The Clockwork Heart

Chapter Twenty-Four: Misadventures

"I care about you. So please, Hatter--by practicing magic this much, you're only hurting your health."

"But I still can't get this spell right, Liddell, and I have to because... Anyway, it's not like I have anything else to do."

***

The hallway went on with nearly identical doors. Where was her brother's bedroom?

Moonlight came through the row of windows, illuminating her path.

The sound of the wind reminded her of her task and her time limit. She must meet up with her brother. Then, she must find the princess's necklace to prove that she saw her alive, before the sun rises.

She looked at the doors, tilting her head. There were symbols above the doorknob, a shape and then a number. Right now she was in the clubs' area. But since her brother was 'the Jack of Diamonds', his bedroom was probably wherever the diamond symbols were.

As she walked down the hall, she noticed that one of the club-symbol doors were slightly open. She examined it and realized the hinges weren't working well because of rust. She opened it slightly and slipped inside.

It took her eyes a little while to adjust to the darkness.

In the bed, a figure lied on their side. However, their shoulders weren't rising and falling, as the Cat might expect. In fact, the figure wasn't moving a tad bit at all.

The figure was wearing a long dark cloak, even as they slept. On the chair, there lied a neatly-folded uniform with a club symbol on it, but clearly it hadn't been worn for a while.

Slowly, silent, she approached the figure. She put a finger on their wrist, trying to find a pulse. When she found nothing, she carefully rolled the figure over and pressed her ear against their chest.

That's when she heard something strange.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

Scared, she backed away from the figure and quickly left the room. She tried to close the door, but as aforementioned, it didn't close well because of old age. Then, she hurried to find her brother's bedroom.

Although she didn't know much about magic, she'd heard urban tales and legends."

'Did the White Rabbit or another minister do this?' she wondered, "Or was it someone else?"

***

"...Cat?" Her brother sat up in bed. "...Is that you? What are you doing here?"

All the strength she'd been holding within her, suddenly collapsed. She flew into the door, shut the door behind her, and started sobbing. She told him everything, in between hiccups and tears, the plan by that mysterious group to start a war, and the soldier with the clockwork heart.

"I was so worried about you... I was scared that you won't be okay..."

"I'm okay," the Jack reassured her. "We're going to be okay, I promise."

"Are you going to leave the castle? You believe me, right?"

"......" the Jack pondered for several silent moments. At last he said, "Yes, I believe you. But I can't leave the castle just yet, because I know too much about... it's complicated. I just have to arrange some things. But eventually I'll be able to leave, so it'll be alright."

The Cat nodded. She felt strength returning to her legs and arms, and she raised her sleeve to swipe at her tearful cheeks.

Sniffing and still hiccuping, she said, "I-I have to go now. I promised the person who helped me get into the castle, that I'll steal something for her."

"Stay safe, that's more important than anything else." Then the Jack said goodbye to her.

***

She walked down the stairs to the dungeon, holding the grimy walls. The lighting was extremely dim, and she was only able to navigate using the lamp that her brother gave to her.

At the end of the dungeon, she found a coffin. Muttering a quick prayer to the gods, she pushed on the lid and heard it tumble to the ground. Inside the coffin, there lied a beautiful young woman with stiff skin and closed eyes.

On her neck was a shining necklace.

The Cheshire Cat gulped. She mumbled some more sorries, before reaching forward and prying off the necklace. The skin felt cold beneath her hands.

As she turned to leave, she saw a figure standing in the doorway. She stumbled backwards and dropped the necklace in shock.

"What are you doing?! Who are you?!" The figure lunged forward, as though to grab her. As the figure came into the light of her lamp, she saw the figure's face.

It was a white-haired man in his early to mid-twenties. His pale, taut skin and cruel red eyes made him seem much older than that. As he gripped her shoulders, she realized that he was actually really strong.

"......" The Cat stared with a wide mouth in shock. 'I must tell a lie,' she thought.

"I'll ask you one last time," snarled the white-haired man. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm a maid who works in the kitchen," the Cat squeaked. "I got lost while I was looking for the... um... bathroom."

The man looked her over from up to down. Then, his gaze slipped over to the open coffin lid. Realization came into his eyes, as his lips curled downwards. "You were trying to steal something valuable from the dead body, weren't you? But I have no time for petty theft... I'll deal with you later."

The Cat stared in shock, confused.

"Are you waiting for me to buy you dinner? Get out!" He shoved her towards the exit.

Unable to believe that she got away with it so easily, she sprinted up the stairs. Only when she was in the hallways once more did she realize that she'd lost the necklace. It must still be in the dungeon, on the floor where she dropped it.

She drew in a deep breath.

'I made a promise to the March Hare. Besides, she's a magic user, so something bad might happen to me if she gets angry. I have to go retrieve the necklace.'