Winter Rabbit in Wonderland

Chapter 36

Jack’s condition seemed like a stretch to SoYoon—which meant that his real stipulation was something else. In the worst-case scenario, he intended to use Alice to get to Heart. She ran toward Jack’s hideout.

***

Alice enjoyed the days she got to stay at Heart’s house the moment she was able to get rid of that annoying Alice Liddell: the free-flowing hot water, the closet full of beautiful clothes, the three delicious meals served each day. Although the memory of being captured by Cheshire was horrifying, the resulting consequence was immensely satisfying.

But there was something that bothered her.

If in the original story, Heart was at her whim’s fancy; in this one, Heart was always busy. There wasn’t even a full hour where Alice and Heart had been face to face. It was a good thing that he was polite and gave her whatever she wanted whenever they did pass each other, because otherwise, she would have stressed about it.

Another complaint—although she could look at it as a week’s worth of fun—was that she was unable to meet anyone else. However, Heart did try to come between her and the White Rabbit, even if she didn’t see him as a competitor. Heart was hooked. The most erotic love came from jealousy and obsession. Alice smiled.

“What’s up? You look to be in a good mood.”

“I’m always here, so how could there be anything new to be in a good mood about?”

She was talking to a man named Peter, a guard Heart had put in charge of her. She had healed him about a month ago. That may have been the reason that when she replied sweetly, he acted as if he would give up his liver for her. Even now when she answered sharply, he looked at her sweetly as if she was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen.

“Can’t I leave for just a little bit? Just for a little while? I’ll just stop by Central.”

“It’s a bit dangerous outside right now. If you need something, I will gladly go buy it for you.”

“But it’s so suffocating being stuck in here all day. What if I just wither away? Please, Peter? Just for a little while? Please? I’ll be right back.”

If she was to remain at the house like this, she might never make contact with Twins or Mad Hatter.

Alice folded her hands over her chest and looked pleadingly. As she looked at him with those sad blue eyes, Peter blushed. Alice placed her hand on Peter’s arm and whined.

“Please? Please? If you’re so worried, you can come with me. Please?”

Peter finally surrendered to Alice. He reminded her to not leave his side for even a second and escorted her outside. And in those few minutes, she got kidnapped.

“Peter!”

Alice reached for her only lifeline, but he was already knocked out cold. The kidnapper kicked Peter awake.

“Al—Alice...”

The man laughed as Peter searched for Alice even while coughing up blood.

“Go tell Pawn, your pretty little girlfriend was taken by Jack. If you want to retrieve her, you must go to the middle of Central and kneel before me yelling, ‘Jack, I will return Heart’s throne to you.’ Can you do that?”

It hadn’t been that long since she had been kidnapped and rescued, so that this time she was already trembling in fear. Who was that? Who was Pawn? What was Jack? Heart needed to return what? Why is that man taking me! This never happened in the original story!

It did, in this scene.

Jack, Heart’s stepbrother, kidnapped Alice, but Heart rescued her from his hideout before any harm came to her. Afterward, she...

There was one sentence. How am I supposed to remember this? Alice rubbed her tear-filled face. It’s okay. Heart will come rescue me. I will not get hurt.

Alice’s mental state was weak, and a voice whispered in her subconscious. Return it. Do you think this is the time for me to be dealing with you right now! Shut up! Alice reprimanded her viciously, but it was difficult to trap Alice Liddell back into the recesses of her mind.

“This is already my life! It’s not meant for you to get in the way! Why do you think this is yours? How are you so cocky when you stole it from someone else? So you should—shut up, shut up, shut up!” Alice had been screaming when her head was turned around by a sharp sound.

“I told you to stay quiet.”

Alice held her burning cheek and raised her head. Jack was looking at her. He was similar in appearance to Heart, and the moment she saw his smile, she forgot about the pain in her cheek.

Only then did she realize the fight she had been having with Alice Liddell in her head had manifested itself out loud. She was still able to gag Alice Liddell like a fish in water.

“What is this? Are you insane? Pawn, you sure found someone that’s like Mother.”

Jack pulled Alice up by her hair.

“Ah!”

She screamed underneath his hand. He observed Alice up close.

“How old are you?”

“Eight—Eighteen...”

“It’s a nice age.”

Jack’s hands swept across her face, past her neck, and down her chest. His well-trained fingers cupped her breasts. She gasped in pain, and Jack laughed out loud.

“You sure make cute sounds. I’ve never wanted things that belonged to Pawn but for you...”

Alice almost fainted at his sadistic comment. Tears flowed over the hands that gagged her. I wasn’t supposed to get hurt!

She suddenly was hit with the thought of the time Cheshire had kidnapped her. If something like that happens this time around also...Enraptured by fear, she passed out.

“She passed out over this? She’ll be gone after I play with her a couple of times.”

Jack wagged his tongue and called over his men. A large man tossed Alice over his back.

“Make sure to tie her up tight so she can’t escape and shove her in a closet. She doesn’t look like the type to have the nerve, but make sure she won’t try to commit suicide by biting her tongue.”

After he instructed his men, he glanced over at Peter. Could the rumors of Heart being in love with that girl be true? Jack’s image of Pawn overlapped with the fallen bloody Peter. He laughed, imagining his fall.

After Jack left, Peter called Heart with his broken arm and explained the situation. With Heart’s personality, he would never abide by these conditions, but if it was for his precious Alice, it would be different.

After ending the call, Peter returned home, aided by his comrades. Upon meeting Heart, he realized that he might have been wrong.

“You’ve done well. Let’s get you fixed up and continue talking.”

That was not the reaction of someone who had lost something precious to him. Peter tried to think of ways to fix the situation as he was getting treated. After much thought, he called the only card he could think of.

“Hello?”

“Help! Alice has been kidnapped!”

***

SoYoon checked the inside of Jack’s hideout. There were exactly 23 people. Among them, one of them was Alice, so in the worst-case scenario, she would have to battle 22 people. It was fewer than she had expected.

When SoYoon had turned into White Rabbit, Jack was not in Wonderland. The moment she met Jack was after a year had passed. Back then, he had 40 men but was shunned after being defeated by Heart. But with fewer men, was he willing to try attacking again? It meant that his men had become stronger, or there was something else he was counting on. SoYoon kept it in her mind that this could be a trap.

Heart would have already known about Jack’s hideout the moment he entered back into Wonderland. He was probably already sending his men over here.

The problem was Jack had Alice as a hostage and would probably threaten to kill her in an attempt to defeat Heart.

In the original story, kidnapping Alice would have been a good tactic. SoYoon wasn’t able to read minds, so she didn’t know how Heart felt about Alice at the moment, but at least due to her healing powers, she was a person of importance. He would want to retrieve Alice from Jack.

If Jack had intended to kill Alice, there was no need to kidnap her. However, Jack did resort to a troublesome kidnapping, which meant that he was hoping to murder Alice in front of Heart. In a rage of anger and revenge, he might resort to such a scenario.

Either way, Alice’s life was ensured before Heart’s arrival—no, only her life.

SoYoon remembered things she had removed from her memory long ago. Her mouth went dry. When would Heart come? Would Alice be okay until Heart came?

Was it better to go in first? In that case, she would have to fight 22 men plus any that were hidden and still keep Alice safe. If this was a trap, what should she do? Even if it was, she still had to save Alice.

Even when lost in thought, SoYoon’s movements were stealthy and remained hidden. Disguising her presence, she was able to get close to the window and overhear their conversation. She eavesdropped on a lot of useless chatter but finally was able to gather useful information.

“Did you see the girl in the closet? Pawn’s girl?”

“I haven’t. Is she as hot as the rumors say?”

“You know how Matthew loves a pretty face. The moment he saw her, he was drooling all over her. He was supposed to be keeping guard over her, but that’s why they switched him out.”

“That hot, huh? I hope she stays alive after all this. If she’s that pretty, you think she’ll taste different too?”

“For us underlings to get any of the action, we would have to wait a long time.”

“F*ck, at that point, she’ll be all ragged. What’s the fun of tasting something that’s been used that much?”

“You wouldn’t say that if you saw her. You remember last year when you were gaga over a girl and gave her everything? Pamela something? She doesn’t even compare to this girl.”

“I told you if you ever uttered her name again, I’d kill you!”

And so their useless chatter continued. SoYoon left the window and hid behind a broken fence. She organized the information she’d just overheard.