raised his
     eyebrow, "Then answer me this-.” He rattled off a bunch of words that
     I had no idea what they meant, a serious look on his face and muscles
     in his face twitching from anger and irritation.

     "... I wouldn't have been able to answer that even if I had been
     paying attention!" I snapped, face red in frustration and
     embarrassment. I literally had no idea what he was asking me, all I
     heard was a bunch of sounds that were supposed to be words that
     actually mattered to me.

     "Ah~ but you do admit that you weren't paying attention," Abel said
     smugly, closing the textbook in his left hand with a thump.

     "...Goddamn it..."

     "Such language is not proper for a prince," the Caterpillar scolded
     lightly, placing the text book on the small, circular, pale blue
     ceramic table, right beside the sweating glasses of iced tea and the
     tray of maple cookies and leaf crisps. "Matthew, child, what is on
     your mind?" he asked, removing his glasses and setting them on top of
     the over sized book, "You are usually so diligent during lessons,
     even if you hold little interest for them."

     I blushed, pulling my knees to my chest and resting my chin on the
     top of them. I thought of Gilbert and his messy hair, his tall rabbit
     ears and how he had the air of a scoundrel, a barbarian, although a
     refined one. How Gilbert's gazed burned through me and made me feel a
     chill in the most pleasurable of places; how his hands were firm yet
     left me no pain, touching me like an idol of some god. How my body
     and insides felt alive, how his embrace and touch made my knees
     weaken, how his lips and whispers drew out the animal inside of me,
     the animal that was me , making me desire conquest. I wanted to take
     and be taken, never returning nor giving back; I wanted a collar
     around my neck and a chain around his. With him I was purely animal,
     although he called me “Matthew” it was only in public; with him -
     alone -I was his Birdie, his Minx, his Angel, his Vixen, his Beast,
     his Pet, his Master. His Lover. We hadn't had sex yet but I wanted
     it. Soon. Of course I couldn't tell my tutor this, so instead I
     settled with, "It was just something stupid."

     "Nothing is ever stupid," Abel said, sitting beside me on the wooden
     bench built into the gazebo, "I consider you family, my lord prince.
     Like a nephew. You can talk to me about anything. I would never judge
     you."

     What was the harm? I had wanted to talk to someone about this so
     much, my insides were practically quivering with anticipation. "I… I
     was thinking about… about a b-boy..."

     "A boy?" the Caterpillar chuckled, "That is perfectly normal! Who is
     the lucky young noble?"

     "He's...He's not a noble..." I gulped, looking away from his face,
     turning to look at the pond water that glittered in the sunlight and
     the lovely knee high flowers framing it.

     "...O-Oh?"

     "...Oui..."

     Abel coughed into his fist awkwardly. The reason why Gilbert and I
     hadn't gone public was for a lot of reasons. The biggest was that I,
     as a royal, was not allowed to marry or act on feelings with someone
     that didn't hold a title. Gilbert and I were not allowed to love each
     other, hold each other, kiss each other; in the past, if the
     forbidden pair was caught then the commoner could be arrested for
     treason, thrown in jail or executed and the royal would be publically
     disowned from their family and given a lower title. Gilbert could die
     as I would be publicly shamed and demoted to a Duke. It was hardly
     fair but I, at least, was comforted by the fact that my parents had a
     "no kill" policy. Then again, that could change. This was a law with
     some flexibility for other nobles like Lords, Ladies, Dukes and
     Duchesses; but, for a Prince or any other member of the royal family,
     there were no loopholes. Royalty was not allowed to ever be caught in
     a compromising position with other nobility or commoners because it
     was necessary that they were viewed as virgin-pure before marriage.
     They weren't allowed to marry or bed commoners either. I had to keep
     the perception of purity and honesty and goodness, but I loved
     Gilbert with a passion that trumped the opinions of my people, if I
     were honest about it. "A-And what is his occupation exactly?" my
     tutor asked hesitantly, almost not wanting to know the answer.

     Well, here I was. About to give my tutor a heart attack. "He's… He's
     a servant." This was even more taboo. Sure, there were servants
     specifically for sex but it had been some time since the royal
     family, at least ours, had any (vaguely, I did remember an Oriental
     man from my childhood, someone who was kind and warm, that I heard
     servants call my father's consort, but he had disappeared by the time
     I was six years old. Occassionally, I heard whispers of him being at
     my aunt's palace, not as a consort or anything related to sex but as
     a dancer and entertainer). Having sex with a servant not meant for
     the deed, falling in love with one, was absolutely scandalous and
     could ruin a family's reputation.

     "What?!" Abel hissed, jerking to his feet and beginning to pace,
     "Matthew, I know you know what could hap-!"

     "I do… I know..." I whimpered, hanging my head. These thoughts had
     been swirling around in my mind since we kissed for the first time
     and I was so lost. "I haven't… acted upon these thoughts" -lies, just
     last week I had let him press me into the grass a few feet away from
     the very gazebo my tutor and I were currently sitting in, and leave
     dazzling hickeys on my fleshy neck -"but I love him… and-and I think
     he loves me too-."

     "No, Matthew!" Abel nearly shouted, making me jump, tears in my eyes,
     "You know the consequences. You have to end this! If not for your
     sake then his! He will die; your parents wouldn't even have to call
     for an execution. He will either rot in jail or the people will use
     their own hands to seek justice against the predator who defiled and
     corrupted their innocent, young, pure little lamb of a prince."

     "But-!"

     "Do you want to see the boy you're infatuated with die?"

     "N… Non..." I whimpered, curling in on myself, "I'll… I'll do it…
     I'll end it..."

     In the end I couldn't do it. He had shown up the next day, when I
     didn't have lessons, and we walked to a secluded part of the garden,
     hidden by mushrooms at least seven feet tall. I swore I would do it,
     I didn't want any harm to come to Gilbert, I loved him too much to
     see that happen, but… after we were hidden from prying eyes, he had
     wrapped his arms around my waist -it felt like his arms belonged
     there -and pressed kisses and little nips down the side of my neck.
     "G-G-Gil… I… we… talk...?"

     "Later," he moaned, hand gripping my ass and pushing our bodies
     closer, making me moan and rotate my hips; his lips traveled down to
     my collar bone, sucking purpling bruises on my pure skin. He was the
     only one that could make me so willing to be defiled, so hungry for
     it. Gilbert was the only one who ever challenged the thinking
     engrained into my being since birth, he challenged and let me
     correct; with him by my side, I became me , not the prince everyone
     thought I was. "I missed you, mein schatz."

     And just like that, all desire to end my relationship with the
     albino, to end this beautiful thing that had become us , simply
     vanished. I only wanted Gilbert, I wanted him to touch me, love me,
     kiss me, hold me. This man was my addiction, one that I loved and
     needed. Yes, he was my everything and he made me everything. "I
     missed you too," I mewled as pleasure began to crawl towards my
     abdomen, feeling his fingers slide down the front of my shirt,
     trailing the buttons -I had begun to dress more casually around him,
     this time I was wearing a simple white button down with a dove
     embroidered in silver on the left breast side pocket, light grey
     leggings, my hair in a loose ponytail with a silver ribbon and black
     slip ons. "Let me show you how much I missed you," I insisted,
     pushing him and guiding him backwards, until his back hit the stem of
     a tall mushroom.

     "Vögelchen-?"

     "Shhh, Gilbert, let me make you feel good," I whispered, kissing
     across his jaw to his throat, where I began to suck and sink my teeth
     into his pale skin, leaving my own love bites on him. I felt the moan
     in his throat against my lips and smirked. My hands traveled down the
     front of his brown tail coat that had a red rose, flower print and
     his brown button down shirt, going to the front of his khaki colored
     trousers.

     He stopped my hands, "M-Mattie… you don't ha-have to do this..."

     "I know," I giggled, pressing the palms of my hands against Gilbert's
     growing bulge and rubbing, "I want to..." His head tilted back,
     hitting the stem of the mushroom as he groaned, his rabbit eyes
     flickering. "It must be torture for you..." I teased, smirking as I
     gripped his cock through the confines of his trousers, making him
     gasp, "I heard that, someone who has Leporidae genes in their body,
     has a high sex drive." His hips bucked into my hand as I tugged and
     twisted my wrist. "Has it been painful, Gil?" I asked, surprising
     myself at how merciless I was, as I stopped jerking him off -causing
     him to groan in displeasure -and trailed my fingers to the button of
     his trousers, "Not being able to touch me? When we're lying on the
     grass, your body on top of mine and our lips touching, but not being
     ravish me with naught but your tongue? Don't you wish you could just
     tear off my clothes, like the animal you are, mark my skin and make
     it pretty with love bites? Don't you wish for me to scream your name
     as I come? To paint our bodies as if they were pieces of canvases?"

     "Ja," he said huskily, "Ja, so painful, Birdie..."

     I unlatched the button and, ever so slowly, pulled down the zipper.
     "Do you want me to help you, then? Do you want me to stop the pain?"

     His breath was uneven, now, his face dusted light pink and screwed up
     in sexual frustration and slipping self control. "M-Matthew..." His
     words faded as I pulled down his trousers and sank to my knees. "You
     don't… you don't have-."

     "I know," I murmured once again as his underwear slid down, revealing
     his erection that, to be honest, left me a little intimidated, "But
     I..." -I inched forward, holding his hips and keeping them from
     thrusting too much -"I want to..."

     A feral groan slipped passed his lips, Gilbert's hands clenching my
     hair in fist fulls as I licked up his erection. It had an
     indescribable taste but I continued licking and sucking on the sides
     until I made my way to the head, where I slowly sucked it passed my
     lips. "Gott," I heard Gilbert groan and smiled, my tongue tickling
     beneath the slit as I eased it further into my mouth, "Birdie -your
     mouth!" I hummed in response, making him cry out, he jerked his hips,
     trying to buck further into my mouth but was held back by my hands;
     he growled in irritation, hands squeezing the sides of my head as he
     shoved my mouth down further onto his erection. My gasp was muffled
     as I accommodated my throat to his girth, surprised at how much I
     liked the feeling of his hot length sitting in my throat; I worked my
     lips around him, saliva dripping down my chin, as I pulled back, my
     teeth scraping lightly over the skin, my tongue dipping into the slit
     before I eased it back into my mouth. "B-Birdie… Matt...ie… I'm… I'm
     gonna-." I ignored his warnings, swallowing around him and fondling
     his balls, humming until he came with a feral snarl, bending over my
     head and coming deep in my mouth. It was salty, tangy and weird but I
     gladly swallowed it, wiping the excess away on my hand then cleaning
     my hand off on the grass -figuring it was better for my parents and
     teachers to see dirt on my hand then cum.

     "Are you alright, darling?" I asked, ignoring the pain in my trousers
     to stand up and worriedly fret over Gilbert's appearance. He was red
     in the face, saliva hanging off his lips, eyes closed and his
     breathing wheezy and heavy.

     His white rabbit ears twitched, his eyes slowly opening to give me a
     calm, measured look. "More than alright. You are an angel." I
     giggled, my face blushing, but my laughter quickly died when I felt a
     hand on my groin, gripping my member and giving it a harsh tug; I
     gasped, my knees quivering and turning to jelly. "Now, mein liebe, it
     is your turn."
===============================================================================
 
I opened my eyes slowly, meeting the blue-green eyes of the Caterpillar.
"You're..."

"Yes."

"And you saw-."

"Yes. I did. I knew all along that you had never broken your attachment to the
man. It's all my fault that you're -the kingdom -is in this situation."

"Non, Abel, please don't say that..." I said, quickly sitting up to cup his
cheek, he leaned into my hand, his eyes immediately focusing on my face and
listening intently to my words. "This is all the Red Queen's fault."

"You have regained your memories, my prince?" he asked in such a hopeful tone
that it made me feel sick to my stomach.

I let my reassuring smile drop to an expression of despair and anxiety, "N-No…
I only remember some things about Gilbert… how we met, random moments of
togetherness… enough to know that we had a… a romantic relationship and that I
was prince, son of the White King and Queen. That the Red Queen, my aunt, did
something… she did something to me. Something bad. That's… That's all."

"You remember that the Red Queen did this? She's after you, she will kill you!"
Abel said, panicked; he gripped my shoulders, pulling me to his chest and
wrapping his arms around my torso protectively, gently rocking me as a mother
would her child, "Please, you must go to the Duchess, you can't let that evil
woman get you!" The ground started shaking, like an earthquake, and I clutched
tight to the back of his shirt, searching for comfort in a man that was all too
familiar to me now; I knew him and loved him like an uncle despite the
disagreements and debates that had been so prevalent in our relationship
before… before the Red Queen did whatever she did to me. "That's them! You have
to run!" the Caterpillar insisting, ripping off a chunk of the mushroom we were
sitting on, "Run far, far away from here and don't turn back! When you're far
enough away, eat a little of this and you'll return to your normal size. Now,
go!"

He pushed me off the mushroom and I landed on my legs awkwardly, stumbling into
a run. I pushed my way through the tall, uneven blades of grass, tears wetting
my cheeks as I heard the sound of footsteps, cloth tearing and the sound of
swords clanking together. They would get him, I know they would, but I couldn't
stop. I knew that. Maybe it was due to the new discovery that I was royalty;
that I pushed my way through the grass, falling more than once, and only
stopping when my limbs had gone numb and I couldn't breathe, falling onto my
side in exhaustion.

Once I had regained my strength, after an endless amount of running and after
an endless amount of time just lying amount dirt and tree roots that seemed
giant, I brought the mushroom chunk to my mouth and bit off a corner. I
swallowed it, scrunching my nose up in distaste at the bitter, overwhelming
flavor; gritting my teeth in anticipation for the pain, I closed my eyes, felt
my bones shift and my clothes tighten. My eyelids fluttered open and I saw that
the grass was shorter and I was bigger; I dusted the dirt from my short dress -
fuck, I forgot I was wearing this thing! -and looked around. Six foot-three
inch flowers and snarled trees hid me from the view of the Red Soldiers and, in
front of me was an strangely wide, oval clearing with a mansion in the middle.
The house was large and square, made of grey brick, a black slate roof, white
windows, a bright, blue door and flower boxes in the windows filled with
brightly spotted, and striped, flowers. Hearing rustling behind me, and fearing
the worst, I ran toward the house as fast as I could, hoping they would know me
and would be an ally.
Chapter End Notes
     Matthew/Canada as Alice
     Gilbert/Prussia as The White Rabbit
     Abel/Netherlands as The Caterpillar
***** A Brief Trip Into the Mind of a Delusional Queen and Her Dysfunctional
Castle *****
Chapter Summary
     Get a little taste of what its like in the castle for the Queen of
     Hearts.
     Bad things happen.
     Oh, you also find out that the father of Katyusha, Ivan and Natalya
     was kind of a mad king/dick.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The Queen of Hearts sat on her throne, her left leg crossed over the right as
her left foot jiggled in the air as she awaited the arrival of her… guest.

"Your grace, the prisoner is here," announced her frog servant, Toris.

"Excellent, bring him in!" she ordered with a toothy grin and a clap of her
hands. The Queen turned to the rest of her court, Ivan, Yao, Yao's family, her
favorite servant, the Knave of Hearts and, of course, her White Rabbit.
"Attention! Everyone, we have a special, special guest today~! Oh! Knave, you
may want to stand right here beside me for this one."

With a confused smile, the Knave stood from his seated position across from
Gilbert, taking his place beside his Queen. "Si? Your grace?"

Natalya simply smiled, watching excitedly as members of her Imperial Guard
brought in the prisoner, who was digging in his heels, spitting curses and
swears all the while, as he was dragged in chains. Lots of them. Chains cuffing
his wrists together in front of him, a chain around his neck -like a dog -and
chains around his ankles. He had olive skin, hazel eyes, his clothes torn and
brunette hair with a curl in it. "Don't fucking touch me, you  fucking
bastards-!"

"Lovino Vargas. Tweedle Dee. What a pleasure," Natalya said with a sadistic
smile, her eyes traveling to her Knave; he was no longer smiling, instead his
face was tight and pale, his hands clenched in an attempt to hide their
shaking, which he failed at, "Knave, don't you want to say 'hello' to your
lover?"

Lovino instantly quieted, his face taking on the same tight, pale qualities
that Antonio had. "I-."

"Tweedle Dee, I hear you have been helping the Alice," Natalya cut in, getting
to the point, "Is this true?"

"...yes..."

"An honest one," she laughed, genuinely amused, especially as she saw the Knave
flinch, "Lovino, you are going to tell me where the Alice is."

The brunette's fearful gaze suddenly changed, becoming one of defiance. Hatred.
"Over your fucking dead body!" he shouted, once again struggling against his
chains, "You're fucking stupid if you think I'm gonna tell you shit, you
fucking bitch!"

This little brat,  Natalya thought, frowning in her anger,  it's about time I
stop being so nice.  "So you're claiming treason then?"

"How can I betray a false queen? You are nothing but a jealous  bitch  who
tried to kill a young boy!" he spat back, growling at her like a feral dog,
"You are nothing! No one here is loyal to you, we've never have been! Not when
you took our real queen from us and not now that the true heir is-!" Lovino's
rant was cut off by a wave of the Queen's hand and a guard punching him in the
stomach. He gasped, the air knocked out of him as he nearly collapsed onto his
knees in pain; he would've, too, if it weren't for the guards holding him up.

"Lovi!"

"Remember your place, you disgusting peasant," she snarled as her Knave tried
to step forward, only to be stopped by Natalya extending her arm to block his
path, "How dare you insult me in my own home!"

"...I-I refuse to bow down to you..." Lovino rasped, straightening up shakily
and swallowing thickly, "You can beat me all you want… you will not weaken me…
I will not betray the true King and Queen!"

"Oh, beatings won't work?" she questioned spitefully, a sickening sweet smile
on her face, "How about rape, then? My guards can be ruthless, you know." With
a wave of her hand, the guards around Lovino smirked evilly, one guard kicking
out his legs to force the young man to fall to his knees harshly, another
yanking on the chains belonging to his hands and forcing Lovino to fall onto
his face, and the third guard yanking at the neck chain, making it difficult
for Lovino to breathe and forcing him to tilt his head upward.

"Mi tomate!" she heard her Knave cry, outraged, and she watched as if she was a
spectator in a sporting arena as her Knave charged forward, drawing the sword
from the scabbard at his waist and plunging it into the face of the guard with
a grip on Lovino's neck chain. The two guards that were holding Lovino let the
young man go, moving to charge at the tanned man, but he wasn't Natalya's Knave
for nothing; he blocked their advances, punching one in the face and stabbing
the other in the neck, spinning around to wedge his sword between the other's
armor plates and shove his blade into the guard's rib cage and into the other's
lung. The three guards laid dead in Natalya's throne room and she laughed
hysterically, her Knave rushing to his lover, scooping him up in his arms and
holding him close, making sure the guards hadn't done too much damage.

"Perhaps having you watch as I behead your brother will be more effective?"
Natalya purred, receiving a glare from Antonio and a panicked look from his
lover as the Knave pulled him closer.

"Sister, please call down." The Queen looked over to her brother, who was no
longer sitting across from Yao and talking, but instead looking at her crossly.
"You have crossed the line. This is too much."

"And what do you suppose we do?" she snapped, glaring at him as her hands
clenched on the arms of her throne, "The Alice is a threat to our kingdom -to
me! Do you want him to kill me?!"

"Sister, you are exaggerating. Calm yourself," the older sibling said coldly,
holding his hands behind his back as he stepped forward, closer to Antonio and
Lovino, the latter shrinking back in fear, "As for you two… Knave, take your
lover away from here. You are relieved for the day." With that, he bent down
and retrieved a ring of keys from one of the corpses of the soldiers before he
tossed the keys to Lovino's chains at the Knave -who easily caught them with a
thankful expression on his face.

"Thank you… your grace," he said, quickly bowing to Ivan before undoing
Lovino's restraints, picking the smaller man up bridal style and striding from
the room.

"Ivan-!"

"Do you not trust my judgment, Natalya? I know what I am doing, have a little
faith," Ivan said bitterly with a harsh glare in his sister's direction. The
Queen shrunk under his glare, guilt crashing into her.

Who was she to doubt her beloved King? "I… I'm sorry-."

"Please do not humiliate prisoners without asking my opinion," he said simply,
sitting back down in his spot across from Yao, "I am a ruler of this kingdom,
too."

She gulped and nodded, sitting back in her throne and looking around her throne
room with a red face. Conversation began to pick back up, filling the silence
with noise once again.

"Your grace?" Lili said hurrying to her queen, ever the loyal lapdog to her
employer, "Your grace, shall I tell the guards to halt their departure?"

"...No… no..." she murmured, rubbing a hand down her face with a heavy sigh,
"The King has ordered them to be free, so it shall be done. Just..." -the Queen
sighed -"I need to drink. Something strong."

"Right away, your grace," the young servant girl said with a curtsy, about to
scramble off to fetch some strong alcohol from the kitchen, but was called back
by her Queen. "Y-Yes?"

"Lili, you are a sweet, darling, girl," Natalia said, caressing the blonde's
cheek, which suddenly blossomed with color, with her knuckles, "You are so, so
good to me..."

"Th-Thank you, your grace," she stammered, blushing and inclining her head, "I…
I'll go and get you your drink now..."

"Good girl," Natalya said warmly, patting her servant's head. She watched the
girl scurry off through the servant's door, but soon turned her attention to
her brother. Her darling brother, who had always stuck by her and loved her…
the same brother who was now listening intently to Yao, who was talking to him
enthusiastically, his cigarette holder between his lips as he talked around it,
Ivan nodding and laughing every once in awhile. Then there was her White
Rabbit, the one who was supposed to obey her every command, every whim, fight
for her to the death… the same one who was staring longingly out the window,
his scabbed back facing the rest of the room.   Why do the people most
important to me always leave me?

"Sister."

She looked up at her brother and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I would like to inform you that I must take my leave. I must handle important
business down at the Duchess' manor; I already had a servant warn him of my
arrival."

With a frown, Natalya sighed, hardly believing a word of it, but she still
waved a dismissive hand, "Fine, be on your leave then." Ivan bowed, smiling up
at her and snatching her hand. He kissed her ring, like he was supposed to do,
but, nevertheless, Natalya's heart still fluttered. She watched him turn and
leave, passing by Yao who was now talking to another member of the court, his
sister's wife -Lien. The King pressed a hand to Yao's shoulder, and she watched
with growing jealousy as Yao leaned into his touch before the King walked away
and out of the giant double doors of the throne room. Again, she seethed, but,
alas, she knew how everyone in court lusted for her brother. She saw their
eyes. Watching him as he passed by, lingering. How dare they deem it proper to
feast their eyes on her king?! To let their eyes drink in their fill-she knew
of their rabid appetites!

"Your grace?"

 She turned to her favorite servant, smiling once she saw the chute of a
bubbling, dark red liquid. "Thank you, darling puppy," the Queen said, turning
to Lili. Natalya remembered that Lili's relative was the Duck, a supporter of
the White Queen but avid pacifist and neutralist; quickly, she cast it from her
mind. Lili was her favorite, her favorite servant, and her most loyal. The
Queen wouldn't touch her family.
===============================================================================
 
Natalya let herself into her brother's chambers. It was empty but a servant had
started a fire in the fireplace, the red and gold tapestries fluttering against
the cool, white marble wall of the castle. The fireplace was to the right, two
red, high back chairs in front of the fireplace and a small, round table
between the two chairs, in the middle of the room was a large four post bed
with sheer, black curtains surrounding the bed, the bed was covered in thick
gold blankets and white silk sheets; at the end of the bed was a large, heavy,
old chest with a fading design of hearts and chess pieces, next to the doors to
the bedroom was a shelf and cabinet full of liquour and glasses, and to the
left were two doors. One door led to the King's private bathroom and the other
led to a smaller room that held the King's medals, clothes and various jewels
and gems. Natalya closed the door to the King's chambers, running her
fingertips along the heavy, wood frames of the furniture and the fragile
surfaces of various knickknacks and trophies, even the snout of a Bandersnatch
that the King killed then had its head stuffed and mounted to the wall.

Tonight would be the night she would surprise him. Surprise the King, her Ivan,
and they'd finally become one. She had seen the looks Ivan had been giving her
and knew, deep in her soul, that tonight would be when she would finally get
what she wanted, Ivan's love, adoration and cock. She wore a sheer, white
nightgown under a white, lace robe that trailed behind her bare feet, her hair
rested against her back and she wore no make up or jewels. Natalya wanted this
night to be natural and perfect.

She hid in the room that contained her brother's clothes, awaiting his return.
The servants said that he had just come back and was eating a late dinner;
knowing her brother, he'd return to his room and drink before undressing for
bed. All she had to do was wait.

Half an hour later, or what felt like half an hour later, the door to Ivan's
chamber opened and Natalya peeked through the slats in the door. In walked
Ivan, wearing a black military suit, white kidskin gloves, a red cape with a
gold lining hanging off his right shoulder and polished black shoes. Following
closely behind was Yao, who had changed into a different outfit; he wore a
lighter robe that clung tightly to his skin, it was a bright shade of blood
red, much different from his usual dark crimson, with the black silhouettes of
birds and gold flecks as their eyes. The robe was shorter, it didn't trail
behind Yao as his other robes did, and ended just below his knees, it was
looser at the top with long, bell sleeves that went pasted his fingertips.
Yao's hair was in the same braid that it always was but he lacked shoes.

It irritated Natalia that Yao's legs were so smooth.

"You look tired, perhaps you should hold off on the drink, for now, aru?" he
suggested in that same annoyingly soft and light voice of his.

"They say drink helps sooth a tired soul," Ivan retorted, pouring clear liquid
into a wide glass only five inches tall, he looked over his shoulder at Yao,
"You will drink."

"Not much."

"You will drink, though?"

"Yes."

Ivan poured two glasses but left them on the little table connected to the
liquor cabinet. Turning, he walked over towards his bed, "Undress me."

The Oriental man smiled, giving a quiet little sigh, as he approached the king
and stripped him of his clothes. His slim hands peeled off Ivan's clothes,
layer by layer, and carefully folded them, until Ivan was left standing in his
white cotton breeches (underwear) and his white socks. "My King," Yao said,
running his hands over the scars that littered the taller man's torso, "if only
I had time to map your body..."

Natalya hated Yao. Hated that slutty dancer with a burning, intense passion.
She was the one that should be undressing the King, she should be the one
touching his scars, mapping them, making Ivan sigh with delight!

"We have all the time in the world. I will make it so."

Ivan took the two glasses, handing one to Yao, as they both sat in the chairs
in front of the fireplace. "...How did it go with the Duchess?"

"It well as you'd expect," Ivan sighed, "The Duchess wouldn't discuss peace,
wouldn't hear a word of it as long as our conditions haven't changed, and his
Cook nearly cracked my ribs trying to get me out of the manor."

"They have always been difficult; they and the people they command."

They sat in silence for a no less than ten minutes before Ivan commanded, in a
quiet voice, "Come here."

Yao unfolded himself gracefully from the chair, setting his empty glass down
before standing in front of his king. He slipped a leg between Ivan's knees,
pushing his knee up between Ivan's thighs, a small smirk gracing his feline
like face, "I am yours to command, your grace."

Natalya's breathing faltered, nearly stopping completely when she watched as
Ivan slid his ungloved hands up Yao's legs -why were his legs so long? And
smooth?! -to rest at Yao's hips. The peasant -he was wealthy but his lack of
noble blood made him no better than a peasant -had his eyes half lidded and he
exhaled deeply in satisfaction, resting his hands on Ivan's shoulders. The King
drew him closer, until Yao was practically in his lap, and let his hands travel
beneath the folds of Yao's robe to message creamy inner thighs. "Strip. For.
Me," Ivan breathed against the column of Yao's throat, letting his tongue lick
a stripe up the pale flesh, Yao whimpered, and Ivan’s lips lingered.

Yao stood, removing his robe with shaking, excited hands and letting it drop
and pool around his feet.

Ivan stared in awe, running his hands up Yao's sides, caressing his bare
thighs, hips, waist, stomach and ass. His fingertips traced the tattoo around
his navel, it was usually covered by makeup or paint when he danced, but this
time it was bare, letting Ivan see the black and silver markings of chess
pieces and geometric spirals around his navel and under it. The mark of the
White King's whore. Consort was the technical term but there was no difference.

"Why are you touching me like you never have before?" Yao whispered, his face
crimson, he tilted up Ivan's chin so that he was no longer looking at another
King's mark, but Yao couldn't meet Ivan's eyes.

Serves the whore right, Natalya thought, her heart hammering in her ears, how
dare he touch my Ivan with his impure hands!

"Every night I spend with you, it's like our first time," he said, his tongue
laving and rimming Yao's navel, mouthing the tattoo, "Only a lot less awkward."

Yao let out a breathy laugh that came across as a gasp. "You are such a
romantic..."

"It is one of my faults, my sunflower," Ivan said, pulling away from the
Oriental's now glistening stomach as he pressed his thumbs into the two
diagonal scars just above either side of Yao's hips.

Natalya's heart skipped a beat. His… His s-sunflower?Her vision wavered and she
ran her sleeve over her eyes.

"...My love… I know what my… I know what the late Red King did to you… I read
your file when I was looking for Gilbert's."

Natalya heard something fall apart within her chest.

Yao turned ashy, attempting to pull away from Ivan but the King's strength was
superior, "Your grace-."

"Enough of that," he quietly scolded, pulling Yao closer again to kiss the
scars on his hips, "My father experimented on you, Gilbert, Gilbert's brother.
He made the two of them rabbits and soldiers. You… You were different. Made to
cause ruin in the White Court. A Consort for the White King, traditionally male
to avoid accidental bastards and threats to the throne… My father changed that
didn't he? He wanted you to have a bastard so Matthew would never take the
throne."

"...He wanted a pawn… something to manipulate..." the older man added quietly,
looking down at the ground, his bangs hiding his face, "I couldn't do it… I
couldn't bring a child into a world like that… with a man like that controlling
its every action… I… I got rid of it whenever I found out… I don't even know if
I can have children anymore..."

Ivan reached up, gently wiping away Yao's tears as he sobbed quietly. "I don't
want to pull out of you anymore," the King admitted, pulling Yao down into his
lap, holding him, "I want to stay in you as we make love and never part from
you again. If… If children come of that, I don't mind..."

Natalya tried not to gasp, placing a hand over her mouth to hide her horror.
No...NO! This isn’t right! This wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go!

"Ivan?!" Yao exclaimed in disbelief and alarm, "W-What?! Aiyah, you don't know…
enough of your foolishness!"

"No, Yao, I love you," he said, pulling Yao into a steamy kiss, "I love you and
I want to have children with you."

Everything was silent as Natalya heard her heart break and thick droplets of
tears poured from her eyes. NO!

As an answer, Yao pulled his hair from it's braid, it flowed around his
shoulders, and drew Ivan into a kiss. He threaded his fingers through Ivan's
beige-blonde hair and gripped, hard, pushing his tongue into Ivan's mouth and
starting a kiss that had saliva dripping off the corners of their mouths and
down, off their chins.

Natalya sobbed quietly as she watched Yao moan and cry out the whore her father
intended him to be as he was finger fucked in the chair, scream as he was
pinned to the wall, fucked until he came, screaming, pinned to the floor and
ravished so hard from behind that he had rug burn on his elbows, lower arms and
knees. whimpering and moaning. She was even forced to watch as Ivan carried Yao
to his bed, gently laying the dark haired man on it, entwining their fingers,
and slowly made love to Yao until Ivan came, staying inside, and Yao had a dry
orgasm, spasming and gasping. Yao and Ivan laid together, panting on the bed.
"Soon, we will have children..." Ivan said, caressing Yao's lower stomach.

"You don't know that. What if I'm not able to anymore? Maybe I have rejected
them too many times. Maybe I am too old."

"Then that is fine. We'll adopt. I will still love you."

"...I know..."

"Do you?"

"...Yes."

Yao rested his cheek against Ivan's chest, Ivan curling around the smaller male
and pulling up the covers. They laid in bed, holding each other and falling
asleep in each other's arms, beneath a blanket colored gold. Once their
breathing slowed and there was no question to rather or not they were asleep,
Natalya emerged from her hiding place.

Slowly, she made her way to the foot of Ivan's bed and stared at the two
sleeping figures with tear stained cheeks. How could he...? I love
him...Natalya stared with wide, betrayed eyes, taking in her darling brother's
peaceful face and the way he held and cuddled with that no good whore! How dare
he...? I'm the Queen! A Queen is supposed to be with her King!She backed out of
the room, clutching her hands together and holding them between her breasts. He
chose this whore over me?! He's a poor whore! A slut! No better than a
prostitute! And you want to stick your dick in that, my darling brother?! What
has he done to you?! You want your children in THAT?! He is nothing but a
mutation, a weapon! HE IS NOTHING! Natalya tore open the door and ran down the
hallway -oblivious to Yao's open eyes and his self righteous, self satisfied
smirk as he watched her run -ignoring all the servants she passed by. She ran
to her room, throwing open the door and slamming it shut, her hair flying about
her and giving her a deranged look.

"Your?" Lili sat up from where she had been sitting on the loveseat in front of
the fireplace. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, smiling sheepishly, "I'm
terribly sorry, your grace! I was waiting for you and I fell asleep-."

"Take off your clothes."

"E-Excuse me? What do you mean-?"

"I said take off your clothes. Now."

"Your grace-?"

"You dare defy me?!" Natalya screamed, lunging at the servant girl. The royal
pinned Lili to the love seat, taking the young girl's wrists and holding them,
sliding a knee up between Lili's thighs and hitching up the skirt of her
uniform as she did. "I am your Queen! How… How dare you defy me! If I say
undress then you undress!" Natalya shoved herself off of Lili, grabbing the
girl's wrist and hauling her into a standing position, Natalya sat on the
loveseat and leaned back. Expectant. "Now… undress."

Lili's shoulders shook as she struggled not to cry. She untied her white apron,
dropping it to the ground, next, she loosened the ribbon holding the collar of
her dress closed, with shaking hands she released the clasps holding the white
cuffs on her wrists together, reaching back and unzipping her black uniform
dress. She shrugged it off before, hesitantly, pushing it down to pool at her
feet, leaving her to cower with her arms wrapped around her body, trying to
shield her most intimate parts.

"Come here, puppy."

She obeyed the Queen's words, crawling onto the woman's lap. She closed her
eyes, trying to block out what was being done to her.

Long live the Queen.
Chapter End Notes
     Natalya/Belarus as The Red Queen/The Queen of Hearts
     Ivan/Russia as The Red King/The King of Hearts
     Gilbert/Prussia as The White Rabbit
     Yao/China as a courtier/dancer
     Antonio/Spain as The Knave of Hearts
     Lovino/South Italy as Tweedle Dee
     Lili/Liechtenstein as Puppy (a random character in the novel's)
***** Pig and Pepper: Part One *****
Chapter Summary
     Alice looks for an ally in the Duchess and gets a suprise.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
I ran forward, toward the mansion, and saw two footmen standing just outside
the main door. One had longish, slightly messy brown hair and green eyes,
wearing a green jacket, green slacks of the same shade, a pale green shirt, a
dark green tie and dark green, polished shoes; the other had neat, blonde hair,
blue-green eyes behind a pair of spectacles, a pleasant face and was wearing a
blue jacket, blue slacks of the same shade, a pale blue shirt, a dark blue tie
and dark blue, polished shoes.

I walked quietly over to them until I could hear them.

"Eduard, I'm sorry, but this is for your duchess."

"A letter from the Queen?"

"A… An invitation to a War Council."

"...Oh… I see..." the man in blue -Eduard -took the red envelope from the man
in green's hands, "I will see that he gets it. Thank you, Toris."

"Don't thank me. I know this isn't something to be thankful for..." Toris -the
man in green -said with a sigh, "Meet me later tonight, we have to talk. Things
at the castle have become even more volatile."

Eduard nodded. "Yes, we will. But later. It seems we have company at the
moment."

Toris and I both tensed up. "D-D-D-Don't let me see!" Toris shrieked, beginning
to run away, without looking back at me, "G-Good bye, Eduard!"

"Good bye, Toris!" Eduard chuckled, waving at Toris' retreating figure, before
turning to me with a friendly smile. "...I know who you are, Matthew."

"D-Do you...?"

"Yes. You may not but I still remember," he said, bowing to me, "I am Eduard,
Fish Footman to the Duchess' mansion. It is an honor to be in your presence."

"I-I-I..."

"You need not speak. I assume you want to see the Duchess?"

I nodded, embarrassed, shy and lost for words.

"Then take this to him when you go in there," Eduard said, handing me the red
envelope, "He'll know it's not from you. Just ask him what you want and the
Duchess, or his cook, will handle the rest."

"I-I -Thank you, Eduard," I gushed, taking the envelope and allowing Eduard to
open the front door of the mansion.

I walked in and gaped at the magnificence that wasn't gaudy. Everything was
warm, cozy, but expensive. The walls of the hallway were painted light grey
with hand painted and hand carved woodwork and wood floors faded by the
sunlight. Picture frames hung on the wall but they were not expensive paintings
of landscapes or castles or royalty, like I was expecting, instead they were
paintings of people that looked far from royalty. These people had a well worn,
loving feeling to them. I walked down the hallway, passing a formal, fancy
parlor behind two glass doors to the left, then a little further down was a
room filled with instruments to the left, then further down was an open dining
room with a big, long, dark wood table and mint green walls. At the end of the
hallway were two rooms. One was out of sight, behind a closed door, and the
other was an open doorway that I walked into. The room smelled heavily of
spices -especially of pepper -and at the stove stood a man  with glasses and an
intimidating face wearing brown trousers, a long beige shirt that looked almost
like a dress and a white apron and, in a rocking chair was a young man wearing
a yellow, satin dress with a red flower print, a tight bodice, a full skirt
with a white petticoat, white lace that went from the elbow length sleeves, all
the way to his hands, and a large hat that matched the pattern of the dress. In
the young, dress clad man's arms was a small baby dressed in white that wiggled
and screamed, and at the man's feet, which were clad in red house slippers, was
a white, long haired cat with blue eyes and a disturbing grin.

"Berwald, darling, do you really have to add so much pepper?" the Duchess
questioned, holding a handkerchief to his nose, sneezing slightly.

"It adds flavor," he grumbled, accent thick, "If the Queen would give us good
food once and awhile-." Berwald cut himself off to throw a glass pepper shaker
against the wall, ignoring how it shattered and spilled all over the floor.

The Duchess looked like he was about to say something when his eyes caught
mine. "Oh, Ber, do behave, we have a guest," he said before turning his
attention to his baby, rocking him, "Please, Peter, be quiet-."

"-Mommy and Daddy have a guest, Peter," the cook said, turning off the stove
and wiping off his hands, "you need to be quiet now."

Baby Peter quieted, the Cook and the Duchess turning to look at me.

"Oh, Berwald, it's Matthew~!" the Duchess exclaimed, moving Peter to rest on
his shoulder, "He told us you may be coming here, isn't that right, Berwald?"

"Uh-huh."

"You must stay for dinner!" he said, standing up from his chair, gently rocking
his baby side to side, "Do you need a change of clothes? I think you do. Here,
Cheshire will show you to the guest room and spare clothes, won't you Cheshire?
Oh and just hand that envelope to Cheshire, too."

"Ruruna-o~" the cat purred, standing up and trotting towards me, he rubbed his
face against my legs before leading me down the hall. I followed him, although
my face scrunched up in confusion. The cat's hips shaw-shayed noticeably and he
kept looking back, making sure I was following him and, seemingly, winking at
me. The cat itself freaked me out but, still, I followed. I was learning
quickly that fighting this strangeness got me nowhere.

The cat guided me to a door, pushing it open with his paws. The bedroom was
decorated in a simple way that felt warm and homey in different shades of
browns and greens, there was a bed, an open door that revealed a bathroom, a
vanity, a tall armoire and a dresser. "Ruruna-o~" the cat meowed, rubbing up
against my rather dirty stockings, walking over to the dresser and propping
himself up against it with his front paws.

"Thank you, kitty," I said, kneeling down to scratch the cat's ears, to which
he welcomed with a happy little purr, "I have two cats at home, you know. One
of them is feral so he's outside unless he wants to sleep. His name is Kuma."

"Ruruna-o~?"

"The other one is a pretty little thing named Maple."

Cheshire licked the tips of my fingers with his rough tongue before I gave him
the envelope (which he bit down on) and walked away, rubbing up against the
exposed part of my leg and thigh as he did, and trotting out the door.

I smiled, having always had a soft spot for animals, before standing back up to
close and lock the door; I went to the bathroom after that, filling the deep
tub with hot water and calming soaps that smelled like vanilla, making the
water turn a pale blue color. Stripping my clothes, I tossed them on the floor
and sunk into the water, sighing as I did so. Unhurriedly, I cleaned the dirt
from my skin, scrubbing until my skin was clean and bright pink, picking a pink
soap from the basket full of options and lathering the strawberry scented soap
into my hair. I was done in no less than thirty minutes and the bathroom was
full of calming, sweet scented steam, colored purple from the shampoo and bath
soaps; I wrapped a soft, fluffy towel around my shoulders after drying my hair
before going back out into the bedroom. Opening the armoire, I shifted through
the clothing, trying to find something that I liked and would -hopefully -fit
me. Finally, I found something that pleased me and, miraculously, fit
precisely.

I put on a cream dress with a long, ruffly skirt, managing to get the bodice
tied up on my own, and a beige frock coat. I found a pair of black boots which
I quickly laced up before leaving out the door. Steadily, I was getting more
accustomed to wearing such feminine clothing; the freedom it gave to my
movements was liberating and they were unconfining. As soon as I opened the
door, I almost tripped, Cheshire waiting for me patiently.

"Oh, hello, Chesh," I said, kneeling down to scratch him behind the ears, "is
dinner ready then?"

"Ruruna-o~!"

"Led the way."

I followed the cat throughout the house, the layout of which I still didn't
know, until I came into the dining room. Again, it was simply furnished, but
the table was large and laden with dishes of strange delicacies, others, not
only the Duchess, sitting around the table.

"Oh, Matthew! Right on time!" the Duchess said, bouncing his baby from where he
sat, "Come in, take a seat! I don't suppose you remember Lukas, Matthias and
Emil? I know you don't, but that's alright, take a seat!"

I obeyed, looking at the two empty seats still at the table, "Who else is
coming?"

"Oh, one is for my Berwald and the other is for-."

 "Hallo, mein angel."
Chapter End Notes
     Matthew/Canada as Alice
     Eduard/Estonia as The Fish Footman
     Toris/Lithuania as The Frog Footman
     Berwald/Sweden as The Cook
     Tino/Finland as The Duchess
     Peter/Sealand as a baby
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