Clockwork(Julius Monrey x OC)

♣Two♣

When Arianell had finally relaxed, she picked herself up and gathered her thoughts. She now sat across from the guy at a table in another room which she had discovered behind a half wall, facing him head on. She was ready to learn what she needed to know. He clasped his hands in front of him and gazed at her. The girl who had seemed so fragile only moments ago was now giving him a strange look of determination. 

"Alright. I suppose you're ready to know some things now, yes?"He spoke. She nodded once. He nodded back at her. "Very well. My name is Julius Monrey." Sounds french, she thought to herself. She didn't say anything. He continued. "You're in the Clock Tower, in the Country of Hearts, in Wonderland." 

"Okay..."

"In this country there are several territories,"He told her. He moved and sat down a piece of paper in front of her. She saw it was a map. She blinked at it. He pointed to one corner, where she saw a strange hat symbol. It was surrounded by a forest. "This is the Hatter's Mansion, a place I'm sure you won't want to go though you'll have to in order to play the game. Keep careful around there." He slid his finger over to the opposite corner where a ferris wheel was drawn. "This is the Amusement park, and it's less dangerous than the Hatter's Mansion." He pointed at the place with a giant heart. "And that's Heart Castle." He looked up at her. "Got everything so far?"

"What do you mean dangerous? And...what game am I supposed to be playing?"She asked. He hummed once. 

"As for dangerous, there are many dangerous things to outsiders in this world. There are the faceless, who envy you. There are the fights between each territory I pointed out-this Clock Tower is neutral. There are dangerous role holders in each territory as well,"He replied. She wrinkled her eyebrows. 

"Faceless?"

"Alice found it odd too. In this world there are people who lack faces,"He told her. She blinked. "Just know this, anyone with a face is a role-holder and anyone without one is unimportant." 

"Unimportant?"

"You'll understand eventually. Now then,"he continued. He leaned back in his chair. "I can't quite keep this up much longer, so you should head out. I have work to do."

"Work? Head out? You want me to just go out on my own?"Arianell asked him in surprise. He stared at her. She sighed and frowned. "Alright...fine I guess. Can I borrow this map?" He blinked. He shrugged and waved his hand at her. 

"Feel free." 

She stood. 

"To leave just follow the stairs down. And do be careful. We wouldn't want this game to end soon,"He told her. She slid her gaze at him as she looked at the map. She sighed and then nodded and turned. She paused. "Is there something else?" She turned and smiled back at him. 

"Yes. I forgot to tell you,"She spoke. She closed her eyes. "My name is Arianell Laurence. It's a pleasure to meet you." His eyes widened slightly. She turned and left, waving over her shoulder at him. His eyes stayed on the door long after it was shut. He frowned to himself. What's this weird feeling I have? He wondered. 

Outside, Arianell found herself struggling to decide which way to go. She stared at the map and then made the decision to just pick a random path. She folded the map up and placed it in her pocket. She felt a chain and grabbed it, pulling it out. She blinked and hummed, when she saw it was the necklace. She reached around her neck and clasped it, tucking it into her shirt. 

****

As she walked, she felt bored. The trees around her were large and normal looking. She hadn't expected this for a place called "Wonderland", but Julius had looked normal aside from his clothes and hair. She stopped when she heard music. The sound of screams slid into her ears and she blinked. She realized what it must've been. The amusement park. She walked forward and found that there wasn't a line to go in or a ticket booth. She blinked and held her hand up to her chin, her fingers curled at it. She looked around in curiosity.