Impossible (A HEARTLESS Fanfic)

Chapter Six

It all happened so fast.

The moment the axe met with Mr. Ferret's neck, Alice swore the ground shook. The world around her began to blur, as if Mr. Ferret's death caused everything to melt into oblivion. But in reality, it was her world that was clouding up as tears pooled into her eyes, cascading down her cheeks and dissolving her into hysterics. She crumpled over and would have fallen to the floor if Ace hadn't been by her side holding her up. Through her sobbing, Alice could hear the Queen barking out orders.

"Remove the ferret. And have the girl thrown into a prison cell. I'll decide what to do with her later."

The boredom in the Queen's voice infuriated Alice, and she lifted her tear-stained face, ready to tell the monarch exactly what she thought of her and her careless attitude towards the lives of others. But before she could even open her mouth, she was being dragged out of the room. She wanted to fight. She wanted to avenge her guardian. But Ace was stronger than her rage, and he quickly removed her from the scene.

"How dare she! How dare she! He was innocent, and she took away his life without a second thought!"

Ace had managed to escort her to the prison without assistance from the other guards, although she had not made it an easy task. The entire time she struggled against him, shouting about how unjust and cruel the Queen was. Her ranting had begun shortly after the doors to the Court had closed, and Ace had quickly clamped a hand over her mouth to keep anyone from hearing her offensive speech. Despite his attempts to silence her, Alice continued to rave, her words muffled by his grip on her jaw. Even with all of the trouble she caused him, he refused any help from his concerned men. Only once they had entered the prison did he allow her the freedom to express her outrage.

"She's a witch! A monster!" Alice exclaimed as Ace closed the iron bars of her cell. "He was innocent! He was innocent!"

"I know," Ace breathed.

It was the first time he had spoken to her since he had found her in the Forest, and the exasperation in his voice silenced her briefly. There was sadness and pain in his eyes, and she wondered how many unjust executions he had been witness to over the years.

"If you knew, why didn't you say something?" Alice demanded.

"What good would that have done? Both sides were quite determined."

"You saw me at the tea party. Why did you lie to the Queen?"

"I didn't lie. I did not see you steal the tart. If I had, I wouldn't have been so surprised to see you in the Forest."

"You didn't see me steal it, but you know I did. Why didn't you tell her? Why didn't you save him?"

"Because it was very clear that Mr. Ferret was willing to do anything to save the most precious person in his life."

Alice felt her breath catch in her chest. With a sigh, Ace gripped the bars of the cell door, and Alice could see now just how tired and worn he appeared. His shoulders drooped and his posture was hunched. Hardly the confident, flirtatious guard she had met at the tea party only earlier that day.

"Your guardian obviously loved you very much," he continued, his voice a little softer. "I could see that the only thing he wanted was for you to be safe. I didn't think it fair to take that away from him. Besides, had I contradicted him, he would still have been executed for lying to the Queen. Both of you would have been dead. And what good would his sacrifice have been then?"

The tears streamed down Alice's cheeks, an endless supply of water stored behind her blue eyes. Since she was a child she wept freely whenever her heart told her to. There was no stopping it, and she honestly saw no reason to try. Crying was natural. And it came as second nature to her.

Her shoulders began to shake as a sob erupted from her chest. Ace sighed and dug in his pocket, revealing a black handkerchief embroidered with an A and a heart, both beautifully stitched in crimson thread. He offered it to Alice through the bars, and she took it, wiping the tears from her cheeks only to have them replaced with fresh ones. It was an impossible feat to dry her eyes, and eventually she buried her face into the fabric, sobbing and hiccupping uncontrollably.

"It's my fault!" she cried. "It's all my fault! I should have been more careful, I should have controlled my curiosity! If I had been a good girl, Mr. Ferret would be back home enjoying marinated mice and coddling his candlesticks!"

As her hysterics continued, she felt something tug at her hair, which was covering her face like a curtain. Peering over the handkerchief, she saw Ace leaning his head against the bars, a sympathetic smile on his lips. She wondered at his being able to even attempt a smile after the events that had just occurred. He dropped the strand of hair he had used to get her attention and returned his hand to gripping one of the bars.

"You're alive," he said softly. "And that's exactly what Mr. Ferret wanted."

"How do you know that's what he wanted? You were hardly acquainted with him," Alice protested.

"Because if I wanted you alive after only spending a short time in your presence, then I am certain your caretaker wished you a lifetime of living."

Alice narrowed her eyes at him. "Then why did you practically offer my head to the Queen?"

The softness in his eyes was overshadowed by something darker. "It's my job."

"And it is my job to steal from others."

"Clearly there is a conflict of interest between us." The muscles in his jaw strained, and he seemed to be holding something back. Instead of giving in to whatever it was he was attempting to restrain, he let out a sigh. "At least there's little trouble you can get into down here."

"You'd be surprised," Alice said, wiping her eyes one last time before passing the handkerchief back to Ace.

He gripped her outstretched hand, squeezing it closed over the handkerchief for a moment as he leaned in towards her once again. "Alice, please don't do anything rash. I can't guarantee your safety if you continue to agitate the Queen."

Alice clenched her teeth, too distraught to enjoy the warmth of the guard's hands. "Is my safety really something you can guarantee?"

His eyes looked pained before answering, "No."

"Then I can make no promises concerning my behavior."

After a long moment of silence, his eyes intently focused on her own, Ace finally released a sigh and withdrew his hands, taking the handkerchief with them. Without another word, he tucked the tear-soaked cloth into his pocket and retreated up the stairs. Alice watched him go, her anger and frustration towards him tempered with the understanding that he was simply doing his job and that she was in fact a criminal. His kindness towards her was completely unwarranted, and she knew she should be grateful that he had taken it upon himself to see her to her cell rather than leave her to the rough treatment of the other guards.

Still, even his chivalry could not dull the ache in her chest. Mr. Ferret was dead, and she knew she was to blame. However, she also knew there was no sense in wallowing forever. What was done was done. Mr. Ferret had taught her to always move forward and look to a brighter future, no matter how dark the present moment seemed. It was only right that she honor his memory by living by the wisdom he had taught her. And so, while she allowed the tears to continue, her hysterics did not return. However, her tears were even put to rest when she realized she was not alone in the cell.

From the shadows behind her, a voice called out to her, "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

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So I have to admit that my inspiration for Ace was heavily influenced by Heart no Kuni no Alice. I would have chosen a different name, but I like the name Ace a lot, and I remember it being used in the Alice In Wonderland murder mystery game/party my friends and I had years ago. Granted, he's not exactly like Ace ( HnKnA Ace is kind of scary), but I can't deny the inspiration. I'm also realizing a little bit of his personality has been pulled from Kai of the Lunar Chronicles.

What can I say, Marissa Meyer is an inspiration!

Hope you're enjoying the story so far. The next chapter will be bringing in some beloved Wonderland characters, so hold tight!