Who's Alice? (A Black Butler/Ciel Love Story)

Chapter 11

An hour or two had probably passed, and I hadn't thought of anything. No one was going to know where Ciel was, and I had no way of knowing. I told him that before.

"You could just stay here with me, if you like," Caterpillar offered.

I coughed a few times before telling him, "That's very generous, but I suppose it would be best for me to start looking for him."

He frowned, "How sad. I hoped we could become close friends, but it seems it is not meant to be." He paused to inhale more of the drug he was smoking. It was during this that I heard something.

"Do you hear humming?" I asked.

He blowed out the smoke, "Yes. I must have another visitor. How lucky am I today?" The humming was getting louder. I wondered who it was.

Then, a man came into vision. I recognized him immediately, and I smiled. He was dressed darkly. He wore a long black coat over his suit. He had a white shirt with a purple vest over it and a large purple bow tie with a skull at its center. His pants were black and white vertically striped, and he had black boats. His black hat had the signature "6/10" paper pinned to it by a fork. His extremely long silver hair moved behind him, and his bangs covered his eyes and a scar that went across his face.

"Why, hello, Mad Hatter. It's strange to see you around here," the Caterpillar greeted when Hatter was close enough. He was one of the maddest residents in Wonderland but not by any means a bad person.

Hatter stopped and smiled up at him, "Good afternoon, Caterpillar. I was just taking a shortcut. Who's your friend?"

I opened my mouth, but Caterpillar beat me to it, "Her name is Alice Um. I met her a few hours ago." My smile dropped. Hatter giggled, most likely at the name.

He crossed his legs and took off his hat, bowing deeply, "It's a pleasure, Miss Alice Um." He laughed a little again. I was right.

I dismissed, "The pleasure is mine."

When he straightened, he asked, "What is a girl as young as yourself doing with the Caterpillar?"

"You see, I was here with my friend, Ciel, earlier when he was taken away. He's a newcomer and doesn't know his way around," I explained.

"Who could Ciel be?"

I sighed, "Terribly sorry. Her name is also Alice."

His already large smile widened, "Is it? How interesting. What were you doing here?"

"We were trying to get information on the White Rabbit. We need to find him," I told him.

"I know where he is," Hatter said.

I grinned, "Really? Can you take me to him?"

He stopped me, "But I also know where your friend is. Or rather, will be. She isn't there, yet. I'd be happy to bring you to one or the other." My smile dropped. I needed to find Ciel, but I also said I would help find Sebastian. Which was the better choice?

"Then, I choose Ciel. I mean, Alice," I corrected. In the end, what good would finding Rabbit do if Ciel was not with me?

"Very well, but you must answer a question to get me to help," he bargained.

I agreed, "Alright, out with it."

He asked, "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" Everyone knew the answer to that. It was also his favourite question.

I smirked, "They're not. It's a trick question." Hatter busted out laughing.

"Yes, yes! You're... you're incredibly smart... Miss Alice!" he gasped for breath. His laughter was contagious, but in the end, I ended up almost hacking up a lung. Neither of them were phased by it.

Hatter walked over to the mushroom and offered me his hand. "Then, miss, we should get going. Your friend is going to be just where I was headed. What a stroke of luck!" I took it, and he helped me off the mushroom. "Goodbye, Caterpillar."

"Goodbye! Thank you for everything!" I smiled, though he actually didn't do too much.

As we walked away, Caterpillar said, "Good luck, Alice! I suspect you're going to need it!"